"Did you just one-shot the boss?"
Max glanced over his shoulder. Talia was still standing by the entrance, staring at the Thorncrown Ravager’s headless body.
"Looks like it."
"Looks like it?" She lowered her shield at last. "I was trying to tell you where its armor was weakest, and you just..."
She made a vague movement with her fist toward the dead beast.
Max looked at the ruined skull, then at the blood on his gauntlet.
He was rather pleased with himself, though not for quite the same reason she was imagining.
The extra Strength had done exactly what he’d hoped.
Max chuckled. Talia opened her mouth to say something else, looked at the headless corpse, and gave up.
"You’re unbelievable."
"Come on. Let’s get the core."
Talia still had plenty of questions, but Max’s attention had already shifted to the pieces of the Ravager’s head scattered near the stone arch.
He’d killed it before it could use a single ability. That was satisfying, certainly, but also a bit of a waste.
"Talia, what was that boss supposed to do besides charge?"
"Shoot lightning from its crown. Why?"
"Lightning?" Max looked at the broken black spines with renewed interest. "That’s new."
While she dug out the core, he took a piece of flesh from the ruined jaw and slipped behind the arch.
’Let’s see what you’ve got.’
CHOMP!
[Devour Activated]
[Parameter Selected: Skills]
DING!
[Skill Acquired: Stormbolt]
[Rank: E | Active]
[Mastery: 1%]
[MP Cost: 25 | Cooldown: 8 seconds]
[Effect: Fires a concentrated bolt of electrical mana that damages and briefly disrupts the target.]
[Low mastery limits power, accuracy and range.]
Max stared at the window, then at his empty left hand.
’Oh, I’ve got to try this.’
"Max! I’ve got it!"
He closed his hand before any mana could gather. Testing a mysterious new skill in front of Talia was hardly the smartest way to keep Glutton secret.
’Later, then.’
Outside, Talia stopped him before he could check the permit again.
"All right. How are you an F-rank Player?"
"I’m not anymore. Reached Level eleven inside."
"You leveled up?" She stared at him, then gave a short laugh. "Of course you did. Congratulations, I suppose."
"Thanks." Max checked his permit. "We’ve still got just over three hours. Need a break before we go again?"
"Again?"
"It’s a four-hour pass. We barely used one."
Talia looked toward Blackthorn’s entrance, then back at him. "You just killed an E-rank boss with one punch, and your first thought is to do it again?"
"Well, there are more cores to collect."
She glanced at the heavy pouch on her belt. "Can’t argue with that. And no, I’m not tired. You’ve done almost all the fighting. I’m the one who should be thanking you for sticking to the fifty-fifty split."
"You helped us get in, and you’re doing a fine job with the cores." Max held out his fist. "We’re a pretty good duo, don’t you think?"
Talia bumped it with hers. "All right, partner. Let’s see how fast we can clear it this time."
"Deal."
They divided the twenty ordinary cores while the Gate reconstituted. Ten each, with the boss core going to Talia.
They agreed to alternate the boss cores on future clears. Max had already eaten five of his ten ordinary cores during their rest inside; the other five stayed in his bag.
Ten minutes later, the Access Node confirmed their entry, and the forest appeared before them again.
This time, they knew where everything was.
Max rushed the Bristlebacks before they could gather into a herd, while Talia drove the stragglers back toward him with her shield.
They took the upper path through the ravine, intercepted the Nightfang Lynxes at their usual ledges, and reached the boss chamber without a single detour.
The Ravager barely managed to lower its head before Max struck beneath its jaw. Talia stepped over the fallen body to retrieve the core, and Max helped her cut it free before taking another discreet bite from the remains.
[Stormbolt Mastery: 1% >> 10%]
Mana stirred beneath his skin when he thought about the skill. He wanted to test it, but Talia was already calling him toward the exit.
They were outside in less than half an hour.
"That was ridiculous," Talia said, checking the time.
"We can do better."
"I was afraid you’d say that."
But she was smiling when she approached the Access Node again.
