At level 5, Ethan Gale had only two skill slots. By reaching level 10, he would unlock three more, for a total of five.
He could hardly wait to level up and fill those new slots.
Then, there was the Dark Gold staff to consider:
[Dark Gold-tier - Ethereal Flaw Staff]
Damage: 1500
Intelligence: 135
Range: 18
Special: +7% final damage
"This staff…" Ethan examined it, holding back a chuckle.
For an ordinary person, this staff would be a powerhouse—boosting damage by 1500 points and increasing final damage by 7%. These stats alone could fetch millions on the market.
The only reason he found it amusing was because his Supreme Elemental Archmage class had an absurdly high starting point. With base attributes already surpassing 100 and each level up granting him an additional 140 points, this staff's added stats felt almost negligible by comparison.
"Still, better than nothing. Might as well equip it."
As he slipped on the staff, he recalled the feature of the Transcendent Sequence: equipment transformation.
Transformation allowed his weapons and gear to take effect as long as they were equipped, without the need to physically hold them. The classic image of a mage wielding a staff just felt too cumbersome—and, frankly, a bit old-fashioned.
"Ethan, dinner's ready!" his sister, Jade, called from the kitchen.
"Coming!"
As they ate, Jade looked at him. "So, planning to go leveling tomorrow?"
Ethan nodded. "Yeah."
Though he still found it strange to be called "darling," he'd long since resigned himself to it.
"Where are you thinking of going?"
"If all goes well, I'll check out the level 10 Savage Wolf area."
Jade raised an eyebrow. "You're only level 5. Why such a high-level area?"
"My class is powerful enough for me to hunt above my level," Ethan replied with a casual smile.
Jade beamed with pride. "Of course, my darling is the best! But be careful, okay? I'll be waiting for you at home."
There was something about Jade's words, though sincere, that always felt a little too… intimate.
The next day, Ethan arrived at the level 10 Savage Wolf leveling zone.
"Hey there, want some help leveling?" A group of burly men, each as solid as a mountain, called out to him.
Offering paid leveling services was common here. But before Ethan could decline, a Savage Wolf with black fur and glowing red eyes charged toward them.
[LV10 - Savage Wolf]
Strength: 28
Spirit: 13
Constitution: 21
Agility: 33
Skill: Wolf Charge
Ethan barely glanced at the stats before he raised his hand and aimed a finger at the wolf.
Boom!
A brilliant beam of elemental energy burst from his fingertip, instantly piercing the wolf.
"Aargh!" the wolf howled in agony, its body flung dozens of meters away by the impact. Behind it, several other wolves had been caught in the blast, obliterated by the force of Elemental Destruction.
"…"
"#@*%!!" The men who'd offered to help Ethan looked like they'd seen a ghost.
Big guy, you could've just said you didn't need help! Nearly scared us to death!
Ethan watched them leave with a smirk.
[You have defeated LV10 - Savage Wolf, gaining 1,000 (+50%) XP.]
[You have defeated LV10 - Savage Wolf, gaining 1,100 (+50%) XP.]
[Ding…]
[Ding…]
The notifications flooded in as Ethan mowed down wolves one after another. With no cooldown or mana cost, Elemental Destruction rained down upon the wolves like a natural disaster. Dozens fell with each blast, his experience bar climbing rapidly.
Since he was leveling up by defeating monsters above his level, he was gaining a 10% XP bonus per level. At 10 levels above, this would max out at 100% extra experience. Beyond that, however, the gains would diminish drastically, dropping to just 10%, and above 20 levels, it would reduce to a mere 1 XP per kill.
At level 5, the maximum level he could farm for the full bonus was 15. Starting with level 10 wolves was a solid test of his capabilities—and so far, Elemental Destruction was more than up to the task.
"Who is that guy? He's insane!"
"Is that a skill? Looks incredible!"
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
"And it's so strong! He just points his finger, and a beam comes out, annihilating wolves in seconds!"
"He's got to be offering leveling services, right? Maybe I'll switch to his party?"
"He's not just strong; he's cute, too! Should we go over?"
From nearby, leveling parties watched in awe as Ethan cleared out the zone with ease. Even a few girls couldn't resist approaching him, intrigued by his skills and appearance.
"Hey, handsome! Mind helping us out? We can work out a price," one of them said, batting her eyelashes.
"Sorry, I'm soloing today," Ethan replied, brushing off their offers.
"Oh, come on. It's boring leveling alone. We'll pay, I promise!" One girl, with a particularly flirtatious smile, pouted as she sidled up to him.
Without missing a beat, Ethan extended a finger towards her—not threateningly, but the sight was enough to make her freeze.
"U-uh, no thanks. I'm good!" she squeaked, backing away quickly, terror flashing in her eyes as she imagined herself in the wolf's place.
"Boring," Ethan muttered, returning to his work.
He needed the money, sure, but not enough to slow himself down by babysitting others.
By the end of the day, his experience gains pushed him up to level 7.
Status: Supreme Elemental Archmage - Ethan Gale
Level: 7
Attributes: Strength 160, Spirit 895, Constitution 160, Agility 160
The level increase had brought a tremendous boost to his attributes, particularly his Spirit, which was nearing 900.
"Leveling is too slow here. I should head to the level 15 zone tomorrow," he thought.
Moving zones wouldn't be straightforward, though. Without a vehicle, his only option would be to catch the special transit buses, which ran during specific hours. Walking to a new zone would take most of the day, even at his current speed of 160 meters per second.
On Blue Star, the world had expanded over ten thousand times since the Great Transformation. A single leveling zone was now as vast as several pre-transformation stadiums combined.
