Liam had already noticed what was happening nearby, but he said nothing, his focus remaining entirely on the Raging Mustelid.
After dealing with the streamer, Shadow-Slayer didn’t bother re-entering stealth. He stood a short distance away, watching the fight as if providing backup for Liam.
Eight minutes later...
Ding! You have slain the Novice Village Hidden Boss: Raging Mustelid. Experience +15,495.
Ding! You have achieved the First Kill of the Raging Mustelid. A Server-Wide Broadcast is about to commence. Would you like to hide your name?
"No."
Server-Wide Broadcast: Congratulations to player Frost Monarch for achieving the First Kill of the Raging Mustelid. This feat is hereby recorded. May all players continue to strive for excellence.
Server-Wide Broadcast: Congratulations to player Frost Monarch for achieving the First Kill of the Raging Mustelid. This feat is hereby recorded. May all players continue to strive for excellence.
...
"Holy sht, another first kill? What kind of boss is the Raging Mustelid? Is it in the Capital City?"
"No idea. I don't think that boss even exists in the Novice Village."
"Frost Monarch isn't on the Level Leaderboard yet. I checked the Level 10 players, and he’s not there. He’s still in the Novice Village."
...
Players everywhere began to buzz with excitement. Meanwhile, The Riverside Don, just emerging from the Altar of Rebirth, heard the system announcement. He pulled up his stream recording and froze.
"That was Frost Monarch?"
"I'm gonna be rich! I actually caught a video of Frost Monarch soloing a boss!"
At that moment, Riverside Don completely forgot about being killed. He frantically edited the footage and uploaded it to the web.
Title: Frost Monarch solos Novice Village Hidden Boss! Absolute Insanity!
As the video hit the Twilight of the Gods forums, it skyrocketed to the top of the trending list. Casual players just watched for the spectacle; Liam’s infinite juggle technique was too advanced for them to see the problem. It was like an ordinary person watching a nuclear explosion—they saw the mushroom cloud but couldn't fathom the complex physics behind it.
However, within five minutes, the video was playing on the big screens of every major club’s analysis room. Large guilds and professional organizations called emergency meetings.
Dream-Chaser Club!
Misty Snow logged off to chair the emergency session. Three analysts, General Manager Harvey Sterling, and several top-tier Archers were present in the conference room.
"Cousin, I think Frost Monarch is just using some skill that lets him repeatedly knock up targets," Harvey said, speaking first. He knew next to nothing about actual gameplay and failed to see the sheer technical skill on display.
"You don't know a damn thing!" Misty snapped. "And call me Boss in the office."
The three analysts trembled. Twilight of the Gods had only been live for a short time, and they lacked sufficient data.
"Boss, his drawing style is wrong," one analyst pointed out. "Look closely—the arrows are spinning at high speeds in the air. He’s definitely using a specific combat technique."
"What about you guys?" Misty looked at the Archer pros.
One of them spoke with a grave expression. "Boss, that is indeed a mechanical technique. I’ve seen a Hunter do something similar before. He could keep a puppet suspended in the air indefinitely. According to him, it requires perfect anticipation. The moment you loose the first arrow, you already have to calculate the position of the third and fourth. One mistake, and the juggle ends."
The Archer sighed. "I thought about using this in Twilight of the Gods once it launched, but I never expected someone to already be this proficient."
Misty nodded. "It matches my theory. Since this is a full-dive VR game, many real-world combat techniques can be replicated here. In fact, because of stat buffs, things that are impossible in reality might be achievable in-game."
Harvey didn't seem to care. "Boss, no matter how good he is, he's only Level 9. He’s still miles behind you."
Misty gave Harvey a cold look before turning back to the Archers. "If I made you practice this technique, how long would it take?"
The room went silent. After a long pause, the pro Archer replied, "With dedicated practice? About five years."
"What?!" Misty was stunned. Five years?
"Boss, archery depends heavily on Innate Talent. A freak of nature might master it in three months, but those people are one in a million. To reach Frost Monarch's level of mastery—juggling a boss like that—we might not even get there in ten years."
Misty’s face darkened. "Understood." She logged back into the game.
It wasn't just Dream-Chaser. Every major club in the Dragon Empire was scrutinizing the footage. They all arrived at the same terrifying conclusion: Liam’s mechanics were absurd—utterly beyond what a normal human should be capable of.
Server Trumpet: Dream-Chaser Club cordially invites Frost Monarch to join us. Annual salary of 100 million, with all other benefits negotiable!
Server Trumpet: Dream-Chaser Club cordially invites Frost Monarch to join us. Annual salary of 100 million, with all other benefits negotiable!
...
The sound of a Server Trumpet was similar to a World Broadcast—everyone heard it. Since Liam had disabled friend requests and private messages from strangers, this was the only way to reach him. However, a single Trumpet cost ten Gold Sovereigns. While Liam had plenty, few others could afford to burn money like this.
Just as Dream-Chaser's announcement faded, another blared.
Server Trumpet: Asura Guild cordially invites Frost Monarch. Annual salary of 110 million plus the position of Vice Guild Master. Benefits negotiable.
Server Trumpet: Asura Guild cordially invites Frost Monarch. Annual salary of 110 million plus the position of Vice Guild Master. Benefits negotiable.
...
Server Trumpet: Berserker Guild cordially invites Frost Monarch. Annual salary of 110 million, Vice Guild Master status, and a luxury villa. Benefits negotiable.
The succession of Trumpets sent the internet into a frenzy.
"Holy sht, did I hear that right? A 100 million starting salary? Is that real money or Monopoly money?"
"I'm floored. He’s just Level 9. How can these clubs be fighting over him? Aren't they afraid he's just a flash in the pan?"
