"Haha, high defense and thick health, this is my favorite kind of boss!" Wu Shaochen exclaimed with joy. However, he quickly reminded himself not to underestimate its damage. Its basic attack could take over six hundred health from him, its Slam attack could deal more than nine hundred, and Earth Split could strike over a thousand. High-level bosses were truly formidable.
Glancing at his own stats, his health had reached 2307, with physical defense still at 111. With this, he could certainly endure the battle. He had plenty of potions, and if things got too tough, he could always rely on his Void skill—he was set!
He immediately activated his speed boost and dashed forward, landing two strikes, applying two layers of poison, causing a steady drain of 520 health per second, which would amount to 31,200 damage over a minute.
Not daring to fully stack the poison to three layers, he noticed that with his speed boost, his attack speed had reached 80%. This meant he only had to endure one basic attack from the Black Bear King after his two strikes. If he applied a third layer of poison, he'd need to withstand two basic attacks, and if a skill hit him right after, it would be fatal. So, he made a quick decision: two strikes, one hit, and a swift retreat.
Just as he was about to flee, the ground suddenly cracked open, the fissure rushing toward him and sending him flying.
-1089
When he landed, Wu Shaochen quickly scrambled to his feet and ran. Fortunately, the Black Bear King had not yet caught up; otherwise, he would have had no choice but to use Void. One basic attack and one skill had already taken away over seventeen hundred health, leaving him with just over four hundred health. As expected, no Bronze boss could be taken lightly.
Seeing the Black Bear King approaching, Wu Shaochen decided to try something. He activated Stealth, and soon disappeared from sight. The Black Bear King, confused, scratched its head and turned to chase after Silver Taiwolf instead.
"Well, this really works," Wu Shaochen thought to himself. He had never used Stealth on regular monsters out of laziness, but to his surprise, the poison damage still applied, allowing him to use the Stealth skill. This added a new layer of trickery to his strategy. He had already been exploiting the system, and now it had become even more devious.
To prevent Silver Taiwolf from being struck, he quickly recalled it into its pet space. The Black Bear King, however, charged toward the soldier.
"Damn, why is this idiot still here? Doesn't he know to run?" Wu Shaochen muttered, frustrated. He had no choice but to summon Silver Taiwolf again to tank the damage. He then quickly drank a large red potion (Greater Healing Potion) while watching Silver Taiwolf, who was hopping around, pursued by the Black Bear King. Wu Shaochen deactivated Stealth, drew the Black Bear King's attention, and began leading it on a chase. With a liability in the form of the soldier, he couldn't afford to remain hidden. The soldier might be involved in a hidden quest, and Wu Shaochen couldn't afford to let him die.
The Black Bear King was strong, but it couldn't catch up with Wu Shaochen's incessant movement. Its attacks couldn't land fast enough, and the poison was steadily weakening it. Eventually, it succumbed to its fate and collapsed in defeat.
"Ding! Congratulations, you have slain the Bronze boss, [Black Bear King]. You have earned 200 reputation points and 24,000 experience. Your pet, Silver Taiwolf, gains 6,000 experience."
"Ding! Congratulations, your pet, [Silver Taiwolf], has leveled up to 12."
"Ding! Immortal Body activated, increasing your maximum health by 1 point. Your Immortal Body has now enhanced your health by 318 points."
As the colossal body of the Black Bear King fell, Wu Shaochen smiled wryly. "I think I'm getting a bit too strong now. Thirty-five thousand health, and I took it down in just over ten minutes. I guess this talent really is powerful."
Wu Shaochen looked at his experience: 29,710/50,000. Damn, the experience from the boss was really high. Although boss experience wasn't amplified by level differences, the Black Bear King still awarded 30,000 experience. Even with 20% of it going to Silver Taiwolf, he still received 24,000 experience—half his current level's requirement in a single fight.
He sighed and quickly began collecting the boss's drops.
The Black Bear King's drop rate was significantly lower than that of the Silver Wolf King. Clearly, the first kill had a drop rate bonus. Looking through his bag, Wu Shaochen had obtained 2 gold, 76 silver, two pieces of bronze equipment, three pieces of black iron equipment, four pieces of white-grade gear, and a special scroll.
"How stingy!" Wu Shaochen muttered in dissatisfaction, though it didn't matter too much. As long as there was equipment, it was fine. He examined the items:
[Black Bear King Armor]Bronze: Health +600, Physical Defense +30, Magical Defense +30, Additional Attributes: Constitution +18, Root +20, Required Class: Warrior, Shield Guard.
[Black Bear King Boots]Bronze: Movement Speed +50, Physical Defense +30, Magical Defense +30, Additional Attributes: Agility +18, Root +15, Required Class: All Classes.
[Bear King Bracelet]Black Iron: Physical Attack +50, Attack Speed +6%, Additional Attributes: Agility +12, Required Class: Physical Classes.
[Bear King Necklace]Black Iron: Physical Attack +60, Ranged Damage +5%, Additional Attributes: Strength +15, Required Class: Archer.
[Bear King Leggings]Black Iron: Health +300, Physical Defense +20, Magical Defense +10, Additional Attributes: Constitution +12, Required Class: All Classes.
As expected, the higher-tier equipment only had class requirements, not level ones. Before level 10, players hadn't advanced in classes, so black iron equipment had level restrictions. But after level 10, it was all about class requirements. This was quite convenient, as it meant that players wouldn't be unable to equip higher-tier gear just because of their level.
The five pieces of equipment—boots, bracelet, and leggings—were useful, while the necklace and armor would have to be sold. He'd check the auction house later when there were more players in town.
He equipped the bracelet and replaced his old wolf king's boots and leggings with the Bear King's, noting that even though both were black iron, the Bear King's pieces had much better stats than the Wolf King's. Naturally, high-level monsters dropped better gear.
He looked at the other scroll: [Petrified Skin Scroll]: Increases defense by 100% and reduces physical damage from nearby targets by 50% for 5 minutes.
...
What the heck? No skill drop, just a scroll? If this were a skill, it would be amazing, but a scroll is a bit disappointing.
After collecting his loot, Wu Shaochen approached the dying soldier and asked, "Hi, is there anything I can help you with?"
The soldier, seeing Wu Shaochen, suddenly became agitated. "Warrior, thank you for saving me, but I don't have much time left. I am a member of the Jinling City Guard, and I have urgent information to report to the city lord. Could you take this letter to the lord for me?" He handed Wu Shaochen a letter.
"Ding! The Vice Captain of the Guard, Ji Rui, has assigned you a quest: Deliver the letter to the city lord in Jinling City. Quest reward: Unknown. Do you accept?"
"Ugh, an unknown reward? Don't tell me I'll be running errands for nothing!" Wu Shaochen thought, but seeing the soldier's earnest plea, he couldn't bring himself to refuse. With a nod, he accepted the task. "Alright, I'll do it." He took the letter, and the soldier, relieved, soon passed away.
"That was quick," Wu Shaochen muttered, shaking his head. He took out a return scroll to head back to the city.
"Ding! Quest in progress. Return scroll cannot be used."
"Are you kidding me?!" Wu Shaochen cursed, realizing he had wasted his return scroll. He'd have to run all the way back instead.
Sighing in frustration, he began the long run to the city, grateful for his fast speed—otherwise, he would've lost even more time.