The number of players continued to dwindle, and the area had shrunk enough that they began encountering more players, as if every player formed a team out of necessity.
Zack and his group were currently engaged in combat with a team of five players.
They had an oracle, a priest, a defender, an assassin, and a fighter.
Zack and the female archer had already eliminated the priest and oracle at the beginning of the fight, but the assassin had backstabbed Zack, inflicting a critical hit of 690 damage.
His health was good enough to withstand it, and he refrained from using any healing or priest related skills; Divine Barrier sufficed for him as it was also usable by mages.
Naturally, the assassin was defeated, but he had inflicted poison that caused 30 damage per second for ten seconds.
Zack consumed a antidote and popped a healing potion.
Dan's stats were overwhelming. He handled the fighter and defender together without slowing, his heavy axe swinging as if weight and weapon speed meant nothing to him.
Each strike landed for over 450 damage, crushing armor and forcing them back.
He shifted seamlessly between offense and movement, using mobility skills to evade counters and reposition.
When they tried to box him in, Dan triggered [Crater Leap Lv. 2], launching himself up to twelve meters before crashing down between them.
The impact dealt 150% physical damage in a three-meter radius, knocking both enemies into the air for half a second and shattering their formation.
The fighter fell first, followed seconds later by the defender.
By then, the assassin was already dead; dropped by a charged shot from the archer before he could disengage.
The player count continued to drop as the zone contracted, shrinking until every remaining combatant could see one another across the scorched field.
75… 40… 27… 23… 14…
That was when everyone noticed the anomaly. A field boss.
Zack's Detect flared, and the result made his jaw tighten, its stats were absurd.
Far beyond anything the remaining players could handle head-on. He deliberately avoided drawing its attention.
The other players, aware of the danger, also kept a low profile, not wanting to provoke the creature.
The elemental lynx seemed to sense the shift. As if recognizing that its hunting ground had fully formed, it stepped out of the fire, flames rolling off its body without leaving marks.
It's flames licking across the scorched ground and leaving blackened marks in its wake.
With predatory grace, it struck a player at the center of the zone, tearing through them. The victim was already dead but their body didn't disappear.
The system pinged.
Player Count — 10
Another notification followed.
The last surviving player will receive a unique item.
Death by the Infernal Lynx will prevent log-in for 5 hours.
Zack processed the information; it made sense why the body hadn't disappeared, it was evidently preferable to die by another player than to be killed by that beast, he thought.
The beast was currently positioned at the center, while the remaining players gathered at the edges of the zone, feeling the intense heat surrounding them.
The beast scanned its vicinity once again as if searching for a new target and its gaze landed on a group of six players.
They cursed, realizing they were its chosen victims. The two leaders whispered to their team members and exchanged glances filled with determination.
The beast sprang off a tree, its claws biting into the bark, wood churning and smoking from the heat before it shot straight toward them as the shrinking boundary drove the temperature even further.
The oracle cast a skill on the dark faction, causing their group of three players to vanish entirely.
Shadow Veil I —
→ Conceals all linked targets, making them invisible for 20 seconds.
Mana Cost: 100 MP | Cooldown: 5 min
The other team, witnessing this, swore and sprinted in the opposite direction, while the beast seemed to focus solely on pursuing them.
In the next instant, the beast vanished and materialized behind their defender.
A burning strike sent the tank flying backward, his body knocked clear out of the safe zone. Flames wrapped around him immediately, damage numbers ticking up in rapid succession—40… 50… 55…
He roared, popped a potion mid-roll, and barely made it back across the boundary as the fire peeled off his armor.
The priest acted in desperation, channeling a heal to stabilize the defender's collapsing health.
The lynx watched with its predatory gaze.
Then it moved again.
This time, its claws ignited with a darker flame. Its blazing form blurred, then vanished from where it stood.
It reappeared behind the priest.
Claws punched straight through her chest.
CRIT — 1544
The priest was lifted from the ground, impaled and burning, the lynx already turning its head in search of the next target.
The priestess health points dropped to zero instantly, and her body remained, having been thrown into the fire by the beast as if to taunt it.
The beast then turned its gaze toward the defender and snorted, as if asking what he intended to do next.
It lunged at the defender once more, who activated all defensive buffs to try and hold out, but ultimately, the beast was too powerful, and he met the same fate as the priestess.
The only one left was the archer, who managed to escape the beast's range and was now feigning death behind a log.
Once the beast finished with the defender, it focused on the three players who became visible again after the skill ended, with each running in different directions.
