With the Weasel Demon's health dropping to 50%, Kaito's eyes narrowed. The beast still looked ferocious, but he no longer felt the weight of dread pressing against him. Its trump cards—Overlord Body and Berserk—had already been unleashed. All that remained were its regular skills, and without its invincibility, even its speed boost couldn't save it.
The real threat had already passed.
"Now, it's over," Kaito muttered under his breath.
He surged forward, his blade flashing. [Cut!] The strike landed with explosive force, sending the demon's hulking body hurtling upward into the air. Without hesitation, Kaito bent his knees and launched after it, his body propelled by the combined force of Windwheel Steps and Mana Steps.
The battlefield blurred.
Steel met flesh again and again as Kaito's sword rained down mercilessly. Each slash carved across vital points—the neck, the chest, the joints—never giving the demon a chance to retaliate. Suspended in midair, the Weasel Demon was helpless, flailing but unable to muster its skills.
Below, the team could only watch in awe. They saw only afterimages—Kaito and the demon locked in a deadly dance, blades sparking, shadows splitting, howls tearing through the air.
"This… this is aerial locking…" Hiroto whispered, his voice trembling.
Eight long minutes passed like that, the clash resounding with every furious strike. Then, as if the storm had passed, Kaito finally descended, landing softly on the ground like a feather. His blade dripped with blood and sparks of fire.
The Weasel Demon crashed down moments later, howling in despair, its hateful gaze fixed on Kaito. Its body convulsed once, twice—then stilled. The beast's final roar was drowned out by the silence of its defeat.
Hiroto and Daichi's eyes gleamed with disbelief and admiration. As fellow melee fighters, they understood better than anyone the difficulty of what they had just witnessed. Before this, they had already envied Merrin for mastering the Twisting Arrow Technique, thinking her ability to lock down enemies from a distance was unmatched.
But what Kaito had shown them now was something else entirely.
This was not the advantage of distance. This was raw, unyielding close-quarters dominance—treating a monster that dwarfed him in size like nothing more than a ragdoll.
At that moment, they both realized the truth: even without them, even without any of the others, Kaito could have brought down the Weasel Demon alone.
Then—
Ding!
A crisp system prompt echoed in everyone's ears:
"You have slain the Hidden Boss: Furious Yellow Weasel.
Experience gained: +15,565."
The entire party received the message simultaneously, and for a brief moment, silence hung in the air. Then the reality of their victory sank in.
As the Weasel Demon finally collapsed into silence, its massive body dissolving into particles of light, Kaito let out a long breath. His chest rose and fell, exhaustion finally catching up to him, though his blade was still firm in his hand.
Even in his past life, he had never encountered such a creature. The fight had pushed him to his limits, leaving him shaken but also sharpened. This victory, brutal as it was, etched itself into his memory as an experience unlike any other.
Then came the familiar chime.
Ding!
A cascade of items scattered across the ground where the demon had fallen—glittering weapons, ornate tomes, and a pile of gold that shimmered in the dungeon's faint glow.
Ding! You have obtained [45 Skill Books].
Ding! You have obtained [65 Pieces of Equipment].
Ding! You have obtained [1000 Gold Coins].
Kaito's brows lifted slightly. "Not bad," he murmured.
The Weasel had been a master of illusions, masquerading as a bard, which explained its absurdly generous loot. A monster designed to trick players had to be armed with tricks worth coveting.
He crouched, sifting through the spread of skill books. Most were irrelevant to his class, though he did find three that resonated with his path. One increased his attack power—a steady boost that was always welcome. Another offered a solid increase to his defense.
The third, however, caught his attention.
[Golden Body] (Rare Skill)
Effect: Enter an invincible state for 1 second.
Cooldown: 2 hours
Mana Consumption: 100 MP
Kaito's eyes sharpened. One second of invincibility might sound insignificant, but in the right moment, it was the difference between life and death. Timing would make this skill divine.
"Good," he whispered, though the mana cost made his temples ache. Between Odin's Wrath, Mana Steps, and Mirror Phantom Blade, his MP was already stretched thin. Still, the potential was undeniable.
