Timing was everything. If they threw too early, the Warhawk wouldn't die from the fall, and then they'd have two bosses to deal with.

On top of that, attacking the Warhawk wouldn't even reduce its health. A wipe was inevitable. And since the Hardened Shell could only be used once per run, failing meant they'd have to wait until the dungeon reset the next day, defeat the giant Turtle again, and claim another Hardened Shell.

If they threw too late, the Warhawk would fly too high, out of the Hardened Shell's range—another guaranteed wipe.

The group exchanged glances before turning back to Ethan, admiration clear in their eyes.

How did their leader know all this? Had he cleared this dungeon before? He had every little detail memorized. Under his command, they had made it through from start to finish without a single wipe.

—

Ding!

[Global Announcement: Congratulations to NotADruid and the Renegade Alliance guild for successfully clearing Howling Caverns (Expert Mode) with a five-star rating, achieving the World's First Clear.

Guild Points Rewarded: 30,000

Raid Leader Gold Reward: 2,000 Gold

Raid Member Gold Reward: 20 Gold each

Teamwide Bonus: +3 Levels

Thanks to their efforts, Howling Caverns (Hell Mode) has been unlocked. Challengers, prepare yourselves!]

—

Ding! National Announcement...

Ding! Regional Announcement...

"We did it! World's First!"

"This is insane! I can brag about this for the rest of my life!"

"Guild leader is a beast! Three first clears back to back, that's 30 gold in rewards! I'm donating 1 gold to the guild!"

"Pfft, just 1? I'm putting in 5!"

"Five? That's weak. I'll donate 10!"

Laughter and cheers filled the chat. Ethan smiled, watching his teammates celebrate as he bent down to loot the boss.

Three Bronze items. Three Silver. One Gold. Seven pieces total.

He immediately shared the loot with the raid. Any gear that dropped in a raid was first offered to the team. Members who wanted an item could bid for it using Guild Contribution Points, ensuring fair distribution.

Auctioned points were split evenly among other members, a far better system than the Guild Vault, where the game simply deducted points without redistributing them.

The Bronze and Silver gear was quickly claimed. Then, Ethan glanced at the Gold-tier item and hesitated.

He wanted it. Badly. But just taking it for himself wouldn't sit right.

The usual solution was to bid for it, but in terms of contribution points, nobody in the guild could outmatch him. His points were technically infinite.

Well, no point overthinking it. He posted it in the raid chat.

—

[Blazing Ring]

Tier: Gold (Upgradeable)

Level Requirement: 20

Attack Power: 54-77

Agility: +20

Strength: +20

Intelligence: +20

Effect: Increases physical and magical attack power by 10%.

Set Bonus (1/3) [Inactive]: When equipped with Blazing Bracelet and Blazing Necklace, unlocks the skill Blazing Defense.

Skill Description (Blazing Defense): Grants immunity to death once, reduces damage by 20% for 8 seconds, and fully restores health. (Cooldown: 3 days)

—

"This is insane! And it's a set piece too?"

"How many contribution points will this even cost?"

"I want it so bad, but my points are kinda low..."

"Without the full set bonus, it's just decent, really."

The chat exploded with discussion. Everyone wanted it, but no one wanted to be the first to bid.

Ethan looked at the team and said, "I already have the Blazing Bracelet, so I'd like to keep this ring for myself. Any objections?"

"I can trade for it with twice the market price in Guild Contribution Points, split evenly among you all. If you'd rather have gold, that works too."

As he spoke, he posted the Blazing Bracelet in the chat.

Seeing that he actually had part of the set, the team quickly voiced their opinions. Even if they spent all their contribution points, they still wouldn't be able to afford the ring.

Besides, if it went unclaimed, it would end up in the Guild Vault anyway, where anyone with enough points could claim it. And Ethan had already offered compensation, what was there to argue about?

"No problem, boss. Without you, we wouldn't have cleared this dungeon in the first place. Just take it."

"Yeah, take it!"

"Honestly, in my last guild, the leader and raid officers always took first pick. We only got leftovers."

"Same. And they never compensated us for anything."

Ethan smiled, thanking them before distributing the contribution points.

"Alright, that's it for today. See you all tomorrow!"

By the time he logged out, there were less than two minutes before Ethereal's daily shutdown.

While Renegade Alliance was celebrating, things were much different on the other side.

—

Four players stood before Marcus Skeiner. These four were representatives from Leaf Guild, one of the top pro teams in the region.

Marcus's expression was pure fury.

"You useless pieces of trash! Professional team? My ass! What did you promise me before? You swore you'd get the World First clear, and if not, at least Regional First!"

"And now look at you! That pack of nobodies from Renegade Alliance took all three! World, National, and Regional!"

"You lost to a bunch of casuals! CASUALS!"

Marcus pointed at them, his voice growing sharper with every word.

"Refund me. Right now. Every single cent. And I want compensation on top of that. If you don't pay up, forget about doing business in Harmony City ever again."

The man leading the Leaf Guild representatives could only offer a bitter smile. The three behind him were furious, but since their leader remained silent, they had no choice but to swallow their anger.

His name was Leafshade, and he had led his team through years of blood and sweat. Every single member was elite-tier, handpicked for their skill and dedication.

When Ethereal launched, Leafshade had thrown his entire fortune into building the strongest team possible. By all logic, they should have easily secured this dungeon's first clear. After all, in the Northern Frontier Region, his team was undeniably top-tier. At the very least, they should have secured Regional First.

Who could have predicted that some rookie guild leader would set a new record, snatching all three first clears?

During the Starter Zone phase, Ethan hadn't secured the first dungeon clear himself, although the strategy guide that made it possible had come from him.

Leafshade had assumed that Ethan was strong, but his guild? No way they were elite-level. And yet, somehow, with a ragtag mix of casual players, he had managed to steal the kill right from under their noses.

Clearly, Ethan wasn't just individually strong, he could lead a team to victory, too. And that was what made him truly terrifying.

Leafshade clenched his fists.

The final boss of this dungeon entered an invulnerable phase when its health hit 5%. He was certain his team had been ahead, so how had Ethan pulled it off?