Hegnar looked up from his anvil, his sweat-streaked face breaking into a grin as Liam and his party entered. "Back already? I take it the auction went well?"
Liam tossed a pouch of gold onto the workbench, its clinking drawing the blacksmith's attention. "Thanks to your proxy writ. We managed to sell the Everrat spine for 20,000 gold. Would've had every thief in the city on our tails without your name attached."
The blacksmith chuckled, wiping his hands on his apron. "Glad to hear it. Though I'm more interested in when you'll bring me those last two materials for Stormcaller."
"Soon," Liam said, nodding to Aria and Mia. "Do you have any idea where we could find them?"
Hegnar raised a bushy eyebrow. "Not sure,. These materials can be purchased with money, but are still hard to find. It is best to put up a quest to gather those items at the guild. Once you bring them back, I will see what I can do."
"Sure, we will do that."
------------------------
The Adventurer's Guild hall hummed with activity, its oak tables crowded with mercenaries nursing ale and debating bounties. The same receptionist who'd registered Liam's party earlier welcomed them with a polite smile. "Welcome back, Master Liam! Tell me, how can I help you?"
"I would like to post a quest."
Saying so, Liam slid a parchment across the counter, detailing the materials needed: Arcsteel Filaments and Stormheart Crystal. "Priority: urgent. Reward: 1000 gold."
The receptionist's eyes widened. "Master, consider it done. Of course. The notice will be up within the hour."
"Thank you, and is there any update on the interrogation of the prisoner I brought earlier?"
"Nothing yet, Master Liam. I think Miss Diana is still interrogating the prisoner."
"I see"
------------------------
"So Liam, what's next?" Aria asked.
"I think I will go with Mia and Vix to go and kill Shadowfang."
"Shadowfang?" Mia asked, puzzled.
Liam explained the quest, the secret beast hidden in the Shadowfang's layer and his plan of using the Greater Spirit Taming Talisman to tame the beast.
"Aria, with your strength still sealed, I think that it is best that you do not join us. The lair can be very dangerous, and you might get seriously injured with all of your strength sealed."
"I understand..." Aria said, looking slightly downcast.
Liam did not miss Aria's downcast gaze, but he did not want to put Aria in danger.
"Here, take this 5000 gold. Find a merchant named Varlon in the town. He should have a debuff supressing spell. Buy it. Let's see if it can help you regain some strength."
"Okay, I will do that," Aria replied with a smile, her previous disappointment nowhere visible.
"Good, let's head early tomorrow, Mia, Vix. We have a beast to tame."
------------------------
The party set out at dawn, the Duskwind Forest's skeletal trees clawing at the sky. Liam led the way, Stormcaller strapped to his back. Mia followed close by, humming a healing hymn under her breath. Vix scouted ahead with his phantom embrace.
Mia broke the silence first, her voice barely above a whisper. "Liam… how are you leveling up so fast? I've never seen anyone level up so fast like this. Do you have some… cheats?"
Liam smirked, brushing a thorny vine aside with Stormcaller's hilt. "What can I say? The game loves me and rewards me handsomely."
"Narcissist," Mia muttered, though a smile tugged at her lips.
"Hey, narcissists survive longer in this game."
"How did you meet Aria? She is not a player, right?"
"Well, it is a long story. Let's talk about it later."
Vix growled low, her fur bristling as the trees thinned abruptly. Ahead loomed a jagged fissure in the earth, its maw choked with twisted roots and veiled in swirling mist -the entrance to Shadowfang's lair.
The cave swallowed them whole as they entered, its walls slick with black ichor that glistened like oil. Stalactites dripped faintly, each droplet hissing as it struck the floor.
Mia's voice trembled. "Liam, I'm not ready for this."
"Too late for regrets," Liam said, though his tone softened. "You want XP? This is where legends farm it." He thumbed the Greater Spirit Taming Charm at his belt. "Stay sharp. Shadowfang's just the warm-up."
"Are you aware of the types of monsters in the cave?" Mia asked.
"Yup, there are two major enemies in this cave. Shadowstalkers, which can meld and attack from the shadows, and Arachnids, which attack in groups. There might also be some traps, so be on the lookout. Though I am sure that Vix will alert us if there really are any traps."
"Okay, I am ready. Let's head in."
------------------------
Deeper in, the air vibrated with guttural snarls. Six crimson eyes glinted—Level 32 Shadowstalkers, their fur blending with the shadows. In front of them was a much bigger Shadowstaler.
Shadowstalker Leader
[Level 40]
HP: 10,000/20,000
Liam (cracking his neck): "Mia, stick to healing. Vix, harass the flanks."
He lunged, [Overhead Strike - 75x] slamming into the lead beast. CRACK! The strike multiplied Stormcaller's damage
-7500 + 3000 lightning proc!
Bam, the Shadowstalker Leader, let out a low growl and hit the floor.
Six others pounced on Liam, but Liam just dodged. And then, [Waveforce - 50x]
Waveforce erupted in a crescent of energy. BOOM! The shockwave obliterated all 6 of them, their howls echoing.
"Healing Light," Mia cast, topping up whatever little health Liam had lost.
"Wow, as expected from an overleveled person. You are able to kill everything so fast." Mia said as she tried to get close to Liam.
"Bark." Vix suddenly gave a low bark and seemingly lunged into the shadows.
"Look out!" Liam said as he got in front of Aria and cast an overhead strike again.
Liam's axe hit the shadows, and another Shadowstalker Leader's corpse fell from the shadows.
"Th..Thanks," Mia was completely shaken up, falling to the ground. Liam went to her side and helped her up.
