Free Web NovelChapter 14: [14]: Slark the Submerged, A Dance in the Mud
Now that Levi was Level 11, the Level Suppression penalty against the Level 12 Murlocs was completely lifted. He was technically over the mathematical threshold to fight them cleanly, making his farming route even faster. He didn’t even need to use his Siphon Aura for the small fry anymore. He just carved a straight path through the remaining mobs, one-shotting them with Reaping Arc and moving on.
He pushed deeper into the Drowned Hollows until the knee-deep mud dropped off into a wide, dark lake. In the center of the lake stood a massive, circular stone altar completely covered in glowing blue coral and jagged barnacles.
Patrolling the top of the altar was the zone’s Field Boss.
It was essentially a Murloc on heavy steroids. It stood nearly eight feet tall, its green scales hardened into thick, plate-like armor. It carried a massive, rusted trident that crackled with blue water magic.
[Slark the Submerged] [Level: 13 | Field Boss] [HP: 3,500 | ATK: 85 | DEF: 35]
Levi waded through the waist-deep water and climbed onto the stone edge of the altar. The boss didn’t wait for him to get comfortable. The moment Levi’s boots hit the stone, Slark roared, a sound like drowning machinery, and charged.
Levi immediately ran the numbers. He was Level 11, the boss was Level 13. A two-level gap meant he was dealing with a 10% Level Suppression penalty again.
Math check: The boss’s 35 Defense was reduced by 15% from the scythe’s passive, dropping it to exactly 30 Defense. Levi’s Total Attack was 115. 115 minus 30 equaled 85 raw damage. Minus the 10% suppression penalty, his basic physical attacks would deal 76 final damage.
For his Reaping Arc, 115 multiplied by 1.8 gave him 207 raw damage. Minus the 30 Defense left 177. With the 10% penalty applied, a clean skill hit would deal 159 final damage.
"Three thousand five hundred health," Levi muttered, gripping his silver scythe. "This is going to be a mana drain."
He opened his menu and toggled Siphon Aura on. The green light wrapped around his arms, and his mana instantly started ticking down by 2 points every second.
Slark closed the distance in three massive strides. The boss thrust its giant trident forward, aiming squarely at Levi’s chest. The attack was incredibly fast compared to the early-game beetles and boars, but Levi’s newly upgraded 23 Agility was more than enough to handle it.
His reaction time was razor-sharp. Levi swatted the trident away with the haft of his scythe, parrying the heavy thrust. The sheer force of the boss’s 85 Attack still sent a jarring vibration up his virtual arms, but he deflected it cleanly.
Levi immediately slid to the boss’s exposed flank.
"Reaping Arc!"
He dumped 10 Mana. The red wave of energy slashed across Slark’s scaly ribs.
[-159]
The boss staggered, letting out a wet gargle of pain. Levi followed up with a quick basic attack, driving the jagged blade into the fish-man’s armor.
[-76]
The weapon’s passive triggered instantly. A small bleeding icon appeared above Slark’s head, ticking for 5 true damage per second.
Slark recovered quickly, its eyes glowing with blue magic. It slammed the butt of its trident into the stone altar. A ring of highly pressurized water erupted from the weapon, acting as an ambient AoE aura.
Levi was immediately hit by the water magic. The game calculated it as environmental ambient damage, dealing exactly 20 damage per second just for standing near the boss.
His health dropped from 320 to 300.
But exactly one second later, his Siphon Aura triggered, healing him for 15 HP. His health bounced back to 315. The math was incredibly tight. The boss was dealing 20 damage a second, and Levi was healing 15. That meant Levi was only actually losing 5 HP every second he stood in the aura.
"I can live with a net loss of five," Levi grinned.
He stayed right inside the boss’s guard. Slark swung the trident in a devastating spinning sweep, intended to knock Levi off the altar and into the lake.
Levi didn’t try to block it. "Phantom Step!"
He spent 20 Mana and instantly teleported straight up into the air. He hung in the digital gravity for a split second as the massive trident swept harmlessly beneath his feet. He brought his scythe down hard as he fell, cracking Slark on top of the head.
[-76]
The boss fight instantly devolved into an intense, grueling puzzle of mana management. Levi’s Siphon Aura was constantly eating 2 Mana per second. His Reaping Arc cost 10 Mana every five seconds. His Phantom Step cost 20 Mana. With a maximum pool of 100, he was burning through his fuel incredibly fast.
He perfectly cycled his scythe strikes, keeping the 5 DMG/sec bleed active on the boss at all times while relentlessly chipping away at the 3,500 health pool. Whenever his mana dropped below 20, he pulled a basic potion from his belt, downed it, and kept swinging.
Slark was an absolute tank. It hit hard, but Levi’s 23 Speed allowed him to physically sidestep or parry almost every direct physical strike. The only damage Levi took was from the unavoidable water aura, which his Siphon skill almost entirely negated.
After five long minutes of dodging, slashing, and chugging potions, Slark’s health bar finally flashed red. It dropped below 10%, hitting exactly 350 HP.
The boss realized it was losing the battle of attrition. It let out a cowardly shriek, turned its back on Levi, and sprinted toward the edge of the altar, trying to dive into the deep water of the lake to reset its health pool.
"Oh no you don’t," Levi snapped.
He didn’t have enough mana for another Reaping Arc, but he had exactly 22 Mana left.
"Phantom Step."
He burned 20 Mana, dissolving into shadow and reappearing directly in front of the fleeing boss right at the edge of the altar. Slark crashed into him. Levi dug his boots into the stone, ignoring the impact damage, and swung his scythe upward with everything he had left.
The silver blade caught Slark right under the chin.
[-76]
Combined with four rapid ticks of the bleed effect, the boss’s remaining health completely vanished.
Slark the Submerged froze at the edge of the altar. Its trident slipped from its hands and clattered onto the stone. The massive fish-man collapsed forward, its body violently shattering into a huge explosion of blue polygons, gold coins, and loot boxes.
[System Notification: You have slain the Level 13 Field Boss Slark the Submerged. Gained 15,000 XP.]
Levi immediately reached up and toggled Siphon Aura off, preserving his last 2 points of mana. He collapsed onto one knee, his real-world lungs burning from the simulated exertion of dodging a heavy polearm for five straight minutes.
Before he could even process the loot, a dense, glowing blue aura ripped itself from Slark’s fading remains. The aura shot across the altar and slammed heavily into Levi’s chest.
[Supreme Harvester triggered.] [Slark the Submerged’s primary stat is AGI (60).] [You have plundered 5% of its core stat.] [Gained +3 AGI permanently!]
Levi let out a breathless laugh. He didn’t even need to level up to get stronger. The cheat was just too good. He opened his stats and watched his Agility instantly bump from 23 to 26. His Speed followed immediately, hitting 26.
He was starting to move fast enough that standard game physics were having trouble keeping up with his avatar’s animations. He felt lighter, deadlier, and completely untouchable.
He stood up, shaking the digital fatigue out of his limbs, and walked over to the massive pile of loot Slark had dropped. He had the speed, he had the damage, and he had the sustain. Now, he just needed better armor to survive the completely unfair trials waiting for him in the next tier of zones.
—-
Updated Stat Sheet:
- Name: Levi | Level: 11
- Class: None | Talent: [Supreme Harvester (SSS-Rank)]
- HP: 320/320 | Mana: 100/100
- STR: 35 | AGI: 26 | VIT: 16 | INT: 10 | LUK: 5
- Attack: 115 | Defense: 16 | Speed: 26
- Core Skills: [Reaping Arc], [Phantom Step], [Siphon Aura].
