Ares stood before the Chaotic Starlight Crystal, his face set in a grim frown.
This Alpha-tier BOSS was no joke—its skillset and stats were both off the charts, and any misstep would leave him toast.
Mulling over a plan, Ares realized the crystal's attack range was huge, but there was a barrier behind it. If he could somehow slip behind that barrier and appear right behind the Crystal, landing a sneak attack might be a whole lot easier.
But how to pull it off?
The Guardian's Cloak!
He'd bypassed the ruins' barrier before, thanks to that cloak letting him phase right through.
"Time to see what you can really do." Ares spoke under his breath, steeling himself. He drew in a sharp breath, then rushed straight toward the BOSS's rear, where the barrier stood.
Time seemed to slow, every second crawling by. Right as the Crystal's Starlit Cage was about to form, Ares felt that strange, familiar power envelop him—the same feeling as last time. He knew he'd touched the barrier's edge!
Without a second thought, Ares dashed forward, his body once again passing through what other players saw as a lethal boundary.
"Phew!"
He glanced behind to find he'd emerged from what looked like a mountainside. There was no time to dwell on it. Counting out five seconds in his head—just enough for the Starlit Cage's duration to end—Ares sprinted back toward that very mountain.
Fwoosh!
He slipped through the barrier once more, reappearing right behind the Crystal.
"Whirlwind Slash!"
A colossal force roared forth, slamming into the Chaotic Starlight Crystal's backside. The surrounding air seemed to contort under the pressure, and the shriek of tearing wind filled the chamber.
"-5,999,900!"
One eye-popping damage number blazed over the BOSS's head. The enormous Crystal shuddered violently, then rapidly cracked and shattered. It disintegrated into a spray of golden orbs that clattered to the ground.
"Ding! Congratulations! You have slain the Alpha-tier BOSS, Chaotic Starlight Crystal, earning 800,000 EXP!"
"Ding! You have reached Level 21!"
"Ding! You have reached Level 22!"
…
"Ding! You have reached Level 28!"
System prompts bombarded Ares's ears in a nonstop flurry. Before he could fully process his exhilaration, the glittering loot scattered across the floor stole his attention.
[Stellar Guardian Armor (S-Rank)]: +30 STR, +20 AGI, +300 physical defense.
Special Effect: "Stellar Protection." When HP drops below 30%, there's a 25% chance to generate a shield that absorbs up to 2,000 damage for 8 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute.
[Life Pendant (S-Rank)]: +2,500 HP, recovers 15 HP per second.
Special Effect: "Life Leech." On attack, there's a 15% chance to siphon 5% of the target's current HP and add it to your own.
"Nice—just what I need to shore up my survival."
Ares equipped them right away, relieved to have at least some boosts to his defense and staying power.
The other drops looked good but didn't suit him, so he just tossed them into his inventory. Then he noticed three skill books:
[Wild Charge (A-Rank)]: Dash in a straight line, dealing 2× ATK damage to enemies caught in the path and knocking them back. While charging, your defense is boosted by 30% for 5 seconds. Costs 50 MP, 4-minute cooldown.
[Stone Skin (D-Rank)]: Raises your Defense by 10 for 30 seconds.
[Ice Shard Storm (S-Rank)]: Summons a raging storm of ice shards around you, dealing a total of 3,000 ice damage to enemies within an 26-ft radius. 20% chance to freeze targets for 3 seconds. Costs 70 MP, 6-minute cooldown, Mage only.
Ice Shard Storm glowed brightly, radiating power. But Ares was a Warrior—no matter how tempting that skill looked, he couldn't use it. Resigned, he shoved both that and Stone Skin into his backpack for later.
At that moment, another system message chimed:
[System Alert: The Ruins' final BOSS has been defeated. This area will now shut down. All players within will be teleported to the nearest main city in 3 seconds.]
[3… 2… 1…]
As soon as the countdown ended, a brilliant white light engulfed Ares. In the blink of an eye, he found himself back near the teleport zone of Black Dragon City.
Countless passersby crowded around, chattering nonstop about the ruins:
"Dude, did you hear? Apocalyptic Guild had like hundreds of players guarding that weird ruin, but some newbie snuck in before them!"
"Yeah, but I heard that newbie was only around Level 10 at the time. Even if he got in, those mobs inside would probably stomp him flat."
"Heh, I wouldn't be so sure. Divine Realm's been here for a decade, and there've been more than a few crazy-talented rookies. Maybe one of them can solo a ruin at Level 10-something."
"True. Look at Apocalyptic Guild's guild master, Felix Ashford. His talent is nuts—when he's badly hurt, instead of dying, it jacks up his power even more. It's so OP!"
"Quit joking. No beginner can compare to Mr. Felix. If that newbie really did solo a ruin, I'll eat dog crap!"
Just then, a server-wide announcement flared overhead:
[Server Announcement: Player "Ares" has slain the Ancient Ruins' final BOSS, earning massive rewards!]
"Uh…"
"Well, better get ready for that poop buffet. You want ketchup or ranch on that?"
"Hey, my three-tailed wolf pet just pooped. You want some of that? Free topping!"
Ares paid no heed to the other players. Checking a street sign, he made his way toward the Auction House. He figured all the gear and mage skill books he couldn't use might fetch a decent amount of gold—cash that could bail him out down the line when he really needed it.
Upon entering, he headed straight for the consignment counter. A lavishly dressed NPC wearing a professional smile stepped forward:
"Welcome, brave adventurer, to the Dimensional Auction House! We have branches all across the realm. I'm Charles, in charge of our Black Dragon City branch. How can I assist you today?"
Ares took out several items and skillbooks from his pack, handing them over one by one.
Charles examined each item with growing astonishment. When he reached [Ice Shard Storm], his hands trembled slightly, and his face lost all composure.
"Sir, this is an exceptionally rare Mage skillbook! For the entire Auragon continent, you might see one or two of these a year—if you're lucky."
He swallowed hard, excitement fraying his voice. "I'm willing to offer 300,000 gold to buy it outright. Would that be acceptable?"
Ares was a little taken aback—he never imagined a skill he couldn't even use would go for that much.
"What about this one?" he asked, pulling out the [Stone Skin] skill book.
Charles's joyous expression vanished the second he saw it. Suddenly, the beaming face turned politely awkward. "Er, sir… that's a pretty run-of-the-mill book. You won't get much for it, I'm afraid."