BOOM! Flames erupted, forcing a terrified Rogue out of invisibility. "-135 (Stunned for 2s)"
"A Rogue!" Leo yelped. The Rogue gaped: "How'd you see me?"
"A Level 1 tailing a Level 4? Hard to miss," Lucas sneered. "Who sent you?"
"Kael of Black Blood!" the Rogue spat. "He's sending his elites. You're dead!"
"We'll see about that." Lucas hurled a Fireball. With only 25 HP left, the Rogue died instantly. A system message flashed: You have killed a player!
"Boss, what do we do?" Leo panicked. Black Blood's camp in the Level 1 area had already terrified him.
"Stay back. Watch how I toy with them," Lucas said calmly. At this stage, even Kael's elites couldn't match his gear, combat skills, or streamlined fire mage incantations.
Five figures emerged 500 yards out. Leading them was Gareth, a Warrior clad in black plate armor, wielding a broadsword and clutching a glowing green orb. Beside him were a Hunter—boosting the group's speed with Swift Aura—a Mage, a Cleric, and a Rogue named Jax.
"Snitch's dead—this guy's tough," Gareth warned. Jax cursed: "Kael wants him dead. Don't let him escape!"
Spotting Lucas, Jax activated Sprint (30% speed boost) and charged. "I'll take him alone!" The Cleric frowned: "You're red-named—I can't heal you from that distance!"
Jax ignored her. He leaped, firing a crossbow bolt—only to be met by a Pyroblast twice the size of a normal Fireball.
BOOM! "-144" Jax died mid-leap. The Level 2 Rogue, built fully for Dexterity, only had 100 HP. He never got to figure out how Lucas cast Pyroblast—a spell that normally took 5 seconds to channel—in the blink of an eye.
Lucas's simplified incantations cut cast time to 0.7 seconds. Gareth's team froze. "He one-shotted Jax! What's his damage?" the Mage gasped.
"No cast bar? Did he use Presence of Mind?" the Cleric wondered (a skill that instant-casts spells, 2-minute cooldown).
"Forget it—swarm him!" Gareth ordered. The Hunter and Mage flanked Lucas; the Cleric hung back. Gareth charged with Rush, a 1-second gap-closer that stunned for 1s.
Just as Gareth reached him, Lucas activated Fire Ward—a burst of golden flame that sent Gareth flying 10 steps back. The Mage, mid-Ice Lance cast, was caught off guard.
Lucas countered in an instant. "Spell Disruption!" The Mage's Ice Lance was locked down for 12 seconds. The Hunter loosed a poisoned arrow, but Lucas Blinked three yards away—right into the Hunter's weapon blind spot.
The Hunter fumbled, forced to switch to a staff. "Why can't I use my bow?!" Gareth shouted: "Step back 1 yard—break the blind spot!"
Lucas matched the Hunter's every move, staying just out of bow range. Panic dripped down the Hunter's brow. Gareth tried to Intercept, but another Pyroblast slammed into him: "-147 (Interrupt!)"
"Heal me!" Gareth roared. The Cleric began casting Heal (3-second cast)—but Lucas's next Pyroblast killed Gareth before she finished. His green orb clattered to the ground.
"How's his Pyroblast so fast?!" the Cleric shrieked. The Hunter yelled: "He's casting in 0.7s—counter him!"
The Mage's counter failed. Lucas's Pyroblast reduced the Cleric to low HP. She fled, but a Fire Blast finished her: "-135."
Only the Mage and Hunter remained. Lucas toyed with the Hunter, keeping him in the blind spot, while dueling the Mage head-on. His 0.7s Pyroblasts outpaced the Mage's 2.5s Ice Lances. One hit later, the Mage died: "-142."
"Your turn." The Hunter fled in terror, but two successive Pyroblasts cut him down mid-run.
Lucas stood victorious—one versus five. Leo rushed over, awestruck. "Boss, you're invincible!"
As they prepared to loot the bodies, Kael seethed in Giant's Hamlet...