CHAPTER 12: CHAPTER 12: SMALL SPACE RING, PLAYER KILLERS ARE HERE

Right after shouting about wanting items with more storage, a beautiful girl in a robe walked toward Stark, her staff in hand.

He recognized her instantly.

It was Starfall, the same girl from David’s group he had seen when saving them from the Shadow Bear King.

She wasn’t just any mage either. She carried a hidden class called [Star Prophet], which made her far stronger than a normal spellcaster.

Her hair had a soft orange tint, and her golden eyes sparkled like the stars in her class name.

If Stark remembered correctly, her real name was Grace Stargazer.

"I think I found something related to what you need..." she said with a calm smile, extending her hand toward him.

Stark’s eyes immediately shifted to what she was holding. A small silver ring glimmered on her palm.

---

[Small Space Ring (Rare): +12 storage slots, does not occupy a backpack slot.]

---

Seeing the item, Stark’s eyes widened in shock.

This was huge.

Every player could carry a maximum of three backpacks at once.

For example, Stark right now had his normal backpack and his storage backpack, which gave him five extra slots.

That meant he had two backpacks equipped already.

Later in the game, there would be some incredible items, massive bags, enchanted vaults, dimensional gear, that could hold hundreds of items at once.

But the [Small Space Ring] was extremely special for the simple reason it didn’t occupy a backpack slot.

It was pure bonus storage. An extra 12 slots, on top of everything else.

Stark clenched his fist as he thought about how rare it was.

Sure, maybe it could drop from monsters, but if it did, the chances had to be abysmally low.

And since this was the "lowest" variant of it, the higher ones had to be even harder to come by.

He raised his head and asked seriously, "How much do you want for that?"

Such an item wasn’t just about convenience.

It meant more loot carried on long runs, more items sold later, and more profit overall.

Grace shook her head lightly. "I don’t want your lives."

Then she smiled a little wider. "But... I do want your help killing a special boss that appeared."

Stark’s eyes twitched.

’Special boss?’

He knew exactly what that meant.

Special bosses only appeared for short periods of time, and they were always dangerous.

But they also dropped some incredible loot. A win-win situation.

"Alright," Stark nodded without hesitation.

He couldn’t afford to let an opportunity like this pass by.

But he needed to get there first, since these bosses disappeared if not killed by the end of the time.

Without another word, he tapped his panel and sent her a friend request.

Ding!

[Player "Starfall" has accepted your friend request!]

Almost immediately afterward...

[Player "Starfall" has sent you a private message!]

[Starfall: I’m so happy you can help us out! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ]

Stark stared at the message blankly, then let out a quiet sigh.

Another message popped up.

[Starfall: I didn’t want to say it out loud, but it was a level 7 elite-rank boss... so I know nobody but you could beat it! (っ◞‸◟c)]

[Stark: What about its name?]

[Starfall: No idea, I ran as fast as I could the moment I saw it. But it was some weird creature on a small ship.]

A small ship? That didn’t ring any bells for him.

Even in his past life, his encounters with special bosses had been rare.

He couldn’t recall anything like what she described.

"I can kill it," Stark said firmly. "If the boss drops equipment or skill books your team can use, I’ll give those to you. Everything else belongs to me."

Grace thought about it for a moment, then nodded.

It was fair. And honestly, for a level 7 elite-rank boss, she doubted anyone else in this entire novice town could even scratch it.

Stark wasn’t completely confident either.

But that made it even more tempting to test himself.

"Okay then," Grace said cheerfully. "Let’s wait for the others to come back first~"

"There’s no need," Stark replied flatly. "Take me there now. I’ll fight it alone."

Grace blinked at him in disbelief.

She knew he was strong, the strongest player in the whole town.

But still... taking on an elite boss by himself?

She bit her lip. He was insane.

But Stark’s thoughts were different.

’Special bosses in the starting zones are the easiest ones. Can’t waste this chance.’

...

A few minutes later, Stark and Grace left [Novice Town #783] and headed back toward the Shadow Forest.

Grace walked beside him, her robe fluttering with each step.

She glanced at him hesitantly.

"So you’re really going to... fight it alone? Even though you’re a mage?"

Grace herself was a mage, and she knew her limits.

Their class had high damage, but weak defenses and combat capabilities.

One solid hit from an elite boss could wipe them out instantly.

Stark didn’t get a chance to answer.

His sharp senses suddenly picked up something behind them.

His eyes narrowed.

"Someone’s following us."

"Hah?" Grace tightened her grip on her staff.

Her voice trembled slightly, but Stark was already certain.

’Player killers... they’re already here.’

As one might assume, once news spread that [Eternal Soul] was real, people would do anything for lives.

Monsters were one way. But killing other players worked too.

When killing a player, you would get the number of lives corresponding to loss rate of the zone.

It was less rewarding, but a much safer method to get lives.

After all, other players weren’t as wild or unpredictable as monsters.

Stark had run into these scum plenty of times in his past life, and he hadn’t liked them then either.

He stopped walking and turned around.

Five figures stepped out from behind the trees.

"Oh, looks like he noticed us."

"They must be strong. Stay sharp."

"Doesn’t matter. It’s five against two. And they’re mages—"

Vine Swing!

Before the last one could even finish, Stark moved.

A vine burst from the ground and whipped through the air like a serpent.

It slammed into all five players in an instant.

Boom!

Damage numbers exploded above their heads.

-1,640! -1,640! -1,640!1

The five didn’t even have time to react before their bodies shattered into particles.

Ding!

[You have gained 5 Lives!]

’Heh.’

Stark smirked faintly.

But he didn’t waste time.

He turned back around, grabbed Grace by the waist, and hoisted her up onto his shoulder.

"H-Hah?!"

She squeaked in surprise, but Stark was already dashing forward at incredible speed.

His agility was sitting at 47 now.

Carrying her barely slowed him down at all.

In fact, it was much faster this way.

The special boss wouldn’t wait forever.

Grace held onto him tightly, her eyes wide. ’Is a mage supposed to be this fast? This is insane...’

Meanwhile, Stark calmly raised his staff while running.

Without missing a step, he fired precise spells at monsters that tried to block their way.

Ding!

[You have gained 7 Lives!]

[You have gained 1 Evolution Point.]

’Nice,’ Stark thought with satisfaction.

Ten minutes later, they arrived.

Stark slowed down and gently set Grace back on her feet.

She looked a little reluctant, but said nothing.

They were standing on top of a cliff now.

From here, the view stretched wide.

Stark’s eyes immediately locked on the swamp below.

Floating across its dark waters was a strange, creaking ship.

And on that ship... something was waiting.

The special boss of the Shadow Forest.

100 damage + 48 spirit + 10 from staff and + 6 from flame ring = 164 x 10