Second World Online

The Southern Area coast, which was previously colored by the panic of the storm’s aftermath, now turned into a stunning theater of death stage. The sky above the Boundless Ocean was completely covered by the flapping of giant, rough leathery wings emitting an emerald, green glow.

Hundreds of [Wyvern - Level 30] hovered in the sky, blocking out the remaining afternoon sunlight. Their level was like a steel wall impossible to penetrate by the majority of players currently gathered on the coastline. Ten levels above us this was no longer just a challenge, but a mass execution sadistically designed by the developers at Chronos Tech.

"Everyone, close in! Form a circle formation! Mages and Archers in the center, Tankers build a shield barricade on the outside!"

The command shouts from the Guild leaders once again pierced the roar of the waves. Hundreds of players who were previously scattered now moved in panic like a flock of sheep surrounded by wolves, trying to form a dome defense formation.

However, the Wyverns did not descend to fight at close range. They possessed a highly cunning flying AI.

SKREEEE!

Several Wyverns in the front lines opened their reptilian jaws wide. Bright orange light gathered at the base of their throats, causing the air temperature around the beach to suddenly spike.

"They’re going to shoot! Hold! Hold it!"

WUSSHHH! BOOOOM!

It wasn’t an ordinary blast of fire, but dense fireballs mixed with acidic fluid. That barrage of deadly projectiles rained down on the players’ front line formation like meteorites. When the fireballs hit the Warriors’ steel shields, the steel didn’t just turn red from the heat, but instantly melted with a terrifying hissing sound.

Screams of pain echoed along the beach. The HP bars of the frontline fighters acting as human shields were drained completely in a matter of seconds. The formation that had just been painstakingly formed instantly fell apart. The white sand beneath our feet melted and crystallized into glass shards due to the extreme temperature.

"Damn, their fire range is too far! We’re just becoming roasted punching bags here!" cursed a Knight whose shield had just been destroyed.

Seeing the ensuing chaos, I realized that standing still and defending in one place was the most foolish strategy when facing an aerial artillery attack.

"Yuuki, listen to my cue!" I called out, looking back at my sister who was already in a standby pose. "Wyverns have thick skin that is immune to normal arrows, and the wind element won’t be enough to deal fatal damage at their level. But, their leathery wings are vulnerable to fire."

(Party Chat) [Yuuki]: Understood, Brother! I’ll burn their wings to a crisp!

"Not just that," I smirked slightly, drawing an arrow whose tip I had coated with [Concentrated Spider Venom]. "We use elemental resonance tactics. Fire needs oxygen to grow, and wind is its best conductor."

I drew the Whispering Ash bowstring, focusing Mana to my fingertips. "Every time I shoot a wind vortex arrow, you shoot your fire magic right into my wind vortex in mid-air. Can you do that with your animal instincts?"

Alya didn’t answer with words, but rather with a signature fox grin showing off her rows of sharp teeth. Her two tails wagged rhythmically, emitting red sparks of fire.

"Good. Let’s start the show."

I aimed at a Wyvern that was diving low preparing to breathe fire. I unleashed a [Power Shot] combined with [Piercing Gale Arrow]. My wooden arrow shot out parting the air, carrying with it a fierce greenish wind vortex.

A fraction of a second after my bowstring was released, Alya leaped onto a coral rock. She opened her jaws, and a massive [Fireball] launched at full speed.

Our trajectory calculations were absolutely perfect. In mid-air, Alya’s fireball collided with the tail of my arrow’s wind vortex. Instead of neutralizing each other, the wind element sucked in the fire element, enlarged its volume, and turned the temperature of the vortex as hot as a steel smelting furnace!

[Active Elemental Resonance: Blazing Gale Arrow!]

The arrow, which had now transformed into a deadly fire tornado, struck dead center on the Wyvern’s right wing joint.

KRAAAK! BOOOOM!

[CRITICAL HIT! - 1,850 Fire & Physical Damage!]

[Poison Effect Active: -150 HP/second!]

[Status Triggered: Wings Burned (Grounded)!]

The level 30 monster let out a piercing shriek. Its wing was shattered and burned intensely. Losing its lift, the giant reptile fell with a thud onto the beach sand, writhing in pain.

