Chapter 5

Zephyr gripped his sword and rushed at the back of the Gold Alpha Wolf, chopping it down.

[You have dealt 340 damage to the target.]

Due to its defense being reduced, Zephyr dealt more damage than before. Not wasting a second, he charged at the Gold Alpha Wolf! Just as he was about to reach the Gold Alpha Wolf, he stomped the ground hard with his left foot and shifted his right suddenly.

He took advantage of the momentum to slide to the left of the Gold Battle Wolf. His right foot was firmly positioned behind his body, and he used his shoulder to knock into the Gold Alpha Wolf.

[You have dealt 260 damage to the target.]

As he caused further damage to the Gold Alpha Wolf, he also made the Gold Alpha Wolf lose its center of gravity. However, the Gold Alpha Wolf recovered very quickly this time. Before Zephyr could slash a second time, the Gold Alpha Wolf had already regained its balance and was about to turn around.

Helpless, Zephyr could only quickly retreat after slashing before the Gold Alpha Wolf could fully turn around. He lamented the situation he was in. The Gold Alpha Wolf was indeed faster than it was earlier. This posed a lot of problems for him in trying to avoid it. Although his reaction time was very quick, his body couldn't keep up with him. This meant that everything was in vain.

After fighting for more than a minute, the Gold Alpha Wolf's HP was still above a hundred. Zephyr then attacked twice, followed up by a [Chop]. The wolf began to suffer from a number of injuries.

[You have dealt 302 damage to the target.]

[You have dealt 305 damage to the target.]

[You have dealt 357 damage to the target.]

['Chop' skill proficiency has increased by 3%].

After much trouble, the Gold Alpha Wolf turned around to face Zephyr. However, he did not give it a chance. He quickly surrounded it and continued to attack.

[You have dealt 302 damage to the target.]

[You have dealt 254 damage to the target.]

Even though Zephyr managed to inflict more damage on the Gold Alpha Wolf with every attack, he had to avoid its consecutive attacks, too. The frequency of his attacks fell. His HP was still full. That was something he was proud of.

During the fight, he was also observing his surroundings. He didn't find anything that he could take advantage of, which he felt was a pity. However, Zephyr believed that he could still successfully deal with the Gold Alpha Wolf despite all that.

Zephyr was a perfectionist. He could do something flawlessly once he set his sights on it. That was why he desired to slay the Gold Alpha Wolf without suffering any damage.

Zephyr, on the other hand, was normally lazy...

The wolf's HP remained over sixty after a couple more clashes. Given the present situation, Zephyr would only need one more hit to kill it. Suddenly, a burst of air came from the Gold Alpha Wolf once again. However, it was even more intense this time. Zephyr was thrown back even further than before. Even though he wasn't hurt, he couldn't stop the Gold Alpha Wolf from mutating once again.

The Gold Alpha Wolf's blood-red body started to brew with a bloody aura. Its entire body started to release black gas, and its hair became completely stiff.

[The Enraged Gold Alpha Wolf felt unprecedentedly humiliated and was completely infuriated. It has undergone a second demonic mutation into a Bloodlust Demon Wolf. Be careful!]

[Bloodlust Demon Wolf]

Rating: Epic Boss

Tier: 0

Level: 8

HP: 60

Summary: The king of the nearby wolves, for a small region, has undergone a second devilish mutation for some special reason. It has ranked up to become a Bloodlust Demon Wolf. Its offensive strength has increased once again, and its defensive strength has fallen by half once more. Its agility has also increased by a third. Be aware! This boss is extremely dangerous!

Zephyr furrowed his brow. "Troublesome."

"I didn't anticipate this to happen; it's actually a second mutation," Zephyr remarked, referring to a summary in the rookie booklet.

A boss may mutate if it is enraged or if its HP is low. Only one mutation would normally arise. A second mutation like this was extremely unlikely, unless the boss was really enraged. It was, nevertheless, understandable. Zephyr had tricked and played the wolf innumerable times, but it couldn't even touch him. It was inevitable that things would change.

An unseen glow seemed to emerge from the Gold Alpha Wolf's body when it mutated again. It was almost as if it had taken physical shape and was affecting Zephyr. He sensed that his freedom of movement was being restricted.

"This is bad." Zephyr furrowed his brow.

This was semi-real. It was very common for a stronger entity to suppress a weaker one. Although Zephyr was unwilling to admit that he was weaker than the wolf, that was definitely what was happening. If its HP were full, there was simply no way he would be able to defeat it.

However, Zephyr rushed ahead without hesitation. He used [Chop] immediately. He exerted strength in both his legs and immediately shifted to the right.

The wolf's body brushed past Zephyr as he shifted. The Zephyr took this opportunity to land a [Chop] on the Bloodlust Demon Wolf!

[You have dealt 430 damage to the target.]

[The target has died.]

The wolf stopped right in front of Zephyr from its forward inertia. Three accessories and a few gold, silver, and bronze coins appeared!

[You are the first to kill a demon boss.]

[Since you are the first to kill a demon boss, you have acquired 100 karma.]

[You have made an achievement that is not easily accomplished. Additional karma will be provided.]

[You have acquired 150 additional karma.]

[As you are the first player to kill a Demon Boss on the server, you have activated a public announcement in the system, and news of your killing will be publicized. Since the first public announcement is symbolic, a player is unable to hide his name.]

[You have acquired Bloodlust Iron Boots.]

