"Sniper God really lives up to the SSS-grade talent; it can even correct predictive attacks," Tristan thought to himself.
The BOSS's stats were incredibly high—not just its attack, defense, and health, but also its speed.
Tristan had aimed at the wild rabbit BOSS's eyes and thrown his dagger but didn't have high hopes.
After all, this rabbit was faster than an average rabbit, its head moving so fast that it left afterimages.
Hitting it was hard enough, let alone landing a Weak Spot Attack.
But Tristan managed it, proving the power of his Sniper God talent once again.
After using Shadow Dagger, Tristan immediately activated Shadow Stealth and glanced at the BOSS's remaining health.
[Giant Wild Rabbit (Black Iron Grade)]
Level: 5
Health: 46522/50000
Attack: 350
Defense: 250
Skill: Leap
Description: Born from the vengeful wrath of the wild rabbit clan, it possesses strength beyond the limits of ordinary rabbits.
The wild rabbit BOSS had been surrounded by hundreds of players for several minutes and had only lost 5% of its health, about 2500 points.
But after Tristan threw his dagger, it dealt nearly 1000 damage in a single strike.
And he could repeat this every twenty seconds, out-damaging the combined efforts of the other players in just one minute.
However, Tristan didn't let his guard down.
More players were on their way, including elite teams like Drake's.
While their single hits might not be high, their cumulative damage could be significant.
According to ExoGenesis's rules, if he didn't deal more than 50% of the total damage, Tristan couldn't be sure he'd get the loot.
Tristan quickly calculated.
"At my current rate, I can perform Breaking Stealth Strike three times per minute, dealing nearly 3000 damage. I need about 8 minutes to hit over 50% of the decisive damage."
"But more players are coming, and 8 minutes is too uncertain."
"If I don't wait for Shadow Stealth to cool down, I could use Shadow Dagger to add more damage, since its cooldown is short."
"No, too risky. This is the first BOSS in the newbie village, and if I deal too much damage, I'll be the target of everyone's wrath. I can't afford to get surrounded and killed with my current health."
"Even if there's a penalty for turning red, crazy players won't hesitate to attack."
For a moment, Tristan felt torn.
He had a rare chance to defeat a BOSS—would he have to let it slip away?
As Tristan pondered how to secure the loot, the other players were already in an uproar.
What was going on? They had been fighting the BOSS for a while, slowly chipping away at its health. Everyone was excited to have a chance at the loot, a perfect situation for all.
But then, out of nowhere, a huge damage number appeared.
"What the hell, is that a hack?"
"I must have seen wrong—was that 900 damage? There's no decimal point!"
"976 damage, and it's a Weak Spot Attack! Who the hell is playing this game?"
"I haven't even broken its defense, and my total damage is still zero. What the hell?"
"Shadow Legion strongly protests!"
"Bro, where did you buy that hack? Is it reliable?"
"Forget whether it's a hack or not, we need to take that guy out. If we don't, the loot for this BOSS will belong to him!"
"That's right, keep your eyes open, guys. If you spot him, attack him and get him out of the fight."
The players were all talking, and even though they were being killed by the BOSS, their resolve to track down the mysterious player didn't falter.
Some even started spamming skills toward Tristan's last known location, hoping to kill him in his Shadow Stealth state.
In the shadows, Tristan could feel the danger.
Good thing he could Shadow Stealth seamlessly, or he'd be dead by now.
This only made him feel more certain that his decision was wise.
If he had chosen the Archer class as ExoGenesis had recommended, he could have dealt more ranged damage, but he wouldn't have been able to secure the loot.
The moment he got close to the BOSS, countless players would rush over to attack him.
In that situation, unless he could land a shot that dealt over half the BOSS's health, it would all be for nothing.
As for running off...
That was almost impossible.
His stats were high, but there was no decisive gap between him and the other players.
"This BOSS spawned too early. If it had been a little later, I would have accumulated some Evolution Points and could have been in a much better position."
"Forget it, I'll just wait for Shadow Stealth to cool down."
Tristan thought to himself.
At the same time, Drake's team was catching up. When they heard what had just happened, they exchanged glances.
The assassin in their team spoke first.
"It's Blackshade."
Holy Fire Priest Sophie nodded in agreement.
"Right now, no one else can deal nearly a thousand damage except Blackshade."
Drake sighed.
"No wonder he wouldn't join our team. It turns out we were just holding him back."
The team members sighed as well.
The archer in their group asked the key question.
"Drake, Blackshade has made his move. Should we still fight for this BOSS?"
The others quickly understood what he meant.
"Right now, we can't form a raid, at most we can have a six-player team. Even with Sophie's help, we can't do more than 50% of the decisive damage."
"It's a pity that the newbie village is randomly distributed. If we could all be in the same team from Iron Fist Alliance, we could easily monopolize this BOSS."
"The other teams are the same. Without Blackshade, we could have at least tried for a chance."
"The problem is Blackshade. I've observed his attack frequency. It's about every 20 seconds, and in 8 minutes, he'll hit the decisive damage."
"In 8 minutes, even if all the newbie village players show up, their combined damage won't surpass Blackshade's."
Drake froze.
The excitement of finding the BOSS was quickly replaced by careful consideration.
He was weighing the pros and cons.
Just as Drake was deep in thought, a group of about 20-30 players rushed over, shouting for their guild leader.
Their player names were all eerily consistent.
[IFA·RightFist]
[IFA·Trunk]
[IFA·Berserker]
[IFA...]
Although guilds couldn't officially form yet, adopting a consistent naming convention wasn't difficult.
Seeing his subordinates rushing to help, Drake felt pleased.
But the earlier dilemma remained.
Just as Drake was thinking, Tristan made another move.
-976! (Weak Spot Attack)
The massive damage number appeared, and the wild rabbit BOSS's health visibly dropped.
Players around them widened their eyes, trying to locate the suspicious target.
But they failed.
The moment Tristan made his move, he immediately went back into Shadow Stealth, waiting for the next opportunity.
This time, Drake made up his mind completely.
He called his subordinates and gave them a few instructions, leading them away from the wild rabbit BOSS.
Other guild leaders looked confused.
What was going on? Iron Fist Alliance was giving up on the first BOSS kill?
This wasn't like Drake at all.
Just as the guild leaders were about to probe further, they heard Drake's loud declaration.
"Blackshade, we're giving up on this BOSS."