Drake skyker scanned the throne area and locked onto Ethan standing calmly beside it.
"Haha! Just one Priest! And... those rings glowing gold!"
Gold-grade jewelry—ultra-rare drop, worth hundreds of thousands of credits on launch day!
Two pieces!
Jackpot!
His eyes blazed with greed. "Priest kid up front—who gave you permission to snipe our boss? Here's your choice: hand over the boss drops nicely, and SharkStrike Syndicate lets this slide. Otherwise... you're done!"
He shouted, voice echoing through the ruins.
He could've ordered a rush to pop Ethan instantly, but gold jewelry had low drop-on-death rates. Threat first—safer.
The guy was just a Priest. Even if over Level 5—maybe 10?—300 people? No escape.
In Eternal Realm, death penalty was only 10% EXP loss. Better if he handed it over willingly.
Ethan frowned slightly but ignored the bluster.
Boss sniping happened all the time—first come, first served.
But "our boss"? He'd already soloed it. Ridiculous.
With his current stats, 300 players were just walking EXP bags.
He didn't respond immediately. Instead, he glanced toward the other two groups—Stormwind Guild and Azure Jade Guild.
"What about you two? Think I stole your boss?"
Ethan asked with a faint smile.
"No way! We're here to invite you to join Stormforge Guild! No hostility—if needed, we'll handle SharkStrike for you!"
Stormwind Matchless's pupils contracted; he replied instantly.
"God! Join us! Azure Jade has tons of girls—and full potions!"
Before Azure vale could speak, Jade sterling shouted excitedly.
"…"
Ethan stayed silent, a flicker of regret in his eyes. Together, Stormwind and Azure Jade had around 200 players. If they'd jumped in, more free EXP.
Since they wouldn't engage, he couldn't force a farm.
"Drake skyler, right? You've got 10 seconds to apologize."
Ethan said lightly.
"You paralyzed! A trash Priest acting tough?"
Drake snarled, face twisting. "Fine—since you won't take the easy way, don't blame us for forcing it! Everyone—rush him! Kill to zero!"
SharkStrike was third-rate at best, but Drake knew it.
Gold gear on day one? Artifact-level.
Grab it, snowball advantages, climb to second- or near-first-rate guild.
No way he'd pass.
With two guilds watching? Fine—hundreds of Priests here for mass healing.
To avoid mishaps, he ordered the siege.
Ethan sneered, drew the Gremlin Bow, and started firing into the crowd.
-300! (Weak-point Crit!)
-300! (Weak-point Crit!)
In seven or eight seconds, over 20 arrows flew—each a precise weak-point hit.
"Damn, this Priest's attack speed is insane!"
A shielded Warrior in the mob exclaimed.
Normally, without Archer proficiency or top gear, bows fired once per second. This guy? At least two per second—outrageous!
How?
Outside the encirclement, Gale harlan eyes lit up.
"That operation… card attack speed archery!"
High-density APM—weapon swap cancel to reset attack animation, forcing extra shots.
Advanced Archer tech: silky if done right, but required god-tier reaction and hand speed. Most players fumbled, dropping speed instead.
"Little Lin—can you pull that off?"
Gale asked his top Archer, "Little."
"No way! His refresh is down to ~0.4 seconds—near human limit!"
Little stared in shock as Ethan kited and fired seamlessly. "He's not even trying hard… Damn, I've practiced years!"
People comparison was infuriating.
He could card to 0.8 seconds max—messed up positioning, high error risk.
This Priest? 0.4 seconds, perfect movement—no issues.
Inhuman!
Even WWL's top Archer "Hail of Bullets" hit 0.3 seconds limit. 0.1 faster—but Priest bow penalty existed!
If Ethan were Archer-class? Even faster.
Outrageous!
"Captain! This god switched professions wrong! As Archer, he'd dominate!"
Bird muttered.
"Yeah… Everyone, stay alert—ready to protect if needed!"
Matchless ordered. Positions spread; ready to intervene.
On the other side, Jade Wushuang shook Azure vale excitedly. "Qingqing—see that? True god! We have to recruit him!"
