Minus twenty, minus thirty. The tiny numbers floating above the beast's gleaming hide made his heart sink. That was damage while it was weakened. If it were at full strength, he probably would not even scratch it.
Still, courage, strength, and intelligence were the pillars of battle. He stayed calm, forcing himself not to panic or flinch. After landing two strikes, the Golden War Bear lunged toward him, jaws wide. Marcus spun on his heel and darted toward a thick, nearby tree, leaning once again on his superior speed.
Evolution could strengthen muscle in an instant, but intelligence took ages to grow. Even transformed, the bear's simple instincts had not changed. Its brute force could crush stone, but its strategy remained unchanged. As long as Marcus kept circling the tree and slipping behind its flank, the advantage was his.
Minus fifty, minus sixty. A sharp critical hit flashed above the bear's back. Good. Its remaining health had to be under fifty now.
Marcus decided he was done running. He ignored the monster's heavy turn toward him, planting his feet as it charged. If he backed away now, he would only prolong the fight, and he might not get another clean chance.
They collided.
Minus four hundred. Minus eighty.
Pain exploded through Marcus's chest as the bear's massive paw slammed into him, ripping most of his health away in a single swipe. But his own strike landed in the same heartbeat, carving deep into the monster's golden hide.
With a final, guttural roar of pain, the Golden War Bear collapsed, its heavy body crashing to the forest floor. Marcus staggered but remained on his feet, panting and trembling with exhaustion.
Clang! Sixteen items burst out in a glittering fountain, landing in a neat four-by-four scatter around the corpse.
"Ding! Congratulations, player Stonehaven, for defeating the Golden War Bear Charla, a higher-level BOSS. Experience bonus awarded."
"Ding! Congratulations, player Stonehaven, for reaching Level 10. You may now choose a city and a class."
"Ding! Congratulations, player Stonehaven, for leveling up. You are now Level 10. HP +10, MP +10. Five attribute points granted."
"Ding! Congratulations, player Stonehaven, for leveling up. You are now Level 11. HP +10, MP +10. Five attribute points granted."
"Ding! Congratulations, player Stonehaven, for leveling up. You are now Level 12. HP +10, MP +10. Five attribute points granted."
"Congratulations, Stonehaven, for defeating the Golden War Bear Charla. Reputation +50. Additional +300 reputation awarded for defeating a higher-level BOSS."
Marcus burst out laughing, unable to contain it. All that effort had paid off in full. Three entire levels in one fight. His experience bar hovered at ninety percent of Level 12, agonizingly close to Level 13.
"A little more would've done it," he muttered, shaking his head. Still, there was no hiding the grin stretching across his face.
The ground glittered with loot, equipment pieces gleaming like tiny treasures in the sunlight. It was a beautiful sight.
He knelt down and began gathering everything with careful, eager hands. Defeating a higher-level BOSS granted not only bonus experience but also significantly better drop rates.
It seemed today, he truly had struck gold.
As Marcus inspected the loot it dropped, right away, two Large Health Potions and two Large Mana Potions caught his eye.
Large Health Potion: Restores 100 HP per second for 15 seconds.
Large Mana Potion: Restores 100 MP per second for 15 seconds.
He knew these sold for five gold coins each in stores, which made them quite valuable for players at his level. Beside them sat a small pile of gold coins, roughly thirty in total. Not bad for a single boss fight.
Then something else caught his attention, something half his height, shimmering softly with a purple glow. He blinked, heart thumping. Purple light usually meant something rare, something divine. Could it really be a Divine item?
Adamant Shield: Purple Divine item. Requires 100 Strength. Effects unknown. Cannot be equipped.
Good heavens. It was actually a Divine item. He nearly shouted in excitement. The shield stood over a meter tall, broad and thick, almost like a metal wall. If he crouched behind it, it would easily cover him completely. Lugging this thing around would definitely make him look impressive. He wondered about its attributes and felt eager to get it appraised back in the village.
Marcus slipped the Adamant Shield into his inventory and checked the rest of the loot.
Three Dreamland Gems and one Blessing Gem sat together like little treasures. He stared at them in disbelief. Was it really this easy to get gems? Weren't Dreamland Gems supposed to be valuable? It almost felt too good to be true.
In reality, this was simply luck shining on him today, and his understanding of Dominion was still narrow. Only after leaving the Newbie Village would he truly learn how rare these gems were.
Another item drew his attention:
War Bear Armor: Golden equipment. Requires Level 20. Effects unknown. Cannot be equipped.
"Amazing," he muttered under his breath. Not only had he soloed a Golden War Bear and earned a Divine item, he even picked up a piece of Golden equipment. It was more than he had hoped for.
The remaining loot consisted of several Level 10 Blue items. None of them were impressive, and none suited a Knight, so he tossed them casually into his inventory to sell later.
