Kill Clause and NukEncore were now on their last hunt as well. Both had leveled up significantly and obtained full equipment sets and weapons for the coming land expansion battles. Now they stood before the Dark Blue Goblin Boss and looked straight into his eyes.

The moment felt different from all the usual runs, even though the boss himself could not remember them at all.

Before obtaining their new items and getting used to them, NukEncore and Kill Clause had needed a great deal of planning and careful manipulation of the environment to make their leveling and boss grinding work. Those makeshift pillars had been their main weapon, used to puncture the boss’s crystal armor and tear open wounds across his body. At the same time, the two women had used them to slaughter the flood of armored blue goblins, causing the kind of chaos that looked straight out of a movie.

But now they dared to face the boss without any tricks, relying only on their skills and teamwork.

"You... elf woman! I will make you—" the Dark Blue Goblin barked.

Kill Clause cut him off, already tired of the same catchphrase. "Shut up. Encore is as gorgeous as me."

"Elder Sister! Mhm! You finally admitted it! I’ll tell Martin! Hehe!" NukEncore beamed at the praise, and her disgust with the Dark Blue Goblin’s repetitive line vanished at once.

"Back to work... now." Kill Clause did not let the excitement sway her. She immediately dropped into her shooting stance and drew her new bow taut.

[Veinstring Longbow (Orange)]

[Type: Two-handed Longbow]

[Requirement: Lv. 5]

[Damage: 48-116]

[Strength: +42]

[Agility: +106]

[Vitality: +24]

[Defense: +18]

[Durability: 460/460]

[Appearance: A dark longbow formed from blackened wood fused with vein-like green mana crystal. Thin crystal growths line its limbs, and their glow deepens as tension builds within the bow.]

[Skill: Resonant Draw]

[Once the bow reaches full draw, mana may be fed into its crystal limbs to deepen the resonance.]

[5 Seconds — First Resonance]

[Increases arrow speed, accuracy, and effective range.]

[10 Seconds — Second Resonance]

[Increases damage, impact force, and critical power.]

[15 Seconds — Third Resonance]

[Envelops the arrow in dark green crystal mana, greatly increasing penetration and inflicting Crystal Fracture.]

[Effect: Crystal Fracture]

[Weakens the struck area for a short duration. A follow-up hit against the fractured area deals increased damage.]

[Passive: Predator’s Tension]

[The greater the user’s Strength, the steadier the drawn stance becomes, reducing the strain of maintaining deep resonance.]

The Dark Blue Goblin kicked back from his throne and tore free the long crystal needle embedded in its frame. What had looked decorative a moment ago became a vicious sword in the next instant, narrow, gleaming, and ugly in a way that made its purpose obvious, and he charged the moment it came free.

Kill Clause slid sideways the instant he moved. The tension in her bow deepened while her body stayed calm, the green crystal veins brightening bit by bit instead of flashing all at once. Even under that growing pressure, her shoulders did not tremble. The strain was still there, but it no longer bit into her muscles the way it used to.

[Viridian Vein Prowler Hood (Orange)]

[Type: Light Head Armor]

[Requirement: Lv. 5]

[Defense: 26]

[Agility: +22]

[Vitality: +14]

[Durability: 180/180]

[Appearance: A dark hood of soft black leather lined with small green crystal shards along the brow and sides, giving it the sharp look of a subterranean predator.]

[Skill: Crystal Eye]

[Sharpens the wearer’s sight while aiming.]

[Improves target focus, long-range accuracy, and vision in darkness or underground spaces.]

[Viridian Vein Prowler Gloves (Orange)]

[Type: Light Hand Armor]

[Requirement: Lv. 5]

[Defense: 21]

[Agility: +20]

[Strength: +14]

[Vitality: +10]

[Durability: 170/170]

[Appearance: Sleek gloves wrapped with dark bracers and narrow green crystal lines along the wrists and knuckles, balancing grip, flexibility, and stability.]

[Skill: Drawkeeper]

[Reduces the strain of maintaining a charged draw.]

[Slows stamina drain while holding Resonant Draw and improves release stability.]

Her sight sharpened. The boss’s forward step, the angle of his shoulder, and the line of his sword arm all turned crisp beneath the hood’s effect. At the same time, the pressure on her fingers and wrists stayed controlled under the gloves, letting her keep the bowstring drawn long enough to wait for a cleaner opening.

The goblin drove the needle-sword forward in a vicious thrust.

Kill Clause released.

The arrow hit his sword arm and threw the strike slightly off line, but that was all. The Dark Blue Goblin roared and swung again, the crystal blade stabbing past her chest so closely that the wind of it tugged at her hood.

NukEncore darted in from the side with her staff already glowing.

[Cindervein Staff (Orange)]

[Type: Two-handed Staff]

[Requirement: Lv. 5]

[Damage: 44-110]

[Mana: +112]

[Agility: +30]

[Vitality: +22]

[Defense: +16]

[Durability: 430/430]

[Appearance: A dark staff of blackened wood fused with branching red mana crystal. Its crystal core glows brighter as more power is poured into a spell, as though the weapon is storing pressure before a violent release.]

