“Stop messing around, leveling up quickly is the way to go!”

“There are more players than monsters, how are we supposed to level up? I’m a mage, but I haven’t cast a single spell so far—I’ve just been whacking things with my staff!”

“Hey, you upstairs, I feel you. I’m a priest, and I don’t dare use spells either. Two seconds to cast—how can I possibly get any monsters?”

Not long after, someone posted on the forum, saying he had specifically sought out the Black Panther King and discovered its HP was an astonishing 45,000. As a level 5 player, he took about 230 damage from a single hit. Who could possibly solo that? He then blasted the game company, questioning whether there were hacks or bugs.

Soon, the official response came: In “Miracle,” it is absolutely impossible to use hacks, and while bugs can never be completely ruled out, according to the game data replay, the player who first killed the Black Panther King did not exploit any bugs.

For a while, the forum was abuzz, with everyone discussing and speculating about how that player managed to kill the Black Panther King!

Chapter 7: A Beauty’s Fury

David Bolton reached out, and the loot dropped by the Black Panther King immediately entered his backpack.

[Panther King Legguards] (Black Iron, Armor)

Armor: +3

Stamina: +7

Strength: +2

Agility: +1

Required Level: 10

[Panther King Chestplate] (Black Iron, Armor)

Armor: +3

Stamina: +6

Strength: +3

Agility: +1

Required Level: 10

[Panther King Gloves] (Black Iron, Leather Armor)

Armor: +2

Stamina: +3

Agility: +2

Required Level: 10

Warriors and knights wear plate armor, hunters and rogues wear leather, mages and priests wear cloth. Of the three pieces David Bolton got, he could use two himself—not too unlucky, though it was a pity he’d have to wait until level 10 to equip them.

In “Miracle,” helmets, chestplates, and legguards give the most attribute bonuses. Gloves, boots, necklaces, cloaks, and rings give much less, though necklaces and rings usually have extra special effects.

Weapons only increase physical or spell damage and don’t add any attributes, though some high-quality weapons have special effects.

The next piece of loot wasn’t equipment, but a blood-soaked panther head.

[Bloodstained Head] (Black Iron, Special Item)

Description: This is the head of the Black Panther King! Take it back to Village Chief Old Juan, and he will surely commend you for your contribution!

Bound.

Bound items cannot be traded to other players, so only David Bolton could claim this reward.

After collecting all the loot, the Black Panther King’s corpse quickly disappeared. David Bolton took out his miner’s pick from his backpack and started mining the refined iron ore.

“Ding! You used mining on the refined iron vein and obtained Refined Iron *2. Your mining skill increased by 2 points!”

David Bolton happily cradled two pieces of refined iron gleaming with a silvery luster. Because refined iron is so rare, it’s always been hard currency in the game. That beautiful shine was just pleasing to the eye!

He put away his miner’s pick and left the valley, starting to search the hills for more iron ore to mine. Refined iron ore respawns every hour, so he noted the time he left and planned to return when it refreshed.

But the Black Panther King’s respawn time was a full day. Even after mining 10 pieces of refined iron, David Bolton wouldn’t have a chance to wait for the boss to respawn.

David Bolton actually looked forward to farming the boss a few more times. First, for the gear; second, because each boss gave him over 80% of a level’s worth of experience. Two runs and he’d level up—so convenient!

After wandering the mountains for over four hours, David Bolton had mined refined iron five times, obtaining 11 pieces in total. He was mining and grinding monsters at the same time, so he didn’t waste any time. By now, he’d reached level 7, but only had 126 pieces of iron ore—still a ways from the 200 he needed.

Cursing the game company for being stingy, David Bolton kept searching for iron ore. Checking the mini-map, he saw a small glowing dot not far away. His spirits lifted, and he quickly grabbed his miner’s pick and rushed over—after learning mining, nearby ore nodes automatically show up on the mini-map.

“Clang, clang, clang!”

David Bolton swung his pickaxe, digging into the iron ore.

A pale silver piece of metal appeared as he lifted his pick. “Wow, my luck’s finally turned—I finally found a piece of refined iron as a byproduct!” David Bolton was full of emotion. He’d mined 126 pieces of iron ore, but this was the first time he’d gotten a byproduct. He couldn’t help but doubt his own luck.

Still, at this moment, he’d rather trade precious refined iron for more iron ore! The competition for levels was so fierce—he couldn’t afford to waste too much time on a single quest! Ten pieces of refined iron were enough!

He put away the refined iron and the two pieces of iron ore he’d mined at the same time. Just as David Bolton turned to leave, a clear female voice called out from behind him.

“Excuse me, please wait!”

David Bolton was startled and turned around, only to see two beautiful women, both above average, stepping out from behind a rock.