NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 18: Silver Wolf King
Ethan sprinted for five or six minutes before finally reaching the depths of Silver Wolf Valley. There, standing proudly, was an enormous silver wolf with an air of majesty and dominance, its head held high in arrogance.
"Wow, this thing looks fierce just from its posture," Ethan muttered, casting [Insight] on the creature.
[Silver Wolf King] (Bronze-tier Boss)
Level: 10
Health: 200,000
Attack: 550
Defense: 200
Speed: 40
Skill 1: [Swift Dash]
The Silver Wolf King lets out a long howl, increasing its attack speed and movement speed by 50% for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes.
Skill 2: [Ferocious Howl]
The Silver Wolf King howls toward the sky, dealing 130% defense-piercing soundwave damage to all targets within a 10-meter radius and reducing their output by 30% for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute.
Skill 3: [Summon]
When the Silver Wolf King's health drops below 30%, it summons nearby silver wolves to join the battle.
"Holy crap, a Bronze-tier boss! That means it can drop Bronze-tier gear. But those stats are insane—200,000 health? Even if it stood still and let me hit it, I'd need over two hours to kill it. And those skills are nasty. The second one alone can instantly kill me with my current health. Seriously, how is this thing a novice village boss? And the third skill… How many silver wolves are in this valley? If they all show up, there's no way I can fight them." Ethan felt both frustrated and disappointed. He had been hoping for a huge payout, but this boss seemed beyond his reach.
"Forget it. I can't beat it, but I can avoid it." Ethan decided to back off. "I'll level up to 10 first and focus on class advancement. That's the real priority." With that, he resumed grinding.
Meanwhile, outside Novice Village 8365, other novice villages were buzzing with activity as various large guilds organized raids to attempt the Wild Boar King. The reason? Someone from Novice Village 8365 had posted the stats of the [Tusk Greatblade] on the forums, sparking widespread envy. Black Iron gear was leagues above White Label gear, and now everyone wanted to take down the Wild Boar King, thinking it was doable since someone else had already done it.
Reality, however, hit them hard. Numerous teams suffered heavy losses, yet not a single one managed to defeat the Wild Boar King. Many teams tried to brute-force their way through, only to get the boss down to 10% health before it regenerated back to 30% due to its healing skill. After five minutes, it would heal again, making it impossible to kill with their current damage output. With 120 defense, very few players could even pierce its armor, let alone deal significant damage.
The forums erupted in chaos, with countless players tagging Sealed, desperately seeking answers on how he had managed to kill the Wild Boar King. But no response came.
"The forums are going wild," Liam said, closing his forum window with a smirk. Unlike Ethan, who was too busy grinding to notice, many players were avidly following the discussions.
"Should we join the crowd? I'd like to know how he did it too," Harold said.
"He probably has a talent that counters the Wild Boar King's healing. Otherwise, there's no way anyone could deal 15,000 damage within five minutes, especially with its 120 defense," Jeremy said confidently.
Meanwhile...
"Miss, didn't you say you know who Sealed is? Can you ask him how he defeated the Wild Boar King?" Uncle Lee asked Sophia Mueller curiously.
Sophia's previously calm and aloof expression turned frosty as she huffed. "That guy refused to add me as a friend."
"Huh?" Uncle Lee looked bewildered. "Wait, is Sealed a woman? Otherwise, why would any man refuse your friend request?"
"He's a man!" Sophia snapped, her frustration evident.
"Then..."
"Uncle Lee, stop asking. I'll find him again," Sophia interrupted, clearly irritated. She had never been rejected like this before, and it was a blow to her pride.
"Alright, alright." Uncle Lee quickly shut his mouth, thinking to himself, "Does this Sealed guy have... unusual interests?"
"Achoo!" Ethan sneezed suddenly, rubbing his nose. "Who's talking about me?" Shaking his head, he continued grinding silver wolves tirelessly.
After nearly six hours of grinding and killing 152 silver wolves, Ethan finally reached level 10. Along the way, he looted four pieces of equipment:
[Silver Wolf Belt]
Quality: White Label
Health: +50
Defense: +5
[Silver Wolf Bracelet]
Quality: White Label
Health: +20
Attack: +12
Attack Speed: +1%
[Silver Wolf Boots]
Quality: White Label
Speed: +6
Defense: +4
[Silver Wolf Legguards]
Quality: White Label
Health: +60
Defense: +4
Ethan equipped the [Silver Wolf Belt], [Silver Wolf Bracelet], and [Silver Wolf Boots], replacing his old gear. The new equipment increased his stats as follows:
Level: 9 → 10
Health: 680 → 730
Mana: 140 → 150
Physical Attack: 20 → 32
Physical Defense: 40 → 42
Movement Speed: 50 → 52
Experience: 60/20,000
Seeing that many players had started listing [Toad Gear] for prices ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 without success, Ethan decided to list his old [Toad Belt] and [Toad Boots] for $2,000 each. "Even small gains add up," he thought. He listed the [Silver Wolf Legguards] for $10,000, reasoning that since no one else could hunt silver wolves yet, there would still be wealthy players willing to buy it.
As expected, all three items sold quickly, netting him $10,800. "Ugh, prices for White Label gear have dropped significantly since yesterday. Still, better to sell it than let it sit in my inventory."
Now that he was finally level 10, Ethan hurried back to the village to find the chief and begin his class advancement. But first, he stopped by the general store to turn in his silver wolf quest. With over 200 wolf fangs in his inventory, he was eager to exchange them for experience and money. Since identical materials could stack up to 1,000 units per slot, they hadn't taken up much space.
Ethan quickly found the general store owner and submitted 100 wolf fangs, earning 2,000 experience points and 10 silver coins. It was a generous reward. He sold the remaining materials for over 100 copper coins.
Finally, Ethan approached the village chief and greeted him politely. "Chief, I'm level 10 now. Can you teleport me to the main city?"
"Oh? Adventurer, your rapid progress is truly impressive. Unfortunately, I must apologize. The teleportation array to the main city has been out of service for a long time. If you could help by retrieving the Magic Core of the Silver Wolf King from the depths of the valley, I should be able to repair the array and send you to the main city," the chief explained.
Ding!
The village chief has issued a quest: Retrieve the Magic Core of the Silver Wolf King from the depths of Silver Wolf Valley. Quest Reward: Title 'Hero of Novice Village'.
"What?! You've got to be kidding me. I still have to fight that wolf?" Ethan groaned. He had thought avoiding the boss earlier would solve the problem, but it seemed fate had other plans.
Despite his reluctance, Ethan had no choice but to accept the quest. Without completing it, he wouldn't be able to reach the main city. Moreover, the reward—a title—was too enticing to ignore. Titles were notoriously hard to obtain, provided valuable attribute bonuses, and could be stacked. While players could only display one title at a time, having multiple titles offered a significant advantage.
"Fine. Looks like I'll have to take down that wolf after all," Ethan muttered as he prepared for the inevitable showdown.