As the Mutated Alpha Wolf roared again and again, its health bar plummeted.

  8 million...

  5 million...

  ...

  At 4 million HP, its form began to change. It swelled to the size of a rhinoceros, its fur standing on end and shifting from pure white to a blood-red. Its attack and speed had undoubtedly gone up a tier, but its resistances hadn't changed.

  For Kael, the transformation was meaningless. His damage output remained steady.

  This didn't last long, however.

  When the Alpha's health hit 1 million, it threw its head back and let out a final, world-shaking howl. A mystical energy enveloped its body.

  [Aura of the Wolf God]!

  With a sharp crack, the golden threads of Silkbind Shot binding its legs instantly shattered. Not only that, but any new arrows from the Galeharrow failed to root it.

  At the same time, the divine aura acted as a shield, slowing Kael's arrows as they passed through. His DPS dropped by 20%.

  In the blink of an eye, the wolf closed the distance to under 30 yards.

  CRACK!

  A lightning bolt as thick as a tree trunk smashed down on Kael.

  -13845

  Half his health vanished.

  Kael instantly downed a health potion and switched his ammunition: [Primal Core Arrows]! Simultaneously, he activated his newly learned skill.

  [Arrow of Dawn] activated: Your damage is increased by 20%, and your attacks ignore all of the target's buffs and active skill effects. Duration: 10 seconds.

  He drew a single stone arrow and fired. As the mundane-looking projectile met the Wolf God's shimmering aura, it passed through without any resistance, sinking deep into the Alpha's hide.

  -31751 (Knockback)

  The stone arrow sent the massive wolf flying backward, stopping only when it was a full 50 yards away from Kael. Arrow of Dawn negated all buffs.

  Next, Kael switched to an ice arrow.

  -98259 (Frozen, Critical Hit)

  The Alpha was frozen solid on the spot. Before it could shatter the ice, a fire arrow arrived.

  -120619 (Critical Hit)

  Not only was the damage insane, but with the aura suppressed, Galeharrow's Silkbind Shot effect worked once more, wrapping the wolf in golden threads and pinning it down.

  Under the effects of Arrow of Dawn, the Mutated Alpha Wolf was completely shut down. By the time the ten-second skill duration ended, the wolf's health bar hit zero.

  System: You have slain the Mutated Alpha Wolf. You have gained 20,000,000 EXP.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  The wolf exploded in a shower of loot. A quick glance showed at least twenty or thirty pieces of equipment alone, including two Ascendant items and ten Legendaries. This was typical for a field boss; its loot table was designed to supply a 100-man raid.

  Kael picked out two items for himself: an Ascendant bow and a Legendary leather chest piece. Neither was a major upgrade for him, but he could pass them along to Elon.

  Only after Kael had taken his share did Draevan send his men to collect the rest. After Kael casually dispatched the remaining thirty elite wolves, the members of Titan Guard erupted in cheers.

  Draevan stared at the scene, feeling like he was in a dream. He'd spent three days organizing ten guilds, fought for nearly four hours, and had been utterly defeated.

  Dawnbreaker had just shown up, fired his bow for two minutes, and solved the entire problem. The gap in their power was just... astronomical.

  Draevan looked down at the Obsidian Greatsword in his hands and sighed. His Ascendant weapon was ranked higher than Galeharrow, yet he felt completely outclassed. He turned, curious to inspect the stats on Kael's bow, only to find that Kael was already busy with something else.

  He was hacking away at the spot where the Alpha Wolf had been lying, using a common shovel. Draevan remembered their agreement and immediately ordered his guild members to form a protective perimeter.

  Just then, a series of system notifications began to pop up for him.

  System: You are affected by a mysterious power. You gain 100,000 EXP.

  System: You are affected by a mysterious power. You gain +1 Agility.

  .....

  Draevan stared at the notifications, confused. What is this? He wasn't the only one. His teammates started chattering in the guild chat.

  "Hey, did my XP bar just go up on its own?"

  "Yeah, and I got +1 Intellect!"

  "I think it's ticking up every minute!"

  "Me too, but why didn't I get a stat point?"

  .....

  In the center of it all, Kael, who was doing all the work, was gaining nothing. Hearing the players' chatter around him, he just shook his head and kept digging. He didn't dare say a word. If they knew what he was really doing here, they'd probably mob him.

  The peace didn't last long. The other guilds had left scouts behind, and word of the free XP and stat farm spread like wildfire.

  Players who had just left came rushing back. Who could pass this up? 100,000 experience per minute was faster than most of them could get by grinding mobs.

  The members of Titan Guard saw the returning wave of players and quickly secured the best spots in the clearing, worried they'd be pushed out.

  One of the other guild leaders walked up to Draevan, a forced smile on his face. "That's a dick move, Draevan!"

  Draevan grunted. "What are you talking about?"

  "If you were just going to invite Dawnbreaker to kill the boss, why'd you have to torture the rest of us for hours?"

  Before Draevan could explain, another guild leader joined in. "Yeah, was this your plan all along, Draevan? To weaken our guilds?"

  "He's right, this is bullshit."

  Draevan's head started to throb from their incessant bickering. He finally snapped. "Enough!" he roared. "Dawnbreaker is right over there! You have a problem, take it up with him!"

  "Where?" The guild leaders had mostly been summoned back by their members mid-journey and hadn't seen the final fight. They assumed Dawnbreaker had left after the kill.

  They all looked where Draevan was pointing and saw a lone player hacking away at the ground with a shovel, his ID glowing a blood-red.

  Curiosity piqued, one of them decided to get a closer look at the server's number one player. He took a few steps forward, but Draevan's cold voice stopped him.

  "Don't say I didn't warn you. Dawnbreaker's orders were clear: anyone who comes within 10 yards of him dies."

  Kael, who had said no such thing, kept digging.

  "Ahem!" The guild leader froze. All of them looked at Draevan, then back at the digging player, and laughed awkwardly. "I was just... stretching my legs. It's getting crowded out here."

  "Right, right, way too crowded."

  They weren't wrong. As more and more players heard about the XP farm, a massive crowd began to form. Soon, the entire clearing was a sea of people.

  "Hey, squeeze in a bit, I'm not getting any XP out here!"

  "Squeeze where? I'm already standing on one foot!"

  "Ow, stop pushing!"

  "Whose hand is on my boob?!"

  "Get off my leg!"

  "Stop shoving! I'm gonna get pregnant if you push any harder!"

  ...

  The scene became a strange spectacle. Two circles had formed, with Kael at the epicenter.

  The first was a ten-yard-wide circle of empty space around him. The second was a massive, hundred-yard-wide ring of players packed shoulder-to-shoulder.

  More people were arriving every second, unable to get into the experience-granting zone.

  Finally, someone on the outer edge couldn't take it anymore. A flicker of orange light appeared.

  Someone cast Firewall, a blazing wall of fire erupting in the crowded zone.