NOVEL NEXT Chapter 113: Too Much Damage, Mist Summon Status Meter
Stark sprinted forward after dealing with the monsters and the boss.
His breathing was steady, his focus sharp.
Despite what he'd just gone through, he still wasn't anywhere near being able to leave the [Land of Mist].
The zone stretched endlessly ahead of him, wrapped in that same blinding, silver haze.
Each step echoed softly against the damp ground, the mist swirling in faint trails behind him.
'I can't actually see more than a few meters ahead,' Stark narrowed his eyes, forcing them to adjust, 'This isn't gonna work out.'
The visibility here was awful, worse than he remembered from his previous life.
It was almost like the mist itself was alive, reacting to his presence, thickening when he slowed down, thinning only to lure him deeper inside.
Still, what bothered him wasn't the sight.
It was the silence.
The monsters here weren't supposed to stay quiet for long.
The [Land of Mist] had a brutal mechanic, one that crushed most players who ever tried it.
The real challenge of the zone hadn't even begun.
But Stark didn't stop.
He dashed forward, cutting down whatever got in his way.
A [Mist Reaper] lunged from the fog, scythe flashing.
Stark lifted his staff without even thinking.
Torrent of Lightning!
Zap!
The monster was vaporized instantly, its silver form scattering back into the fog like dust.
Another appeared. This time a [Mist Wolf].
It tried to circle him, growling in a low tone.
Blazing Meteor!
Boom!
-910,000!
The explosion ripped through the haze, the shockwave tearing the mist apart for a brief moment before it closed in again.
Whether it was [Mist Reapers], [Mist Wolves], or even [Silver Spirits], it didn't matter.
He killed them all.
And then, as he pushed further into the zone, the mist ahead glowed faintly silver, a sign that something big was waiting.
---
[Veil Maiden (Level 43)]
[Rank: Epic (Special Boss)]
[HP: 2,700,000]
---
The [Veil Maiden] floated ahead of him.
Her graceful figure was hidden under a long, silver veil that shimmered like water.
In her hand, she carried a tall scepter glowing with faint blue light.
Her presence was eerie, silent, regal, and deadly.
But right as she raised her weapon to attack, Stark was already moving.
Torrent of Lightning!
Zap! Zap! Zap!
Three bolts of lightning struck her body before she could even cast a spell.
-1,160,640! -1,160,640! -1,160,640!
The [Veil Maiden] didn't even have time to scream.
Her body dissolved instantly into strands of mist.
A level 43 boss, erased before it could even move.
Stark exhaled.
"Too easy."
It wasn't arrogance. It was fact.
With the [Demon Horns] and the [Demonic Wyvern Scales Robe] equipped, his spirit attribute had climbed to ridiculous heights.
His magic output had become monstrous, more than double or triple what even high-tier players could achieve at this point in the game.
Ding!
---
[You have killed "Veil Maiden (Level 43 Special Boss)"]
[You have gained 410,000 Experience Points!]
[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 40!]
[You have gained 17 Evolution Points.]
[You have gained 74 Lives.]
---
'Nice.'
That brought him to level 40.
Reaching level 50 was his next milestone.
That would trigger the next advancement task and push his class to the next tier.
He didn't stop for long.
The sooner he leveled, the sooner he could handle what was coming.
He moved quickly, his steps echoing softly through the damp terrain.
The mist thickened again, pressing close.
'Having the [Ghost Wolf] with me would've been reassuring,' Stark thought, 'But it's better if it rests.'
The wolf needed to recover.
It would be useless if it got attacked again.
A few minutes later—
Ding!
'Here it is.'
The moment the sound echoed in his ears, Stark's eyes narrowed.
He didn't need to read the panel to know what it was.
He had reached the center of the [Land of Mist].
And that meant one thing.
Fwish!
[You have been inflicted with "Mist Summon"]
The mist thickened around him, swirling like a living vortex.
[Mist Summon: 1%]
'Finally,' Stark thought.
For other players, who never fought a boss like the [Spider Queen], this would be their very first introduction to [Status Meters].
