Game of the Universe: Zenith

Arthur just stood there a moment, taking in the scene in front of him. They’d finally reached the peak of the mountain.

And they weren’t alone.

Three figures stood in the distance, near the jagged lip of the summit. Their backs were turned, the wind tugging at their clothes as they held their weapons. They hadn’t reacted to Arthur and John’s arrival, hadn’t even seemed to notice it. Every line of their bodies was pointed forward, fixed on that thing beyond them.

Arthur and John followed their gazes... and that’s when they saw it.

At first, Arthur couldn’t make out what he was supposed to be looking at.

It looked like just a dark mass hidden behind the rolling fog. Something too broad to be a boulder and too huge to be another player or even a monster.

But then the mist shifted for a moment, peeling back under a gust of wind, and the creature revealed itself.

It was... a boar.

Except boars weren’t supposed to be this big.

That thing loomed across the flat mountain peak, its back rising higher than any creature Arthur had ever seen, its shoulders bunched like ridges of quarried stone. Arthur’s gaze instinctively moved to the name hovering above its head.

[Stonehide Alpha]

[Level 9]

[Type: Monster, Rare]

Arthur’s mind went blank for a second as he recalled Greg’s story back in the safe zone. He could almost hear the man’s eager voice describing the beast at the peak of the mountain. A hide like iron. Tusks sharp enough to split boulders. The boars were nothing in front of it. Even Greg’s own companions had mocked him for making the whole thing up.

...And yet here it was.

Seeing it in the flesh, Arthur realized Greg had actually undersold it.

This creature’s ’hide’ wasn’t hide at all. It was practically armor. Slabs of gray slate layered over one another, each ridged and jagged like worked iron. And when it shifted its weight, its body ground against the mountain peak in a sound that made Arthur’s ears ring. But even next to the Iron Boars, this thing looked different.

It wasn’t just bigger.

Its tusks weren’t white but black, ridged like pieces of volcanic glass.

The creature didn’t move much, either. It didn’t have to. Even standing still, it radiated pressure so heavy Arthur almost forgot to breathe.

"Holy shit, that guy Greg was actually telling the truth? But wait! How the hell did that guy even make it up here in the first place? Wasn’t he just level 7? How’d he get past all the level 8 monsters?" As he stared at the massive boss in the distance, John couldn’t help but fire off question after question as he slowly pieced everything together.

But Arthur just shook his head.

Truth be told, he was just as curious, but right now, none of that concerned him. The only thing on his mind was the massive creature in the distance. The level 9 rare monster.

His mind started to race.

Clearly, this thing was the boss of the mountain. It was definitely the strongest creature in this place. Stronger than the Howler or the level 8 Rock Serpents and Iron Boars.

...But could he and John take it on?

Honestly, Arthur wasn’t sure.

The memory of the Howler’s speed came back to him.

Arthur highly doubted this Stonehide Alpha would be as fast, but could he say that for certain? And even if it was slow, it would almost certainly make up for it with monstrous stats everywhere else. One bad step, and both he and John would be crushed flat.

Even worse, he and John were both at the same level as the Howler, but this thing was a full level higher than the two of them. Was this... the final boss of the tutorial?

While Arthur was lost in his thoughts, one of the three figures ahead seemed to spot him and John, and his expression suddenly changed.

He moved quickly, his spear half-raised, closing the distance with long, hurried strides. The man’s build was lean and wiry, but he was fully covered in Spear-Guard items. And not the ones from level 3 or 4 guards, but the level 5 ones that had protected the Goblin Shaman. His spear looked identical to John’s, with the same band of blackened metal near the tip, and the same chestpiece.

The man’s gaze was cold as it passed over Arthur and quickly settled on John.

The second one turned a moment later.

It was a broad-shouldered man, built like a wall, with a square, clean-shaven face and short but somehow messy hair. Unlike the wiry man, he wasn’t holding a spear but a thick slab of wood. It was that wood that drew Arthur’s attention. Even from a distance, he could make out two Goblin’s Fangs lashed to its top, with some kind of strange green vine.

That thing wasn’t a log. It was a makeshift axe.

The third man seemed to notice them too, but for whatever reason, he decided to stay in the back instead of approaching them. He looked young... even younger than Arthur. Probably a minor. He clutched a boar tusk with both hands as his gaze moved from Arthur and John back to the Stonehide Alpha.

The wiry man stepped forward first. His voice was as flat as his expression as he glared at John, and spoke in a tone that didn’t take no for an answer.

"Take your friend and leave, buddy. This is our prey. We got here first!"

The man didn’t even glance at Arthur. His eyes were fully locked onto John, in a very comical display of a five-foot-five man (165cm) staring angrily at a man nearly a full foot (20cm) taller than them.

Well, it made sense, Arthur guessed. He was still using his [Goblin’s Fang] while John was carrying a high-level spear. No wonder this guy didn’t pay him much heed.

Meanwhile, John raised an eyebrow and let out a sigh before he turned to Arthur and asked slowly,

"Why are these bastards always trying to kick us out as if they own this damn mountain? I’m really starting to get pissed, man."