Slashblade chuckled at Skyblade's disbelief.

"Hah, that's why Boss is Boss. He's got 6,250 HP, that's three times yours! And his movement? Flawless."

Ethan weaved through the battlefield, dodging most of the Flame Draconian's Fireballs with precise footwork. He only took a hit when there was absolutely no way around it, giving Slashblade plenty of time to keep his health topped up.

"You've gotta be joking," Skyblade muttered.

"Less talking, more running. Get back here and help interrupt its spells. Inferno Blast will take out half my health, I don't think Slashblade can heal me fast enough if I take the full hit," Ethan said in party chat.

Even with his dodging, the few Fireballs that did connect were hitting him for over 1,800 damage each. The monster was five levels higher than him, and being pure magic-based, its damage was brutal.

Ethan hadn't had time to collect skill books yet, he didn't even have the druid interrupt skill Skull Bash.

"Moonbeam, simulate your strongest true-damage arrow," Ethan called out.

With others around, he always used her in-game name.

"Got it!" Lyla responded instantly.

"Wait, what about Rapidfire Barrage?" Ethan asked.

He distinctly remembered giving her an advanced archer skill book that she should've learned.

"Oh, crap! I just hit level 15 and forgot to learn it! One sec!" As she spoke, the Flame Draconian began casting Inferno Blast.

Ten seconds. The spell was almost complete.

Heavy Strike!

Ethan launched a stun attack, knocking the Draconian out for three seconds.

As soon as the stun wore off, the monster resumed casting.

Typhoon!

A burst of wind sent the Draconian stumbling eight meters backward, interrupting the spell again.

The third cast began.

Out of nowhere, a massive warhammer crashed down on the Draconian's skull.

Hammer of Judgment!

SeraphWarrior's control skill landed, stunning the Draconian for five seconds.

But as soon as the stun ended, the monster started casting Inferno Blast yet again.

Ethan knew there were no more interrupts left. This time, the spell was going to hit.

Damn it, I won't be able to dodge this one.

A massive fireball, the size of a bathtub, blasted toward him at breakneck speed.

Ethan had already sprinted ten meters away, trying to create an escape window, but he had underestimated Inferno Blast's speed. The moment he reacted, the fireball was already in his face.

Boom!

-5,756!

A critical hit.

If not for his high HP and Slashblade's constant healing, he would've suffered the same fate as Skyblade.

Gritting his teeth, Ethan chugged a Medium Instant Healing Potion.

+4,250!

He was back in the fight.

Slashblade, however, had already burned through a third of his mana, and the battle had only lasted a minute.

Even with Ethan dodging most attacks, the damage was too high. Slashblade's main healing spell only restored about 400 HP per cast, meaning he had to cast four times just to recover from a single hit.

"Skyblade, how much longer till you get back?" Ethan asked.

"It's a long way. At least five more minutes," Skyblade replied.

Ethan was starting to feel the pressure. The Flame Draconian had only lost a fifth of its health.

At this rate, it would take at least five more minutes to kill it.

If Slashblade ran out of mana, Ethan would be the first to die, then the whole team would follow.

If things got worse, he'd have to call for a retreat.

"Boss, don't worry. I haven't even used a mana potion yet. I still have one Medium Slow Mana Recovery Potion, it should be enough to finish this fight," Slashblade reassured him.

"Wasting a Medium Slow Mana Recovery Potion on a single elite? That's a loss," Ethan muttered.

Mana potions were five times the price of health potions.

A Medium Slow Health Recovery Potion cost 2 gold, while a mana potion of the same level was 10 gold.

Just the Medium Instant Healing Potion he drank earlier had cost him 15 gold—about 27,000 dollars in real-world currency. Even with his wealth, he couldn't just throw money around.

And this wasn't even a boss, just a regular elite.

If they kept going like this, who knew how much it would cost to clear stronger enemies?

"Bro, just hold on for one more minute, I'll finish it off," Lyla suddenly spoke up.

"You sure? If not, you guys should retreat. I can afford to die once, but I'm not wasting any more potions on a bad deal," Ethan said firmly.

"I got this. I just learned Rapidfire Barrage, nine consecutive attacks, each dealing 200% damage. It only has a 10-second cooldown, and as long as I keep charging, the effective cooldown is just five seconds!" Lyla explained.

As she spoke, she activated Double Shot, a buff that allowed her to fire two arrows in quick succession.

Then, she began charging Aimed Shot.

Whoosh!

Two arrows flew.

-3,698, -89!

-5,547, -89!

-150!

The second Aimed Shot landed a critical hit, and her bow's passive ability—triggering true damage every ten consecutive attacks, activated.

The Flame Draconian's health dropped drastically.

Lyla didn't stop. Her fingers pulled the bowstring again and again, releasing a relentless flurry of arrows over the next five seconds.

-1,290, -1,290, -1,935…

The monster's HP plummeted to half.

Ethan immediately realized, she wouldn't even need a full minute. Two more rounds, and the Draconian would be dead.

At this point, SeraphWarrior and Meatball had completely stopped attacking.

After watching their puny 1-damage attacks while Lyla casually dealt thousands, they felt utterly useless.

They were level 20, and she was only 15. Yet she was carrying them. If word got out, they'd never hear the end of it.

But something wasn't right. How was Lyla's damage this high? Their eyes drifted toward her bow.

Its golden glow practically screamed high-grade enhancement.

"First lady, is that a +30 weapon?" Meatball finally asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

"Mhm, Guild leader gave it to me," Lyla said casually.

"What?! Boss, hook me up with one too!" Meatball immediately turned to Ethan, pleading.

"Sure, but you'll need to supply your own Enhancement Stones. And just so you know, enhancing to +30 won't be cheap," Ethan smirked.

Meatball had been about to agree enthusiastically—until he heard the second part.

His excitement froze.

"Wait… You're serious? You can actually enhance to +30?"

He had only been hoping for something around +15. He hadn't even considered +30.