Lenore and Eira didn't possess Kalis's godlike strength, but their gameplay skills and awareness were top-tier among players of the same level.
Under normal circumstances, a well-coordinated team should handle bosses of the same tier with ease.
Eira's gentle yet helpless voice came through: "I triggered an epic hidden quest that requires defeating the Level 65 Legendary BOSS [Umbral Life Sorin]! That monster is absolutely ridiculous. It has 930,000 HP, can enter perfect stealth, and its Shadow Strike skill one-shots squishies. It wiped us all out and sent us back to the respawn point in just a few rounds."
A Level 65 Legendary BOSS!
Kalis's eyes lit up immediately. Among all the BOSSes he had personally defeated so far, only the Gilded Lion King was mythic grade, while the rest were epic. This would be his first chance to challenge a legendary BOSS.
"Alright, I'll be right there!" he agreed without hesitation.
He immediately turned and rushed straight for the teleportation circle in Valorian Main City. After paying the 12-gold inter-city teleportation fee, his figure was enveloped in a dazzling magical array and vanished instantly.
...
The Blue Star Theater had a total of 24 main cities with a clear hierarchical division: 15 Level 3 main cities, 6 Level 2 main cities, and only 3 Level 1 main cities.
Currently, the Level 2 and Level 1 main cities remained locked and could only be unlocked when players triggered specific main storyline quests.
Among the 15 Level 3 main cities, 7 belonged to the continent of Solaria: Valorian, Lunaris, Aerindor, Ignispeak, Glacermist, Drakenspire, and Garethor.
The other 8 belonged to the continent of Ophilin: Faeloria, Noctyra, Thundermar, Aerwynn, Terramor, Marishelle, Florathyl, and Vaelthyr.
The Ophilin continent accommodated players from various other regions who had to share resources across 8 main cities.
In contrast, players on the Solaria continent had exclusive access to 7 main cities, enjoying a relatively relaxed early-game survival environment without the need to get involved in faction conflicts too soon.
However, according to the system rules, once the number of Level 100 players across the entire theater reached 100,000, all main city boundaries would be completely lifted.
A full-scale melee in the Blue Star Theater would then begin, with guild wars, alliance wars, and faction wars breaking out one after another. The battle for control of Level 2 and Level 1 main cities would reach a fever pitch.
But none of this concerned Kalis. He had no fixed guild, and his own strength was powerful enough. As long as his affiliated main city wasn't captured by the Ophilin continent, he could handle any changes in the war situation with ease.
As one of the seven main cities on the Solaria continent, Drakenspire had become the most populated main city among players due to its background setting of the Dragonspine Mountains.
When Kalis stepped out of the teleportation circle, the square was packed with dense crowds of players, making him vaguely recall the starting village during the game's launch.
"Make way! Loitering in the teleportation circle area is prohibited!"
A familiar shout rang out. Before Kalis could fully step out of the array, he was shoved by a city guard soldier clad in silver scale armor, stumbling back half a step.
"Damn it, these NPC soldiers are way too arrogant!" Kalis muttered under his breath, thoroughly annoyed.
This was the third time! The Eternal Hatred Curse from Augustus was such a nuisance. If he couldn't get rid of it, he'd have to endure the NPC soldiers' rude treatment every day.
But he had no other choice for now but to endure. After all, with his current strength, he wasn't powerful enough to confront the entire main city's guard force.
"Kalis! Over here!"
Lenore's clear voice came from afar. Kalis followed the sound and saw Lenore in a sacred white robe, holding a priest's staff inlaid with a sapphire. Beside her stood Eira in light armor. Two other female players stood next to them, clearly the other two members of the team.
"Whoa, did you guys put together a 'dual ranged DPS plus two frontline tanks' setup?" Kalis strode toward them, glancing at the two female teammates and teasing instinctively.
"Cut the crap, we're just reliable teammates who grouped up temporarily," Lenore replied irritably.
"I'm not crapping. One of you is DPS and the other is support—total dream team. Those two girls over there look like a tank-archer combo," he shrugged, adding without mercy.
