Eternal Art Online

In the stillness of the forest, the bone-chilling howls of the Sword Fang Wolves echoed from every direction.

Beneath the trees, wolves with fur gleaming in a sinister crimson hue prowled warily, their eyes filled with ferocity as they scanned their surroundings.

Hidden behind the thick trunk of an ancient tree, Kiriya kept perfectly still. His gaze, sharp as a hawk's, locked onto his prey ahead. He didn't dare make a reckless move—after all, he was alone.

One careless mistake could cost him his life, and worse, he might drop the Obsidian Sword.

That blade wasn't just a weapon; it was the heart of his entire build. If it got looted, his full-damage swordsman would be reduced to a trash-tier character—one worth deleting altogether.

"Ssschk—!"

A flash of blue light tore through the air as Kiriya unleashed a Blade Wave, striking a Sword Fang Wolf directly in the throat.

Before it could recover, he surged forward, his sword glinting coldly as he followed up with a vicious Cross Slash. The double arc of sword energy sent the beast staggering backward. It barely had time to lunge again before a second Blade Wave slammed into its chest.

With a pained howl, the wolf collapsed in a spray of blood.

A soft clink followed as a dozen silver coins scattered into the grass. Among them, Kiriya noticed a palm-sized pelt. He bent down, picked it up, and a notification popped into view:

[Smooth Pelts]—just what he needed for the quest.

He continued cutting down wolves with swift precision, but the quest drops proved stingy. It wasn't until the seventh kill that he got a second piece of fur. Kiriya frowned slightly.

The drop rate was low, but at least the silver and experience gains were more than worth the effort.

An hour passed. A golden light shimmered around him—Kiriya had reached Level 19. He now had 14 pieces of Smooth Fur in his inventory. Judging by his pace, it would take at least another seven or eight hours to gather all 100.

Another two hours slipped by.

As another Sword Fang Wolf charged him with a guttural roar, Kiriya met it head-on. Blades clashed, sparks flew, and crimson energy exploded in the underbrush. The wolf didn't even get a second strike before it fell to the ground with a pitiful whimper.

"Clatter—"

A piece of equipment hit the ground with a crisp sound. Almost simultaneously—

"Ding!"

System Notification: Congratulations! You have reached Level 20.

System Notification: You have acquired a new talent — [Minor Heal]!

Kiriya blinked in surprise, then quickly recalled: every player unlocked a talent at Level 20. Most of them were fairly basic, offering minor utility.

He opened his skill window and found the new talent. Just as expected, it was [Minor Heal]—a non-upgradable healing spell that restored 100 HP for 10 MP each cast.

Kiriya let out a chuckle.

"Guess I can start pretending to be a priest now—might help me get into sword-maiden parties."

While he was at it, he also learned the new skill he'd picked up earlier: [Blazing Slash], another powerful addition to his arsenal.

Only then did he remember—the Sword Fang Wolf had dropped a piece of gear.

He crouched down and picked up a glowing, dark gray piece of leather armor. As he inspected it, the equipment window popped open:

[Sword Fang Chest plate] (Bronze — Leather Armor)

Defense: +36

Agility: +8

Required Level: 25

Set Bonus: ??? (Unidentified)

...

Kiriya rubbed his eyes, making sure he wasn't seeing things. Once he confirmed it, a wave of joy surged through him—the Sword Fang Leather Armor was indeed part of a set! And it had dropped from a Sword Fang Wolf!

No wonder the system described Howling Wolf Ridge as a leveling paradise. Not only were the monsters rich in experience, but they also had a chance to drop rare set equipment—truly a rare and precious grinding spot.

Without hesitation, he tossed the Sword Fang Chest plate into his inventory. He would appraise it back in town. Once the whole set was complete… who knew what kind of hidden effects it might unlock?

The newly acquired talent skill, [Minor Heal], also proved to be quite useful—only a two-second cast time, restoring 100 HP at the cost of 10 MP. The exchange rate was excellent.

With this, Kiriya could practically stop using health potions altogether.

Meanwhile, his core attack skills, [Cross Slash] and [Blade Wave], were rapidly gaining proficiency from constant use. At this rate, by the time he finished this quest, both skills would likely be upgraded to Intermediate Rank.

As expected, after hitting level 20, the experience required to level up skyrocketed. Even with Kiriya's relentless monster-killing pace, the progress bar now crept forward at a snail's pace.

It wasn't until after 2 a.m. that he finally collected all the Sword Fang Wolf pelts needed for the quest. More than that, he had also managed to loot the Sword Fang Helm and Sword Fang Boots. Just one more piece—the Leg guards—and the full set would be his.

His level was now 22. While it didn't seem like much, it was already enough to make him stand out. He jumped to 12th place in the Scarlet Emperor Warzone's ranking board. With just a bit more effort, his name would surely shine among the top ten.

Upon reaching level 22, he finally gained the ability to view enemy levels. Only then did he realize that the Sword Fang Wolves he had been slaying were level 27 elite monsters with a whopping 150 attack power.

No wonder they had been such a threat—every encounter had been a gamble.

By 3 a.m., the outer regions of Howling Wolf Ridge were nearly wiped clean. Yet, what shocked Kiriya most was the fact that the monsters hadn't respawned even after six hours—a detail that made no sense at all.

Unwilling to leave empty-handed, he ventured deeper into the forest. Along the way, he encountered a few more Sword Fang Wolves.

After dispatching them with ease, a soft "clink" echoed as a piece of gear dropped to the ground—it was the final piece he had been waiting for: Sword Fang Leg guards!

A gleam lit up in Kiriya's eyes. He quickly stashed the leg guards in his pack and drew a deep breath. He had finally reached the deepest part of Howling Wolf Ridge.

