NOVEL NEXT Ch. 18
Chapter 18. Ghostly Damage
The battle music was triggered, and the Bramble Boar twisted its massive body around, launching a charge at the young man who was standing at the forefront.
However, the young man was already on guard. He hurriedly scrambled aside, rolling and crawling to dodge the charge.
But his Agility stat was too low, and his roll was still a beat too slow, so the Bramble Boar's sharp back spines grazed him, immediately dropping his HP by 20 points.
If that had been a direct hit, he would have surely lost half his life right there.
The young man broke out in a cold sweat, standing dumbfounded with the longsword in his hand, having forgotten to counterattack at the first opportunity.
In the blink of an eye, the Bramble Boar charged right up to Old Bai, and Old Bai already had nowhere to retreat.
Behind him were the Sharpshooter and the Mage—if he dodged aside like the young man, then the back row would surely end up in deep trouble.
So he hurriedly raised his wooden shield, trying to block the Bramble Boar's full-on charge.
"So weak..."
Chen Zixuan couldn't bear to watch, simply covering his eyes.
Sure enough, the next second, accompanied by a dull thud, Old Bai's body was sent flying, his wooden shield slipping from his grasp, and his HP dropped by more than 60 points.
Another hit and he would have been completely finished.
Against such a giant monster, going head-to-head was never a good idea.
Especially at this early stage, when players' gear levels weren't anywhere near complete, and they were already punching above their weight class—if they kept playing recklessly, there wouldn't be enough lives to go around.
After a successful hit, the Bramble Boar shook its head in place, white steam spurting from its nostrils, and once again charged at Old Bai, who had fallen to the ground. It clearly intended to chase him down without mercy.
At this moment, the others finally reacted. Xuetong raised her staff, and an ice-forged arrow shot out, hitting the Bramble Boar atop its head.
Not only did it freeze the monster for a second, but also dealt 27 points of magic damage.
Although this skill looked impressive, Xuetong's level was far too low—even her blue ring couldn't compensate.
On top of that, the Bramble Boar's magic defense was high, so her skill didn't even tickle it.
Seeing the Bramble Boar frozen, sharpshooter Salted Fish quickly drew his bow, keeping up the damage.
Arrows lodged into the monster one after another, but the damage was laughable—it was basically like scratching an itch.
Peach Branch also hurriedly raised her staff, casting a Healing spell that restored 20 HP to Old Bai, just about pulling his health back from the brink.
However, the Bramble Boar was only briefly paused before regaining mobility, turning its attention toward Xuetong and charging at her. The young girl's face turned pale as she gripped her staff tightly, her mind going completely blank.
Just as the Bramble Boar was about to maul the girl, a shout came from behind it: "Whirlwind Slash!"
With this roar, the boy's support finally arrived. He spun his longsword twice and delivered a heavy strike to the Bramble Boar's side—-21!
A red damage number popped up above the monster's head, and the young man took a step back, rebounding 10 points of damage from the thorns on its armor.
After a round of combat, the five-man party was already battered and bloodied—and the Bramble Boar's HP had only dropped by less than a third.
Their teamwork truly left much to be desired. If they went on like this, it wouldn't be long before they were wiped out.
Finally, Chen Zixuan couldn't stand it any longer. He slowly raised his dagger and said calmly, "Let me do it. The rest of you, stay back."
The young man was startled at first, his expression instantly turning conflicted; but he knew that, with their current strength, it would be almost impossible to defeat this thick-skinned elite monster.
He reluctantly retreated a few steps, and before he could even remind the others, the silver-haired girl had already darted out like lightning.
Her dagger slashed left and right, and in the blink of an eye, two crimson damage numbers popped up above the Bramble Boar's head.
-49!
-50!
All five were dumbfounded. Two seconds later, they all sucked in a sharp breath.
No way, right? What kind of ghostly damage was this???
The five of them attacking together had barely shaved a third off the boar's HP, but with just two slashes, Cecilia had nearly taken out the thick-skinned Bramble Boar in an instant?
As for Chen Zixuan, a faint smile touched his lips. Compared to world-class boss, this elite monster was a complete pushover.
Just as the Bramble Boar was about to unleash a skill, the silver-haired girl shifted her footing,-nimbly sidestepping the charge, and struck back with a【Silverflash Pierce】.
A silver gleam plunged into its back, and the colossal Bramble Boar crashed to the ground, no longer making a sound.
-944!
A gray-white damage number slowly floated up from over the Bramble Boar's head, nearly blinding all five spectators around it.
"This..."
Staring at the number floating up, the young man's mouth dropped open, his face full of disbelief as he muttered, "Is this a bug...?"
The others were also all stunned. Those first two hits—they could barely accept those numbers—but this one, was it even possible for a level 4 player to deal that much damage?
944... What kind of crazy attack stat would you need to hit damage like that?
But what shocked them even more was that this was just a normal damage number, not a crit—yet somehow it was even true damage?!
No wonder she could solo a world-class boss. Today really was an eye-opener...
A strong sense of defeat welled up in the boy's heart.
Looking at the monster's corpse on the ground, Chen Zixuan put away his dagger, squatted down, and began looting the spoils by himself.
"System prompt: You have obtained 5 【Monster Leather】."
"System prompt: You have obtained 2 【Bramble Boar Tusks】."
"System prompt: You have obtained 7 【Monster Blood】."
"......."
After a moment, Chen Zixuan stood up slowly, only then noticing the five pairs of eyes around him, all staring intently at him.
"Let's share the loot,"
Chen Zixuan said, feeling a bit embarrassed, his tone softening.
"No need, I think... I just leveled up to 2..."
Xuetong took a moment to process before realizing in shock that she had already reached level 2.
"I leveled up to 2 as well!" chimed in Peach Branch, sounding genuinely happy, her big eyes sparkling.
Chen Zixuan was startled at first, then realized why—it was because they were in party mode, and in this mode, experience from killing monsters could be shared by the whole team.
Because the Bramble Boar was level 5, and most of the party was only level 1, after Chen Zixuan killed the Bramble Boar, everyone except the young man and Chen Zixuan had directly leveled up to level 2.
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