"Only halfway to the speed of sound… wonder how long it'll take before I can reach light speed." Ethan imagined the possibilities.
On Blue Star, light speed was no longer just a theoretical limit. Achieving it required an agility attribute of 300 million, a daunting target, but one that filled Ethan with anticipation.
Just then, a scream pierced the air.
"Help! Someone help me! Why won't this wolf leave me alone?"
Ethan turned to see a massive Savage Wolf bearing down on a nearby player.
He took a deep breath and prepared to intervene.
The other wolves barely reached two meters tall, but this one towered over them at more than twice that height, standing nearly five meters tall.
[LV10 - Savage Wolf Leader] (BOSS)
Strength: 85
Spirit: 45
Constitution: 60
Agility: 92
Skills: Savage Bite, Wolf Charge
"My god, this BOSS is terrifying!"
"Run! Run!"
"Damn it, we were just here leveling, and now a BOSS shows up. Could our luck get any worse?"
The moment the Savage Wolf Leader appeared, everyone froze in fear. They knew this wasn't a virtual game; if they died here, they were dead for good. In this world, death was permanent. And no one wanted to risk their life without absolute certainty of survival.
"So it's true. The rumor about summoning a BOSS by leveling too fast is real!"
"This BOSS didn't just appear randomly—it was triggered by the crazy speed at which we were killing wolves. We provoked the leader's wrath!"
Safe from the immediate danger, a few players huddled in a corner, piecing together the situation.
"Wait, what? You mean this was triggered by us?"
Their attention turned collectively toward the person responsible for the slaughter that had brought this about—Ethan Gale.
He was annihilating packs of wolves with a single Elemental Destruction beam, single-handedly surpassing the combined efforts of dozens of leveling parties.
And then, a golden light flashed across the area. Ethan materialized in front of the BOSS, catching everyone's eye.
"What's he planning to do?"
"No way… He's not thinking of soloing the BOSS, is he?"
"Get out of here! The regular wolves were bad enough, but this BOSS is at least twice as strong. He can't be serious!"
"He's got to be insane…"
Despite their skepticism, Ethan paid no attention to the murmurs around him. He raised his arm, and a bright beam of elemental energy erupted from his fingertip, aimed directly at the massive BOSS wolf as it charged toward him.
But as the beam closed in, the BOSS's eyes flashed with what looked like contempt. With a powerful push, it sprang sideways, dodging the beam by the slightest margin.
"Oh?"
"Impressive dodge," Ethan muttered with a grin. "But that's as far as you go."
The BOSS wolf had barely a moment to revel in its successful dodge before Ethan's beam abruptly veered around in mid-air, arcing back toward the BOSS with pinpoint accuracy.
The wolf's eyes widened in shock, but there was no time to react. Divine Light ensured that his attack was an absolute hit, regardless of its agility or maneuvering skills. If Elemental Destruction could be evaded that easily, it wouldn't be worthy of its Supreme-class designation.
With every second the beam traveled, it accelerated, doubling its speed. This meant that, even if the BOSS wolf had dodged the first pass, there was no way it could avoid the follow-up.
Boom!
Before the BOSS could reach Ethan, the beam struck from behind, tearing through its tail and ripping through its body, emerging from its mouth.
For a moment, the BOSS wolf seemed confused. It had dodged, so how had the attack connected?
Sadly, it would never find out.
"Ooo—"
The BOSS's final howl was cut short as it collapsed, its massive body crashing to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust. The entire encounter had lasted less than a second.
[Ding! You have defeated the Savage Wolf Leader and earned 13,000 XP (+30%).]
The system notification chimed as the BOSS's body faded, leaving behind a sizable pile of loot.
"Not bad. BOSS hunting really pays off," Ethan thought, pleased as he collected the scattered rewards.
Unfortunately, most of the loot was low-grade equipment—not even Bronze-tier. Selling it might get him a few hundred coins at best.
"I guess the body could be worth something too," he mused, glancing at the BOSS's carcass. "A shame that Elemental Destruction blew a hole through most of it…"
With a flick of his wrist, he stored the wolf's remains in his infinite storage space.
In Tidespring's trading markets, an intact BOSS corpse under level 10 could fetch around ten thousand coins. His half-intact prize might bring in three to four thousand.
After gathering everything, Ethan turned and spotted someone in the distance. He made his way over, his smile cold but polite.
"You mentioned that killing too fast here could trigger a BOSS?" Ethan asked, fixing the man with a penetrating stare.
The man stammered, his face pale. "I… I didn't say that."
"Your eyes tell me otherwise," Ethan replied with a hint of amusement.
"Alright, yes! I said it. So what?" the man blurted, attempting to muster some bravado.
"Just checking. You're sure about it?" Ethan asked.
"Yes, my friend told me. It's true!" The man gulped, avoiding Ethan's gaze.
"Got it. This BOSS isn't an endless spawn, right?" Ethan continued, his tone casual.
"Of course not!" the man responded, trying to stay calm. "They only appear once a day. If they spawned endlessly, no one could ever level up around here!"
"Understood. Thanks for the info."
With that, Ethan turned and headed out of the leveling zone. He had plans for the rest of the day, and he didn't want to keep Jade waiting.
Tomorrow, he would explore a higher-level zone and continue his rapid climb.
The man stood frozen for a long moment as Ethan walked away, finally exhaling a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
"Hey, what are you thinking about? He's been gone for a while!" a friend nudged him.
"Oh… Right, yeah," he muttered, clenching his fists. Then he glanced around, as if gathering his resolve, and let out a shout of frustration to the sky.