Eternal Art Online

In an instant, a wave of venom with area-of-effect damage exploded across the battlefield, instantly annihilating every player except Kiriya.

The others had virtually no defense to speak of, standing no chance. But he, with a solid 35 points of defense, managed to withstand the Golden Slime King's venomous assault through sheer grit.

That single hit slashed 150 HP from his health bar. Alarmed, Kiriya immediately downed a potion that restored 300 HP—half of it recovered instantly, while the rest trickled in slowly over time.

His heart raced, pounding like a war drum.

This was unbelievable luck! The very first boss of the starter village had spawned right next to him, and better yet, he still had dozens of healing potions stocked in his inventory.

Without wasting a second, he pulled up the boss's stats:

[Obsidian Slime King] (Bronze-tier Boss)

Level: 15

Attack: 85–150

Defense: 25

HP: ???

Attack Type: Ranged – Venom Spray

The numbers were intimidating. With a max attack of 150, no wonder one strike had nearly gutted him.

And its HP? Hidden—marked only by a string of question marks. No way to tell just how that health pool was.

"Hoo—"

Kiriya took a deep breath, raised his Glimmering Battleaxe high, and brought it crashing down.

The blow landed squarely on the creature's tank-sized body. The boss reeled back slightly from the pain, and a bright red number floated up from its head:

135

Not bad.

With 60 points of attack, he could still break through its defenses. That was the payoff for reaching level 10 and investing another 15 points into Strength.

But before he had time to savor the moment, the Slime King opened its grotesque maw again.

Another venom blast surged through the air—

Boom—167 HP gone in an instant. Nearly half of his health.

Without flinching, Kiriya gulped down another large potion and pressed forward, his axe swinging in fierce, unrelenting arcs.

The battlefield lit up with flashes of steel and venom, every strike a desperate gamble.

Minutes passed. Less than ten, and the Slime King had lost roughly a tenth of its HP. So it wasn't completely untouchable after all. But just as hope began to flicker—

The real problem revealed itself.

His potion reserves were nearly depleted.

And worse—

Figures appeared on the horizon, a flood of players rapidly closing in. In moments, they surrounded him and the boss completely, cutting off every possible escape route.

Kiriya glanced around, and his heart sank.

Above every head, a single word hovered:

Conqueror.

Nearly three hundred of them.

The Dominion guild had arrived in full force.

Even here, in the humble starter village, they could mobilize an entire battalion. Their power was staggering.

Kiriya knew there was no point in fighting. He wasn't going to win this battle.

Without hesitation, he turned and sprinted toward the forest's edge, leaving the half-finished Obsidian Slime King behind. Within seconds, his silhouette vanished into the shadows of the trees.

Just then, someone pushed through the crowd and shouted, "Trying to run? Not so fast! Brothers, get him! That bastard just pissed me off!"

The voice belonged to none other than Conqueror-Drevan. Standing next to him was Conqueror-Zereth, the very one Kiriya had one-shot moments ago. Conqueror-Azaria, however, was nowhere to be seen.

At Drevan's command, several Conqueror players surrounding Kiriya stirred restlessly, itching to make a move.

More than half of them were still wielding crude wooden clubs, which almost made Kiriya want to laugh.

Seriously? Wooden sticks? And they think they're going to rob and kill someone like this?

But numbers had their kind of strength. Ants could kill an elephant if there were enough of them. No matter how strong Kiriya was, there was no way he could take on three hundred people at once.

He gripped his Glimmering Battleaxe tightly, his gaze sweeping across the encirclement.

Though he said nothing, the way he raised his weapon made his message clear—

Anyone who stepped forward would be the first to die.

Surprisingly, it worked. The players holding wooden sticks froze in place, visibly hesitant. Not a single one dared to be the first to charge.

Drevan's face turned red with rage. "Useless cowards! Get him already!"

But before the standoff could explode into violence, another wave of players appeared in the distance, quickly sealing off the outer perimeter.

Their allegiance was unclear, but it was obvious what they were after—the Obsidian Slime King.

Kiriya realized what had happened. The players who were killed ten minutes ago must have returned to the starter village and spread the word: a super boss had spawned. Of course, it would attract bigger, more organized guilds.

And these newcomers were no ordinary group. Every one of them was level 8 or above, and their IDs all began with the same prefix:

Crimson Lotus.

Kiriya's eyes widened in recognition.

Crimson Lotus… wasn't that the guild of the player he'd sold his iron sword to? Crimson Lotus-Lusk?

Sure enough, someone stepped through the crowd—Crimson Lotus-Lusk himself. He offered a calm, amused smile.

"Well, well. Things are lively here. Didn't expect Conqueror to show up so early."

Lusk had already replaced his weapon, now holding a shimmering black iron sword, glowing faintly with power. It looked to be the same tier as the one Kiriya had sold him.

Given his position, it made sense. As the guild leader of Crimson Lotus, it would've been strange not to be geared up like this.

The arrival of Crimson Lotus instantly shifted the balance of power. Conqueror's players, already low in quality, had very few above level 8. In contrast, every Crimson Lotus member looked seasoned and well-equipped, even if their total numbers hovered around a hundred.

