Upon seeing hashu come for her Lily cried out and ran, good instincts, immediate response, but the speed was wrong. Hashu closed the distance with the mechanical inevitability of something that hadn’t evolved to be outrun, and even Lily’s dark elf movement couldn’t open the gap fast enough. The distance between them was shrinking in a way that had a clear endpoint.

An ice cone crossed the air from Lane’s position and detonated at the boss’s feet. The freeze wasn’t total but it was enough, Hashu’s movement stuttered, the ground locking around its legs for a critical fraction of a second.

[2,049!]

Lane’s voice was flat and professional. "Magic resistance is significant."

Don had already made his calculation. Open world boss. No dungeon lock. No healer on hand. The correct play was disengagement, pull back, get distance, bring in support. Any experienced player would recognize this immediately.

He opened his mouth to say exactly that.

Kira activated her dash skill.

The speed boost carried her forward in a single surging movement, closing the distance to Hashu in a straight line, and she brought the longsword up and across the boss’s forehead with the full weight of Holy Strike behind it.

"Brother Don." Her voice was entirely composed. "You don’t actually think Paladins are worth anything just because of attribute tiers, do you?"

The words landed with the specific weight of someone who had been waiting for the right moment to make a point.

Then the golden light came.

It started at her sword hand and expanded outward, not the pale silver of a standard buff, not the cold blue of magic. Gold, deep and warm, the color of something old and serious, spreading across her armor and into the ground beneath her feet until it encompassed her completely.

Don watched it happen and felt, for the second time that night, the particular sensation of revising everything he thought he knew about the person standing next to him.

A curtain of gold slowly gathered from an eggshell-shaped shimmer, lingering on Kira’s armor for several seconds before gradually dissipating.

[System: Player Aqua Nebula has activated Divine Armor, Physical and Magic Defense increased by 20% for 30 minutes]

Don was astonished. "That’s an incredible skill..."

Kira blushed. "Don’t use that kind of language."

Divine Armor was exclusive to Paladins, other Knight players simply couldn’t learn it. The seemingly modest 20 percent boost to both physical and magic defense was deceptively powerful when tanking bosses. Paladins already possessed the highest physical defense among all heavy-armor classes when equipped with a shield. That additional 20 percent was like pouring another layer of concrete onto an already impenetrable wall.

But even so, Kira couldn’t tank the boss without taking damage.

The Saber-Toothed Rat King whipped around and slammed its two enormous, razor-sharp front teeth into her shoulder like a battering ram. Blood sprayed from the impact. Kira’s brow furrowed as a damage number of 305 floated above her head. She’d still been broken through.

Before Don could even move toward her, the Debtborn had already pulled several bundles of Nimi dwarf alchemist’s potions from his pack and tossed them over. "Little girl, catch!"

Kira reacted instantly, raising her shield to intercept the bundles mid-air and sweeping them into her backpack. She pulled out a bottle, downed it in one gulp, and slammed her shield into the Saber-Toothed Rat King with a Shield Stun.

The Debtborn shrugged helplessly. "Young people these days are so energetic. Much better than us old fogeys. Here’s the plan, Snow Fox is online. I’ll call her over. Kira, if you can hold, hold. If you can’t, disengage and run. Lily and I will take control."

A sly smile crept onto Don’s face. "Brother Lane, you could actually control things right now."

The Debtborn’s confusion lasted exactly one second before he burst out laughing. "You’re a real sly one."

Don’s method was simple: have the Debtborn and Kira take turns pulling aggro by carefully managing their DPS and threat levels. For two experienced players, this wasn’t difficult. Of course, Don also needed to control his own output, if he over-aggroed, the Saber-Toothed Rat King’s devastating attacks could kill him in two hits.

What relieved him somewhat was that although the boss’s attack stat was high, it consistently seemed weaker against Kira. Damage hovered around a few hundred per hit. Even critical strikes only dealt around 900. Puzzling, considering the boss was five levels above her and should have had a significant damage bonus from the level gap.