The third clear went quicker. Talia spotted a shortcut beneath the ravine and used her shield to keep the lynxes from scattering, leaving Max to finish them. She brought down two herself before Max could reach them.
"I do know how to fight, you know," she said as she pulled out a core.
"Never said you didn’t."
The next Ravager fell, and Max took another sample.
[Stormbolt Mastery: 10% >> 16%]
On their fourth run, Max finally saw the ability he’d been stealing.
The Ravager lowered its head as usual, but this time blue sparks jumped between the spines of its crown. Instead of attacking, Max stopped to watch the electricity gather.
’So that’s where the mana goes...’
"Max!"
Talia’s shout snapped him out of it. She was behind him, directly in the path of the charge building between the monster’s horns.
WHOOSH!
He closed the distance with Burst Step and drove his gauntlet into the creature’s jaw.
BAM!
The Ravager collapsed, its unfinished lightning scattering across the stone.
"You were waiting for it to shoot!" Talia exclaimed when she reached him.
"I wanted to see how it worked."
"Well, next time, remember I’m standing behind you!"
Max glanced at the scorched ground where she’d been. He’d been so interested in the skill that he’d forgotten about her position.
"Fair point," he admitted. "Won’t do that again."
He took another bite before they left.
[Stormbolt Mastery: 16% >> 22%]
By then, both their bags were becoming pleasantly heavy.
They rested through the next reconstitution, divided the cores, and Max secretly consumed five more ordinary cores and one of the boss cores from his share.
The rush of EXP brought another level-up.
The fifth run was mostly a blur of falling monsters and hurried harvesting. Max was growing too fast for Blackthorn’s ordinary creatures to challenge him, and there was little reason to linger over fights they already knew how to win.
Talia chose their route, handled the cores, and finished two lynxes that slipped past his claws.
When Max devoured the fifth Ravager, another notification appeared.
[Stormbolt Mastery: 22% >> 29%]
’Almost thirty percent. And I still haven’t used it once.’
He flexed his left hand, resisting the temptation to fire at the cave wall.
They had just enough time left for a sixth clear. Talia adjusted her heavy bag and nodded toward the Gate.
"One more. Then I’m buying myself a new shield with this money."
Their last run was the fastest. Talia no longer needed to be told which creatures to draw out or where to stand, and Max hardly had to slow down between kills. When they reached the Ravager, he ended the fight before it could gather even a spark.
He took his final bite from the boss’s remains.
[Stormbolt Mastery: 29% >> 36%]
Max grinned.
’Thirty-six percent...’
And he still hadn’t fired a single bolt.
They’d cleared Blackthorn six times. Between them, they’d recovered one hundred and twenty ordinary cores and six boss cores, splitting the ordinary haul equally and taking three boss cores each.
Max had eaten five ordinary cores from his share on every clear, thirty altogether, and two boss cores. That left him thirty ordinary cores and one boss core to sell.
He’d also chosen twenty promising specimens during the repeat runs, adding twenty-one Strength and twelve Agility to the gains from their first clear.
While Talia rinsed her hands at the stream near the exit, Max finished consuming the last five ordinary cores and the second boss core he’d set aside.
The accumulated EXP pushed him through another level-up.
DING!
[Level Up!]
[Level: 21]
[Fatigue: 0]
He opened his Status.
[STATUS]
[Name: Max 79UG03]
[Level: 21]
[EXP: 50/1700]
[MP: 300/300]
[Fatigue: 0]
[Class: Glutton (Unique) | Rank: ???]
[Title: null]
[STR: 68]
[AGI: 58]
[CON: 30]
[INT: 30]
[STA: 30]
P [WIL: 30]
[Skills: Devour (Rank: ???), Burst Step (Mastery: 19%), Stormbolt (Mastery: 36%)]
[Traits: Toxic Immunity (Rank: ???)]
[Devoured Experiences: Feral Instinct (100%)]
[Equipment: Unknown Gauntlet (E-rank)]
[Unlocked Functions: Claws, Sanguine Claim]