Blood bind

The announcement didn't disappear immediately. It remained suspended across every player's vision for several seconds.

[SERVER ANNOUNCEMENT]

[Player Unrivaled has achieved the first server-wide kill of an Iron-Tier Boss.]

[Skill Acquired: Bloodbind]

[Rank: S]

[Rewards: Reputation +10 | Gold +10 | Luck +1]

Then the server exploded.

"Who the hell is Unrivaled?"That's impossible!

"I've been killing Thornback Hares for almost two hours and I'm barely Level 3!"

"Someone already killed a boss?"

"An Iron-Tier Boss!" There's no way a normal player did that!

The chat moved so quickly that messages disappeared almost as soon as they appeared.

Some players immediately assumed it was a guild. Others insisted it had to be a hidden class. A few were already searching the rankings for the name.

Kael watched the chaos for several seconds before closing the world chat.

Exactly what he'd wanted.

Now let's see what happens.

He turned his attention to the corpse at his feet.

The Thornback Alpha had already begun dissolving into particles.Kael crouched beside it.

Several items remained behind. And one of them immediately caught his attention.

A faint crimson glow leaked from beneath the other drops. Kael picked it up. The moment his fingers touched it, the item transformed into a skill book.

[Bloodbind]

[S-Rank Skill]

[Bind yourself to one companion.]

[While the bond is active, 80% of damage received by the user is transferred to the bound companion.]

[Mana Consumption: 10 per second]

[Cooldown: 10 seconds]

Kael went still. Then he laughed.

"So that's what you gave me."

He read the description again. There was no mistake. Bloodbind was exactly what Beastlord needed.

The class had tremendous potential, but it possessed an obvious weakness. The Beastlord could have an army of monsters protecting him.

That didn't matter if an enemy ignored the monsters and reached the player. Kael himself was still fragile. One powerful attack could end the fight before his companions had time to react.

Bloodbind changed that.

He glanced at the Ravenous Husk. The creature stood several meters away, still licking blood from its claws.

Its HP was already over two thousand. And that number was only going to grow.

Kael's smile widened. "You're becoming my shield."

He used the skill book. The crimson light shattered into dozens of tiny particles and sank into his body.

[Bloodbind learned.]

[You may establish a Bloodbind with one eligible companion.]

Kael didn't activate it yet. There was no reason to waste mana.

He opened the rest of the loot. Three pieces of equipment appeared.

[Ironhide Boots]

[Rank: Iron]

[Defense: 11]

[Agility: +5]

[Required Level: 4]

[Bloodclaw Dagger]

[Rank: Iron]

[Attack: 13-15]

[Strength: +6]

[Required Level: 5]

[Braided Hide Wristguard]

[Rank: Iron]

[Defense: 10]

[Constitution: +5]

[Required Level: 4]

Kael looked at the three items. "Not bad."

For a fresh player, this would have been an absurd haul. Iron-grade equipment was still rare.

Most players were running around with beginner gear, and many hadn't even seen a proper equipment drop yet.

Kael had killed dozens upon dozens of monsters before finding anything worth keeping.

The Alpha had made up for it.

Unfortunately, there was one problem. He couldn't equip any of it.

Kael opened his character panel.

[Level: 1]

He sighed. "Still Level 1."

Every bit of experience he'd earned had gone into the Husk. It was intentional. His own level could wait.

The equipment went into his inventory.

Then Kael noticed something else. The Husk was glowing.

[Your companion, Ravenous Husk, has reached Level 6.]

Kael's eyebrows rose. "Already?"

The experience from the Alpha had been enormous for a creature that was only Level 5.

He opened the companion panel. The numbers had jumped again. The Husk's health had recovered significantly, and with Lord of Beasts amplifying its base stats, its overall strength was becoming ridiculous for a beginner-zone companion.

Kael studied the numbers. Almost there.

The plan was never to simply turn the Husk into a giant pile of HP. The health stacking was preparation. The real purpose was what came after.

Kael closed the panel. "Get up."

The Husk immediately rose. It stared at him.

Kael pointed toward the west. "We're moving."

The creature followed.

They hadn't gone more than a few dozen meters when Kael stopped. A small item was lying in the grass. He picked it up.

A copper coin.

He turned it between his fingers. Even after everything that had happened, Kael couldn't help smiling.

Money.

It looked insignificant now. A few copper coins wouldn't buy anything important. But after Ascension merged with reality, every coin would become real currency.

And unlike the players who treated the early game as nothing more than a race for levels, Kael knew what those small resources would eventually become.

He put the coin away.

Then he looked toward the forest. The server had only been open for a few hours. Already, several first achievements were waiting.

First Bronze-Tier Boss kill.

First Level 10.First class advancement.

First rare dungeon discovery.

Each one carried rewards. Each one could change a player's position before the rest of the world even realized what was happening.

Kael had already taken one.

He wasn't giving the others away.

He started walking. Then he stopped again.

The Alpha's corpse had almost completely disappeared. Almost. Something remained beneath it.

Kael crouched. A patch of grass was stained dark red. His eyes narrowed.

That's right.

He remembered. There was a hidden quest in this region. Most players wouldn't discover it until much later. Even then, many would miss the trigger entirely.

The quest required the heads of three Iron-Tier Bosses and one Bronze-Tier Boss. The reward was worth far more than anything a normal beginner could obtain.

And the first head was right in front of him.

Kael drew his rusty longsword. One clean swing. The Alpha's head separated from its body.

The Husk tilted its head.

Kael glanced at it. "What?"The creature growled."You already ate the important part."

He picked up the head and shoved it into his storage.

One down. Three more.

Kael turned west. He knew exactly where the next boss would appear. He knew the approximate time. He knew what guarded it.

And he knew something else.

The players who had just seen the name Unrivaled on their screens were going to start looking for him.

That was fine.

Let them look.Kael disappeared between the trees with the Ravenous Husk at his side.

He wasn't running from the attention.

He was using it.

Somewhere behind him, the server was still talking about the mysterious player who had taken the first boss kill.

And Kael was already hunting the second.