Flynn's eyes were locked on the health bar hovering above Kolut the Bear King's massive head as it steadily ticked downward.
23%.
22%.
21%.
As the number crept closer to the critical threshold, Flynn steadied his breathing and quickly checked his own status. He popped a health potion without hesitation, forcing his HP back to full. Every guide he had read warned about the same thing: once Kolut dropped below twenty percent, the fight changed completely. The Bear King stopped behaving like a level eighteen boss and started hitting more like something ten levels higher. It might have been an exaggeration, but only slightly. An enraged Kolut was infamous, and even Flynn knew that one mistake at that point could mean death.
With a final Keen Strike, the boss's health dipped below twenty percent. Instantly, a thick, blood-red aura seeped out from beneath Kolut's gray hide, clinging to its body like smoke.
"ROAR! Human, I will devour you, bones and everything!" Kolut bellowed as it reared onto its hind legs, towering over Flynn. Its massive forelimbs rose high before slamming into the ground with catastrophic force.
The world seemed to shudder beneath Flynn's feet as shockwaves tore through the earth. It was Earthshaker, and in its enraged state, the skill was far worse than before. His health plummeted in an instant, dropping to barely a third, and a debuff icon flared into existence. His movement speed had been reduced by seventy-five percent.
He reacted on instinct, downing another health potion as the burning pain faded slightly. But before he could retreat, Kolut's claws lashed out with terrifying speed. The impact slammed into his chest like a battering ram, sending him stumbling backward. His health bar screamed red, flashing violently at critical levels.
Even as a Rogue, the slow from Earthshaker made him feel like he was moving through mud. At this speed, with this little health left, he knew he could not survive another hit.
He watched helplessly as Kolut lifted its paw for the finishing blow. A wave of despair washed over him. There was no angle to dodge from, not even enough room to escape. Even a roll would only delay the inevitable. Still, he refused to surrender. Borg's Fang flared with the crimson glow of Rupture as he drove the dagger upward, aiming at the descending limb.
The blade tore a shallow gash into the bear's paw, the bleed effect triggering instantly, but the damage was laughable. Kolut's health bar did not even twitch. The claws continued downward, filling his vision.
Then a sharp whizz cut through the air behind him.
Thwack.
An arrow streaked past Flynn's shoulder and struck Kolut directly in the eye. It glowed faintly green as it punched clean through the socket, shattered the skull, and burst out the back of the Bear King's head. Blood and fragments sprayed everywhere, splattering across Flynn's armor and face. The thick, metallic stench of it snapped him out of his daze.
Kolut let out one final, broken roar before its massive body collapsed. It twitched violently as it fell, claws slamming into the dirt beside Flynn and sending soil flying, but the strength quickly drained from it. Moments later, its movements stilled. Green and silver orbs burst from the corpse and scattered across the ground.
"I'm not dead?" Flynn rolled away and scrambled to his feet, his heart pounding as he sucked in a breath of relief. He stared at Kolut's lifeless body for a heartbeat before whipping around to look behind him. That shot had been impossibly precise. Whoever fired it had to be a master archer.
What he saw made him freeze.
Standing at the cave entrance was a skeleton, draped in little more than rotting rags. Green, ghostly flames flickered within its empty eye sockets. In its bony hands rested an exquisitely crafted longbow. When it noticed Flynn staring, it gave a small nod, its jaw opening and closing with the dry click of bone grinding against bone.
"Young man," it said calmly, "are you alright?"
"A… an undead?" Flynn blurted out before he could stop himself. It could speak. It could fight. It was exactly like the undead described in legends. Still, this was a game, and fear quickly gave way to shock. He nodded. "I'm fine. Thanks for saving me. If you hadn't stepped in, my head would've been smashed like a watermelon."
The skeleton let out a harsh, rasping laugh. "Kolut is strong. I challenged him alone once, many years ago, and failed. Today, however, I have finally killed him. Bass… Bass promised me one hundred gold coins for slaying the Bear King."
'Bass.'
The name sent a jolt through Flynn's mind. That was the foreman who had hired John for this exact job. His heart skipped. "John?" he asked cautiously. "Are you John?"
The undead tilted its skull slightly. "Hm? You know my name? Ah, right. You took my medallion from my remains."
Flynn exhaled and forced a wry smile. So it really was him. The man was gone, replaced by this skeletal figure. "I was sent by Uncle Parker," Flynn said. "He asked me to find you on Bear Mountain." He went on to explain everything, from Parker's worries to Lily's waiting.
When John heard that Lily was still waiting for him, the green flames in his eyes flickered violently. He fell silent for a long time after Flynn finished speaking. When he finally spoke again, his voice felt quiet. "Go back. Tell them I am dead. Take the medallion and leave."
Flynn nodded. He understood. Even if John returned now, there was no future for him among the living. The undead were feared and hunted on sight. Still, curiosity gnawed at him. "John… can you tell me what happened?"
John inclined his head. "It is a simple story. Bass offered one hundred gold coins for Kolut's head. I was young and foolish. After receiving my Hunter's Medallion, I believed myself invincible. I took the job without telling anyone, saying I was merely going hunting. I wanted the money to surprise Lily. With it, we could have lived comfortably for years."
His voice grew heavy. "Kolut was far stronger than I imagined. I lasted less than five minutes. I could not escape. I died here, beneath his claws."
"Then how did you become like this?" Flynn asked quietly.
John lifted his skull, staring into nothing. "I did not want to die. I wanted to return to Lily. I threw my life away for a hundred gold coins, and the regret was unbearable. Thinking of her grief tore my soul apart. Perhaps it was that obsession, that refusal to let go, which bound my spirit to my corpse. I watched my flesh rot away until only bone remained. I watched Kolut come and go from this cave. Many times, I wanted to rise and kill it, but I knew I was not strong enough. So I waited, absorbing the death that lingered here."
He continued, almost bitterly, "After me, many others came seeking Kolut's head. They all died. Especially in the last few days. Groups of adventurers pushed him into his enraged state, but none survived. They never understood his weakness."
Flynn immediately knew what he meant. Other players had tried and failed repeatedly. Once Kolut enraged, the fight became chaos. More attacks, more pressure, and no room for mistakes. As for the weakness, the answer was obvious now. The eyes.
"After they died," John said, "their deaths strengthened me. When I finally felt ready, I waited for another group to distract Kolut. Then I saw you. When he enraged, I knew you would not last. I had no choice but to act."
Everything clicked into place. John was no mindless undead. He was a man bound by regret and unfinished business.
"So what will you do now?" Flynn asked.
"Find Bass. Claim the one hundred gold coins. I will see that the money reaches Lily, even if she never knows it came from me. And perhaps… I will seek you out again. I may need your help."
Flynn shrugged lightly. "If you can find me, I'll help. I'm planning to stay around Moster for a while."
Starter zones were not prisons. Even if the teleporter only worked one way, it was still possible to travel back through the wilderness.
"I will," John said firmly. Then, somehow, he produced a tattered book.
Flynn blinked. The skeleton was nothing but bones and a few scraps of cloth. Where did he pull a book from? And could it be a skill book?
Interest shot through him. He hadn't been particularly excited about skill books before, not even after getting the Lockpicking one. But after Amy had brought him two treasure chests a couple of days ago, which he'd opened to find two green-quality items, he was starting to appreciate just how useful skills could be.
John held the book out. "This is Piercing Shot. It is a skill I comprehended after death. It is what I used to kill the Bear King. I have nothing else to offer you. Take it as thanks for helping me fulfill my final wish."
Flynn accepted the book and stared at it, unsure whether to laugh or cry. What in the world was a Rogue supposed to do with an Archer skill?