If not for the preparations he made before the fight, Raine would have died in seconds. Instead of unleashing a barrage of Water Blasts, all the summoned crogs except one lost their minds as they dove with ravenous hunger upon the steaks he left scattered at the arena’s edge. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough of the disgusting meat to go around and with how quickly level ten crogs could eat, he only had a few seconds to deal with as many of the casters as possible.
He munched down a Stremph Berry and set his sights on the summoned crog who was glaring at him with animalistic intelligence. It held a growing ball of blistering hot water in its palm as its long tongue snaked out to run across its too-wide mouth. Before Raine could kill the beast, he had to cross the ten meters between them; something the boss would not stand idly by and allow.
The chieftain was quick to recover from its croaking summon when Raine's dagger burrowed into the already mutilated flesh of its inner thigh. It drew back its leg, preparing for a powerful kick. Having kept an immaculate track of the boss' cooldowns, Raine knew that Stomp would be coming next. If he missed this chance, he would be screwed.
Raine positioned himself just right and then jumped, curling into a ball. Despite being braced, the explosive force of the kick turned his vision white. [-180] Raine preemptively expelled the air from his lungs and tucked his chin, covering his head with his arms. His vision cleared rapidly and his eyes snapped to the caster he was hurtling toward at an alarming speed. He didn't waste a single iota of thought on the measly fifty HP remaining in his crimson-strobing health bar as he whizzed by the hastily thrown Water Blast to slam into the caster knife-first.
The two crashed to the ground which shook from the chieftain’s pounding steps. Raine was on his feet in a heartbeat, his dagger biting deep into the caster twice before it managed to follow him up. He slid around behind the slower beast as the boss leaped at them with spittle flying from its gaping maw. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as sharp teeth surrounded him on all sides. Just before the boss clamped its jaws shut, Raine once more jumped and tucked into a ball; except this time, he turned sideways midair, planted his feet on the caster’s back, and pushed for all he was worth.
A sickening crunch behind him was the only indication he needed that the summoned caster had taken his place as the giant crog’s most recent meal. By the time the boss slid and crashed into the cove’s wall, Raine was halfway to the next caster, burning Discipline with every step. The beast awoke from its food-induced trance as Raine’s dagger found its throat. He danced around it with wicked efficiency, not giving it any room to breathe or retreat. His arm snaked through its hasty defenses as if they weren't there, each time leaving a spray of blood in its wake. The crog scrambled back, trying to get away from him as he jabbed repeatedly at full speed. The entire time, Raine’s body was positioned in a way that running from him meant heading toward the next caster.
The first tick of Aspect of the Werewolf triggered right as the caster died. [+38] The boss caught up to him at that exact moment, its cleaver coming down in a vicious Chop that left behind the mangled corpse of a crog. Raine leaped away, his Discipline at less than half.
The distance to the next caster wasn’t very far, but both it and the fourth summon were recovering from their stupor. Having fought the boss long enough to read its moves fairly well, Raine only needed a glance backward to see the position of its forward leg. He knew what attack was coming next. When the expected wide, horizontal swing came, Raine threw himself forward and rolled under the deadly blade. When he sprang to his feet, a glistening ball of energy was zipping toward his face. He crouched and slid, the attack passing mere centimeters above his head, burning his scalp before he blasted forward like a seasoned sprinter.
He arrived at the third caster just as the boss caught up to him. Instead of dealing with three enemies simultaneously, he dropped his shoulder and slammed into the smaller crog. The hidden effect of Potency—adding to and resisting the heft of attacks—was on full display as Raine’s impromptu tackle lifted the caster off its feet and the two of them flew out of reach of the chieftain’s next swing. Furious at the stubborn prey that refused to die, the boss leaped high into the air, coming down with a tremendous Stomp.
Raine sprinted for all he was worth after feeling the rushing wind from the beast’s jump. He ran toward the nearest steak—which had been out of range of any of the random summons. The moment the boss landed and the hunk of meat lifted into the air, he kicked it toward the last caster. The wet slap of sticky flesh was music to his ears as he rounded on the boss and dove beneath its mass. For the first time in several hectic seconds, Raine felt at home as he weaved between the boss’s clumsy attempts to kick him.
His dagger went to work on the still-stunned interloper who had no business sharing his comfortable abode. With only two cuts and a kick—sending the monster into the boss’s kick, the third caster was down.
Raine didn’t grow cocky now that his victory was nearing. He took methodical steps to approach the final summon, staying below the boss the entire time. He then baited the chieftain into dealing a critical blow with a Chop to wake it up before he finished it off. By then, his opponent was back at seventy percent HP while Aspect of the Werewolf had brought him up to fifty percent. Luckily, this introductory boss didn’t repeat his summoning skill when Raine stabbed him enough to once more reach fifty percent health.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
The remainder of the fight was a test of Raine’s focus and mental fortitude. Even a tiny mistake could lead to being thrown off balance or down to the ground where he would be quickly killed. Neither of those scenarios came to be, and the boss finally fell with a gurgling croak. It crashed to the ground, deflating into an expanding wave of blood-soaked mud.
