CHAPTER 30: CHAPTER 30: FIRST EPIC-RANK KILL, SOUL STAFF AND LIGHTNING STRIKE

[Player "Oblivion (First Ruined City)" is the first to kill an epic-rank boss!]

[You have gained 5 Prestige Points!]

---

Every single player in [Eternal Soul] froze for a moment as the announcement burned into their minds.

The first epic-rank boss.

The system always made it global.

Every time someone cleared a new milestone boss, the entire world knew.

This was no small feat.

"Wait, what?!" someone shouted in disbelief as the panel faded. "I literally just spawned in the [Eternal Continent] five minutes ago... and some guy already killed an epic-rank boss?! What the hell is going on?!"

Another player groaned. "Fuck that shit, why are my class and talent so weak in comparison?!"

"Shut it. Deal with it."

Across the world, reactions sparked one after another.

Even the best players, the ones already competing for dominance, narrowed their eyes at the announcement.

"Hah... so he’s still moving forward." PrinceLucas smirked.

His cloak gleamed in the light of the battlefield he was carving through.

"Fine then. That just means I’ll push harder."

"...No matter," EvilDemon muttered in a flat tone, his eyes unreadable.

Ghost didn’t even spare it a thought.

She sliced through a sentinel with her twin daggers, its head dropping to the ground in silence.

"Hah... this is hilarious," GodOfViolence laughed, the sound harsh and jagged. "Can’t make this shit up."

"Oh well," DivineGoddess said simply, rolling her shoulders.

Every reaction was different, annoyance, competitiveness, amusement, or indifference.

But the truth was the same. Oblivion was a monster.

And now, with the looming threat of the [First Calamity] arriving in just 29 days, a warning every single player had seen when they stepped foot into the [Eternal Continent], this news only spread more panic.

If someone could already defeat an epic boss this early, then how the hell was anyone else supposed to keep up?

Only the top 0.001% possibly could.

...

Ding!

---

[You have killed "Undead Soul Mage (Level 15 Epic-Rank Boss)]

[You have gained 50,000 experience points.]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 13!]

[You have gained 5 points in all of your attributes, and 5 free points to distribute.]

[You have gained 10 Evolution Points!]

[You have gained 115 Lives!]

---

Stark grinned as the flood of system messages poured in.

The numbers didn’t lie. He had crushed it.

But the real prize was lying scattered around the corpse of the boss.

Several glowing orbs hovered in the air, small but radiant.

He could sell those later, sure. Easy money. But his eyes weren’t on them.

No, his attention was locked on the far end of the hall.

A purple chest shimmered into existence, arcs of lightning crackling around it.

This was his zone-clear reward!

Stark then immediately used his skill.

Hand of Avarice!

But this time, instead of getting extra [Lives] or [Evolution Points]... The boss dropped an item.

"Oh?"

[Hand of Avarice]’s description stated that the monster would drop an additional "loot reward".

The [Evolution Points] and [Lives] that he got from the monsters dropping them was actually considered to be the "loot".

That’s why he sometimes didn’t drop any EP or lives when using it, it was simply luck.

He would have preferred to drop EP or lives, but as he approached the item... he noticed that it was glowing more than the rest?

Stark crouched down and picked up the item.

---

[Undead Soul Mage Robe (Epic): Mage-type equipment. +43 Spirit, +25 Constitution, +78 Physical Resistance, +102 Magical Resistance. Requirement: Level 15.]

---

"...Oh shit," Stark muttered, eyes widening. "Now that’s worth it."

Sure, getting more EP was nice. But equipment like this was just as important.

The only problem? He couldn’t wear it yet. Level 15 requirement.

That was how [Eternal Soul] kept balance.

You couldn’t just buy your way to dominance as a level 1 newbie.

Equipment locked you out unless you met the level threshold.

It was also another way you measured quality.

A level 1 common sword was a joke compared to a level 100 common sword.

Rank didn’t tell the whole story, level requirements did too.