"Yeah… but he's so strong—will he join? We're a new guild…"
Azure Zijin hesitated.
"Who cares! Invite first! If no—add friend! Future help pays off, right?"
Jade Wushuang pouted. "Hurry—order our people to prep assistance! Stormwind's already moving!"
"Ah—got it."
…
"Can a Priest really play like this?"
Gou God, arriving at the Thunder Ruins edge, froze watching Ethan kite and delete enemies with bow spam.
His stream chat exploded.
"Damn—this a Priest? My Lv.50 Archer can't match!"
"Lv.60 here—brain.exe stopped. Restart career?"
"Weak-point crit insta-kills? S-grade talent?"
"No talent—that's pure skill! Seen 'Hail of Bullets' in WWL? Top-tier mechanics!"
"So strong—why not switch to Archer?"
"Maybe Priest stronger?"
"Bro—Priest porcelain-touching Archer? Believe I'll head-explode you from 800 miles!"
"Right—job swap mistake! If not, I'll stream handstand!"
"Upstairs—start the broadcast! Gifting!"
The battle hit white-hot.
Flying Dragon sweated coldly, stunned by the operation.
He recalled the assassins he'd kicked earlier—reports of this monster Priest.
Not them being trash—the Priest was too strong!
"Damn—riding the tiger now! But no matter the mechanics—one man can't flip hundreds!"
Eyes dark, he roared: "Don't panic! Surround him! Close range—he dies! Dead players get 100 credits each! Kill the Priest—1000 credits bounty!"
"Boss mighty!"
A Warrior charged first; others surged.
Chaos peaked.
Even with card archery, Ethan stretched thin against hundreds.
Soon, dozens closed to 10 meters!
"God in trouble!"
"Move in!"
Stormwind and Azure Jade acted simultaneously!
At the edge, Gou God sighed. "Alas—one man, Priest mobility low. Tree kiting might've worked. Too bad—death incoming."
Chat agreed—admired, but doomed.
Yet admiration flowed: "Priest too strong!" "Fan from now!" "Top mechanics!"
Just as consensus formed—holy light erupted!
Holy Light Burst!
Golden beam tore through SharkStrike's front line—ripping a massive gap!
-478!
-470!
-488!
Over 20 died instantly—vacuum in the crowd.
Everyone froze: Gou God, guilds, chat.
"Was that… Holy Light Burst? Fake damage?"
"Priest can output like this? Violent!"
"Still a healer? This is Battle Priest!"
"Battle Priest name slaps! Battle Priest awesome!"
"Battle Priest awesome!"
Barrage flooded: "Battle Priest Niubi!"
Gou God brain-froze—the Priest smiled, raised his staff again.
Holy Light Burst!
Another wave—dozens more down!
No CD?
Gou God numb.
Holy Light Burst!
Holy Light Burst!
Holy Light Burst!
Under 20 seconds—hundreds of SharkStrike dead!
Forums detonated: posts like "Battle Priest Massacres 300 in SharkStrike Dynasty" went viral instantly.
The legend of the "Unkillable Battle Priest" began spreading like wildfire.
Ethan leaned against a cracked pillar in the Thunder Ruins, casually scrolling the Nova Realm forums on his in-game interface.
The server was ablaze. Threads about the "Mysterious Battle Priest" multiplied by the minute—clips of the SharkStrike Syndicate massacre circulating everywhere, especially on their own streaming platform. Gou God's live reaction had millions of views, and forum analysts were already dissecting every move.
A top post from "Wanderer Bai" (the infamous "God-Conferring" analyst) sat pinned at the top:
"This Priest's card-attack archery hits 0.41-second resets despite class penalty—on par with WWL legends like Hail of Bullets from two seasons back. If he swapped to Archer, WWL entry in 1–2 years is realistic. The near-instant Holy Light Burst spam? Likely an Extreme Potion (90% global CD reduction from emperor-level mutant bosses). Mechanics god-tier. Talent unknown, but output screams high-grade support/DPS hybrid."
Ethan smirked. "Close enough. But no potion—it's the talent."
