Werewolf Cabaro saw it was Marcus again and let out a furious howl before lunging.
Bang! Bang!
Right on schedule, the wolf's signature moves, Blade Storm and Skull Crusher, landed. But they only chipped away less than 700 of Marcus's HP. Then, as usual, it entered its post-combo stun state, becoming a sitting duck for Marcus's attacks.
'Sigh.' This was just pathetic. Marcus wondered if he was too overpowered or if Werewolf Cabaro was just a one-trick pony. The lack of a real fight was honestly kind of boring; he couldn't even break a sweat.
"Awooo... Awooo... Ooooh…"
'What the hell are you howling about now?'
With less than ten percent of its health left, Werewolf Cabaro threw its head back and howled like it had just been injected with adrenaline.
'You gotta be kidding me.' Was this mutt getting turned on by the beating? Did it have a thing for pain? Why was it singing? He'd never seen this before.
'For god's sake. Singing during your own beatdown? And with a voice that terrible.' Marcus poured on the attacks, hitting faster and harder.
Suddenly, a light the color of molten obsidian erupted from under Werewolf Cabaro's feet, swirling around its body.
'You have got to be kidding me!' It was evolving into a Golden Boss! No wonder it was so amped up. But that black-and-gold light… that was new. He'd never seen anything like it.
Marcus's heart hammered against his ribs. No way. He was actually witnessing the Werewolf Cabaro evolve. Today was shaping up to be absolutely insane.
"Hell yeah!" he yelled, a grin spreading across his face. "Come on then! Let's see what you've got!"
Evolution? He lived for this. It had been way too long since he'd stumbled into something this wild.
Was his insane Luck stat messing with the game's RNG again? He had a real talent for stumbling into these trigger events. If that was the case, it was seriously awesome.
He focused on the newly transformed Werewolf Cabaro and hit it with Insight.
Werewolf Cabaro: Level 32 Golden BOSS. Health: 8000. Skills: Horizontal Slash, Vertical Chop. Trait: High Attack, Low Speed.
Ultimate Moves: Horizontal Slash; Storm of Blades, Vertical Chop; Skull Splitter. Attack damage is doubled, immense power. Followed by a five-second stun period.
'You have got to be kidding me.'
Not only had the thing fully healed, but its Health pool had skyrocketed from 5,000 to a beefy 8,000. That was just annoying.
But looking at its skills and traits, it was still the same predictable, muscle-headed bruiser. Marcus wasn't sweating it.
"Phoenix Chick, let's go!" he shouted.
He let out a battle cry, activated his skills, and with his pet in tow, he bravely charged forward, ready to beat this overgrown wolf into the dirt.
-500. The Werewolf Cabaro's two ultimate moves were too fast, and the attacks landed first. Fortunately, Marcus had high Luck and high Agility, which naturally led to high evasion. The Werewolf Cabaro could only stand there, frustrated, in its five-second stun period.
He had to give credit where it was due; the Werewolf Cabaro packed a serious punch. One of its ultimates could shred over a thousand HP. Since he only had a little over 1,300 himself, any other Level 30 Knight would have been instantly killed.
But this poor guy had the bad luck of running into a freak of nature like Marcus; a Knight with top-tier attack, defense, health, and evasion. He was a walking stat sheet. The monster never stood a chance.
-80, -200, -430, -400, -250. Marcus chugged a Medium Health Potion and dashed right back in, unleashing a barrage of attacks. His Double Strike was hitting satisfyingly hard. His little Phoenix Chick was pulling its weight, too, landing an Ember Shot for a solid 80 damage.
After a few minutes of trading blows, watching the Golden Werewolf Cabaro's health bar plummet, Marcus came to a simple conclusion: he was this thing's kryptonite. This boss existed for one reason: to guard the entrance to the fourth floor of Black Rock Spire and to get farmed by him.
-430, -480. Finally, with two clean critical hits from Marcus, the Werewolf Cabaro let out a pathetic howl and crashed to the stone floor, defeated.
A sharp ding echoed in the chamber, and a piece of dark iron clattered onto the ground from the boss's corpse.
'What's this now?' Just as he leaned in for a closer look, a string of system messages flooded his vision.
"Ding! Congratulations to player Stonehaven for defeating the Golden Werewolf Cabaro! Reward: 50 Reputation, 1000 Gold Coins."
"Ding! Congratulations, Stonehaven! Your pet, Phoenix Chick, has reached Level 10! Health +50, Mana +50, Attack +30, Defense +30."
"Ding! Congratulations, Stonehaven! Your pet, Phoenix Chick, has reached Level 11! Health +50, Mana +50, Attack +30, Defense +30."
"Ding! Congratulations, Stonehaven! Your pet, Phoenix Chick, has reached Level 12! Health +50, Mana +50, Attack +30, Defense +30."
"Ding! Congratulations, Stonehaven! Your pet has reached Level 10 and learned the skill Flame Absorption."
Flame Absorption: Passive skill, Basic. Absorbs 20% of Fire Element damage.
Nice. Phoenix Chick's situation was similar to when Marcus killed Black Bear Charla; killing monsters far above its level meant lightning-fast leveling.
Alright, time to see what that loot was.
It was a dark, unidentifiable metal plate that gave off a faint, dull glow, making the details hard to make out. He turned it over. Three elaborate, scripted words were engraved on the back: Guild Creation Token.
'No. Freaking. Way.' This was the legendary Guild Creation Token? He'd actually managed to loot one. He was on a roll. He pulled up its stats.
Guild Creation Token: A high-level token issued by the Crown. The leader of a Mercenary Group who possesses this token, has attained 1000 Reputation, and donates one million Gold Coins to the Crown may claim their own territory and establish a guild.
"Attention, all players!"
"Attention, all players!"
"Attention, all players!"
Just as he was reading the description, the system blared three server-wide announcements that reverberated across the entire world of Dominion.
'What now? This sounded big.' Marcus perked up, listening closely.
"Attention, all players! The Guild Creation Token has entered the world, officially launching the Guild System! The first ten guilds established will be featured on the Guild Leaderboard for one full month. The path to becoming a King, a Hero, a Warlord, or an Overlord in Dominion is now open! Seize your destiny, seek out a Guild Creation Token, and forge your legend!"
"Attention, all players! By popular demand, the system will enable the Gold-to-Cash Exchange feature starting tomorrow at 10:00 AM server time."
Whoa. The two announcements were like a lit match in a firework factory. The entire game world instantly exploded into a frenzy of chatter and speculation.
'Hang on a second.' That guild announcement sounded awfully familiar. Marcus glanced down at the Guild Creation Token in his hand. Were they talking about him?
"Ding! Congratulations, Stonehaven, for activating the Guild System! Reward: 1000 Reputation, 5000 Gold Coins! The system additionally rewards player Stonehaven with one Deed to a Capital City Estate. Stonehaven, you may use the Guild Creation Token as proof of claim to complete the transfer process with High Protector Leon Drake in Dragon's Peak Citadel."
They were talking about him. Talk about a lucky break! And that gold... he was sitting on a fortune now!