(Gavin)

After a lunch of turkey, salad, and fruit, Zack takes us out to the fields, where Max takes off to start killing Slimes. After Luca climbs off his back and sits on some rocks, Zack pulls me aside.

"By the way," he says. "I noticed you tensing up when I mentioned rats."

I feel myself tense up again. I don't know why, but something about rats makes me uneasy. Just hearing that word makes me uneasy.

"I'm not scared of them," I tell him.

"It's not bad to be scared of things," he runs his fingers through his hair. "Even I'm scared of things. Even the most badass people in the Boundary are scared of things."

"I find it difficult to believe that you could be scared of something," I tell him.

"Maybe," he shrugs. "But I am. Now, the rats you'll be fighting are hiding in the rocks. There aren't many, and they'll all be Level 1, though there might be a Level 2 here or there. They're large for a rat, being monsters, and will fight back. There should only be plain rats around."

"I don't have Swords Mastery," I tell him. "And I'm sore from that workout."

"If you're suddenly ambushed by monsters," he tells me. "While out on a hunt, they won't care if you're sore or exhausted. They'll attack, and they'll take advantage of any weakness or moment they can. If you're hurt badly, Luca or I will heal you. We'll only do that if your Health drops too low, otherwise, your Vitality will increase slower."

It sounds like you just want to see me get hurt, especially since you're a Dark Knight.

"Now get fighting," he tells me. "If you want to get better, this is one of the ways to do it, and once you have Squire, this is how you'll acquire Experience before you can handle goblins. There are off days, of course, and you can rest and relax in the evenings."

He walks over to the rocks with Luca, and I glare at him. I know I agreed to serve for this, but all of this fighting and training, now that it is time, feels a bit uncomfortable for me. I send a prayer to Lord Light of Air, asking for strength as I look for the first cluster of rocks. The one Zack and Luca are on probably doesn't have any rats hiding in it.

----------------------------------------

(Zack)

Max picked up on Gavin's fear of rats, and is currently sneaking up with a dead one in his mouth. Just before Max reaches him, Gavin senses him and turns around, then screams and starts running, and Max chases after him.

I should probably stop Max, but this is hilarious to watch and no one's in danger at the moment. Since I killed almost everything in the fields, anything they come across won't be too strong and Max will handle them.

Unless they leave this area of the fields, but I doubt it. Max knows the boundaries, I made sure he learned them over the last few days because of stuff like this. Training him for that was actually pretty easy, he began memorizing the boundaries as soon as he started finding himself flying back after reaching a certain point.

Okay, maybe I could've done it some other way, but watching him tumble through the air, then land on all fours and growl with his tail sticking straight up was fun. He'd always stop once he realized it was me who sent him flying and not 'evil beasties'.

After letting Max have his fun for a few minutes, I nod at Luca, who aims his staff at the beastborn's path, then throws it. A few moments later, it meets its target, slamming into Max's side and sending him tumbling, the rat dropping out of his mouth as he catches himself.

"Max!" I holler. "Back to killing slimes!"

"Yes, Boss!" Max grabs the rat and starts eating it as he takes off to kill more slimes.

"I'll fetch your staff," I tell Luca, then walk over to it. Gavin's looking pissed. "Relax, Gavin, Max was just having fun."

"That wasn't funny!"

"Consider it a lesson in honesty," I tell him as I pick up the staff, then throw it back to Luca. "You lied to me, so I let him do it after he realized you were scared of rats and wanted to chase you. Among beastborn, stuff like that's actually quite normal."

"Harassing others?"

"Forcing them to face their fears," I state. "It's something you'll have to do. In the end, that's the only way to overcome them."

"You said you have fears," he looks unhappy. "Do you face them?"

"Every time I take my gaze off a teammate," I answer. "Every time I let one near danger. Every time one of you is near a monster, even if you can fight it. Every time one of you is near someone I don't know without me around. My greatest fear is losing another of you. Now get to training, Gavin. I expect you to have Sword Mastery by the time we're done here."

I turn and return to Luca, then watch as Gavin hesitantly approaches some rocks and does his best to attack the rat that launches itself at him. The warrior screams, striking out blindly with his sword. He does manage to kill the thing, and the next one, but it takes him almost five rats and two rock clusters to not freak out and blindly attack.

