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Taking advantage of the time the boss was under crowd control, Morthar unleashed a frenzied barrage against the Frostcrystal. Like a battering ram smashing against a fortress gate, the beetle repeatedly drove its hardened horn forward.

Each collision sent powerful tremors rippling through the area. At the same time, the faint glow surrounding the Frostcrystal Giant visibly dimmed.

‘It’s working!’

As soon as the charge stun ended and the boss tried to rush back in support, Yoyo immediately lashed out with her whip and bound it once more.

Lordsey, the Electrobunny, and Little Butterfly were summoned one after another, while Shiu also began casting spells, doing everything he could to maximize damage output.

‘Great. Just two more hits…’

At that moment, the giant let out a furious roar. The muscles across its body bulged violently as it tore free from the restraints in a single motion, raising both fists high above its head and preparing to strike.

Zane immediately recognized the move. He had experienced it firsthand during the previous attempt.

Berserk Hammerstorm. An earth-shattering AoE attack centered on itself that sent ground fissures racing outward in every direction. The damage was absurdly high and came with a knockback effect.

A skill Shiu had practically demonstrated with his life. Should he dodge? Of course not. If he retreated now, the boss might have enough time to get back and defend the crystal.

Morthar slammed forward once again, reducing the durability to roughly thirteen percent. Meanwhile, the cracks spreading across the ground rapidly expanded, forming a moving shockwave that swept outward.

“Morthar, Magic Armor!” Zane shouted hurriedly. This was the first time he had used the skill since obtaining it, and he had no idea how effective it would be.

A faint purple aura immediately formed around the beetle, radiating an air of mystery. The next instant, the earth-rending shockwave arrived and collided directly with the violet barrier.

What the heck? All thunder, no rain. Perhaps because the buff crystal was on the verge of being destroyed, the boss’ attack was nowhere near as devastating as before.

**Crack—Crunch!**

A strange sound suddenly echoed nearby. Turning to look, Zane saw that the Frostcrystal Ore had been caught in the giant’s indiscriminate AoE attack. Its last sliver of durability had finally been depleted, and the crystal shattered completely.

In exchange, the boss’ speed plummeted dramatically, as though the effects of a powerful enhancement potion had suddenly worn off.

‘Uh… So the intended strategy was to use the boss’ own AoE attacks to destroy the crystal?’

***

After losing its enhancement effect, the giant’s attributes were barely any different from those in Easy difficulty.

Although it still possessed some counterattack capabilities, its attack patterns had already been thoroughly figured out. With the overwhelming stats of Zane and Starry, they could practically stand still and deal damage without concern.

Morthar’s sole responsibility was interrupting the boss’ ultimate skill. Once reduced to using only its smaller abilities, the boss posed little threat. Less than three minutes later, it collapsed miserably to the ground and dissolved into experience points and gold coins.

This time, no strange system notification appeared. The title from Easy difficulty had been obtained by killing the boss during its first phase. Following that logic, the Normal difficulty title probably required defeating the boss while it remained in its enhanced state.

As for attempting something like that… Zane recalled being launched through the air by those massive hammers and immediately gave up on the idea. He was not interested in that title anyway.

“I can’t believe we actually cleared it…” Shiu said in disbelief.
“Yeah. I saw that only two parties had cleared it so far, so I thought there was no way we’d make it through.” Dukeette looked equally surprised.
“With Starry and Zanny here, success was guaranteed!” YoyoPink declared seriously.
“That’s not true. It wasn’t just Starry and me doing all the work,” Zane replied modestly.
“Exactly! I was an extremely important member too!” DumbCitrus quickly added.

The atmosphere suddenly fell silent.

Zane patted her shoulder and comforted her. “As an accessory, you performed your role perfectly.”

“See? That’s what I’ve been saying…” DumbCitrus nodded instinctively before freezing. “Accessory my foot!” She puffed out her cheeks and turned toward Starry. “Starry, look at him! He’s always bullying me. Say something for me!”

Zane blinked. She really knew how to pick her allies. “Stu… Orange, how could you possibly be an accessory?”
“Right?”
“No matter how you look at it, you’re the team’s mascot~” Starry said with a light laugh.
“…”

With the tense boss battle finally over, it was time for everyone’s favorite part: opening the loot. Zane glanced around before pointing at the pile of drops. “So, which brave soul wants to roll first?”

DumbCitrus sat sulking in the corner, drawing circles on the ground. Shiu and Dukeette, meanwhile, looked completely indifferent about who opened the loot. YoyoPink raised a small hand.

“Can I do it?”
“Of course.”

She stepped forward solemnly, as if she were participating in some sacred ritual. Reaching into the pile, she pulled out a silver-glimmering shoulder guard. Even from a distance, one could feel the faint chill radiating from it.

Wew, another one dropped!

“Damn! A shoulder-piece slot? Together with the headband and shoes we already have, that’s a three-piece set now!” Shiu exclaimed excitedly, practically drooling.

“Yoyo’s luck is amazing. She actually pulled another set piece, and it’s not even a duplicate.”
Seeing this, Dukeette hurriedly said, “Yoyo, help me pull a healer item too!”
“As if you can just ask for one and have it appear!” DumbCitrus complained.
“I’ll try…” Yoyo nodded seriously before reaching in again and pulling out another shoulder guard of the same design.

A glance at the stats showed that it was nearly identical to the previous one, except that it provided a small bonus to healing effects.

“Wow! Yoyo, I love you!” Dukeette cheered.

Was it really okay to gain a new wife every single day like this?

“There’s more…” YoyoPink said as she lifted out the final piece of equipment.

The armor was predominantly white, accented here and there with soft blue fur. Black threads were embroidered across the chest, forming the shape of a snowflake.

A Unique item!? Its raw stats spoke for themselves, completely crushing Epic equipment of the same level. The Lightweight Combat skill was essentially the opposite of the Windwalker Cloak. Instead of boosting speed outside combat, it accelerated the wearer as soon as battle began.

What did a 25% Movement Speed bonus mean? Even top-tier Epic boots couldn’t provide more than a 12% Movement Speed increase. At most, special skills could briefly reach that level.

And the second skill synergized perfectly with Thousand Flash Steps. The more attacks one dodged, the faster they became. Although the bonuses were additive rather than multiplicative, it was still enough to leave most players far behind.

Whether in duels or large-scale battles, it dramatically improved both pursuit and escape capabilities.

“Those stats…” Shiu let out a sigh. “I guess that’s what you’d expect from a Unique item.” Unfortunately, it was warrior equipment, meaning it had nothing to do with him. Fortunately, obtaining a set piece was enough consolation.

“Yoyo,” Zane suddenly said.
“Hm? What is it?”
“We’re letting you handle all the treasure chests from now on!” Zane declared.