"Mr. Bones" is actually planning to take on an Uncommon monster?
Seriously? That kind of guts is on par with the legendary honey badger!
Uncommon monsters these days have stats that are ridiculously higher than players'. Take this Rotting Grizzly in front of us, for example—3,000 HP and 30 defense.
With her summoned slime's pathetic 5 attack power, forget killing it—she can't even break through its defense.
And let's not even talk about the bear's attack power. One swipe from that thing, and even if this "mutated summon" Mr. Bones evolves, it probably wouldn't survive more than a few hits.
Unless she levels up to 10 and learns Summon Skeleton Archer, or Mr. Bones evolves into a skeleton archer himself and gets a ranged weapon, there's no way they stand a chance.
At that point, maybe they could kite it around for half an hour and barely whittle it down.
But right now? Mr. Bones is actually planning to go head-to-head with a level 10 Uncommon monster? That's just insane…
Lily had to admit, though—Mr. Bones' skills were ridiculously good, way better than most of the pros she'd seen.
But even the so-called "Twelve Gods of Gaming," the absolute top-tier players, had never triggered a system announcement for being the first to kill an Uncommon monster.
Could this mutated summon really think of itself as The Apex Tyrant?
"Clack."
A bone suddenly landed in front of her, and a flicker of confusion crossed Lily's delicate face.
"Mr. Bones, what are you trying to tell me?"
Ethan didn't answer. Instead, he picked up his Boneblade and started skillfully shaving it into Bone Powder, demonstrating as he worked.
"You… want me… to help you carve bones?" Lily gestured with her soft, pale hands, trying to confirm her guess.
Ethan's skull tilted slightly, then gave a small nod.
"Wow!"
Lily suddenly jumped up in excitement, startling Ethan enough that his arm twitched slightly.
He had no idea why this ditzy girl was so thrilled.
"You're finally 'talking' to me! Oh my gosh, I'm so happy!"
Lily grabbed Ethan's arm, her face lighting up with a radiant smile.
She'd always suspected that, while Ethan's body had mutated, his intelligence might not have fully developed yet. That's why she'd been chattering away at him nonstop, hoping he'd respond to her somehow.
But Ethan had always ignored her, leaving her feeling utterly defeated.
Now, though, seeing Ethan respond to her question with actions, Lily immediately tossed all her previous frustration out the window.
She wasn't the type to hold grudges—she was easygoing and quick to move on. So, when Ethan gestured for her to help carve Bone Powder, she eagerly picked up her Necromancer's Staff and got to work.
The sharp end of her staff was just barely good enough to shave bones.
But… compared to Ethan's speed, she was as slow as a snail.
"Mr. Bones, what are you even doing? What's all this Bone Powder for?" Lily couldn't help but ask as she worked.
Ethan didn't answer. Instead, he showed her.
The next moment, the Boneblade in Ethan's hand transformed into a long, bone-crafted bow.
Then, a portion of the Bone Powder at his feet quickly condensed into a bone arrow, which he nocked onto the bowstring.
Before Lily could even process what was happening, Ethan pulled the bowstring taut and fired.
"Whoosh!"
The arrow whistled through the air, flying 200 feet straight toward the Rotting Grizzly. It struck the monster's head with a powerful impact.
"-78."
As the system notification popped up, Ethan's skill activated.
"Quick Slash skill activated. Attack speed increased by 240% for 80 minutes. Current attack speed: 0.7 seconds."
"Whoosh!"
Another arrow flew.
"-78!"
"-78!"
"-52!"
"-52!"
…
Arrow after arrow shot out in rapid succession, and the Bone Powder at Ethan's feet visibly dwindled with each shot.
In just seven seconds, Ethan had fired ten arrows, wasting almost no time between shots.
The arrows rained down like a storm, each one hitting its mark with precision. The Rotting Grizzly, an Uncommon monster, had already lost a staggering 600 HP in the blink of an eye.
Lily stood frozen nearby, her jaw practically hitting the ground.
The Rotting Grizzly, still confused and disoriented, had no idea where the arrows were coming from or who was attacking it. All it could do was let out pained howls and clumsily spin in circles.
At 200 feet away, Ethan was well outside the bear's 150-foot aggro range.
Every arrow he fired landed perfectly, leaving the Grizzly completely helpless.
