“If this were an ordinary level 50 player, even with my reminders, they would have probably died by now and revived back in town…”
Alice leaned idly against a protruding rock face in the valley, watching Yan with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
A level 52 player was exchanging blows with a level 110 field boss, a sight so surreal that even as it unfolded before her eyes, she couldn’t shake a sense of dreaminess.
‘Ah, Yan’s attributes are those of a level 150 greatsword user…’
She raised her fair right hand, propping up her cheek with a sigh, her gaze fixed on Yan, who was still smiling effortlessly amidst his battle with the [Alpha Dragon Demon General].
“Stop toying with it,” Alice urged. “Just finish this guy off quickly.”
“If you amplify [Middle-Level Spear] with a ‘Heavy Attack’ bonus, this attack-specialized, squishy boss shouldn’t be able to withstand a single hit from you, right?”
Indeed, the [Alpha Dragon Demon General] was not a boss known for its robust health.
Its formidable deterrent against players of similar levels, and the reason it had once chased Yan and his friends relentlessly, stemmed from its exceptionally high skill damage and aggressive nature.
In *Companion God Realm*, boss attributes mirrored those of players; a boss excelling in one attribute would inevitably be weaker in others.
Much like a tank player, who possesses exceedingly high HP (or dual resistances, elemental resistances) but deals low damage, there existed a charming boss within the boss roster named [Fatty Bear].
Its HP was astronomically high, and even with low damage, it proved a persistent headache for every player who dared to engage it.
Who could endure the frustration of their strongest Tier 4 damage skill barely chipping away a sliver of its health?
Yan, for one, held the firm belief that unless absolutely necessary, he would never confront the [Fatty Bear].
Similarly, the [Alpha Dragon Demon General] before them inflicted exceptionally high damage but lacked particularly outstanding HP or dual resistances.
This was why Alice believed Yan could instantly dispatch it.
Yet, no matter how low its HP, it remained a boss.
It was common knowledge in RPGs that any boss’s dual resistances would inherently surpass those of a resistance-specialized player.
“If I were still a greatsword player, I might be able to one-shot him,” Yan remarked, executing a nimble maneuver to effortlessly evade the [Alpha Dragon Demon General]’s incoming claws, then turning to Alice with a wry smile.
“But I’m a spearmaster now. Even with maxed strength attributes, the damage from [Middle-Level Spear] simply can’t compare to a greatsword’s [Meteor].”
“Oh.”
Alice puffed out her cheeks, seemingly displeased by Yan’s retort, yet understanding the truth in his words, she could only huff in response.
“Well, I can’t one-shot it, but a few more hits will do the trick,” Yan conceded with a helpless smile, sidestepping to avoid the red circle expanding beneath his feet.
Instantly, his spear thrust forward, its sharp tip plunging deep into the [Alpha Dragon Demon General]’s body.
“Middle-Level Spear!”
The boss’s health visibly plummeted by roughly half.
“Spear Uppercut!”
Yan forcefully pressed down on the spear’s butt, causing the demon general’s dark form to be violently tossed upwards by his weapon, resulting in 0.1 seconds of forced crowd control.
“Thrusting Spear!”
He swiftly manipulated the shaft, the gleaming spear tip tracing streaks of light through the air as he repeatedly struck the [Alpha Dragon Demon General].
By this point, the 0.1-second forced knock-up had already concluded, and the demon general raised its sharp claws, poised to strike Yan fiercely, just as multiple red circles began to emerge beneath Yan’s feet.
Yan showed not an ounce of panic.
As the dark claws ripped through the air, about to descend upon him, his [Thrusting Spear] simultaneously concluded.
He allowed a faint smile to play on his lips.
“Piercing Flash!”
In the blink of an eye, the dark claws fell, tearing through Yan’s afterimage still lingering in his original position, striking nothing but empty air.
Yan’s true form had already materialized behind the demon general.
His deep-seated resentment for the [Alpha Dragon Demon General] stemmed from countless encounters, and if he couldn’t accurately predict its skill casting speed by now, he wouldn’t have earned his place among the top five strategists.
He was so intimately familiar with the [Alpha Dragon Demon General]’s abilities that it was impossible for it to land a single hit on him.
Yan repeated this process, effortlessly taking down the [Alpha Dragon Demon General] without once being touched by it. (The [Alpha Dragon Demon General] was a boss without basic attacks.)
“Alright, it’s dealt with. Let’s go.”
