"Ah, high defense and a massive health pool—my favorite kind of boss!" Ethan grinned as he surveyed the towering [Black Bear King]. However, he didn't let the excitement dull his caution. This beast's attacks couldn't be underestimated. A single swipe of its paw dealt over 600 damage to him, and its Ground Smash could inflict over 900 damage. The boss's Earth Shatter? That packed a wallop of over 1,000. High-level Bronze bosses were no joke.
He glanced at his own stats. With a maximum health of 2,307 and a physical defense of 111, Ethan figured he could handle it. Plus, he had plenty of potions in reserve, and if things got dicey, there was always his Void Shift skill to rely on. Confident he had the situation under control, he activated Rapid Movement and darted toward the massive bear.
Ethan landed two quick strikes, stacking two layers of poison. Each tick of poison dealt 520 damage per second, racking up a total of 31,200 damage per minute. He didn't risk stacking a third layer immediately—the bear's retaliation could prove deadly. At 80% attack speed, two strikes meant he only had to tank a single hit from the boss. Three strikes, however, would require enduring two of its attacks, and if the boss followed up with a skill, he'd be in trouble. So, after two hits, he disengaged, taking a single blow as he darted away.
He had barely started retreating when the ground beneath him cracked open. The bear's Earth Shatter sent a jagged rift surging toward him, catching Ethan and launching him into the air.
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He hit the ground hard, his health bar plummeting. Scrambling to his feet, he fled, grateful the bear hadn't reached him yet. Between its skill and a single melee strike, the boss had carved 1,700 health off his total. Only 400 health points remained. "Damn, never underestimate a Bronze-tier boss," Ethan muttered, wiping the sweat off his brow.
The [Black Bear King] lumbered after him, but Ethan decided to test a theory. Activating Stealth, he vanished from sight. The bear paused, sniffed the air, and scratched its head in confusion before turning toward Silverfang, who had been standing nearby.
"It works!" Ethan grinned. He hadn't bothered using Stealth against regular monsters before and hadn't expected it to work while poison damage was ticking. Now he had another tool in his arsenal. Smirking, he recalled Silverfang to his pet space to protect it from harm.
Unfortunately, the bear's attention then shifted to the injured soldier nearby.
"Oh, come on! Why is this idiot still here? Doesn't he know how to run?" Ethan groaned. With no choice, he summoned Silverfang again to intercept the bear's attack. He downed a large health potion, restoring his health. Watching Silverfang frantically dodge the bear's swipes, Ethan sighed and broke Stealth to draw the boss's attention back to himself. With the soldier's life at stake, he couldn't afford to mess around anymore.
Using his hit-and-run tactics, Ethan kited the Black Bear King around the area. It was a grueling fight, but his strategy proved effective. Poison damage steadily whittled away at the boss's massive health pool, and after over ten minutes of cat-and-mouse, the Black Bear King let out a final, pained roar before collapsing.
"Ding! Congratulations, you have slain the Bronze-tier boss [Black Bear King]. You have earned 200 Reputation and 24,000 Experience Points. Your pet, Silverfang, has gained 6,000 Experience Points."
"Ding! Your pet [Silverfang] has leveled up. Current Level: 12."
"Ding! Immortal Physique activated. Maximum Health increased by 1 point. Total Health increase from Immortal Physique: 318 points."
Ethan chuckled, wiping his brow as he gazed at the fallen boss. "Man, I'm getting strong. A boss with 300,000 health, and I took it down in just over ten minutes. This talent is seriously OP."
He opened his status menu and checked his experience bar: 29,710/50,000. Even though boss monsters didn't benefit from over-level experience bonuses, the sheer amount of experience they provided was staggering. After splitting 20% of the experience with Silverfang, Ethan had still earned 24,000 points, pushing his experience bar up by nearly half.
Shaking his head in disbelief, Ethan turned his attention to the loot scattered around the boss's body. "Let's see what goodies you dropped."
The [Black Bear King] had been surprisingly stingy. Ethan collected the loot and opened his inventory:
2 Gold, 76 Silver
2 Bronze-tier items
3 Black Iron-tier items
4 White-grade items
1 Special Scroll
"What a cheapskate!" Ethan complained. Still, loot was loot. He inspected the equipment:
[Black Bear King Armor] (Bronze-tier): Health +600, Physical Defense +30, Magical Defense +30, Bonus Attributes: Stamina +18, Constitution +20. Class Requirement: Warrior, Guardian.
[Black Bear King Boots] (Bronze-tier): Movement Speed +50, Physical Defense +30, Magical Defense +30, Bonus Attributes: Agility +18, Constitution +15. Class Requirement: All Classes.
[Bear King Bracelet] (Black Iron-tier): Physical Attack +50, Attack Speed +6%, Bonus Attributes: Agility +12. Class Requirement: Physical Classes.
[Bear King Necklace] (Black Iron-tier): Physical Attack +60, Ranged Damage +5%, Bonus Attributes: Strength +15. Class Requirement: Archer.
[Bear King Leg Guards] (Black Iron-tier): Health +300, Physical Defense +20, Magical Defense +10, Bonus Attributes: Stamina +12. Class Requirement: All Classes.
"Looks like post-level 10 gear goes by class requirements instead of level requirements. Makes sense—saves me from holding onto stuff I can't equip," Ethan muttered. He quickly equipped the [Bear King Bracelet], [Black Bear King Boots], and [Bear King Leg Guards], replacing his older gear. The stat boosts were noticeable.
Lastly, Ethan examined the special scroll:
[Petrified Skin Scroll]: Temporarily increases defense by 100% and reduces nearby targets' physical damage by 50%. Duration: 5 minutes.
Ethan sighed. "Man, if this was a skill instead of a consumable, it'd be amazing. But as a scroll? Meh."
With his loot sorted, Ethan turned to the injured soldier lying nearby. "Hey, need a hand?" he asked.
The soldier's eyes lit up with gratitude. "Thank you, brave adventurer, for saving my life. But my injuries are too severe. I'm a deputy captain of the Golden Ridge City Guard, and I carry an urgent message for the city's lord. Please, deliver this letter to him." The soldier handed Ethan a sealed envelope, his hands trembling.
"Ding! Deputy Captain Gerald has issued you a quest: Deliver the letter to the lord of Golden Ridge City. Reward: Unknown. Accept?"
"Unknown reward? Don't make me waste my time here," Ethan grumbled. But seeing the soldier's pleading eyes, he sighed and nodded. "Fine, I'll do it."
The moment he accepted the letter, the soldier's body relaxed, and his eyes closed forever.
"Well, that escalated quickly," Ethan muttered, shaking his head. He pulled out a [Town Portal Scroll] to return to the city, only to be met with another system prompt:
"Ding! Quest in progress. Town Portal Scrolls are disabled."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Ethan exclaimed. With no other option, he started running back toward Golden Ridge City. "Good thing I'm fast. Otherwise, this would've been a nightmare."