Fireballs whooshed through the air, striking the Golden Slime King with thunderous impacts. The boss's health bar rapidly depleted as the Sword Fire guild demonstrated their excellent teamwork. Several heavily armored berserkers took turns tanking the Slime King's attacks, rotating out to chug potions.
However, the players' early-game equipment was still lacking. Many only had a pair of basic boots or crude leggings. Those with over 20 defense were rare. Even with Sword Fire's coordination, melee fighters were still getting one-shot by the Golden Slime King one after another.
Moreover, the boss's poison attacks had a splash effect, greatly increasing their lethality. Many Sword Fire players were instantly killed before even getting close.
Nevertheless, the boss's health continued to steadily decrease.
As the boss's health bar neared depletion, I found myself torn. Should I jump out to grab the loot, or watch as they took down the boss that was originally mine?
Truthfully, the Sword Fire members didn't seem to have that ruthless aura. I could sense the friendship between their team members. They were certainly not a ragtag group like Arrogant Clan. So, I had a fairly positive impression of Sword Flame.
But even so, they had indirectly stolen my boss...
Just as I was hesitating, a shocking change occurred!
"ROAR!"
With an earth-shaking bellow, the Slime King suddenly erupted with golden light just before falling, its body swelling to nearly twice its original size!
Sword Fire Dragon Soul cried out in alarm: "Be careful! The boss seems to have mutated!"
Sword Fire Titan raged: "How unlucky can we get? The very first boss we fight ends up mutating!"
In the blink of an eye, the Golden Slime King let out another furious roar. Suddenly, a golden light rippled outward like a wave, forming a lethal shockwave attack!
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
Amidst a series of cracking sounds, the entire Sword Fire group was caught in the shockwave. Damage numbers of 200 popped up above nearly everyone's heads! Those with low health were instantly killed, while even the tanks who had invested in vitality lost about a third of their health!
But it wasn't over yet. With another roar from the Golden Slime King, a second golden shockwave swept out!
Sword Fire Dragon Soul cried out in dismay: "Damn! We've really stepped in it this time!"
Sword Fire Titan wore a helpless expression: "When fate is against you, there's no use forcing it. I said stealing bosses was wrong..."
"Argh..."
With two agonized cries, Sword Fire Dragon Soul and Sword Fire Titan were simultaneously killed!
What followed was a one-sided slaughter. The Sword Fire members were all wiped out after the fourth wave from the Golden Slime King. But the Slime King seemed to be enjoying itself immensely, unleashing wave after wave without end... I lost count after a while...
However, I had patience to spare. I simply waited quietly. The large tree I was hiding behind shielded me from all damage. So even though I was mere steps away from the Golden Slime King, I remained perfectly safe!
In the distance, a large crowd of players watched the super boss rampage from afar. Not a single one dared to approach. If even an elite team like Sword Fire had been completely wiped out, what hope did random players have?
After nearly ten minutes, the boss finally stopped its roaring. The golden light enveloping its body suddenly dimmed.
Perhaps due to my proximity, I actually received a battle message!
"Ding!"
Battle Prompt: The Golden Slime King's berserk state has ended. It has entered a weakened state. Defense reduced by 50%!
...
I was overjoyed. The opportunity had arrived! After the climax comes weakness - now was the time to claim its life!
Without hesitation, I leapt out from the forest. My Gleaming War Axe whirled through the air. With a "squelch", a massive bloody gash opened on the Slime King's head!
"346!"
The damage number over 300 sent me into a frenzy of excitement. In its weakened state, the Slime King had become nothing more than a pile of meat. Although its poison attacks were still deadly, I had already chugged a 300-point health potion. I was going all in!
The crowd of players in the distance cried out in surprise. Many began sprinting over, shouting as they ran: "Where did this guy come from? Hurry up, or we'll be too late!"
Amid their shouts, I suddenly yanked my axe back, opening another huge wound on the Golden Slime King's head! In an instant, the boss's massive body collapsed.
"Ding!"
System Prompt: Congratulations! You have slain the boss Golden Slime King. You gain 50,000 experience points and +300 Reputation!
...
I immediately leveled up to 12. Moreover, beneath the Golden Slime King's corpse, I clearly saw two equipment drops!
I quickly stepped forward and snatched up the two items, tossing them into my bag before the others could arrive. Then I searched the corpse, finding nothing else except a pile of money!
There were even a few glowing coins!
Gold coins! This boss had directly dropped gold coins!
