The Power of Leveling
While countless players stared at their floating interface panels, a wave of sheer disbelief flooded the server's global chat.
"D*mn! Who is this guy? How could someone solo the Novice Settlement boss?"
"Glacial King? I've never heard of this ID before. Does anyone know which guild he belongs to?"
"Isn't the trigger condition for the Novice Settlement boss harsh? How did he do it? I've heard there are ten bosses in the Novice Settlement, yet none have been triggered so far."
Top-tier gamers from massive guilds scrambled to analyze the impossibility of the feat. The forums were already blowing up with conspiracy theories, with some claiming Varek had found a game-breaking bug.
Varek paid no attention to the chaotic chatter. He dismissed the transparent chat window with a flick of his wrist. After absorbing his new Lightning Jump skill, he turned his focus to the glowing weapon he had received as a reward. He lifted the sleek, crackling frame from the grass. The silver bow gleamed with latent electrical energy, promising destruction.
Thunderstorm Bow: Silver.
Equip Requirement: No level restriction, Archer-only.
Effect 1: Attack +300.
Effect 2: Critical Chance +15%.
Effect 3: 15% chance to inflict paralysis on attack.
Effect 4: 15% chance to splash damage to nearby enemies on the attack.
Varek frowned, staring at the translucent text hovering above the dark wood.
"What kind of subpar stats are these!?" he muttered to himself.
To any normal player, a Silver-tier weapon with these bonuses would be a godsend. But for someone whose whole combat loop rested upon stacking maximum health and dealing percentage-based true damage, raw attack power meant nothing. The paralysis effect was the single redeeming feature, yet it came with an annoyingly low activation rate. He wanted a simple, flat boost to his attack speed. Getting a Silver weapon without a single attack speed modifier felt like the system mocking his specific build.
He tossed the bow into his inventory and sifted through the rest of the Warped Treant King's loot.
Ding! "You've obtained the Warped Treant King's Necklace."
Ding! "You've obtained the skill Revival."
Ding! "You've obtained the Warped Treant King's Helmet."
Ding! "You've obtained gold coins +5."
Ding! "You've obtained the Warped Treant King's heart."
His sharp eyes locked onto the glowing skill book in the pile: Revival. At first glance, it seemed like vendor trash.
Revival: 1-Star.
Effect: Regenerate 1 HP per second, unaffected by interruptions.
Cooldown: None.
Cost: None.
Proficiency: 0/1000 (Proficiency equals HP restored. Note: This skill has no star limit.)
Varek read the fine print twice. His breath caught in his throat. The proficiency and healing output scaled directly with the total amount of health restored. Most importantly, it possessed no star limit. With his Heaven's Hand talent providing an infinite health pool, this limitless regeneration passive was a flawless match. Automatic, interruption-proof healing scaled far better than standard lifesteal mechanics.
"Learn," Varek commanded.
The skill book shattered into motes of golden light, rushing into his chest.
Revival (Passive Skill): 3-Star.
Effect: Regenerate 50 HP per second, unaffected by interruptions.
Cooldown: None.
Cost: None.
Proficiency: 25,130/100,000 (Proficiency equals HP restored. Note: This skill has no star limit.)
Thanks to his massive health pool feeding into the proficiency requirement, the skill leaped straight to 3-Star. A warm, continuous surge of vitality flowed through his veins, regenerating a solid fifty health points every single second. His survivability in sustained fights skyrocketed. He felt unkillable.
Varek opened his friend interface. The screen lagged for a second under the weight of thousands of frantic friend requests from guild leaders and scouts. He muted the flood of incoming messages and opened a direct line.
"Get over here, Highreach Guard! Want to level up or not?" he typed.
With his client summoned, Varek dived back into the grind. He equipped the Thunderstorm Bow. He spotted a wandering Elite Warped Treant lumbering through the dense foliage. He drew the string back, locked onto the monster's glowing core, and released.
Whoosh!
-1524
A crimson number flashed across his vision. Critical Hit!
