"If using the skill once gives 0.1% progress," Mu Lan mused, "and I use it every time the 5-minute cooldown ends… then it'll take about 50 minutes to reach 1%. 100 minutes for 2%. 500 minutes for 10%… and roughly 5,000 minutes—about 83 hours, or 3.5 days—to level it up fully."
He glanced at Beng. "But while we're farming bosses, we should use it—every cooldown. It'll keep you alive longer. Outside of boss fights, though, we'll spam it just to level the skill. We'll need it later."
"Got it," Beng nodded. "Let's go find the next boss. There's bound to be good loot—and you can level your skill on the way."
Mu Lan and Beng Zeng left Solitary Valley and set off in search of another boss. Within half an hour, they found one.
But before attacking, they crouched in the bushes and watched.
A group of players was already fighting the boss.
"Hey, Mu," Beng whispered, "why aren't we attacking? The boss is already at 50% HP! We could jump in and help finish it!"
"Not yet," Mu Lan said firmly. "I don't trust these guys one bit. Sure, they can't kill us right now—but let's wait. Let their numbers dwindle first. Remember: players can't respawn for 5 minutes after death. We'll strike when the boss hits 2% HP."
"Alright… we'll watch."
When they'd arrived, the group had 30 players. But the boss's sudden AoE attack had wiped out more than half in seconds.
Now, only 10 remained. The boss was down to 25% HP—but players kept dying, respawning, and dying again. Each death cost them XP and gear. Their average level had dropped from 3 to 1.
At 7 players, the boss hit 20% HP.
The respawning members returned completely naked—no gear, no defense. They died in seconds.
By the time the boss reached 10% HP, only 4 players were left.
Then—one of them betrayed his teammates.
As the others focused on the boss, he turned and slaughtered all three in cold blood.
[Player "BloodFang" has killed "RaidMember1"]
[Player "BloodFang" has killed "RaidMember2"]
[Player "BloodFang" has killed "RaidMember3"]
His name turned blood-red—the mark of a player killer.
"HAHAHAHA!" he roared, standing over the corpses. "You fools! This boss is MINE!"
His laughter echoed across the valley.
From the bushes, Mu Lan and Beng exchanged glances.
"The moment the boss hits 2% HP," Mu Lan whispered, "we both attack. He can't kill us—we're Level 0, so player-killing is disabled for and against us. He'll be stunned… and we'll steal his kill right from under his nose."
"I can't wait to see his face," Beng grinned.
Moments later, BloodFang brought the boss down to 2% HP.
"Now!" Mu Lan hissed.
They burst from the bushes.
Mu Lan nocked an arrow and fired:
–8
–5
–3
Beng charged in, mace swinging, shield raised:
–3
–3
–3
"WHAT THE HELL?!" BloodFang snarled. "This boss is MINE! Get lost, or I'll kill you both!"
But when he tried to attack them—nothing happened.
Their names were still white. At Level 0, PvP was locked. He couldn't touch them.
Worse—the boss's aggro was still on him.
–50
–30
–40
"I've got your names!" he screamed. "I'll turn this zone into your personal prison!"
Then—he died.
The boss, now alone, turned on Mu Lan and Beng. But without its tank, it fell in seconds.
[Shadow Wolf – Boss Defeated!]
Loot exploded from the corpse—rare, high-tier gear. At Level 10, this boss was a goldmine.
And because they landed the final blow, they got 100% of the XP.
+1,000 Experience
"Mu," Beng gasped, "at this rate, we'll level up soon!"
"Yeah," Mu Lan said. "Let's grind our XP back to zero. But first—bank this loot. If we die, we could lose it."
"Good call."
As they looted, a system message flashed across the server:
[System Announcement]
The boss monster "Shadow Wolf" has been slain by players G********* and S********.