A sharp system chime echoed across the battlefield.
[System Notification: The Flame Goat King's health has fallen below 20%.]
[Mutation triggered. Physical attack converted to Magical attack.]
[Skills lost: Heaven and Earth Strike, Charge, Combo. Skills gained: Fireball, Flame Burst.]
Don's pupils contracted. 'It became a Magic-type boss?!'
Before he could react, the Flame Goat King turned and locked onto him. Its mouth opened, a blazing sphere of fire condensing instantly before shooting forward. The fireball slammed directly into Don's chest.
A suffocating wave of heat exploded through his body, and his HP dropped violently, over a thousand in a single hit.
Don didn't hesitate. A potion was already in his hand and he drank it instantly. "Bernita, heal!
She reacted immediately, two spells layering perfectly. His HP surged back upward, but the boss had already shifted targets to Cappuccino.
A second fireball fell from the sky like a meteor, Flame Burst. Seven hundred and ninety-three damage on impact, and the explosion spread outward, catching Dust in the radius for another seven hundred and eighty-four.
"Ice girl, heal Dust!" Don shouted. A beam of light landed instantly, perfect timing, and Dust's HP recovered. But the attacks didn't stop. Another fireball descended, aimed right at Dust. Bernita's casting finished at the last possible moment, HP restored just before impact. The explosion hit for nearly fourteen hundred, and Dust staggered but didn't fall.
Don had already moved, dagger drawn, flashing behind the boss. "Ice girl, watch out! It might target you next!"
But he was wrong. The boss turned again and locked onto him. A fireball descended. Don's eyes narrowed as he quickly activated Evasion. The fireball exploded above him, and the damage was resisted.
Cappuccino's voice rang out. "There's a pattern!" As if in response, the boss shifted and launched another fireball at Cappuccino.
Bernita reacted again, flawless, her heal landed right before impact. The team stabilized.
Don's mind raced. 'Fireball, Flame Burst, alternating occasionally between these two skills. Targets cycling, this might be easier than I thought.'
He spoke quickly. "It rotates targets. Stay ready, don't panic."
Cappuccino gritted his teeth. "That dev really knows how to torture players…"
Don wiped sweat from his brow. "Just pray it doesn't give us a critical attack, or we're dead."
Bernita's voice came softly but urgently. "Brother Don… I only have five blue potions left."
Silence.
Don glanced at the boss's HP. 'Still not low enough.'
His expression darkened slightly. "I'll do what I can. The rest… leave it to luck."
And then a gentle breeze swept through the battlefield, followed by a calm voice. "So young, yet already giving up?"
Don turned sharply. Diana had arrived. She looked so sexy in that bronze armour of hers, with her curves well pronounced and inviting, but Don was too busy to notice....
Without hesitation, he pulled out the skill book, Heaven and Earth Strike, and tossed it to her. She caught it, opened it, and learned it instantly. No wasted motion. Her body moved, sword rising then falling.
[Critical Hit, 4,982!]
The world seemed to pause. The boss's HP dropped visibly in a single strike. Cappuccino, Dust, Bernita, all stunned. But Diana didn't stop.
Her blade flowed like water, casually giving high damage on multiple occasions, 789, 898, each strike clean, precise, and efficient.
Don finally noticed her equipment. Bronze armor, multiple pieces. A glowing sword. A ring. Top-tier, all of it. No wonder she led a guild.
With her arrival, the pressure dropped instantly. The fight turned. Within two minutes, the boss's HP collapsed.
Diana's voice rang out, sharp and commanding. "Everyone, back! Now!"
There was no hesitation as they all retreated over ten meters. "Ranged attacks! Finish it!"
Don had already switched weapons, bow drawn, arrow nocked. He fired.
Diana glanced at him, a faint smile appearing. "Good preparation."
Don didn't respond. For a moment he felt something strange, something familiar, but he suppressed it and focused.
He fired another arrow. The boss trembled, then collapsed, and exploded. This was the reason why Diana had told them to give it space, she knew something like this would happen, everybody also suspected thesame thing so no one protested back then...
