Boommmmmmm!
The Ancient Stone Armor Gorgon's massive stone fist came crashing down on the spot where Sean stood! Dust, smoke, and chunks of rock exploded in every direction. But before the fist could reach Sean, Sing Lek leaped in with twin axes in hand and poured all his strength into activating the skill 'Provoke,' drawing the boss's attention just in time. The impact forced Sing Lek back several steps, but he gritted his teeth and held his ground with all his might.
"Cast Continuous Lightning Strike!" Lumiel raised the Silent-Forged Thunderstaff above his head. A deep-blue bolt struck the gorilla giant squarely in the head with tremendous force, making it roar in pain. The stone scales covering its body began to crack, while the ancient runes etched across it flickered erratically.
"Ten seconds... That's enough."
Sean's voice came from behind the swirling dark-purple aura. The Dark Merchant Forge twisted into a massive ring that covered a ten-meter radius around the boss. Rather than striking with a weapon like an ordinary Player, Sean extended his right hand and activated the 'Anomaly Code Extraction' function at a level far more intense and profound than before!
Pinggggggg!
[ Target detected: Ancient Stone Armor Gorgon (Lv. 25) ] [ Activating function: 'Anomaly Code Extraction'—interfering with the creature's data structure! ] [ Reducing target's Defense by 80% -> Converting stone armor into fresh forge materials! ]
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The sight left the Players from the Gold Lion Guild staring wide-eyed, their mouths hanging open in shock! The thick stone armor that had once protected the Level 25 boss from physical attacks slowly broke apart and peeled away from its body, transforming into hundreds of glowing red metal and stone plates that streamed continuously into Sean's palm like water being sucked into a black hole!
The Ancient Stone Armor Gorgon let out a panicked, terrified cry for the first time. As the armor plates vanished from its body, its Defense plummeted to zero in an instant!
"Sing Lek! Finish it!" Sean ordered in a firm voice.
"Yes, sir!" Sing Lek drew back his twin axes, now charged with all his power, and slashed cleanly across the unprotected boss's throat. A critical hit flashed in vivid red numbers. The Level 25 boss's HP bar plunged to zero, and its enormous body instantly disintegrated into motes of multicolored light!
But it wasn't over yet...
Sean didn't let the motes of light and dropped items disappear according to the normal mechanics. He flicked his hand, gathering the 'Freshly Extracted Ancient Stone Armor' and combining it with the 'GM-04 Administrator Code Fragment' still remaining in his inventory. He fused them together in the center of the dark-purple magic circle, which was spinning wildly!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The impact of ancient metal rang throughout the valley. Blue auras, lightning, and purple flames surged beautifully into the sky. Then a pitch-black metal breastplate, decorated with ancient stone engravings and glowing purple lightning runes, floated down before Sean.
[ Synthesis successful! You have received: 'Lightning Stone Knight Armor (A-rank—Special Grade)' ] [ Attributes: Physical Defense +550, Max HP +1,200, 30% reduced damage from beast-type monsters ] [ Passive Skill: 'Stone Reflect'—When hit by a physical attack, there is a 30% chance to create a shock wave that reflects the damage back at nearby enemies ]
"A-rank... Special Grade again?!" Sing Lek gazed at the breastplate before him with an expression bordering on worship. "You forged a boss right in the middle of the battlefield... Mr. Sean, you're not just a merchant anymore. This is god-tier crafting, plain and simple!"
"Sing Lek..." Sean picked up the A-rank armor and handed it to the leader of the Gold Lion Guild. "This armor is yours. Consider it a reward for buying me time—and a guarantee that your guild will be able to escort this caravan safely to the capital, Arcadia."
Sing Lek accepted the armor and put it on with trembling hands, overcome with emotion. An A-rank Defense aura wrapped around his body, making him look as imposing as an ancient warlord who could never be brought down!
"I swear on my honor as the leader of the Gold Lion Guild..." Sing Lek bowed as humbly as possible to Sean. "Anyone who tries to stand in the way of or destroy Mr. Sean's dark market in the capital... will have to get through the Gold Lion Guild's corpses first!"
Sean gave a faint smile as he climbed back onto the wagon. He gazed down the valley road, where the skyline of the sky-piercing towers of the 'capital, Arcadia' had begun to appear in the distance beneath the evening sunlight.
The journey was nearing its destination... and the new branch of the dark market was about to send shock waves through the capital's great guild alliance!