In the world of Gods, bosses are classified as Leader, Elite, Rare, Epic, Legendary, Demigod, and Mythical.
The chance of encountering a boss in the novice village is quite low.
The green snake in front of John was a Level 2 Leader boss.
With 120 health points and a base magic attack of 20 points, this boss was a formidable opponent.
Given John's current strength, he could defeat the boss as long as he was careful.
He quickly retreated, raised his staff, and cast a Fireball spell that flew out and struck the green snake with precision.
Boom!
-11
"Hiss!"
The green snake hissed in pain and rapidly closed the distance between itself and John.
Unlike ordinary green snakes, this boss had a significant speed advantage.
In just an instant, the green snake was right in front of John.
Its agile body quickly attempted to coil around him.
Skill: Death Coil!
John's expression grew serious. With Fireball still on cooldown, he couldn't interrupt the green snake's attack and had to roll on the ground to narrowly avoid it.
As soon as the Fireball spell cooled down, he cast it again.
Boom!
The green snake paused, losing another 11 health points. Enraged, it swayed its body, conjuring a wind blade that swiftly slashed at John.
-8
John was struck by the wind blade again.
"Someone's coming!" John cursed under his breath, noticing a team approaching quickly from a distance. They had clearly spotted the green snake boss as well.
Handling the green snake boss alone was already challenging; if others interfered, he'd stand no chance.
"Captain, it's really a boss!"
"Hey, it's that lone wolf. He's already reached Level 3."
Two exclamations came from the team. The group consisted of four members—three men and one woman: a knight, two archers, and a healer.
It was a perfectly balanced team.
John recognized the group. The leader was the archer who had previously invited him to join their team, with the ID: Fatty.
Fatty was surprised by John's strength but quickly focused on the boss.
"Hey, buddy, we're from Wind and Cloud Guild. How about letting us have this boss?"
Fatty's tone was condescending despite his seemingly polite request.
The Wind and Cloud Guild's leader, Aron, had significant financial resources in real life and had invested heavily in the guild, leading to its rapid growth.
The guild had already gained some notoriety in the novice village.
Wind and Cloud Guild, huh?
John sneered, not expecting to encounter members of Wind and Cloud Guild so soon.
"Think you can snatch the boss? Let's see if you have what it takes!" John abruptly changed direction, charging towards Fatty and his team.
"Damn! Captain, he's trying to use the green snake against us," the knight in the team quickly raised his shield, panic etched on his face.
He had just reached Level 2 and was in no position to withstand the green snake's attacks.
"Take him out first," Fatty ordered, realizing John's intention. He drew his bow and shot an arrow straight at John.
In the world of Gods, there were no penalties for attacking other players first, so Fatty felt no guilt.
Whoosh!
The arrow grazed John's clothes
as he perfectly dodged it.
Fatty frowned slightly. "Little Five, attack with me."
"Yes," the other archer replied, and both fired their arrows at John simultaneously.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two arrows flew toward John.
John remained unfazed, his movements fluid as he effortlessly dodged both arrows.
"Such high evasion!" Fatty was shocked. Dodging once could be luck, but twice in a row indicated exceptional agility and combat experience.
By now, John was right in front of the team.
"Well, a mage dares to get close," the knight sneered, raising his heavy wooden shield to smash it down on John.
John spun gracefully, once again perfectly evading the attack.
"Huh?" The knight swung and missed, his eyes widening in terror as he saw a wind blade heading straight for him. It was the green snake boss's attack.
Slash!
-37
The knight's low magic resistance caused him to lose a quarter of his health in one hit.
And it wasn't over yet.
John raised his staff, launching a Fireball.
But the target wasn't the green snake; it was the knight.
Boom!
-29
The Fireball exploded, leaving the knight with only half of his health remaining.
"Healer, heal me quickly!" The knight, panicking, desperately called out to the healer girl behind him.
The healer finally reacted, raising her staff to cast a healing spell.
But John, like a phantom, appeared right in front of her before she could finish.
With Fireball on cooldown, John swung his staff at the healer.
"Ah!"
The healer cried out in pain as a single-digit damage number floated above her head.
-4
John's base physical damage was still too low.
However, his objective was achieved.
"Hurry, heal me!" The knight urged frantically, seeing no recovery in his health.
