"That's no monster," Cliff corrected, his eyes narrowed in focus. "It's that student we passed in the hallway. What was his name… Calder! That’s it."
Vance’s surprise deepened. "Calder?"
Cliff’s Divine Gift, `Keen Sense`, granted him visual acuity far beyond that of a normal player. A distance of several hundred meters was nothing to him, which was why he’d been the first to notice the sudden, violent shift on the battlefield. He scratched his head. "What's he doing out there? Is he trying to get himself killed, going in all alone?"
"His strength… it seems we've underestimated him," Vance said, forcing down the shock that churned in his gut.
His own `Stormfire` was devastating, capable of incinerating huge swaths of monsters, especially now that he was Level 5. A single cast could clear a massive chunk of the field. But its weakness was just as pronounced: high damage and wide area of effect came at the cost of a brutally long cooldown. After every fiery purge, he was left vulnerable, waiting for the skill to come back online.
Calder's Gift was different. It was more like Caden's martial techniques—sustained, relentless pressure. While it lacked the explosive, screen-clearing power of `Stormfire`, its persistence was terrifying.
"Holy sht," Cliff breathed, his astonishment growing. "That guy's 'Tendril Lash' is insane. The monsters can't even get close to him! I don't think even Caden could pull that off."
The display stunned not just Cliff, but the rest of Vance's demoralized team.
"That guy is a beast. I saw people talking about him in the chat channel a minute ago."
"He's Level 5 now, too! Same as Vance and Ray."
"His name is Calder? Wasn't he the one who got the first kill on the Knorr Aberrant Fiend?"
"No wonder he turned down Vance’s invitation. Looks like he’s a solo act."
The murmurs of his men grated on Vance, each word stoking a hot spike of jealousy. How dare this nobody seize the spotlight while they were forced into a humiliating retreat?
A humorless chuckle escaped him. "He's being reckless. A one-man army can only kill so many. The second his stamina runs out or he gets injured, he's dead."
His remaining followers nodded in agreement.
"Exactly," Cliff lamented. "If he'd just joined us, we could have timed his attacks with your `Stormfire`. We might have actually cleared the field and been the ones to come out on top!"
Vance's eyes narrowed, his gaze fixed on the distant, whirlwind figure of Calder carving through the horde. "We still might have a chance."
"Vance? What are you saying…?"
"Let's hope he can last a little longer," Vance said, a cruel smirk twisting his lips. "I'd hate for him to disappoint me now."
But neither he nor any other player could have predicted what happened next.
Ten minutes. Twenty. Thirty.
An entire hour passed. Calder showed no signs of stopping. If anything, his efficiency was increasing.
"Is he a fcking perpetual motion machine?" Cliff muttered, his face a mask of disbelief. "He hasn't stopped for a second!"
The chat channels had erupted.
"HOLY HELL, THE GUY IN THE SURGE GROUNDS IS STILL GOING!"
"For real? It’s been almost an hour. How is he not out of stamina?"
"He's one of the top players on the leaderboard. His limits aren't something we can understand."
"What are you talking about? Ray, Vance, and Caden are on the leaderboard too, and they ran with their tails between their legs! Didn't even try to save all their people!"
"This Calder is a true badass. You think he's gonna kill every last monster in the Surge Grounds by himself?"
"I was wondering why no monsters were chasing us anymore. I was so worried… Thank you, Calder! A grateful heart!"
"Seriously, I was terrified. So many Novice Zones have already become Unclaimed Wastes, and we can't leave. This is a life-saver."
"Calder is a god!"
As Calder's reputation soared in the chat, and a genuine following began to form around his name, Vance's expression soured. He'd let Calder continue, hoping the lone warrior would exhaust himself clearing out the mobs, leaving the boss vulnerable for Vance to swoop in and steal. But the "mantis" was devouring the "cicadas" at an alarming rate without showing the slightest weakness.
"No! I can't wait any longer!" Vance slammed his hand on a table and shot to his feet. "Cliff, get the men ready. We're going back. We're taking that boss!"
The Mummy BOSS was still lingering near the edge of the Summoning Nexus, but the number of lesser monsters on the field was dwindling rapidly. At this rate, Calder would soon be free to engage the boss and claim the kill, the Silver Cache, and the glory that came with it.
That reward—and the number one spot on the leaderboard—will be mine, Vance thought, a cold glint in his eye.
