Boss Buster

Han Sen learned a lot from the sheep in his time with them. He was in a portion of land called Jade Hill. It was a relatively tame location, and it was free from the presence of strong creatures. In fact, the posse Han Sen had joined up with was the biggest there.

The sheep and the six-leg beasts were ordinary creatures. The spirit was only squire-class. Han Sen thought it best to stick with them, but on the second day of his time with them, the boar he had been healing went off to drink water and never returned. When they went out looking for him, all they found were its bones.

Its blood had dyed the entire waterhole red, and when Han Sen saw it, his face turned a ghastly shade of grey. He thought he might get the blame. But this didn't appear likely, for when the rest found the boar's remains, they all just ran off in fear.

With the black beast having been killed by something, they did not dare remain where they were. Whatever had killed it had to be extremely fearsome.

Han Sen ran alongside the sheep, thinking it best to stay close.

The sheep ran as fast as it could and traversed a great distance. It no longer needed Han Sen's company, so it wasn't going to wait around for him. But much to his surprise, Han Sen was able to keep up. The sheep said to him, "The boss is dead! Do you still want to follow me, bub?"

"Sure. Where are we going?" Han Sen did not mind going with the sheep, since he seemed to know the land a lot more. He'd be a powerful ally.

"We're going to find another boss, bub!" The sheep continued sprinting for a little while, before turning its head to Han Sen and saying, "Don't worry. You'll be safe with me."

The sheep brought Han Sen to a little hill, and there they followed behind a primitive creature. The creature was a green snake, and the sheep told Han Sen it was stronger than the black boar they had previously been following.

The sheep talked their way into becoming members of the group, and they were both accepted into the fold fairly easily. But that same night, the snake had its head lopped off. When they woke up the next morning, only its head remained. They hadn't a clue where its body had been taken.

After the snake was killed, all the creatures began running off again. Han Sen sought to stick with the sheep, and the sheep was accepting. The sheep told Han Sen that things would be okay, for he knew another powerful creature whose team they could be a part of.

Han Sen, still wanting to know more, followed after the sheep.

In regards to what happened next, Han Sen felt a little strange. What was going on had to be far more than a mere coincidence.

That next boss was killed, and over the next ten days, they ended up in the service of at least six different bosses. Each boss was killed within three days of the pair coming into their employ.

"Who keeps killing these bosses? What could they possibly want? Is this phantom menace coming after me?" Han Sen wondered.

It had happened far too many times for it to remain chalked up as a coincidence. Whoever he and the sheep decided to follow would die. Every time they joined up with a new creature, it seemed like they were handing out a death sentence.

But the lands about did not have humans, and if someone wanted Han Sen dead, it made the most sense for that enemy to be a human. And if they wanted to kill Han Sen, why would they go after the creature first?

If this enemy could kill the creature they followed with that much ease, then that same enemy could kill Han Sen with even less trouble.

"Are we really that unlucky?" Han Sen asked himself, longing for normalcy and steadiness with some hardy company.

Even the sheep was starting to become depressed. Fortunately, news did not travel and the creatures did not gossip. Han Sen and the sheep would be branded the Boss Busters if word got out that they carried this awful death sentence around with them.

The sheep rested for half a day and eventually said to Han Sen, "There is one last primitive boss we can consult, bub. Hopefully, his health and his head will fair better. Let's go to him and see if we can find some stability."

"Sure," Han Sen said.

Han Sen had followed the sheep for quite a while now, and he had come to know the area quite well. If the two did have to go their separate ways, Han Sen thought he'd survive just fine on his own.

Han Sen also thought the two could just go off and make good by themselves, but the sheep was true to its calling. It really wanted to follow others, and since there was only one boss left to see, Han Sen thought he might as well accompany it.

But Han Sen was growing more and more concerned over the constant slaying of primitive bosses. He didn't want this queer enemy coming for him, too.

The boss they met next was a monster with three horns protruding from its head. The horns were large and gnarly, disfigured like tree branches that had endured far too many winters. As for its body, it was not too dissimilar to that of a cow.

The sheep was a smooth-talker, and again, they were accepted into the service of the horny cow.

The sheep was worried this boss would end up as a hunk of chuck roast, just as the rest had. That same night, he mumbled to himself repeatedly, saying, "Please don't die. Please don't die. Please don't die, bub. Please don't die. Please don't die. Please, don't die, bub."

Han Sen was worried, too, but he had come to like the sheep. It was quite humorous to watch.

The creatures that followed the three-horned beast weren't particularly special, and they were actually the same type of creature that the big cheese was. They were all horned cows. Han Sen thought it was slightly strange that only he and the sheep were different from the rest.

The sheep had to be the slickest talker he had ever met, and his social skills were off the charts. Han Sen couldn't imagine trying to talk his way into being happily accepted into a crowd such as that.

And while Han Sen hadn't earned anything from his time with the sheep, he had instead learned. He had come to know quite a bit.

This group was more tight-knit than the others, and they stayed much closer together than the other groups. Han Sen himself was only thirty meters away from the boss.

And since he had a clear line of sight on the boss, Han Sen thought it would be best to watch him with Dongxuan Aura. If an enemy approached, his focus would reveal the enemy that had hounded them.

"It can't be just bad luck, can it?" Han Sen half-asked himself once more.

At midnight, Han Sen detected strange movement nearby their leader. A second later, the creature's head was hewn off.

Fortunately, Han Sen was able to see who had done the deed. And when he saw who the murderer was, he was surprised to see it was someone he was quite familiar with.