His arrow had barely left the string when the four zombies lunged.
They all triggered Rampage.
Liam instinctively tried to dodge.
Unfortunately, with his movement speed slashed by fifty percent, he was powerless to evade the zombies' explosive charge.
Boom!
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...
A string of damage numbers erupted above Liam’s head.
He waited for the duration of their skills to lapse before launching a ferocious counterattack.
Every single one of Liam's strikes landed as a critical hit.
With five percent Life-Steal, Liam recovered over four hundred HP every second.
When factored in with the buffs from Resurgence, the Treant Set, and The Ninefold Longbow, his health regeneration reached a staggering eleven hundred per second.
Five hundred from Resurgence, one hundred and thirty from the incomplete Treant Set, one hundred from The Ninefold Longbow, and over four hundred from Life-Steal.
Such a recovery rate was terrifying.
Even facing the onslaught of four Black Iron Grade bosses simultaneously, he managed to stabilize his position.
A grin spread across Liam’s face.
As long as he could hold his ground, the rest of the fight would be significantly easier.
However, the Purple-Haired Zombie’s next move caused his expression to shift instantly.
The Purple-Haired Zombie activated Bite.
He tried his best to weave through the attacks, using his arrows to kite and interrupt their momentum.
But with both his movement speed and Attack Velocity impaired, he could only keep two of the Purple-Haired Zombies at bay at once.
He couldn't cover every angle.
The inevitable result was the Purple-Haired Zombie sinking its teeth into him.
-1,958
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...
Liam felt a wave of frustration. This Bite also applied a poison effect, and it stacked with the damage from Miasma Surge.
With the double poison debuff burning through his veins, his health began to plummet even faster.
Left with no other choice, Liam pushed for a swift resolution.
Finally, the first Purple-Haired Zombie collapsed.
Liam breathed a sigh of relief. With one of them dead, the stacks of Miasma Surge began to drop, and the per-second damage he took followed suit.
Then came the second, and the third!
When the last Purple-Haired Zombie finally fell, Liam collapsed into a sitting position on the ground.
"Holy sht!"
Having no poison cleanse or debuff removal skills was a massive handicap.
This was exactly where the importance of a Priest became clear.
If Liam had even a mediocre Priest by his side to cleanse the toxins and clear the debuffs, this fight would have been a walk in the park.
And these were only Black Iron Grade bosses.
If he had to face World Bosses later on, the pressure would be exponentially higher.
He waited for his HP to return to full before locking his gaze on the path ahead.
The layout here was remarkably similar to The Twisted Thicket. Therefore, the final encounter would likely be a Bronze Grade boss.
He stepped into the final chamber.
Liam’s eyes immediately scanned the room.
At the far end of the chamber stood two crystal coffins.
A withered corpse lay inside the coffin on the left, while the one on the right was completely empty.
Liam frowned.
Whiz!
In the next heartbeat, Liam spun around and loosed an arrow into the air.
A hideous zombie had materialized behind him, its claws less than a centimeter from his flesh.
Fortunately, Liam’s Spiral-Draw Archery was already away. The massive impact packed into the arrow sent the zombie flying backward.
Liam immediately began backpedaling to create distance, his hands moving in a blur as he rained down arrows.
At the same time, he checked the zombie’s stats.
Frost-Flame Corpse King (Bronze)
Level: 10
HP: 1,091,320 / 1,100,000
Attack: 1,560
Skills: Rampage, Frost-Fire Purgatory, Frost Nova, Soul Immolation, Legion of Shadows, Frost-Fire Wheel.
Liam quirked an eyebrow but didn't hesitate, his arrows continuing to fly.
The Frost-Flame Corpse King was incredibly fast. No sooner had Liam’s arrow left the string than the boss had already blurred away from its original position.
Furthermore, for a zombie, the Frost-Flame Corpse King’s reaction time was far swifter than Liam had anticipated.
Its agility was well beyond his expectations.
Still, this wasn't enough to leave Liam helpless.
Now that his Attack Velocity was no longer suppressed, four arrows a second were more than enough to zone the Frost-Flame Corpse King and cut off its avenues of movement.
Liam’s shots were aimed with surgical precision, forcing the Frost-Flame Corpse King into a corner where there was nowhere left to dodge.
Realizing it couldn't evade, the Frost-Flame Corpse King stopped trying.
It tanked an arrow directly and charged at Liam with blistering speed.
