[Target Eliminated: Level 8 Champion "Mistwood Boa Guardian". Over-Level Bonus applied (+50%). Experience +180.]
Ethan Sorel ignored the chime of the system notifications. His focus was locked on the larger threat. With a sharp flick of his wand, a bolt of ghostly blue flame streaked through the air, detonating against the skull of the Mistwood Boa Rex.
The battle for the boss’s life had officially begun.
-288!
The Mistwood Boa Rex hissed, its slit pupils flickering with a predatory light as it faced the twenty-four Skeletons closing in. It was a Silver-Tier boss, the gatekeeper of an Inferno Difficulty dungeon, but against the relentless advance of the Ossian Legion, its intimidation was wasted. The undead soldiers didn't feel fear; they only knew Ethan’s command.
Iron blades and jagged spears hacked into the boss’s iridescent scales from every angle.
The Boa Rex let out a guttural roar of agony. In a desperate frenzy, it unhinged its jaw and swallowed one Skeleton whole. Simultaneously, its massive, muscular coils lashed out, constricting another soldier in a bone-crushing embrace.
Under normal circumstances, this would be a death sentence for a summon. But these weren't normal summons. With a Shared Life Pool totaling over 300,000 HP, a few thousand damage was a rounding error.
The rest of the Legion didn't even pause. They tore into the serpent with a cold, mechanical efficiency, carving away nearly ten thousand health points with every coordinated volley.
Despair began to sink into the boss’s primitive mind. From the distance, it saw the human—the source of this nightmare—casually wave his wand again. Two more Skeletons clawed their way out of the dirt to join the fray.
The Mistwood Boa Rex had never expected to be lynched by a mob in its own lair. It should have counted itself lucky; if its hitboxes were larger and its health bar deeper, Ethan would have unleashed all one hundred Skeletons to bury it in white bone.
RUMBLE—
As its health plummeted like a waterfall, the Boa Rex triggered its ultimate. Its massive tail slammed into the cavern floor with rhythmic, violent force.
[Earthshatter!]
Shockwaves tore through the ground. Ethan felt the world tilt, his balance shattered as the Tremor status effect locked his skills. Sensing its opening, the Boa Rex lunged, its maw wide as it spat a globule of concentrated green venom directly at the "weak" human controller.
The Silver-Tier's intelligence was sharp enough to recognize the head of the snake. If the human died, the Legion would crumble.
As the toxic spray drenched Ethan, a flicker of reptilian cunning crossed the boss’s eyes. Stupid human. Once the poison takes hold, you're dead.
The reality was far less satisfying.
Ethan stood in the center of the toxic cloud, his expression bored. Numbers popped over his head: -938, -196, -196…
A thirty-second DoT (Damage over Time) tick began, a lethal amount of damage for any Level 5 player. But for Ethan? It was a mosquito bite. With twenty-six Skeletons active, his effective health pool was three times larger than that of the Level 8 Silver Boss itself.
Who was the real boss here?
The Earthshatter effect hadn't even worn off before the Ossian Legion hacked the Boa Rex into a bloody heap. The Skeleton that had been swallowed even managed to crawl back out of the serpent’s cooling gullet, its health bar barely down by a fifth. Aside from being covered in acidic slime, it was perfectly fine.
[Slayer Confirmed: Level 8 Silver-Tier BOSS “Mistwood Boa Rex”. Experience +14,400 (Bonus included).]
The massive XP drop catapulted Ethan’s experience bar to 73%. After Level 5, the curve steepened significantly, requiring 20,000 points to level—a threshold meant to separate the casuals from the elites. To Ethan, it was just a Tuesday.
The system wasn't finished.
[Congratulations! You are the first player in Starter Village #9527 to solo a BOSS. Rewards: Soulstone of Vitality I ×1, Gold Coin ×1.]
[Congratulations! You are the first player in Starter Village #9527 to solo a Silver-Tier BOSS. Rewards: Soulstone of Vitality I ×5, Gold Coin ×5.]
[System Notice: Global Announcement pending for Starter Village #9527. Would you like to hide your name?]
"No," Ethan said, a cold smirk playing on his lips.
The mysterious voice that had heralded the Mass Convergence suddenly boomed across the entire starting zone, echoing in the minds of every player.
[Starter Village #9527 Announcement: Congratulations to "Whitenox" for the World First solo kill of a BOSS! May all players strive to follow his example for great rewards!] (x3)
[Starter Village #9527 Announcement: Congratulations to "Whitenox" for the World First solo kill of a Silver-Tier BOSS!...] (x3)
The six-fold announcement set the region ablaze. The world chat channel turned into a chaotic blur of scrolling text.
"Soloing a boss? A Silver-Tier? You've got to be shitting me."
"Is the game broken? How is that even possible?"