Finally, he picked up the last item, a skill book.
Wanderlust: Advanced Skill. Allows random movement outside of combat. Requires Level 10.
He frowned slightly. Random movement? It sounded almost like a novelty more than anything practical, though the fact that it was an advanced skill gave him pause. He suspected Black Bear Charla had used this very skill to randomly appear at the Spring of Polaris.
Flipping through the pages, he found nothing particularly special in the description. It probably wouldn't sell for much either. Still, he decided to keep it. As the saying went, skills never weigh you down. Who knew when it might come in handy? And since he was already Level 10, he could learn it right away.
As he opened the skill book, the system chimed, "Stonehaven, do you wish to learn the Advanced Skill 'Wanderlust'? This skill book offers only one chance to learn. Once learned, the skill book will disappear."
"Learn," he answered without hesitation.
Wanderlust: Max Level, Active Skill. Allows random movement outside of combat. Consumes 100 MP. Sets fixed teleportation points based on player level. Teleportation points can be freely changed. The number of teleportation points is equal to the player's level divided by 10.
He froze for a moment, then his eyes widened. The ability to set teleportation points was incredibly powerful. As his imagination took off, he could already picture returning to fixed-spawn bosses again and again, turning them into his personal resource farms. He had almost underestimated this skill.
Although he had killed Black Bear Charla, the quest was only half complete. He still needed to retrieve nine jars of Sacred Spring Water to finish it.
He walked over to the clear spring. Under sunlight, the water shimmered gently with a faint green hue. It looked quiet, calm, and almost ordinary at first glance.
But this was the Spring of Polaris, the Newbie Village's sacred treasure, one of the five great Sacred Springs of the Dreamland Continent that Hunter Wayne had mentioned. Despite its humble appearance, its significance was great.
Conveniently, several empty jars were arranged neatly beside the spring, clearly prepared by the system for players. Otherwise, the Village Chief would have had to give him something to store the water in, and Marcus would have been stuck.
He filled the first jar and examined it curiously.
Polaris Spring Water: Miraculous spring water produced by the Spring of Polaris, one of the five great Sacred Springs of the Dreamland Continent. Specific origin unknown. Consuming one jar increases all basic attributes by 10.
His jaw nearly dropped. One jar could raise every basic attribute by ten? No wonder it was considered one of the five great Sacred Springs. Its power exceeded anything he imagined.
Realizing this, his expression brightened considerably. He hurriedly filled jar after jar, excitement bubbling uncontrollably.
The remaining spring water, as far as he was concerned, was his to revisit later.
Two jars, three jars… nine jars.
He could hardly contain himself. His thoughts raced wildly, heart pounding. But just then…
'No way. This was insane. Why is this happening?'
The Spring of Polaris held just enough water to fill nine jars. Once Marcus finished filling the ninth jar of Sacred Spring Water, the shimmering pool ran completely dry, not a single droplet left behind.
When he confirmed that the spring would not produce any more water, disappointment hit him harder than expected. He stared at the nine jars lined neatly at his side and felt torn, wondering if he should simply drink them himself. A greedy thought surfaced in his mind, imagining how terrifyingly strong he would become if he consumed them all.
But that was only fantasy. Everyone knew that the water was not meant for him. With a heavy sigh of regret, he placed the jars into his inventory and prepared to return to the Newbie Village to complete his quest.
"Stonehaven, you actually killed that vile Black Bear and reclaimed the Spring of Polaris. This is truly admirable and respectable."
Hunter Wayne's voice came from behind him without warning, making Marcus jump. The sudden appearance was unsettling, and the way Wayne emphasized "actually" and "truly" stung a little. Was he really doubting his strength? Marcus grumbled inwardly, though his face remained calm.
He forced a modest laugh. "Haha, that Black Bear was indeed very powerful. I was just lucky, otherwise I would have died here."
"Stonehaven, you are too humble," Hunter Wayne said. "That was a thousand-year bear spirit. If your strength had been insufficient, no amount of luck would have saved you."
Wayne walked to the corpse of Black Bear Charla, rummaged briefly, and pulled out something. He handed it to Marcus.
"See? That Black Bear was not simple at all."
Marcus looked down at the dark lump in his hand.
Millennium Bear Gall: Rare medicinal ingredient. The essence of the bear spirit. Can be used for potion-making. If consumed directly, increases HP by 100.
His eyes widened. He had not expected something this valuable.
"Hunter Wayne, how did you get this? I never saw it drop."
Wayne chuckled. "This is the 'Gathering' skill. It allows you to collect useful materials from the corpses of dark creatures. What you collect depends on your skill level. To obtain a rare medicinal ingredient like this, you need at least Advanced 'Gathering' skill."
Marcus leaned forward eagerly. "Hunter Wayne, that is amazing. How can I learn it?" He did not even try to hide the admiration in his voice.