"In two hits?"
Jade Walker stared at the projection in disbelief, her eyes wide as the screen froze for a moment on Lucas standing calmly amid the flickering blue flames.
"That boss—the Necromancer of the Secret Realm—is Level 40. That's fifteen levels above Lucas, and it has a leader-level template… how is that even possible?"
She wasn't the only one stunned.
The stadium erupted into a chorus of gasps, murmurs, and exclamations as students, mentors, and guild leaders alike stared at the screen.
"Did he really kill it in just two hits?"
"No way, that's a Secret Realm boss! That thing's supposed to take an entire party to down!"
"Is the Shadow Assassin profession really that broken?"
Everyone had expected a grueling final showdown between Lucas and the boss of the Secret Realm. After all, bosses at this level were meant to challenge entire coordinated teams, not solo adventurers. Even a party of five elite players would struggle to bring one down in time—let alone a single person in their early twenties-level range.
But Lucas had walked in alone—and in just two strikes, the Necromancer fell.
Everyone was stunned.
From the front rows of the audience to the guild representatives in VIP booths, shock hung in the air like static. Even the upperclassmen—sophomores, juniors, and seniors—gawked at the screen in disbelief.
"…That damage output," someone muttered, "is terrifying."
Emily Frost, seated cross-legged with a laptop balanced on her knees, was frozen for a moment. Her calm, quiet face trembled slightly as she stared at Lucas's image on the screen.
"If I'm not mistaken," she said slowly, "those were just basic assassin skills. One was the Level 15 skill: Tear and Cut, and the other was Level 20: Backstab."
Her fingers began flying over the keyboard, calculating and analyzing at breakneck speed.
"These are among the highest-damage skills currently available to an assassin like Lucas. Tear and Cut has a damage coefficient of 220%, and Backstab sits at 250%. That's a combined 470% multiplier."
She quickly pulled up the known stats of the Necromancer BOSS.
"Okay, the Necromancer has HP of 64,800 and Physical Defense of 1450. For those two assassin skills to instantly kill it, the raw output would need to reach at least…" Her voice trailed off as her fingers stopped.
"…13,800 in base total output," she said, looking up.
"That means—if we account for passive damage bonuses from talent skills—Lucas's raw attack power has to be at least 3,748."
That number stunned even Emily.
"No one below Level 30 should be capable of that."
She looked back at the screen, her normally unreadable eyes now slightly wide with disbelief.
"At his level… he's likely only put in 800 to 1,000 attribute points, most of them into Dexterity and Agility," she whispered. "And even if every piece of his gear is rare purple five-star gear, fully enhanced and maxed out… even then it wouldn't add up to that kind of attack power."
"There must be another variable."
Jade Walker nodded slowly, picking up where Emily left off.
"There's no way he's fully maxed out his equipment on a low budget. Lucas comes from an ordinary family—we checked his background. He simply doesn't have the resources for top-tier enchantments or high-end armor."
Emily frowned.
"…Unless his Awakening Talent skill provides a much higher damage bonus than standard S-Class talents."
She began recalculating, cross-checking her assumptions.
"In general, an S-Class Talent has a damage bonus multiplier around 250%. If Lucas has two different talents, and both are around 250%, that gives a total multiplier of 500% to 600% max. That's already considered terrifying."
"But even with that… his numbers still don't check out. To hit 64,800 damage in two hits? That's insane."
And yet, the evidence was right in front of them.
The boss was dead.
And Lucas had barely broken a sweat.
What neither of them could have known, of course, was that Lucas's talent wasn't S-Class at all.
It was SSS-Class.
And the two talents in question?
God-Killing Blade: +1000% bonus damage
Delusion-Breaking Eye: +1000% bonus damage to marked weak points
A total of 2000% multiplier.
That completely shattered their assumptions.
Even Emily's sharp mind—brilliant and quick as it was—could only conclude:
"If my math says his attack power is 3748, and that's already way off the charts… and he actually has 3133…"
"…Then his multiplier must be something we've never seen before."
Had Lucas been listening, he would've clapped for her on the spot.
Even with missing information, she was astonishingly close to the truth.
But truth without context can be wildly misleading—and in this case, delightfully so.
---
Meanwhile, Lucas remained completely unaware of the stir his battle had caused.
As the sounds of approaching footsteps echoed from outside the altar, his ears perked up.
He heard them.
But his first thought wasn't concern or alarm—it was curiosity.
What did the boss drop?
He opened his inventory, eyes gleaming with anticipation, and selected the newly obtained item.
> Name: Undead Skeleton Staff
Type: Weapon
Grade: Rare
Star Rating: ★★ (Two Stars)
Level Requirement: 40
Class Restriction: Mage
Attribute Requirement: 600 Intelligence
Stats:
Magic Attack +1350
Constitution +200
Stamina +200
Intelligence +300
Critical Hit +10%
Special Effect – Soul Drain:
Passive. 5% of the damage dealt is returned as Mana.
Lucas's eyes sparkled.
"Jackpot!"
He nearly jumped with joy.
"Even though I can't use it… this is worth a fortune!"
His laughter echoed around the chamber.
A weapon like this wasn't just rare—it was god-tier for any mage at Level 40.
That 'Soul Drain' effect alone could turn a spellcaster into a mana regeneration turret, unleashing waves of spells endlessly without ever worrying about running dry.
Any top-tier guild or PvP player would kill for it.
Lucas imagined hundreds of little gold coins with wings flying at him from all directions.
He was rich.
Sadly, as an assassin with very little Intelligence and no mage class, he couldn't even equip it. But the staff itself, crafted from twisted bone and pulsing with spectral energy, looked wicked.
Still grinning, Lucas stashed the staff in his space backpack and stood up.
He turned toward the altar entrance just as the noise outside grew louder.
Footsteps.
Shouting.
A flood of players—all of them heading straight for him.
Lucas narrowed his eyes.
"Well… so much for a quiet exit."
With his treasure in tow, he strode to the mouth of the altar and stepped out into the sunlight—just as a wave of freshmen contestants came charging his way, weapons drawn and eyes blazing.
The next challenge was about to begin.
---
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