The moment those glowing eyes snapped open, they immediately settled on the trio.
The Skeleton King sensed the lingering aura of its soldiers on their bodies, and a murderous aura exploded outward.
"We go all out!" Sophie said in a serious voice. "Can you summon that thing again?"
By that thing, Gabriel instinctively knew she was referring to Grizzlenaught.
"Come forth!" he called out, and from the ground, the spectral beast emerged. At the same time, the Skeleton King finally moved from its position.
The Skeleton King didn't charge. It calmly approached, its jagged greatsword scraping the ground as it lifted it, emitting a low-pitched hum that made even the mist in the air tremble.
Sophie gulped as she muttered under her breath, "I hate boss monsters. They always have this domineering feeling about them."
Gabriel's eyes never left the furious gaze of the Skeleton King. The undead regarded them with a contemptuous stare, as if it wanted to crush them with its gaze alone.
'Grizzlenaught, attack!'
At Gabriel's mental command, Grizzlenaught lunged forward. With a swing of its massive arm, two spectral red claws streaked toward the enemy, leaving a burning trail in the air.
At the same time, the Lady of Bloom chanted some indescribable words, and a magic circle lit up underneath the Skeleton King's feet.
CRACKKKK!!!
The ground shattered as thick, thorny vines that burned with pale green light erupted from the glowing circle beneath the Skeleton King's feet.
However, the Skeleton King was a step faster. Even before the ground shattered, it had already vanished from the spot. Its great bone sword flashed through the air, dispersing the spectral claws.
FWISH! SWISH!
Afterward, it dealt with Grizzlenaught in a single slash to the neck, destroying it into countless fragments.
[Ding! Your summon has died]
Boom!
Gabriel stomped the ground and charged toward the enemy. His blade arm shook as his Voidsting blade blurred toward the enemy's neck.
"Hmph!" the Skeleton King sneered as it intercepted the attack with its bone sword.
'I only need three attacks for the poison to work effectively,' Gabriel inwardly thought.
The two fighters disengaged from their standstill before closing the distance once more, their blades colliding in a storm of strikes.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
Gabriel's blade collided with the bone greatsword—a shockwave burst out, cracking the ground beneath their feet as sparks erupted like fireworks, and both auras flared violently in the mist-filled chamber
A furious expression appeared on the Skeleton King's face when it noticed they were almost evenly matched, despite the human clearly being weaker than it was.
"Human!" it growled.
"Skeleton!" Gabriel roared, a wide grin spreading across his face as if he were having the best time of his life.
Seeing that it was being taunted, the Skeleton King became even more aggrieved. It broke out from their clash and raised its sword as its body glowed green.
Then, with a diffiant roar, it slammed the blade downward.
"Huh?" Confusion flickered in the Skeleton King's eyes. All its movement was suddenly restricted.
Gabriel, who had been expecting a powerful attack from the boss, was also taken aback.
"You think I'll let you do all the work?" Sophie's pleasant voice sounded behind him, and her steps echoed across the boss chamber.
It was at that moment Gabriel saw it, and his eyes gleamed. Four thick green vines had bound both legs and arms of the Skeleton King.
The Skeleton King struggled to free itself, but it was all in vain. With a grin splitting his face, Gabriel swung his sword in a wide arc.
SLASH!
The blade sliced through bone, and the head tumbled.
The Skeleton King collapsed to its knees and then shattered into a thousand pieces.
BOOM!
A golden aura enveloped both Gabriel and Sophie. Gabriel leveled up twice, Sophie once, while Cassie gained zero levels due to her high level.
[Ding! You have defeated a Level 45 Skeleton King]
[Ding! You have cleared the dungeon Skelenton Paradise]
[Ding! You've leveled up!]
[Ding! You've leveled up!]
[Ding! You have received 10 free stat points]
[Ding! You have received +25 EP]
[Do you wish to extract the Skeleton King? Cost: 18 EP]
"Yes."
[Please choose what to extract:]
[Rusted Bone Crown]
[Greatsword of the Damned]
[Bone Reaper Slash LV.1]
[Undying Will LV.1]
[Strength +5 and Agility +10]
Naturally, Gabriel ignored the Greatsword of the Damned, as it was the same bone sword the Skeleton King had wielded.
He skipped the Rusted Bone Crown and the strength stats, his eyes alternating between the two skills: [Undying Will] and [Bone Reaper Slash].
After a moment of contemplation, he selected [Undying Will], and the next moment, his eyes lit up when he saw the description of the skill.
[Undying Will LV.1]
[Rarity: Legendary]
[Description: Your soul rejects domination. Immune to fear, charms, confusion, and most mental control effects. Increases resistance to soul-based attacks by 20% and grants unwavering focus under extreme pressure.]
"Legendary rarity this early on?" Gabriel was slightly shocked. In the Realm of Ascendency, skill rarities started from Common, Uncommon, Rare, Elite, Legendary, Mythic, and finally, Divine.
Even in the game, Legendary skills didn't appear until midway.
'Would this be a normal occurrence now that I'm an NPC?'
Either way, Gabriel proceeded to learn the skill before approaching the two ladies, who were gathered around a treasure chest. He glanced inside, noticing some weapons and two skill scrolls.
"Yeah, we'll share this," Sophie suggested as she brought out the weapons.
But Gabriel politely declined. "I say you both keep this one as a thank-you for recruiting me to your party."
"But..." Sophie tried to protest.
"In return, all I ask is for you to keep my secrets." As he said this, he turned around and began to head out of the dungeon without sparing another glance at the two ladies.
Cassie's eyes twitched as she stared at his tall, broad back, while Sophie watched him with intrigue as the side of her lips slowly arched into a beautiful smile.
Cassie crossed her arms. "What a weirdo," she frowned, then looked over at her friend, who seemed to be in a trance-like state.
"H-handsome," Sophie whispered under her breath. Apart from her father, this was the first person she had encountered with such quiet charisma and confidence.
The mystery that shrouded him made her chest beat even faster.
"Sophie," Cassie called out.
"Hey?"
"Princess?"
Sophie finally snapped out of her thoughts and said, adjusting her veil to cover her face better, "Right, let's leave this place before the dungeon closes."
After leaving the dungeon, the girls went straight back to the Adventurer Guild.
"How did it go?" Scarlet asked the moment Sophie and Cassie walked into her office, not even letting the two take a seat.