As soon as the monster hit the ground, it immediately became the punching bag for the Warriors and Rogues who had been harboring grudges because they couldn’t attack into the air. Dozens of sword slashes and dagger stabs immediately tore into the poor Wyvern’s body until it finally exploded into a delicious pile of EXP.

(Party Chat) [Yuuki]: WOOOO! SO COOL BROTHER! WE’RE LIKE AN ANTI-AIRCRAFT CANNON!

"Don’t let your guard down! There are hundreds of them. Keep refilling your Mana and don’t let them get close to our blind zone," I ordered while drawing the next poisoned arrow.

The Blazing Gale collaboration between Alya and me successfully drew attention. The two of us stood side-by-side atop a rather high chunk of coral rock, acting like an impenetrable defense tower.

Every time a flock of Wyverns tried to dive toward the coast, I would unleash my poisoned wind arrow, followed by a precision fire shot from Alya that ignited the wind vortex. Those pseudo-dragons continuously fell from the sky with holes in their burning wings, turning them from deadly aerial threats into easy prey for the ground fighters below.

Amidst the chaos, I didn’t forget my duty as a shadow "guardian angel" for my best friend.

About sixty meters from my position, Arthur’s party was fighting desperately. Unlike me who possessed a long-range weapon, Arthur had to rack his brain to deal with flying monsters. He used a highly risky tactic: making himself the bait.

Arthur ran out from the shield formation, shouting and bashing his greatsword against his chest plate, using the [Taunt] Skill to pull Aggro from three Wyverns at once. The three winged reptiles were instantly provoked. They dove sharply, the tips of their sharp, poisonous tails ready to pierce Arthur’s armor.

However, Arthur did not retreat. He lowered his stance, both his hands tightly gripping the hilt of his greatsword. Right when the first Wyvern’s tail spear was a meter from his face, Arthur swung his sword with all his might using the [Heavy Sweep] Skill.

CLANG!

The clash of metal against hard scales sparked fire. Arthur managed to parry the attack, but the momentum from the flying Wyvern dragged his body far backward. It was then that the other two Wyverns unleashed fiery acid breath toward him from his blind spot.

"Don’t even think about it," I hissed coldly.

The Whispering Ash bowstring twanged twice with almost no pause. Two arrows without magic elements shot out, parted the wind, and struck precisely into the throat membranes of the two Wyverns preparing to breathe fire.

Thwack! Thwack!

[Weakness Exploited: Casting Interrupted!]

The fire breath was canceled, trapped in their own throats and causing minor internal damage. Startled by the sudden attack, their wing flaps became unbalanced and they were forced to dive lower until they almost touched the ground.

"NOW!" roared Arthur to his party.

Two Rogues from Arthur’s group did not waste the golden opportunity I had secretly provided. They leaped from behind a coral rock, plunging their twin daggers into the eyes of the two low-flying Wyverns, while a Mage behind them unleashed a deadly lightning spell.

Arthur looked around quickly, his breathing ragged. His sharp eyes behind his silver helmet swept the battlefield again, trying to find the source of the mysterious arrows that always came to save him at the most crucial moments. However, amidst hundreds of players and blinding flashes of magic, it was impossible for him to track my origin.

I immediately ducked behind the coral, hiding my smile. Playing as a shadow sniper indeed provided its own satisfaction.

The fierce battle lasted for almost twenty minutes. Piles of digital Wyvern corpses covered the white sand, while the number of remaining players on the coastline was estimated to have shrunk by fifty percent.

My Stamina bar started blinking yellow again. My right index and middle fingers felt numb from continuously drawing the bowstring at maximum tension.

"Brother Rian," Alya’s voice sounded a bit hoarse. She also looked exhausted, her tongue hanging out slightly, and the flames at the tips of her two tails beginning to dim. "How many more of these giant lizards are there? I have two bottles of Mana Potion left."

"Hold on. Judging by the pattern, this event should..."

My sentence was cut short by a roar completely different from the screech of ordinary Wyverns. This roar wasn’t high-pitched, but rather a heavy ultrasonic vibration that instantly caused the seawater of the Boundless Ocean to ripple violently.