[Obtained 14,400 Superiority (700% bonus for defeating an elite area boss 5 levels above you)]
[Obtained 20% Attunement (700% bonus for defeating an elite area boss 5 levels above you)]
[Achievement for defeating an elite Croglock five levels above you: Acquired Title - Mud Stomper]
[Title - Mud Stomper: +25% critical chance against amphibian monsters (upgradable)]
[Achievement for first player to slay an elite area boss: Lustrous Blue chest dropped]
[Regional System Announcement: Congratulations, Alaric for being the first player to defeat an elite area boss!]
Before he bothered to finish reading the messages, Raine dashed in a circle around the boss and tapped each of the glowing balls that floated out of the corpses. He looked left and right to confirm there wasn’t anyone in sight, then selected the lustrous chest from his inventory. The cobalt-colored chest appeared on the ground in front of him. It was covered in intricate golden patterns and its surface was so shiny, he could see his reflection. He bent over and placed his hand on the box and a short loading bar appeared. After a few seconds, its lid opened with a satisfying click and a brilliant blue glow shot into the sky, lighting up the entire clearing.
Raine’s hands were jittering with excitement as he removed the two items inside and read their descriptions. Lustrous items were nearly impossible to find before level twenty and just because the chest was that grade, did not mean it was guaranteed to have one, not by a long shot. But since the glow emitted was blue, he had indeed scored himself an improbable item.
[Skill Book (Rupture) - Adept - Discipline: Strike the air to reduce enemy defense by 40% for 10 seconds. Additionally releases a shock wave dealing 500% damage in a 5-meter expanding cone (Cost: 10 discipline) (Cooldown: 15 seconds)]
An area of effect skill for melee? Those are incredibly rare even at higher levels! And it’s already Adept grade? That’s insane! It even lowers defense… Leveling is going to be a breeze with this. I can’t wait to show Richtor, he’s going to lose it! Well, maybe not. Nobody will know just how rare this is for a long while.
[Mysterious Sprocket: Made of an incredibly durable and valuable material. Will fetch a high price if sold to any blacksmith. If, however, you can discover the identity and location of its creator, even more fabulous rewards may be in store]
Raine’s smile was infectious as he immediately opened the book to learn the skill. He ignored the sprocket for now since it looked like a quest item, moving on to examine the loot dropped directly by the boss.
[Superior Scaled Pauldrons - Common Grey - LVL 10: (DEF +17) (PTC +3) (FIN +3) (PHY +3) (Durability 75/75)]
[Lost Weapons Manifesto: Return this slip to the guards of Silverlight City for a reward]
Two silver, fifty marks of maturity, the manifesto required for free entry into Silverlight, and some new armor. Not to mention an insane skill. What a haul! Risk and reward indeed come hand in hand.
Unable to equip the armor for another couple levels, Raine headed toward Torell’s cave to hand in the tokens he had accumulated. On his way, he read the last few system messages he had previously ignored.
[Congratulations!]
[Class attunement: Rogue has reached 100%]
[Upon reaching level fifteen locate a trainer to become a stealthy, misunderstood philanthropist who robs from the rich and the poor alike. After all, equality matters!]
[World System Announcement: Congratulations, Alaric for being the first player to defeat an elite area boss!]
Well crap. So much for staying anonymous for a while. The very first world message and it’s got my name plastered all over it. But it’s only the first real-world day for the game, pretty soon there will be plenty more world firsts and I’ll be forgotten so long as I don’t get too many more. Maybe I’m thinking about this wrong. I was able to make several million off that idiot, if my fame keeps rising, can’t I ask for way more next time? Besides, if I want to start a guild, this will make it easier to recruit people.
I only need to make sure they don’t discover my identity outside ZL. I’m nowhere near strong enough to fend off professional assassins, yet.
Raine padded down the tunnel and entered the well-decorated cave to find Torell eagerly awaiting his arrival. The strange crog hobbled to him and clasped his hands between slimy fingers, “Kro-kro-kro! You did it! If you were successful in my first task, I planned to beg aid from your friends to defeat the chieftain. For you to do so with nary a word from me, why, you've done me a fine favor this day, indeed! I know it’s not much, but please, feel free to purchase any of the goods I’ve scrounged during my adventures. I’ll give you a hefty discount. Kro-kro-kro!” The crog danced around the rug and then came to a stop, rubbing his palms greedily like a merchant who found a juicy nobleman.
[Quest: Torell’s Big Grudge completed. Obtained 100,000 Superiority. See Torell for additional rewards]
[Level up! +1 to all attributes]
Dang, only thirty thousand away from level ten. I bet there’s another big achievement for reaching it first and it might even come with another lustrous reward!
Raine accessed the crog’s shop, finding nothing unexpected. Every type of weapon the amphibians normally dropped was there, along with each of the armors acquirable by killing the chieftain. The last few goods were consumables that could be found in most major cities, but since he didn’t have access to those shops yet, they were a godsend.
He purchased the chest plate and greaves, storing them in his inventory until he reached level ten. With the last few marks in his possession, he purchased a dozen consumable items that would certainly come in handy soon.