Chapter 3 (Field Boss Sandman Lvl 90)
Zeke's POV
Our second subject ended earlier than usual today. Dan and I walked together, and he kept bugging me to tell him what I'd been doing inside the game. With only an hour until our next class, I figured I might as well give in and share some stories.
I told him everything—well, almost everything. I left out the part where I won a system event.
"My IGN is Zaphro in-game. Add me once you log in," I said, changing the topic.
"Got it. By the way, what level are you now?" Dan asked.
"Level 15, Angel class. That's as far as I could get. I haven't had much time to grind," I replied.
"Oh, I see. So how's the 60% pain sensation feel?" he followed up.
"It feels real. The snake bites, the hits from monsters—everything hurts. But I get how it works. Through nerve impulses, each mob attack sends signals directly to our brain, which is why we feel the pain instantly. Add to that the hyper-realistic visuals and the fact that everything feels so tangible. It's insane."
"Damn, that sounds awesome!" Dan said, visibly impressed.
"Totally. PM me as soon as you're in the game. But if I were you, I wouldn't go for the Angel class. Not many players choose it, and it's hard to level up."
"Nah, not my style. I'm more into the human swordsman type," Dan said with a grin.
We finished eating at the canteen and got ready for our next class.
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Later that afternoon, around 3 PM, our last class ended. Dan and I went home right after. I planned to play a bit before heading to bed. On the way home, I noticed Dan seemed to be in a hurry. I wondered why—but didn't ask.
After dinner and washing up, I went straight to the living room and logged in.
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In-Game…
I respawned in the usual area. Like before, I saw no other Angel-class players around.
"Where are they?" I wondered aloud, referring to the other Angels. Most of them were high-level now.
Level 73 Andomeda13
Level 58 Flick
Level 64 Gregory
Level 56 Kris_Hunter
Level 55 Jinx
They were probably grinding in stronger maps by now.
I decided to read the game manual for about thirty minutes before heading out. Then, I walked over to a vendor selling teleportation scrolls. I bought a couple of higher-level map scrolls using the gold I had—just two TP scrolls, since I was still broke in-game. I also had ten recall scrolls, in case I needed to return to the village.
I used the TP Scroll: Scorpion Desert—a zone with difficulty level 25–35. It was perfect for quick leveling. The mobs there included Desert Scorpions (Lv. 25), Desert Wolves (Lv. 30), Demented Cactus (Lv. 35), and the Field Boss: Sandman (Lv. 90).
I teleported to the desert entrance, where four holy knight NPCs stood guard in gleaming white armor.
I checked my inventory—and to my surprise, I'd forgotten about an item.
Wings of the Frost Angel
Enhanced Speed (+15%)
Enhanced Agility (+10%)
Flight skill
5% HP Regeneration
I equipped it immediately and took to the skies, heading into the desert.
Landing in an area swarming with Desert Scorpions, I activated my AOE skill: Frost Field. It covered a large area, draining the HP of nearby scorpions. Aggressive Desert Wolves were lured in and also got shredded by the skill.
In just five minutes, I hit Level 20.
I kept grinding—one-hitting mobs thanks to my high attack damage. After twenty minutes, I was at Level 25 and received bonus status points.
Frost Field leveled up to Level 2, dealing 500 HP damage per second.
I decided to push deeper into the desert to hunt Demented Cactus mobs.
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Character Info – Zaphro (Lv. 25, Unknown Class)
HP: 1400 + 5000
Defense: 58 + 750
MP: 1600
SP: 1000
Evasion: 30 + 55 (+15%)
Speed: 100 (+40%)
Accuracy: 40%
Stat Points: 240 (Undistributed)
Str: 30 | Dex: 25 | Int: 25 | Vit: 30
---
I activated Flight and soared into the deeper desert. From above, I spotted a party grinding mobs. I landed nearby, hoping they'd invite me in.
As soon as I touched down, the four players stopped fighting and stared at me—somewhat stunned.
Erik Hertz (Lv. 32) even forgot he was being attacked. The Demented Cactus mobs dealt 100–180 base damage and had a Spike Bullets skill that could crit for 350.
My VS system alerted me—a mob was about to unleash Spike Bullets on Erik.
