Volume One, Chapter Eight: The First Boss Defeated Server-Wide
“Boom!”
The massive scorpion tail whipped through the air, carrying a violent gust that crushed the surrounding atmosphere with explosive force.
Fortunately, Lin Yu’s reflexes were swift enough to narrowly evade the strike.
Still, the enormous tail of the Poison Scorpion King smashed into the nearby stone wall, leaving a deep crater behind.
“You beast! I’ll spare you this time, but next time we meet, I’ll take your life without fail!”
Clearly rattled by the blow, Lin Yu steadied himself and couldn’t help but spit out a fierce threat.
When provoked like this, losing was one thing, but admitting defeat was out of the question.
However, as Lin Yu quickly retreated, intent on fleeing, the Ghost Scorpion King suddenly leapt forward, its massive body blocking the cave entrance, cutting off any thought of escape.
Then, its huge pincers slammed down mercilessly toward him.
It was obvious that this intruder was not going to be let off easily.
“Damn it, beast! Don’t think I’m really afraid of you. Today, I’m going to kill you for sure.”
Even the mud figure had a spark of anger left; Lin Yu was no different.
Moreover, he wasn’t truly outmatched by the Poison Scorpion King.
It was just that he had no way to finish it off quickly and didn’t want to waste time.
But now, this Ghost Scorpion King was taking him for a pushover, and that only fueled his anger further.
Without hesitation, he drew his new axe from his waist and struck back boldly.
“Bang!”
Their attacks clashed, fierce in appearance but ultimately ineffective.
“Miss!”
“Miss!”
“-69!”
Each attack landed harmlessly, the only damage being the reflection from Lin Yu’s absolute defense.
“What a worthless Poison Scorpion King! Your hits don’t even itch; you might as well be called the Scratch King.”
Lin Yu patted a faint mark on his body and mocked, his displeasure instantly lessened.
Of course, his taunts weren’t just for show.
Bosses like the Ghost Scorpion King had some level of awareness—not much, but some.
If he fought normally, the scorpion would notice something was off and stop attacking eventually.
But now, with him taunting outright, if the scorpion got enraged and triggered its “taunt” skill, he might actually have an opening.
“Roar!”
Inside the cave, hearing Lin Yu’s unrestrained mockery, the Ghost Scorpion King was filled with fury.
A proud king of scorpions, it had never endured such humiliation.
Even wild monsters had dignity!
Its large pincers swung wildly, aiming to teach Lin Yu a lesson.
“Miss!”
“-69!”
“Defense +0.05!”
“Miss!”
“-70!”
“Defense +0.05!”
“Still a worthless piece of trash, not even as good as those scorpions outside!”
Seeing his defense slowly increase, Lin Yu grinned and doubled down on the insults.
“Roar! Roar! Roar!”
The Ghost Scorpion King, furious at Lin Yu’s reckless defiance, nearly boiled over with rage.
Its pincers smashed repeatedly, desperate to crush him without caring if it was effective.
“Miss!”
“-70!”
“Miss!”
“-70!”
“Grandson, are you scratching your grandpa? Keep it up!” Lin Yu jeered, growing more energized.
The scorpion had clearly lost its mind.
If it unleashed full power, even without the taunt skill, it might end up killing itself by sheer recklessness.
Sure enough, as Lin Yu continued his insults, the scorpion’s crimson eyes darkened to a deep red.
Then an overwhelming aura burst forth from its body.
At the same time, a system alert sounded in Lin Yu’s ear.
[Alert: Ghost Scorpion King has activated skill “Fury.” Effect: Cannot use skills during this time but gains 10% attack power increase and 300% attack speed boost, lasting five minutes.]
Any other player would have fled at this sight.
The “Fury” skill was the most dreaded by all players.
In this state, bosses were not only frenzied but their attack speed was terrifyingly fast, nearly impossible to withstand.
Yet Lin Yu’s eyes gleamed with uncontrollable excitement.
After all this time of taunting, the moment had finally come.
Now, with five minutes of Fury and his own taunt skill, he might actually stand a chance.
His defense would only keep rising, and with it, his damage reflection would grow stronger.
Without fear, Lin Yu charged into the berserk scorpion, engaging in a fierce brawl.
Since the scorpion’s base attack was only 203 points, even in Fury it couldn’t break through his defense.
He had no risk of losing health.
“Miss!”
“-70!”
“Miss!”
“-70!”
...
With its reckless attacks, the scorpion’s nearly 100,000 HP dropped rapidly.
Though each reflected damage was small, the frequency was high.
In less than five minutes, its health fell to under 20,000.
Seizing the opportunity, Lin Yu wasted no time.
As the Fury ended, he quickly activated his taunt skill again, imposing an eight-minute damage reflection on the Ghost Scorpion King.
Time passed slowly.
Finally, after the last damage indicator appeared, the massive body of the Ghost Scorpion King collapsed.
Its large, lantern-like eyes dimmed into darkness.
It never imagined it would meet such a humiliating end—killed by its own attacks reflected back upon it.
[Alert: You have defeated the Black Iron Boss Ghost Scorpion King. Experience +80, Gold +1.]
[Alert: You obtained Black Iron equipment dropped by the Ghost Scorpion King: Ghost Scorpion Battle Armor +1.]
[Alert: You obtained item dropped by the Ghost Scorpion King: Dark Moon Sword (Quest Item) +1.]
[Alert: As the first player to defeat this Boss, you have been awarded 50 free attribute points, one skill book of your class, and one selectable bronze equipment of your class.]
...
As the Ghost Scorpion King’s life faded away, a stream of system notifications rang in Lin Yu’s ears.
Even with his experience of two lifetimes, Lin Yu couldn’t help but smile.
The rewards were extraordinarily generous, especially the first-kill bonuses.
Setting aside the value of early-game bronze equipment, just the 50 free attribute points were enough to tempt anyone.
In the world of Divine Demons Continent, free attribute points were only gained by leveling or completing certain special achievements, underscoring their rarity.
Especially in the beginner village, gaining fifty free attribute points was enough to dominate others.
Equivalent to leveling up five times, the advantages these attributes provided were tremendous.
This was why major families were willing to empty their coffers to invest heavily—to secure such special rewards and gain a head start.
[Alert: As the first player to kill this Boss, a server-wide announcement will be made. Would you like to hide your nickname?]
While reflecting on this, the system’s voice rang again.
“Hide.”
Without hesitation, Lin Yu chose to conceal his name, well aware of the dangers of standing out before the spiritual energy revival officially began.
Revealing himself now would invite enticement from many factions.
Likewise, it would provoke fear and possibly attempts to eliminate him completely.
Given his current status, survival was unlikely; the safest course was to quietly develop his strength.
“A server-wide announcement: An anonymous player has completed the first kill of the Boss Ghost Scorpion King, receiving 50 free attribute points, one skill book of their class, and one selectable bronze equipment of their class. Players are encouraged to continue their efforts.”
The announcement repeated three times, sending shockwaves through all online players.
“Who the hell is this guy? The game just launched, and he’s already killed the Boss?”
“Could it be a guild?”
“Check it out—what faction managed to achieve the first Boss kill at this stage?”
Currently, the highest player level was no more than ten, while the Boss’s minimum level was ten.
For someone to accomplish the first kill so early caused a huge stir.
Especially among the major families, who were gripped with unease like the ground was shaking beneath them.
Defeating the first Boss proved considerable strength, and if done by a rival faction, it posed a grave threat.
...