'Darn it!'
Marcus hadn't realized the Newbie Village was so vast. After sprinting for nearly twenty minutes, he finally saw the forest where the black bear resided. Upon reaching the edge of the woods, he saw five Corrupted Mountain Wolves roaming the perimeter, blocking his path.
Looking closely, the central Corrupted Mountain Wolf had pure white fur, without any blemish, and a tall, imposing physique. Its eyes gleamed with a fierce light, revealing a hint of brutality.
It had to be a BOSS. He used Insight on it:
Mountain Wolf King: Leader of the Corrupted Mountain Wolves, Level 15 BOSS, 2000 HP. Skills: Bloodlust, Shadow Wolf.
The other four were ordinary Level 8 Corrupted Mountain Wolves, posing no threat.
The Mountain Wolf King had two skills; it seemed quite formidable. But since it was a BOSS, he naturally had to kill it. Besides, he now had the Fluffy Rabbit's Mask with its Run for Your Life skill. If things went south, he could instantly escape.
-140, -150. He unleashed his Slash skill, easily dispatching the ordinary Corrupted Mountain Wolves in three hits.
In a flash, he killed two Corrupted Mountain Wolves. The Mountain Wolf King charged at him, attacking. -60, -50.
'Alright, I can tank the Mountain Wolf King.'
Ignoring the Mountain Wolf King's attacks, he focused on the other two Corrupted Mountain Wolves, clearing out the smaller monsters first.
-310, -350. High agility, high luck, and high critical hit rate were to be expected. Under his unrestrained assault, the other two Corrupted Mountain Wolves quickly met their demise beneath his sharp blade.
Only the Mountain Wolf King remained. He checked his health; he had lost over 200 HP. He drank a Small Health Potion. Now, it was time to solo the Mountain Wolf King.
The boss was tough, but not impossible. Marcus was consistently hitting for around 100 damage. It was a war of attrition, but with enough potions and patience, he could grind it down.
"Rock, move your ass!" a voice shouted from behind him. Marcus looked up to see three players charging in.
The Mountain Wolf King still had half its health, and he couldn't finish it off immediately. He quickly drank another Small Health Potion and prepared for a fight. In games, kill-stealing and PvP were common occurrences, so it was best to be prepared.
"Stonehaven, you have been attacked by Blaze001 of the Firewind Squad. You may retaliate against members of the Firewind Squad." A -50 damage notification appeared above his head, followed immediately by the system prompt.
'As expected, they're trying to steal the BOSS.' The three newcomers were two Fighters and one Mage. The Mage, Blaze001, was the one who attacked him.
After Blaze001 attacked him, the other two Fighters shouted, "Get out of the way!" and aggressively charged at him.
'Are you for real? These clowns think they can jump me?' A cold smirk touched his lips. 'Fine. I'll make sure they regret it all the way back to the respawn point'
In this game, the PK (Player Kill) rules were as follows:
1. If Player A is attacked by Player B, Player A may legitimately retaliate against Player B within one hour. If Player B kills Player A, Player A's level decreases by one. No equipment is lost, and Player B gains one point of infamy.
Infamy affects the chance of dropping equipment upon death. With 0–5 infamy, one random piece of equipment is dropped. With 5–10 infamy, two pieces are dropped, and so on.
2. If Player A is attacked by Player B and retaliates within one hour, killing Player B in return, Player B drops one to three random pieces of equipment, and their level decreases by two to five. Player A does not gain infamy.
3. If Player A is attacked by Player B, and Player B is in a party, Player A can legitimately retaliate against all members of Player B's party.
4. If Player A attacks a red-named Player B with ten or more infamy, the red-named player only has ten minutes to retaliate. Killing a red-named player does not increase Player A's infamy. The red-named player's level drops by (infamy ÷ 10), and the number of dropped equipment pieces depends on their infamy.
5. If Player A attacks a red-named Player B with ten or more infamy and red-named Player B successfully retaliates, Player A drops one piece of equipment, their level decreases by one, and red-named Player B does not gain infamy.
6. For red-named players with less than ten infamy, the PK rules follow the same conditions as Rules 1 and 2.
—
When the two Fighters charged forward, Marcus didn't retreat or dodge. Instead, he moved to meet them head-on.
The two of them were clearly surprised. A single player daring to face both of them at once wasn't something they saw every day. For a brief moment, Marcus's calm expression and confident posture made them hesitate.
Seriously? They looked utterly unprepared, and their slow reactions made them look almost afraid.
Marcus wasn't laughing, though. This situation was dangerous; two Fighters, a Mage, and the Mountain Wolf King boss all attacking together. Even he couldn't guarantee victory under such pressure. The Wolf King's attacks were vicious and relentless.
But that was exactly what he wanted. His plan was to lure the Mountain Wolf King into the middle of the two Fighters, turning the battlefield into chaos where he could take advantage.
