"Let me teach you what true magic looks like!"
Kalis raised his newly equipped Star-Patterned Staff, gathering pale blue magical energy before launching a Magic Missile identical to Vaelen's.
Bang!
-789,642!
"System Notification: You have killed player 'Shadow Claw・Vaelen'. No sin value added in self-defense."
The six-digit damage exploded above Vaelen's head. The Vice President of the Asgard Empire's top guild, his eyes still wide with disbelief, dissolved into a white light and returned to the Oak Town resurrection point.
Not only that, but the death penalty caused him to lose 20% experience, dropping from Level 8 back to Level 7.
"Vice President!"
The remaining Shadow Claw members gasped in shock. Witnessing Kalis's terrifying power to kill their leader with a flick of his wrist, no one dared to step forward, all instinctively retreating.
"Move aside, I'm going to Silvermoon City to change classes. I don't have time to waste with you lot."
Kalis didn't bother dealing with these underlings. He pushed past the blocking players and walked straight toward the cave exit.
Vaelen, who had just revived, roared in the guild channel: "Stop him! Don't let him escape! I'll call reinforcements immediately!"
Several loyal guild members stepped forward bravely to block his path, trying to delay him.
Kalis's eyes turned cold - these people had participated in the siege and were in a guild party, so his counterattack wouldn't increase his sin value. He raised his staff and cast another Thunder Chain.
Zzzz!
The blue lightning darted like a viper, instantly piercing through ten players' bodies. Million-level damage numbers popped up one after another, and the crowd in the cave passage thinned significantly.
"To-too terrifying..."
After two consecutive massacres, the Shadow Claw players were completely terrified. No one dared to block Kalis's path again.
He walked unimpeded toward the cave entrance while the players behind him watched helplessly, none daring to pursue.
Seconds later, after Thunder Chain's cooldown ended, Kalis turned to look at the remaining players crowded together.
A playful glint flashed in his blue eyes beneath his blue-gray gradient hair as he raised his hand for another bolt of lightning.
Zzzz!
Another ten players dissolved into white light. The remaining Shadow Claw members turned pale, trembling with anger but helpless.
"Sigh, I'm so used to playing tanks that I can't help but draw aggro." Kalis scratched his head, feigning innocence. These words only made the surviving guild members angrier, but they could only seethe in silence.
Emerging from the cave, Kalis crossed the forest at the foot of the isolated mountain, heading toward Oak Town.
Halfway there, a massive procession suddenly appeared ahead. They were Vaelen's emergency reinforcements from the guild, at least fifty people strong.
Together with the remnants from the cave, the total approached one hundred, surrounding the resurrected Vaelen as they menacingly blocked the path.
"Kalis, you won't leave this starting village today!" Vaelen snarled through gritted teeth.
He knew Kalis was Level 35 and needed to go to Silvermoon City for class advancement. If they could just delay him until the guild's higher-level players arrived, they could take him down.
But this threat was nothing more than impotent rage in Kalis's eyes. He twirled the Star-Patterned Staff in his hand, speaking calmly: "If you have too much experience to lose, I don't mind killing you all back to Level 1."
"Hmph, you think this is all I've got?" Vaelen sneered, making a hand signal. Four groups of players suddenly emerged from the surrounding woods, each with dozens of members - all Shadow Claw guild members.
They surrounded Kalis completely, the total number exceeding two hundred!
Some nearby solo players who were farming Level 9 monsters [Shadow Lynxes] retreated to a safe distance, whispering among themselves:
"Isn't that Vaelen, the vice president of Shadow Claw? Why is he fighting with a solo player?"
"Solo player? Haven't you seen the system announcements? That's Kalis, a Level 35 powerhouse who just killed a Mythic Boss!"
"No wonder his robe looks so special - it must be Mythic-grade equipment! But with two hundred people surrounding him, even with legendary equipment, he's doomed. If he drops that Mythic gear, we're all rich!"
"Not so sure. From the looks of it, this might be a one-sided massacre..."
