Dimensional Expansion Crystal

[Osteo Reaper] (Blue BOSS)

Level: 25

Attack: 255-320

Defense: 100

Blood Essence: 25000

Skills: [Cut Lv7] [Strangulate Lv7] [Bone Blade Thorns Lv7]

Details: The Osteo Reaper is a mutant among Aberrations, extremely difficult to deal with. After evolving, its bones have transformed into serrated bone blades. The negative side effect of its evolution has caused it to lose its sight, but the thermal sensing organs on both sides of its head allow it to more accurately pinpoint the location of its prey.

Level 25, a Blue BOSS!

I couldn't help but take a deep breath, leveling my Roarer and aiming its muzzle forward.

"Buzzz~~~"

The Osteo Reaper seemed to have already sensed my presence. The thermal sensing grooves on both sides of its head vibrated continuously, emitting a buzzing sound. At the same time, it opened its mouth and spat out a tongue covered in thorns and sticky mucus.

There's no running away, only fighting!

I took a deep breath and lowered my stance, my mind made up. The Osteo Reaper is a killer among Aberrations, with high attack and low defense, and its health is also average. If I try to wear it down, I'll definitely be at a disadvantage. Therefore, my only chance to kill it alone lies in the powerful performance of the blue submachine gun in my hand!

"Roar!"

Suddenly, the Osteo Reaper's powerful hind legs stomped forcefully on the ground. It charged forward, its tongue extended. Its front legs, evolved into bone blades, were raised high like a praying mantis, performing an aerial slashing move!

"Bang bang bang..."

Without any hesitation, I aimed at its gaping maw and fired a continuous burst. The moment numbers indicating headshot damage soared into the air, the opponent realized something was wrong. It quickly closed its mouth, and bone spurs "swish swish swish" extended around its head, wrapping it as if donning a helmet. This instantly reduced my output efficiency by at least 70%!

"Swish!"

The bone blade gleamed with a cold light and slashed down from the air!

I quickly ducked and launched a Step Slash towards the front left!

As my body shot out five meters, I suddenly turned, aimed at the back of the Osteo Reaper's head, and pulled the trigger, instantly emptying the magazine!

"Roar~~~"

The Osteo Reaper let out a furious roar. A tail covered in bone thorns whipped towards me like an iron whip. With a "thump," it struck my chest armor, instantly shattering my protective aura and dealing additional damage!

"823!"

That's a bit harsh!

Although the Osteo Reaper's attack cap is only 350 points, Blue BOSSes have hidden attack and defense bonuses. Plus, there's a 5-level suppression. It's understandable that it hurts this much.

Staggering backward, the opponent's speed was beyond my expectations. It's indeed quite tricky!

Raising my left hand, I instantly drew Randel's Shield and slammed it heavily onto the ground. At the same time, my right hand skillfully performed a single-handed reload. With two "click-clack" sounds, the bullets were chambered. My body suddenly shifted, and I unleashed a burst of bullets into the Osteo Reaper's exposed chest!

In 4 seconds, the magazine was instantly emptied!

Simultaneously, dense bullets "pfft pfft pfft" landed on the BOSS. Although much of the damage was reduced by the bone blade armor, it was still considerable!

"123!"

"128!"

"109!"

"133!"

Even without headshot damage, emptying the magazine in 4 seconds and the damage from one magazine could easily shave off about 6000 points of the BOSS's Blood Essence. Coupled with the previous full magazine output, the Osteo Reaper's health bar was now less than 50% remaining!

"Roar!"

It opened its massive maw, and its bone-bladed forelimbs slammed onto Randel's Shield. A tremendous force immediately sent me and the shield flying backward!

Cut Lv7, it really hurts!

"1128!"

Even with the shield's protection, I still lost a significant chunk of my health!

"Roar~~"

The Osteo Reaper, like a wild beast, pursued without any gaps. Its hind legs pushed off the grass, and its body leaped, charging through the air!

"Damn it!"

My gaze turned cold. I no longer cared about the shield. The moment I flipped up, I activated Explosive Charge!

"Boom--"

With a loud noise, the Osteo Reaper stood trembling in the wind, a "Stun" icon circling above its head. Seizing this heaven-sent opportunity, I quickly switched magazines and emptied the magazine directly into its back!

Amidst the sound of dense bullets firing, the Osteo Reaper's health bar dwindled, its back flesh and skin being pierced by bullets, becoming a bloody mess. In the blink of an eye, its health bar dropped to only about 4000 points!

"Roar~~~"

Turning around, its face contorted in a terrifying grimace as it charged forward as if driven mad.

There was no time to reload!

I directly pulled out my 99R pistol, aimed at its head, and emptied all 20 rounds in the magazine in a rapid burst. Just as the Osteo Reaper initiated its Strangulate skill, I used a Step Slash to teleport behind it, switched to Vanguard Bee Sting, and slashed down at the bloody mess on its back!

A combo of normal attacks + Bloodthirsty Assault + normal attack, and the damage numbers kept popping up!

"332!"

"331!"

"521!"

"1244!"

"329!"

After finishing the combo, the Osteo Reaper's health bar was reduced to a sliver!

"Roar~~~"

It opened its maw, and a pair of bone blades cut through the air towards me!

With nowhere left to retreat, I didn't hesitate to switch my main hand weapon to Wind Whisperer. The dark muzzle and silencer plunged into its mouth, and I continuously pulled the trigger, firing all 5 rounds from the Wind Whisperer's magazine!

Blood splattered as a large hole was shot through the back of the Osteo Reaper's head. Its body staggered backward and fell.

