This time, the World Rank boss Daniel encountered was not the tanky, defense-heavy type like the Stoneback Colossus, which boasted ridiculously thick HP and ironclad defense. Instead, it was a completely different kind of boss—an Agility-type boss known as:
[World Rank Boss: Blitz Falcon]
Ordinarily, bosses of this category were known for their blistering speed and lightning-fast reflexes. Their agility levels were so high that even relatively fast-traveling spells like Great Fireball often failed to hit them. The spell's slower projectile speed typically made it ineffective against such fast-moving targets.
But Daniel didn't play fair this time.
He chose to ambush.
Taking the element of surprise to its full advantage, he unleashed three consecutive Great Fireball spells right at the start.
All three hit.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The moment they exploded against the boss's feathers, the Blitz Falcon let out a shrill, furious cry that echoed across the skies like an arrow-struck eagle—piercing, angry, and full of pain.
But Daniel wasn't about to give it time to recover.
Without pause, he immediately stacked a full suite of buffs on himself, layers of magical enhancements glowing and swirling around him like a war god incarnate. Then, he raised his hand once more—
Great Fireball!
—13,000,000 CRIT!
—152,038
—304,077 CRIT!
—13,000,000 CRIT!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A storm of fire erupted around the Blitz Falcon, encasing it in a cage of searing flame. Despite its incredible speed, the sheer density and frequency of the fireballs made it impossible to dodge.
A spell every third of a second.
Three Great Fireballs per second, each one capable of leveling fortresses.
Two seconds passed.
That was all it took.
In those two seconds, Daniel had launched six fireballs. Though two of them missed, the remaining four tore through the boss's HP like a hot knife through butter—bringing its health down by nearly three-quarters.
The Blitz Falcon's eyes turned bloodshot with rage. It let out a long, defiant shriek and its feathers suddenly shimmered with a terrifying metallic gleam—an obvious sign that it was about to enter its tier-2 phase.
But Daniel didn't let it get that far.
Great Fireball!
Great Fireball!
Great Fireball!
Another trio of explosions lit up the sky.
The majestic bird's HP gauge dropped to zero—emptied in a flash.
Instant death.
If there had been any other adventurers present, they would have stood frozen in disbelief, jaws unhinged, eyes bulging.
Was this a joke?
A World Rank boss—slaughtered without even releasing a single skill?
Daniel stood there, face calm but eyes glinting with satisfaction. Everything had gone exactly as he had planned. With all his buffs perfectly timed and stacked, his damage output had reached an unimaginable, outrageous level.
So outrageous that even World Rank bosses couldn't survive more than a few seconds.
[World Rank Boss: Blitz Falcon — Defeated]
[Level: 30]
[Slain by: Daniel]
[Time Taken: 0 minutes 4 seconds]
The boss didn't trigger any global First Kill system announcement, since it wasn't the first to be defeated.
But it didn't matter.
Countless players across the continent had already seen the kill log update in real-time via their [Gnome Communicators].
And once they noticed the kill time—just 4 seconds—chaos erupted.
"Four seconds? That's not possible!"
"This breaks the laws of game physics!"
"He only just killed Stoneback Colossus not long ago. How can he already be back and slaying another boss? In four seconds?!"
"What the hell is going on with Daniel?!"
For a brief moment, the entire adventuring community was thrown into an uproar. Speculations and debates spread like wildfire. Even elite players stopped grinding just to join the discussion.
At the entrance of the Underground Labyrinth, students from the Royal Academy were already gathering, buzzing with conversation.
"How did Prince Daniel manage this? Even if his talent mutated into something monstrous, this level of power is just... absurd. Four seconds to kill a World Rank boss? Not even His Majesty the Human Emperor could pull that off in his prime!"
"You're thinking about the wrong things, friend. Do you realize there are only ten level-30 World Rank bosses in the entire Whitewild Expanse? Two have already fallen. What are we supposed to do when we hit tier-3?"
"Hey now, don't be such a doomsayer. Daniel's powerful, sure, but you think he's really going to solo all ten bosses? That's just ridiculous!"
"Exactly! Every power has a limit. He can't possibly maintain this level of destruction endlessly. Sooner or later, he's got to hit a wall."
"Still, don't you think something's off? Daniel's strength is downright unnatural. I wouldn't be surprised if he made a deal with something powerful—something forbidden. You all know how those kinds of pacts work. They always come with a price."
At this suggestion, the gathered students fell silent, their expressions shifting.
Some looked genuinely concerned.
Others wore smug, satisfied grins.
And just as the discussion was heating up again, another alert rang out on everyone's [Gnome Communicator].
[World Rank Boss: Heart of Filth — Defeated]
[Level: 30]
[Slain by: Daniel]
[Time Taken: 0 minutes 6 seconds]
"WHAT?!"
The entire Royal Academy seemed to freeze.
"This is the third one!" someone screamed.
"Damn it! How the hell is he doing this?! Not even a full minute has passed since the last boss, and he's already taken down another?!"
"Someone stop him already! If he keeps going like this, there won't be any bosses left for the rest of the year's new players!"
"This is broken! This is so broken it's almost illegal!"
"There has to be some catch—some cost to this power. No one can grow this strong without sacrificing something!"
"One minute. Three bosses. That's not something a rookie adventurer should be capable of."
"Not even a demigod could pull that off!"
"No, wait—some could. My grandfather's a demigod-ranked being. You don't know what power is until you've seen one of them in action!"
At this point, everyone—from students and professors to the representatives of powerful factions—was losing their minds.
They could only stare, dumbstruck, as Daniel shattered record after record. Boss after boss fell to his relentless barrage of fire and destruction.
But no one reacted more dramatically than the Royal Bibliotheca's senior scholars.
These were not ordinary professors or researchers.
They were the pinnacle of human knowledge—keepers of secrets, advisors to kings, and sages whose wisdom was revered across the lands. They were highly respected, living legends funded directly by the royal treasury and entrusted with preserving humanity's arcane heritage.
But even with their vast knowledge and ancient tomes, Daniel's recent feats left them utterly dumbfounded.
Because they knew the truth better than anyone—
Power always comes with a price.
In the world of adventurers, strength wasn't just gained by swinging a sword or hurling a spell. It had to be earned.
Through time.
Through hardship.
Through talent, training, and resources.
Nobles had an edge, yes—better tools, better teachers, access to rare spellbooks—but even they followed the same arc of gradual improvement.
Power grew with effort, with patience.
But Daniel…
Daniel shattered every rule.
Even if he possessed the rarest SSS-ranked skill in history—even if his talent was among the most supreme SS-ranked bloodlines imaginable—it still shouldn't be possible.
He was too fast.
He was too strong.
He was too clean.
In the hallowed halls of the Royal Bibliotheca, elderly scholars frantically flipped through centuries-old tomes, cross-referencing records and scriptures.
Ancient books lay sprawled open on vast mahogany tables. Dust clouded the air. Magelight floated overhead.
Yet after hours of desperate searching—
They found nothing.
No clue.
No precedent.
No explanation.
Only one thing was certain.
Daniel's rise was no longer something that could be explained by reason, logic, or precedent.
And the world… would never be the same.