The Scythe Demon’s stats were a wall of question marks.

[Scythe Demon, Elite Monster]

Level: ? | HP: ? | ATK: ? | PDEF: ? | MDEF: ?

Skills: ?

Even Vera frowned slightly. "Uncle, are you certain we can kill these things?"

Butler chuckled over the channel. "Yesterday I picked up a weapon-crafting blueprint from the market. It forges silver-grade longswords. One of the required materials is called Magic Ironstone, and it drops from these creatures."

Vera’s lips curved slightly. "In that case, I’ll try one and see if I can hold up."

Don raised his hand. "Give me a moment. I’ll rent you a high-ranking priest."

He opened his friends list and sent Bernita an invitation. The pretty girl was already Level 28, she’d clearly been grinding diligently. The moment she joined the party, she gasped. "Extraordinary!? Top three on the level leaderboard!"

Vera looked at Don sideways. "Goodness. You haven’t met many men while gaming, but you’ve collected quite a few girls. Listen to that sweet little voice."

Don’s face went red immediately. "Come on. This is my friend’s girl. And she’s taken. I wouldn’t dare."

Quinn stepped forward from the group, dressed in a blue robe, her expression carrying the particular sharp innocence of someone who found other people’s embarrassment deeply entertaining. The Wolf Orc race had a strange quality to its female magic users, their figures were almost absurdly perfect, a legacy of their fox spirit origins, making them look fuller than their real-world counterparts. Quinn’s face, however, retained its completely childlike quality, which created a rather confusing overall impression.

Don quietly thanked the universe that Dust wasn’t awake yet. That guy was a certified lolicon. Seeing Quinn would have given him ideas that nobody needed.

Bernita laughed. "Hehe, Don is genuinely a good person. Please don’t tease him."

Vera said, "Bernita, come quickly. I’ve sent our coordinates to team chat."

In under three minutes, Bernita materialized before them.

Butler, that slovenly old man, gave Don two or three appreciative glances and then leaned in to whisper, "Youth is genuinely wonderful."

Don flattered him immediately. "Uncle, in my heart, you’ll always be seventeen."

"Enough flattery. Help us advertise later. I’m leaving now. Deliver the goods tonight, at least two stacks of Magic Essence Iron."

Don nearly fainted. In Realms Online, one stack equaled one hundred units. Two stacks was two hundred, before the battle had even started. Were they trying to kill him?

The girls burst into laughter at his expression.

Butler’s production team withdrew, leaving Extraordinary Studio plus Bernita, seven players total.

Quinn swung her staff, twisted her slender waist, and spun lightly five times. Five dazzling halos cascaded down from above their heads, each one settling over the group like warm light, leaving everyone feeling refreshed and sharpened simultaneously. Five status buffs appeared at once.

Ode to Life, Max HP +5% for 60 minutes.

Ode to Iron Wall, Max PDEF and MDEF +5% for 60 minutes.

Hymn of Power, Max Physical ATK +5% for 60 minutes.

Hymn of Wisdom, Max Magic ATK +5% for 60 minutes.

Ode to the Gale, Movement speed +0.2 m/s for 60 minutes.

Basic skills, so the individual bonuses were modest. But Don could already see the ceiling, in the later stages, these buffs would compound dramatically, and larger teams would depend on Dancers the way a general depends on supply lines.

Don chuckled. "You remind me a little of the Sorcerer class from Battle Online."

Quinn stuck her tongue out at him. "If the devs wanted a sorcerer, they’d have just copied one. Why would they design a whole separate class? Stupid old man."

Don turned to Vera with tears forming. "Boss. I’m requesting permission to discipline this child. She’s saying infuriating things."

Vera ignored him completely. "I’m ready. Let’s go. Little Don, stay close and cover me."

"Boss, even you’re bullying me."

"Stop whining. Come here and be the kitchen knife."

They left the village. Vera, being the highest level and clearly the most fearless, drew her secondary weapon, a crossbow, and shot the nearest lone Scythe Demon without preamble. The creature swayed, and a significant damage number appeared.

[1,459!]

The crossbow’s attack range was wide, so Don assumed that had been a lucky high roll. Then Vera’s second shot hit.

[1,905!]

Before anyone could process that, Vera was already moving. Like a gust of wind, she crossed the distance in an instant, the crossbow sliding back to her waist in one motion as her longsword cleared its scabbard. A flash of cold light struck the Scythe Demon’s neck with casual precision.

