Chapter 3: Did you say boss...?

"Take this!" Alice yells with a determined smile as she decapitates a Wolf with her sword—thanks to her 6 points in strength, it was as easy as cutting butter.

[Experience: 14/50]

"Easy!" the player had a proud expression on her face—after defeating 3 wolves in a row without taking any damage.

From the second Wolf, she discovered that they always follow the same strategy—jump to bite their prey, which makes them very vulnerable during this period in the air. So it wasn't hard for Alice to exploit this weakness.

Another thing she discovered during her little adventure was that—as long as she wasn't in combat—her HP and Stamina recover gradually, and her arm injury disappeared after a few minutes. Which saved her the trouble of looking for potions, but she still isn't sure if she would be able to recover from any injury, such as losing a limb.

"Now I just need to find one more!" the player runs anxiously through the forest. Suddenly, she sees movement ahead. A gray wolf emerges from the shadows, its red eyes attract Alice's attention as it prepares to attack. The fearless player raises her sword with both hands, smiling confidently in her abilities.

The Wolf jumps to execute his traditional blow, Alice advances sliding on the ground to cut him from bottom to top. It was the end of the creature, and the quest...

Suddenly, an arrow hits the creature's head, killing it instantly. The player watches confused as the predator's body falls to the ground with the arrow embedded in its skull.

Her confusion is increased when she hears another voice: "Hah! Another headshot!"

From the top of a tree, a pink-haired elf descends, blue eyes, wearing a green tunic and carrying a wooden bow. "Oh, another player?" says the elf with a tone of surprise.

['Elf']

[Description: Beings of ethereal beauty and supernatural gracefulness. There are rumors that these beings were blessed by mana itself.]

"Hey, you vulture! That was my kill!" Alice shouts annoyed. "Wait, are you a player too?"

"Of course I am." The elf walks to the dead Wolf and removes the arrow from its head "I'm Sophie, AKA OneShot2015. You must have heard of me."

In an honest tone, Alice replies "No."

"What do you mean no?" Sophie is shocked and approaches Alice "OneShot. Does that name not remind you of anything?"

Alice makes a thoughtful face, trying very hard to remember her—but without success.

"Top 17 in PvP in Arcadia. One of the best archers in the world. And co-founder of the second largest guild: the Star Hunter!"

"Ah I remember." she didn't remember, but didn't want to hurt Sophie's feelings. But suddenly, in an irritated tone, Alice says "Hey, don't change the subject! You still stole my kill!"

Sophie frowns "What's the problem? It was just a Wolf, there are hundreds of them here in the forest. Oh, and by the way, I was here first, so you just invaded my territory."

Alice crosses her arms, frustrated with Sophie's attitude. "Territory? Since when is this your territory? This is a public area of the game, and I have the right to hunt here as much as you."

"So don't cry when I kill all the Wolves before you. Go farm somewhere else" she waves her hand, signaling for the swordsman to leave "Shoo Shoo."

Alice, still frustrated, opens her mouth to answer the archer—but gives up, realizing that this would only create a long and unnecessary conflict. "Fine…" grumbles the player as she leaves the area.

However, after a few steps to the north—to Alice's misfortune—she hears Sophie's voice "I wouldn't go there if I were you."

The player turns indignant "Oh c'mon, you pink-haired plague! Let me play!"

"No, you idiot." she points to the north "There's a powerful boss on that path. Well, that's what a weird skeleton guy told me. It would be stupid to head into a boss this early, especially at your level." The swordsman had disappeared from Sophie's view "Huh? Where did she go?"

Alice, who only heard 'powerful boss', eagerly heads north. Ever since the Arcadia 1 tutorial, she has always loved the thrill of a challenge, facing bosses with levels 10 times higher than hers—obviously, she dies most of the time, but always comes back with the following thought: 'I can do better.' With each death, her combat experience increased, and she learned new strategies to face even greater challenges.

This boss will be the perfect opportunity to test her skills in this virtual world—and possibly win special items.

With each step Alice's excitement increases. "Who will be the tutorial boss this time? A giant serpent? A shadow clone of mine? Or-"

In a mere second, the player feels a vigorous impact on her torso, throwing her at an abnormal speed and making her hit 3 trees in a row before falling to the ground.

[HP: 25/50]

Alice gets up—leaning on her sword—spitting blood "What the hell was that?!" she looks around, not finding a living soul in her field of vision. Her previous excitement turns into tension due to the pain of the impact.

Unexpectedly, she feels something biting her shoulder from behind and pulling her up. She recognizes this bite—it's from a Wolf—but its mouth was at least 3 times bigger. Even without seeing the predator, the player tries to stab its mouth with her sword.

But to her surprise, the creature jumps and in an instant, they arrive in an area completely different from the previous forest—a lake of water so shallow that it barely covers the feet of a normal human. The Wolf shakes its head, throwing the player into the lake.

[HP: 20/50]

Alice slowly gets up, feeling the throbbing pain in her shoulder and bruised ribs. Her eyes adjust to the light of the lake, revealing the creature that attacked her. Before her, rising majestically from the shallow waters, is a gigantic wolf—3 times larger than the Gray Wolves—with dark fur, white magic lines around its body and blue eyes completely focused on its prey. Its fangs are sharp as blades, and its posture exudes an aura of power and domination.

[Boss: 'Blue Moon Hunter Wolf' LvL. 5]

[Description: A formidable beast known for its ruthlessness, hunting its prey with relentless determination. Bringing with it a blue moon that blesses the power of all wolves bathed by it. There is no escape, all you can do is try to survive.]

(Note: Bosses have different and higher status than regular enemies. Even though this Boss is level 5, it doesn't mean that enemies of the same level are as strong as him.)

Despite the pain and initial shock, Alice's determination quickly overrides her tension. Her eyes sparkle with a mix of anxiety and excitement before the challenge that presents itself before her. With a determined expression on her face, she firmly grips the hilt of her sword and stares at the boss with confidence.

"So the tutorial boss is a slightly larger Wolf?" Alice murmurs to herself, a challenging smile takes over her face "I'll be honest… I was expecting much more of a challenge."