-522
-463
-434
...
Another priest and both tanks went down instantly.
It was the boss's ultimate move in its third phase.
[Whirling Cleave]: Deals 2 instances of damage to all enemies in a 30-yard line.
The team of sixteen was now down to six: one Knight, one Swordsman (Cole), one Warlock, one Hunter, and two Archers.
Cole stared at the boss's remaining 2,000 HP, unwilling to give up. "Everyone, charge! The boss is almost dead!" he yelled, rushing forward himself.
-97
The damage number that popped up over the boss's head shocked him. His mind raced, and he put the pieces together in an instant. "Go!" he screamed. "Its defense is down! Focus fire!"
The others realized it too and unleashed everything they had. The Quillboar raised its club and brought it crashing down on Cole's head.
CLANG!
-493
The Knight had thrown himself in front of Cole, intercepting the blow. The damage he took was terrifying. It's not just the boss's defense that's lowered. Its attack power has gone up, too. It's doubled, at least.
The Knight quickly chugged a health potion, but before his HP could recover, the Quillboar's second swing came down.
-453
He wasn't the main tank; he couldn't possibly survive a second hit. He crumpled to his knees and died.
Five people left.
Cole was now the only one in the front line. He gritted his teeth and kept attacking. The boss was down to 1,200 HP. Even if only one of them survived, as long as the boss fell first, they would be victorious.
But the Quillboar completely ignored him. It leaped high into the air and landed beside one of the archers.
-433
Another one dead. It then raised its club, charged the other archer, and killed him in a single blow.
"Son of a bitch!" Cole roared. This was no pig; it was as cunning as a monkey, prioritizing the high-agility classes to prevent them from kiting it.
Ten seconds later, the Warlock and the hunter were also beaten to death.
Only Cole remained.
"Bastard!" he raged, looking at the boss's remaining 900 HP. If Kael hadn't killed ten of his core members earlier, costing them a precious hour of grinding, they wouldn't be falling short on damage now.
He raised his two-handed sword and charged, praying for a miracle.
-296
Cole’s heart leaped. A critical hit? A miracle! One more hit is all I need!
But when he swung again, a pitiful number floated up from the boss.
-91
His heart turned to ash. He could only watch as the stone club hammered down on him.
-393
Cole dissolved into a flash of white light. In the last moment before he died, he saw two familiar faces walking out of the shadows: Dawnbreaker and Hazel.
***
[World Chat]
[Ashveil]: Dawnbreaker, you motherfucker! That was my fucking boss! Aegis is coming for you!
[Ironfang]: What boss?
[Silverwind]: lol what’s he talking about?
The system provided the answer.
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[System Announcement]: Congratulations to players Dawnbreaker and Hazel for the first kill of the [Alpha Quillboar]. As this is the server's first kill for this regional boss, both players have been awarded the title [Champion of Crescent City].
[Champion of Crescent City]: +10 to all five core stats.
.....
[CelestialEdge]: Whoa. Someone killed a boss in Crescent City zone!
[SirSnaccALot]: It's Dawnbreaker again!
[CtrlAltWin]: Isn't that the guy who killed 10 people this afternoon? The god-tier player?
[PotatoMage]: Yeah. He's the one who got the [Vanguard of Defiance] title from that announcement.
[SweetCuddles]: Does that mean this Ashveil guy was one of the victims from this afternoon?
[BananaBandit]: Haha, you guessed it.
[HoneyDrop]: Ashveil? Isn't he a wanted player?
[SoftWhisper]: He is. Anyone want to form a bounty hunter party? I just saw him at the resurrection point.
[PigeonPuncher]: Which one?
[PhantomVanguard]: Starting village #9999.
[Tom]: OMG I'm in #9999!
.....
Back in the forest, Kael was sorting through the loot, paying no mind to the chaos in the world chat.
"Dawnbreaker," Hazel asked, "why did you shoot the boss just now instead of that bad guy?"
"I had to get on the boss's aggro table before they completely wiped," Kael said while sifting through the drops. "Otherwise, it would have reset and healed to full."
