In the hush of the dense forest, the endless howls of wolves echoed in his ears. A frigid wind swept past, carrying the sharp tang of pine and the metallic reek of blood, sending a chill down his spine.
Beneath the canopy of the trees, gray-furred Blade Wolves paced restlessly, their slitted, vicious eyes scanning the surroundings for any sign of movement.
Kiriya crouched behind the thick trunk of a tree, not daring to make a reckless move. He'd ventured deep into the ridge alone, and one wrong move would get him killed and sent back to town. If the Bow of Glory in his hands dropped on death, his full Strength build archer would become a completely useless account, no different from deleting it and starting over.
Thwunk!
An icy blue streak cut through the air, the Frost Arrow burying itself dead-center in a Blade Wolf's neck. Hot on its heels, a Flame Arrow exploded in a roaring burst of searing fire, sending the Blade Wolf staggering backward.
Before it could snarl and lunge forward to attack, a second Frost Arrow struck home. The vicious blade wolf let out a mournful howl and crashed heavily to the ground before it could even reach Kiriya.
Beside its corpse, not only had a dozen silver coins dropped, but also a palm-sized pelt. Kiriya hurried forward to pick it up, and it was exactly the item he needed for his quest, the Silky Wolf Pelt.
He shot down several more blade wolves in quick succession, but no more quest pelts dropped. It wasn't until he killed the seventh wolf that a second pelt fell. It seemed the drop rate for the quest item wasn't particularly high, but the massive experience and silver he earned from killing mobs far above his level had already left him rolling in wealth.
An hour later, brilliant golden light cascaded down over Kiriya's body. He'd smoothly reached Level 19, and he'd collected 14 Silky Wolf Pelts in his inventory. At this rate, it would take him at least seven or eight hours to gather the 100 pelts needed to complete the quest.
Another two hours passed in the blink of an eye. When another Blade Wolf charged straight at him, a Flame Arrow exploded in a burst of searing fire. The blade wolf let out a whimper and fell rigid to the ground.
Clink!
A piece of equipment rolled across the ground, and at the same time, two crisp system notifications rang out one after another.
Ding! System Notification: Congratulations! Your level has increased to Level 20!
Ding! System Notification: Congratulations! You have unlocked the Talent [Lesser Heal]!
Kiriya froze for a split second, then it clicked. In EAO, every player unlocked a random talent upon reaching Level 20. There were countless different talents, and most of them had fairly mediocre effects.
The Lesser Heal he'd unlocked was a fixed talent that could not be upgraded. Each cast restored 100 HP and cost only 10 MP.
Kiriya couldn't help but smirk, teasing himself inwardly. Now I can pretend to be a Priest and hit on all the female swordsmen players out there.
That was when he noticed the piece of equipment the Blade Wolf had dropped. It was a dark gray leather chest piece. He bent down to pick it up, and its stat panel popped up immediately.
[Blade Chest guard] (Bronze-Tier · Leather Armor)
Defense: 38
Agility: +9
Required Level: 25
Set Bonus: ???
Unidentified
Kiriya rubbed his eyes, making sure he wasn't seeing things. It hit him in an instant. This Blade Chest guard was part of a set!
No wonder the official promotions had called Wolfspine Ridge a paradise for low-level players. Not only did it hold mobs that gave massive experience, but it also dropped set gear. It truly was an unbeatable grinding spot.
He tossed the Blade Chestguard straight into his inventory, planning to identify it once he returned to town. A quiet spark of excitement built in his chest. If he could collect the full set, what kind of powerful set bonus would it unlock?
The newly unlocked Lesser Heal was surprisingly useful. With a two-second cast time, it traded 10 MP for 100 HP, making it incredibly cost-effective. He might not even need to rely on health potions for grinding anymore.
Meanwhile, his Frost Arrow and Flame Arrow proficiencies were skyrocketing from constant use. By the time he finished this quest, both skills would likely reach Intermediate rank.
Just as he'd expected, the experience required to level up had exploded exponentially once he hit Level 20. Even with his insane grinding speed, his experience bar was climbing at a glacial pace.
He pushed on until nearly two in the morning, and finally gathered the full 100 Silky Wolf Pelts. He'd also looted the Blade set's coat and boots along the way, needing only a pair of leggings to complete the full set.
By this point, he'd also reached Level 22, a level of power that made him head and shoulders above most players. His rank on the Azure Imperial Region level leaderboard had shot straight up to 12th place. With a little more effort, he could easily secure a permanent spot in the top ranks.
Stolen novel; please report.
After hitting Level 22, he could finally see the full stats of these mobs. The Blade Wolves he'd been hunting this entire time were Level 27, with a maximum attack of 150. No wonder they'd been able to deal significant damage to him earlier.
By three in the morning, he'd cleared out every single mob on the outer edges of Wolfspine Ridge. To his surprise, none of the mobs had respawned six hours after he'd killed them. It seemed the respawn mechanics in the boss zone were different from those in regular areas.
He pushed further into the heart of the ridge, quickly taking out the few scattered blade wolves along the way with a handful of Flame Arrows. Clink! The final missing piece of the Blade set, the leggings, finally dropped from a blade wolf's corpse!
Wild joy surged through Kiriya's chest, and he snatched up the Blade Leggings and stashed them in his inventory. At the same time, he took a deep breath. He'd reached the deepest part of Wolfspine Ridge.
Beneath a pale, sheer cliff face, the ground was carpeted with dry, brittle grass. Five massive wolves crouched there, four of them slightly smaller in size. The one in the very center radiated an overwhelming, menacing aura.
