The goblin leader didn't flee. Instead, it disengaged from the fight, recovering its health, and even summoned a dozen or so goblin elites.
Clearly, it planned to take advantage of the situation and claim the victory for itself. However, it had greatly underestimated Johnnie's strength.
"Roar!" It let out a furious shout, commanding the nearby goblin elites to attack. They charged at Johnnie with a fierce cry.
It hoped that by using these goblin elites, it could weaken Johnnie's strength.
The idea was good, but it was still unrealistic.
Johnnie showed no fear. He took the initiative, his sword flashing with cold light, blood splattering as the goblin elites cried out in pain.
Damage numbers flashed on the screen with every strike, each one dealing over thirty damage.
The goblins' attacks only dealt ten or so damage to him.
His health had now reached nearly 400 points, and with a 40-point health regeneration per second, their damage couldn't even begin to threaten him.
Soon, the goblin elites were all slain, dropping two white-grade pieces of equipment.
He didn't rush to pick them up. He casually flicked the blood off his sword and looked at the goblin leader, taunting, "What other tricks do you have now?"
The goblin leader's eyes were cold with fury, and the corner of its eye twitched. It roared once again and swung its spiked club, charging at Johnnie once more.
Clang! Clang!
The sound of impacts echoed. Johnnie faced no pressure, easily deflecting the goblin leader's attacks. His sword, wielded at an awkward angle, struck again and again.
The goblin leader had barely recovered half of its health, and it was quickly diminishing again.
"Roar!"
The goblin leader let out a final furious roar, stopping its attacks. A blood-red aura enveloped it, emitting an overwhelming, terrifying aura.
"Hmm? Evolution!" Johnnie was surprised.
When a boss is attacked and brought to the brink of death, there's a chance it will evolve, becoming an even stronger version of itself.
However, the chances of this happening were extremely low—less than one percent. To think he actually encountered it.
This was likely due to the Lucky Master class's ability to guarantee a 100% chance of triggering such events.
Does this mean that all the bosses he encounters in the future will evolve?
That certainly wasn't a good thing.
The goblin leader was just a regular boss. After evolving, it would become an elite boss, with its power at least doubling. Right now, Johnnie wasn't sure if he could handle it.
"I have to kill this guy quickly," he thought, watching as the goblin leader, cloaked in blood light, continued to recover its health and slowly heal from its wounds.
During the evolution process, the boss couldn't take any action.
Johnnie seized the opportunity and launched a frenzied attack.
His sword whistled through the air, the cold gleam flashing as he repeatedly struck the goblin leader. Damage numbers continued to flicker.
-14
-16
-31
...
Johnnie's attacks were now only dealing a little more than ten damage, and his critical hits barely broke thirty.
But at least he was able to break through its defenses. The goblin leader's health stopped increasing and began to steadily decrease instead.
Johnnie's attacks were sharp and relentless. He couldn't afford to be careless. If he waited for the goblin leader to fully evolve, he was afraid he wouldn't stand a chance.
-15
-13
...
The goblin leader's health steadily dropped, quickly falling below 100 points.
"Roar!" It let out one final, rage-filled roar, having completed its evolution. The blood-red light dissipated, and its form grew even larger and more imposing.
It regained the ability to move, glaring viciously at Johnnie. It raised its spiked club high and swung it down with deadly force.
"Just a little more!" Johnnie watched as the goblin leader's health dipped to just over fifty points. He didn't dare let his guard down and quickly retreated.
Boom!
The spiked club slammed down into the exact spot where he had been standing moments ago, creating a deep crater in the ground.
Johnnie's expression grew serious. At his current health, he wasn't sure he could survive another hit from this monster.
The goblin leader roared again, furious, and charged toward him once more.
It had realized Johnnie's agility, knowing that the spiked club's wild swings, though lacking in technique, created an impenetrable defense around it.
"Just as expected from an elite boss. It has some skill," Johnnie muttered, unafraid. His eyes flashed like lightning as he watched the goblin leader's movements, advancing instead of retreating.
His movements were erratic, easily dodging the whistling spiked club. With a swift motion, his sword struck the goblin leader.
"Die!" he shouted as a damage number flashed.
-33
Another critical hit!
With his strike landing successfully, he quickly retreated.
The goblin leader, enraged, raised its spiked club high and slammed it down onto the ground.
"Not good, a ground shockwave!" Johnnie's expression changed. This was another powerful warrior skill: Earthquake Slam. It struck the ground, creating a shockwave that would stun nearby enemies.
Boom!
The ground trembled, and Johnnie was stunned in place, unable to move.
Whoosh!
