In an instant, the Golden Slime King's area poison attack instantly killed every player except Kiriya! Their defense was far too weak, but Kiriya relied on his high 35 Defense to tough out the boss's strike.

  One blast of venom took 152 HP from Kiriya. He panicked and chugged a Medium Health Potion that restored 300 HP, filling 150 HP back at once, with the remaining 150 regenerating slowly over time.

  Joy exploded in Kiriya's chest, his heart pounding wildly. Lady Luck had truly favored him— the first boss in the Starter Village had spawned right next to him, and he still had dozens of potions stashed in his inventory!

  He immediately checked the boss's stats.

  [Golden Slime King] (Bronze Boss)

  Level: 15

  Attack: 88-152

  Defense: 26

  HP:???

  Attack Type: Area Poison Attack

  Kiriya sucked in a cold breath at the boss's terrifying stats. Its max Attack hit 152— no wonder it took over 150 HP from him in one hit! The boss's HP was completely unreadable; he had no idea how much health it actually had.

  Whoosh!

  The Glimmering Battle Axe sliced down through the air, slamming hard into the Golden Slime King's head. The tank-sized beast recoiled in pain, and a damage number of 138 floated above its head!

  Heh, this was doable! With his 60 Attack, he could still break its defense! After reaching Level 10, he'd added another 15 points to Strength.

  At the same time, the Golden Slime King opened its mouth and blasted a wave of venom. Kiriya's HP plummeted by another 169 points, nearly cutting his health in half!

  He chugged another Medium Health Potion at once, not backing down an inch, and swung the Glimmering Battle Axe in rapid strikes!

  In less than ten minutes, the Golden Slime King had lost nearly one-tenth of its HP. Its health pool wasn't as absurdly high as he'd feared. The real problem was the constant potion drain— his healing supplies were running dangerously low.

  Just then, figures swarmed in the distance. A massive group of players rushed over at top speed, surrounding Kiriya and the boss in an instant. Kiriya glanced up, and his heart sank.

  Every single one of these players had the CorrodedCrown prefix above their heads. The entire CorrodedCrown Guild had shown up, nearly three hundred strong!

  Damn, CorrodedCrown really had pull— to gather a force this big in the Starter Village!

  Seeing the hostile crowd closing in, Kiriya refused to fight, trapped. He immediately abandoned the half-defeated Golden Slime King and fled toward the outer forest.

  Just then, a figure pushed through the crowd and shouted sharply. "Think you can run? Not a chance! Boys, take him down! This is the brat who disrespected me earlier!"

  It was CorrodedCrown_Gorath. Beside him stood CorrodedCrown_Echo, whom Kiriya had killed earlier. CorrodedCrown_Serlin was nowhere to be seen.

  At Gorath's order, several CorrodedCrown players around Kiriya tensed up. More than half of them still held crude wooden clubs. Kiriya almost laughed— with gear like that, they dared to rob and kill?

  But many ants could bring down an elephant. Three hundred men were a force he could not fight alone.

  Kiriya gripped the Glimmering Battle Axe tightly and stared coldly at the surrounding players. He said nothing, but his posture made one thing clear: whoever struck first would get an axe to the skull!

  The club-wielding players flinched. Not one dared to step forward.

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  CorrodedCrown_Gorath flew into a rage and snarled. "Useless cowards, all of you! Attack!"

  Just then, another wave of players poured in from the distance, sealing off the outer perimeter. Their allegiance was unclear, but every pair of eyes was locked on the Golden Slime King. Word had clearly spread from the players killed ten minutes prior, a super boss had appeared, drawing all the powerful guild teams!

  These new players were all Level 8 or higher, and every ID had the CrimsonLotus prefix!

  CrimsonLotus!

  Kiriya realized in an instant. The iron sword he'd sold earlier had gone to a player named CrimsonLotus_Lusk!

  A figure pushed through the crowd at that moment— it was CrimsonLotus_Lusk. He smiled faintly. "Well, well, quite the party here. Didn't expect CorrodedCrown to show up so early."

  CrimsonLotus_Lusk had long since swapped his weapon. In his hand was a glimmering iron sword, clearly Black Iron-tier with solid stats. He'd gotten his hands on top-tier gear early, too, it seemed.

  It made sense. CrimsonLotus_Lusk was the guild leader, after all. He'd be strange if he wasn't kitted out with rare equipment.

  The CorrodedCrown players panicked at the sudden arrival of the CrimsonLotus group.

  After all, CorrodedCrown's overall strength was weak. Only a handful of players were above Level 8. CrimsonLotus, by contrast, was far more powerful. Even with just over a hundred members, they radiated dominance.

