The nearby players gawked in shock, unable to react fast enough.
Before anyone could move, Zack activated the effect of his boots, darting forward with lightning speed. In a blur, he scooped up every last drop, not a single coin or item left behind.
With the loot secured, he melted back behind his party, slipping into their formation as if nothing had happened. The party, still catching their breath, began retreating from the clearing, leaving the stunned onlookers frozen in place.
No one even dared to give chase. The players around them could only watch, mouths agape, as they vanished into the forest, their first kill already echoing across the server.
The party's HP and their mana pools dangerously low. Ryven's sword arm felt heavy, Liora's staff pulsed faintly as her magic drained and even Zack could feel the strain of the sustained spells.
"We shouldn't linger here" Keth spoke, adjusting his shield, "we need a safe spot, somewhere free from wandering players or random monsters before we even think about the drops."
A few hundred meters away should be safe. The team nodded, moving cautiously through the forest. Shadows of trees and distant sounds of wildlife were the only companions as they sought a quiet clearing, far from prying eyes.
A short distance away, in a fog-covered graveyard, the PKers Zack's party had wiped out sat in stunned silence. Their respawn timers had ended but their pride had not recovered.
Their leader spat to the side, his expression twisting in disbelief.
Leader: "We were completely destroyed by those guys? And then they got the field boss too?!"
The assassin— still pale from the humiliation kept staring at his interface, fingers trembling. His death log blinked mockingly:
[You have died — Killed by Zack (Priest)]
He showed it to the leader, voice cracking.
Assassin: "Look at this, boss. A priest. A PRIEST killed me. What kinda priest hits like that?!"
The others leaned frantically, keenly curious about the person who killed their entire crew. Grumblefoot rubbed his temples, humiliation piling on as he sighed and opened his own death feed.
[You have died — Killed by: Zack (Priest)]
He froze.
Slowly, his eyes lifted toward the assassin.
The assassin, still holding up his own glowing death notification, stared back. The two of them locked eyes— equally horrified, equally offended by reality itself.
Assassin: "…You too?"
Leader: "Y-yeah."
Assassin: "…By the priest?"
Leader: "...."
A long, heavy beat of silence settled over them.
Then both of them exploded at the same time:
Leader and Assassin:
"Fk, what kind of game is this?!"
***
[World Chat]
ProHunter:
Uh… what's a Verdant Colossus?
BrightMuffin:
FIRST KILL?? PEOPLE CAN KILL THAT?? I RAN PAST IT AND IT NEARLY ONE-SHOT ME.
BootlessMage: Are they NPCs? Why are NPCs getting announcements?
PineCone:
No dude, they're players. I think. Maybe. …Are we sure?
LostPocket:
What even is a Field Boss? Is that like a world event?
Flatbread:
Bro the ground shook for real. I thought someone cast a earthquake spell or something.
ApplePuff:
I was in the forest and saw a giant thing fall over… was that IT?!
ShinyPebble:
Anyone know where it spawned? Asking for educational purposes. Totally not going there.
FoggyToe:
How did four people kill that?? Is this game pay-to-win already??
CuriousSlime:
GUYS WHAT DOES HALL OF FAME EVEN DO
GreenBean:
Is this normal? Is the game supposed to be like this?? I JUST STARTED FIVE MINUTES AGO.
The global chat was blowing up. However, Zack's party continued to advance.
Branches brushed past their armor, leaves crunching underfoot as they pushed deeper into the forest, away from the turmoil they'd caused.
After walking a few hundred meters, Ryven finally lowered his sword, shoulders dropping as he exhaled.
"Finally… some breathing room," he muttered.
They reached a secluded spot, shielded by thick undergrowth and bumpy rock formations. Breathing easier, Ryven signaled the group to stop.
"Alright" he said, his voice steady despite the exhaustion, "this is safe. Let's see what we've got."
With a few gestures from Zack, the drop menu shimmered into existence before them, displaying every item, material and skill scrolls from the Colossus:
Verdant Colossus — Loot Drops
Equipment:
Titanic Greatsword (Rare) Level 5 requirement – 70-95 Attack power +15 STR
Rage active skill (attached) - increases attack damage by 30% for 30 seconds cd 5 mins.
Verdant Shield (Rare) Lvl 5– +60 HP +20 physical DEF +20 magic DEF
Colossus Pants (Rare) Lvl 5– +10 INT, +50 HP,+20 MP
Skill Drops:
Earthquake Slam (Skill Scroll) – Grants skill: Level 1 Earthquake Slam, deals 200% melee damage to multiple enemies, knockdown effect.
