Some time had passed by, and Zhao Kai was currently living a quite miserable life. Despite spending so many hours shooting earlier, he now had to shoot even harder than ever.
"Feng, are you not even going to help me out a little bit?" Cried Zhao Kai, feeling numb on his fingers.
Unlike the time when he was immersed in his training, Zhao Kai was now feeling the strain after taking a little mini break.
His fingers were hurting every time he pulled the trigger, but what made it worse was that Xu Feng was inspecting him closely.
"Have you ever seen a military trainer assist their trainee in combat?" Xu Feng snorted coldly in response. "Now hurry it up and kill the Ironwood Treant. If you dilly-dally any longer, then you can forget about eating any good food."
"What? That's not fair!" Zhao Kai nearly slumped to the ground, heartbroken by the cruelty.
"Not fair eh? Shall I increase the objective or difficulty then?" Xu Feng questioned.
Instantaneously, Zhao Kai resumed his focus and proceeded to shoot the Ironwood Treant.
"No need, Feng. This is very fair and absolutely just!" He added, clearly very afraid Xu Feng would increase the difficulty as it was.
Just a few minutes ago, they had a small battle to determine who would be in charge of gathering the Ironwood Treant Barks.
And Zhao Kai, being as prideful and confident of his increased experience and aim, believed he had the upper hand. Additionally, they were going to distance themselves by 20 meters, giving him an even greater advantage.
Alas, never once did Zhao Kai expect the result would be his complete defeat.
'Just what kind of steroids did Feng take? How did he dodge all my shots and close the distance so fast?' He cried inwardly, dumbfounded by the insane damage that Xu Feng had dealt to him.
How could a Gun Knight class possibly lose to a Cleric class?
"Are you being distracted again?" Xu Feng's voice suddenly echoed, prompting Zhao Kai to flinch.
"No, Sir!" He quickly shouted in response, immersing his role as a trainee soldier.
"Then why am I not hearing much shooting!"
"Sorry, Sir. Yes, Sir!"
Soon after, Zhao Kai resumed his shooting, ignoring his numb fingers and disbelief of their battle outcome.
As he continued to fire, Xu Feng shook his head, finding his stance and absorbing the recoil dreadful.
He facepalmed and realized why his fingers were numb so quickly or even sweat so much. 'I overestimated his ability in being able to adapt and figure out his mistake.'
To be honest, Xu Feng doesn't want to guide him too much, which could be detrimental later on, given it might cause Zhao Kai to overly rely on him.
Thus, he preferred to give brief minimalistic tips, and let Zhao Kai figure everything out on his own.
That way, it would boost his confidence, and even allow him to think critically on his own without anyone's assistance.
However, it seemed like it was still rather early and Xu Feng still needed to guide him a bit more to fix his mistake. Otherwise, he feared that Zhao Kai might continue this mistake and make it a habit afterward.
"Lend me the Ironbolt Rifle," Xu Feng suddenly said, extending his hand out.
"Huh?" Confused, Zhao Kai paused his shooting momentarily, turned around, and glanced at Xu Feng. "What do you need it for? No— can you even equip it?"
"..."
Speechless, Xu Feng breathed softly and kindly reminded him, "Did you forget about the time you held some of the staff on my behalf in the storage room at Forgefire Blacksmith?"
Zhao Kai's mouth made a big "O" shape as he subtly recalled that time. As the realization hit him, Zhao Kai subsequently smiled somewhat embarrassingly and handed the Ironbolt Rifle to him.
"But can you even use the gun though?" Zhao Kai questioned.
He found it hard to believe a non-specific class could equip and use weapons that are not specialized for them. After all, most video games have restrictions on weapons and what you can equip.
Take a swordsman class for example.
Their weapon of availability should be catered around swords, and not guns or bows or even staff.
However, to Zhao Kai's astonishment, Xu Feng's explanation nearly caused him to believe that game logic and mechanics are in a new era.
"Any class player could use any weapon they want. The only difference is that their compatibility with the weapon has decreased tremendously and they don't receive any of the stats, attributes, or any type of buff the weapon supposedly offers."
"I understand the last part, but the compatibility? Are you saying it's going to be extremely difficult for them to even use weapons from other classes?"
"That's exactly my point." Xu Feng nodded. "Those without experience will be no different than a toddler trying to hold their utensil properly."
"Wow, that's quite a nice analogy." Impressed, Zhao Kai had to compliment him for explaining it really well.
"Anyway, stop getting distracted and watch my stance." Xu Feng said, adjusted the rifle's setting, and bent his right knee.
"The stance is a crucial part. You have to keep your feet shoulder-width apart and slightly bend your knee to absorb the recoil." He instructed.
Zhao Kai stared intensely at him, analyzing his stance and attempting to mimic it. "Is this correct, Feng?"
"Bend your knee a little more back and keep your back straight."
"Like this?"
"Yes, now watch how I use the scope." Xu Feng said and began aiming at the Ironwood Treant.
"Make sure to line up your shot with the crosshair and take a deep breath. Remember to hold it for a moment before you pull the trigger. This will help steady your aim and reduce any shaking."
Right after Xu Feng explained the theory, he pulled the trigger and fired a shot.
The bullet hit the Ironwood Treant with a loud thud, a clear indication that the damage was amplified, meaning it was shot at the critical flesh point.