  CorrodedCrown_Gorath raised an eyebrow. "Didn't think I'd find you in this Starter Village, Lusk. Small world."

  CrimsonLotus_Lusk laughed aloud. "Didn't think your whole guild was jumping into Eternal Art Online, too. We go way back. After Sword and Rose and Lost Paradise disbanded in Blade Fantasy, only CrimsonLotus and CorrodedCrown remained to fight for the top. Funny how it's the same story here in Eternal Art Online."

  CorrodedCrown_Gorath smirked coldly. "Lusk, this is just personal business between CorrodedCrown and this kid. Do me a favor and take your men and leave. I'll handle this brat myself."

  CrimsonLotus_Lusk looked into the fray, spotted Kiriya with the Glimmering Battle Axe at once, and laughed loudly. "I can give you that favor. Your enemy is yours to deal with. But the Golden Slime King goes to CrimsonLotus. I can't send my boys back empty-handed, can I?"

  CorrodedCrown_Gorath's face turned dark, and he snapped. "Cut the crap! No one gives up a boss!"

  A player with a giant axe stepped out of the CrimsonLotus group. He'd already been promoted to Berserker, with the ID CrimsonLotus_Ragnar. He grinned broadly. "CorrodedCrown thinks they can hog the Golden Slime King? You got the muscle for it? Don't make fools of yourselves down here!"

  Ragnar's words humiliated Gorath. He flew into a rage and shouted. "Dammit! CrimsonLotus is trying to rob us blind!"

  CrimsonLotus_Lusk snapped coldly. "Save it! You're no better! You've been camping, leveling zones, and ganking solo players for ages. We'll settle that score soon enough. You know exactly what CorrodedCrown is— bullies, cowards, backstabbing trash. I heard you even run sick scams in-game. Disgraceful."

  Gorath's face turned ashen at the truth. He roared and gave the order. "Fuck it! Boys, CrimsonLotus wants war! Take them down!"

  The second he spoke, a flood of CorrodedCrown players charged forward, swinging clubs and broken swords at CrimsonLotus!

  CrimsonLotus_Lusk sneered. "Let them strike first."

  After a few clashes, several frontline CrimsonLotus players were killed— but every CorrodedCrown player turned gray-named, marked for hostile attack.

  CrimsonLotus_Ragnar laughed wildly and stepped forward, swinging his giant axe high. Red light flared, and a brutal battle aura exploded outward. The first few CorrodedCrown players were instantly killed!

  CorrodedCrown_Gorath's face twisted with rage and fear. He shouted sharply. "First squad, hold off these CrimsonLotus trash! Second and third squads, focus fire and take down the Golden Slime King now!"

  In an instant, the CrimsonLotus group was blocked outside. CorrodedCrown split their forces— half fought in a melee, half swarmed the boss!

  Kiriya slipped deep into the forest, his chest tight with frustration. The boss he'd had within reach was now a prize for two guilds. Fighting alone left him powerless at every turn!

  He refused to leave empty-handed. He hid among the trees and watched the chaos unfold quietly.

  CorrodedCrown's players were mostly low-level, but a few were skilled. One or two promoted mages hammered the Golden Slime King with Fireball Magic, becoming the main damage dealers. Wooden clubs alone couldn't break the boss's defense.

  Minutes ticked by. The Golden Slime King's HP quickly dropped below half, but its counterattacks were brutal. In a short time, over a hundred CorrodedCrown players were killed, leaving only a handful of ranged mages casting spells. All the low-level players were nothing but cannon fodder.

  On the other side, the CrimsonLotus group saw the boss's fading health and launched an all-out assault, cutting down every outer CorrodedCrown player and sending them back to the respawn point.

  White light flashed nonstop. In moments, fewer than fifty CorrodedCrown players remained!

  CorrodedCrown_Gorath knew the fight was lost. He roared in frustration. "Boys, fall back!"

  The CorrodedCrown players scattered like birds, but CrimsonLotus gave no quarter, chasing them down and killing every last one. Even Gorath himself was sent back to town by CrimsonLotus_Ragnar's axe.

  Minutes later, not a single CorrodedCrown member remained in the woods. CrimsonLotus controlled the entire field.

  After the bloody fight, around sixty CrimsonLotus players were left. Half were red-named, meaning they would lose a level if they died.

  But they would never let a Bronze-tier boss like the Golden Slime King slip away. CrimsonLotus_Lusk gave the order. "Surround it! Kill the boss!"

  Kiriya still did not leave. He stayed hidden in the forest, waiting patiently for his chance.