Chapter 16: Acquiring a Mask, Going back to the Village

Fireball! Boom!

The spell shot from Alex's staff with a searing trail of flame, exploding upon impact with the unfortunate [Mask Monkey].

The creature let out a shriek as the fiery blast disintegrated it in an instant.

-1396!

The damage numbers floated before him.

The [Mask Monkeys] only had 700 HP, and they were level 10—relatively easy prey for someone of Alex's caliber.

Their main strength, however, lay in their agility, with 53 points, making them remarkably fast and difficult to hit.

Several of Alex's spells had already missed as the monkeys darted through the trees like shadows, their pale masks glinting in the dim light of the forest.

They looked like normal monkeys, although skinnier, and were wearing a white monkey mask on their faces, perfect for Alex, who wanted to hide.

If he didn't, then the entire village of silver-skinned humans would immediately hunt him down.

Killing one silver-skin would usually cost a player 250 reputation points, but Alex's situation was far worse.

Not only had he killed the strongest mage among them, but he had done so by betrayal.

Rock Throw! Fireball! Red Crystal!

Alex unleashed a flurry of attacks, his staff glowing with power as he alternated between spells.

The [Mask Monkeys] were fast, but they couldn't outrun his barrage forever.

-460! -1396! -370!

In moments, the last of the monkeys fell, their masked faces hitting the ground as their bodies disintegrated.

And two prompts flashed before Alex's eyes.

[Please select something to extract!]

[Monkey Mask (Rare)]

[13 agility attribute points]

[Monkey Arm (Common)]

Without hesitation, Alex selected the first option twice, maybe he would need it, who knows.

The same masks the monkeys had been wearing materialized in his hands.

'Mission complete,' he didn't care about anything, and so he turned around, putting one of the monkey masks in his snake backpack.

[Do you want to equip the 'Monkey Mask'?]

[Description: It will conceal your identity from low-level NPCs, but if they notice you inside the village, it becomes useless. Will not work on players.]

This was only but a temporary measure anyway, so it didn't matter.

Alex didn't equip the mask instantly though, as it was extremely uncomfortable and did decrease his visibility, plus he was still in the forest.

"Well, let's go," he was about to leave the forest when suddenly, the ground trembled beneath him.

With a loud rumble, a massive fire wall erupted from the earth, cutting off his escape.

Alex's eyes widened in shock.

"What the—?"

And before he could react, a monstrous presence loomed behind him.

Towering over him, with a body as large as a carriage and claws that gleamed like molten metal, was the [Flame Scorpion Queen].

Her dark body was covered in glowing red veins, like magma, and her segmented dart curled menacingly above her, burning with fire.

[Level 10 Flame Scorpion Queen (EPIC)]

This was no ordinary boss. The [Flame Scorpion Queen] was an epic-tier enemy, above the elite category. Her level was 10, the same as Alex's, but her health bar gleamed ominously at 1300 HP, with formidable resistance!

Alex immediately launched a fireball at her, hoping to kill her instantly.

-1!

Yet reality hit him like a brick: the fire queen was, as you might expect, immune to fire damage.

Her mouthparts clicked as if in amusement, "Foolish human, you dare challenge me with fire? In my domain?"

Before Alex could react, the queen raised her tail, and a vortex of flames swirled around her, growing hotter and larger by the second.

Then, with a terrifying screech, she unleashed Fire Storm.

Alex had no choice but to summon his [Earth Shield], and the thick barrier of rock and dirt rose in front of him.

But even as the shield absorbed most of the blast, the sheer power of the attack overwhelmed it.

-874!

[Warning, 116 health points remaining!]

Desperate, Alex used his magic to hurl a [Red Crystal] at her, followed by [Rock Throw].

The spells struck, but their damage was disappointing.

-140! -260!

The queen's magic resistance was absurdly high, reducing the impact of his attacks to almost nothing.

Alex's mind raced.

Fireball was his strongest skill, the one that relied on his high spirit attribute to deal massive damage.

But here, against a creature immune to fire, it was useless.

He was out of options: his most powerful weapon had failed him, and his other spells were barely making a dent in the queen's health.

But then, an idea formed in his mind.

It was reckless, dangerous, and entirely out of character for a mage.

Yet, it was his only chance.

[Do you want to equip your 'Horned Staff'?]

Alex accepted and the staff materialized in his left hand, and then he did the unthinkable: he dashed forward, closing the distance between himself and the scorpion queen.

The queen's many eyes blinked in confusion, "A mage… trying to engage me in close combat? How laughable."

Her tail shot forward, the stinger aimed directly at his heart.

But Alex was quicker.

He raised his staff, deflecting the blow with a swift movement thanks to his high strength attribute.

The force of the impact sent shockwaves through his arms, but he held firm.

Before the queen could strike again, Alex drove the sharp end of his staff into her side.

-350!

The queen screeched in pain, her body convulsing.

For the first time, real damage numbers floated above her.

Alex didn't hesitate.

He twisted the staff, using his high strength attribute to drive it deeper into her carapace.

The queen reared back, her pincers slashing wildly, but Alex was faster.

With a flick of his wrist, he slashed her head, piercing it.

[Critical Damage!]

-1050!

With a final, agonized scream, the [Flame Scorpion Queen] collapsed, her immense body hitting the ground with a resounding thud.

Alex stepped back, breathing hard, his health still dangerously low.

[You have defeated the Flame Scorpion Queen (Epic Boss), and received 140 experience point!]

[Extract available!]

For the second time ever, a list didn't appear, and this could only mean one thing.

"Extraction!" he placed his palm against the queen's hot body.

[You have gained the 'Fire Storm' skill!]

A slow smile spread across Alex's face as he saw this panel.

"Looks like it wasn't useless after all…"

[Fire Storm level 1; deal 50% of your spirit to enemies in a large area; consumes 100 mana; 30-second cooldown]

He finally had a skill that could be used to take out many enemies at once!

"Well, let's go," Alex smiled and then took the opposite direction to where he came from, ready to head back to the village.

…

Thirty minutes later, and after slaying a few enemies, giving him 34 spirit and 25 agility, Alex could now see the village from his current location.

His new 'identity' would usually start from now on, and though he would get stares from players, the NPCs wouldn't suspect a thing!

Everything is gonna be alright!

Or, so he thought.

Because suddenly.

Bzzz!

"Hm?" it was a notification!

[PillowStar (Alice): Hey, I just came back into the game and saw a bunch of silver-skins hunting, I spoke to them and it seems that my reputation with them increased to 70!]

[FateBreaker: Nice!]

Completing quests wasn't the only way to increase your reputation, simple talk or showing genuine good intentions was sometime enough, and Alice had such a charm that even the silver-skin probably saw she was a good person to the core.

[Alice: And guess what… hehe~]

[Alex: What?]

There was a few seconds of silence, Alex swallowing his saliva.

[Alice: Look behind you, hehe~]

Alex did what he was told as he saw the message, and he was immediately met with the sight of Alice, the beautiful young lady, and behind her were three silver-skins, two men and one woman.

"…Oh shit."

Fwish! Fwish!

The moment the other race laid eyes on Alex, they instantly dashed towards him, the two men wielding swords, and the woman staying at the back as she pointed a bow at him.

This was bad.