Thousands of players stood frozen in the fields, staring at their screens while the Scratchhens and Bloodeye Hares they were struggling to kill took the opportunity to peck them to death.
"Who the hell is Whitenox? What kind of insane Talent did he roll?"
"Has to be S-Rank. Maybe even SS. Myriad Realms is totally unbalanced. I'm barely surviving a rabbit, and this guy is soloing Silver Bosses? Where's the fairness?"
"Fairness? Welcome to the new world, loser. Some people are born kings, the rest of us are just fodder."
Powerful factions and aspiring pro-teams immediately began scouring their contacts, desperate to find this "Whitenox" before someone else recruited him.
In a Level 4 hunting zone, a high-efficiency party paused their grind. Their movements were crisp, their gear far superior to the average player.
"So, you have to solo it to get the announcement?" an older, portly man mused, his tone tinged with annoyance. "If we’d known that, we would’ve let Maple take that Black Iron boss alone."
WealthSupreme, the man speaking, looked toward his party's ace. MapleWhisper, a spearman who had just pierced through a mob for over 400 damage, shook his head solemnly.
"It wouldn't have mattered," MapleWhisper said, wiping a copper coin and handing it to his leader. "Whitenox is on another level. I have an S-Tier Talent, but a Silver-Tier boss? Solo? I’d be dead in ten seconds. He’s likely an SS-Tier. And a combat-oriented one at that."
WealthSupreme’s eyes widened. "SS-Tier? You think we can get him on the payroll?"
"I’ll try to send an invite," WealthSupreme added, though his confident facade flickered. In a world where your life was the currency, a man like Whitenox was worth more than any amount of gold.
Ethan’s communicator was vibrating so hard it felt like it would explode. 999+ friend requests in less than a minute.
"Decline all," he muttered. He toggled his settings to 'Block Search' and turned his attention to the real prizes.
He summoned two fresh Skeletons to replace the worn ones and opened his inventory while the Legion scouted ahead. He found exactly what he’d hoped for.
[Soulstone of Vitality I]
Special Item: Consuming this increases Lifespan by 30 days.
Note: This item has a 10% drop-on-death penalty.
"Actual lifespan..." Ethan whispered. The Soulstone was a polished sphere the size of a baby’s fist, radiating a soft, rhythmic white light.
Lifespan was the sword of Damocles hanging over every player’s head. He had expected it to be a late-game luxury, but six of them were sitting in his bag. Half a year of life. To the dying billionaires of the old world, this would be worth more than their entire empires combined.
"And for me, it’s even better," Ethan grinned.
[Cataclysm!]
[Target: Soulstone of Vitality I]
[Select Ascension: Tier 1 / Tier 2 / Tier 3]
"Tier 2," he tested.
[System: Sublimation to Tier 2 requires 10,000 Soul Coins. Insufficient resources.]
"Soul Coins?" Ethan frowned. A higher-tier currency, likely not even available in the Starter Village yet. He pivoted. "Tier 1 then."
[System: Confirming zero-cost Ascension of Soulstone of Vitality I to Tier 1?]
"Confirm."
[You have obtained: Soulstone of Vitality II]
Special Item: Increases Lifespan by 120 days.
The multiplier was insane. Ethan didn't hesitate. He processed the remaining five stones, but only consumed one. His status now showed "Less than 1 year," but he knew he had at least 120 days of safety. He saved the rest. If he could find enough Soul Coins later, he could potentially turn these into years, or even decades.
Using them now was a waste of potential growth.
As he finished, his Skeletons returned, carrying the spoils of the Boa Rex.
Silver coins—thirty of them. For the first time, a monster had dropped actual currency rather than just vendor trash. Then there were the items: five pieces of gear and two skill books.
Ethan ran his [Cataclysm] talent over the lot.
[Serpentscale Hauler]: A 100-slot expansion bag.
[Ring of Virulent Venom (Gold-Tier)]: +30 Spell Power, +10 Agility, +10 Spirit. Passive: Spells have a chance to proc 150 poison damage.
The rest of the gear was for physical classes—valuable, but useless to him. He shoved them into his new bag to sell later. The two skill books were only D-Rank, proving that even boss drops in Myriad Realms were stingy when it came to abilities.
He was about to summon more Skeletons when his eyes drifted to his active skill list.
[Summon Skeleton]
His heart skipped a beat. If he could upgrade items, why not the foundation of his power?
[Cataclysm!]
[Target: Summon Skeleton]
[Tier 2]
[System: Confirm consumption of 5 Gold Coins to Sublimate "Summon Bone Minion" to a higher rank?]
Ethan winced. Five Gold Coins was his entire fortune. But money was just a tool to buy power, and his Legion was the only power that mattered.
"Do it."
The icon for [Summon Skeleton] began to warp, the white bone shifting into something darker, sharper, and far more terrifying.