He had no intention of revealing his full strength. These three weren't real threats to him, but since this was still early in the game, he didn't want to stand out too much. Keeping a low profile was better.
Marcus moved swiftly, circling the two Fighters a few times, downing a Small Health Potion as he went. Within moments, he had successfully lured the Mountain Wolf King toward Ash001, who suddenly found himself under attack. Forced to defend, Ash001 had no choice but to stop chasing Marcus and focus on the boss.
The two Fighters were brothers, Ash001 and Rock001. The first specialized in defense, the second in offense.
"Damn, this BOSS hits hard! Rock, help me out here!" Ash001 shouted, barely keeping his health above zero. Damage numbers floated above his head; minus eighty, minus ninety, stacking up faster than he could handle. He was built like a tank, with his stat points split in a one-to-four ratio between Strength and Constitution, but it wasn't enough. When the Mountain Wolf King activated Bloodlust, draining ten HP per second for ten seconds, panic set in.
Without his two Medium Health Potions, he'd already be dead.
Marcus couldn't help raising an eyebrow. He hadn't expected Ash001 to crumble that fast. After only a few hits, the man was already begging for help. Rock001 had no choice but to break away from chasing Marcus and turn back to protect his brother.
Marcus smirked. With that kind of strength and teamwork, they really thought they could steal a BOSS? How embarrassing.
He ignored the two Fighters and rushed straight at the Mage, Blaze001. Ranged attackers were always the biggest annoyance.
The moment Blaze001 saw Marcus barreling toward him, panic flashed across his face. Mages were slow, far slower than Fighters, and he immediately turned to run; straight back toward his teammates, hoping they could cover him.
But then a deep, echoing howl split the air. The Mountain Wolf King had activated Shadow Wolf, summoning four phantom wolves that lunged at the players. Before Rock001 could react, the wolves tore through him, dropping his HP to zero in seconds. Ash001 managed to block one hit, but the next swipe from the Wolf King sent him flying; straight back to the respawn point.
Blaze001 froze, watching the chaos unfold. In just moments, his two companions had been wiped out, by the same BOSS they were trying to steal. He barely had time to process what happened before Marcus caught up. Three quick slashes, one of them a critical hit, and Blaze001 let out a strangled cry before collapsing. A piece of equipment clattered to the ground beside him.
'Pathetic.'
Not even a challenge. With their strength and coordination, they actually thought they could take this BOSS? Laughable. Still, Marcus knew that losing levels would sting. He wondered just how many they'd lost.
---
Player Death Rules:
1. For PK deaths, refer to the PK rules above.
2. If a player is killed by a normal monster, their level drops by one, and no equipment is lost.
3. If a player is killed by a BOSS, their level decreases randomly by one to five, and they drop one to two random pieces of equipment.
4. If a red-named player with less than twenty infamy is killed by a monster, the same death penalties apply as in rules 2 and 3.
5. If a red-named player with more than twenty infamy is killed by a monster, their death penalty increases randomly but will not exceed three times the standard penalty.
—
Marcus hoped those three wouldn't take it too hard. Anyone who'd played online games long enough knew that PK was just part of it. If you were going to pick fights, you had to be ready for the consequences. Someone was bound to die.
PK was simple: either you killed, or you got killed. There was no middle ground.
—
"Are you shitting me? I just lost three levels! What about you, Ash?" Rock001 groaned, clutching his head at the respawn point.
"I'm fine," Ash001 muttered in a tight voice. "But my goddamn sword dropped."
"That guy was a monster! The counterattack penalty knocked me down three levels. I just hit eight, for fuck's sake!" Blaze001 looked like he was about to punch a wall. "At least I didn't lose any gear."
The three friends stood there, comparing their brutal losses, faces etched with pure frustration.
"Dammit! That Fighter!" Blaze001 suddenly shouted, his face paling.
"What now?" Rock001 asked, dread in his voice.
"The treasure map! It dropped!"
"You have GOT to be kidding me. We have to get it back, now!"
Without another thought, the three of them bolted back toward the mountain trail, completely ignoring the fact that they'd just been utterly outclassed.
---
Marcus, meanwhile, had no idea that the trio from Firewind were in an uproar. When he killed Blaze001, he had seen an item drop, but before he could grab it, the Mountain Wolf King lunged at him, forcing him back into combat.
There wasn't much suspense left in the fight. Marcus moved like a blade in motion; swift strikes, critical hits, relentless pressure. Within moments, the Mountain Wolf King let out a final, echoing roar and collapsed, dropping four items and two gold coins at his feet.
"Congratulations, Stonehaven. You have slain the BOSS: Mountain Wolf King. Reputation +10."
"Congratulations, Stonehaven. Your skill 'Slash' has increased to Level 2."
The system notifications rang sweetly in his ears. Marcus smiled and stooped to collect the five items left behind by the fallen BOSS.