Cold winds blew and swept across the forbidden forest.
The mirage-like green and gray fur of the King Bushwolf danced with the breeze, showcasing its serene yet still menacing beauty. It would seem like the beast was wrongly named as a 'king', as it showcased a charm and splendor befitting that of a queen instead.
Although its glinting pair of silvery eyes were fearsome, Jin could not deny the fact that the beast in front of him was beautiful. It was unlike any other beast that he had encountered.
Moving a few steps back, Jin prepared himself. The look in the eyes of the King Bushwolf was rather calm, although one could feel the raging intent it was holding back. For a game to generate such a realistic feeling of fear, it was simply outstanding. Jin halted his steps, the hovering Seyna then initiated its first attack, as it rocketed towards the King Bushwolf.
*Swish*
Strong winds swept as the demonic sword Seyna swiftly made its way towards the unmoving beast. However, the moment it got close enough— a breath away from the King Bushwolf— An unexpected scene occurred. The sharp blade of the greatsword somehow went through, instead of against, the monstrous wolf.
The attack… missed.
It was a complete whiff!
Carried by its own momentum, the demonic sword Seyna struck the ground, blowing up clouds of dust. The fog-like scene reduced Jin's vision. The surroundings suddenly became foggy once more. The mirage figure of the King Bushwolf disappeared within the shroud of haze, like a silver veil covering the face of a jade-like beauty.
In a split second, the King Bushwolf completely disappeared.
However, Jin knew that the King Bushwolf didn't escape. He could clearly see that his status was still 'In Combat', and there was no way a LV 50 monster would run away from a mere LV 18 armorless demon king. Something immediately felt amiss with the situation.
…
HP: 5,714 (-3,000)
…
Jin suddenly felt a surging pain.
Huge fangs bore down his bare neck. In an instant, a third of Jin's HP completely disappeared. Gaping holes were apparent on his neck. Blood dripped from the terrifying bite mark. In the next instant; the King Bushwolf disappeared once more. Jin was too shocked that he couldn't immediately react…
[Player is affected by King Bushwolf's Passive 'Thorn of the Thickets''!]
['Bleed' effect applied!]
[Will lose 5% HP (total) per sec.]
[Please seek immediate assistance]...
A series of notifications jogged Jin's attention back, blood still dripping from his neck. Suddenly, he could feel his knees numbing, it felt like he couldn't move at all— It was if he was frozen in place by an unseen force. His body trembled, coldness ran down his spine.
It wasn't because of another status ailment… Jin was actually scared.
The fear of dying this time felt real… It was unlike his past resolve to accepting death. This time, he felt that he really was alive, and he could be facing certain death as soon as the number— what others see as "mere HP"— tick down to zero.
…
HP: 5,264 (-450)... HP: 4,814 (-450)... HP: 4,364 (-450)
…
With nothing to stop the bleeding, Jin could only look in despair as his HP drops.
There was nothing Jin could really do— No potions, no healing abilities… Nothing.
Once more, the King Bushwolf reappeared in front of Jin, a look of coldness apparent on its bright silver eyes— A domineering stance only a guardian of the forest could carry. Instead of attacking Jin, however, it merely stared and watched the latter suffer.
Jin could only look back and sneer… A hidden boss really deserves to be hidden.
It was unfortunate that he triggered its spawn requirement way too soon. If only he did so while he's stronger, the outcome might have been different, who knows? Jin could only accept the fate he's being handed down with. The demonic sword Seyna, which hovered above Jin, tried attacking the King Bushwolf once more.
However, the same thing happened.
The blade of the sword just went through its mirage body. The attack appeared too slow to hit such a speedy opponent. An opponent so fast that its body could even become ethereal just from its speed alone. Jin thought that it might've all just been tricks, but he could only think of it as an excuse for him not being able to do anything.
If he had enough time, he might've figured it out— Alas… he didn't
…
HP: 764 (-450)... HP: 314 (-450)... HP: 0 (-450)
[You died]
…
[Calculating level difference...]
[Respawn Time: 2 hours]
[Respawn Point: Priyan Kingdom's Castle]
[Stat points resetting…]
…
Jin could feel a cold sensation wrapping around him, swallowing his entirety. Even though it felt rather comfortable, the inability to move made it, overall, an unpleasant experience. Darkness soon obscured his vision, and Jin could not see or hear anything other than the timer at the upper left corner of his consciousness. It showed a 2-hour countdown.
On the other side was the timer for the Priyan Kingdoms "reopening". It showed a 4 and a half day countdown. Back then, Jin thought that the timer ticked down real slow, but after receiving the main questline, it shifted to a total opposite; the timer seemingly sped.
'I am glad that I could respawn…' Jin heaved. Even though his body couldn't move, he consciously sighed in relief. 'But dying is just… I don't want to experience that feeling very often. I'll have to try harder.' Jin felt determined to not repeat the same mistake, although it was an honest one— as he did not know that a hidden boss could spawn within the forest— He still felt like it was his fault for throwing caution into the wind while leveling.
'The spawn requirement was killing 20,000 creatures… I could just restrain myself from reaching the same number again, but that would be risky, all the more inefficient… Tsk, I guess I'll have to look for another place to grind my levels.' Jin pondered for his next approach. He was still two levels away from reaching LV 20 and finishing the quest.
17,650 experience points to reach LV 19
… and another 20,650 to finally reach LV 20.
The '20,000 creature' limit, at a glance, felt like it was still plausible.
However, now that Jin reached a higher level, the low-level monsters could barely fill up anything in terms of experience points. At most, a LV 10 monster could yield 50 points, and the chances of one appearing diminished through time. It would be foolish of Jin to lose track of his kills and accidentally spawn the King Bushwolf once more.
'If Gramps wasn't lying back then; then there should be a 'secret' cave north of the castle… I hope there's a better yield there. If not, I just have to risk everything at the forest once more.'