Its scarlet fur stood on end, and its body stretched over three meters long. Its sharp fangs glinted with a cold, deadly light. There was no mistaking it. This massive wolf was the Blade Wolf King.
The four wolves flanking the Blade Wolf King were its Royal Guards. They were the same level as the Wolf King, and even at Level 22, Kiriya still could not view their full stats.
Kiriya waged a fierce internal battle. He knew this venture was deadly, but there was no way he could turn back. After all, turning tail and running at the first sign of trouble was simply not in his nature.
The most pressing question right now was whether to kill the Wolf King first or clear out the guards first. If he could see their stats, he could form a proper strategy, but with no stats to go off, any plan he made was nothing but guesswork.
He gritted his teeth and steeled his resolve. Screw it. Let's loose an arrow and see what happens.
Whoosh!
The tip of the arrow erupted in searing flame, and the Flame Arrow tore through the air, exploding dead on the neck of one of the Royal Guards.
2480! Devastating Critical Hit!
But Kiriya felt no joy at all. Even with nearly two thousand five hundred damage dealt, the Royal Guard's health bar had barely moved. Its total HP was definitely over fifty thousand points.
He couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath. At that exact moment, the Royal Guard lunged forward, its sharp claws raised high and slamming hard into his shoulder.
A faint stinging pain shot through him, but Kiriya stared down at the damage number in stunned disbelief. The Royal Guard's full-power attack had only taken 37 HP from him, barely even breaking through his defense.
Could it be that the Royal Guard's maximum attack was less than 100 points? It made sense when he thought about it. Close-quarters guards were meant to be tanks, meat shields to take damage for the boss. High HP and thick defense were their strengths, not raw damage.
But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, a massive scarlet blur lunged at him. Agonizing pain exploded in Kiriya's chest, and he was sent flying backward with the force of the blow.
Ding! Combat Alert: You have been attacked by the Blade Wolf King. You lose 447 HP!
Kiriya's blood ran cold. He stared at his HP bar, which showed only 3 points left, and his heart leaped into his throat. He only had 480 total HP to begin with, and after two hits from the Royal Guard and the Blade Wolf King, he was clinging to life by a thread.
Thud!
The Blade Wolf King's devastating blow had sent him slamming into the corner of the cliff face, the hard rock wall at his back leaving him with nowhere to run. The four Royal Guards were closing in fast. With wolves in front of him and a dead end behind, he was trapped in a hopeless situation.
He quickly chugged a Medium Health Potion that restored 300 HP and immediately cast Lesser Heal at the same time, desperate to pull his HP back to a safe level first.
Just then, the four Royal Guards reached him, their blood-red claws slashing down in quick succession.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Four heavy impacts rang out, and his HP dropped below 200 once more. He could only keep himself alive by chugging potions nonstop.
Thankfully, the Royal Guards had a slow attack speed. With the constant healing from his potions and Lesser Heal, he somehow managed to hold his ground. And that was when he spotted an unexpected, incredible opportunity.
The Blade Wolf King was pacing furiously in place, its eyes blazing with malice, snarling viciously, but it could not get close. The four Royal Guards were packed tight in front of him, completely blocking the narrow corner against the cliff. The Blade Wolf King was too massive to squeeze through, so it could only snarl and snap in a fit of rage on the other side.
This is my chance!
Kiriya was overwhelmed with shock and joy. He immediately nocked an arrow, raised his bow, and fired a Flame Arrow straight at the trapped Blade Wolf King.
Boom! Fire exploded across the Wolf King's head.
897!
The damage number wasn't outrageous, but it was still incredibly impressive. This was a boss far above Level 27, and dealing this much damage would make 99% of players in the game right now drop their jaws in shock.
After all, the average player was still between Level 15 and 20 right now. Without decent gear, their attack power was generally less than 100 points. Doing over a hundred damage was enough to make them proud.
The Blade Wolf King roared in a fit of unbridled fury, all its devastating power useless with no way to reach its target. It was clear the Royal Guards had very low intelligence.
They only knew to fixate on their target and attack relentlessly, and in doing so, they'd accidentally blocked their own king's path.
Kiriya held out against the four guards' attacks with his potions and Lesser Heal, backing off to top up his health when he couldn't hold on any longer.
The situation was absurdly lucky. If he hadn't just unlocked that healing talent, he would have been torn apart by the wolves long ago.
For all the Wolf King's ferocious attack power, its total HP wasn't as absurd as he'd feared. After ten minutes of constant damage, it had lost nearly half its health.
Another ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye. When Kiriya drove a searing hot arrow deep into the Wolf King's eye socket, it let out a final, mournful howl. Its massive body crashed to the ground, and several glinting pieces of equipment dropped beside its corpse.
Ding!
System Notification: Congratulations! You have slain the boss Blade Wolf King! Gained 125000 EXP, Reputation +500!
Hell yeah, loot!
Kiriya's chest burned with excitement at the sight of the glinting gear on the ground. He lifted his foot to go pick it up, only to find he was still trapped tight by the four Royal Guards, unable to move an inch.
Fucking pests!
He glared at the Guards that had just accidentally saved his life, an unrelenting stream of Flame Arrows straight at one of them. For all its enormous HP pool, the guard could not hold up against this constant, high-burst damage. In the blink of an eye, it crumpled to the ground with a thunderous thud, melting away into experience points for him.
Without a second thought, Kiriya sprinted forward as fast as he could to the Blade Wolf King's corpse, shoving all three pieces of equipment on the ground straight into his inventory.
