Chapter 290: Full Power

Marcus didn’t hesitate. He dug his heels into Blackie’s flanks and sent the Dragon-Steed surging forward in a burst of raw speed. The Bat Dragon Cloud Sword whistled through the air as he brought it down on the Bone Boar, which had only just shaken off its stun and still looked dazed, unaware of the storm about to hit it. The strike landed with triple the force of a normal blow; Roar of the Dragon-Steed in all its glory.

Blackie had evolved at level thirty and picked up a skill-level bonus, but the core damage of the ability stayed exactly the same: three times a regular attack. What had improved dramatically were the critical-hit and lethal-strike chances, both boosted by a full twenty percent. Marcus wished he could have used Shadow Piercer instead, that one hit at least five times harder and carried nasty extra effects, but Roar of the Dragon-Steed was more than enough for the moment. It was still far stronger than his old Desperate Strike.

The first two blows connected with meaty thwacks. Over seventy percent crit rate meant the odds were ridiculous, and sure enough both his swing and Blackie’s follow-up attack critted, carving huge chunks out of the boar. In the space of a few heartbeats, before the monster could even lift a tusk in retaliation, sixty percent of its health had vanished. Only thirty-five percent remained; a thin red sliver of its bar.

Brutal didn’t even begin to cover it.

Then the knockback triggered. The Bone Boar, easily twice the height of a grown man, flew backward and slammed into the stone floor three meters away with a crash that echoed through the hall.

“Bones for brains,” Marcus muttered, kicking Blackie forward again. “Heaven’s clearly not on your side today, big guy. Nothing you can do about it.”

He charged straight at the struggling boar as it tried to scramble upright, already winding up for another Roar of the Dragon-Steed. This one landed even cleaner. The boar tried to reflect fifteen percent of the damage back at him, but the Bat Dragon Cloud Sword’s life-steal kicked in at the same moment, instantly converting the reflected pain into healing. Between that and the Super Health Potion still ticking in his veins, his own health bar never even flickered.

The Bone Boar finally fought back. “Bone Barrage!” it roared, arching its spiked spine and launching fifteen razor-sharp bone spikes in a wide cone. Marcus was already inside the danger zone, less than two meters away, so eight of the spikes came screaming right at him.

Five of them hit. The rest whistled past harmlessly. Each impact registered around two hundred and eighty damage, but with Adamant Shield Wall active the actual harm was cut by seventy percent. Fourteen hundred total. A scratch. Barely enough to notice.

’Should have just surrendered,’ Marcus thought with a grim smile. Big mistake.

He slammed another Roar of the Dragon-Steed home the instant the boar regained its feet. Twin criticals flashed; eight thousand two hundred damage each. The monster staggered, then went limp as the stun effect locked it in place again, a spinning ring of light hovering above its head.

A level-fifty Medium-Grade Golden boss with thirty-five thousand health. In the span of seconds, before it could even mount a proper defense, Marcus had shredded it down to fifteen percent. Now it just stood there, helpless, a living punching bag.

Completely overpowered.

Under the full stack of his buffs and with every cooldown blazing, the Bone Boar never stood a chance. Cabaro’s Set bonuses kept triggering; Solidify, Wolf Form, Wolf Stride, layering even more power onto an already ridiculous assault. Fighting weak mobs that died in two or three hits never let him stretch his legs like this. You needed something tough, something that could actually take a beating, before you saw what he was truly capable of.

Stronger against stronger enemies. That was him.

Honestly, though, this boar was still too weak. He’d barely started enjoying himself and the fight was already winding down. Not satisfying at all.

In that moment of smug overconfidence he switched skills, swinging the Bat Dragon Cloud Sword with a crisp “Triple Surge!” for the finishing blow.

The three rapid strikes landed; two thousand one hundred, one thousand nine hundred, two thousand fifty. No crits. Just shy of six thousand damage total.

The Bone Boar did not die.

’Uh-oh. Way too cocky.’

He attacked again. His attack speed was insane; less than two seconds between swings, and the boar was still locked in its three-second stun, standing there like a training dummy. The next trio hit harder: two thousand two hundred, two thousand flat, then a glorious critical for six thousand.

This time the monster crumpled. Its Bone Rebirth skill, with its twenty-percent revival chance, never even triggered.

No chance at all.

