Stark took the items from the [Calamity Minotaur], while the loot from the [Calamity Sentinel] was handed to Ghost and Starfall.

It was only fair.

Ghost had done most of the work in that fight, and Stark wasn't about to pretend otherwise.

The majority of the damage had come from her. That made the gear hers.

Still, even if the equipment went to her, Stark wasn't left empty-handed.

He had gained something much more valuable.

Ding!

[You have gained 8 Evolution Points!]

[You have gained 102 Lives!]

The spectral hand appeared out of his staff, clawing at the fallen corpses.

Hand of Avarice!

Grace took an instinctive step back.

"What the hell is that thing?" she asked, her eyes narrowing at the ghostly hand rummaging through the boss remains.

"Just something I use," Stark replied casually.

Ding!

[You have gained 7 Evolution Points!]

[You have gained 94 Lives!]

"Good," Stark muttered, scanning the notifications.

[Current Evolution Points: 175.]

That number made his pulse quicken.

His evolution points had never been this high before.

With that amount, he could soon push two of his mythical-rank skills up to ancient rank.

The power spike would be massive.

Unfortunately, [Blazing Meteor] was still out of reach.

That skill required 250 EP, and even after grinding this hard, Stark wasn't close.

If anything, the sheer gap told him exactly what he'd need to do in the future: hunt down more bosses, and stronger ones.

Normal monsters weren't going to cut it anymore.

The truth was simple: powerful bosses like Andregil gave the highest EP.

If Stark wanted to keep climbing, he'd have to take more risks and face more of those kinds of enemies head-on.

But that was a problem for later.

For now, 175 EP was a good place to be.

"Alright," Stark said, swinging up onto the ghost wolf's back.

Its spectral form shifted slightly under him, but it carried his weight without issue.

"Stay safe."

He was preparing to ride off when he suddenly froze.

"Oh, right."

Stark opened his inventory and pulled out the [Church Devout Staff (Epic)] he had taken from the [Church Sanctuary].

---

[Church Devout Staff (Epic): Mage-type weapon. +278 Spirits, +27 Agility. Requirement: Level 25]

[Light Orb (Active Skill): Launches a light orb that explodes on impact, dealing 30,000 damage. 20-second cooldown.]

---

It was a solid weapon.

A proper mage-type staff, and far stronger than anything Grace was carrying now.

He tossed it to her.

Grace caught it, eyes widening. "Thanks! My [Goddess of Luck] talent still doesn't seem to be working though… I didn't fulfill the conditions yet."

Stark simply nodded.

He knew Grace's talent was [Goddess of Luck], but the exact mechanics behind it were a mystery to him.

Still, he could already imagine how broken it would be if she ever managed to fully activate it.

If she could max out her luck stat, then every drop, every reward, every outcome would bend in her favor.

It wouldn't just mean getting the best loot from every monster, t would mean changing the very odds of survival.

And if she could extend that luck to her allies, even just slightly, it would be game-breaking.

Pair that with Ghost's ability to mow down enemies in bursts, and the two of them together would be unstoppable.

For Stark, the EP from the two bosses was more than enough.

But Grace still sent a little something his way.

Ding!

[You have received 50 Lives from Starfall.]

He accepted it without hesitation, then urged the ghost wolf forward.

The mount's form blurred as it rushed through the broken streets.

Even after two legendary bosses were down, the city was still crawling with monsters.

Stark's eyes narrowed.

'Alright, [God of Calamity]. Let's see who's stronger, me, or your pets.'

Behind him, Ghost glanced at Grace.

"Do you think he has anything to do with those buffed monsters?" she asked. "Oblivion is so… weird."

"I don't think so," Grace said after a pause, shrugging, "And even if he was involved, wasn't it that giant eye that powered them up? Otherwise, why would he be fighting so hard to wipe them out?"

Ghost stared at her for a long second, then exhaled softly.

"…Fair enough."

Grace nodded to herself. "I'll try to get a skill that lets me distract monsters. If I can pull their attention, you'll be able to strike from behind."

Ghost blinked at that. It was… actually a good idea.

Her damage from behind was multiplied tenfold.

If Grace could safely draw aggro without putting herself in danger, Ghost could shred nearly any monster at this stage.

"Not bad," Ghost admitted.

A faint smile crossed her lips.

"Let's just focus on surviving for now."

...

Meanwhile…

Ding!

[You have died.]

Max let out a furious roar.

"What the fuck are we supposed to do? None of this makes sense!"

Seren's face was pale.

"The monsters suddenly became so much stronger after that giant eye appeared…"

"We can handle the regular ones," Max muttered, teeth clenched, "But the bosses? Forget it. We should run the second we see one."

"Agreed." Seren's voice was barely above a whisper.

They weren't alone in that thought.

Across the entire world, players had started avoiding bosses entirely.

They had enough lives stocked up to absorb a few deaths, but the risk of fighting these new, powered-up bosses was too high.

The entire situation had shifted in an instant.

And it was so much worse than what Stark remembered from his past life.

"Ahhh! Get away from me!"

"Shit, this is impossible!"

Slash!

Screams echoed across ruined streets as players fell one after another.

Some lost their final lives, disappearing permanently.

Max's expression twisted as he watched.

"We can't risk it. We have more than enough lives to die a dozen times, but… I don't want to gamble it all away."

"Yeah…" Seren's voice trembled, "We don't even have all our abilities yet. We should just be careful."

At this point, they both knew the truth: their world was done.

The only option left was to survive long enough for the [Final Calamity] to end, so they could return to [Eternal Soul].

...

The last day of the [Final Calamity] bled away like that.

Stark never slowed down. Not once.

Every step, every second, his eyes were sharp, catching the faintest flickers of movement.

He didn't even need detection skills, his instincts were honed to a razor's edge.

Whenever he saw something, he struck immediately.

Spells flew like lightning, annihilating anything in his path.

Even bosses fell before he could take a breath.

The ghost wolf's mobility only made it easier.

Hours passed.

And then, suddenly…

"Huh."

Stark frowned. For the first time, he couldn't find any monsters.

He rode down one empty street, then another. Minutes passed. Nothing.

"Well."

He had killed too many. Hundreds, maybe more.

It wasn't surprising that the area had gone quiet.

Fifteen minutes later, he finally came across a single [Calamity Snake] harassing a group of players.

It died in seconds.

The city was far too large for him to wipe out every single monster.

But at this point, Stark had personally slaughtered an enormous portion of them.

And so eventually...

Ding!

A global announcement echoed across the minds of every survivor.

[The "First Calamity" is now over.]

"Yes!"

"Oh my god, finally…"

"Shit… we lost too many."

[Over 98% of your civilization has died.]

[Congratulations, you somehow managed to have the biggest amount of casualties among all civilizations!]

Stark stared at the panel, expression neutral.

He had fought tooth and nail, tried to carve open paths of survival.

But in the end, more people had died than in his past life.

The death rate had jumped from 95% to 98%.

And that last announcement? About being the civilization with the most casualties?

That had never appeared before.

'Oh well,' Stark thought, letting out a quiet sigh, 'It is what it is.'

He had done what he could.

No one could have predicted that a god would interfere and buff the monsters.

At least he tried.

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