Unfortunately, it looks like he still has a ways to go before he calms down, and once he stops to catch his breath, he stares at the blood, then starts puking. I suppose it's not normal to be able to manage seeing the blood and gore, and once he began to collect himself, he noticed.

I have to give him credit, though – he returns to hunting rats in no time, even if he does puke again after a few more kills.

At some point, Luca tugs on my sleeve, and I give him a curious look.

"Are you not killing the slimes that spawn while we're here?" He asks.

"You noticed?" I ask.

"You usually do," he says. "Small shifts in how you're sitting."

"Nah," I point at Max, who's currently chasing a Fire Slime while hollering that it needs to stop absorbing his fire in his broken speech. "Max is having fun, and fresh slimes are just as much a source of Experience as any other Level 1 Slime, even if only minor."

"Oh," he looks thoughtful for a few moments. "What's special about a Copper Slime? What's it do?"

"A what?" I've never heard of that kind of slime before.

"That kind of slime," he points at a slime around thirty feet away.

It's copper in color, and is hopping up and down. Looking around, it's not the only one, there are two others. They weren't here last time I looked at everything, which was a couple of hours ago… and I haven't killed any such slimes. Or heard of them.

But the next Holiday Monster is the one for Easter, and they're not Candy Slimes.

Copper Slime Level 1 Health: 89 Mana: 27

Interesting…

I quickly kill it.

+1 copper!

It gave me a copper? But why would it… unless…

"Stay here," I return to Luca, then dash to a nearby tree and jump to its top, landing on the highest branch I can and looking out across the fields.

There's Max, scolding a Water Slime for not taking much damage from his Fireballs. There's Gavin, wrestling with his fears while taking damage, Luca healing him when his Health drops too low.

And there are these new slimes. I count eighty-seven of the Copper Slimes. They sure spawned in abundance. I also count a Silver Slime. I'm curious if they all drop money related to their type, or if it's just a chance of it.

As I scan the fields to see if there are any other types of these special monsters, a winged figure flies towards us from Maelnor. I wave to it, then hop out of the tree, and Nik lands in front of me.

"I take it you were looking at the new monsters?" He asks.

"Yes," I nod. "No one's mentioned any such type of slime to me before."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"That's because they're rare," he looks around. "They always drop money of their type equal to their Level. For every one hundred of the Copper Slimes, you might find one Silver Slime, and so on, just like our currency."

"So them spawning here is a rarity?" I ask.

"An extreme one," he nods. "They only appear in nine places across the entire Boundary. There's another rare type, the Clover Slime. It's green in color and drops an item called the Lucky Charm."

That makes me hungry.

"The Lucky Charm?" I ask.

"Yes," he nods. "A bracelet. Its effect lasts seven days, though the item itself lasts forever, as long as it isn't destroyed."

"Is it edible?"

"Uh, no," he gives me a funny look.

"Had to ask."

"Why?" He asks. "Wait, never mind. It's you."

"What's it do?"

"Increases drop rate from all solo kills," he answers. "And grants one copper per Level of a monster with solo kills, provided it's not a 'starter' monster like a rat or slime."

I let out an appreciative whistle at that. It sounds like a useful item. Fuck.

"That means a lot of people are coming out here, doesn't it?" I dart over and kill a nearby Copper Slime. "Fuck."

"No," he answers. "Maelnor is under a special order. Only those participating in the battle or preparations for it may come out here now. This was decided on both by the council that's now running the City and the king. Prince Joseph is backing this as well. So the only people who might come out here for it are those who would be coming out here anyway."

"What's the boss monster?"

"Why do you think there's a boss-never mind," he shakes his head. "Just so you know, the slimes aren't the only new monster that comes with this. There's the Lucky Goblin, which is just as lucky as its name sounds. They're quick, tricky things. Tricksters, a bit like you sometimes. They drop the Lucky Clover, a four-leaf clover token that awards a random amount of money between one and five and of a random type."

Damn, that sounds awesome. It probably as a higher chance for a lower type, so copper is probably the most common reward.