However, their agility was no match for the boss, and with their weak defenses, they barely survived two hits before they fell, their bodies visible in the shrinking field of flames.
Now only the assassin remained, having already activated his stealth skill to conceal himself. The stealth skills had significant drawbacks, reducing movement speed, and a character couldn't remain hidden indefinitely; once the duration expired, he would become visible again.
The boss didn't possess any skills to counter stealth, completely ignoring the assassin. It then turned its attention to the lone player in the tree who was also pretending to be dead, slowly approaching him.
The archer stayed completely still, leaving everything to chance, hoping the boss would overlook him.
After remaining motionless with his eyes shut, the player opened them and, upon realizing he was still alive, let out a small sigh of relief.
He then looked around for the boss but found nothing, sensing something was off, he glanced back at the burning area, where the boss was watching him with a bemused expression as it prepared to pounce.
Only four players remained now: Zack, Dan, the female archer, and the assassin.
Zack quickly recognized that playing dead was futile against the beast and hurried to hide himself, remaining still; meanwhile, the assassin's skill had expired, and he too was seeking shelter from the boss's sight.
Suddenly, a bright arrow shot through the air and struck the assassin straight in the chest, taking him out in a single blow.
The boss snarled at the arrow embedded in the assassin's chest just as the corpse vanished in a burst of light, its eyes appearing to be pained by the bright light, and it moved toward the arrow.
Dan snapped his head toward her position and muttered under his breath, "Shit."
As he was in close proximity, it was obvious to Dan that the female archer had fired that arrow with the intent of letting the boss deal with him.
The boss reached the place and sniffed, it looked around and spotted Dan who was behind the tree… realizing it was useless to hide. He ditched cover and ran towards the female archer.
Crushing Advance II —
Charges forward and slams into the target.
→ Staggers enemies on impact, takes 30% reduced damage while charging, and grants immunity to crowd control.
Mana Cost: 70 MP | Cooldown: 1 min
As if anticipating his move, the female archer drew her bow and launched a charged shot.
While running towards her, Dan, who was utilizing a mobility skill, opened his inventory and pulled out a shield.
His body markings began to glow intensely, which was strange since he wielded a two-handed weapon.
Unity I — (Guardian/Defender Exclusive)
→ Grants the ability to use a shield with any weapon for 2 minutes and increases defense by 10%.
Mana Cost: 100 MP | Cooldown: 10 min
He braced behind his shield and took the charged shot head-on, the impact ripping 458 damage from his health.
The female archer seeing that activated her mobility skill to create distance, then slipped into stealth.
Stealth II — (Assassin/Sin Exclusive)
→ Enters stealth, reducing movement speed by 40%, increasing critical chance by 50% and critical damage by 30%.
Mana Cost: 50 MP | Cooldown: 3 min | Duration: 30 sec
At that moment, Dan, the guardian, froze. Damn it.. she had been pretending to be an archer, but in reality, she was an assassin.
Clearly, he wasn't the only one concealing his class. Running straight at her now was pointless, the boss's attention was fixed on him, and he didn't want a 2 vs 1 fight.
Glancing toward the other side where Zack was hiding, a wicked grin crept across his face. He cast his mobility skill, leaping a significant distance until he reached Zack's hiding spot.
The boss followed, using a skill that allowed it to appear behind its target just as Dan landed and it unleashed its Dark Claw attack.
Dan raised his shield and activated Iron Guard I — (Defender/Guardian exclusive)
→ Reduces incoming damage and reflects physical damage by two fold back to attackers.
He blocked the strike, though he still sustained 320 damage. Roaring, he then used Roar of the Guardian I —
→ Emits a fearsome shout that causes nearby enemies to flinch or hesitate and reduces defense by 30%.
The boss hissed, momentarily startled.
By now, Zack realized he wasn't the only one hiding his class; the guardian had clearly intended to draw the boss's attention toward himself. Without wasting a moment, he sprinted in the opposite direction using his mobility skill.
Unfortunately, it was too late. The guardian seemed to anticipate the right moment and used his jump skill, Crater Leap Lv. 2 appearing in front of Zack, leaving the boss behind him.
Seeing his front blocked by the guardian and the boss closing in behind him, Zack immediately cast Arcane Surge, followed by Chain Lightning and Judgement Ray, all aimed at the guardian who was wearing a confident smirk.
The lightning arcs snapped through the air before Judgement Ray struck, and the forest erupted in a sudden, blinding burst of light, searing through the dense canopy like a second sun, turning every shadow into white-hot glare.