"Oh." Hazel nodded, only half understanding. Then she asked, "But couldn't you have killed him first, then the boss?"
Kael shook his head. "No. They had done almost all the damage. Their contribution score was way higher. Even with the bonus for getting the last hit, my score would still have been lower than theirs."
Hazel looked completely lost. "What does that mean?"
Kael looked at her and explained carefully. "It means two things. One: we wouldn't have gotten any of the experience. Two: the loot rights wouldn't have belonged to us. We would've had to wait ten minutes for the items to become free for anyone to pick up."
"Ohhh, I get it now!" The ever-curious Hazel finally stopped asking questions, instead watching with wide eyes as Kael picked through the equipment.
After three minutes, he had everything sorted. As expected of a first-kill bonus drop, the Quillboar had dropped three pieces of gear. Thanks to his high luck stat, all of them had been upgraded by one quality tier.
[Quillboar's Club (Epic)]: Level 8 Two-Handed Weapon
+31 Strength
+11 Constitution
+152 Attack
Requirement: 40 Strength
Effect - Armor Break: Reduces target's armor by 51.
.....
[Quillboar Warplate (Epic)]: Level 8 Chest Armor
+10 Strength
+25 Constitution
+90 Physical Defense
Requirement: 40 Strength
.....
[Quillboar Boots (Epic)]: Level 8 Boots
+30 Agility
+10 Constitution
+4 Movement Speed
Requirement: 40 Agility
.....
Kael unceremoniously stuffed all the potions, materials, and money into Hazel’s backpack.
"Here," he said, handing the Quillboar Warplate to her. "This chestpiece is for you."
"Whoa, an Epic chestpiece! And I just hit level 8, this is awesome!"
Hazel equipped the armor and Kael put on the new boots. Both of their stats shot up significantly.
[Player]: Dawnbreaker
[Class]: Archer
[Level]: 9
[HP]: 780
[MP]: 140
[Strength]: 110
[Constitution]: 39
[Agility]: 221
[Intelligence]: 24
[Spirit]: 24
[Free Attribute Points]: 0
[Physical Attack]: 560
[Physical Defense]: 55
[Magic Attack]: 14
[Magic Defense]: 7
[Attack Range]: 35 yards
[Movement Speed]: 6.2
[Luck]: 999
[Skill Points]: 9
[Talent Skill - Marksman's Instinct]: Adds Agility * 0.5 as bonus damage to attacks.
[Title - Vanguard of Defiance]: +5 to all core stats.
[Title - Champion of Crescent City]: +10 to all core stats.
Kael's basic attack damage was now over 670 per hit.
***
[Player]: Hazel
[Class]: Protection Warrior
[Level]: 9
[HP]: 2200
[MP]: 179
[Strength]: 43
[Constitution]: 110
[Agility]: 18
[Intelligence]: 18
[Spirit]: 18
[Free Attribute Points]: 0
[Physical Attack]: 111
[Physical Defense]: 246
[Magic Attack]: 19
[Magic Defense]: 94
[Talent Skill - Tenacity]: While wielding a shield, all incoming physical damage is reduced by 10%.
[Title - Champion of Crescent City]: +10 to all core stats.
Seeing her HP pool hit 2200 and her physical defense climb past 240, Hazel was ecstatic. She grabbed Kael's arm. "My hero, where are we going next?"
Kael looked at the Quillboar's Club in his inventory. "Change of plans. We're heading back to the village first."
A short time later, a major system announcement sent shockwaves through the server.
[System Auction Announcement]: An anonymous player has listed the Epic-quality item [Quillboar's Club] for auction.
Transaction Currency: USD
Auction End Time: Tomorrow, 12:00 PM
All players are welcome to bid.
Immediately, the world chat erupted again.
[MoonlitKitten]: lol "anonymous player." Dawnbreaker, stop hiding, we all know it's you.
[KKKK]: Holy shit, an EPIC weapon is already on the market!
The entire server was in an uproar.
***
***
Author's Note: Due to the MC's high Luck, all equipment he obtains is automatically upgraded by one tier. To maintain narrative flow, all item descriptions will display the post-upgrade stats unless stated otherwise.
