Fwish! Boom!
-3,300! -3,300! -3,300!
Every single member of [DragonSlayer]'s team was instantly engulfed by the explosion.
The [Scorching Fireball] erupted in a violent blaze, and the shockwave tore through the middle of the [Novice Town Square].
Flames spiraled outward, swallowing the players whole before they could even react.
Their bodies disintegrated into glowing specks of light, vanishing one after another.
It was total annihilation.
The power behind Karl's spell was absurd, far beyond anything players at this stage of the game should be capable of.
Even a level 15 or 20 player would've struggled to survive that hit if they couldn't dodge it.
And these ones? They never stood a chance.
The battle ended in less than three seconds.
The crowd that had been watching from a distance fell into stunned silence before breaking into scattered whispers.
"What the fuck, how does this guy do that much damage?"
"Mages are so OP!"
"As said before, you're wrong."
Ding!
[You have gained 5 Lives!]
Karl's expression didn't change as the blue panel appeared in front of him.
Of course, he got their lives.
That was the basic rule of [Gods Ascension]: kill a player, take their lives.
But killing inside [Novice Towns] wasn't really worth it.
The lives-loss rate here was way too low to make it efficient.
'Also... I don't want my "counter" to go up,' Karl thought.[1]
After a few seconds, soft flickers of light began forming in the middle of the square again.
Karl didn't even need to look to know what it was.
Since they all had more than one life, they were instantly revived where they had died.
It technically meant Karl could kill them again if he wanted to.
But before he could even move, [DragonSlayer] and his entire team immediately sprinted out of the area without a single word.
"..."
Karl watched them go with a blank, uninterested expression.
'I still need to sell my items,' he thought simply, turning back toward his small pile of loot.
He wasn't interested in chasing them down.
Players like that weren't worth the time.
And more importantly, he didn't remember anyone named [DragonSlayer] from his past life anyway, which meant the guy wasn't important enough to bother with.
About thirty seconds later, Karl sold the rest of his items to the nearby players.
[Lives: 184 → 467]
He nodded faintly. A decent profit.
His total lives had nearly tripled from that single sale.
At this point, it was practically impossible for Karl to die inside the [Novice Continent].
No monster or player could kill him.
Once he was done selling, Karl got to his feet and prepared to leave.
But before he could walk away—
"Hey!"
A familiar voice called out behind him.
Karl turned slightly and saw the man named [CoffeeAddict], the one who had bought the [Shadow Slash] skill earlier.
He had a team of six standing behind him this time, all looking somewhat nervous but determined.
Karl raised an eyebrow. "...?"
[CoffeeAddict] scratched the back of his neck, "We wanted to ask if—"
"No."
Karl cut him off before he could even finish the sentence.
"I'm not teaming with anybody."
The blunt rejection caught them off guard.
The team members glanced at one another awkwardly, unsure how to respond.
They were all around level 7 or 8, clearly doing well for the early game.
And the Karl from his previous life would've accepted their offer immediately.
Back then, he would've jumped at the chance to join a competent group like that.
But not anymore. Not after everything he had been through.
Now, he didn't need anyone.
He could handle everything alone.
There was no reason to waste time on temporary alliances or distractions.
Karl was looking far beyond the [Novice Continent].
This place was just the tutorial, the opening act of [Gods Ascension].
The real world was waiting beyond it, and he wasn't planning to be slowed down.
"It's fine," [CoffeeAddict] said after a short pause.
He sighed and turned around. "Thanks anyway."
"No problem," Karl replied casually. "Be careful out there. This world isn't safe."
That simple line caught them off guard.
The team froze for a second, staring at him with mixed expressions.
They had assumed [Oblivion] was some cold, emotionless killing machine, but maybe that wasn't true after all.
Still, the way he said it… it almost sounded like he knew something they didn't.
Like he had seen more than anyone else here.
[CoffeeAddict] and his team shook off the odd feeling and headed back toward the other side of town.
Meanwhile, Karl had already left the square, walking through the cracked streets toward the outer zones once again.
'Lives are good for now,' he thought, glancing at his status screen. 'What I really need is more EP, better equipment, and stronger skills.'
And just as he thought that—
Ding!
A sharp system chime echoed through the air.
[Announcement: A Special Boss has spawned in the "Outskirts" of the "Broken Town."]
Karl's eyes flickered with interest.
'Oh?' he thought. 'Perfect.'
Special Bosses.
They were among the rarest and most dangerous monsters in the entire game.
They appeared randomly and only stayed for a short period of time before vanishing again.
Their strength was ridiculous, far beyond that of normal bosses of the same level.
In fact, in 99% of cases, these bosses weren't even killed before they disappeared.
Either players never found them, or they found them and got completely destroyed.
In his past life, Karl had never managed to face a single Special Boss.
Even when he'd tried, the timing or conditions never worked out.
But now? Now he had the chance, and the power.
He knew how rare this opportunity was.
Special Bosses became even harder to find as [Gods Ascension] progressed, and their strength scaled absurdly with time.
But the rewards… were always worth the risk.
If he could kill this one, it would be a massive step forward.
'It's in the outskirts,' he noted. 'Meaning it's probably around level 7 to 10.'
For most players, that would've been suicide.
Even a full team of level 10 players would get wiped out.
But Karl wasn't "most players."
He immediately began running, heading toward the edge of the ruined city.
His boots pounded against the cracked stone as the fog grew thicker and the air colder.
After about ten minutes—
Ding!
[You have entered the "Outskirts."]
He didn't know how long the Special Boss would remain before disappearing, so he wasted no time.
He cut straight through the ruined streets, only stopping to kill the monsters that blocked his path.
The Outskirts were known as the most dangerous part of the [Broken Town].
Crumbling towers leaned dangerously over narrow roads, and the sky above flickered with strange light.
Karl kept his focus sharp.
A dark shadow flickered in front of him.
---
[Shadow Wraith (Level 8)]
[Rank: Rare]
[HP: 2,500]
---
"Out of my way."
Blizzard Crystal!
Fwish!
The shard of frozen energy flew forward, leaving a streak of cold mist behind it.
Boom!
-3,000!
The monster froze midair and died instantly.
Karl didn't slow down.
He continued pushing deeper, cutting down anything that got close.
As he moved, the air began to shift, growing heavier, colder, and almost suffocating.
It wasn't just the atmosphere of the Outskirts.
Something else was warping the space itself.
'It's close,' Karl thought, gripping his staff tightly.
He could feel it now, the faint pulse of dark aura coming from ahead.
The number of players in the area had dropped sharply too.
Most didn't dare come this far.
Karl didn't mind. He preferred it this way.
The fewer people around, the easier it was to focus.
After a few more turns, the narrow streets suddenly opened up into a massive clearing surrounded by the remains of broken buildings.
And there, he saw it.
A towering figure cloaked in swirling shadows stood in the middle of the clearing.
In front of it, three players were desperately trying to hold their ground.
"W-We can't beat that thing!"
"Damn it! They told us not to fight Special Bosses!"
"And what's worse, the lives loss rate is too high—"
They didn't even get to finish their sentences.
The boss moved the staff in its hands.
And dark wave erupted from it, instantly engulfing them.
Their screams were cut short as they turned to dust and vanished into light.
Karl exhaled slowly, his expression calm.
'Well,' he thought, 'My turn, I guess.'
He stepped forward, and the moment he did—
Ding!
[Due to the influence of the "Soul Mage", this area has become more dangerous.]
[Lives loss rate: 25]
[1] Will be explained latr