Watching the [Alpha Dragon Demon General]’s body slowly collapse, Yan deftly twirled his spear before sheathing it behind his back, then turned to Alice with a smile.
“Mm.”
Alice nodded, falling into step behind Yan.
“Ah… I accidentally gained three levels again.”
The experience gained from defeating the level 110 field boss, [Alpha Dragon Demon General], had instantly propelled him up three levels.
This was despite *Companion God Realm*’s system imposing an experience penalty for monsters more than ten levels above or below the player (simply put, killing monsters more than ten levels higher or lower than oneself would not yield much experience).
The base experience from the level 110 boss alone had raised Yan three levels; without this restriction, he might have ascended even further.
Yan glanced at his status bar, the level 55 displayed there prompting a wry smile.
“Ah, now Miss Qing Bai will probably scold me for being a Gaming Addict (TL Note: A Chinese slang term, ‘youxi feiren,’ referring to someone who spends an excessive amount of time on games, often to the detriment of other aspects of their life.) again. There’s no other way to explain this insane leveling speed.”
“Well, the dropped materials and items are quite abundant, though, and rather rare for this level…”
Yan observed the loot in his inventory, feeling a slight sense of comfort, and a faint smile touched his lips.
“They’d be excellent gifts for others.”
“Miss calling you a ‘Gaming Addict’ is quite fitting, wouldn’t you say?”
Alice beside him chuckled mischievously, her clear, bright eyes fixed on Yan.
“Didn’t the Yan of the old server look exactly like a ‘Gaming Addict’? Though, the current Yan is different now, isn’t he…”
“…”
Yan found himself unable to retort.
“So, Alice, do you prefer the old me, or do you like the current me more?”
Yan suddenly asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.
“Hmm… how should I put it?”
Alice pouted slightly, raising a fair finger to her chin, deliberately adopting a thoughtful expression.
“Hey, hey, don’t say something disheartening like you don’t like either version,” Yan ribbed her with a wry smile.
“Heh heh, I didn’t realize Yan was quite so self-aware…”
Alice chuckled mischievously, quickening her pace to walk ahead of Yan.
She raised her slender, fair arms and stretched languidly.
“Mmm~”
“I don’t quite understand what *that* ‘Alice’ might think, but at the very least, I….”
As she spoke, Alice did not turn her head, so Yan could not see her expression.
“If I had to say, I prefer the current Yan.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Yan inexplicably blushed, scratching his head.
Though he had posed the question himself, he hadn’t anticipated the sudden ambiguous atmosphere.
“Only if I *had* to say, though~”
Alice suddenly spun around, revealing a mischievous smirk on her face, her clear eyes brimming with a kaleidoscope of emotions that Yan found momentarily difficult to decipher.
“Alright, alright… By the way, what’s with that strange phrase, ‘I don’t know what *another* Alice thinks’? It makes it sound like you’re not Alice…”
Yan turned his face away, grumbling.
“But I *am* Alice, you know?”
Alice grew inexplicably serious, her diamond-like eyes fixed on Yan.
At last, the two emerged from the valley map, their view suddenly expanding.
The bright sunlight was so piercing that Yan could barely keep his eyes open.
Across the breathtakingly beautiful wilderness, a gust of wind suddenly swept towards them, lifting Alice’s exquisite blue hair from behind her head.
Her slender, silky strands fluttered in the breeze, merging seamlessly with the clear, azure sky.
“The real and true…”
“Al-ice, you know?”
She gently curved her lips, that gentle, sweet smile Yan had seen countless times now appearing somewhat unfamiliar—perhaps even unique.
Even Yan, who had always treated Alice as a real human, had never felt her presence so tangibly as he did at this moment.
In that instant, she radiated an undeniable brilliance.
She was like a truly existing, peerlessly beautiful woman.
****
Within the valley map Yan had just departed, an assassin player emerged from behind a massive boulder.
He muttered to himself in shock, watching the boss’s body dissolve into motes of light and gradually vanish from the ground.
“This has to be cheating, right?”
“I can’t believe I stumbled upon a level 110 boss in a place like this, and that spearmaster player actually killed it!?”
While non-grouped players in *Companion God Realm* couldn’t see each other’s levels, a boss’s level was clearly displayed above its head.
He raised his hand, playing the recorded footage on his system interface.
Clearly visible on the screen was the video of Yan defeating the [Alpha Dragon Demon General].
“I refuse to believe anyone could have reached level 110 by now!”
With that thought, he uploaded the footage to the GM.