The chests behind the Frost Giant were clearly of a higher quality than the ones in the outer rooms. With their ornate designs and detailed carvings, Kael knew they didn't contain common loot.

  Orion stared at them, practically drooling. “As the archives foretold! Boss, how about you pull the giant and I’ll work on my Lockpicking?”

  Kael smirked. “I don’t think you’d be able to open them.”

  “Why not?”

  “What’s your Lockpicking skill level?”

  “Apprentice,” Orion admitted.

  “Those chests will require Journeyman at least, maybe even Expert.”

  “As the archives foretold! Then what do we do about them?”

  Kael just smiled and shook his head, offering no explanation. His eyes scanned the chamber, still unsure if Nyxar was nearby. If he was, Kael hoped he’d be the one to go for the chests. Nyxar’s Phantom Step skill could keep him invisible while opening standard chests, but using Lockpicking would force him to reveal himself.

  He turned his attention back to the Frost Giant. “Stand back,” he told Orion. “I’m taking on the boss.”

  “Right!” Orion scrambled to a safe distance. He might have a lot of weird and wonderful sigils, but he wasn’t about to make a fool of himself against a boss with a million hit points. Crafting those sigils was expensive and time-consuming; no point in wasting them here.

  Kael raised Galeharrow and activated Double Shot.

  -23732 (Critical!)

  -2838 (80% damage)

  ROOOAR!

  The Frost Giant lumbered to its feet, towering nearly 30 feet tall. With a deafening roar, it charged at Kael.

  Kael didn’t back down, continuing to fire.

  -6083

  A system notification popped up.

  [System: Galeharrow's Silkbind Shot has been triggered. Target is immobilized for 2 seconds.]

  The giant’s legs were instantly wrapped in sticky webbing, and it crashed to the ground with a thud. The skill’s base 20% trigger chance was boosted by Kael’s maxed-out luck stat to somewhere closer to 60%. The two-second root was more than enough time for Kael to open the distance.

  He fell into a rhythm, using Silkbind Shot to repeatedly kite the boss, pinning it in place.

  The frost giant howled in frustration, its voice echoing through the hall, unable to land a single blow on Kael. But no matter how loud it roared, it couldn’t close the gap.

  The giant’s health plummeted.

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  800,000…

  700,000…

  When its health dropped to 600,000, the Frost Giant let out a furious roar as its skin turned from white to blood-red. Its attack power and movement speed increased.

  A fat lot of good that did. If it couldn’t hit Kael, it was all useless.

  Normally, as a boss entered later phases, its resistance to crowd control would increase, diminishing the effect of skills like Silkbind Shot. Yet, even after the giant’s transformation, the two-second duration of the root remained unchanged.

  Kael was impressed. Galeharrow really is an Ascendant weapon.

  The giant’s speed had increased significantly, however. If Kael stood still, it could close the gap in two or three seconds. This forced him to spend more time repositioning, slightly lowering his damage-per-second.

  -6145

  -23627 (Silkbind Shot)

  …

  Averaging ten to twenty thousand damage per second, Kael continued to melt the boss’s health bar. Soon, it was down to its last 100,000 HP. The Frost Giant went into a frenzy, the red fur all over its body standing on end. It slammed its massive fists into the ground, and a barrage of ice balls began to fall from the cavern ceiling.

  One of them caught Kael off guard.

  -6335 (Stunned)

  He was stunned. The Frost Giant bellowed in triumph. It dropped to all fours, scraped its back feet against the stone floor, lowered its head, and charged like a rhinoceros.

  So fast! Kael cursed internally. Its movement speed had to be close to 30. It would reach him in two seconds!

  The moment the stun wore off, the giant was already upon him, raising a fist the size of a boulder to crush him. Kael wasn't panicking, though. He just looked up calmly, watching the attack descend.

  Just as the giant’s fist was about to connect, it abruptly spun around and attacked a target behind it.

  CRUNCH!

  -9364

  An Effigy of Substitution had appeared directly behind the giant.

  Seeing the damage number, Kael felt a flicker of fear. That was a close call. If that had hit me, my remaining 7,000 HP wouldn't have been enough.

  While the giant was distracted by Orion's effigy, Kael immediately retreated toward the hall’s entrance. The three-second taunt was enough time for him to get thirty or forty yards away.

  But before he could even catch his breath, a bolt of lightning struck him from above.

  CRACK!

  -1024

  At the same time, a fireball slammed into him.

  -1234

  Followed by an ice bolt.

  -735 (Slowed)

  A group of players emerged from the tunnel entrance. It was Caleb Mordant and his cronies.

  “Haha, Dawnbreaker! Nowhere to run now!” Caleb crowed. “Everyone, spread out! Don’t get caught in his AoE!”

  He was gloating. His team had a player with a tracking skill, so they knew Kael’s every move.

  Since the map was dark, their original plan had been to clear their way through slowly. But with Kael paving the way, they didn't have to bother exploring. They just followed him straight to the final hall and waited for the perfect moment to strike.

  And now it had come. The boss was almost dead, and Kael’s health was low. Everything was going according to plan.

  Caleb’s eyes darted from Kael’s bright red name to the magnificent bow in his hands, and he felt a familiar itch of greed. His Infamy score is through the roof. The drop rate for that Ascendant weapon has to be a sure thing! A bow that can root a boss every few seconds, and it even ignores resistances… with that weapon, what boss couldn't I kill?

  As Caleb was lost in his fantasy, he realized his teammates had gone silent. He quickly turned around.

  Over half of them were already dead, their bodies strewn across the floor before they’d even had a chance to spread out. He looked back toward the front. His own assassins were standing where Kael had been, looking around in confusion.

  “Where did he go?” Caleb couldn't believe it. “Is Dawnbreaker really that fast?”

  “Of course I am.”

  The mocking voice came from Kael, now standing thirty yards away. He popped a potion into his mouth.

  +2500

  +2500

  +2500

  +2500

  His health pulsed up every half-second for two seconds.

  [Mender's Rapid Infusion]: Restores 10,000 HP over 2 seconds. 10-second cooldown.

  “What the…” Caleb was so shocked he couldn’t speak as he watched Kael’s health bar shoot back to full.

  He should’ve been on the brink of death, burning every cooldown against the boss. How could he instantly reappear 20 yards away?!