-9,999,999!

Every vine, petal, and piece of wood evaporated instantly.

The boss didn't even scream; it simply ceased to exist.

And then—

BOOM!

A massive golden shockwave burst outward.

Everyone hit by it took 1,000,000 damage on the spot. Anyone too close died instantly.

The clearing turned into chaos as half the players were sent flying or deleted outright.

Even Karl, who had already run far back, had to throw up his [All-Powerful Magic Barrier].

BAM!

The shockwave slammed into him like a giant hammer.

The barrier absorbed every point of damage, but the impact still sent him crashing into one of the walls surrounding the clearing.

He groaned and pulled himself back to his feet quickly, pointing his staff.

No matter how overwhelming this opponent was after all, panic would do nothing to help.

Though the other players didn't seem to be of the same opinion as screams filled the air.

People were yelling, searching, trying to understand what had just happened.

The only players still alive were the ones who happened to stand far enough away.

Karl didn't join in the confusion. His eyes narrowed instead.

Because now that he had felt this attack up close, now that he had seen the golden comet with his own eyes, he knew exactly who could do something like that.

And once the dust finally settled… a single figure stood in the center of the crater.

Golden light faded. Mist rolled away.

And standing there was—

"Sorry for the damage," HolyDemon said with a grin as he lifted himself back up, "I wanted to test this new ability of mine, and when I saw the announcement, I thought, what's better than using it on a special boss?"

Karl stared ahead at [HolyDemon]'s figure as the player slowly rose back up from the shattered ground.

'Knew it.'

He hadn't recognized it immediately, but... Karl could kind of guess who was the culprit.

Even across two lives, there were things you never forgot, and such attacks were some of them.

In his past life, he'd actually seen [HolyDemon] use it once or twice, though they weren't close enough for him to know how it worked.

Damage on that scale wasn't something anyone below the top 50 could ever produce after all. It was simply impossible.

Normal players could train for months without coming close. And above level 100?

Monsters became so strong they could wipe out continents on their own.

They didn't just have a lot of HP, they had tens of millions, sometimes hundreds of millions.

One mistake and an entire region could get erased.

But even with all that damage, even those top 50 players Karl remembered struggled.

Even they died and fell behind eventually.

So seeing this level of destruction so early in the game brought back everything Karl already knew deep inside: the gap between a normal player and a true powerhouse was monstrous.

Still, Karl simply pushed himself up and looked at the system windows floating around him.

Ding!

---

[You have killed "Floral Master (Level 45 Legendary-Rank Special Boss)"]

[You have gained 1,000,000 experience points.]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 38 + Level 39!]

[You have gained 10 points in all attributes, and 10 free points to distribute.]

[You have gained 32 Evolution Points!]

[You have gained 529 Lives!]

---

He couldn't immediately use [Hand of Oblivion].

First, because he was still too far from the corpse.

Second, he didn't want to expose anything in front of [HolyDemon].

That passive, [Demon Analysis], was one of the most annoying things to deal with in the entire game.

That ability didn't just look at your stats, it looked into you. And it allowed [HolyDemon] to know a LOT.

'Should be fine,' Karl thought.

He wasn't even certain whether [Hand of Oblivion] had a strict time limit. He doubted it.

It was more likely active until a corpse naturally vanished, and a special boss's corpse would stay for a while.

Enough time for him to use it safely.

Most of the players who had survived the impact of [Divine Fall] had already run away.

They didn't want to stick around whatever had caused this crater in the first place.

Anyone who saw sky-blue light raining down from the heavens and turning the ground into molten glass made the smartest decision possible: escape, don't look back, don't question anything.

Meaning that Karl was practically the only one left in the clearing.

Him… and [HolyDemon]. The other player slowly turned his head toward Karl. Their eyes met.

[Demon Analysis: Godly presence.]

[HolyDemon]'s eyes narrowed.

The grin on his face widened into something sharp and amused.

"You might have been surprised, didn't you," HolyDemon said with a tone that sounded like he already knew the answer.

Then he shrugged.

"But it should be fine, I can't grab the items anyway."