Colossus' Roar (Skill Scroll) – Grants skill: Level 1 AoE taunt, stuns enemies in range for 3 seconds.
Materials:
Verdant Colossus Core ×1 – Titanic Shards ×10 – Ancient Root Essence ×5
Mystic Gem ×1 – Can enhance weapons or magical abilities.
Gold Coins - 9
For a beat, everyone just stared.
Liora squinted at the list, then raised an eyebrow. "Wait… no mage skills? Seriously? Not even one tiny spell scroll for me?"
Keth's eyes nearly popped. "No way, as he found good stuff in the drop pile that suited his class "
Ryven's eyes sparkled like a kid unwrapping a new toy. "First kill and look at this loot. Insane."
"All right" he said, hovering over the menu. Titanic Greatsword is mine, along with Earthquake Slam.
He leaned back slightly, shaking his head with a grin. "Honestly… if I hadn't brought the priest, we'd all be looking at a respawn screen right now."
He rambled on about his glory, oblivious to the fact that he almost attacked the priest, until the party's raised hands snapped him back to reality.
Ryven's grin faltered and he scratched the back of his neck, cheeks heating slightly. "Uh… okay, yeah… maybe I got a bit carried away there."
Zack merely tilted his head slightly, a quiet, knowing smile playing across his face.
Keth chuckled, slapping his shield lightly. "No kidding. I don't even want to imagine Ryven or me tanking that boss solo."
Then Ryven proceeded to distribute the shield and roar skill to Keth.
But the moment their eyes landed on the Colossus Pants, all heads instinctively turned toward Liora and Zack, as if silently asking, "Who's taking these?"
Liora looked at Zack, then at the Colossus Pants. "So… you're taking those?"
Zack shrugged, casually tossing a finger at them. "Yup. Pants are mine. I'll take half the materials and the Mystic Gem too. Gold coins? Let's split those evenly."
Liora's eyes narrowed slightly, a mix of disappointment flickered across her face. "Fine… I guess. Considering how we cheesed this boss with all those other players around, you can have your loot" she said, trying to sound cheerful, though the disappointment was clear.
Ryven quickly assigned the rest — materials and coins divided evenly, leftover coins going to Liora while Zack slipped the pants into his inventory like a boss.
Keth shook his head, grinning. "Man, we actually did it. First-ever Verdant Colossus kill and nobody got rekt except the boss."
Liora's eyes wobbled to the floating stat notifications "Wait… what's this, server achievement? Ten bonus points for first server field boss killed and another five for first boss kill?"
Ryven's jaw dropped. "Seriously? That's… insane. So, ten for the first-ever field boss on Gaia, plus five for the Colossus? That's like fifteen free bonus stats just for living through it? Unreal!"
Keth nodded, tapping his shield. "Yeah… we haven't even allocated them yet. This is gonna be interesting. I wonder how everyone's gonna spend theirs."
Liora smirked, tapping her staff against the ground. "Ryven's probably throwing everything into strength. I'm going INT, obviously. But fifteen points? That's huge."
Keth leaned closer, squinting. "Wait a second… isn't that Zack, the same guy who got the server notification for clearing that dungeon first?"
Liora stopped dead, jaw dropping as the realization crashed over her. "No wonder his damage's are off the charts."
He went INT despite being a priest class that has less attack scaling, though he was wrecking everyone in that fight.
Ryven shook his head, still a little stunned. "Makes sense now… all that 'calm and healer' act? Total smoke screen. Dude's built like a walking nuke."
The party went on to add each other in the Friend List, only to be instantly flooded with a storm of dozens of friend requests hitting them all at once, leaving them stunned.
"Whoa… what's all this?" Liora exclaimed, eyes wide as dozens of friend invites flashed across her screen.
Keth blinked, scratching his head. "Are all these… people trying to add us at once?"
Ryven chuckled, shaking his head as he glanced at Zack. "Guess being part of the first-ever Verdant Colossus kill comes with perks."
He smirked, noticing how calm Zack looked— clearly this wasn't his first time dealing with a swarm of friend requests.
After adding each other to the friend list, Zack decided it was time to bid farewell.
As he scrolled through the notifications, a message from Obi popped up: "Hey! Don't hog all the fun alone next time!"
Zack smirked faintly at the familiar teasing. A second message appeared from Point, congratulating him: "Congrats my idol."
Zack shook his head as Point joined in on the teasing, a small, sarcastic smile crept onto his face.
With a quiet nod, Zack closed his status window, giving a small wave to the party.
The team waved back, still buzzing from the battle and the flood of notifications, Zack walked off quietly, serene and collected, letting the commotion fade behind him.