Marcus’s luck was simply too high. It was like the conservation of fortune; his good luck drained the enemy’s until there was none left. Simple as that.

A pair of system chimes rang in his ears.

Ding!

“Congratulations, player Stonehaven, for killing the Golden Bone Boar. Reputation increased by 500. Received 80 gold coins.”

Ding!

“Congratulations, player Stonehaven, your level has increased. Now Level 38. Health increased by 50, Magic increased by 10. Five attribute points available for distribution.”

’Yes.’

Leveling up off a higher-tier boss always felt good, and a level-fifty Golden boss was generous enough to bump him a full level in one go. Another chime followed right behind it.

Ding!

“Congratulations, player Stonehaven, your Super Divine Mount, Nightmare Dragon Steed Blackie, has increased in level. Now Level 35. Health increased by 50, Magic increased by 10, Attack increased by 10, Defense increased by 10.”

Blackie leveled too. The rest of his pets; the Shadow-Stained Gryphon King, Wyvern Saint Knight Lyanna, and Vixen Queen Camillo, picked up experience as well. Lyanna and Camillo each jumped a full two levels and were now knocking on the door of thirty. Watching pets grow stronger never got old.

One more notification popped up.

Ding!

“Congratulations, player Stonehaven, your skill Triple Surge has increased to Level 2. Effect enhanced.”

He’d used the new skill on purpose for the kill shot just to push it over the threshold. Worth it.

Marcus glanced across the hall. In the fifteen seconds it had taken him to dismantle the Bone Boar, Goldie, Lyanna, and Camillo had already finished off every last small mob the Sea Demon Soul had been holding down. The only things left were his flying pets circling overhead and the Sea Demon Soul still trading blows with the Skeleton Marshal.

The Soul’s stats scaled directly with his own, so under full buffs it was practically invincible. Even while the Skeleton Marshal hammered away at it relentlessly, the tank still had half its health remaining. Meanwhile the marshal itself had lost nearly two-thirds of its life to the combined fury of Goldie, Lyanna, and Camillo. Ten seconds at most and it would be finished.

’No rush.’

Marcus opened his skill window to admire the upgraded Triple Surge.

—

Triple Surge — Level 2 (0/3000), Active skill. Basic single-target attack for Temple Guards. Costs 40 MP. Strikes the enemy three times rapidly like crashing waves. Very fast. Each hit deals damage equal to a normal attack. Attack has 10% Critical Hit chance and 5% Stun chance.

—

’Nice upgrade.’

The damage output was now right on par with Roar of the Dragon-Steed, even if the crit rate was a little lower. He dumped his five free attribute points into Strength and Constitution, then strolled over to the scattered pile of bones that had once been the Bone Boar and triggered Gathering.

Ding!

“Congratulations, player Stonehaven, you have gathered 3 Death Bones. Gathering proficiency increased.”

Ding!

“Congratulations, player Stonehaven, you have gathered 2 Bone Boar Tusks. Gathering proficiency increased.”

—

Death Bones: Requires Intermediate Gathering or higher. Bones saturated with death energy. Contains massive amounts of death energy. Can be used to revive fallen players or pets. Each bone can be used once. Revived player or pet recovers 50% of Health and Magic.

Bone Boar Tusks: High-grade material. The Bone Boar’s two tusks. Contains death energy. Can be used to craft two death-attribute weapons.

—

’Nice.’

The revival bones alone were worth keeping. But when the corpse finally despawned and the real loot appeared; three items glowing with black-and-red light. He knew the real prize had just dropped.

A strange little hammer, a dagger, and a throwing dart. Mythic and Artifact grade.

’Jackpot.’

He scooped them up before they could even settle on the floor.

—

Dwarf Os’s Little Hammer: Effect unknown. Cannot be used.

Bone Boar Burst Stinger: Black Mythic Artifact. Effect unknown. Cannot be used.

Barrage of Bone Spikes: Red Artifact. Effect unknown. Cannot be used.

—

The Bone Boar must have been a high-tier monster before it got injured, only something like that would drop gear this good. Add in the fact that he had killed it above his level, landed the first-kill bonus, and let his ridiculous luck do the rest, and the rewards made perfect sense.

Too bad his Basic Appraisal couldn’t identify Mythic or Artifact pieces. He’d have to head back to town and let Old Man take a look. Whatever those weapons did, he could hardly wait to find out.

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