He didn't hoard the rest. With a flick of his wrist, he displayed the remaining skill books for his teammates. "Pick the ones that suit you. Whatever's left, I'll send to Genesis."
The team stepped forward eagerly. Each person selected what aligned with their class. By the end, everyone walked away with something new, their excitement palpable.
Lucien obtained two powerful fire-based spells:
[Inferno Surge] – A concentrated eruption of flame that seared everything in a small radius.
[Flame Serpent] – Summons a blazing serpent that lunges forward, dealing continuous burn damage.
Daichi secured two monk techniques:
[Iron Fist Howl] – A heavy strike that amplifies attack power for a short duration.
[Mountain Root Stance] – Temporarily increases stability and resistance to knockback.
Mei rin received two invaluable ranger skills:
[Volley Barrage] – Rapidly fires a rain of arrows in succession, overwhelming the enemy with continuous damage.
[Elemental Arrow: Tempest] – Fires an arrow imbued with the power of wind, dealing bonus piercing damage and pushing enemies back.
Nina's Skills who was a Frost Elemental Mage:
[Glacial Spike] – Condenses frigid mana into a massive shard of ice that pierces the target, dealing heavy frost damage and slowing movement for 3 seconds.
[Frozen Domain] – Creates a chilling field around the caster for 10 seconds, reducing enemy attack speed and increasing frost spell damage within its range.
Aika, ever the team's cleric, gained:
[Purify] – Removes negative debuffs and harmful status effects from allies.
Hiroto, whose eyes gleamed as he flipped through the knight-specific tomes, learned:
[Shieldbreaker Slash] – A devastating attack designed to cleave through enemy defenses.
Kaede also got a skill suitable for his lightning elemental mage class,
[Stormburst Field] – Deals continuous lightning damage in a circular zone for several seconds. Illusions and invisibility effects are dispelled on impact.
For Raven Blade and Suzune, fate had played a trick—they both ended up drawn to the same rare assassin skill:
[Shadow Sever] – A technique that slips past defenses and targets an enemy's life force directly, dealing critical damage and inflicting a brief weakness debuff.
By the end of the selection, only thirty skill books remained. Without hesitation, Kaito sent them directly to his second uncle through the system's mailbox, telling him to distribute them to those in Genesis who needed them most.
After Kaito finished sorting through the loot, a sudden chime echoed in his ears.
Ding! You have made a valuable contribution to the Astralis City region by defeating the hidden boss [Furious Yellow Weasel]. Your achievement will be recorded in the Hall of Fame of Astralis City. A region-wide announcement will now be made. Do you wish to hide your party name?
Kaito froze for a moment, blinking at the unexpected prompt. In his previous life, this same monster had only been slain after thousands of players swarmed it together. He had never once imagined that killing it with a team would trigger such a prestigious reward.
A faint smile tugged at his lips. So this is another hidden benefit… Perfect.
Without hesitation, he chose No.
He wanted Genesis to shine in the public eye as soon as possible. The earlier their name spread, the easier it would be to attract talented individuals to their side. And nothing drew attention faster than having one's name announced across an entire region.
The next instant, golden words echoed through the Astralis region.
…..
[Region-Wide Announcement]
Congratulations to player [Raen] and his team [Genesis] for slaying the hidden boss [Furious Yellow Weasel] in the Misty Valley! Their achievement has been recorded in the Hall of Fame of Astralis City. They are rewarded with +100 Gold Coins.
A second wave of brilliance flashed across the skies of Astralis.
[Region-Wide Announcement]
Congratulations to player [Raen] and his team [Genesis] for slaying the hidden boss [Furious Yellow Weasel] in the Misty Valley! Their achievement has been recorded in the Hall of Fame of Astralis City. They are rewarded with +100 Reputation in the Astralis City region.
And then, a third ripple followed immediately after.
[Region-Wide Announcement]
Congratulations to player [Raen] and his team [Genesis] for slaying the hidden boss [Furious Yellow Weasel] in the Misty Valley! Their achievement has been recorded in the Hall of Fame of Astralis City. They are rewarded with +1 Skill Point.