Waves three meters high crashed against the coastal reefs, spraying saltwater into the air.

From behind the remaining gray clouds, an emerald shadow four times larger than a standard Wyvern tore through the cloud layer and descended at a terrifying speed. The flapping of its wings created a mini-storm that instantly extinguished the small fires around the beach.

Its scales were no longer merely rough green, but crystalline green radiating a magical glow. At the tip of its tail, there wasn’t just one, but three bone spears dripping with deep purple venom that melted the sand where it dripped.

A giant ID colored glowing gold and dark red appeared above its head.

[Wyvern Monarch - Event Final Boss Level 35]

"Level 35..." I whispered, feeling the muscles in my jaw tense.

The presence of the Sky King shattered the players’ spirits, which had just begun to recover, to pieces. A Boss monster with a twenty-level difference from ordinary players was an absolute hurdle that couldn’t be defeated just by relying on manpower numbers. Its absolute defense system would cause every attack below level 20 to only deal 1 point of damage or even Miss.

The Monarch hovered in the air, its glowing yellow eyes observing the battlefield, looking for the spot where its clan had been slaughtered the most. Intelligently, its murderous gaze locked straight onto a rather high coral rock on the right side of the coast.

The coral rock where a silver-haired Elf Archer and a two-tailed fox stood.

(Party Chat) [Yuuki]: Brother... h-he’s staring at us.

"Damn, this Aggro system is truly unfair," I cursed. The high combination damage the two of us had produced earlier got us both branded as Priority Threats by the Boss.

RAAAAAAWR!!

The Monarch spread its wings and dove sharply. Its speed far exceeded the logic of beginner monsters. The distance of hundreds of meters was cut down in mere seconds. It didn’t use its claws or fire. It twisted its body in the air, and slashed its three poisonous tail spears in a sweep attack toward the coral formation where we stood.

"Jump!" I yelled, grabbing Alya’s neck and throwing her sideways a second before the tail smashed into the coral.

BOOOOM! CRASHH!

The giant coral rock that served as our protective fortress was pulverized into dust. The blast of sharp rock shards hit my shoulder, draining 30% of my HP in one indirect hit. The pain simulated by the VR felt like a real sledgehammer blow. I tumbled across the sand, scrambling to my feet before the monster turned around.

The King was not satisfied. It hovered about ten meters above us, opening its massive jaws. A purple-glowing acidic fluid began to gather, preparing to unleash a wide-area Breath attack that would surely instantly annihilate anything within a fifty-meter radius.

In that critical moment, a loud shout was heard from the left side.

"ADVANCE EVERYONE!! PROTECT THE RANGED FIGHTERS!!"

It was Arthur! Coming from seemingly nowhere, the silver-armored Vanguard charged through the sea of sandy dust at full speed, followed by a dozen other frontline players who still possessed courage.

However, Arthur knew his sword wouldn’t reach the Monarch in the air. With insane calculation, Arthur ran toward an ice element Mage in his group.

"Create an ice ramp, now!" he commanded firmly.

The Mage slammed his staff into the sand, creating a curved ice pillar that sloped steeply upward. Without reducing his running speed, Arthur used the ice ramp as a launchpad, ran up the slippery ice, and leaped high into the air straight toward the Wyvern Monarch.

"Crazy..." I muttered in amazement.

At the peak of his jump, Arthur swung his greatsword with all the Stamina he possessed, using the [Meteor Smash] Skill.

KLANGGG!!

The giant sword struck squarely against the Monarch’s chest plate. The attack was certainly not enough to pierce Level 35 defenses, but the physical impact from the Vanguard’s heavy-class skill was enough to shake the king’s balance in mid-air. Its mouth, which had been preparing to spew poison, snapped shut forcefully, causing the acid explosion to happen inside its own jaws!

[Boss Status: Stunned (2 Seconds)!]

The Wyvern Monarch lost its aerial control and slowly plummeted down nearing the ground. Arthur’s body was also thrown down to the sand from the recoil of his own attack.

"Only two seconds..." my breath raced. "That’s more than enough."

This was the only chance I had. There wouldn’t be a second chance.