A powerful gust of wind followed as the massive spiked club swung down, charging up for a heavy strike.
Bang!
A deafening sound echoed as Johnnie was sent flying, crashing hard into the ground. A damage number flashed above his head.
-377
He had barely survived the hit, almost getting killed. As the stun effect wore off, he quickly scrambled to his feet, rushing back toward the goblin leader.
He couldn't afford to let the boss use another skill, or he would be dead for sure.
The goblin leader, seeing that Johnnie hadn't been instantly killed, was momentarily stunned. It didn't react quickly enough when Johnnie closed the distance, and it couldn't strike back in time.
"Die!" Johnnie's gaze was cold. With a flick of his wrist, his sword trembled, and he broke the attack speed limit, unleashing two strikes in an instant, each hitting the goblin leader.
-16
-35
Two damage numbers flashed, one of them being a critical hit. The goblin leader's remaining thirty health was instantly wiped out. With a howl of frustration, it collapsed to the ground, unwilling to accept its defeat.
[Ding, you have mastered a special passive attack skill. Please name it.]
[You have killed the 1st Tier 3rd Level elite boss, Goblin Leader. Experience +20]
Two prompt messages flashed on the screen.
Johnnie wasn't surprised. This game allowed players to learn real-world skills.
This meant that the strongest players in the game weren't just the MMORPG experts, but rather some hidden martial arts disciples.
However, most of those people preferred to stay out of the limelight and hadn't yet engaged with this game.
"Sword Shock," he named the skill.
Sword Shock was a technique he had mastered in his previous life after countless life-or-death battles. It allowed him to ignore attack speed limits and, through the vibration of his sword, instantly unleash multiple strikes.
At the time, he could strike up to four times in an instant, dealing four times the damage, making him almost invincible against monsters of the same tier.
[Newbie Village Announcement: Player Johnnie has mastered the Sword Shock skill, Reputation +10]
[Newbie Village Announcement: Player Johnnie has killed the Elite Boss, Reputation +10, Boss First Kill completed, rewarded with 1 green equipment]
The two announcements echoed through the village, immediately causing an uproar in Newbie Village No. 103.
The only downside to this game was that all players used their real-world information, which couldn't be hidden.
In his previous life, the first player to become a god was targeted and harmed by the Apocalypse faction because their information was exposed.
However, Johnnie wasn't afraid. The special features of Horizon had yet to be discovered, and his home country, Dragon Kingdom, had a high level of security. By the time Apocalypse thought to act against him, he would have the means to protect himself, even potentially turning the tables on them.
At that moment, the chat channel in Newbie Village No. 103 was buzzing with activity.
"This game actually allows players to learn skills? How realistic is that?"
"Johnnie? Is he from some high-level guild? I've never heard of him before."
"He killed an elite boss? How did he do that? Our team can't even beat regular goblins."
"He was even rewarded with green gear! A white piece of equipment is worth millions, so green gear must be worth tens of millions, right?"
"Bold prediction, green gear is worth at least a hundred million!"
"One piece of equipment, one small goal... this guy must be crazy."
"@Johnnie, big shot, interested in joining the AsSky Guild? I'll offer you a 10 million annual salary."
"Holy crap, the president of AsSky Guild is in our Newbie Village!"
"10 million annual salary, no wonder it's AsSky's president."
...
The players were going wild, discussing furiously. Many even @Johnnie and tried adding him as a friend.
But Johnnie paid no attention to them.
AsSky Guild had some reputation, but to him, it was nothing.
Back then, during the alien invasion, AsSky Guild didn't even dare to resist and disbanded immediately.
He had no respect for such weaklings.
At the resurrection point in Newbie Village.
Wecheat and his team had revived. Hearing the announcement from the village, they stood frozen, shocked.
"Damn it, that boss was mine!" Wecheat's face twisted in fury as he cursed loudly.
It was as though Johnnie had stolen his boss.
"President, my bow dropped!" one of the archers said frantically, rummaging through his inventory.
That gray longbow had been hard to come by.
"I lost two pieces of equipment," the knight moaned, collapsing onto the ground.
While gray equipment wasn't worth much, it was rare, and money couldn't always buy it.
Wecheat also noticed that his bow had dropped. His expression darkened as he gritted his teeth and said coldly, "Johnnie, huh? You dare mess with my Prince Guild? This isn't over. Gather my men right now. I'm going to kill this bastard!"
"President, aren't we outmatched?" The assassin player hesitated, his voice filled with concern. He was still shaken by the terrifying strength Johnnie displayed.
"Hmph, he's just one person. How strong can he be? Do as I say, immediately!" Wecheat snapped coldly, not taking Johnnie seriously in the slightest.