Meanwhile, Ethan didn't waste a second. He used the remaining Bone Powder to craft 20 more bone arrows, which he tucked into his makeshift quiver.
As he continued firing, he began to slowly close the distance between himself and the Grizzly.
Twenty seconds later, the Rotting Grizzly finally spotted Ethan.
Its eyes burned with rage as it let out a deafening roar.
"ROAR—!"
With a thunderous bellow, it raised one massive paw and slammed it into the ground.
"Skill: Shockwave activated!"
"BOOM!"
The ground erupted, sending shards of rock and dirt flying in all directions like shrapnel.
But what happened next left Lily completely dumbfounded.
Instead of charging at Ethan, the Rotting Grizzly… turned around and ran away!
"What?!" Lily couldn't believe her eyes.
"No way… Mr. Bones is that terrifying?" She watched as Ethan, who had clearly anticipated this, calmly nocked another arrow and began chasing after the fleeing bear. Her shock only deepened.
"He knew it would run… That's why he got closer earlier?"
Lily's face flushed with embarrassment.
Just moments ago, she'd thought Ethan was being reckless—choosing to approach the bear instead of safely kiting it from a distance. Now, she realized she was the fool.
Ethan's awareness and decision-making were on a whole other level, far beyond anything she could have imagined.
[Congratulations! You have slain the Rotting Grizzly Leader. You have gained 1,000 EXP. Your level has increased.]
[System Notification: You have slain the level 10 Uncommon Rotting Grizzly Leader. You are the first player among 2 billion to defeat a level 10 Uncommon Boss. Drop rate increased by 200%.]
[System Notification: First Kill Reward: 10 Gold Coins.]
[Would you like to announce this achievement to the entire server?]
Lily was still reeling from the shock when she saw the Rotting Grizzly collapse to the ground, completely lifeless.
"It's… dead already?" she muttered, her voice filled with disbelief.
"First kill… 10 gold coins… Oh my god! That's worth at least $10,000!"
Her mind immediately flashed to the forum posts she'd seen. She vividly remembered someone offering $1,000 per gold coin, even stating they'd buy as many as they could get.
This game world was never short on wealthy players—what it lacked were people like her, who were perpetually broke.
In the early stages of Dark Scrolls, gold was the rarest and most valuable resource. Whether it was buying potions, repairing gear, learning skills, upgrading abilities, or even joining a major guild, everything required a ton of gold.
And the drop rate for gold coins was abysmally low. Traveling with Ethan, they'd killed at least 200 wild monsters, yet she'd only managed to collect about 500 copper coins.
For context:
100 copper coins = 1 silver coin.
100 silver coins = 1 gold coin.
In other words, she hadn't even saved up a single gold coin yet.
But now, she'd suddenly received a massive windfall of 10 gold coins! That was equivalent to $10,000!
Lily's heart raced with excitement, but she quickly calmed herself. She had no intention of selling the gold coins. Instead, she decided to save them to upgrade her Undead Empowerment skill.
She knew that Ethan was her greatest trump card. As long as Ethan grew stronger, she could dominate this game world. Everything else could wait.
She looked up at Ethan, who was busy collecting the loot from the Grizzly's corpse. Her eyes sparkled with admiration.
Ethan, meanwhile, was struggling to contain his excitement.
The Rotting Grizzly Leader hadn't just given him 1,000 EXP—it had also rewarded him with 1,000 Evolution Points and 100 Enhancement Points.
This meant he could now upgrade his weapon!
Even more exciting was the 200% drop rate bonus from the first kill. The ground was littered with glowing loot: equipment, gold coins, and potions.
Ethan suppressed his emotions and methodically began picking up the spoils.
Just then, Lily came running over, her face beaming with joy.
"Mr. Bones! I leveled up! And I got 10 gold coins as a reward! I can finally learn Summon Skeleton Archer now—this is amazing!"
She waved her Necromancer's Staff excitedly, practically bouncing with happiness.
"Oh, right, Mr. Bones, should I choose to announce the first kill to the whole server?"
Ethan paused for a moment at her question but didn't respond. He continued sorting through the loot.
Suddenly, his hand froze as he picked up a glowing blue skill book.
He stared at it, the soul flames in his eye sockets flickering slightly.
"What's this?"