The boss had dropped two items. Only, [HolyDemon] couldn't pick them up. The system didn't let him.

The reason was simple: Karl had dealt most of the damage before the finishing blow landed.

And even though [HolyDemon] delivered a 9,999,999-damage nuke, the boss had only 500,000 HP left at the moment of impact.

So Karl got everything.

[HolyDemon] even bent down to grab the [Flower Compass] lying near the corpse, only for a translucent barrier to block his hand.

Rules were rules. Even a level 100 couldn't overwrite them.

"Well," [HolyDemon] said, turning his back to the items, "See you soon, Oblivion."

Karl stared at him blankly. Then he exhaled once.

"See you in the further regions."

"Hah! Even you know you'll reach us soon enough!"

[HolyDemon] spun his scepter once, bowed lightly as if greeting an equal, and dissolved into golden sparks that floated upward before fading. Gone just like that.

Karl didn't even know how exactly HolyDemon ended up in the sky in the first place to cast [Divine Fall], but it had to be part of the skill.

That ability was strange, but what's funny is that it was nothing compared to what would happen in the future.

Still, this whole scene brought Karl back to reality.

He'd gotten too comfortable these last few hours, too caught up in small fights and small bosses.

Seeing this kind of damage again made everything clear.

'I should be able to deal just as much if not more,' Karl grinned, 'I'll be fine.'

He stepped toward the [Floral Master]'s massive, twisted corpse.

Hand of Oblivion!

Once he made absolutely sure no one else was around, he activated the skill.

The spectral hand erupted from his staff, forming a giant shadow-like arm that plunged straight into the boss's corpse.

The vines shriveled instantly as the hand drained its essence.

Ding!

[You have gained 30 Evolution Points!]

[You have gained 503 Lives!]

"Nice."

Instead of dropping additional items, this boss converted into EP and Lives.

It didn't bother Karl at all. He actually preferred it.

The EP alone made this worth everything.

[Current Evolution Points: 105.]

Karl blinked.

"Damn."

He'd passed 100 again already.

At this rate, he could evolve two more legendary skills, or… a single mythical one.

Both paths were tempting. Both would push him forward.

But for now, he turned to the items that had dropped normally.

The first one lay near the roots of the massive dead plant.

Karl grabbed it.

---

[Floral Master Wand (Legendary): Summoner/Beast Tamer-type weapon. +3,500 Spirit, +1000 Agility, +20% Control over Summons/Beasts. Requirement: Level 45]

[Flower Summon (Active): allows you to summon a "Jaw of Bloom" and "Man-Eating Flower" to aid you.]

[Flower Authority (Passive): All of your plant-type summons/beasts will have their loyalty toward you increase by 80.]

---

"Damn."

This was the first summoner/beast tamer-type piece of equipment he had gotten in this life.

Summoners usually geared themselves with generic robes and hats.

Actual class-specific legendary-grade weapons were rare. Extremely rare.

And this wand even came with two abilities, which made it even more valuable.

'It'll fetch for good,' Karl thought, grinning as he stored it in his inventory.

Then he reached for the item he truly wanted.

---

[Flower Compass (Legendary): Will show the direction of a specific place in the "Flower Labyrinth" up to five times.]

---

Karl's expression sharpened. This was it.

This was the one he needed.

There were no requirements on it in term of level, meaning anyone could use it.

But of course, he wouldn't give it to anyone.

He planned to squeeze every drop of value out of it.

Even if it only worked five times, the usefulness was massive.

So his first command was immediate.

"Show me the location of the [Danger Zone]," Karl said, "I want to go see what's there."

Fwish! Ding!

["Flower Compass" is now set on "Danger Zone"]

'Good.'

The confirmation told him exactly what he hoped for: the [Danger Zone] was inside the [Flower Labyrinth].

Fwoosh!

A thin green arrow appeared in front of him, floating in the air like a directional guide only he could see.

It pointed toward a very specific path deeper into the labyrinth.

Karl stared at it for a moment.

'Well, I'll just have to follow it, then.'

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