Without thinking, I rushed in and killed the monster before it could cast the skill. Then I dropped a Frost Field to prevent more mobs from charging in.
"Focus! These mobs are aggressive," I warned the stunned group.
"Uh, thanks, man," Erik said.
"You're welcome," I smiled. "Mind if I join your party?"
Aryus (Lv. 34, Human Class, Sub-class: Dragonknight) stepped forward.
"Sure thing. I'm the party leader. Sending you an invite now."
I accepted and scanned his subclass from the manual:
Dragonknight: Masters of Akaviri martial arts and battle-spirit. They manipulate elemental forces to devastate the battlefield.
"What subclass are you, Zaphro? I can't see your class info even in party mode," asked Erenir (Lv. 33, Sorcerer Sub-class).
"It's unknown," I replied curtly.
The four of them exchanged glances.
The last member, a girl named Ayana (Lv. 40, Summoner Mage), caught my eye. Long black hair, striking features—she was beautiful.
"The Fallen Angel," she whispered, approaching us.
"Where'd you get that high-level armor?" she asked suddenly.
"Ah, well… secret. Don't mind my gear—let's just grind. I'm still only level 25," I said, trying to deflect.
Ayana gave me a skeptical look.
"If you think I'm a cheater, you're wrong. This game just launched. It has insane security. Plus, all beta accounts were wiped. I'm just a regular newbie."
"Fine. I won't press," she said, though she still seemed suspicious.
We partied up and spent about an hour grinding. Aryus, Erik, and Erenir reached Level 35, while I reached Level 33.
We took a short break in a monster-free zone when the ground suddenly trembled.
An alert flashed in our VS systems:
Field Boss Appeared
"Oh no! It's the Sandman!" Ayana shouted.
The monster burst from beneath the sand—a humanoid titan made of dust and stone.
Field Boss: Sandman (Lv. 90)
HP: 23,000
DEF: 3000
AOE: Quick Sand
Skills: Punch, Sandstorm, Stamp
"We're so screwed. We're underleveled," Erenir panicked.
"We've got this. It's 5v1. My HP's over 6K. Frost Field is level 2. My weapon damage is nearing 3,000. Trust me—I'll tank," I assured them. "Aryus, your Destruction skill has a stun effect, right? Use that later. Ayana, Erenir—stay ranged. Ayana, buff me with Metallic Skin. We can do this."
"Got it! My Oceanic Wave skill can stun and slow for ten seconds," Erik chimed in.
The battle began.
"Erik, now!" I commanded.
"Oceanic Wave!" he shouted.
A massive tsunami crashed onto the boss, inflicting a slow debuff and stunning it for five seconds.
I charged in.
"Frost Field!"
The field covered the boss, draining its HP slowly due to its high DEF—around 400 HP every three seconds. Its HP dropped to 90%.
"Ayana, Erenir—your turn!"
"Falling Star!" Ayana yelled.
A massive, flaming meteor crashed down on the boss. A burn debuff ticked for twenty seconds, and its HP dropped to 75%.
Then came Dark Explosion from Erenir—a massive burst of shadow energy. The boss dropped to 45% HP.
"Nice!" Erik cheered.
The stun wore off. The Sandman retaliated with Quick Sand—an AOE trap.
Erik started sinking.
"Guys! Help! I can't move!" he cried.
I activated Flight, swooped in, and carried Erik to safety. I healed him with a potion and launched back into the fray.
Three hits from my Ancient Reaper dropped the boss to 25%.
"Oceanic Wave!" Erik shouted again.
I looked at Aryus—he nodded.
"Zeus's Wrath!" he roared.
His hammer surged with lightning. The shock spread across the field, stunning the boss again.
With 15% HP left, I flew into the air.
"It's over!" I shouted, striking from above.
My blade sliced through the Sandman's head down to its core. The monster split in half and exploded.
[Zaphro killed Level 90 Sandman (Category Boss)] flashed across our screens.
We each received over 2 million gold, massive XP, and high-class gear drops.
Ayana reached Level 45. Aryus, Erenir, and Erik hit Level 40. I reached Level 43, thanks to the kill bonus.
I let them pick up most of the drops. Before logging out, they added me as a friend—promising to party up again next time.
After saying our goodbyes, I returned to town and logged off.