"It's ok, you get used to it."
------------------------
Soon, Liam and his party reached Shadwfang after clearing out a bunch of Shadowstalkers and Anarchids. With multiple triggers of Veteran's knowhow, both Liam and Mia's levels soared.
[Player: Liam Carter]
Level: 45 (Soldier)
HP: 28800 (110 HP regen/s)
MP: 1760 (9 MP regen/s)
Attributes
Physique - 130
Dexterity - 15
Willpower - 21
Endurance - 15
Charm - 6
Luck - 50
Gear
Weapon: Defective Stormcaller: Physical Attack - 100 + 50
Lightning Damage - 20
Passively procs 3000 lightning damage every 20 s
Defective, can be repaired
Armor: Iron Vanguard: Set Bonuses +200 Armor , 3% additional physical resistance
Total Armor = 150+200
Ring of Protection [Epic]
Protects user from 1 lethal attack from any source, as long as user is aware of the incoming attack. It will not activate on sneak attacks or attacks that the user cannot detect
Total Physical Resistance = 3.75% ( 3% set bonuses + 0.75% from armor)
Dagger of Madness (Legendary)
Normal Attack - 2000 Physical Damage
Active Skill - Mad Dance - Raises all forms of damage by 500%. User is unable to use spells throughout the duration Mad Dance is active
Duration - 5 seconds Mana Cost - 500 MP
Skills
Waveforce - Slams the weapon heavily, creating a wave of destruction - 50x total weapon attack (max multiplier reached. Additional Physique will increase base weapon damage.
Cooldown - 10s ; Mana Cost 250 MP per cast
Overhead Strike - Strike a weak point of an enemy, dealing massive single target damage - 75x weapon damage. Also applies a 0.1 s mini stun (max multiplier reached. Additional Physique will increase base weapon damage.
Cooldown - 20s ; Mana Cost 300 MP per cast
Shield Block - Passively blocks 2000 physical damage every 10 s from any sources
Perk: Veteran's Knowhow [Epic] Randomly boosts exp gain from sources.
[Player: CherryBlossomFairy (Mia)]
Level: 20 (Healer)
HP: 10500 (30 HP regen/s)
MP: 2020 (25 MP regen/s)
Attributes
Physique - 50
Dexterity - 8
Willpower - 70
Endurance - 9
Charm - 33
Luck - 14
Weapon: Apprentice's Blessing Wand +60 Magic Power
Passive: +10% healing effectiveness
Armor: Blessed Initiate Robes +50 Armor, +10% Light Resistance
Skills:
[Healing Light] – Heals 1500 HP, 6s cooldown, 180 MP
[Radiant Pulse] – 1000 AoE light damage, 15s cooldown, 150 MP
[Minor Purify] – Removes 1 debuff, 30s cooldown, 300 MP
Passive: Light Channeling (+12% healing and light damage)
Perk: Empathic Aura (Nearby allies gain +3 HP/s regeneration)
"You're definitely cheating! How did I jump to Level 20 already?!" Mia exclaimed as she took a look at her stats.
"Perks of partying with a pro. Now focus." Liam allocated all of his free attribute points, boosting Physique to 120.
"This boss has two phases. In the first phase, it will mostly use Soulrend Claw and Abyssal Howl along with normal attacks. The claw can deal massive damage and inflict bleed which ignores armor. The howl can temporarily stun players, so I want you to debuff me as soon as I get stunned."
"Ay ay, captain. But how do you know all this?"Mia asked.
"I... read it somewhere. Anyway, in phase 2, it'll summon Shadow Traps—invisible pools that deal 3,000 True Damage. Vix, you have to use Void Sense to mark safe zones with your paws. Got it?"
"Woof," Vix gave an understanding howl.
"Remember, we can not let it recover. If more than 15 seconds pass when the boss is not damaged, it will heal back up 20%. Now, let's go."
Slowly, the party went inside the boss's lair. A huge, dark wolf was sleeping, but it gradually got up, sensing the intruders in its den.
[Shadowfang Stats]
Without warning, Shadowfang lunged, claws shearing the air like black lightning. Liam sidestepped, ShieldBlockShieldBlock deflecting the strike with a CLANG.
Soulrend Claw
Damage: 8,000 Physical (Ignores 50% Armor)
Effect: Inflicts Bleed (1,000 HP/s for 15s)
Liam's HP dropped to 20,800/28,800 instantly, with the bleed affliction.
Mia's wand flared. "HealingLight" A golden glow restoring 1,500 HP per second, just enough to counter the bleed.
Liam shouted. "Stay mobile! It telegraphs its swipes!" as he went in close to hit the beast with an overhead strike.
[Overhead Strike - 75x]
[-10,000]
The beast roared, its eyes flashing crimson.
Abyssal Howl
Effect: AoE Stun (2s duration) | 10m radius
Liam's screen flashed red—Stunned. Shadowfang pounced, fangs aimed at his throat.
"Liam, I am stunned as well." Mia cried, trying to free herself.
Shit, Liam closed his eyes, bracing for impact.
Suddenly, Vix lunged out of nowhere, his Phantom's Embrace deactivating and fangs tearing into the beast's flank. Aggro shifted.
Vix — 2,000 Physical (Minor) | Shadowfang HP — 88,000/100,000
Liam broke free as the root ended. "Thanks, Vix!" He retaliated with another Overhead strike, slamming Stormcaller into the beast's skull.
CRITICAL HIT!
75x Weapon Damage + Lightning Proc = 15,000 (Physical) + 6,000 (Lightning)
Shadowfang HP: 67,000/100,000