"I can't anymore… my stomach's going to burst…"
"I seriously can't fit another bite…"
"It's really… too big…"
Black lines twitched across Arthur's forehead.
He looked down at Maple, who was sitting on the ground, arms wrapped around an ice-like creature larger than a grown adult, gnawing at it with visible effort—all while complaining nonstop.
Without the slightest mercy, Arthur kicked another crimson crystal sphere toward her.
"Hurry up. Once you finish that advanced Ice Elemental, you should gain ice resistance... maybe even full immunity."
"After that, eat the Fire Elementals too. They're a bit spicy, so endure it."
For the past two days, Arthur had become thoroughly addicted to cultivating Maple into something truly terrifying.
As for Maple...
No new expansion packs had been released yet, so her absurd luck hadn't had much room to further spiral out of control.
After all, with Arthur's guidance, she had already obtained nearly every skill and piece of equipment available in the early stages of the game.
Even the gear she was wearing had been reinforced several levels by a craftsman Arthur tracked down.
If not for the difficulty of amassing huge sums of money in such a short time, he could've pushed her equipment straight to +13.
At this point, after exhausting every conventional method—
The only remaining path for Maple to grow stronger was eating.
Eating to gain resistances.
It was, without question, the most perfect growth route for a Great Shield user.
Right now, Arthur was deliberately hunting advanced elemental spirits.
Once defeated, their "remains"—crystal-like cores resembling ores—would be handed directly to Maple.
Their texture and flavor weren't bad, either.
Ice Elementals tasted like ice cream.Lightning Elementals were tingly and stimulating.Water Elementals were like refreshing drinks.
And Fire Element immunity...
That was the most important objective.
In the upcoming PvP event, most mages' strongest spells were fire-attributed.
Magical attacks had damage multipliers far beyond those of ordinary melee fighters.
Even Maple could still be threatened—for now.
But once she obtained fire immunity…
Then nearly all offensive magic would be reduced to little more than a visual effect.
At that point—
She would be truly invincible.
Arthur weaved past several Rock Moon Bears and entered a dense jungle.
Towering trees blocked out the sun entirely, leaving only thin strands of white light filtering through the canopy.
Those beams were pure and pristine, like moonlight.
[You have entered a new map: "Moonlight Secret Realm"]
Maple, following closely behind, hugged her shield and glanced around nervously.
"Blank-kun… this is the highest-level map in the game right now, isn't it?"
Arthur didn't answer.
Both of them looked ahead.
Not far away...
In a forest clearing stood a circular stone platform, bathed in a pillar of pure white light.
Its surface was intricately carved, covered in strange, eerie runes that pulsed faintly.
Above the platform, a crescent-shaped stone floated in midair, quietly radiating a pale glow.
Arthur stepped forward.
An invisible force seemed to pull at him.
Slowly, he raised his hand and placed it upon the Moonlight Stone.
In an instant—
The scenery shattered.
Trees withered and vanished in seconds.
The sun and moon spun wildly across the sky, faster and faster, light and shadow blurring together.
It felt like a single heartbeat.
And yet It also felt like thousands of years had passed.
When everything finally settled,
Arthur stood beneath a silent night sky.
A purple full moon hung overhead, its light hazy and unreal.
Looking down, he realized the stone platform was gone.
He now stood in a desolate wilderness, jagged rocks stretching endlessly around him.
And directly ahead a colossal figure loomed beneath the moonlight.
Its massive shadow swallowed the ground whole.
[Dark Moon Octopus (Lv.70)]
At the present moment, with the first expansion pack still unreleased, the players' level cap remained at 60.
A Level 70 boss.
This creature stood near the absolute peak of all monsters currently known.
Its massive, bloated body was draped in grotesquely twisted tentacles, layers of writhing flesh fused together as if its existence itself had been forcibly stitched from something that should never have lived.
Every inch of it radiated revulsion.
"Awoo… awoo… AWWOOOO—!!!"
The abomination howled toward the heavens, its roar echoing through the wasteland as if cursing the eerie purple moon hanging above.
Arthur could tell—
There was a hidden storyline tied to this creature, a narrative meant to be uncovered piece by piece by players over time.
But he had neither the patience nor the interest for that.
"Maple-chan, let's go."
"Hai!" (Using my knowledge in Japanese this time 😎. Let me cook, alright?)
After two full days of Arthur's near-Spartan training regimen, the image of the gentle big brother Maple once held had grown… considerably more complicated.
However, the road to strength was never gentle.
Arthur had no idea how much irreversible trauma he was carving into the innocent girl's young heart along the way.
By now, Maple's level had reached 48.
Combined with her near-cheat-tier Wind and Rain Enhancement skills, her Defense stat had already surpassed 2,000.
At this point, forget ordinary players.
Even the bosses they had faced before would probably start questioning their own existence upon seeing this little girl, wondering which side was supposed to be the real boss.
And of course, she wasn't alone.
With Maple anchoring the frontline, Arthur could unleash his damage without the slightest restraint.
"Attack incoming!"
Maple's combat awareness was still lacking.
After all, she wasn't a seasoned gamer, just a beginner who had picked up the game on a friend's recommendation.
In battle, Arthur often had to call out dangers for her.
"Ah!"
Seeing the tentacles whip toward her, Maple reacted instinctively, snapping her shield up in front of her body.
"Block!"
A fundamental yet powerful defensive skill when executed properly in a guarding stance, it reduced incoming damage by at least 50%.
The impact landed.
–0.
The moment that white number appeared, even the Dark Moon Octopus hesitated.
This was supposed to be a final boss–level monster in the current version of the game.
Sure, it relied heavily on a massive HP pool, poison effects, and dark-type debuffs.
But still... you're a final boss.
Couldn't you at least deal some damage?
Arthur stared at the scene in silence.
As expected, the game's damage formula was a mess.
What kind of MMORPG still used something as crude as Attack minus Defense?
The boss looked almost pitiful.
Honestly, how was this thing supposed to intimidate anyone?
Seeing that Maple was holding the line without any trouble, Arthur didn't hesitate anymore.
He drew his sword and stepped forward.
His movements were clean and efficient now, shaped by constant combat.
He slipped past incoming tentacles with practiced ease.
"My Style Swordsmanship, activate."
The blade cut through one of the tentacles.
"Awoo!"
–2333
A visible chunk vanished from the boss's HP bar.
"About a hundred thousand HP," Arthur said calmly.
"Alright. Let's finish this."
Another strike followed.
To Arthur, a boss with a single, predictable attack pattern was no different from the mobs he'd already been farming.