By this time, the green snake had abandoned John and was now attacking the knight,
having mistaken the team for John's allies.
"I... my spell got interrupted," the healer stammered, her voice trembling. It was the first time she had encountered such a situation.
"What?" The knight, momentarily distracted, was immediately ensnared by the green snake's Death Coil.
The snake opened its gaping maw and bit down on his neck.
Whoosh!
A flash of white light, and the knight was killed instantly, dropping a few copper coins on the spot.
Fatty finally reacted and hastily ordered, "Quick, spread out! Little Five, forget the snake, kill that mage first!"
Fatty pulled the stunned healer girl back, drawing his bow and aiming at John once more.
"Watch out, the snake!" the healer girl exclaimed, covering her mouth in fear and quickly warning Little Five.
But it was too late.
Little Five was immediately entangled by the green snake and then hit by a Fireball.
It was John's attack.
The archer, lacking any magic resistance, was instantly killed.
"Despicable!" With another teammate down, Fatty was enraged. John was too cunning, forcing them to expose themselves to the snake's attacks.
"Run in different directions!" Fatty shouted, abandoning the terrified healer and running in the opposite direction of the snake.
"Well, just a bunch of scum," John sneered, his killing intent growing stronger. He cast another Fireball, knocking Fatty down.
"Buddy, it's a misunderstanding," Fatty pleaded, his face filled with terror. He finally realized the power gap between himself and John and forced a smile.
"Buddy, you know the Wind and Cloud Guild, right? I'm a squad leader in the guild..." Fatty tried to intimidate John by mentioning the Wind and Cloud Guild.
John had no time for nonsense. As soon as his skill cooled down, he raised his hand and cast another Fireball.
Boom!
Two Fireballs sent Fatty back to the novice village for free.
On the ground, a longbow and several copper coins were left behind.
"This guy was quite rich," John muttered, picking up the longbow and copper coins.
In the world of Gods, currency was divided into gold, silver, and copper coins.
1 gold coin = 100 silver coins = 10,000 copper coins.
In the early stages, copper coins were scarce, and their black market exchange rate was as high as 10 yuan per copper coin.
John had no use for the bow but could sell it.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind surged behind him. John remembered the green snake boss was still around.
The green snake, having killed the healer girl, was now fixated on John.
Without any interference, John found it much easier to handle the green snake boss.
Three minutes later, the green snake boss finally fell to John's Fireball spell.
[Killed Level 2 Leader Green Snake Boss, gained 22 experience points]
[Plunder talent triggered, gained skill Wind Blade]
[Wind Blade: Level 1, deals 50% wind magic damage to the target; consumes 5 mana, 3-second cooldown]
The notification flashed.
"I actually plundered a skill!" John was delighted. Mages in the early game didn't lack damage but rather the number of skills. Having an additional skill increased John's combat effectiveness by at least 30%.
Besides the skill, the green snake boss also dropped a staff, two skill stones, and several copper coins.
[Green Snake Staff: Common, usable by mages; Magic damage +5]
[Skill Stone: Use to gain 1 skill point]
The Green Snake Staff, with its 5-point magic damage bonus, was much stronger than his novice staff.
John equipped it immediately, increasing his magic damage by 4 points.
He also had two skill stones.
In the world of Gods, players most lacked skill points.
Especially in the later stages, the skill points required to upgrade basic, intermediate, and advanced skills increased exponentially.
Many players in the late game, lacking sufficient skill points to upgrade, could only use basic and intermediate magic.
[Used Skill Stone, gained 2 skill points]
John used the skill stones, gaining 2 skill points and choosing to upgrade his Fireball spell.
[Fireball Level 5; deals 70% of Spirit as fire magic damage to the target; consumes 5 mana, 3-second cooldown]
Level 5 Fireball dealt 37 damage, and Level 1 Wind Blade dealt 33 damage.
"Time to deal with the Tusked Wild Boars." John confirmed he hadn't missed anything and headed to the forest to hunt the boars.
…
Just as John left, Fatty arrived with a group of players in a hurry.
"The green snake boss has been killed!" Fatty saw the boss's corpse and collapsed in despair.
His death had not only dropped his level back to 1 but also lost him the purchased longbow, resetting him to novice status.
A man carrying a broadsword approached Fatty and consoled him, "Fatty, I've reported this to the guild president. The president will avenge you."
…