'I didn't get any [Evolution Points] from that thing,' Karl thought as he moved ahead. 'I'll have to see with a boss.'
After dealing with the Shadow Rat and its remains, Karl immediately went deeper into the [Broken City].
Every few meters, he could hear faint echoes of battle, other players fighting the same monsters he had just killed.
He turned a corner and spotted a group of them in action.
They were facing a group of [Shadow Rats], the same kind Karl had wiped out in one blow earlier.
-27! -27! -31!
The numbers floated above the monster as small bursts of light flashed with every strike.
"We're dealing too little damage, damn it!" one shouted.
"You gotta be kidding me, how did those big shots do it?"
"Probably their class and talent, heh?"
Karl stopped for a moment, watching them struggle.
Compared to him, their attacks looked pathetic.
Even though they were around level 2, they were barely scratching the monster's health bar.
He remembered being the same way in his past life.
Back then, this was the kind of fight that would've pushed him to his limits.
But now…
'Not anymore,' he thought, shaking his head. 'I need to be much stronger.'
He turned away and continued forward.
There was no point wasting time here, he needed more monsters and experience.
As he walked deeper into the ruins, sudden shouts echoed from a nearby street.
"Holy fucking shit, what is that thing?!"
"And there's even monsters with it, run!"
"We're level 4, we can't run from a level 1 boss, dude!"
"Who cares, I'm not risking losing a life for this!"
Karl's eyes sharpened.
He followed the noise until he reached an open area.
There, a group of level 3–4 players were fighting something huge.
Their faces were pale, their movements frantic.
The creature towering before them was massive, nearly twice their size, its body covered in thick, dark fur.
Its crimson eyes glowed like embers, staring down at them with animal fury.
And around it were smaller monsters, creatures that looked just like it, only weaker.
---
[Mad Dogs (Level 1)]
[Rank: Uncommon]
[HP: 150]
---
[Mad Dogs Leader (Level 1)]
[Rank: Uncommon (Boss)]
[HP: 1,500]
---
The group of players launched spells and attacks in desperation.
A mage hurled a fireball, a swordsman charged in, and an archer fired arrow after arrow.
But their damage was pitiful.
-59! -48! -63!
Even the ones who had focused everything into their offensive stats couldn't do enough to make a real dent.
As a team, if they could endure the boss's attacks long enough, they might win eventually.
But the boss's health pool was enormous, and worse, it had allies.
The [Mad Dogs Leader] let out a growl that shook the ground, and the lesser Mad Dogs charged forward in sync.
"AHHH—!"
The group's mage screamed as two of them pounced from behind, biting into her legs.
She survived the first hit, but the distraction was enough.
Fwish! Slash!
The leader swung its massive claws.
The warrior stepped forward to block, but the impact tore through his guard and cut half his health instantly.
"R-Run!" he shouted. "As expected, the bosses in [Gods Ascension] are too—"
He never finished.
The boss struck again, faster this time, and the warrior's body shattered into white particles of light.
One by one, the rest followed.
They all disappeared the same way, leaving only glowing fragments of their dropped [Lives] on the ground.
Karl stood still, watching.
Most people would take this as a warning.
A boss fight this early was suicidal without a proper party.
But Karl's thoughts were different.
'A boss would guarantee evolution points, wouldn't it?'
He knew better than anyone how limited public information about [Gods Ascension] really was.
Even after three years since it descended upon Earth, players still didn't understand its full depth.
Only by entering the game yourself could you realize how unforgiving it truly was.
The surviving Mad Dogs began gathering around the corpses, growling and absorbing the floating [Lives].
Karl narrowed his eyes.
Monsters could absorb [Lives] too, just like players.
But unlike humans, they didn't use them to stay alive, they used them to evolve.
The more lives they absorbed, the stronger they became.
Once a monster had enough, it could evolve up a rank, gaining new stats, abilities, and greater strength.
That meant if he waited too long, this boss might evolve right in front of him.
'Can't let that happen,' he thought.
Karl raised his staff.
Powerful Fireball!
A fiery sphere shot forward like a cannonball.
Fwish! Boom!
