Su Fan was pleasantly surprised by the unexpected gain.
"Thanks, Big Brother!"
Su Fan couldn't refuse; he was in dire need of such items.
"Big Brother won't disturb you any longer. Go cultivate,"
Cheng Yaoyin, learning that Su Fan was recently improving his strength, didn't keep him for more drinks and let him go.
[Title Acquired: Brothers in Arms]
Brothers in Arms
All Attributes +30
Damage increased by 50% when in a party.
Su Fan obtained this title after he and Cheng Yaoyin became sworn brothers.
It's worth mentioning that titles in this game stack. As long as you possess a title, its attributes will continuously affect you. However, titles are limited, and there aren't many of them.
Without Cheng Yaoyin's interruption, Su Fan could focus on leveling up.
There seemed to be a wild boss in this Ghost Cry Valley, and he had to defeat it.
Su Fan remembered that the Ghost Cry Valley map had a wild boss.
Wild bosses, by definition, are boss-level creatures found outside of instances.
Bosses can drop top-tier equipment, and Su Fan couldn't miss out.
Su Fan killed monsters to level up while heading towards the boss's location.
Soon, Su Fan found the boss: the Nether King.
Nether King (Boss)
Level: 30
Health: 50000/50000
With fifty thousand health, Su Fan would need at least twenty strikes. That wasn't too difficult.
The Nether King was an even larger specter, nearly four meters tall, twice the height of a person. It was stout, wielding a mace condensed from ghostly energy, its face covered in fat, baring its teeth in a ferocious expression.
This fellow looked terrifying but moved slowly, making it quite easy to fight.
Sharpening the spear before battle!
Su Fan immediately used his buff skills to increase his damage and then charged towards the Nether King with his sword.
As Su Fan approached, he startled the Nether King, which immediately stomped its feet three times in anger.
However, Su Fan didn't rush in immediately.
The Nether King's three stomps were an opening skill that dealt a stun effect to nearby players. The damage wasn't high, but the stun would last for three seconds, which could be deadly.
In his past gaming experiences, he had died many times encountering this guy during early game progression. Each time, he'd be stunned at the start, then pummeled by the boss without a chance to retaliate.
After the Nether King finished its opening skill, Su Fan immediately charged forward.
"Horizontal Strike!"
Using the combat technique from the Art of Vertical and Horizontal Movement, Su Fan ducked low to evade the Nether King's bear hug and struck its waist with his sword, instantly taking off several thousand health.
"Vertical Strike!"
Before the Nether King could turn around, Su Fan swiftly retaliated with a sword thrust to its backside.
The Nether King let out a soul-stirring scream.
Su Fan felt a tightening in his nether regions.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to,"
Su Fan said guiltily. He hadn't intended to attack such an awkward spot; it was just that the Nether King was so tall.
The Nether King seemed enraged by Su Fan and kicked out at him.
"Vertical Strike!"
Su Fan immediately dodged to the side, spinning 360 degrees in mid-air, and his sword left a gash on the Nether King's ankle.
The Nether King stumbled, its ankle pain making it unsteady.
Now that the game was closer to reality, these bosses also began to display emotions like pain and anger. This was a good thing for Su Fan; unlike in games where bosses felt no pain, this allowed for the interruption of certain boss actions.
Seizing the opportunity, Su Fan stabilized himself and swung his sword again.
The Nether King's health had dropped below 80%. With the "Sharpening the spear before battle" buff, Su Fan's attacks dealt over three thousand damage each, meaning he wouldn't need twenty strikes to defeat the Nether King.
Furthermore, under Su Fan's relentless assault, his combo count for "Unceasing Flow" kept increasing, and the damage accumulated. Su Fan's attacks would only become more potent.
When the Nether King's health dropped to 20%, it went berserk.
"Roar!!!"
The Nether King let out a furious roar that made Su Fan's ears ring and his mind hazy.
Su Fan had forgotten this move!
While Su Fan was disoriented, the Nether King leaped in front of him and smashed him with its mace.
-703!
A red damage number appeared above Su Fan's head. His health instantly halved. Without defensive reduction, this blow would likely have been a one-hit kill.
Su Fan snapped back to reality, took a step back to evade the Nether King's next attack, and simultaneously used a skill on it.
Thunderous Might!
This was currently Su Fan's highest damage skill, as it was an elemental damage skill that fully benefited from the 30% elemental damage from his equipment.
The combo count for "Unceasing Flow" had already reached over a dozen, and "Sharpening the spear before battle" was still active.
-12355!
-3706!
Two different numbers appeared above the Nether King's head. Su Fan's accumulated damage had directly surpassed ten thousand, with the fire damage alone exceeding three thousand points. The Nether King's health was instantly depleted.
[Ding! Congratulations on leveling up]
After defeating the Nether King, Su Fan successfully leveled up from 28 to 29.
Clang!
A blue light flashed, and the boss dropped loot!
And it was a double drop!
Two pieces of equipment appeared beneath the boss.
Moonfall Token (Unidentified)
Level: 30
Twin Blade Frost Sword (Unidentified)
Level: 30
One weapon and one accessory, both top-tier blue-grade items waiting to be identified!
Su Fan was ecstatic.
It seemed luck needed to be accumulated. After not specifically hunting bosses for so long, he got two top-tier items on the first day.
He wondered what they would be after identification.
Su Fan collected the other materials from the ground and first teleported to Tianxin City to sell them. He was currently out of money and couldn't even afford identification scrolls. He had no choice but to sell the materials.
Su Fan sold all his materials, barely scraping together enough money for two identification scrolls.
Leaving the general store, Su Fan bought two identification scrolls and immediately proceeded to identify the two pieces of equipment.
Moonfall Token
Level: 30
Intelligence +40
Strength +40
Ice Elemental Damage +50%
Ice Elemental Resistance +35%
Four attributes. It was a top-tier piece of equipment, though the stat distribution was a bit awkward, adding both Intelligence and Strength, which conflicted somewhat.
Twin Blade Frost Sword
Level: 30
Damage: 150-200
Strength +40
Stamina +40
Agility +40
Attacks now deal Ice Elemental Damage.
Every 10 Intelligence increases Ice Elemental Damage by 1%.
Five attributes!
Su Fan almost cried out in surprise when he saw the stats of the Twin Blade Frost Sword.
This was too amazing!
Especially the part about attacks now dealing Ice Elemental Damage.
This wasn't just a change in damage type; Ice Elemental attacks could slow down enemies, which was incredibly useful in combat, and when paired with the Moonfall Token, it was a perfect match!