"Is it still increasing?"

"This speed is just unreal!"

"Are you sure it was one person who went in? I'm having a hard time believing it."

"If I hadn't seen it myself, I'd say it was impossible. But he definitely went in alone."

"Unbelievable."

All the onlookers, every single one, stared in stunned disbelief. Windstorm Squad and the other teams just stood there, frozen.

"I just got a message; the guild's sending someone soon. We might have to bring him out before it gets too tough. The rift only gets harder as it progresses," a nearby fighter mentioned, checking his friend's message with a concerned look.

Everyone seemed to agree, "Yeah, he's already exceeded expectations. No need to risk his life."

However, no one in the crowd knew Ethan personally, so they had no way of contacting him directly. They could only wait and hope for the best.

Soon enough, reinforcements from the Local Adventurers Guild arrived. Leading them was a towering man, a Level 59 Epic-tier healer named Jason Garrison.

"What's the situation? Are there any casualties so far?" Jason called out as he made his way to the front.

"Mr. Garrison!" Seeing the imposing figure, Windstorm's captain, Grant, snapped out of his daze and immediately addressed Jason respectfully.

Jason took a quick look around and asked, "Who's inside? Why didn't you wait for us? Who decided to go in without backup?"

Grant explained, "We don't know him. He went in alone."

"Alone?" Jason stopped, momentarily stunned. "What nonsense is this? Tackling a rift solo is basically a death sentence!"

In theory, rifts allowed up to ten people to enter. That's why most private hunting teams consisted of ten members. Soloing a rift was nearly unheard of, with only the most legendary warriors attempting such a feat—and even they had walked away with scars.

Then Jason caught sight of the rift's progress meter and did a double take.

"Forty-six percent?"

Jason couldn't believe his eyes. "Are you absolutely sure he went in alone?"

Grant and his team nodded in unison, affirming what they had seen. Even other squad members spoke up in agreement.

"How long has he been in there?" Jason asked, perplexed.

"About half an hour..."

"Half... half an hour?!"

Inside the rift, Ethan stood over the remains of the Dread Spiders, watching as the rift's progress soared to fifty percent. He surveyed the loot scattered around, spotting three pieces of Bronze-tier gear, worth a small fortune on their own.

"Hmm? What's this... a skill scroll?" Ethan noticed a roll of parchment in his inventory and examined it.

The description revealed it to be a Priest-specific skill scroll. He paused, realizing the implications. The scrolls he'd used before were all general, which carried risks. A Mage could end up with a Warrior skill, rendering the scroll useless.

Fortunately, his Supreme Elemental Mage class had only drawn Mage skills, sparing him the frustration of incompatibility. He hadn't fully appreciated it until now.

The Priest scroll, however, would fetch a high price at auction, likely over a million, given its rarity. Ethan resumed his journey, quickly dispatching more enemies and collecting additional loot.

He soon reached a gloomy swamp filled with decaying trees and knee-high brambles. As he ventured forward, he froze, sensing danger. Suddenly, a wooden spear shot through the air, clashing against his Frost Crystal Shield.

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Scanning his surroundings, Ethan spotted the source: a group of venomous Murlocs, each with dark purple skin and eerie red eyes. Among them was an especially large figure—the Murloc Leader. Its stats were formidable, easily enough to decimate an entire hunting party.

But Ethan was undeterred. He raised his hand, unleashing a blast of energy. His attack annihilated the group, propelling his progress to seventy-three percent.

Outside the rift, Jason and the others watched as the progress meter ticked higher. Jason's jaw dropped as he asked, "That guy in there—are you telling me he's only Level 15?"

The crowd watched in silence, the magnitude of Ethan's feat dawning on them as they realized just how extraordinary this young man was.

Grant felt himself lifted off the ground. Despite the overwhelming presence of the imposing figure holding him, he couldn't help but cast a scornful glance at him, internally grumbling, "This is a Level 15 rift. You think there's someone inside over Level 15?" Jason quickly realized his question had been foolish, a reaction driven by sheer disbelief.

After all, a young, Level 15 fighter going in alone and clearing a rift at this speed? It was absurd. Nobody, including anyone who had ever faced a rift, would have believed it possible.

Inside the rift, Ethan continued his relentless onslaught. Within half an hour, he had already brought the rift's progress to 99%.

"The rift boss... is it finally coming?"