Still, even if he couldn’t equip it now, just holding it made him grin.

His [Hand of Avarice]’s passive didn’t activate, but it didn’t surprise much since it was only a 10% chance.

"Not bad..."

He shoved the robe into his inventory and started gathering the other drops.

Then he froze as he found the item he had really wanted.

His grin widened. There it was

"Haha!" Stark’s eyes lit up as he lifted the weapon.

---

[Soul Staff (Epic): Mage-type weapon. +100 Spirit, +43 Agility, Cooldowns reduced by 5%. Requirement: Level 15]

---

"Perfect," Stark whispered.

Bosses almost always dropped gear at their own rank or at least near it.

Another reason to fight them at equal level.

And this? This was incredible.

The cooldown reduction was nice, but the real deal was the raw stats.

+100 Spirit was insane. His damage would skyrocket.

And with +43 Agility stacked on top, his movements would get sharper too.

He wasn’t level 15 yet, but he would be soon.

And when that happened? His power would spike hard.

He inspected the staff, admiring the silver orb at its tip.

Trapped souls swirled within, glowing faintly.

He placed it carefully in his inventory.

[Inventory: 25/27]

His inventory was almost full, meaning it was time to sell some items, even if greatly discounted.

’Grace, David... maybe I should pass some gear to them,’ Stark thought.

In [Eternal Soul], items weren’t just for power.

They built connections. Entire alliances had been formed just because one side gifted a valuable item to another.

For solo players like himself and even others, it was necessary.

After sorting everything, he turned to the end of the hall.

The chest pulsed with violet light.

[Epic Chest]

Each chest’s color and aura could already give away what the item inside would be.

White for Common, Gray for Uncommon, Blue for Rare, Brown for Elite, Violet for Epic, and Gold for Legendary.

Then there was the other half, but Stark didn’t bother thinking about it now.

He pressed his hand against the chest, channeling mana and...

Click!

The lock disengaged, and the chest opened, revealing its contents.

Ding!

[You have opened the "Epic Chest" and obtained the "Lightning Strike" skill book.]

Stark’s grin stretched ear to ear.

"Oh yeah. That’s what I’m talking about."

Having new skills books was good for any player.

But with [Infinite Evolution] by his side, Stark knew the more EP he had, the better his skills would be.

[Skill Book: Lightning Strike (Epic). Requirement: Level 13]

Thankfully, in comparison to boss’, chest rewards actually followed your level most of the times.

Without a second thought, Stark chose to learn it.

Ding!

[You have learned the skill "Lightning Strike"]

---

[Lightning Strike (Epic): Summons a lightning strike that will strike your enemy, dealing 500% of spirit and also has a chance to apply "Stun". 20 (10)-seconds cooldown.]

---

"Beautiful," Stark muttered.

The damage was pretty good, and it also had a chance to apply "Stun", with a decent cooldown.

And once he hit level 15, stacked Spirit, and equipped the Soul Staff? The numbers would go crazy.

A portal shimmered open in front of him.

Without wasting a second, Stark stepped through.

Light twisted, and he reappeared outside the stone door he had entered from.

Only now, the door was sealed.

[Undead Soul Land (Locked)]

Zones needed time to regenerate after a clear. No one could enter until it reset.

Though...

[You have cleared this zone.]

Since Stark had already done it, he wasn’t allowed back in.

Some zones didn’t allow you to enter once cleared once, and this was one of them.

Didn’t matter. He had exactly what he wanted.

New robe. New staff. And a new epic skill.

All he needed now... was more levels.

Stark clenched his fist, determination burning in his eyes.

’I need level 15. Fast.’

[Level: 13 (45,600/60,000)]

The boss had boosted him hard.

He had even carried over some overflow EXP from level 12.

But the higher you climbed, the harder the grind became.

The sentinels around here would barely give 50 experience a kill now. Worthless.

To keep climbing, Stark would need stronger prey.

And that meant diving even deeper into the [Ruined City].