Mirabella stood atop a small, smooth boulder some miles outside Galaxy City, scrutinizing her holographic player profile.
{Name: Mirabella Sunny.}
{Game Nickname: Spectral.}
{Level: Lv35. (60%).}
{Age: 22.}
{Physical Attack: 1,590.}
{Agility: 5,504.}
{Defense: 585,720.}
{Health: 2,525,600.}
{Magic Attack: 1,590.}
{Spirit energy: 80,000/80,000.}
{Kills: 5,855.}
{Boss killed: 45.}
{World Boss Killed: 1.}
{Neutral Reputation Gained: 20.}
{Normal Bloodline: Mage.}
{God rank Bloodline: Royal.}
{Royal Bloodline Skill: Assassin Bloodline.}
"I am not strong, not yet," she muttered, her gaze fixed on her towering Defense and Health stats. "But thanks to this defense, I can take some damage from the Devil’s Personal Knight—as long as it doesn’t instantly take my head off, I won’t die immediately. But..." She winced, recalling the Knight’s terrifying Agility stat.
"He is just too fast. I won’t even see the attack coming." Frustration tightened her lips.
"I’ve been grinding for a full day, killed only four Bosses today, plus the six yesterday, thanks to Carl’s peculiar skill bonus. If I keep this pace, my Health might hit five million soon. Then, maybe, I can face that Knight. No matter what, I must kill it to solidify my position, and finally stop hiding my strength."
She lowered her eyes to Cupcake, who sat beside her, meticulously devouring a freshly caught fish.
"Alright, Cupcake, we are both still Lv35. We need to reach Level 40 before the next server tier unlocks. At that level, we should be viable candidates for the initial Guild and Faction recruitment phase." Mirabella looked up at the expansive blue sky, her ambition mirroring its scale.
"My Queen!"
She turned to see Carl sprinting toward them, panting heavily, a mix of excitement and panic on his face.
"My Queen, I found a nest!" he managed between gasps.
"A nest?" Mirabella raised an eyebrow, intrigued by his urgency.
"Yes! It’s close to the sea!" He pointed dramatically toward the coast, over his shoulder, pass the forest.
"What type of nest? Are there Bosses?" she asked, jumping lightly off the boulder.
"I don’t know, but there must be a powerful monster guarding it..."
"Oh? Why did you come to this conclusion?" she asked, tapping her shoulder, prompting Cupcake to finish her meal. The cat flew up, settling silently on Mirabella’s right shoulder.
"Let’s go check it out," Mirabella decided, starting toward the forest, Carl trailing behind her.
___
The two found cover behind a thick, gnarled tree near the sandy shore.
"So, where is the nest?" Mirabella scanned the beach, even after activating her Eagle Eyes skill, she saw no signs of a typical monster lair.
"It’s in the ground," Carl answered, his voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper. "I was exploring, and I sort of... stepped on it and broke one egg. I immediately gained 50 EXP points!"
"50 EXP? That’s equivalent to a mid-class card from a Lv31 monster! Are you sure?" Mirabella’s surprise was genuine; this was an enormous amount of experience for an egg.
"Yes! I dug up the sand and saw more eggs—more than twenty of them. I broke another, and I still gained 50 EXP."
"Then why are you here? Why didn’t you destroy everything or at least take them all?" Mirabella asked, a hint of impatience in her voice.
"Oh. I didn’t think of that," Carl admitted, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish grin. "Maybe I should have."
Mirabella rolled her eyes. "Well, did you cover the sand back up?"
"Yes. And I took away the broken eggs and threw them into the sea."
"Wow, you remembered to hide the evidence, but forgot to steal the good ones," she said with dry sarcasm, letting out a sigh. "An egg should be a Level 1 monster, but it’s giving the experience of a Level 31. I dread to think what level its mother will be."
BAM!!!
Carl, Mirabella, and Cupcake froze. The water near the shore erupted. A gargantuan crocodile head, dark green and scaled like moss-covered stone, rose from the sea and began moving toward the sand.
"Right, I forgot to mention," Carl added meekly, his eyes wide with fear, "one egg is as big as a fully ripened watermelon."
".....?!!"
Mirabella slowly turned her gaze from Carl back to the approaching beast.
{Information.}
{Name: Earth-stone saltwater Crocodile... World Boss.}
{Level: 70.}
{Weakness: Weak against Elemental attacks.}
{Difficulty: Difficult.}
{Attack: 200,000.}
{Health: 300,000/300,000.}
{Defense: 500,000/500,000.}
{Agility: 50,000.}
{Trait: 50% in all damage taken, Sonic gravity.}
’Okay. This guy is not as overwhelmingly powerful as the Devil’s Knight, but still a serious threat. Elemental Weakness... I can finally have a real fight!’
Mirabella summoned her Legendary-class Staff, the golden weapon flashing into existence, momentarily stunning Carl. Before he could react, she activated her powerful equipment gotten from a world Boss kill. Black, obsidian-like armor instantly encased her body, culminating in a sleek black helmet that obscured her face.
"Carl," she commanded, her voice slightly digitized by the helmet’s comms. "Watch as Spectral defeats this monster."
She raised the Staff high. It shone with blinding, golden-white light, and in the next moment, Carl received a system notification.
[Player Handsome Captain, you have been invited to join Player Spectral’s team.]
[Do you accept: Yes/No?]
Carl, nodding reflexively, tapped Yes.
[You have joined the team.]
[There aren’t any team buffs.]
Mirabella nodded and looked back at him over her shoulder. "Don’t come out of hiding."
Carl sank down, watching as his Queen walked out onto the open beach, her Staff held upside down behind her back in a casual, yet intimidating, stance.
[SKULL BLACK ARMOR EFFECT: 50% increase in Agility and Defense.]
The World Boss—the Earth-stone Saltwater Crocodile—stopped directly over its concealed nest. Even without seeing the eggs, its primal instinct told it two were missing.
GRAAAAA!!
It let out a low, guttural growl and raised its massive, armored head toward the figure walking toward it.
GRAAAAA!!
The beast roared again, this time a sound of pure, ancient rage, and shot forward with deceptive speed, rushing toward Mirabella.
"You aren’t that fast," Mirabella whispered, calculating the Boss’s effective Agility.
She stopped abruptly and raised her Staff. One hundred magical arrows of pure spirit energy instantly materialized, floating menacingly before her.
’I only deal 1,590 Magic Damage base, but thanks to my Multiplier ability, each of these arrows deals 159,000 damage. No matter how stoned your hide is, you will die with this single salvo!’ she thought triumphantly.
Just as she was about to unleash the barrage, the Crocodile stopped. It slammed both of its massive front legs onto the sand.
Instantly, an unholy, crushing pressure descended upon Mirabella, rooting her to the spot, threatening to buckle her armor.
"Gravity?" she gasped, stunned by the unexpected effect.