I took out my last bottle of high-tier Mana Potion and gulped it down, ignoring the potion consumption limit warning in the system. As soon as my Mana indicator was one hundred percent full, I opened my quiver, drawing three [Concentrated Spider Venom] arrows at once.

Drawing three arrows simultaneously in one bow pull heavily violated basic gameplay rules. The system popped up a blinking red warning on my screen: [Warning: Overdraw! Weapon durability will decrease drastically! Accuracy -50%!]

I ignored the warning. I wasn’t relying on the game’s Assist System. I used my muscle memory and archery instincts from the real world, pulling the Whispering Ash spider silk string until the rare wood fibers creaked and emitted a blinding light of cracking stress.

"I’ll give it everything right here," I growled. All the wind element on the coastline seemed to be sucked into the tips of my three arrows, creating a swirling storm centered on myself. My cloak flapped fiercely, and my eyes glowed with maximum [Eagle Eye] activation.

Alya, who had just gotten up from her fall, instantly understood my intention without needing to be commanded. She positioned herself in front of me, opening her fox jaws wide.

"Buuuurrrn!!" Alya screamed with a shrill human voice.

A continuous blast of fire ([Flamethrower]) shot out from her tiny mouth, creating a tunnel of fire heading straight for the chest of the Wyvern Monarch, which was still Stunned for the final second.

"Go pierce through hell," I whispered softly.

My fingers released the string.

ZWWWWAAAAAAAASSSSHHHHH!!!! BOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!

No longer just arrows, but three pillars of tornados merging into one giant storm spear. The three deadly projectiles shot into the tunnel of fire created by Alya, instantly combusting into an extraordinarily destructive wind and fire element spear.

Its speed cleaved through space. Exactly when the Boss’s Stun duration ended and its eyes widened in shock, the firestorm spear struck dead center on the weakest point between its chest scales that had been scratched by Arthur’s sword earlier.

The three arrows pierced through, drilling into its virtual flesh, releasing a triple-dose of corrosive poison, and exploded from the inside!

Green, red, and purple light exploded in the center of the giant’s chest, creating a massive hole punching all the way through to its back. The resulting explosion sound was louder than any thunder that had struck today. The shockwave swept across the beach sand in a radius of dozens of meters, blowing away all players nearby.

The Wyvern Monarch’s body froze in the air for one second, before finally its thick, massive HP bar drained completely like a broken dam, shattering into a blinding vortex of golden pixel particles, illuminating the entire expanse of the Boundless Ocean.

The defeat of the Sky King was followed by wails of despair from the remaining ordinary Wyverns. Without waiting to be finished off, the remaining flock of monsters immediately flapped their wings, flying away fleeing back toward the open sea, leaving the devastated StoneBrook behind.

An empty silence once again enveloped the beach. Everyone stood transfixed watching the rain of golden dust slowly falling onto the sand.

And then, the most beautiful victory melody in Second World Online chimed consecutively.

Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!

[Global Announcement System: SERVER-WIDE SECRET EVENT ENDED!]

[StoneBrook Area successfully defended!]

[You gained 55,000 EXP (Primary Damage Portion)!]

[Your Level has increased to 16!]

[Your Level has increased to 17!]

[Your Level has increased to 18!]

My body was enveloped by three consecutive pillars of golden light. The fatigue and numbness in my hands instantly vanished due to the absolute healing effect of a Level Up. I gasped, dropping myself to sit on the sand with a wide smile I couldn’t hide.

However, the real surprise wasn’t over yet. The global system screen blinked again, displaying a golden leaderboard visible to all participating players on the Beginner Continent.

[LOCAL EVENT CONTRIBUTION LEADERBOARD (STONEBROOK):]

Rank 1: [Syl] - (Contribution Points: 85,400)

Rank 2: [Lionas] - (Contribution Points: 72,100)

Rank 3: [Azure] - (Contribution Points: 71,000)

Rank 4: [Yuuki] - (Contribution Points: 69,200)

Rank 5: [Arthur] - (Contribution Points: 55,000)

Rank 6: [King] - (Contribution Points: 48,900)

...

Hundreds of players on the beach slowly shifted their gazes. From the leaderboard floating in the sky, towards a silver-haired Elf Archer sitting casually on the sand, side-by-side with a two-tailed fox jumping around in sheer joy.