Because Kira was tanking at close range, she reacted a fraction too late. She couldn’t run. All she could do was instinctively raise the Heart of Jelgund across her chest.

Another deafening bang. Don could hear the violent tremors reverberating through the shield. His heart sank. It’s over. Kira was nearly Level 28. This is a massive loss.

But a silvery-white beam of light cascaded down vertically, dispelling the smoke in front of Kira and restoring over 1,500 of her HP. Even so, her health had dropped to barely a third.

Kira’s armor was charred black, and bright red blood was flowing from a gash on her cheek. She retreated several meters. "That’s brutal. Even after blocking, it still hit that hard."

Don immediately gave orders. "Kira and Diana, stop melee. Switch to bows and shoot from range. Bernita, heal Kira to full, then go offensive. Lily, just do whatever you think is best. This thing doesn’t have any weak points."

Lily was visibly annoyed. "Brother Don, this boss is way more shameless than you..."

"..."

After each self-destruction, Scar the Demolition Expert lost over 50,000 HP of its own. The cost it paid was ten times what any player suffered.

They changed tactics entirely, all players switching to ranged attacks. Diana and Kira each carried a longbow. Diana’s was slightly better, a Level 25 bronze weapon, while Kira’s was a basic Level 20 bow that had dropped from a monster the day before. These bows were nothing impressive on paper, but they were essential tools for top-tier warrior players. Useful not only against bosses but also for finishing off fleeing opponents in PvP, when you’d brought someone to low HP and they tried to escape, a well-aimed arrow solved the problem elegantly.

But fighting this way cratered their efficiency. None of the three melee players were archer classes, none of their bows had attack skills, and frankly, their aim was poor. Scar also had absurdly high evasion, so its HP barely moved.

Don still found a way. When the next head came rolling toward him, he took a calculated risk, activated Evasion, then delivered a beautiful right-instep kick, sending the severed head sailing back the way it had come.

The head traced a bizarre arc through the air, like a misfired soccer ball, and landed directly beside Scar’s own body.

The explosion was magnificent. A completely organic red number bloomed above the boss’s charred forehead.

[7,890!]

When the smoke cleared, Scar stood blackened from head to toe. It held up its freshly regenerated head and hurled it back at Don. "Kid, I don’t believe you’re that accurate!"

Seeing the head descending from mid-air, Don launched himself into a graceful fish-leap, and his right foot connected cleanly. The head changed direction with a sharp whistle and flew precisely into Scar’s waiting arms.

Another boom. Loud and harmonious.

The four women broke into warm applause. Don grinned like an idiot. "Thank you, thank you! If you have money, please donate. If you don’t, your presence is enough."

The four of them exchanged smirks and each tossed a single copper coin at his feet. Lily, naturally, took it furthest. "Come on then, pick them up."

Don glared at her, then bent down and collected all four coins. "Even a fly is still meat. You’re throwing money around like this, careful you don’t end up marrying a miser."

"I just realized how talkative this unlucky kid is." Diana shook her head in exasperation.

Don said cautiously, "Sister Diana, there’s a big ball under your feet."

"Ouch!" Diana yelped. With a quick lift of her leg, the round object rolled along a crooked diagonal trajectory and landed precisely at Lily’s feet.

Lily screamed and activated Evasion.

The deafening roar assaulted their eardrums once more.

Lily coughed violently, eyes brimming with tears as she looked at Diana. "Sister Diana, your kick was so accurate."

Diana, not blushing in the slightest, cleared her throat. "I used to be the goalkeeper for a women’s team, so my footwork is a little rough. By the way, Don, what position did you play?"

Don pounded his chest. "Whatever position the world-class star Beckham plays, that’s my position. What’s wrong with you guys? Didn’t like lunch? Don’t throw up."

The boss fight was both chaotic and genuinely entertaining. They battled for over ten minutes, and after countless explosions, Scar the Demolition Expert was finally brought to critical HP.

Just as its head was arcing through the air toward Bernita, a gust of wind suddenly came from behind her. A halberd pierced straight through the blood-dripping head, dragging it forward and slamming it into Scar’s chest. The impact sent the boss flying backward, crashing against the black, oily mine wall with a sickening crunch.

The final, thunderous explosion brought an entire section of the coal mine ceiling down, burying Scar’s remains beneath tons of rubble and debris.

A halberd stood upright in the coal pile. Behind Bernita stood Dust, perfectly calm. "I fouled. Shouldn’t have used my hands."

"That accuracy is insane! Dude, you’ve practiced javelin, haven’t you?"

"Brother Don, you know too much."

"Stop talking and start digging coal! Our loot is buried under there!"

Although Dust had lost a level, thanks to the experience he’d gained clearing the first level of Anya Mine plus the boss kill reward, he’d already recovered to Level 25 at 94 percent. One more push and he’d be safely back in the clear.

Everyone’s experience had generally ticked up. Worth noting, however, was that the rising level thresholds somewhat diluted the thrill of killing higher-level bosses, since Scar was only Normal rank. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

So, having just been mine-clearing operatives, they now became miners. Kira was remarkably efficient, she used the Heart of Jelgund as a makeshift shovel, and in no time she’d dug out the gold coins and other debris from the collapsed rubble.

They all burst out laughing when they looked at each other. Everyone’s bodies and faces were caked in black soot.

Lily squirmed uncomfortably. "I suddenly really want a bath."

"Then go take one."

"Not just in-game, in real life too. By the way, Don, can’t you install a bathtub at home? I haven’t had a proper soak in ages."

"You brat. You’re getting free housing and you’re still complaining. Be grateful you get a shower. And remember to pay rent when you actually have money."

After this exchange between Don and Lily, Diana and the Reincarnation players’ eyes widened in surprise.

Dust exclaimed in a trembling voice, "Brother Don... you’re living with Lily?"