BOOOM!
A massive shockwave expanded outward like a blooming firestorm. They ran. The blast chased them for ten seconds before fading. Silence fell.
Then golden light descended. Level-up beams, one after another.
[You have defeated the Flame Goat King, 139,500 EXP, 200 Reputation]
[Level Up → 13]
[Level Up → 14]
Don stood still, his experience bar surging before stopping at thirty-five percent of Level 14.
He exhaled slowly. 'Killing higher-level bosses felt damn good.'
The victory was satisfying. The surge of strength, the clean execution, even the teamwork, all of it gave Don a faint sense of pride.
But when he opened the American Region rankings, he couldn't help but laugh. Rank thirty-four. Not even top ten. American players were terrifyingly efficient.
'As expected, even with my experience, despite working so hard I'm ranked only 34 in all of America. But it doesn't matter, I'll go higher and rise to the very top!'
Only now did they finally approach the boss's corpse. Diana stood slightly to the side, quiet and detached, as if the boss had nothing to do with her.
That alone made Cappuccino and the others feel awkward, but Don understood immediately. She wasn't uninterested, she was setting a rule. Distribute according to need. No greed, no chaos.
He spoke first. "Distribute based on usefulness. Any objections?"
Cappuccino nodded with a shrug. "No problem."
Then he added, "Then the gold coins should go to you Don."
Diana raised a brow slightly. "Oh? You two know each other?"
Cappuccino shook his head. "No. But he saved us. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have lasted this long."
Diana's lips curved slightly, her gaze shifting toward Don. "Is that so? Don Jones… seems you're quite the hero."
There was teasing in her tone. Don didn't respond much, but for some reason, when she looked at him, it felt warm. Comfortable. He didn't avoid her gaze, and she didn't look away either. There was something romantic about her gaze, the exchange lasted for a while...
Then they turned to the loot. The drops were generous, more than twenty gold coins and three pieces of equipment.
The first was a Level 15 White Iron breastplate, decent and better than early gear, but not the highlight. The real prizes were the other two.
[Flame Cloak]
[Grade: Bronze]
[Type: Cloak]
[Level Requirement: 15]
[Physical Defense +40]
[Magic Defense +60]
[Evasion +60]
[+10 Strength]
[+15 Agility]
[Sealed Slot: 1]
....
[Raven Horn Scimitar]
[Grade: Bronze]
[Type: Sword]
[Level Requirement: 15]
[Attack: 125–160]
[+24 Strength]
[+16 Agility]
[+20 Constitution]
[Sealed Slot: 1]
A true boss drop. Among them, only Diana could use the sword, so there was no debate.
Cappuccino picked it up, walked over, and handed it to her. "Diana, this is yours."
She accepted it calmly, running her fingers along the blade. "My current weapon is Level 10 Bronze. It's time to upgrade." Then she spoke again. "I'll compensate everyone. Five thousand each. Any objections?"
Cappuccino frowned. "That's too much."
Diana shook her head slightly. "It's nothing. Just give me your account details."
There was a heavy silence. No one moved.
So she walked forward and picked up the cloak. "If you feel uncomfortable, then consider this payment for the cloak."
Cappuccino hesitated, but then turned to Dust. "Give her your account."
Dust froze slightly. "…Brother, I'm earning money now."
Cappuccino's voice hardened. "If you still call me brother, then listen." He glanced at Bernita. "You don't need it. She doesn't need it."
After a moment, Dust nodded.
Diana watched all of this quietly. Then her gaze shifted to Don. "Do you trust me?"
Dust followed her gaze and said firmly, "Brother Don is a good person. His friends are my friends." He stepped back slightly. "Sister, you can take both items."
There was no greed, no hesitation. And that made the atmosphere shift subtly.
But then something unexpected happened. Diana picked up the cloak, turned, and walked toward Don.
Without a word, she handed it to him. The entire group froze, even Don was caught off guard, because none of them had expected it. And yet her expression remained calm, as if this decision had already been made.