Drake had a sharp eye.
Although he didn't remember any top players by the name Blackshade, it didn't stop him from recognizing Tristan's potential.
Forget about the rest—just the fact that Blackshade could one-shot a level 6 wild boar was proof of his strength.
A level 6 wild boar had a whopping 900 health.
Even without considering its defense, most players would need to hit it multiple times to take it down.
Yet, under Blackshade's hands, the boar didn't even get a chance to fight back before it was killed instantly.
Drake knew he couldn't have done that.
Not just him—his entire five-person team wouldn't be able to take down a level 6 wild boar in one round of attacks.
"My team, most of us are hidden professions. The talents are all B-rank or A-rank, not bad."
Blackshade must also have an A-rank talent, right?
Drake thought to himself.
"No, I also have an A-rank talent. While it enhances defense, it's still not enough to one-shot a level 6 wild boar."
"Could Blackshade have an S-rank talent?!"
Drake was shocked by his own guess, and a little envious.
As for jealousy, there was some, but not much.
He pushed the thought aside and sent an invitation. "Bro, want to join our team for leveling?"
In Drake's mind, Blackshade's potential was clear, and his ability to one-shot wild boars likely had to do with his talent.
But such high damage surely couldn't be sustained continuously.
So, during the cooldown period, their team could help him level up.
Drake didn't expect Blackshade to accept immediately, but at least it would build some rapport.
Over time, they might even join forces for greater things.
The other members of the team, who were old teammates, immediately understood their leader's intentions and quickly chimed in:
"Master Blackshade, join our team. The efficiency will be guaranteed!"
"Yeah, with Drake's Heavy Armor Warrior up front, you can just focus on dealing damage."
"Let's level up quickly before the other players show up!"
Tristan declined politely. "Thanks for the kind offer, but I prefer working solo."
Drake was a little disappointed.
However, the archer in the team wasn't satisfied and muttered, "Such a show-off. Be careful, you might get rammed by a wild boar."
His voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for Tristan to hear.
Tristan didn't pay it any mind.
Why bother quarreling with a random player?
Drake frowned and snapped, "Go apologize to Blackshade!"
Tristan waved his hand. "No need for that. I'll be heading off to level up now."
With that, he activated Shadow Stealth and quickly picked up the dropped equipment.
Glancing at the item stats, he saw:
[Wild Boar Leather Armor (Common)]
Effect: Constitution +2, Defense +20. Equipment Requirement: Level 6
The stats were acceptable, but he couldn't equip it yet. He decided to hold onto it for later.
Meanwhile, the archer in Drake's team typed in the team chat, grumbling, "This guy is too showy. He must have used a talent or some item to kill that level 6 wild boar in one shot."
"If it's a talent, such high burst damage must have a long cooldown."
"If it's an item, how many times can he use it?"
"Drake invited him to join us and help level, but he didn't even appreciate it."
The other team members didn't speak, but they shared similar thoughts.
Even Drake himself felt a bit uncomfortable.
He had played so many games and earned a great reputation, yet his invitation had been rejected. It made him feel somewhat embarrassed.
But Drake didn't show his displeasure on his face. Instead, he stared into the distance.
He was waiting.
Waiting for Blackshade to make another move.
Based on Drake's assumptions, Blackshade wouldn't be able to repeat such high burst damage without at least a 30-minute cooldown.
But before he could even think further, he saw a level 6 wild boar fall dead in the distance.
At the same time, Blackshade's figure appeared briefly, then disappeared again.
"So fast, already able to act again?"
Drake's brow twitched.
From the time the previous kill happened until now, only about half a minute had passed, yet Blackshade had already one-shot another wild boar.
Drake was starting to believe he truly had an S-rank talent.
But then, something seemed off.
Wasn't Blackshade's position a bit too far?
Normally, assassins would kill monsters from behind, wouldn't they?
The team's Holy Fire Priest noticed this too and couldn't help but speak up.
"Blackshade killed that boar from this far away. Could he be an Archer?"
"Impossible!" the archer immediately cut in. "What kind of Archer could one-shot monsters above their level? And I've checked, the boar didn't have any arrow wounds. I bet Blackshade isn't an Archer."
A new mystery had appeared in front of the Dragon's Fury team.
An Assassin, who could one-shot a monster from 50 meters away?
Was this an Assassin or a Sniper?
Ridiculous.
As Drake and his team struggled to figure it out, Tristan re-entered Stealth mode.
Moments later, another carefree wild boar, grazing away, fell dead.
The archer, who had been observing intently, couldn't help but swear loudly, "What the hell, is he hacking?"
He continued angrily, "ExoGenesis claims to have no cheats, but look at this! This is just ridiculous!"
Drake, knowing a bit about the game's development, had heard that ExoGenesis was a global collaboration, with such advanced technology that cheating should be impossible.
Yet, the scene before him made him question that.
Twenty-second one-shot kills couldn't be explained without cheating, unless...
As Drake doubted everything, another wild boar collapsed dead.
Before the archer could say anything, another Assassin in the team couldn't hold back.
His own skills as an Assassin were nothing compared to Blackshade.
"Same class, but the gap is this big?"
The Assassin muttered, confusion in his eyes.
The archer, patting his teammate's shoulder, sighed. "I get how you feel. I just want to ask, how can an Assassin kill a boar from 50 meters away? What does that make me, as an Archer? This game... can we even play it normally anymore?"
The two stared at each other, feeling the weight of how things had turned out.
Drake, however, tightened his grip on his shield and said, "Watch out, there's a monster coming."
As they chatted, a wild boar had locked onto them, charging forward with its head lowered.
Thud.
Drake was knocked back three steps, his health bar nearly empty.
Luckily, the Priest was quick on the draw, casting a healing spell just in time to fill Drake's health.
Then, the Priest applied the Holy Fire Mark to the team, executing the spell fluidly.
The Assassin and the Archer stopped talking and started attacking, weapons drawn.
-5!
-5!
The fixed damage from the Holy Fire Mark kept stacking up.
Against the boar's high health, it seemed insignificant.
As for their own damage output...
They couldn't even break its defense. What damage could they really do?
The good news was that, at least, they could still deal some damage. As long as Drake could tank, the wild boar would eventually be taken down.
After a chaotic fight, Dragon's Fury finally killed the level 5 wild boar.
"We're still pretty strong, huh?"
Drake encouraged the team.
The response was underwhelming—no one wanted to speak.
Drake felt irritated.
So little respect.
The Priest pointed at the distance and said, "I suspect someone is hacking."
Drake turned to look.
While they were struggling to take down the level 5 wild boar, Blackshade had already one-shot three level 6 wild boars.
"Fuck."
Drake swore.
"I'm officially reporting it. There's a hacker here!"