When Vance led his men back to the arena, however, he found the situation wasn't so simple. He wasn't the only one with the idea. Ray and Caden were already there, their own forces gathered in the shadows of the outer ring.
"Well, well, if it isn't the great Guild Master Vance," Ray's voice dripped with sarcasm. He glanced at the depleted group behind Vance and clicked his tongue. "Tsk, tsk. Looks like you lost quite a few of your little followers."
Vance snorted. "Pot, meet kettle. I may have lost men, but you don't have many left yourself."
Ray's sneer froze. It was true. While Vance had suffered the heaviest casualties, Ray was down to his core group of thirty or forty. He was still badly outnumbered by Vance's hundred-strong force. In fact, of the three factions, the one with the highest survival ratio was Caden, who had prioritized protecting his people during the retreat. He still had over a hundred men, a force capable of matching Vance's. But Caden himself was pale, his stance weary; he was clearly not in fighting condition.
Somehow, the brutal chaos of the Beast Surge had led them right back to a delicate, three-way stalemate.
"Alright, let's cut the crap," Vance said. "We all know why we're here. You want the boss."
Ray's face darkened. "You already took one boss, Vance! This one isn't yours to claim."
Caden slammed the butt of his spear onto the ground, his brow furrowed. "He's right. By all rights, you should sit this one out."
Vance was slightly taken aback. It seemed the two had reached an understanding before he'd arrived. This complicated things. After a moment of thought, he spoke. "Fine. I can agree not to contest the fifth-wave boss. But you have to agree to one condition."
Ray raised an eyebrow. "What condition?"
"Simple," Vance said. "We team up."
"Team up? Us?" Ray looked at him as if he'd lost his mind.
Vance gestured with his eyes toward the distant battlefield, where Calder was still a maelstrom of destruction. "After what we just went through, do you really think we are each other's biggest rivals right now? Look over there. That is the real monster."
He paused, letting the reality of the situation sink in. "The only way we get to divide the upcoming bosses equally is if we cooperate. Don't forget, the Novice Grace Period lasts for three days. There will be more trials than just this one."
Ray’s eyes darted back and forth. He was the weakest of the three in terms of numbers; an alliance couldn't hurt him. He’d seen Calder fight, and he had to admit, the man was exactly as Vance described: a monster. Even as the current rank one player, Ray wasn't confident he could take him.
"Alright, fine," Ray decided. "I'm in."
Caden hesitated, his gaze drifting over the tired faces of his followers. Finally, he gave a slow nod. "I agree as well."
CRACK!
The sharp tip of a Chain Scourge punched straight through a Mummy's skull. Unlike the wet, explosive pop of an Ogre's head, the sound was dull and dry, like snapping desiccated wood. The mummified bodies were wiry and tough, possessing far higher defense than the Ogres. A normal Divinely Gifted of the same level would struggle to land a fatal blow.
Calder's effortless one-shot kills were due to two factors. First was the raw power granted by his Blight Index. But the most important reason was `Vital Strike`.
The Eternal Dominion was both a game and a reality. Monsters might have health bars, but like humans, they were not just strings of data. They were living, or unliving, biological entities. A true `Vital Strike` could bypass their stats and result in an instant kill. Even a critical hit could cripple them, leaving them stunned or immobile. With Calder's stats now far surpassing theirs, a single, precise strike to the head was all it took.
【Blight Index: Strength: 25.8】
【Blight Index: Agility: 21.9】
Both stats had risen. The Blight Index in his legs was rapidly catching up to his arms. However, as his own power grew, the Level 2 and Level 3 monsters provided diminishing returns. The speed of his Devour ability was increasing, but the efficiency of the gains was dropping.
Time to kill the boss.
Calder glanced toward the hulking Mummy BOSS, then tilted his head, his eyes sweeping over the outer edge of the Surge Grounds. A cold smile touched his lips. The little rats should be making their move soon.
He gave the hiding spot only a passing look before turning away, feigning ignorance as he began to advance toward the Level 3 Mummy BOSS.
Hidden beneath the spectator stands, the trio saw his movement and a jolt of panic shot through them.
"Dammit! He's going for the boss!" Ray exclaimed.
Vance just laughed. "What's the rush? No matter how high his damage is, he can't one-shot a boss. We wait for him to wear down its health, then we make our move. There's no hurry."
Ray considered this and relaxed. "Alright. But just so we're clear, this boss is mine."
"I won't fight you for it," Caden said, his voice a low rumble.