"Any others?" I ask. "Or are you going to tell me about the boss?"

Nick scratches his head, frowning a little.

"What?"

"The boss," he says. "Is an Ultimate Monster. No one's ever slain one before. All we know, once these things appear, is that in around a month or so, it appears. There will be one in each of the nine areas these things spawned in, and only one.

"It's called the Greed Lord," he tells me. "And is a type of goblin. When it appears, a rainbow forms, showing its location, which rests at the end of the rainbow."

"With a pot of gold?"

He sighs.

"This is something from your world, isn't it?"

"Most are," I shrug. "It's a myth, a legend, not reality, not there."

"Figures," he sighs. "It has a pot of gold with it, which is what the rainbow actually stops on. The Greed Lord is a trickster with high speed and a tough hide. It uses magic and illusions to deceive and wound its foes, though it also uses physical attacks."

"And no one's ever slain one?"

"Correct," he nods. "Unlike normal Holiday Bosses, it's not around for just a day, but for three days."

Sounds like the Nian. Did that count as an Ultimate Boss? If so, there's no Subclass or Title for it.

"It's powerful," he says. "According to Normar, the best option is to just avoid getting within a hundred yards of it. We do know it always spawns in an open space, even though it would seem like something like woods would be better for it."

I nod, thinking this over. Normar's encountered them before, and he, someone who damaged a Nian a fair bit, advises to flee from it.

"In addition," Nik says. "Something that's been known for thousands of years, based on comments from the Crystals, is that there's something special about when it's killed."

"Something special?" I ask.

"Yes," he shrugs. "We don't actually know what it is, as according to them, they don't know."

"We don't!" Big Flame tells me. "Only System knows, and he's never told us. We've never really asked, he's just mentioned it in passing a few times."

"Is the Nian an Ultimate Boss?" I ask.

"No," he answers. "Though it does come close. Ultimate Bosses are rare. Some are seasonal, like your St. Patrick's beast that's coming up, and some are all-seasons or special times. The Nian Lord would be the Ultimate Boss of the Nians, but it's even more difficult to beat than the Greed Lord. I would not recommend trying to fight it until at least your second Ascension. With probably a few others who have hit that as well."

"And the Greed Lord?"

"I dunno," he responds. "I do know that System mentioned that it drops a ton of powerful resources. We think he means things like Primordial Essences and such, but we aren't sure."

"Alright," I focus my power.

He said they've never asked Big S before, so it's possible he'll answer when asked. Mustering what I can of my power, I push my thoughts to Big S.

"WAKEY WAKEY!"

"Jeez!" Big S exclaims. "Can't a guy nap? Oh, hey, Zack."

He yawns in my head, probably to make a point.

"Hey, Big S," I say, and Nik raises an eyebrow. "So the Greed Lord seems to be spawning in Naelmar Valley in a month or so."

"Ouch," he comments. "That thing is powerful. It's an Ultimate Boss, so if it's killed, it'll drop a ton of powerful resources."

"Like Primordial Essences?"

"And more," that's confirmation.

"Big S," I say. "Big Flame told me that you mentioned there's something special about when it dies?"

"Oh, that?" He asks. "Yeah, unlike most monsters, Ultimate Monsters, when killed, do not divide the reward between the slayers. Instead, those who had full participation in it receive the full rewards. They aren't meant to be slain except by beings at or near the first Ascension… or beyond. And in groups. The kind of people who need powerful resources."

"Wait," I say. "What do you mean by 'full participation'?"

"Those who fully participate in the fight," he explains. "A healer who just gives one buff won't get anything, but a healer who constantly heals and supports the attackers will. Someone who attacks for a share of the rewards won't, but someone who constantly fights and does their best to slay it will. Sadly, no one's ever managed to kill an Ultimate Boss before, though there are currently enough powerful Adventurers that, with powerful enough gear, it might be possible.

"Now if you don't mind," he yawns again. "I'm still exhausted, so I'm going back to sleep."

His presence fades from my mind as my thoughts are forced out of his domain, and I look at Nik, then relay what Big S said.

"Understood," he says. "With the armor and weapons forged with your Primordial Essence, it might be possible to kill it, then."

