Many impatient players had already left by now, shaking their heads and mocking Kaito's persistence.
"Still fighting? He's only dragging it out."
"He's just stalling to save face. That boss is impossible!"
They didn't believe Elder Faelion could be beaten. But Kaito wasn't listening. His focus sharpened the moment he saw something important Thornmail, the reflection skill that had tormented him earlier, finally faded away from Elder Faelion's body.
"Put on the armor remover!" Kaito's eyes gleamed as he gave the order.
The Thief's Way nodded quickly, darted forward, and used his armor-removal skill. His daggers pierced through Faelion's robe, breaking a chunk of his defense.
Kaito didn't waste the opening.
Odin's Wrath!
The air crackled with lightning as his strongest skill poured down. Each strike drained two to three hundred points of Elder Faelion's mana, while the final blow hammered away more than four hundred health.
Those sparks of lightning weren't just damage they were signals. The moment Kaito unleashed Odin's Wrath, his third uncle and father shouted commands, ordering Genesis's fighters to unleash their most powerful skills in sync.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A storm of fireballs, arrows, and enchanted projectiles rained down on Elder Faelion, forcing the corrupted elder off his feet.
Kaito didn't stop. He flung his longsword forward with Cut!, the blade smacking into Faelion's head before he even hit the ground. Following up instantly, he unleashed Cross Slash! a devastating sweep that cleaved the air in an "X," tearing away another two hundred points of health.
Then came a relentless flurry of sword phantoms and Z-shaped combos, his dual blades blurring as they carved weak spots at the boss's armpits, elbows, and shoulders. For thirty solid seconds, Kaito rained blows like a storm.
This time, something was different. Elder Faelion didn't heal as he had before. The bosses' usual small regeneration spell was gone.
"Mana!" someone gasped. "Raen's been draining his mana this whole time!"
"Oh my god! Two hours of grinding, plus two priests spamming Mana Burn, and it finally worked! Just how much mana did this boss even have?"
"He's insane. Raen's patience is something else!"
Without mana, Elder Faelion's greatest threat vanished. The Abyssal Shadow Priest could no longer summon bolts of shadow or Abyssal feasts. What was left was a staff-wielding fanatic, relying only on basic attacks. Those blows still packed power, each swing able to knock off half of Kaito's health bar but compared to the earlier storm of spells, this was survivable.
For the first time, Elder Faelion's health bar began to drop steadily.
50,000… 40,000… 30,000…
Players' eyes widened as they saw the numbers tick down. Even dropping below 10% meant the boss still had 50,000 health points far more than any monster they'd fought before.
Inside the team chat, Kaito's voice was steady and clear. "Remove the armor again when his health gets close to 500. Save the skill for the last hit. The first-kill reward is ours, and it's worth more than anything else."
Outside, chaos erupted. Word had already spread across South Glade Town Elder Faelion had revealed himself as a level 45 Silver Boss. Crowds of players rushed toward the church, hoping to grab loot or at least be part of the kill. Genesis's numbers weren't enough to stop them.
Fortunately, the guards holding the church entrance weren't ordinary NPCs. They were level 40 elite guards, their strength comparable to small bosses in their own right. They formed an unbreakable wall, keeping the mob outside while Genesis focused on the fight.
"Prepare yourselves," Kaito called in the team chat.
Health numbers dropped further.
10,000… 5,000… 2,000… 1,000… 800… 600…
Finally, the moment came.
"Attack now!" Kaito roared.
The Thief's Way dashed in and once again stripped away the last of Elder Faelion's defenses. Kaito followed with everything he had.
Overlord's Rage! His body surged with power.
Windveil Steps with Mana Steps! His movement blurred like lightning.
Aerial Claw Slash! Cross Slash! Flame Arc Slash!
Weakpoint Strike!
Every skill he possessed poured into the final assault, the twin blades glowing as sword phantoms overlapped one after another.
Triple Critical Strike! -828!
The massive red number floated above Elder Faelion's head as the corrupted elder shrieked one last time.
Then came the chime
[Astralis City Region Announcement]
Congratulations to player Iron Will for completing the first kill of [Elder Faelion, Demon Fanatic (Level 45 Silver Boss)]. You have earned 1000 Astralis City Region reputation. Faction rewards: 100 gold coins, 5 hidden attribute points, and a Silver weapon for your class.
[Astralis City Region Announcement]
Congratulations to player Raen for completing the first kill of [Elder Faelion, Demon Fanatic (Level 45 Silver Boss)]. You have earned 1000 Astralis City Region reputation. Faction rewards: 100 gold coins, 5 hidden attribute points, and a Silver weapon for your class.
The announcement made it clear, though Iron Will had been credited with the kill, Raen too was recognized for the first kill.
This wasn't a mistake. The last strike had been delivered by Kaito, but moments before that, he had transferred the team captaincy to his father, Iron Will. It was a calculated move. With so many random players present, distributing the first-kill rewards to everyone would mean Genesis barely got anything. And Kaito knew all too well how stingy the Glory system could be. Even though the battle was against a Silver Boss, the system would recognize that Viscount Elrick's intervention had skewed the fight. Rewards would be cut down to balance it out.
But Kaito was ready. He had already formed a private ten-man squad within Genesis for this very reason, including The Thief's Way and several promising recruits from the list he had given his second uncle. His third uncle was included, and captaincy went to his father. That way, the first-kill rewards stayed within Genesis's core.
The actual still loot doubled, since the boss was classified as a Demon Fanatic. But as Kaito expected, the experience gains were far less than usual, scattered too thin among the hundreds present and diminished by the system's calculations.
Still, when the crowd was still reeling from the giant red number -828, Kaito was already moving. He swept up every item Elder Faelion dropped with practiced speed and darted into the church's inner court before anyone else could react.
"Damn it! After fighting so hard, we get nothing?"
"That's right! Even if we don't get the kill credit, we still worked for it! A so-called master can't just grab everything and run!"
"Are you serious? What else do you want? They lured the boss, tanked the hits, and landed the killing blow. Of course the loot belongs to them!"
"Don't forget the damage numbers. They dealt over 800 with one strike, while you only chipped away a few dozen points. Do you really think that's the same?"
The angry shouts quickly spread, but the tide of public opinion shifted just as fast. More and more players began to defend Raen and his team, pointing out that without them, the fight would never have been possible in the first place.
Kaito's third uncle noticed the arguments heating up. Quietly, he signaled the Genesis members mixed into the crowd. With just a few well-placed words, they stirred the discussion further, countering the accusers and sowing doubt in their claims.
What had begun as a one-sided outcry soon split into two opposing camps. The insults flew back and forth, voices rising louder and louder until the streets outside the church echoed with the quarrel.
But in the end, those who had been trying to stir trouble realized their attempt had failed. Their complaints were drowned out, their support crumbled, and with nothing left to argue, they slipped away in embarrassment, leaving the field to Genesis.