"Exactly," Vance added smoothly. "One boss each. As for the top spot on the leaderboard… may the best man win."
Ray nodded. "Fine. I'll trust you this once. But if I find out you're screwing me over… hmph." He let out a threatening grunt, but the other two remained silent. Trust was a rare commodity after their earlier conflicts, but for now, the alliance was real. At least, Vance was serious about it for the moment.
There were too many threats on the field. Ray, Caden, and the two B-Tier Gifted in their teams were all dangerous. And then there was Calder—an unknown variable, but quite possibly the as-yet-unseen A-Tier Gifted of Novice Zone 911.
If Calder was left alive, none of them—not Vance, not Ray, not Caden—would ever dominate this zone. Uniting against him was essential.
Calder, B-Tier or A-Tier, you have to die, Vance thought, murderous intent flashing in his eyes. Beside him, Ray was thinking the exact same thing. Even the seemingly righteous Caden had no desire to see Calder walk away from this.
They remained hidden, watching as Calder, just as they'd predicted, closed the distance and engaged the Mummy BOSS. His four Chain Scourges became a blur. Two lashed out at the durable boss, while the other two danced around him, effortlessly dispatching the endless stream of lesser Mummies that swarmed in. His expression was casual, almost bored, as if he wasn't exerting himself in the slightest. The dense horde, the Level 3 boss—nothing could even touch the hem of his clothes.
From their hiding place, the three leaders' eyes widened in shock.
"That guy… Calder… he really is a monster," Ray bit out, forced to admit the truth. He was nowhere near Calder's level. If he were in that situation, he'd be lucky to escape with his life, let alone think about killing the boss.
Vance and Caden were silent, but their grim faces showed they had reached the same conclusion.
"It's time," Ray hissed, his eyes locked on the boss's rapidly depleting health bar. "Its health is below half! Any longer and he'll kill it!"
"Then let's get ready," Vance commanded. "We all strike at once. We have to kill him in a single, decisive blow."
Ray and Caden nodded in unison.
Their combined forces numbered close to three hundred. They crept into the Surge Grounds, their movements masked by the cacophony of Calder's battle. With the sheer number of monsters swarming him, he would never spot their approach. And even if he did, he was pinned down, helpless to retaliate.
It was a trap laid in plain sight. In their minds, Calder was caught between a rock and a hard place. He could either abandon the boss kill, or he could be ambushed while they stole it.
"Faster, faster! The boss is almost dead! Use your skill!" Ray urged Vance, his patience wearing thin.
"Relax. I'm not going to steal your kill." Vance raised a single hand, pointing it toward the heart of the distant battle.
"Gift—`Stormfire`!"
With a deafening roar, a bolt of pure lightning descended from the sky, striking the ground exactly where Calder stood. The battlefield erupted in a blinding flash, instantly engulfed in a raging inferno.
"Beautiful! A direct hit!" Ray's eyes lit up.
Vance smirked. "Of course." A flicker of regret passed through him. A shame I couldn't get the boss in the blast as well...
"Calder's dead, or close to it! Hahaha!" Ray laughed, triumphant. The power of `Stormfire` was undeniable, an absolute killer in these early stages. And it had struck Calder dead-on.
Just as they prepared to rush forward and deliver the finishing blow, a system notification chimed in every player's mind.
【Congratulations to player Calder for successfully killing the Bound Mummy! Reward: Silver Cache x1】
Before they could even process the words, a second announcement followed.
【The Bound Mummy has been defeated. The sixth wave of the Beast Surge will begin shortly. All players, prepare yourselves.】
【10… 9… 8…】
As the countdown ended, the Summoning Nexuses around the arena began to vibrate violently. From within the glowing circles, fat, pale-white worms began to squirm out, writhing toward them in a tide of flesh that was just as numerous as the mummies had been.
"The monsters respawned!?"
"Wait—Calder isn't dead!"
A wave of shock and terror swept through the group. They stared toward the still-burning patch of the field. Out of the flames, a figure was slowly walking.
It was Calder. His entire body was charred black. Where skin was visible, it was a grotesque ruin of blistered, peeling flesh. The sight alone was enough to evoke phantom agony.
But Calder moved as if he felt nothing at all. He turned his head, and through the haze of smoke and heat, he gave them a chilling, terrifying smile.
In that instant, Vance and all the others felt their blood run cold as a wave of pure dread washed over them.