As it ran, it raised a hand, and a ball of flame ignited in its palm.
Then, something Liam found utterly absurd happened.
The moment the Frost-Flame Corpse King raised its hand, flames erupted across Liam's own body as well.
"Ding! You are affected by Flame Burn. You will take continuous damage."
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...
Liam’s skin crawled.
This kind of "certain-hit" locking skill that dealt damage over time put him under immense pressure.
Especially since the opponent was a Bronze boss with impressive base stats across the board.
Whiz!
Liam had no way to cleanse the burn, so his only option was to ramp up his damage output and kill the Frost-Flame Corpse King as quickly as possible.
The Frost-Flame Corpse King was too nimble; out of every four arrows Liam fired, only one or two would find their mark.
Because it was so difficult to hit its weak points, his critical hit rate dropped significantly.
After dodging another of Liam’s arrows, the Frost-Flame Corpse King raised both hands.
Liam’s face darkened.
"Ding! You are affected by Frost-Fire Purgatory. You will take continuous damage."
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...
Liam’s mind raced. What the hell is this thing?
The monster was a nightmare. Between the various negative effects and two different locking DOT (damage over time) skills, it wasn't giving him any room to breathe or outplay the mechanics.
"If this keeps up, I might not actually clear this dungeon."
Liam’s expression turned grim.
His stats were already monstrous. If he couldn't even clear this place, it would be an unacceptable failure.
With that thought, Liam’s aim became even more lethal.
He began predicting movements.
Leading a target was a basic skill for an Archer, but the gap between a pro and an average player was a vast chasm.
Under Liam’s total concentration and predictive firing, the Frost-Flame Corpse King finally began to buckle.
"Now!"
Liam seized a split-second opening and knocked the Frost-Flame Corpse King into the air.
He immediately followed up with a relentless Aerial Combo, racking up massive damage.
"You're not getting another chance."
Liam’s eyes were cold and focused. He refused to let himself lose.
In this state of absolute focus, the outcome was already decided.
Every tiny movement the Frost-Flame Corpse King made was dissected by Liam’s eyes.
He ensured the boss never had a chance to touch the ground.
While maintaining the Suspension, Liam simultaneously timed his shots to interrupt every skill the boss tried to activate.
He had pushed his kiting and combat control to the absolute limit.
Ding! You have slain the Frost-Flame Corpse King. You have gained 10,850 EXP. As you have not left the Novice Village, this experience cannot be acquired.
Ding! You have achieved the Server First Clear for "The Lost Princess." A Server-Wide Broadcast is about to commence. Would you like to hide your name?
"Hide it."
Ding! Congratulations to [Anonymous] for achieving the Server First Clear of "The Lost Princess." This announcement serves as a testament to their feat. May all players continue to strive for excellence!
Ding! Congratulations to [Anonymous] for achieving the Server First Clear of "The Lost Princess." This announcement serves as a testament to their feat. May all players continue to strive for excellence!
The Lost Princess!
A Hidden Instance in the Novice Village!
At this stage, the first wave of players had already migrated to the Capital City. Consequently, a Level 8 dungeon didn’t attract much attention. No one expected a lowly Level 8 instance to drop anything of real value.
In Stonepeak City, Bulwark Pagoda pulled up his friend list. He had been keeping a close eye on Liam.
Liam had reached Level 10 quite some time ago. Given his capabilities, it made no sense for his leveling to stagnate for this long. The most likely explanation was that Liam simply hadn't left the Novice Village yet.
Bulwark Pagoda wanted to ask what was going on, but the words stayed in his throat. He wasn't the only one; scouts from other major clubs had noticed the same anomaly.
Liam was still in the Novice Village.
"Is he dealing with something offline? Did something delay his progress?"
"What a waste. He has a great Innate Talent, but after falling behind for this long, he'll be lucky to rank among the upper-middle tier even if he tries to catch up later."
Misty Snow shook her head in disappointment as she reviewed the latest report on Liam.
Level 10, yet still loitering in the Novice Village—it was almost certainly an IRL distraction. This was the prevailing theory among the clubs. After all, considering Liam’s talent and stats, there was no other logical explanation for such a delay.
They had no idea that Liam wasn't being held back by real-world issues. He was currently embroiled in a terrifying story quest—one that, if completed, would fundamentally reshape the entire Novice Village.
Ding! Calculating rewards for the Server First Clear...
Ding! You have received 31 Skill Tomes.
Ding! You have received 42 pieces of equipment.