"Shut the hell up if you don't know what you're talking about. Frost Monarch’s infinite juggle is something most people couldn't pull off in ten years."
"Clubs aren't stupid. If they’re offering that much, it’s because he’s worth it."
While the world was losing its mind, Liam was busy looting the corpse.
Ding! You have obtained 45 Skill Tomes.
Ding! You have obtained 65 pieces of equipment.
Ding! You have obtained 500 Gold Sovereigns.
Ding! You have completed the First Kill of a Hidden Boss. AP +10.
Ding! You have obtained 1 Quest Scroll.
Ding! You have obtained 1 Mysterious Key.
Liam grinned. These rewards were incredible. The Mustelid had been a Bard in its past life, so it carried quite a few treasures. He scanned the loot. Surprisingly, there were actually some things he could use, though not many.
Out of the 45 Skill Tomes, Liam picked out three that suited his class. One was a basic attack buff—better than nothing. The second was a movement speed buff, which was exactly what he needed. His current weakness was mobility.
Sprint: 1-Star Rank
Effect: Increases movement speed by 0.5 for 10 seconds.
Cooldown: 5 minutes.
Cost: 10 MP.
Mastery: 0/100.
Mastery increased by one point every time the skill was used. But a flat 0.5 increase was somewhat underwhelming for Liam compared to a percentage buff. Learning too many skills could be a distraction; having too many buttons to press often led to hesitation and clunky rotations. He set the book aside for now.
The third skill, however...
Invincible Aegis: 1-Star Rank
Effect: Grants invincibility for 0.5 seconds.
Cooldown: 24 hours.
Cost: 100 MP.
Mastery: 0/10.
This was a God-tier skill. Don't let the 0.5-second duration fool you—that would surely increase with levels. The problem was the 100 MP cost. Liam only had 50 MP total. He couldn't even cast it. It was ridiculous.
Should he dump AP into Mana? He was reluctant. Even Agility felt like a better investment. In the early game, Mana was the bane of many players, especially Mages who were heavily reliant on it. But Mages had gear for that. Archers? Archer gear focused on attack, speed, and crit. Mana-boosting gear was practically non-existent.
He had 10 Attribute Points from the kill. He didn't put them into Attack Velocity; 3.63 was enough for now. He needed speed, and he needed Mana. Even if he couldn't spam Invincible Aegis, he needed to start grinding its Mastery.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Liam dumped all 10 points into Mana, bringing his total to 100. He immediately activated Invincible Aegis, gaining his first point of Mastery.
Liam’s gaze shifted to the Assassin standing nearby.
Shadow-Slayer took a step forward. "Let me introduce myself. I'm Shadow-Slayer, an external operative for the Dragon Ministry of War."
Liam was inwardly surprised. Shadow-Slayer! This man would become a legendary Divine-Grade Assassin in his past life. Not only did he possess a Divine Innate Talent, but he came from a special military background—rumored to be a high-profile mercenary before being recruited. His combat experience was vast.
He could have been the absolute strongest Assassin if not for his Saintly-Grade Hidden Class, which slightly capped his potential. If both his class and talent had been Divine-Grade, he would have been peerless.
"What do you want?" Liam asked calmly.
"Frost Monarch, the Ministry is forming a Spec-Ops Division within the game," Shadow-Slayer said seriously. "We want you to join."
Liam knew about the Spec-Ops Division. In his past life, when the Cataclysm hit, this group became the backbone of the resistance against the Alait System. It was because of them that people like Liam could live in relative peace.
"I'll need to think about it."
Liam didn't reject him outright. He respected the division, but if he joined, he wouldn't be a foot soldier. He wanted to be in management—the man in charge. Otherwise, it wasn't worth it.
"You aren't going to ask about the benefits?" Shadow-Slayer asked, assuming the hesitation was a polite rejection.
Liam chuckled and shook his head. "No need. I have things to handle. Besides, now isn't the time for me to be negotiating terms with you."
He hadn't shown enough yet. He had their attention, but not enough leverage to demand real power.
"Fair enough. Just know that our benefits are much better than what those clubs or guilds can offer."
"I'm sure." Liam waved him off.
Shadow-Slayer turned to leave, but Liam called out. "Wait."
Shadow-Slayer looked back, surprised. "What? Changed your mind?"
Liam shook his head. "I understand you trying to steal the boss. World bosses are fair game. But you tried to kill me afterward. That’s where you messed up."
Shadow-Slayer’s eyes narrowed. "What are you planning?"
"Nothing much. Just giving you a free trip back to the village!"
Whiz!
Liam loosed an arrow. Shadow-Slayer’s hand twitched toward his daggers instinctively, but seeing the incoming projectile, he let out a breath and lowered his weapons. He took two arrows to the chest and dissolved into light.
"We're even now, right?" he muttered just before he vanished.
Liam ignored the death and pulled out the Quest Scroll he'd gotten from the Raging Mustelid. This one was interesting.
In ancient times, the Scion of the Golden Emperor died and became Hanba the Drought-Bringer. He fought for the Golden Emperor against Chiyou the Primordial, only to be sealed by Chiyou beneath the Novice Village.
Quest Requirement: Release the sealed Scion of the Golden Emperor.
Penalty: All fire-element damage taken will be doubled permanently.
Reward: Unknown.
This quest was the direct opposite of the one from the Hydra-Cypress. One wanted the village destroyed to prevent Hanba’s release; this one wanted Hanba freed.
Then, Liam spotted a loophole. The Hydra-Cypress quest didn't actually say he had to keep Hanba sealed. It just said to kill the NPCs and destroy the Altar of Rebirth. This quest said to release Hanba. The requirements didn't technically contradict each other.
In other words, Liam could complete both.