*Ding!* Congratulations! Your team has defeated the Level 10 Elite Boss—“Mutated Goblin Lord”—and earned 100 reputation points.

*Ding!* Your level has increased to Level 9.

As the system chime faded, the towering Mutated Goblin Lord collapsed heavily onto the ground. In the next heartbeat, a shower of gold, silver, and purple loot buried its corpse.

Dust settled. Bai Xia finally let out a long, heavy breath.

This quest had been perilous at every turn—but the rewards were equally staggering. Setting aside the Goblin Lord’s loot, just consider levels: she’d been Level 5 before entering. Now? Four levels gained in one run.

Then again, not so surprising. The cavern swarmed with goblins. The final boss was a Level 10 Elite. And every bit of experience went solely to her and Tianzheng. No wonder their leveling speed defied imagination.

Want faster leveling? Claim a whole zone for yourself.

“After all that work, let me check what dropped.”

With the Goblin Lord dead, Bai Xia scanned the area for threats before turning to the loot.

In *Otherworld*, monsters of Reinforced grade or higher dropped maximum loot on first kill, and their corpses lingered. Players could use the in-game Gathering skill to extract valuable materials.

She set the corpse aside for now and focused on the spoils.

As a Level 10 Elite Boss, the Goblin Lord was anything but stingy—downright generous. Bai Xia didn’t count the silver, but gold alone totaled over fifty coins. A tycoon compared to ordinary goblins.

Beyond common gear, three Rare-grade armor pieces had dropped: two light armor sets, one leather—both excellent gear requiring Level 10.

In-game, armor fell into four types: cloth, leather, light, heavy. Each class had its fit. You wouldn’t send a mage into battle in heavy plate, nor a shield guardian in cloth. Light armor suited agile warriors like Tianzheng; leather armor hugged assassins like Bai Xia perfectly.

She didn’t keep it all. She traded the light armor tunic and bracers to Tianzheng. After a brief hesitation, she added the Goblin Lord’s sole weapon drop.

A crude, thick blade—ugly, lightning-free, yet its grade read… Epic.

Bai Xia felt a twinge parting with an Epic weapon. But Tianzheng had watched her back the whole way. Sharing was only right.

Tianzheng accepted the armor without protest—but ignored the blade completely.

Bai Xia raised an eyebrow. “You don’t want it? It’s a Level 10 Epic weapon!”

“Too ugly to wield,” Tianzheng muttered, glancing away with clear disdain.

Bai Xia went speechless. Sure, it was ugly—but at this stage? A genuine top-tier find. Unbuyable, even with gold.

*Hmph. Men.*

The woman shaking her head with a cold laugh had utterly forgotten she’d been a man not long ago.

Since he refused it, she wouldn’t push. Sell it later. Maybe treat him to an in-game meal someday… Wait, *in-game* meal—did you think real life?

Stowing the items, Bai Xia swept the area once more for overlooked loot.

Tianzheng barely glanced at the armor. His gaze drifted to his reputation stat, thoughtful.

Reputation was a subtle but vital stat—earned mainly from Elite+ kills. It didn’t boost personal stats, but shaped NPC perception. Accumulate enough, earn titles like “Brave Warrior” or “Hero.” Minimal stat impact, yet NPCs trusted you faster, offered higher-tier quests, better rewards. Guilds needed reputation to level up. Rumor said high reputation even unlocked shop discounts. Seemingly minor, reputation quietly shaped the game.

Bai Xia left him to his thoughts. After a final check, her eyes landed on the Goblin Lord’s unblinking corpse.

She stepped closer and cast Gathering rapidly.

*Ding!* Gathering successful. Congratulations! You obtained high-grade material: “Goblin Lord’s Bone.”

*Goblin Lord’s Bone?* Bai Xia grimaced. Only the system note calling it valuable forging material stopped her from tossing it instantly.

*Ding!* Gathering successful. Congratulations! You obtained “Goblin Droppings.”

“…”

Disgusted. Bones? Fine. *Droppings?!*

She instantly destroyed the toxic-labeled item. Face darkening, she cast Gathering again—weapon drawn, ready to vent on the corpse.

Then—*flash*. As if her resentment summoned it, a strange little object appeared in her palm.

“What’s this?”

A round, plain bead. Yet deep within, faint lightning sparks swirled.

[Tianlei Stone]: Special item. A peculiar object formed from intensely concentrated lightning essence. Usage conditions unknown.

*Tianlei Stone?*

Wait—the Goblin Lord evolved after swallowing something odd. Its attacks were mostly lightning-based… Could this be it?

But with no system details, Bai Xia couldn’t decipher its purpose.

“Spacing out?” Tianzheng approached. Bai Xia shot him a glance and tossed the bead. “Just something weird gathered from the corpse.”

“Tianlei Stone?” He checked its attributes, rubbed the surface twice—nothing happened—then tossed it back.

Bai Xia caught it. His voice softened: “Quest and boss cleared. Head back?”

“Mm. Back to the starting village. I’ll probably log off after… today’s…"

Her words cut off. Under Tianzheng’s baffled stare, she turned and walked straight toward the cavern’s deepest wall.