"So, you want to fight it now?"
Mirabella turned to her familiar, her shock evident. Her composure, typically iron-clad, cracked at the suggestion.
"That door hides a World Boss! If my memories serve me right, it has well over 20,000 Health Points—and that's its baseline HP, before considering the gear and passive buffs it possesses."
"So what's the plan, Master? We have the key," Cupcake inquired, her white ears flicking, ready to obey.
Mirabella turned back to the ominous, sealed door. "The plan is restraint. I want the Armor God's drop, yes, but I won't risk a second death for it. We ambushed the Soul Eater because its Agility was zero. A World Boss possesses high intelligence, incredible reaction speed, and can move freely."
She sighed, the sound echoing in the massive, cold hall, and sat down on the stone floor. "This hall is a blessed anomaly—no active traps or wandering monsters. We'll sleep here for the night. Tomorrow, we're going out to farm Exp and get stronger. I must ensure my Physical Attack increases to at least 200 before we face this thing."
"200? Is that all?" Cupcake tilted her head in confusion.
"Yes, but it's the gateway," Mirabella explained, leaning back against the cold stone.
"Every level advance only grants +10 in all stats—that's the base player condition. But once someone completes the Awakening Chain and becomes an Awakened Player, they gain +1,000 in each stat per level upgrade. That's where the exponential power comes from, not to mention the buffs from high-tier gear."
She closed her eyes. "If I can grind my way to Lv10 or, ideally, Lv15, I will have a viable chance against the World Boss."
Cupcake grew in size, transforming into her magnificent tiger form, and carefully covered Mirabella with one massive, warm wing.
"It seems all the money I spent on you in my past and present lives wasn't a complete waste," Mirabella chuckled softly, reaching up to scratch Cupcake's massive chin.
"Hey, Cupcake," she called out again, staring at the ancient ceiling text the Master System had translated.
"We are out of rations. We will have to find something edible tomorrow."
"Can't we just eat the monsters we kill?"
"Of course, we can. But here's the crucial trade-off of the Galaxy Fall system: the moment we cook or prepare a monster carcass for food, it becomes useless for processing. It can no longer be converted into a Monster Card," she explained, her eyes heavy with recalled knowledge:
"And while monster meat is technically edible and sold to citizens, its market value is incredibly low compared to the Card currency. Most people choose Cards over food to finance skills."
"Citizens?" Cupcake yawned, lying her huge head on the ground, already drifting off.
"Yes. There are people here, not just players. Without the massive populations—the citizens—there would be no foundation for the Three Great Empires," Mirabella elaborated.
"Those of us who successfully make it to Galaxy City will gain the opportunity to choose one of the three Empires and become a citizen, gaining access to guilds and advanced resources. For now, however... that's a luxury I can't afford."
She tucked the golden Key deep into her system storage and finally allowed herself to rest, sleeping beside the chamber of the greatest threat in the immediate area.
____
Jessica stood her watch under the massive, strange constellations of the Fall world. She stared intently at the golden words that had flashed across the night sky hours earlier.
{Player Spectral soloed and Killed a Lv30 Boss; Soul Eater Tree. Congratulations to them.}
"Spectral. Soloed a Boss? A Level 30?" She muttered, the information shaking her confidence more than any monster attack. This meant someone else was not only aware of Galaxy Fall rules, but also exploiting it with devastating efficiency.
"Tomorrow will be a new day," she muttered under her breath, pulling her combat cloak tighter. "I hope my team, and these kids, are ready for the reality of this world."
_____
[Next Day. 7:30 AM]
"Okay, you four! Get up!" Jessica's command was a precise, sharp sound that sliced through the cold morning air, jolting Ethan, Angela, Miranda, and Alice awake.
"Get yourselves ready! We're moving in thirty minutes! We lose all advantage if we sit still!" she added, before walking purposefully out of the central military tent.
"Ugh, thirty minutes? Then why did she wake us up so early?" Miranda groaned, rubbing her stiff neck, her eyes still heavy with sleep.
"My entire body aches from sleeping on the ground and using a rock as a pillow," she grumbled, trying to ignore the dirt staining her school uniform.
"At least we are alive, Miranda. That's something," Angela replied softly, surveying her companions, seeing the fresh fear mixed with the previous night's exhaustion.
"Yes," Ethan stated, standing up and stretching his limbs, trying to project resolve. "We must toughen up. This world is designed for predators, not soft targets. We must get stronger so we can protect ourselves. Only then can we even begin to search for our families."
The three girls exchanged glances and slowly nodded, the weight of his words driving a temporary wedge into their despair.
_
The four walked out of the tent, and the next moment; golden text flashed across the bright morning sky, faster and more frequent than before.
[Player Spectral soloed and Killed a Lv20 Boss, congratulations to them.]
[Player Spectral soloed and Killed a Lv25 Boss, congratulations to them.]
[Player Spectral soloed and Killed a Lv30 Boss, congratulations to them.]
[Player Spectral soloed and Killed a Lv15 Boss, congratulations to them.]
The entire military camp—the four students and fifty seasoned soldiers—was dumbfounded, listening to the rapid-fire succession of world announcements in a daze. Four Bosses killed in rapid succession, all solo.
"Who… who is this person named Spectral?" Jessica muttered, her face a mask of profound shock and reluctant admiration. The announcements were a tangible sign that the rules of this world were being mastered by someone else, and at a speed that eclipsed her own formidable efforts.
"What the hell is happening?"