The [Mist Summon] wasn't just an effect, it was a timer.
If it reached 100%, the [Guardian of Mist] would appear, a level 50 mythical-rank boss that would drag the player into its domain for a one-on-one death battle.
There was no escape.
It wasn't technically an instant-death meter, but it might as well be.
The [Guardian of Mist] was notorious even in Stark's past life.
Players feared this place precisely because of it.
Even [Ghost] couldn't kill it the first few times, only managing to do so once she leveled up a little.
The only ways to reduce the [Mist Summon] percentage were by killing monsters… or entering another zone.
'I could never beat that thing before,' Stark thought, eyes narrowing, 'but maybe this time...'
Stark clearly wouldn't hide or run away from this thing, he had no reason to.
But even then, the [Guardian of Mist] still wasn't the boss Stark wanted.
The guardian might seem like the strongest boss in the [Land of Mist], but there was one above it.
And it was the one Stark was aiming for.
'But since I can't see inside the mist... I think one of the items the guardian drops might help.'
[Mist Summon: 7%]
The number was already rising, slow but steady.
Stark took a few cautious steps forward—
Roooaarr!
More [Mist Wolves] appeared from the haze, snarling, their glowing eyes flickering with silver light.
'Can't escape them and I don't feel like letting them hit me.'
If he killed any enemies, the [Mist Summon] meter would go down.
Meaning that Stark's best bet was simply to restrain them until he left.
Bind of Silk was powerful enough to hold them down for at least 30 seconds after all!
He lifted his staff, a confident grin on his face.
And...
Bind of Silk!
Fwish!
Silver threads shot from his staff, wrapping tightly around the wolves, pinning them to the ground.
But right as Stark was about to move—
Swash!
The silk tightened, slicing through their mist bodies.
-774,960! -774,960! -774,960!1
The wolves froze, then dissolved into smoke.
Ding!
---
[You have killed x4 "Mist Wolf (Level 41)"]
[You have gained 22,000 Experience Points!]
[You have gained 39 Lives!]
---
"..."
Stark blinked, staring at the panel.
He hadn't even meant to kill them, just restrain them.
Even a simple binding spell like [Bind of Silk] now dealt enough damage to one-shot level 40 monsters.
He sighed.
The mist wolves vanished back into the fog, leaving only silence.
[Mist Summon: 7% → 1%]
Killing them had reduced the meter.
"Hm…"
That gave him an idea.
If even [Bind of Silk] could kill these monsters, then Stark couldn't actually fight them.
His best option would be to either unequip one of his powerful items to weaken himself or… just hide.
But removing either the [Demon Horns] or the [Demonic Wyvern Scales Robe] felt wrong.
He wasn't going to weaken himself just because of that.
"Forget that."
Of course, the [Guardian of Mist] was deadly, and most people would do anything to NOT meet him.
Yet Stark was one of the only ones crazy enough to actually want to challenge it!
A few moments later, the [Mist Summon] bar started rising again.
[Mist Summon: 3%... 4%... 5%]
'My best bet is to head to the edge of the zone,' Stark thought.
The further you were, the faster the bar would fill.
But on the other hand, there would be stronger monsters.
And that meant that if Stark killed them, the bar would be reduced even more!
It was an actual dilemna.
'Still… stronger monsters mean more experience,' Stark reasoned, 'And maybe better loot.'
He weighed his options for a second.
He both wanted to get experience but also wanted to challeng the [Guardian of Mist]...
In his mind, he could still hear the distant sound of the ghost wolf's howl from earlier.
The [Night Walk] ability of that mount would have been perfect here, letting him hide.
But the wolf was injured, and Stark wasn't about to summon it just to get killed again.
He grinned.
"Alright, fine. I got it."
He tightened his grip on the staff and looked forward.
"I'll just keep moving forward, kill everything, and then wait."
313 Spirit + 2,916 Spirit from equipment = 3229 x 10 (1000% of spirit from bind of silk) x 20 (damage multiplier of mage of oblivion) = 645,800 x 1.2 (+20% from divine staff) = 774,960!