〈System Alert: Congratulations, you have defeated Polkentin's Failed Chimera!〉

〈System Alert: Your level has increased by +1!〉

〈System Alert: Your experience has been set to 20%!〉

〈System Alert: Congratulations, you are the first party to defeat Polkentin's Failed Chimera. Your party will receive the highest drop rate.〉

〈System Alert: Congratulations...

...

A stream of system alerts bombarded Izroth and the members of Sacred Beasts.

A few seconds later, the Failed Chimera's stun effect finally wore off as everyone could move again; however, the players from Sacred Beasts remained motionless as though they were still under the effects of the Failed Chimera.

They were dumbfounded by what they had just witnessed. In one strike, Izroth removed the last 1% of the Failed Chimera's HP!

While 1% may not seem like that much damage, one had to take into account that the Failed Chimera was a world boss! Even if its HP was on the lower end for world bosses, a single player dealing that much damage in one strike was inconceivable.

However, when those from Sacred Beasts reviewed the battle logs, they nearly fainted at the sight. 300,000 damage—he dealt over 300,000 damage with one skill! It was no wonder that the last percentage of the Failed Chimera's HP plummeted so fast.

'It's useful. But, the cost and stack accumulation process is a bit troublesome.'

What Izroth used to finish off the Failed Chimera was the skill he acquired after destroying Vostrcane's City Magic Grid and wiping out the entire city along with its inhabitants—Ruthless Slaughterer. The miasma he unleashed was from one of the skill's two effects, Unbridled Kill Count.

Skill Name: Ruthless Slaughterer

Skill Level: MAXED

Skill Rank: Unique*

Requirements: Commit a ruthless act of mass slaughter.

Cost: 40% Max HP, Willpower Check

Passive: The user gains +1 «Slaughter» stack per kill (MAX: 1,000). If the level difference between the user and target is too great, the user has a 0.01% to 25% chance of obtaining a «Slaughterer» stack.

Active: The user consumes all stacks of «Slaughter» to activate «Unbridled Kill Count» or «Endless Massacre».

«Unbridled Kill Count» - Unleashes a powerful killing miasma that encases its target, dealing [5% per «Slaughter» stack] of the user's attack as mixed physical and magical damage.

«Endless Massacre»...

Cooldown: None

Special Note: A ruthless slaughterer leaves behind only a path of death. The more you use this skill, the more difficult it becomes to control. Be sure not to lose yourself along the way.

Izroth placed his Sword of The Storm into its sheath as he noticed several gazes locked onto him.

'I suppose this much is a given.'

Izroth could sense the wariness some of the Sacred Beasts players possessed. After seeing what he was able to accomplish firsthand, some probably feared that he would take this opportunity to turn on them. However, Izroth paid this no mind and simply shook his head inwardly.

Many of them were still in their battle mode after fighting the Failed Chimera for so long. By the time he joined them, Izroth had estimated that they had been battling the world boss for at least an hour. They were fatigued and mentally drained, so it was only natural that they were on edge.

Of course, if Izroth wanted them dead, he would not have waited until the Failed Chimera's defeat to make it happen.

"Splendid. You are truly splendid, Mr. First Place. I have to say I held some reservations regarding your self-appraisal, but what you said is true. It seems I've really gotten myself a good bargain this time." Meng Jiang said with a delightful smile as she approached Izroth without concern.

Seeing their guild leader's behavior made the others from Sacred Beasts relax. A few of them even collapsed to the ground from exhaustion. The physical part was something they could handle for hours on end, but facing a world boss where one slip up was enough to end all their hard work was mentally taxing.

"A deal is a deal. The first item is yours for the taking. Ah, I saw that a common material dropped somewhere in the loot pile—feel free to take that one. In fact, it comes with my personal recommendation." Meng Jiang stated with a glowing smile.

The atmosphere was dead silent after Meng Jiang finished speaking. However, that did not last for long.

"Pfft...!" One Shot Brick tried to hold back his laughter, but he failed miserably.

"Ahahahaha! Guild leader, you're too much! Hahahaha!" One Shot Brick burst out laughing. He was soon followed by the other members of Sacred Beasts.

"Hehehe, leader, you really hate to lose profit, don't you?" Banshee commented with a giggle.

"That's our shameless guild leader for you! Ahahaha!"

"How can she say it to his face with a smile? Bwahahaha!"

"What personal recommendation? Hey, Mr. First Place, don't let our guild leader scam you! Hahaha!"

"Yeah, Mr. First Place! You earned it!"

"Mr. First Place!"

The battlefield that was flooded with an intense atmosphere just moments ago had transformed into a field of laughter. In addition, everyone seemed to have adopted Meng Jiang's nickname for Izroth and started to refer to him as Mr. First Place.

'On the surface, she appears careless, but every move she has made since our encounter has been a calculated one. Interesting.'

Meng Jiang undoubtedly sensed the tense atmosphere and immediately acted to eradicate it.

The deal she made with him earlier was also one that seemed to be a spur of the moment thing, but Izroth could tell that it was something well thought out.

In the little time that she knew Izroth, Meng Jiang had already formed a long term connection with his Mystical Realm Palace by using Rosentarus resources as a bargaining chip. She promised him a favor from her Sacred Beasts, effectively building a gateway for future interaction. She also got a glimpse of his strength and a good understanding of his temperament.

Not to mention the Complete Analysis of her wolf beast, Acogu'An, that Izroth was still unaware of. To accomplish so much within such a short amount of time—this Meng Jiang was perhaps one of the more frightening guild leaders of the top ten guilds. It would also explain why none of the other top guilds attempted to force their way into Rosentarus after Sacred Beasts had already established themselves.

"Then, I'll take your recommendation into consideration," Izroth replied with a carefree smile as he walked over to the loot and searched through it.

'The loot from world bosses are truly on another level compared to what you can find in dungeons.'

There were dozens of rare items and materials that dropped from the Failed Chimera. Even an Ancient ranked material and a few epic quality equipment pieces showed up! Though this much was to be expected since this was the first kill on the Failed Chimera.

'The first thing that stands out is the Ancient material. That being said, it's unfortunate that none of the epic equipment suits me. There is an interesting necklace among the rare items, but it won't serve me much purpose.'

Izroth pondered over what item to take from the loot pile, and after spending a few moments thinking it over, he came to a decision.

'Let's go with this one.'

Izroth picked up an item and placed it into his inventory as he walked away from the pile of loot.

"An interesting choice. I was confident that you would go for the Ancient material or one of the epic pieces of equipment." Meng Jiang commented.

"The eyes perceive as the mind lies—do you know this saying?" Izroth asked. He narrowed his eyes as if he noticed something unusual.

Meng Jiang shook her head and said, "I've never heard of it. But, if I had to guess, I would say it has something to do with not believing everything you see. Though I must say, the reason eludes me as to why you brought this up."

"You are half-correct," Izroth replied.

"Oh? Then, will you enlighten me as to what it is that I am missing?" Meng Jiang inquired.

"Just that it seems you've made some enemies, guild leader Meng Jiang. You all should prepare to defend yourselves." Izroth said.

"What are you-" Just as Meng Jiang was about to speak, something happened.

Hooooooooowl!

All of a sudden, Acogu'An howled as a rain of arrows shot towards the sky from every direction of the forested area.

Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!

The arrows curved as they rained down from the air, heading right for the remaining members of the raid party.

It was an ambush!