[You have acquired Dagger of Fury.]

[2,667 experience has been acquired.]

[Level Difference of 2. Experience gain multiplied to 200%.]

[5,334 experience has been acquired.]

[Your level has risen.]

[Your level has risen.]

His panel seemed to be flooded with system notifications. Zephyr benefited as the boss was 2 levels higher than him. Two beams of light rose from Zephyr's body to reflect the two levels that he had gained.

Zephyr had the thought of finding more bosses to mutate and killing them for more experience and rewards, but how could it be easy to find, let alone mutate? Not to mention defeating it? Zephyr tossed the idea aside as he knew it was just a lucky encounter.

However, Zephyr wasn't delighted that he had killed the wolf and managed to level up as well as gain some loot. Rather, he furrowed his brow. It was because of the announcement that was about to appear on the system. He didn't want anyone else to know about him. However, all the other players would soon find out.

[Announcement: Player Zephyr has successfully killed a Bloodlust Demon Boss, an Epic Demon Boss, on his own. He has become the first player to kill a Demon Boss. He will be awarded a top-quality weapon. For the rest of the players, please continue to work hard.]

[The public system announcement has been activated successfully.At the same time, the gaming information system, forum, and ranking boards have also been activated. As the person who activated all these systems, Zephyr will be given five gold coins as a reward.]

All the players went silent. Only background sounds could be heard. After a moment of silence

"Who the hell is this guy? He took on an epic demon boss all by himself? What is his current level? "

"Damn it, is there a bug? Wouldn't the system remove such loopholes? "

"What a nonsense. How is it possible for someone to challenge a boss on their own? "

"We haven't heard of any expert with his name, and even if he did, he wouldn't be as powerful." Let's find him and bring him into our guild! "

"Get our guys to take note; we must win him over at all costs if anyone sees him!"

The server was completely busy now. There was commotion everywhere. Some were skeptical, some were in awe, some were jealous, and some were afraid. He is popular now. He couldn't not be popular even if he wanted to be. Every player knows about his amazing performance now.

The strongest players right now are probably level 5 and below. Zephyr was level 8 after he was rewarded.

He didn't have more than 3 pieces of newbie accessories. It was still believable if he had challenged an ordinary common boss, or if he challenged an uncommon boss, he might indeed be an expert. But what about an Epic Demon Boss?

As Zephyr was in deep thought. A notification snapped him out of his daze.

[Announcement: The system has already given you your rewards. Please check and accept them. Because your feat was announced without your permission, the system will offer you a skill book. At the same time, you can intentionally hide your name before you reach level 20. Other players wouldn't be able to check.]

'Haih, forget it,' Zephyr sighed.

Things had already happened. He couldn't change it anymore. It was better to just accept it. He checked the loot of what the Bloodlust Demon Wolf left behind – one gold coin, fifteen silver coins, sixty-eight bronze coins, a pair of boots, and a dagger.

[Bloodlust Iron Boots]

Rating: Rare

Durability: 40-43

Defense: 5-7

HP: +20

Agility: +3

Vitality: +2

* Movement speed increases by 3%.

Restrictions: Level 5, Close Combat Class

[Dagger of Fury]

Rating: Rare

Level: 5

Durability: 24/25

Attack: 32-36

Strength: +8

* Attack damage increases by 3%.

Restrictions: Level 5, Assassin.]

The boss left behind rather useless items. However, the dagger didn't suit Zephyr. He was a swordsman, not an assassin.

"Let's take a look at the rewards."

[Frostlight Sword]

Rating: Epic

Durability: 50-50

Attack: 45-50

Strength: +10

Special Effect: There is a 20% chance that freezing light will be reflected onto the enemy, increasing damage by 10% with the next attack.

*Increases the user's armor penetration by 5%.

Restrictions: Level 5, Close Combat Class]

[Frost Light Slash Lv.1]

Rating: Epic

[The blade of the user's sword can be turned into a glimmer of freezing light and slows down the target by 10%. When unleashed, it inflicts +110% damage. When used on vital areas, it causes +20% damage.

Type: Active

Skill Proficiency: 0%

Skill Resources Consumed: 10 MP

Cooldown Time: 15 seconds.]

'This seems good,' Zephyr thought. Fortunately, no one knew what he was thinking. Otherwise, they would be astonished that he got rare and epic equipment and a skill book when other players only have common and uncommon equipment.

Zephyr still didn't know the true value of these items. He only knew that they were good. Even though he had killed the Bloodlust Demon Wolf, he was still an inexperienced newbie. Zephyr then looked at the difference in his stats after allocating the AP he got.

[Name: Zephyr

Race: Human

Title: None

Class: Swordsman (Apprentice)

Second Class: None.

Level: 8

Tier: 0

HP: 1,160

MP: 400

Stats:

Strength: 65

Agility: 53

Vitality: 57

Intelligence: 40

Points available for stats: 0

Weapon Mastery

[Basic Sword Mastery]

Skill Proficiency: 2.5%

Skills:

[Chop]

Skill Proficiency: 5.5%

[Frost Light Slash]

Skill Proficiency: 0%

His attributes were very different from when he first entered the game. As he was walking to finish his quest, the ground on where he was standing cracked, and Zephyr fell into a bottomless hole. His eyes widened, his feet had nothing to step on but air, and then he fell down under the sound of a whistling wind. The instant his body fell, his eyes turned cold as he grumbled,

"What a luck!"