The explosion engulfed the Mad Dogs in an instant, consuming them in flames.
-540! -540! -540![1]
The group of lesser Mad Dogs died instantly, burning into ashes.
The boss itself staggered backward, part of its body charred, its health dropping by nearly a third.
It lifted its head slowly and locked eyes with Karl.
The crimson glow in its pupils flared, and then it charged.
'Ten seconds cooldown,' Karl thought, stepping back. 'I need to endure for twenty seconds total, then.'
The Mad Dogs Leader lunged, claws slicing through the air with terrifying speed.
Karl dodged left, then back, his movements sharp and precise.
To anyone watching, it would've been impossible to understand how a level 1 mage could dodge better than the level 4 warrior from before.
But Karl's experience wasn't something they could imagine.
He'd done this for years before it all reset.
In fact, his experience was higher than anyone currently, including those that had been going through [Gods Ascension] from the start.
Meaning that even as a mage, dodging these monster's attacks was as easy as anything else!
Slash! Slash! Slash!
He kept retreating, avoiding each strike by a hair.
Sparks flew as the monster's claws scraped stone and dirt.
Finally, his spell came off cooldown.
Powerful Fireball!
Boom!
-540!
The explosion hit directly against the creature's side, scorching fur and flesh.
The leader roared, enraged, but still refused to fall.
It lunged again, moving even faster.
Karl sidestepped a few more attacks and swung his staff once more.
Boom!
-540!
The boss froze mid-attack, its health bar emptying completely before its massive body collapsed to the ground.
It twitched once, then went still.
Ding!
---
[You have killed "Mad Dogs Leader (Level 1 Uncommon-Rank Boss)"]
[You have killed x7 "Mad Dogs" (Level 1)]
[You have gained 920 experience points.][Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 2!]
[All your attributes have increased by 5, and you have gained 5 free points to distribute.]
[You have gained 2 Evolution Points!]
[You have gained 12 Lives!]
---
"Oh?" Karl muttered with a small grin.
The level-up was expected.
Killing that many monsters, and a boss, was more than enough experience to reach level 2.
The [Lives] gain also made sense, since every defeated monster had dropped at least one.
But what truly caught his attention was the extra notification.
'I got 2 Evolution Points from this,' he thought, eyes gleaming. 'That confirms it.'
Killing bosses was indeed the way to earn [Evolution Points].
Now he had proof.
Before anything else, he opened his stat window.
"I'll place all the free points into [Spirit]," he said to himself. "Need more damage."
---
[Constitution: 15 (+4)]
[Strength: 15]
[Agility: 15]
[Spirit: 20 (+8)]
---
Karl grinned as he felt his power grow again.
His mana flow surged, and the air around his staff shimmered faintly.
Then he noticed several glowing objects lying near the boss's corpse.
He knelt and inspected them one by one.
Most were common items not for him to use.
But one thing caught his eye.
'All of it's useless except for one,' he thought, reaching for it.
A faint light pulsed from the item as he picked it up.
---
[Skill Book: Magic Shield (Common): Mage-type skill book. Requirement: Level 1.]
---
'Oh shit!' Karl's eyes widened slightly.
A skill book, his first as a mage.
That meant he could finally learn a defensive spell.
Without hesitation, he poured mana into it.
The book dissolved in his hands, turning into a flow of energy that entered his body.
Ding!
[You have learned the skill "Magic Shield"!]
Karl opened the new skill's description.
---
[Magic Shield (Common): Summon a small shield that can endure up to 300 HP. 60 (30)-seconds cooldown.]
---
'Damn,' he thought, smiling faintly.
With this, he finally had a way to defend himself properly.
His experience and reflexes were one thing, but against stronger monsters, or other players, he needed real protection.
Still, he noticed something about the skill's description.
"The skill is common-rank," Karl murmured. "That means…"
Ding!
[Do you wish to consume 1 Evolution Point to evolve "Magic Shield"?]
"Knew it," he grinned.
[1] 10 Spirit + 5 Spirit from staff + 3 Spirit from Shadow Rat Robe = 18 x 3 (Fireball multiplier) x 10 = 540