The power dwelling in the spear demanded me to let it out. The overflowing hungry mana whispered to me and offered plenty of violent solutions; just holding it inside was an impossible task. I had to channel it somehow or else it would explode and kill me instantly. While tightly gripping the handle, I used its power to propel myself into the air.

The moment I left the safety of Istvan’s shield, a cold salty gust of wind reached me, and one tentacle intercepted my path. My heart racing, I spun in the air, preparing to use the tip of my spear to counter the attack. The Ice bubble absorbed some of the attack's speed, but I still felt the impact.

When that stinky meat arm touched my precious spear, an enormous shriek filled the battleground, and the creature’s angry mana filled the air as an enormous pressure settled on me. That’s the Boss power for you!

As it pushed me to the ice surface of the ocean, the cold mana emanating from my spear gradually froze the tentacle that was pressing against it.

I paused for a moment, unable to fathom what I was seeing. It was like walking back from the pub. My battle prowess could rival level forty Priest, was this the power of a hero?

My moment of hesitation cost me another slash of the tentacle; the spear craved for the blood and I gave in; the force inside surged me closer to the hideous enemy. I ran over the frozen water and changed more of the water into the ice with my every step.

The Boss tried to counter my charge with vicious and desperate slashes, but my agility was more than enough to dodge every attack.

The sound of the tearing ice was like a thunderous roar that echoed throughout the frozen landscape. Through the cracks escaped salty water, which froze immediately in the air and joined the snow created from the rain, turning it into a blizzard. Ice Dance was that powerful? Sweet.

I leapt to avoid the enormous chunk of ice falling from above, but the tentacle's lightning-fast movement surprised me, and its sucker ensnared me. Yuck! Boss dragged me over the ice towards it, and let out a triumphant scream before attacking me relentlessly with other tentacles.

The impact of the crash sent me tumbling into the water, where I struggled to find my bearings in the dark and cold. My own freezing magic trapped me before I could get away, and the ice felt like it was slicing into my skin.

Help! My precious spear answered my call, and I allowed the mana in the spear to manifest, but I hadn’t expected it to enter my veins. The sensation of burning from within was so intense that I couldn't help but scream, and then there was a massive explosion as it burst out of my body.

With the ice madness providing cover, I darted towards the monster's body, narrowly avoiding the flailing tentacles and tumbling ice. Unexpected blow came from below and brought many of elite Floaters to the ice sheet. Sweet.

I tried to hide it, but a malicious grin crept onto my face, exposing my true intentions. They weren’t enemies at my level, not now. All what their fragile bodies needed to crumble was one slash. Only one slash of my mighty spear. As the blue light enveloped them, a chilling sensation spread through their bodies, and they became frozen in time.

As time was running out, I rushed forward and even soared briefly, feeling the spear's mana surge through me as I charged towards the foolish foe.

System rewarded me with nice numbers as I scored a hit on the main body. When my strike connected, a strange substance gushed out and burned my exposed body. Stupid non-existent armor, thank you, dear developers. Magic filled my veins with ice-cold blood, which provided some relief from the pain, but I couldn't help but scream.

“You! You ugly, dirty, stupid Boss!” I slashed again, and the substance covered my entire body. Terrific.

The Boss was most dangerous from a distance, but his only defensive mechanism for close range was his stupid acid. Ice Dance slowed his movements and the battle-hungry spear absorbed his blood, so I worked fast to dwindle it down. As my last strike, I sliced through the gelatinous body and won the battle.

Hey System, aren’t you stingy? World-Boss and only this? I guess the spear did most of the work, but still…

After the big guy was out of the commission, I ran back to the ship - there was an ongoing battle after all. I took advantage of the still function spear and wreaked havoc on the enemy; they fell like level one noobs. We defeated the final floater, and there was still time left. I was searching for any enemy with a hungry stare, Istvan’s fragile body entering my eyes, and the same sinister smile as before emerged.

“Easy now, Hero. The fight is over,” he said calmly and walked towards me.

I locked eyes with him, my spear held firmly in my hands, poised to strike. “No, it’s not! En garde!” I pierced the space between us, but he somehow dodged my furious attack. With only a few movements of his staff, he finished a strange spell, and my precious spear disappeared.

“Hero! Your reckless charge almost cost us the fight! You achieved the victory, but your soul was on the line. Never do that again. Never!” Istvan’s hard voice penetrated the sweet feeling of power. The ice shielding my pain subdued, and I could only stare at him. How? How could I, an experienced warrior, get submerged in it? 

“Let’s focus on what’s important, Istvan,” Duke said, his voice confidence and powerful as ever, so no one had the right to object. “Hero, kneel!” I blinked a few times at his strange request. Request to kneel now could mean only two things, and I focused on the getting executed part as I crashed down on my knees.

The sun shone on a beautiful meadow full of dangerous wasp monsters. On one end of the meadow, specifically on the ridge, a crude stone wall was being built. Players ran around without abandon and worked without stopping, which made corners of Lucas’ mouth go up.

Ian, dressed in colorful blue assassin clothes, just came in and stared at the bustling fledging fortress in disbelief. He never imagined something like this would be possible without a guild.

Although he had hoped to find Charlie, stumbling upon this opportunity was just as well. Whatever her plans were, he was ready to destroy them, so he asked, “This is insane! Why are the players working like that? Are you some secret millionaire, Lucas?”

Lucas eyed him slowly and hid his mouth in a scarf to appear more mysterious.

I'm loaded, got more money than I know what to do with. You gotta invest in this fortress,” he said calmly, but the amused look in his eyes betrayed his emotions. What an amateur liar, Ian thought.

With a mixture of excitement and nerves, a small girl interrupted them, let out a scream, and fidgeted. “Lucas! I am done with my quest! I can make more. Please give me another!”

“Of course I can do that, Lilith108.” As was Lucas talking, he was already playing with the system menu.

“It’s only Lilith for you, Lucas! You can drop the numbers!” she jumped around and adjusted some loose stones on the wall.

“For this to work, I need to be exact. We don’t want to give a quest to someone else, do we, Lilith?”

“Thanks! I will be right back!” she yelled and quickly ran like it was her life on the line.

“Lucas, are they working for free? What the hell?” Ian studied running Lilith with a glare and shook his head. The evil Charlie was exploiting the game for sure!

“Do you know how rare is to find a work for builders? I am the only one around giving them quests, and I always max out the reward. Yeah, it is costly in terms of the fortress’ debt, but if the system allows it, why wouldn’t I do it?” Lucas’ smile only got bigger and punched Ian to his shoulder. “Forget about that. Let’s get some fun. Have you seen the monsters around? An ideal farming spot! If you can hold wasps for a moment…”

“No way. Have you seen them? Level ten with poison! Get a proper warrior and healer and then we could think about it.” Ian shook his head and pointed out the flaws in Lucas’ plan. For him, it was unthinkable to defeat Wasp with something less than a full party of high leveled trusted allies. Which Lucas wasn’t either.

“Don’t worry, if you smash their sting hard, it will fall off and they won’t attack. And…”

After more persuasion, they proceeded to the meadow and Lucas pulled two Wasps with his trusty spark spell. As the enemy approached, Ian's muscles tensed, and he made a swift, decisive move to slash at their stings. At least he tried. Wasps dodged his attack and poisoned him.

“Only a madman would try this, Lucas! Are you doing this because I ran without paying yesterday?”