System: Player Shadow Wolf has attacked you and has entered yellow-name status for one hour. Any player who kills a yellow-name player will not receive a sin penalty.
Sandwiched between the Snow Fox and Shadow Wolf, Stone Peak had only 31 HP left. The situation was critical.
"Cowardly bastard!"
Blackie, standing at a distance, cursed Shadow Wolf for choosing this exact moment to ambush. But he couldn't change anything — the two were too far apart, and hitting Shadow Wolf was nearly impossible. All he could do was aim at the Snow Fox, hoping to finish it off before Shadow Wolf reaped the rewards.
Magic classes dealt high damage, and landing hits on monsters was fine enough, but hitting a player was extremely difficult unless they stood perfectly still.
That was because the moment a Shadow Arrow was fired, a predicted trajectory line would appear. At long range, any decent player could dodge it, and experts would slip aside effortlessly.
The Snow Fox and Shadow Wolf were already charging in.
But a cold smirk crept onto Stone Peak's lips. He knew Shadow Wolf's abilities and habits inside and out — after all, he'd spent several years in Shadow World. He took two quick steps back, forming an optimal triangle between himself, the Snow Fox, and Shadow Wolf. He gripped the beginner sword in front of his chest and stood perfectly still, waiting for their attacks to land.
"Already given up?"
When Shadow Wolf saw Stone Peak raise his sword to block, his contempt grew a notch. A player choosing to defend could reduce damage, sure — but the Snow Fox was an elite. Even a successful block would deal 50 points of damage. With only 31 HP, there was no way he could survive a single hit.
The Snow Fox struck first, lunging in with a vicious bite.
Tear!
"Right on time." Instead of retreating, Stone Peak surged forward, throwing himself into the attack.
The beginner sword caught the Snow Fox right in its jaws. He activated his life-saving skill — Parry, which could block a single frontal attack — and then used every ounce of his strength to shove the Snow Fox aside. With no ground to brace against, the Snow Fox was easily redirected straight toward Shadow Wolf.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Shadow Wolf, who had been charging straight at Stone Peak, couldn't react in time. The Snow Fox's jaws clamped down hard on his shoulder.
—164 damage popped up above Shadow Wolf's head, and his HP dropped instantly to zero.
"How is that possible?" Shadow Wolf stared in shock, eyes locked on Stone Peak's mocking grin, his heart burning with unwillingness. He had never imagined a player could do something like this. If he had known, he never would have charged in so recklessly to throw his life away.
Now, no matter how unwilling he was, with zero HP all he could do was collapse, dissolving into motes of starlight — and drop a piece of equipment in the process.
Blackie stood at a distance, dumbstruck, so stunned he even forgot to attack the Snow Fox.
"Blackie, snap out of it! Hit the Snow Fox!" Stone Peak shouted as he rushed back toward the fox.
Snapping back to his senses, Blackie chanted his spell and poured everything into attacking the Snow Fox.
Without Shadow Wolf interfering, the low-HP Snow Fox was nothing more than a sitting duck. In less than ten seconds, the fox let out a mournful cry and collapsed to the ground, motionless.
System: Killed Rare Elite Crafty Snow Fox. Gained 130 experience points.
For a Level 2 Stone Peak, this amount of experience was negligible. What caught his attention was the loot. Rare elites were every Divine World player's dream — their drop rates were incredible, and a first kill was guaranteed to yield even better results.
"No way — it even dropped a weapon?" Stone Peak pulled out a staff and a pair of gloves.
Blackwood Staff. Bronze tier. Requires 5 Strength. Equipment Level 1. Attack +8, Intelligence +3, Spirit +1, Mana +30, Durability 20/20.
This piece of equipment was a massive boost for any magic class — not only was the attack high, it added 3 Intelligence. A magic class wielding it could raise their damage by two full tiers.
Fox Skin Gloves. Leather Armor. Normal tier. Requires 3 Strength. Equipment Level 1. Defense +4, Durability 20/20.
Shadow Wolf had contributed a pair of Level 0 normal leather boots with Defense +3.
"I figured it'd be some gray trash gear, but Shadow Wolf actually got lucky — a Normal-tier drop." Stone Peak looked at his fallen adversary with a measure of respect. Getting a Normal-tier drop this early was pure luck. But now it was all his. A swordsman could wear not only plate armor but also leather, and with two new pieces, his defense had gone up considerably.
"Blackie, your gear." Stone Peak handed the Blackwood Staff to Blackie.
Blackie didn't take it. His expression was conflicful — the Snow Fox had only been killed thanks to Stone Peak, and he hadn't really contributed much. Yet here he was being handed the best piece of equipment, a Bronze-tier item that hardly any player in the current stage possessed. It was incredibly valuable.
"What's wrong? We're brothers, aren't we? No need to be polite with me. Besides, you're a Warlock — once you hit Level 1, you'll be able to get the most out of this staff. It'll speed up your leveling a lot." Stone Peak understood what was going through Blackie's mind, and he said it with complete sincerity.