I counted them - 12 gold coins in total, along with a considerable number of silver coins!
Many of the silver coins had fallen into the grass, forcing me to dig around for quite a while. If not for my principle of gathering every last grain, I definitely wouldn't have bothered with these silver coins.
By the time I had collected all 84 silver coins, the group of players who had been watching the boss from afar had arrived. Many were eyeing me covetously. After all, the first time a boss is killed, there's a 100% chance of dropping epic loot. The second time it's halved, the third time halved again, and so on.
I glanced at them. The highest level was only 8, still wielding a rusty iron sword. To be honest, I didn't take such newbies seriously at all!
So I brandished my Gleaming War Axe and said, "What? Want a piece of the action?"
Hearing this, those players immediately hesitated. Several shook their heads and left.
At that moment, another group suddenly arrived - it was several members of Sword Fire!
This time, Sword Fire hadn't brought many people, only four. This included Sword Fire Dragon Soul and Sword Fire Titan. Another was a player called Sword Fire Ghost Flame, whose name showed he was a level 10 Dark Mage!
A Dark Mage! It was actually a hidden class!
However, what amazed me most was the other person accompanying Sword Fire Dragon Soul - a female player called "Violet Melody", a level 10 Cleric!
Violet Melody wore a creamy white robe that seemed to be a white-quality item. This Violet Melody was strikingly beautiful. Compared to Emma, she lacked some of that ethereal charm, but made up for it with a more mature beauty! Judging by her appearance, this female player seemed to be around 25 years old, while Emma was barely 20.
My gaze lingered on Violet Melody for about three seconds before moving on to the others. This seemed to surprise the Sword Fire members, while Violet Melody's small mouth opened slightly, apparently astonished that this young man's gaze could be so clear and pure!
Sword Fire Dragon Soul glanced at the slowly disappearing corpse of the Golden Slime King on the ground, then shook his head with a smile and said, "Brother, you killed this boss, right?"
I nodded, frankly admitting: "That's right. I landed both the first hit on this boss and the final blow."
My words clearly indicated that I hadn't stolen the kill.
Dragon Soul was equally straightforward. He smiled and said, "Then we should congratulate you! By the way, did you get any good equipment drops? If there's anything you don't want, would you consider selling it to us first? We'll... pay double the current market price!"
I gave him a suspicious look. Dragon Soul then laughed and said, "Oh right, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Dragon Soul, and these are my friends - Titan, Ghost Flame, and Violet Melody. We're companions from a battle network who transferred together from Moon Eternal to Ethereal Surge. We're not here for anything else, just looking to reclaim lost glory. Our organization is called Sword Fire. We currently have over a hundred members, but of course, the core members are just us four!"
I smiled and said, "So, you all don't know each other in real life?"
Dragon Soul suddenly laughed and said, "We're scattered across the country, only connected by phone. Titan and I are from Indiana, Ghost Flame is from Wisconsin, and this beautiful lady Violet Melody next to you, she lives in New York..."
"Oh? The same city as me?" I was slightly surprised.
Violet Melody was also startled. She glanced at me but didn't say anything.
Dragon Soul said, "My friend, the fact that you managed to snatch this boss from under both Sword Fire and Arrogant Clan's noses shows that you're no ordinary player. Would you be willing to become friends with us? We could conquer this world together from now on! Also, we still don't know your true identity..."
Only then did I realize that I had kept my name hidden the whole time, making me seem like some kind of expert...
So I immediately displayed my name.
"Frivolous Scholar..." Dragon Soul muttered, then laughed heartily. "An interesting name! So, why don't you check out what equipment the boss dropped? If possible, you can choose your future class development right now. Then, for any equipment you don't want, we'll buy it at a high price!"
At the same time, Dragon Soul sent me a friend request, which I accepted. Then Titan and Ghost Flame also added me as a friend. Violet Melody stood silently to the side, so I took the initiative to send her a friend request. She looked up at me, her face suddenly turning red, before accepting the invitation.
I opened my bag and looked at the two pieces of equipment. One was a bow, the other a suit of armor. First, I examined the armor's attributes:
[Wild Golden Armor] (Bronze Tier - Armor)
Defense: 50
Strength: +5
Required Level: 14
(Unidentified)
...
I was slightly shocked. The armor hadn't been fully identified yet, but its current attributes were already quite impressive. If the attributes increased further after identification, it would definitely be a super epic item. Moreover, it was Bronze tier, surpassing Iron tier in quality. This might be the first Bronze tier item to appear in Ethereal Surge!