Kalis swept his gaze over the approaching two hundred players, mostly Levels 5-8 with common-quality equipment, and a few with refined items. He shook his head disdainfully: "A mob of rabble dares to block my path?"
"You're courting death!" Vaelen roared, launching the first attack. His Flame Staff shot a Magic Missile that hit Kalis squarely in the chest.
-12!
The weak damage was like a tickle - Kalis's HP bar barely flickered. He raised his hand and cast Thunder Chain, the blue lightning exploding among the crowd.
Zzzzz!
The lightning chain bounced twelve times consecutively, with million-level damage numbers flashing: -2568910, -2437651, -2298743... A large section of the crowd emptied instantly, more than a dozen players killed in an instant.
After equipping the Star-Patterned Staff, Kalis's base spell attack had reached 45 points. Combined with his Ultimate Amplification talent, his damage had already surpassed a million.
This scene left the onlookers dumbfounded: "One skill kills a dozen people? This damage is insane!"
Vaelen was also taken aback by this terrifying power, but guild pride wouldn't let him back down. He roared: "Brothers, for the guild's honor! Stand together and wear him down!"
Shield bashes, wind slicing slashes, backstabs, magic missiles... All kinds of skills poured toward Kalis, but most dealt only -1 or -2 damage.
Occasionally, someone managed over 5 points, but still couldn't pose a real threat.
Kalis stood motionless, letting them attack. Every 8 seconds, he would cast another Thunder Chain, each time taking out more than a dozen players.
He even had the leisure to check his backpack for the Boss drops he had collected in a hurry earlier.
The items in his backpack were dazzling, a true treasure trove:
1 Mythic item: [Gilded Lion King Battle Boots]
2 Legendary items: [Divine Grace Tome], [Furious Battle Armor]
3 Epic skill scrolls
7 Epic items
3 Rare skill books
And a large number of consumables
Several bundles of potions caught Kalis's eye:
[Potion of Holy Radiance x30]: Instantly restores 5,500 HP, 60-second cooldown
[Divine Healing Elixir x30]: Instantly restores 50% HP + 3,500 points, 60-second cooldown
[God of War's Power Potion x10]: Spell attack and defense +55%, lasts 35 seconds, 900-second cooldown
[Wind Swift Potion x10]: Movement speed +220%, lasts 18 seconds, 60-second cooldown
"With these potions, even if surrounded by two thousand people, I won't die." Kalis inwardly rejoiced.
He had been worried about the enemy wearing down his HP through attrition, but now it was clear that was unnecessary.
Every time Shadow Claw players died, they would revive and return only to be killed again - they couldn't even delay him.
As he cleared the field with Thunder Chain, he taunted them: "Hit harder! Did you skip breakfast? Is this all Shadow Claw has to offer? Don't be shy - come at me head-on with some attacks that can actually break my defense!"
These words only fueled the Shadow Claw members' rage as they poured on more skills, despite knowing their damage was negligible.
As time passed, Kalis's HP slowly dropped from 4,156 to around 200.
"He's almost dead! Only 200 HP left - keep going!"
"Kill him! Steal his Mythic equipment!"
"Vice President, one more push and we'll turn this around!"
The guild members cheered excitedly, and even Vaelen, who had been killed three times and dropped to Level 6, had hope in his eyes.
If they could just kill Kalis, even at great cost, they could reclaim the Mythic equipment and restore the guild's honor.
Just when they thought victory was within reach, Kalis leisurely pulled out a golden Potion of Holy Radiance from his backpack, uncorked it, and took a sip.
Gulp.
+4,356!
His nearly empty HP bar instantly filled to capacity, and even overflowed with an additional 500 HP from the potion's bonus effect.
Shadow Claw members: "???!"
Their newly ignited hope was extinguished instantly. They stood frozen, faces filled with despair.
After all their efforts, they had done less damage than a single potion could restore - how could they possibly win?
Kalis weighed the potion bottle in his hand, a playful glint in his blue eyes: "Why stop? Keep attacking - I'm not done having fun yet."