Based on Mysterious’s observations, the Jungle Heavy Lizard King’s HP regeneration seemed to increase as its health dropped.

At full or near-full HP, the Lizard King’s regeneration was painfully slow—nowhere near enough to keep up with Mysterious’s damage output. But as its health dwindled, its healing accelerated. Eventually, it reached a point where the regeneration perfectly matched Mysterious’s attacks. He could no longer deal effective damage.

Mysterious tried ramping up his attack speed. Yet the lower the Lizard King’s HP fell, the faster its healing grew. Soon, it outpaced his damage entirely. The beast’s health even began climbing back up. No matter how strong Mysterious was, the stat gap was simply too wide. He couldn’t squeeze out much more DPS.

*Hssss—!*

Though Mysterious’s strikes never pierced its defenses or drew blood, the Jungle Heavy Lizard King seethed with rage. It roared nonstop, lashing out relentlessly.

Just as Mysterious couldn’t overcome the Lizard King’s regeneration, the beast couldn’t land a single hit on Mysterious’s flawless evasion.

An ordinary player couldn’t maintain such razor-sharp focus against the Lizard King’s onslaught. One slip meant death. But Mysterious wasn’t ordinary. As a Superbeing, fatigue-induced mistakes didn’t exist for him. Controlling this body in combat was effortless—like a pro playing a bullet hell game at 0.03x speed.

Human and lizard clashed deep within the untouchable jungle. Their battle looked fierce and dynamic, but for both, it was a stalemate born of helplessness.

Mysterious had targeted the Lizard King’s weak points—eyes and mouth, the only spots not armored by scales. But he couldn’t reach them. Unlike common lizards, this beast held its long neck high like a bird. At Mysterious’s height, lunging for its eyes meant suicide.

Its mouth was no easier. The Lizard King wielded a whip-like tongue and glistening fangs—a bizarre yet deadly combo.

Trapped between impenetrable armor and unreachable weak points, Mysterious was powerless.

Just as he pondered breaking the deadlock—even considering communicating with the beast—the tide shifted.

***HSSSSSSSSS—!***

The Lizard King suddenly let out an ear-splitting roar. It summoned a row of Earth Spikes, forcing Mysterious back while it retreated.

Blue-and-white radiance enveloped its body.

*Preparing a big move?* Mysterious charged instantly, slashing its flank.

His blade met empty air. No damage numbers popped up—only a system message:

**[Jungle Heavy Lizard King is mutating. Cannot be attacked.]**

“Hah?” Mysterious’s lips twitched.

Boss mutations always meant power-ups. Yet here he was, already losing—and the Lizard King was evolving? He was out of options.

Truth was, Mysterious had triggered this mutation himself.

It came down to one term: *mob kiting*.

A common gaming tactic—exploiting terrain or glitches to trap monsters where they couldn’t reach players. In *EndlessHorizon*, kiting was brutally simple: wedge monsters between rocks, between trees, or climb beyond their reach. The devs encouraged creative exploration. Even kiting earned silent approval—if you found the spot, you earned the kill.

But bosses played by a core rule:

***Rewards match challenges.***

Kiting granted temporary safety—a reward for the *challenge* of finding the spot. Stay too long, and the tree you hid in would shatter. The boulder shielding you would crumble. No spot lasted forever.

Bosses had a harsher countermeasure: *mutation*.

*EndlessHorizon* monsters could mutate under specific conditions. Kiting a boss past a time limit—when it deemed the player untouchable—was one guaranteed trigger. The mutation always granted abilities to *break the stalemate*: ranged attacks, terrain destruction, even flight.

Kill the mutated boss? Massive rewards. Die? Back to town. The time you spent kiting *was* your reward—not a free boss kill.

Mysterious hadn’t kited the Lizard King. But his flawless evasion and pitiful damage had mimicked kiting perfectly. He’d forced the mutation condition.

“Tch… What now?” Mysterious grimaced at the glowing beast. This game was actually stumping him.

The mutation glow pulsed for three minutes—then shattered like an eggshell.

The mutated Lizard King emerged. Its scales gleamed gold instead of earthy yellow. Its frame swelled slightly. Only a “(Mutated)” suffix tagged its name.

Mysterious braced for an attack. None came.

The beast craned its neck, scanning the jungle like a wary animal. Its gaze flicked over Mysterious twice but held no aggression. Then it locked onto a distant point—and froze.

“…?” Mysterious followed its stare. His senses detected nothing. Even ordinary monsters had fled their earlier battle.

He’d never waste such an opening on regular mobs. But this Lizard King felt… different. Its behavior kept defying norms. He held his blade.

*(Though being unable to damage it helped that decision.)*

After a tense standoff, the Lizard King moved. It pivoted toward that distant point and bolted—vanishing into the jungle in seconds.

Mysterious first thought the mutation completed his quest. Then he noticed its path: not deeper into the forest, but *outward*. Toward the village.

Saya’s words echoed: *“Deal enough damage, and it’ll flee far from the village.”*

This wasn’t fleeing. It was advancing. Something else drove it.

Mysterious pulled up the map. His finger traced a line from his position along the Lizard King’s path—stopping at **Gale Canyon**. The den of the Gale Wolf King.

*The wounded Wolf King.*

Rumors had drawn hordes of Adventurers there, hoping to scavenge an easy kill. If the mutated Lizard King reached them…

Mysterious immediately took off after it. Saya’s quest—*Saya’s Concern*—was clear: drive the beast *away* from players. If it clashed with Adventurers in the canyon, his mission would be doomed.

Even though Mysterious had successfully driven off the Jungle Heavy Lizard King and technically completed the quest, for him, failing to achieve the client's goal didn't count as a true completion.

So, after this thought, Mysterious immediately chased after the lizard king's escape path. While running, he opened a private chat.

Nameless One: Got a question. Do you know if the Gale Wolf King is dead yet?

Melodic Moon: Hmm... I'll check the forum. Wanna go there, pro?

Mysterious had been fighting the lizard king here for a while. If the wolf king had been taken down during that time, those players would've left directly—which would've actually been...

Melodic Moon: Someone's live-streaming on the forum. The Gale Wolf King was crippled but not dead; it escaped. Now tons of people are searching everywhere for it.

Nameless One: ...