Drevan lifted his chin and sneered, "Didn't expect Crimson Lotus to land in this starter village, too. What a coincidence... or maybe not."

Lusk laughed heartily. "Didn't think you guys would abandon Mirage Realm completely and move into EAO. But I guess it makes sense. After the other two major guilds dissolved, it was just Crimson Lotus and Conqueror left fighting over the western side of Silver Moon City. Looks like not much has changed in this new world."

Drevan let out a low chuckle. "Lusk, this matter today is strictly between Conqueror and that guy over there. A little personal score we need to settle. If you'd be so kind, maybe take your men and step back. Let us handle this on our own."

Lusk cast a long glance toward the center of the scene, his gaze pausing as he spotted Kiriya.

It seemed he recognized him, too—after all, that glowing battleaxe was hard to miss.

Crimson Lotus-Lusk let out a hearty laugh and said, "Sure, your grudge is yours to settle. But this Obsidian Slime King? It belongs to Crimson Lotus. My brothers didn't come all this way for nothing, don't you think?"

Conqueror-Drevan's expression turned ice-cold. "Enough of your shit! Bosses aren't fucking prizes you can claim whenever you feel like it! "

Before Lusk could respond, another figure stepped forward from the Crimson Lotus ranks—a towering warrior wielding a massive great axe.

He had already completed his job change and went by the name Crimson Lotus-Ragnar.

Grinning broadly, he said, "You Conqueror dogs think you can hog the Obsidian Slime King all for yourselves? Do you even have what it takes? Hah! Spare us the comedy and stop embarrassing yourselves!"

Ragnar's words struck a nerve. Drevan's face darkened with fury. "F**k off! You bastards from Crimson Lotus are just here to scavenge!"

Lusk's smile faded. His voice dropped, sharp and cold. "We're scavenging? What about the time you monopolized the grinding zones and kicked out solo players left and right? Don't act innocent, Drevan. Your Conqueror crew is rotten to the core—bullies, cowards, leeches. You think we forgot? Sooner or later, someone was going to make you pay for it."

That hit its mark. Drevan's face twisted with rage, veins bulging in his temples. "Screw it! They want a fight? Let's give them one! Brothers—take them down!"

With a furious roar, Conqueror players surged forward, swinging crude wooden clubs and rusty swords as they charged Crimson Lotus head-on.

Lusk gave a chilling laugh. "Let them come."

In the first wave, several Crimson Lotus frontliners were taken down—but in return, nearly every attacking Conqueror player turned gray-name on the spot. The price for aggression was steep.

Ragnar stepped forward with a loud battle cry, his war axe gleaming crimson. He brought it crashing down with a roar, unleashing a powerful ground-splitting shockwave of energy.

A streak of red ripped across the battlefield—several Conqueror players at the front line were obliterated instantly.

Drevan's expression flickered with indecision. He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Squad One, hold back Crimson Lotus! Squads Two and Three, take down the Obsidian Slime King—now!"

Chaos erupted. The battlefield split into two fronts—half of Conqueror locked in combat with Crimson Lotus, the other half charging toward the boss in a desperate attempt to finish it off.

Meanwhile, Kiriya had already slipped silently into the shadows of the nearby forest. He watched everything unfold with clenched fists and unwilling eyes.

That Boss was supposed to be his.

And now it had turned into a prize fought over by two major guilds.

Damn it.

Wandering solo was a painful way to live in this game.

Still, he didn't leave. Kiriya crouched in the underbrush, hidden and alert, eyes fixed on the battlefield.

Though most of Conqueror's members were low-level, a few advanced players had already changed classes.

Two mages at the rear were hurling fireballs and meteor spells at the Boss, providing the only meaningful damage. After all, wooden clubs couldn't even scratch the Slime King's defense.

Time ticked by. The Obsidian Slime King's HP finally dropped below half. But the boss didn't go down quietly—it retaliated with deadly force. In just a few minutes, over a hundred Conqueror players had fallen.

The few remaining ranged mages were throwing fireballs from a distance, while the rest—low-level players—had been reduced to cannon fodder.

On the other side, Crimson Lotus had finally broken through the Conqueror front. Their momentum surged as they swept through the outer perimeter, sending Conqueror members flying back to their respawn points.

White light flashed again and again. Within moments, the number of Conqueror players had dropped below fifty.

Realizing the battle was lost, Drevan shouted through gritted teeth, "Fall back! Retreat!"

Conqueror players scattered like startled birds. But Crimson Lotus had no intention of letting them go.

In the blink of an eye, they chased them down one by one. Even Drevan himself was slain by Ragnar's axe, sent straight back to the starter village in a flash of white.

Minutes later, not a single Conqueror member remained in the jungle.

The battlefield was now completely under Crimson Lotus's control.

After the bloody clash, around sixty Crimson Lotus players remained—but nearly half had turned red-named. One more death, and they'd lose experience or even a level.

But with the Obsidian Slime King still alive right in front of them, there was no way they'd walk away now.

Lusk raised his voice and gave a single command:

"Surround it. Take down the Boss!"

Kiriya remained where he was, still hidden deep in the shadows of the forest, silently watching—waiting.