He also picked up an Apprentice's Cloak (Bronze): Spell Damage 0-1, Intelligence +1. Though Bronze-tier, it was the only mage cloak available until the Level 15 dungeon—cloaks had notoriously low drop rates. Lucas felt blessed by luck in his second life. Donning the sky-blue cloak, he cut a sharper figure and gained a slight Spell Power boost.
Checking his stats, the gear upgrades were drastic: Name: Lucas, Class: Mage, Level 4. Endurance:7, Strength:5, Intelligence:75, Agility:7, Vitality:10. HP:140, Mana:750. Physical ATK:9-13, Spell Power:110, Defense:8. Physical Crit:0%, Magical Crit:2.6%, Mana Regen:11 per 5 seconds.
Of all Level 5 bosses outside the starting village, Lucas could only truly handle the Wasp Queen in the Dusk Marsh. The Bison King and Wolf Lord had fallen to luck and exploits. Crossing the Misty Jungle, he entered the marsh—teeming with Level 5 wasps.
Wasps weren't the strongest Level 5 mobs, but they were the most annoying. Their attacks poisoned targets for 20 HP/s—devastating at this level. That changed, however, when a Fire Mage in his past life revealed their fatal flaw: wings.
Forsaken World's realism extended to insects—wasp wings burned easily. Three direct Fireball hits to the wings incinerated them, dropping the wasp to the ground, defenseless. The strategy went viral, but executing it was no easy feat—it required precise aim at the tiny wings.
Auto Mode prevented targeting specific body parts. To pull this off, Lucas needed Free Mode. The game offered two combat styles: Auto (system handles incantations, gestures, and Mana control, but locks cast time to 3 seconds) and Free (players master advanced incantations, gestures, and Mana flow to cast faster).
In his past life, Lucas earned the title "Raging Fire Emperor" by simplifying incantations. While others took 3 seconds to cast Fireball, he did it in under 0.5 seconds. He skipped Haste and Hit Chance stats, stacking Crit to 83%—nearly every attack was a crit. But Free Mode demanded more: mastering obscure advanced incantations, sharp combat awareness, and pinpoint aim—one misstep, and the Fireball missed.
Now, Lucas activated Free Mode. The aura of the Raging Fire Emperor returned. Spotting a wasp, he chanted a high-level incantation and formed gestures in 0.5s. A Fireball streaked out, hitting the wasp's wing dead-on. Flames erupted on its wing.
The wasp charged, but another Fireball struck its wing mid-flight. Enraged, it pressed on—only to take a third Fireball. Its wings burned to ash, and it crashed to the ground. Lucas finished it off with one more Fireball.
With ample Mana and 110 Spell Power, he became a mobile turret, mowing down wasps as he advanced to the Wasp Queen's lair. Hiding behind reeds, he waited. A loud buzzing grew closer—a black-and-yellow wasp, half-human tall, flew into view: the Wasp Queen.
Confirming no respawned wasps blocked his retreat, Lucas aimed. In 0.7s, a Fireball hit the queen's wing: "-137". She turned, and a second Fireball struck her wing: "-139". Three meters later, a third Fireball landed—this time a crit: "-272". The queen lost her wings and fell, scuttling toward him at 30% speed.
Lucas backed away, spamming Fireballs. But the Wasp Queen had a trick—her wings regenerated after 1 minute. To take her down, he'd need perfect Mana management. As the first regeneration cycle loomed, Lucas gripped his staff tightly—this fight would test his Free Mode mastery like never before.