Five minutes later, the three goblins collapsed to the ground in unison.
"Ding! You have slain [Goblin] x3, earning 540 experience points. Overlevel Bonus: +270 experience points."
"Ding! Talent Trait triggered: Poison Damage increased by +3. Current Poison Damage: 26."
"Ding! [Immortal Physique] activated: Maximum Health increased by +3. Current bonus from Immortal Physique: +3."
Ethan couldn't help but smile as he listened to the barrage of notifications.
His talent and the [Immortal Physique] skill were growing simultaneously, making him stronger with every kill. The extra experience from fighting overleveled monsters also made leveling up feel like a breeze.
"Wait, how could I forget?" Ethan suddenly recalled the pet egg in his inventory. Having a pet would mean splitting experience points—slowing down his own level progression—which might not be a bad thing.
"I don't need it to fight. Just leeching some experience will be enough to keep me from leveling too fast."
With that in mind, Ethan quickly retrieved the Silver Wolf King Egg from his inventory and followed the system's instructions to hatch it.
A brilliant light enveloped the egg, and moments later, a small wolf pup, about the size of a large dog, appeared at Ethan's feet. The pup rubbed affectionately against his leg, a sign of its recognition of its new master.
"Ding! Hatch successful. You have obtained [Silver Wolf King Pup]. Grade: A. Please assign a name."
Admiring the pup's shimmering silver fur, Ethan pondered for a moment before grinning. "Let's call you Silver Fang."
"Ding! Name confirmed: [Silver Fang]."
He opened the pet menu to review Silver Fang's stats:
[Silver Fang]
Grade: A
Level: 0
Health: 200
Mana: 100
Physical Attack: 20
Physical Defense: 10
Magical Defense: 5
Speed: 10
Skill 1: Quickstep Increases movement and attack speed by 50% for 30 seconds.
Mana Cost: 50
Cooldown: 2 minutes
"Not bad. Better than a rabbit, at least. No wonder wolves eat them." Ethan chuckled. Pets came with one innate skill and could learn additional abilities every 20 levels.
Turning to Silver Fang, Ethan commanded, "Stay back and just soak up the experience. With those scrawny legs of yours, one goblin hit would send you flying."
Obediently, Silver Fang retreated behind Ethan, wagging its tail.
"Good boy," Ethan said approvingly. With Silver Fang taking 20% of his experience, Ethan could grind more efficiently without worrying about leveling up too fast.
Meanwhile, Sovereign, who had just reached level 10, eagerly approached the novice village's elder, ready to teleport to the main city. But the elder informed him that the teleportation array was broken and required the defeat of the Silver Wolf King to repair. Sovereign's excitement immediately soured.
Across other novice villages, many top-tier players who had finally reached level 10 faced the same predicament. They began organizing teams to challenge the Silver Wolf King, only to be met with disastrous failures.
Soon, the forums exploded with a post titled "The Silver Wolf King: A Roadblock for Every Player."
The post detailed the challenges of defeating the Silver Wolf King: its massive 200,000 HP, 550 attack, and devastating area-of-effect skill that ignored defense. Combined with its ability to summon reinforcements, the boss was driving players to despair. The post ended with a plea: "@Sealed, please share your strategy."
Within hours, the thread was pinned, and the comments section overflowed with tags for Sealed. Unlike the Wild Boar King, defeating the Silver Wolf King was mandatory for leaving the novice village, making this a universal concern. Over a million players had joined the discussion, all clamoring for advice.
In the 8365 Novice Village's regional chat, players marveled at their unique advantage.
"Wow, so you need to kill the Silver Wolf King to fix the teleport array? That's brutal!"
"I know, right? I saw the boss's stats online. I'd probably get one-shotted before I even got close."
"How did Sealed manage to take it down?"
"No clue, but hey, thanks to him, we don't have to deal with it. We can just teleport to the main city once we hit level 10. That's a huge advantage!"
"For real. Sealed is a pro!"
Elsewhere, Nathan asked Jeremy, "How close are you to level 10?"
Jeremy, who had been funneling all the team's resources to maximize his experience, replied, "90%. Half an hour tops."
Jake chimed in, "We really owe Sealed for this. If he hadn't cleared the way, there's no way we'd get first dibs on the main city."
Jeremy nodded. "The competition is fierce. We're lucky to have this head start. Let's make it count."
Back in the game, Ethan received a private message from Sophia.
Sophia: "Don't you check the forums?"
Ethan: "Sometimes, when I'm offline."
Sophia: "Offline? Aren't you using a gaming pod? Nutrient fluids can sustain you for seven days straight."
Ethan: "Can't afford one."
Sophia: "Wait… You're playing with just a headset? And you're still leading everyone?"
Ethan: "Yep. Anything else?"
Sophia: "The forums are buzzing. Everyone's asking for your help."
Ethan: "I'll check."
Sophia: "By the way, which main city are you in?"
Ethan hesitated before replying: "Golden Ridge."
Sophia smiled and closed the chat, murmuring, "Got it."
Returning to the forums, Ethan found himself inundated with mentions. Logging in with his in-game ID, he finally responded to the chaos.
Sealed: "Talk to the village elder."
The cryptic reply ignited the forums once more.
"He responded! It's really him!"
"What does he mean by 'talk to the elder'?"
"I think he's giving us a hint. If you've taken the quest, try it out!"
Ethan leaned back, smirking. "That should keep them busy."