[Skill: Bloomcast]

[When a fire spell is being cast, additional mana may be fed into the staff’s crystal core to widen and destabilize the spell before release.]

[First Bloom]

[Increases explosion radius and splash coverage.]

[Second Bloom]

[Creates secondary eruptions around the main blast.]

[Third Bloom]

[Leaves Crystal Embers that continue burning and may be detonated by later fire spells.]

[Effect: Crystal Embers]

[Fragments of unstable red-fire crystal left behind by empowered spells. They burn briefly and explode when struck by a later fire spell.]

[Passive: Furnace Conduction]

[The greater the user’s Mana, the more stable widened fire spells become, reducing waste while empowering Bloomcast.]

"My turn," she sang, with a grin that turned bright and dangerous.

A fireball shot toward the throne, but it did not stay compact for long. Red crystal light swelled through the staff, and the spell widened into a broader, meaner bloom before it struck. The blast exploded across the stone steps and the armored goblins boiling out from the sides of the chamber, and smaller eruptions burst around the main explosion, ripping through the lane and cutting off the goblins trying to loop behind Kill Clause. By the time the fire settled, glowing red crystal embers had been left across the floor, burning in scattered points like fresh coals.

The Dark Blue Goblin clicked his tongue and stamped once, and crystal surged up over his body.

It covered his shoulders, chest, waist, thighs, and arms in thick dark-blue armor, sealing itself over him layer by layer until he looked less like a goblin king and more like a living fortress pulled from the cave itself.

Kill Clause fired immediately.

The arrow hit the breastplate and snapped away.

NukEncore followed with another spell. It splashed across the armor in a burst of red flame and left scorch marks, but the boss only laughed and came forward through the heat.

There it was again, the same indomitable armor they had once needed terrain tricks to break.

Neither of them flinched.

Several armored goblins rushed in with him.

[Crimson Vein Ember Hood (Orange)]

[Type: Cloth Head Armor]

[Requirement: Lv. 5]

[Defense: 19]

[Mana: +28]

[Agility: +16]

[Vitality: +10]

[Durability: 170/170]

[Appearance: A dark hood of layered black cloth lined with small red crystal shards along the brow and sides, giving it the sharp look of something born in a crystal cave.]

[Skill: Heat Sight]

[Burning enemies are easier to track through smoke, darkness, and visual clutter.]

[Crimson Vein Ember Gloves (Orange)]

[Type: Cloth Hand Armor]

[Requirement: Lv. 5]

[Defense: 17]

[Mana: +24]

[Agility: +18]

[Vitality: +8]

[Durability: 160/160]

[Appearance: Dark gloves wrapped with narrow red crystal channels across the wrists and backs of the hands, built to guide mana cleanly without sacrificing finger movement.]

[Skill: Scattercast]

[Improves the spread of AoE fire spells and increases the chance of forming secondary blast points or Crystal Embers.]

NukEncore spun, staff humming in her hands. Smoke and sparks flooded the chamber, but the burning shapes inside it remained clear to her. She could see the rushing goblins through the visual mess as if each of them had been outlined for her alone.

She cast again. The flames spread with sharper control this time, skipping across the clustered enemies and seeding more ember crystals through their formation. When one goblin stumbled through a burning patch, the fire caught it and marked the ones beside it too.

"I softened them up for you, Elder Sister!"

Kill Clause was already moving.

[Viridian Vein Prowler Jerkin (Orange)]

[Type: Light Chest Armor]

[Requirement: Lv. 5]

[Defense: 44]

[Agility: +24]

[Vitality: +36]

[Strength: +12]

[Durability: 260/260]

[Appearance: A black leather jerkin reinforced with smooth green crystal seams across the ribs and waist. Though light in construction, it offers firm support without heavily restricting movement.]

[Skill: Split Current]

[When mana is spent on bow charging or bow skills, a portion of that cost is returned as stamina.]

[Viridian Vein Prowler Boots (Orange)]

[Type: Light Foot Armor]

[Requirement: Lv. 5]

[Defense: 24]

[Agility: +26]

[Vitality: +16]

[Durability: 180/180]

[Appearance: Lightweight black boots reinforced at the toes and ankles with thin crystal ridges, built for steady footing and abrupt changes in direction. Their crystal lines glow a muted green when the wearer moves.]

[Skill: Skitterstep]

[Reduces movement penalty while drawing a bow.]

[Improves sidesteps and short repositioning while aiming.]

She drew while stepping across the throne room floor. The bow should have slowed her down, but the boots kept her movement light and sharp. She slipped around a goblin spear, fed mana into the draw, and felt some of that cost return as stamina through the jerkin and set. It was not a miracle, only enough to keep her rhythm from breaking.

Her first arrow pierced a lesser goblin’s throat.

Her second went through the eye slit of another.

Her third struck a seam where the boss’s arm guard overlapped the shoulder plate. It still did not break through, but this time the impact drew a dull crack instead of a harmless clink.

The Dark Blue Goblin noticed that, and his laughter vanished.