Most who had something forged only had a weapon or piece of equipment forged. Primordial Essence can be stretched, but not that far. Even still, there are more powerful Adventurers than the Boundary has ever had before…

If one ignores the numbers before the Kaelmar Avatar Massacre, as it's now called. The only reason I can see people holding back against this thing is if they're nervous of another event like that. I'm sure Nik and his crew would come to assist me, and the Fallen Hunters might join in, too.

That might be enough.

"Yes," I nod. "If you see Normar before tonight, tell him I want to speak with him."

"Will do," he nods. "I'll see how many people would be willing to give killing it a try. They may be hesitant to with how impossible it's always seemed, especially after the massacre."

"I was thinking the same thing," I nod. "If things get dire enough, those of us who go will probably have a way out."

"Indeed," he smiles a little. "I'll see you later, Zack. I just wanted to let you know, as I knew you'd probably be curious. And yes, the slimes do have a high spawn rate, and no, most probably won't come out this way since it's your training grounds. You've earned yourself a reputation, and they have the entire valley to farm."

I grin at Nik, who takes off back towards Maelnar. I return to sitting beside Luca, who looks annoyed.

"What?" I ask.

"Gavin got hurt 'cause Max chased a Wind Slime towards him."

"Was it intentional?" I ask.

"No," he still seems upset.

"Then it was an accident," I say. "Did Max apologize?"

"He went 'Sorry Gavin-friend' and took off after the slime."

"That's just how Max is," I ruffle his hair. "He didn't mean for Gavin to get hurt. I take it you healed him?"

Luca nods.

"Good job," I pull him in for a hug. "It's okay, Luca. Max cares about the rest of the team as well. He doesn't call just anyone 'friend', you know."

"Yeah," he shrugs.

We return to watching the pair train, occasionally healing them if needed, then I take them back home and send them to the bath as I start dinner. I'm halfway through when I sense Nathan behind me. I can hear him doing something, and turn to find him setting stuff on the counter.

Boxes of chocolate, bottles of wine, piles of platinum, marbles…

"Nathan?" I ask. "Why did you just put five thousand platinum on the counter?"

"Is this enough?" He gestures to the loot he's set out.

"For what?"

"Two Primordial Essences?"

"Just the money will do," I tell him. "And… that's a bit more than Jackson and I were charging."

He looks at the whole pile of loot and frowns.

"What about the rest?"

"You were hoping to pay for Primordial Essence with chocolate?"

"Yes?"

"Cute," I pull out two jars of the essence and hand it to him, taking two thousand platinum from the pile. "You can keep the rest, Nathan."

"Oh," he starts sending everything back into his Inventory, though he leaves the marbles. "You can have those. Nik said you wanted to talk with me?"

"Yes," I say. "Are you going to help with the Greed Lord?"

"Definitely," he nods. "Lots of powerful resources… that will help us, especially if the reward isn't divided between the victors, like normal."

"Okay," I say. "You're close to Ascension. Think you'll make it before the thing spawns?"

"That's only a month," he shrugs. "I could if I killed a Special Monster that gave Bonus Experience, but that would mean heading back into Fallen Territory for a bit."

"Alright," I say. "I wouldn't recommend taking on Angel right away if there's something else you want to go for – since it's a Rank 3 Class, it requires a crapton of Experience. I'm only at Level 6 of Demon, and you know how rapidly I Level."

"Alright," he nods. "I'll get this stuff commissioned, then I'll try to get the last few Levels."

Nathan leaves, and I resume cooking. With an Ascended Nathan, plus me, both of us wielding ultimate-class gear, the Greed Lord doesn't stand a chance. Others will only make it easier for us to kill the thing, but if I take on Demon Form and have Nathan's Blessing of the Crystal, then we'll succeed in killing it over a long, drawn-out fight.

What to do with my team during that time? I don't want them to see my full power, my true power. How terrifying I really am, as a Dark Knight and one of the most powerful Adventurers in all the Boundaries. I should probably go deep into the mines for some advanced training, too, to gain a few extra Levels.

Hm…

Stuff to figure out. I'll sort this once my team's here and competent enough. For now, I'm going to finish dinner.