Single Stat System

Chapter 9: Luck Or Misfortune?

According to what Sakim had learned, Hidden Boss only appeared when a certain condition was met. And that condition was to incur its interest if not wrath.

That was why in this world, many Players tried to give some offerings in a certain area of where the Hidden Boss was rumored to appear or where the System had announced into so that they could have a chance to meet a Hidden Boss. It was very unlikely for them to become successful though.

On the other hand, some Players tried to slaughter all sorts of monsters in a certain area so that they could provoke the Hidden Boss to appear. And it was more likely for the Players to be successful in meeting a Hidden Boss using this method.

But of course, since the Hidden Boss was in a rage state, it also became stronger than usual and it was more likely for the Players to be killed.

When Players in this world got killed, it would be their end if they didn't have any [Resurrection Stone] that only high-level Players and those Players with a frightening background would possibly have.

That was also why only a few Players tried to incur the wrath of Hidden Boss for them to meet with it and try their luck to kill it as well.

But those Players who were just offering some of their valuable possessions to get the interest of a Hidden Boss were mostly not intending to kill it. They were only doing it for the purpose of requesting something such as materials or directions.

But of course, one would get a huge sum of rewards and experience points if they managed to kill a Hidden Boss. And of course, it was nearly impossible.

There was a level cap of ten levels for any Players to meet the Hidden Boss of their level cap. So it was imposible for any high-level Players with more than ten levels above a certain Hidden Boss to kill it. Even if they meet a Hidden Boss by bringing lower-level Players with them, their damage towards that Hidden Boss was very likely '0' damage.

So as unwilling as they were, there was nothing else they could do and was only allowed to kill a Hidden Boss within their level cap. Ten levels higher than their level or ten levels lower than theirs. That was one of the rules that every ordinary Player couldn't defy.

But nevertheless, whatever method that any Players would use to meet with the Hidden Boss, even by incurring its wrath or interest, the chance was no higher than 1%. So it really was very unlikely for every Player to meet a Hidden Boss.

So how could he, the one who had just started his journey, had possibly met this Hidden Boss in all of a sudden? He really wondered if this was a stroke of mere luck or an utter misfortune.

Escape! Sakim had only one thought in mind, and that was to escape.

Sakim knew full well that he was no match against this Hidden Boss. All of his equipment was all trash. He was just a level 1 Player. He still didn't have any Active Skills to use. He still didn't know how to use his ability in actual combat. And on top of that, the Hidden Boss was a level fifteen monster. How could he possibly win at this rate!?

No matter what he did, even if he flipped the heaven and earth, it was more unlikely for him to stand any chance of winning at all.

So with that in mind, Sakim really intended to just escape already. He didn't care if that was a Hidden Boss or not. What was more important was his life.

But as Sakim was running away, the hologram screen was still appearing in front of him. So he was just planning to make it disappear but he suddenly caught sight of the description of the Hidden Boss and have a clearer look at it...

[Devil Tree - Hidden Boss]

Rank: Common

Level: 15

HP: 1 | 7,500

"!"

"I-is this for real?!" Should he laugh? Should he cry? Sakim really didn't know whether to laugh or cry this time!

He halted his steps at that moment and pondered deep inside his heart.

He didn't notice it before since he was so shocked by the appearance of the Hidden Boss. But now that he took a clearer look at it, the HP of the Hidden Boss was really already so low to the point that it was already on the brink of death. Just by thinking about it, the horror on his face turned into excitement as a grin started to form on his lips for a while before he got serious once again.

But how could it be that this Hidden Boss had only a very little HP left now? Sakim suddenly thought about it with doubt. Was this a trap to lure him?

Despite the excitement, his wariness didn't lose a bit and he even got more cautious than before. He then cautiously turned around and fixed his gaze to the Hidden Boss that kept following him around from the very moment he entered the woods.

However, the Hidden Boss, the tree where he stabbed his [Rusty Sword] was still in there and didn't bother to follow him at all. As if it really was injured and had difficulty moving around.

But all characters in all RPG games didn't lose their stat even to the point of near-death. So how could this monster be injured and was having difficulty moving now?

With that in mind, Sakim narrowed his eyes towards the Hidden Boss trying to figure out what was going on. After a few moments, he then shifted his gaze back to the hologram screen and there he saw the HP of the Hidden Boss really was on the brink of death.

There was only 1 HP left, it only needed one hit for him to kill it. It might be possible that one flick of his finger was enough to kill it. Or at least that was what he imagined.

His Strength stat was just 1 point so he could only deal 10 attack damage. But it still was unsure if he could really deal 10 attack damage since there was a chance that the Hidden Boss had a high defense that could possibly ignore all of his pitiful attacks.

He tried to look for the other stats of the Hidden Boss by saying, "Hidden Boss Stat" but to his dismay, there was no reaction from the System at all.

He could only shift his gaze towards the Hidden Boss as one thought floated on his mind, "It's only one hit, I might as well try my luck..."

With that in mind, Sakim gripped his fist with his eyes flashing with a cold glint. His intention to kill the Hidden Boss had gotten stronger as he was starting to feel the greed working through him.

Kutob!

His heart was palpitating wildly in excitement. It was so out of control that it wanted to escape from his chest and kill the Hidden Boss already to receive bountiful rewards.

So with gritted teeth, as if a soldier marching for war and his death, he ran towards the Hidden Boss with his fist ready to punch the moment he came near with it.

Aaaahhhh!!!

The nearer he got, the louder his scream became. Every stride he made was as if shaking the world itself. At least that was what he imagined.

So in the next few moments, Sakim reached his distance towards the Hidden Boss and without any hesitation, he immediately delivered his finishing blow.

Sapak!

"!"

However, what he would never expect in his life just happened right before his eyes. There was one crucial thing that he neglected and made him suffer his doom.

Just by seeing the notification window popping up on the hologram screen, his eyebrows and the edge of his lips couldn't stop twitching violently, wishing that he read it wrong.

But no matter how he read it, no matter from which angle, what he was reading right now didn't change a bit at all...

[Your level is too low to fight the Hidden Boss. You needed at least 10 levels lower than the Hidden Boss: Devil Tree to fight it.]

[You've dealt 0 damage.]

"What the heck..." Sakim really wanted to cry this time from the misfortune that was following him nonstop.

He thought that he was already lucky enough to face a dying Hidden Boss. But never he thought that his misfortune would actually fight back and had actually managed to defeat his luck.

He already knew about this rule, he'd just forgotten about it because of his greed. He was so tempted to kill the dying Hidden Boss that he neglected this rule.

So with his hope dying out, and as he readied himself for death, he turned his gaze to the Hidden Boss of where his fist was still intact. He thought that he was surely dead this time, but what he saw made him see a ray of hope.

The Hidden Boss, despite what he had done, it was still unmoving and didn't bring any hostile action at all. Seeing this, Sakim slowly retracted his fist as he tilted his head slightly before realization dawned upon him.

Sakim was thinking that perhaps, the Hidden Boss couldn't attack as well those Players with more than 10 levels lower than itself.

With that in mind, Sakim finally managed to heave a very huge sigh of relief. As if he had just overcome some sort of dangerous encounter.