Lucas's breath hitched. Forsaken World's gear tiers—White, Bronze, Iron, Silver, Gold, Obsidian, Epic, Legendary—meant Gold gear was unheard of in the newbie zone. Most early bosses dropped Silver at best; the Pyromancer's Staff had a drop rate of less than 0.001%.
After an hour clearing respawned bison, he retrieved the staff and other loot. The Pyromancer's Staff (Gold) boasted: Attack 4-8, Vitality +2, Intelligence +10, Spell Damage +24, Critical Strike Chance +12, Hit Chance +12, and a bonus skill—Fire Wall.
"Unbelievable," Lucas chuckled. Equipping the staff shot his Spell Power up to 77. He tested Fire Wall on a passing herd of bison: 20 to 30 mobs were caught in the 2x2 flame aura, each taking 71 damage per tick. Thanks to the game's damage formula—(Base Skill Damage + Spell Power) × Coefficient (0.6 for AoE)—he mowed them down effortlessly in seconds.
He checked the rest of the loot: an Iron Hex Ring (Spell Damage 2-5, Intelligence +2, Level 3), which he equipped to hit 80 Spell Damage; a Silver Dragonling Shield (Defense 7-22, Strength +2, Vitality +3, Block +8)—a tank's dream, worth more than the staff; an Iron Helm (basic but valuable); a Fire Mage skill book, Scorch; and 13 potions (6 Small Health, 7 Small Mana).
Scorch (Fire Spell): 12 Mana, 1.5s Cast, 30yd Range. Ignites the target, stacking 5 times (15 Fire Damage boost + 10 DoT per stack, 30s duration)—useless for mobs, deadly for bosses. The potions, though, were lifesavers—one Small Health Potion restored 60 of his 100 HP.
With Fire Wall, Lucas's leveling exploded. He fell out of the top 100 while killing the whelp, but climbed back to 10th in 3 hours, then seized first place 2 hours later—hitting Level 4, a full level ahead of Damon. The leaderboard chaos erupted; every major guild realized Lucas was exploiting a secret spot.
Damon slammed his fist on the table: "Find Lucas. That top leaderboard spot is our guild's recruitment calling card—we can't let other guilds reach him first." Silas Hale of the Violet Dynasty issued the exact same order. Across the server, guild scouts were dispatched on a manhunt.
Lucas, oblivious to the target on his back, kept grinding.