The instant the arrow pierced the thick bark, blue chain lightning erupted from the primary target. The volatile energy leaped across the open clearing, zapping five nearby Warped Treants in rapid succession.
-152
-152
Damage numbers floated above the canopy. Varek stood his ground.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Critical hit, critical hit, and another critical hit. His 16% base critical chance paired seamlessly with his precision vital strikes. He dropped the resilient elite treant in just four arrows instead of the grueling twelve it usually took.
However, the sudden splash damage from Lightning Jump acted as a beacon. The injured monsters let out groaning roars. Roots tore out of the soil as the treants surged toward him. More monsters from the surrounding forest turned their gaze his way, drawn by the electrical flashes.
"This Lightning Jump is such a double-edged sword," Varek muttered under his breath. He backpedaled as a horde of angry Treants amassed in his peripheral vision. "Pulling this much aggro at once? If I can't handle it, I'm toast in two hits."
He kept moving, maintaining his distance. Varek fell into a flawless rhythm. Step back, draw, fire. Step back, draw, fire. His feet glided over the uneven roots of the forest floor, never once breaking his tempo. The crackle of ozone filled the air as blue arcs illuminated the dark canopy, turning the gloomy forest into a strobe-lit warzone. His 2.13 attacks per second kept him safely ahead of the swarm. Every time a treant closed the distance, lifting a massive wooden fist to crush him, another arrow found its vital core. The monster would crumble into digital fragments before the strike could land. He kited the massive mob in a wide circle, firing a relentless stream of arrows into the charging mass. Thanks to the chain lightning softening up the horde, the remaining monsters only required three arrows to fall. Sometimes just two.
Ding! "You've leveled up to Level 7. Attribute Points +5."
Without a second thought, Varek dumped all his newly earned attribute points into attack speed. His firing rate climbed to 2.23.
"Yo, Glacial King! I'm here!"
Highreach Guard stumbled into the clearing, panting. He froze, watching Varek decimate a small army of enraged trees with a storm of arrows and leaping electricity.
"Glacial King, you're even stronger now, huh?"
Varek ignored the awe. He tossed a party invite to Guard. He re-established the harsh ninety-to-ten experience split in Highreach's favor to fulfill their leveling contract.
For the next three hours, Varek transformed the forest into an efficient slaughterhouse. He power-leveled his wealthy client, tearing through elite mobs with bouncing lightning and rapid attack speed. By the time the third hour ticked by, a golden light washed over Guard. Level 10.
During the bloodbath, Varek also secured the last missing pieces of the promised Treant Set. He tossed the dark wooden armor over to Guard.
Guard equipped the full set without delay. The two-piece set bonus activated with a hum. Guard pulled up his character sheet, his eyes bulging at the massive stat boosts.
"Glacial King, this set... it's insane!" Guard gasped.
Unfazed by the praise, Varek sensed another pristine business opportunity. He opened his inventory and pulled out two pieces of dark metal gear.
"I've also got two Black Iron level equipment pieces from the Warped Treant King," Varek offered casually. "They won't mess with your set bonuses and will boost your base stats even further."
Guard stared at the Black Iron boss drops. By now, he knew Varek's ruthless business style all too well. He braced himself.
"How much?" Guard asked cautiously.
"Fifty thousand dollars per piece," Varek stated without blinking.
Guard twitched. He knew deep down this was a steep price for mere transitional early-game gear. He would outgrow this armor in less than a week. But Guard was a man of deep real-world pockets, driven by a competitive desire for dominance. Having the best possible stats in the server's opening days was worth the premium.
"Fifty thousand dollars for Black Iron equipment. Fine," Guard conceded with a sigh.
A moment later, a notification pinged in the real world. A fresh one-hundred-thousand-dollar transfer cleared cleanly into Varek's bank account. A satisfied grin spread across his face.
"Pleasure doing business with you," Varek remarked, stowing his bow. "I'll probably farm more gear down the line—let's keep in touch."
The massive payout meant his real-world finances were secured. His sister's life-saving surgery was fully funded, lifting a crushing weight off his chest. He closed his inventory, ready to safely disconnect from the server.