Still, the mention of Extreme Potions was a good reminder. Those 90% CD reducers were rare as hell—emperor mutants started around Level 40—but with his permanent +2 drop quality and +100% rate from Boss Slayer, he'd farm them eventually.
He closed the forum and checked his backpack. The Silver Treasure Chest loot looked solid: Pure White Wings (a sleek flight/mobility accessory), three Stone Knives (odd quest starters?), and the Contract of Holy Light (a 1-hour blessing he could potentially lock permanent if it stacked right).
But the real score? Turning Drake Skyler's 300+ goons into free EXP and loot. They'd come for payback; he'd turned it into a buffet.
Only the Azure Vale Guild and Stormforge Guild remained nearby—Azure Vale and Jade Sterling watching with wide eyes, Gale Harlan pressing his pitch again.
"Battle Priest, seriously—Stormforge could use someone like you. We're pushing for CWL spots this season. Elite squad, sponsorship deals, real cash flow. Join up!"
Ethan shook his head. "Appreciate the offer, Gale, but I'm not looking for a pro contract right now."
His long-term plan was bigger: build his own squad. Use 10-year foresight to recruit future legends early—pull top talents and players before they blew up. With alt-farming and name knowledge, he'd dominate global leagues without the politics of joining someone else's guild.
Jade Sterling jumped in, eyes sparkling. "Then Azure Vale! We're a newer commercial guild, but we're scaling fast—big sponsorship potential, profit shares for core members. Join us, get equity!"
Ethan considered it for a second. In his old timeline, Azure Vale had grown into a top-20 commercial powerhouse—market cap in the billions. Snagging control early would be massive leverage.
"51% shares," he said flatly.
Jade Sterling blinked. "51%?! You're serious?"
She huffed, logged out in frustration.
Ethan chuckled. "Touchy. No rush."
Azure Vale hesitated, about to follow her friend.
"Hold on. I've got gear to offload. Interested?"
Her eyes lit up. "Absolutely. Show me."
Ethan opened trade:
120 Black Iron pieces (Lv.3–5): 5 gold each
20 Bronze pieces: 50 gold each
Total: 1,600 gold.
"Early-game premium pricing—fair market."
Azure Vale checked quickly. Prices were spot-on; this haul would give Azure Vale a huge early edge.
But she frowned. "I don't have that much liquid gold yet."
"Cash trade's fine. Current ratio's strong—1 gold ≈ 150 credits. Comes to 240,000 credits total."
Her face brightened. "Deal!"
Transfer confirmed.
[Account received: 240,000 credits! Current balance: 240,001 credits.]
Ethan's real-world bank balance jumped. First real pot of gold—secured.
"Pleasure doing business. Add me as friend—more stock coming your way soon."
He friended her, then logged out.
Back in his dorm, Ethan didn't waste a second.
He headed to the campus VR outlet and bought 50 basic helmets (bulk discount knocked it down to 120,000 credits total).
Next: he posted discreet off-campus rental ads. Once the semester ramped up, roommates would notice endless VR sessions—better to have a private setup.
While the ads ran, he jumped back in on a spare helmet and started mass-creating alts. Names pulled from future knowledge (adjusted for randomization, Western style).
Batch results:
"Alan Reed" → S-rank: Magic Void (mana-drain → Demon Hunting mode: +100% speeds, true damage scaling off max mana for 60s)
"Mia Sunny" → SS-rank: Magic Medicine Field (10x growth on potion/herb fields—insane alchemy/resource empire potential)
Overall: 3 SS-rank, 12 S-rank, 35 A-rank (mix of combat, crafting, support talents)
"Randomized but still elite-tier. Name influences level—content shifted slightly. Perfect for farming or selling."
He planned to level the best ones personally or recruit future pros to pilot them. Extras could be sold for profit.
With 240k credits burning a hole and his sister's treatment bills looming (the rare disease eating through savings), the goal sharpened: hit 100 million credits fast. Fund the cure, ease his parents' burden—then build an empire.
His phone buzzed—parents checking in. He answered, voice calm and confident.
"Things are turning around. I've got this handled. Trust me."
He hung up, smiling.
The server burned with his growing legend.
He'd only just begun stacking the deck.