Ding! You have received 120 Gold Sovereigns.
Ding! You have received +20 AP.
Ding! You have received 1 Frost-Flame Ore.
A smile spread across Liam's face.
The second Frost-Fire Mana Ore was finally his.
As he was scanning his loot, something shifted ahead of him.
The ice-aspected energy within the Frost-Flame Corpse King’s body began to peel away, manifesting as a physical essence. This frigid power drifted through the air, eventually settling into the withered corpse resting within the crystal coffin.
As the body absorbed the energy, the desiccated flesh began to rejuvenate at a visible rate.
Liam’s brow furrowed. Was there a hidden boss in this Hidden Instance?
A "Hidden Boss" usually referred to a secondary encounter that triggered after a dungeon was cleared due to specific conditions. He could have chosen to leave immediately, since the clearance rewards were already in his inventory, but he wasn't one to back down. He wanted to see exactly what this hidden entity was.
CRACK!
With a deafening explosion, the crystal coffin shattered. A woman with porcelain skin, delicate features, and long, silver-white hair stood before him.
Liam fixed his gaze on her, and his pulse quickened as the UI appeared.
Princess Leona: ???
HP: ???
ATK: ???
Skills: ???
His expression darkened. Every single stat was masked by question marks.
In Twilight of the Gods, anyone carrying a title like Princess, Prince, or General was usually bad news for the unprepared.
"Adventurer, was it you who saved me?"
Liam gave a curt nod. "I suppose you could say that."
Leona remained remarkably composed. She studied Liam for a long moment before speaking. "Since you saved my life, I shall offer you two gifts. However, you may only choose one to take with you."
Liam’s eyes lit up. A hidden reward trigger?
"The first choice," she began, "is a title. You can become a Viscount of our Star-Rank The Astral Kingdom and receive a Fiefdom of your own."
Liam sucked in a sharp breath.
A Lord's Heart?
In the early game, obtaining a Lord's Heart was virtually impossible. Furthermore, Leona had offered him the status of a Viscount—actual nobility. Being a noble within a Kingdom carried an immense array of hidden benefits.
However, he suppressed his excitement and asked, "And the second choice?"
Leona produced a pale blue jade pendant.
"This is a relic passed down from The Godfall Epoch. It grants the wearer eighty percent Crowd Control Reduction."
Liam's eyes widened.
Eighty percent? That was beyond broken.
"What is your choice?"
Liam hesitated only for a heartbeat before pointing to the pendant. "I'll take the jade."
Based on his past life's experience, acquiring a Lord's Heart to establish a Fiefdom wasn't that difficult if you knew where to look. Besides, Viscount was only the second-lowest rank of nobility. While the Star-Rank The Astral Kingdom was decent in the early game, it became increasingly irrelevant as the world expanded into the mid-to-late game.
But that pendant... that was a different story. Eighty percent CC reduction was a god-tier stat regardless of the level cap or game phase.
Leona looked at him with a hint of surprise, clearly not expecting him to favor a piece of gear over land and title.
"Is a Viscounty and a Fiefdom in our Kingdom truly worth less than a single trinket to you?"
Liam shook his head. "It's not that a Viscounty is bad, or that the Fiefdom is lacking. And it's certainly not a slight against your Kingdom."
He shrugged. "To each their own."
Leona offered a faint, helpless smile and handed him the pendant.
Purifying Jade Amulet (Special Equipment)
Requirement: Can only be equipped by the intended recipient. Cannot be dropped or stolen. Cannot be equipped if taken by force.
Effect: Grants 80% Resistance to Control, Knockback, Slow, Curse, Poison, Burn, Freeze, Paralysis, and other negative debuffs.
Durability: 100
Liam grinned, thoroughly satisfied.
This effect was absolutely monstrous. Even during the height of The Cataclysm, these stats would be considered legendary. As he equipped the Purifying Jade Amulet, a sense of relief washed over him. This was a massive windfall.
Next, he sorted through the rest of the gear and skill books.
To his disappointment, there wasn't a single item or skill he could actually use. The only truly valuable takeaways were the AP and the Frost-Flame Ore.
However, according to Old Grog, there should have been two ores here. Only one had dropped so far.
That meant there was still one more out there.
Liam exited the instance and immediately tried to re-enter. To his surprise, something had changed.
The "Hell" difficulty setting had vanished.
"Did rescuing Leona permanently remove the Hell Difficulty?"