As the progress meter neared completion, Ethan prepared himself. He soon approached a decrepit thatched hut, and immediately sensed a formidable presence nearby.

Ethan stopped, eyes fixed on the three-meter-high structure before him. Surrounding the hut were dozens of Poison Murloc leaders and countless Poison Murloc soldiers, all clustered in protective formation.

Yet, Ethan's extraordinarily high spirit attribute allowed him to feel a distinct and far more powerful aura from within the hut. Compared to that, the surrounding Murlocs and their leaders were insignificant.

"@...*%#￥%!"

"Brothers... my dear brothers!"

"Curse these two-legged beasts! I will avenge my kin!!"

A deep, raspy voice rang out, almost as if spoken through a mouthful of mud. Before Ethan could fully comprehend the words, the hut's roof shattered with a thunderous crash.

What emerged was a five-meter-tall creature wielding a thick coral spear as long as it was tall. The creature leaped high into the air, gripping the massive coral spear tightly before landing with a resounding thud.

[Level 15 - Poison Murloc King]

Rank: Silver-tier Boss

Strength: 1220

Spirit: 830

Constitution: 1080

Agility: 920

Skills: Poisonous Ground Spear, Brutal Strength, Savage Throw, Venomous Spray

"Stats higher than mine…"

Ethan frowned, realizing that this boss was no ordinary foe. With over a thousand points in both strength and constitution, even its weakest attribute was incredibly high.

"@#￥!#￥%%￥￥!"

"King! It's the two-legged beast that killed so many of us!"

Upon the Poison Murloc King's arrival, the surrounding Murloc leaders clustered around it.

"#￥,%@￥!"

"Do not worry. I will have my revenge for you."

The Murloc King tenderly patted one of its trembling lieutenants before turning its gaze to Ethan.

"You two-legged beast! You will pay with your life!"

"Brutal Strength!"

The Murloc King bellowed, and its aura intensified dramatically. Then, with a mighty leap, it lunged at Ethan, coral spear extended. Its speed was so great that it seemed to glide just above the ground, closing the thousand-meter gap in mere moments.

The monstrous coral spear seemed to emit a pressure that could suffocate anyone standing in its path. But as it drew nearer, Ethan stood his ground, unflinching.

Boom!

The Murloc King's spear made direct contact, yet Ethan remained unscathed. Instead, an icy chill began to spread through the creature's body.

"No!"

Panic surged through the Murloc King as its body froze, ice encasing it completely.

[Level 15 - Poison Murloc King] (Frozen: 29 seconds)

Ethan smirked, extending his finger. A beam of destructive elemental energy shot forth, striking the frozen creature repeatedly.

Within seconds, the Poison Murloc King was reduced to nothing but a lifeless husk, and Ethan stood victorious.

[You have defeated Level 15 Silver-tier Boss - Poison Murloc King. You have gained 100,000 experience points (+50%).]

At that moment, the Murloc King's body collapsed, scattering an abundance of loot.

Ethan's interface filled with system notifications:

[Congratulations! You have cleared the Toxic Swamp Rift with an SSS rating!]

[Rewards: 1,000,000 experience points, 100 Extraordinary Coins, 1 Level 15 Skill Scroll (choose your class), and 10 Bronze-tier Equipment Chests.]

[Experience has maxed out. Further leveling requires a Bronze-tier promotion.]

[Upon exiting the rift, you will receive a SSS-rated item: Toxic Swamp Rift Core.]

[Would you like to exit the Toxic Swamp Rift now?]

Outside, Jason and the others watched the progress meter reach 99%, and his heart sank. He knew what that meant: the final boss was in play. Rift bosses were exponentially tougher than regular monsters, with stats that could be ten or even twenty times greater.

"There's no way..."

"Whoever is in there can't possibly survive this alone!"

Jason wasn't alone in his disbelief. Every experienced fighter around him shared the same doubts, but they knew that if the rift wasn't cleared, its creatures could wreak havoc on civilian areas. On the other hand, a successful rift clearing yielded invaluable rewards, which was why guilds prioritized rift responses.

As the meter hit 99%, Jason and the rest of the onlookers watched with bated breath, knowing the stakes. Only two outcomes were possible: either the boss would fall, or the brave adventurer would.

Moments later, a boy emerged from the fading rift's light.

Jason froze.

He had actually done it.