"Ugh, you jerk!" Eira raised her longsword and tapped him lightly. Friendly teasing didn't trigger attack mechanics, and the patrolling city guards only glanced over before ignoring them.
Kalis looked closely at the two female teammates:
The petite girl on the left wore heavy mithril plate armor and carried a reforged steel great shield larger than her own body. Her ID was Mireya, Level 27, with a massive 4,100 HP. Her gear glowed with rare-grade light, clearly quite high-quality.
She had a cute loli face but eyes filled with determination, yet she played the clumsiest, most damage-absorbing tank class. The stark contrast was quite amusing.
The other tall female player was an archer, dressed in blue and silver leather armor with a quiver hanging at her waist. Her long hair was tied into a high ponytail. Her ID was Seraphina, Level 28, with 2,300 HP. She held an epic longbow emitting a faint blue glow, her weapon quality quite impressive.
"Let me formally introduce everyone. This is Kalis, a good friend of ours in real life, and the player who just wiped out 500 members of the Shadow Claw guild on the outskirts of Valorian City," Lenore spoke first, then turned to Kalis and added, "But I should warn you two girls—he looks reliable, but he's actually a big teaser. Don't be fooled by his appearance!"
"This is Mireya. She's an extremely steady knight with top-tier damage absorption. I think she's a freshman at our university, too."
"And this is Seraphina, a skill-based archer. She doesn't talk much, but her arrow accuracy is pinpoint, and she's super loyal. She's the most reliable teammate you could ask for."
"We originally had a mage in the team, but his strength just couldn't keep up with the BOSS's rhythm. Once we found out you were coming, we asked him to leave beforehand."
"Kalis, been hearing a lot about you, looking forward to working with you!" The petite tank Mireya winked playfully, greeting him in a lively tone.
The archer Seraphina was more composed. She nodded slightly at Kalis, her voice clear: "Thank you for coming, Kalis."
"That's it? Such a calm reaction?" Kalis grumbled inwardly.
He had thought that, as a "top player who just annihilated a major guild" volunteering to help farm a legendary BOSS, the two female players would be at least a little excited—even a symbolic "wow" would have been nice. Instead, one greeted him playfully, and the other politely thanked him, showing no signs of excitement at all.
Disappointing, so disappointing!
These girls really needed to step up their hype game!
"Let's head out first. I'll fill you in on the BOSS details as we walk," Eira said, quickly forming a team, adding each other as friends, and leading the way toward the dungeon entrance outside Drakenspire.
Her hurried steps and eager expression made it clear how anxious she was to defeat this legendary BOSS. For someone as calm as Eira to be this invested, the hidden quest must be extremely important!
After Kalis joined the team, his level and class appeared on the team panel: Level 39 Celestial Mage.
"Huh? A Level 39 Celestial Mage… Kalis, is this a hidden class? How is your leveling speed so insane!" The Mireya caught sight of the team panel and instantly widened her eyes, her cute face filled with disbelief.
"Insane? I haven't grinded any XP for four hours," Kalis shrugged, his tone casual.
After all, his ID had been topping the server-level rankings this entire time.
But the girl looked completely unaware, clearly an immersion-focused player who only cared about her current adventure and paid no attention to rankings, gossip, or anything like that.
"Four hours?" Mireya's voice shot up, her eyes filled with confusion as if suspecting Kalis was lying, "We just hit Level 20 four hours ago! This leveling speed is totally against common sense!"
Kalis glanced helplessly at Lenore and Eira beside him, spreading his hands: "Didn't you guys properly tell your teammates about my strength before I came?"
"We did," Lenore replied matter-of-factly, the hem of her priest's robe swaying gently as she walked.
"Then why are they so calm?" Kalis pointed at Mireya and Seraphina, who still looked unperturbed, his tone full of confusion.
He was a "theater celebrity" who had just wiped out 500 members of the Shadow Claw guild—this treatment was way too ordinary!
"That's because your strength is insignificant compared to Eira's hidden quest this time," Lenore deliberately teased, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear with a mysterious tone.
As soon as he heard that, Kalis's originally frustrated mood instantly perked up, and his curiosity went through the roof!