[System: Player Extraordinary used Vital Strike on Scythe Demon, 4,029 damage. Scythe Demon loses 895 HP per second for 8 seconds.]

Vital Strike was exclusive to War Spirits. Miss the vital area and the bonus halved. Hit it and the bonus amplified, with sustained bleed on top, a genuinely overpowered skill that rewarded both gear and execution. The skill book currently sat around 100 gold coins on the market, second only to Qiankun Strike at 200, Head-On Slash at 300, and the exceedingly rare Smear Toxin. Not a skill for people with money but no technique.

The Scythe Demon’s health dropped visibly. It swung its sword at Vera in fury. She moved like she was made of smoke, circling behind it in a single fluid arc, her rapier tracing a perfect equilateral triangle across its back at impossible speed.

[Wind Whirlwind Slash, 2,785!]

The skill also reduced the target’s turning speed by 30 percent, a devastating debuff against both melee monsters and players.

Don didn’t try to match her elegance. He crouched behind the Scythe Demon, activated Killing Intent, and swung into a Backstab.

The creature sidestepped. Somehow it had anticipated him.

Vera laughed. "Just deal damage. Stop posturing."

With tears welling, Don drove two Consecutive Slashes into the Scythe Demon’s side and flicked his wrist for a third strike.

[1,895!] [2,094!] [Critical, 5,206!]

He allowed himself exactly one moment of smugness. Then the Scythe Demon spun, swung its red-glowing blade, and carved through his chest.

[3,485!]

Qiankun Strike.

Don activated Evasion immediately and backed off. At the same moment, Little Chili and Kira both activated their skills simultaneously and unloaded on the Scythe Demon.

The creature answered with a half-moon slash, a 180-degree arc that caught Kira, Little Chili, and Vera all at once.

[1,195!] [1,958!] [1,485!]

Vera’s gear was excellent, but a War Spirit’s Constitution growth was only tier seven, putting her total health around 6,000. That 1,485 was too significant to ignore. She stepped back and let Kira take the front.

Vera shot Don a preemptive look the moment she disengaged. "Don’t laugh. Or I will make you regret it."

"I haven’t laughed yet."

"You have that look on your face."

Don decided silence was the wisest response.

Quinn meanwhile wasn’t idle. She took a moment to demonstrate something, lightly tossing her staff while her skirt swayed, a layer of fiery energy coiling around the Scythe Demon and immediately transforming its appearance into that of a burning sprite.

[System: Player Under the Hibiscus used Flame Dance on Scythe Demon. Scythe Demon transformed into a fire spirit and temporarily forgot all skills. Effect lasts 6 seconds.]

The creature went erratic, reduced to nothing but normal attacks, which dramatically lightened Kira’s burden. Quinn smiled with both rows of her small sharp teeth showing, something between a grin and a threat, and Don felt an involuntary chill.

She didn’t use her second dance until the cooldown expired about thirty seconds later. In the gap, she cycled through Fire Spell and Poison Curse, neither of which hit particularly hard. That was clearly intentional, her visible 6,000 HP suggested heavy Constitution investment, keeping her alive rather than maximizing output.

After more than a minute of coordinated punishment, the Scythe Demon finally collapsed. It dropped six gold coins, and with it, a single piece of ore trailing wisps of black smoke.

Don picked it up and turned it over in his hand. The Magic Ironstone was warm to the touch, heavier than it looked, with a dull metallic surface that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. Butler was going to be very pleased.

The boss had no hands or feet. It hovered in mid-air, black armor covering a frame that tapered into an exaggeratedly wide cloak, the fabric falling from its shoulders all the way to the ground like a dark curtain. Where hands should have been, two blood-red scythes extended from its sleeves, curved and gleaming. It was clearly the leader of the Scythe Demons. Beyond its name and rank, every other attribute was hidden behind question marks.

Nightmare Wings, Elite Boss.

Elite level. One full tier above an Enhanced Boss. And given the question marks surrounding every single stat, nobody at their level had any business engaging it directly.

The boss’s aggro radius was wider than ordinary monsters, so the group kept at least forty meters of distance, watching it patrol in slow, deliberate arcs through the air. Everyone felt the simultaneous pull of excitement and dread that only a genuinely dangerous encounter could produce.

Vera made the sensible call. "We leave the boss alone. But we take the ore at its feet."