Before him stood a pale cliff shrouded in shadow. On the grassy ground sat five massive wolves, each emanating an oppressive aura.

Four of them looked powerful enough on their own, but the one in the center was in a class of its own.

That wolf… was monstrous.

Standing two meters tall, its blood-red fur bristled with killing intent. Fangs like daggers shimmered with a ghostly glow.

Without question, this was the king of the Sword Fang Wolves—the Sword Fang Wolf King.

Kiriya's brows furrowed slightly, his pupils tightening as he locked eyes with the creature. He immediately recognized it from the lore and player rumors. This was it—the legendary boss.

The other four wolves beside it were the Wolf King's Guard—its elite guards. Shockingly, their levels were just as high as the boss's. At his current level, Kiriya couldn't even read their stats.

He stood frozen for a moment, caught between instinct and logic. He knew the risk was extreme—possibly fatal. But to walk away from a boss standing right in front of him? That wasn't his style.

Now came the real question: Do you strike down the king first or deal with the guards? If he could just see their attributes, maybe he could formulate a strategy—but right now, it was pure guesswork.

After a long silence, Kiriya muttered under his breath, "…To hell with it. Let's just slash first, and figure out the rest later."

With a flick of his wrist, his sword erupted in a streak of blinding light. A searing arc of energy tore through the air, aimed straight at one of the Royal Sentinels!

"Boom!"

Sparks burst across the wolf's throat as the blade connected. Blood sprayed in the air.

[2456]!

Critical Hit!

And yet, Kiriya felt no sense of triumph.

That last flurry of strikes had shaved off more than two thousand HP, but the Wolf King's Guard showed almost no signs of damage. Its health bar barely budged—as if it hadn't been hurt. That thing must have over 50,000 HP, at the very least.

Drawing a sharp breath, Kiriya barely had time to strategize when the beast lunged again. Its claws slashed downward, aiming squarely for his shoulder!

A dull ache shot through his arm, but when he looked down, he was surprised to find that the attack had only chipped away 35 HP—virtually no damage at all.

"Its attack power… doesn't even break 100?" he muttered, eyes narrowing.

That confirmed it. These guard-type monsters weren't meant for offense—they were tanks.

Their role was simple: shield their king with massive HP and heavy armor.

But just then, a crimson shadow tore through the sky like a bolt of death.

Kiriya felt a searing pain in his chest—his whole body hurled backward under the force of a monstrous blow.

Ding!

Combat Alert: You've been struck by the Sword Fang Wolf King. HP -443.

His eyes widened in shock. A glance at his health bar revealed a horrifying truth—only 2 HP left.

From a starting HP of 480, he had been nearly obliterated in just two hits—one from the guard, one from the Sword Fang Wolf King.

Boom!

Kiriya crashed into a jagged cliff wall. The impact rattled his bones, and before he could recover, four Wolf King's Guards had already closed in, trapping him completely. Wolves at his front, stone at his back—he was cornered, nowhere to run.

Without hesitation, he chugged a healing potion and immediately followed up with his innate Minor Heal Spell, barely pulling his health back to the halfway point.

Right on cue, the four guards lunged again, claws flashing red.

Their attacks shredded his armor and knocked his HP below 200 in seconds.

Kiriya grits his teeth, downing potions nonstop to keep himself afloat.

Fortunately, their attack frequency was low enough that he could barely hang on, dancing dangerously on the edge of death.

Then, in the middle of the chaos, he spotted something—an opportunity.

The Sword Fang Wolf King, blood-red eyes blazing, was snarling furiously from behind its guards—but it couldn't get through. Its path was completely blocked by its minions.

Kiriya's eyes lit up.

"Perfect. Let's test that new skill."

He gathered strength in his legs, launched into the air, and swung his sword in a wide arc.

A wave of blazing energy erupted forward—Blazing Slash!

BOOM!

Flames detonated against the Wolf King's skull, lighting up the battlefield.

"894!"

The damage wasn't fatal, but it was massive, especially against a level 27+ boss.

Most players were still hovering around level 15–20, with base attacks barely reaching triple digits.

If any of them saw this, they'd drop their jaws on the spot.

The Wolf King roared in pure rage, but there was nothing it could do.

The guards it depended on had now become its cage, and the system hadn't given them enough AI to move aside. They just kept mindlessly slashing at Kiriya.

Kiriya held his ground, drinking potions, using Minor Heal when necessary. If not for that spell, he would've been dead many times over.

Meanwhile, Blazing Slash rained down again and again. Each cast shaved off chunks of the Wolf King's health bar.

After ten minutes, its HP was already down to half.

Another ten minutes passed.

Kiriya's sword glowed red-hot from overuse.

With a final burst of strength, he vaulted into the air and plunged the blade straight into the Wolf King's eye.

"RRRAAAARGHHHH!!"

The boss let out a spine-chilling wail, its huge body convulsing before crashing to the ground in a heap.

Three glittering pieces of loot burst from its body, gleaming brilliantly in the light.

Ding!

System Alert: Congratulations! You have slain the boss — Sword Fang Wolf King. EXP +120,000, Reputation +450.

Kiriya's eyes flashed. "Heh… loot time."

He stepped forward, only to realize he was still surrounded by the four Wolf King's Guards.

"Damn it, move aside!"

Scowling, he brandished his sword and let loose a flurry of Blazing Slashes.

The burning arcs tore through the guards one by one.

Even with their massive HP, they couldn't withstand the sheer force of his attacks.

Within moments, they were all lying in smoldering heaps.

Without wasting another second, Kiriya sprinted at full speed—70 yards per second—straight to the boss's corpse.

In one swift motion, he swept all three glowing items into his inventory.