[Congratulations, you have killed the 〖Osteo Reaper〗 (Blue BOSS) and obtained: 〖BOSS Ability Crystal〗 ×1!]

[Combat Notification: You have killed the 〖Osteo Reaper〗 (Blue BOSS), gaining 250,000 character experience points, and 125,000 experience points from Essence Furnace extraction!]

Awesome!

I was overjoyed but didn't let myself get carried away. I immediately put Randel's Shield away and equipped it to my off-hand, then reloaded the Roarer with a full magazine. I darted away from the area, hiding under the roots of another tree, and quickly reloaded my empty magazines.

One Osteo Reaper had consumed three magazines, 150 rounds. It was quite brutal.

However, being able to withstand such a ferocious Aberration as the Osteo Reaper and kill it with sheer firepower was enough to prove my previous hypothesis correct. Advanced Shooting Lv10 combined with the Blue Roarer was indeed an incredibly potent combination, offering terrifying suppression against Blue BOSSes in the early game. If I had a team to draw aggro, it would have been even easier to kill!

A short while later, all magazines were reloaded. Only then did I pick up the fist-sized BOSS Ability Crystal from my Dimensional Storage Space and open it!

[Congratulations, you have successfully opened your 〖BOSS Ability Crystal〗 and obtained: 〖Dimensional Expansion Crystal〗 (Expansion Space: 0.2 cubic meters)!]

"Oh?"

I was slightly taken aback. I hadn't expected this Blue BOSS to drop a Dimensional Expansion Crystal instead of equipment or skill books.

As the name suggests, this crystal is used to expand a Player's Dimensional Storage Space. Such items are extremely rare. During the beta testing phase, many top players were willing to spend real money offline to acquire them, just to get a larger storage space!

This expansion crystal provides 0.2 cubic meters of space. It's not the best, but it's not bad either. In the early game, it's already a top-tier treasure. After all, the larger the Dimensional Storage Space, the more items you can carry, which would be more convenient for smuggling in the future.

"Swish!"

The expansion crystal disappeared from my hand. The next moment, my Dimensional Storage Space increased from 1 cubic meter to 1.2 cubic meters!

This meant my storage space had expanded from a 1-meter cube to a cube with sides of 1.062658569183 meters. The increase was astonishing.

Time flowed by, drop by drop. I sat under a large tree and rested for a bit, taking half a bottle of mineral water in one gulp. I glanced at the time; it was already 3 AM. Unknowingly, I had been fighting the Undercurrent for three hours. Gunshots could still be heard in the West Wind Forest, and this small-scale localized war was still ongoing.

At this moment, a familiar voice sounded from the Star Chart.

"Brothers near the northeast corner of West Wind Forest, pay attention! Our scouts just reported that a large number of Aberrations are heading towards the northeast corner, attempting to break through our defenses and cut off our retreat. Please, brothers in the northeast corner, hold your ground and do not retreat. If the defense line is breached, it will be extremely troublesome!"

The speaker was none other than the number one player on the regional leaderboard, the Alliance Leader of the Crimson Firmament Alliance, Gun Like a Dragon.

"Don't worry, Dragon Bro, we've got this!"

"Boss, rest assured, we won't let a single Aberration pass through the northeast corner into West Wind Forest!"

Many people responded, showing great respect for this top-ranked Player in Stream City.

I, however, frowned and opened my map.

Damn it... My current location was the frontline of the northeast corner. If the Aberration horde attacked from the south, I would be the first to bear the brunt!

As if to confirm Gun Like a Dragon's intelligence, a few seconds later, the sound of rushing filled the air from a distance. Aberrations poured out from the wilderness, all Tier 1 Aberrations – either Devourers or Lickers!

"Seriously..."

I scowled. The Aberrations were rushing towards me like a tide. They all had four legs, while I only had two. Running was impossible. I could only face them!

But this area offered no defensive advantage. On open ground, I would be surrounded quickly. Even though my magazine was full, if the number of Aberrations was large enough, they could kill me even during the time it took to reload!

Finally, my gaze fell upon the large tree behind me.

The trunk was about half a meter in diameter, and the first branch was about five meters from the ground...

Without further thought, I put away my assault rifle, retrieved Aurelia's Hand Axe from my Dimensional Storage Space, and then, with an axe in one hand and Vanguard Bee Sting in the other, I plunged them alternately into the tree trunk and began to climb. Within seconds, I had nimbly landed on the first branch.

No, it's not high enough!

Climbing a few more steps, I reached a branch about ten meters up. From here, the view was wide, allowing me to survey the ground around me. This was indeed a position that was easy to defend and difficult to attack!

"Roar~~~"

On the ground, a swarm of Lickers charged forward densely, sniffing the air frantically before all looking up at me in the tree.

"Hiss—"

Among them, a Devourer suddenly let out a furious roar, its three-lobed mouthparts opening wide as its tongue thrashed menacingly.

Countless Aberrations charged like a tidal wave!

"Holy crap..."

I took a deep breath, a mix of excitement and exhilaration. I immediately pulled back the bolt, ready to unleash my fury.

To conserve bullets, I adopted a five-round burst fire, aiming exclusively at the heads of the Devourers and Lickers. Every shot was a bullseye. Out of every five bullets, three triggered headshot effects. Instantly, blood and gore sprayed below, with terrifyingly exploding heads appearing one after another!

"204!"

"609!"

"615!"

"612!"

"200!"

For a time, the scene around the large tree was spectacular. The Aberrations roared madly, and I mowed them down relentlessly. Neither side was backing down.