After thinking about it, the realization struck. This was what veteran players had been calling control since the Battle Online era. Control, the ability to manage both yourself and your opponent simultaneously. The higher this ability, the less damage you took from attacks of equivalent power. Kira was a hidden class. Her control was far superior to ordinary players, allowing her to remain calm and composed even against bosses of significantly higher rank and level.

Even so, the HP she recovered through potions couldn’t quite keep pace with her losses.

So Don started wondering, what was behind this girl’s sudden confidence?

The answer revealed itself the moment her HP dropped to 50 percent.

Kira raised her shield and shouted, "Holy Absorption!"

In an instant, the entire shield erupted with dazzling golden light, like a searchlight. The radiance traced a beautiful U-shape through the air before settling onto her body.

When the boss’s fangs struck her armor next, they didn’t even leave a scratch. Instead, the blow landed as softly as rotten cotton against a wall.

A green recovery number of 3,098 appeared above her head. Full HP, instantly restored.

Lily stared blankly. "That was so cool, but what just happened?"

Don murmured. "Full absorption."

"Brother Don, what does that mean?"

"It ignores your own defense and converts the incoming attack entirely into healing. Imagine pouring water into a sponge, every last drop gets absorbed." He turned to Kira. "What’s the cooldown?"

"Sixty seconds."

Don glanced at the current threat meters. Kira held 36 percent. The Debtborn held 30 percent.

"Kira, the cooldown is still too long. Here’s what we do, if your HP drops to half and the skill isn’t ready, go full defense and let Brother Lane unload everything he’s got. Lily, don’t use your control skills carelessly, especially the slow. Only use them if Brother Lane’s controls fail. And I’m going to ramp up my damage to pull some aggro onto myself."

The Debtborn gave a thumbs up. "Triangle tactics?"

"No other choice. I’ve got Evasion, so I can survive three hits regardless."

The Debtborn had to comply. Despite his decent equipment, his defense and HP were still fundamentally low. The Saber-Toothed Rat King could one-shot him if it chose to. And at this level, mages lacked both Mage Shield and Blink, those skills could only be learned after Level 40 and the first job advancement.

All four of them were tense now. The Debtborn added War Fire Snow Fox to the team.

The woman with alluring looks and a fiery figure greeted the group with a sweet smile the instant she joined. Her voice was almost louder than a quartet. "Hehe, isn’t that Lily and Don? What are you three up to? Brother Lane, you’re really something, teaming up with them and playing third wheel."

The Debtborn looked pained. "Snow Fox, stop teasing. Check our coordinates and get over here. We’re pushing a buffed boss and we need a healer."

War Fire Snow Fox was Level 23 and currently ranked first among all priests. Don had witnessed her healing abilities firsthand, every bit as impressive as Bernita’s. Though if that lazy little Bernita had been online right now, he would have called her instead in a heartbeat.

The moment she heard the stakes, Snow Fox’s tone went serious. "How about this, I’ll organize a group to come loot, and I’ll wake up Brother Finch while I’m at it."

The Debtborn frowned slightly. "Snow Fox, private chat."

His lips moved again, but no sound reached the others. He’d already switched to telepathic communication. Less than thirty seconds later, Snow Fox’s voice returned, sweet enough to kill. "Ah, I see. Since Water Color Sister can hold, let’s hang on a bit. I’ll wake up Brother Finch so he can come grab some experience."

From her phrasing alone, Don already knew what the Debtborn had told her privately. He had to admire the man’s fairness. It was obvious Don’s group had found the boss first. Snow Fox’s initial instinct had been to tell them to disengage so the War Fire team could take the kill, exactly the kind of self-serving call a team leader would make. But the Debtborn had considered all three of them. That made him someone worth knowing.

Snow Fox logged off immediately. Less than thirty seconds later, the famous ID Zord Kane lit up in Don’s friends list. Elias Finch, Boss Finch, had come online.

Team leadership was temporarily assigned to the Debtborn. He immediately added Elias Finch and Snow Fox to the party. After a brief situation report, Elias Finch laughed heartily. "What an honor! I’m actually in the same team as the first hidden class in the American region! Here’s the deal, you keep tanking, don’t try to be heroes. If you can’t hold, disengage and wait for Snow Fox and me. As for loot distribution, whoever spotted the boss first gets to decide."