"Th-this…"
The ghostly young woman stood frozen in place, looking more than a little awkward. Her gaze kept drifting toward the direction where the Corpse Bone Dragon had already flown far away, her expression completely at a loss.
She had never imagined that the bone dragon wouldn't even spare her a glance before leaving.
Damn it!
As expected—just willingly acting like someone's little lackey wasn't enough!
You had to actually get their approval first!
"Master… she looks kind of… dumb…"
Alice tilted her head slightly as she looked at the ghost, sky-blue eyes filled with pure confusion. No matter how she looked at her, this ghost really did seem… a bit slow.
"..."
Akira was equally speechless.
He felt a strong sense of disbelief welling up inside him. Is this thing really the hidden boss of the demon cave? Low combat power, questionable intelligence… it didn't line up at all.
"D-don't! Please, don't kill me! I can be your little follower! I—I still want to live!"
The ghost suddenly dropped to her knees and began kowtowing frantically in front of Akira, begging for mercy.
Her reaction made Akira frown deeply.
…You're already dead, though?
"Let her live," Lucia said calmly at that moment. "Her ability might be useful."
"You mean her phasing ability?" Akira nodded slowly, thinking it over.
Coincidentally, he had a Soul Crystal Sphere—one capable of storing souls.
"…Fine. I'll spare your life. Get in."
Akira took out the Soul Crystal Sphere and guided the ghost gently toward it.
"Thank you for sparing me!" bathed in soft light, the ghost spoke with overwhelming gratitude as she was drawn into the sphere.
[Defeated the Soul of Lady Zhenbai. Forced Affix Acquired — Soul Tremor!]
[Soul Tremor: Causes the target's soul to violently tremble, producing certain strange effects.]
"?"
Akira stared intently at the description of Soul Tremor, curiosity filling his mind.
What kind of 'strange effects,' exactly?
Before he could think further, the ghost's voice suddenly echoed inside his head, interrupting his thoughts.
"Ah! A dragon! There's a giant dragon!"
"Don't worry. I won't hurt you."
"..."
Akira lightly rubbed the bridge of his nose and decided to stop paying attention to whatever chaos was going on inside the Soul Crystal Sphere.
His gaze slowly swept across the battlefield, eventually settling on the corpses of several fallen adventurers. Their equipment was badly damaged—virtually worthless to him.
Just as he was about to look away, something on one of the bodies caught his eye.
"Hm?"
Akira let out a soft sound, raising an eyebrow.
He remembered this adventurer—a mage. Unfortunately, he'd been just a step too slow while fleeing and had been mercilessly run through by the Undead Skeleton Knight.
Hanging from the mage's body was a gemstone, shimmering enticingly.
Akira stepped forward and gently removed it.
The ice-blue gem emitted a faint magical glow, as if it contained some hidden power.
[Frost Gem (Rare): A cold-element jade capable of absorbing frost. When equipped, reduces ice damage taken by 80%! (Absorption limit applies)]
"A second elemental gem?"
Akira examined the gem carefully, a faint smile forming at the corner of his mouth.
An unexpected gain.
Just then, he received a message.
Shen Siqi: "Akira , we've found the location of the Undead Lord. Get here quickly."
"Got it."
After replying briefly, Akira immediately led the guild members toward the Undead Lord's location.
Before leaving, he casually glanced once more in the direction the bone dragon had flown.
Since they had already encountered it, he could theoretically track its position using the Soul Crystal Sphere.
But a level 70 bone dragon was far beyond what their guild could handle right now.
"After we finish clearing this demon cave," Akira muttered to himself, then swiftly moved toward the coordinates Shen Siqi had sent.
…
Elsewhere—
More than a thousand well-equipped skeleton warriors stood in perfectly ordered ranks, guarding their lord.
Among them were numerous level-40-plus undead knights and undead mages.
At the center stood a massive undead figure clad in heavy armor, wearing a black iron crown. One arm rested against a gravestone, its head lowered, as if asleep.
"So that's the Undead Lord?" Shen Siqi gazed at the figure from afar, curiosity stirring in her chest.
Lu Bo had already regrouped with the Shen siblings. The three of them stood ready, preparing to launch an attack together.
"There are too many people gathered here," Lu Bo said, scanning the surroundings.
There were already fifteen guilds present—and more were still arriving.
Despite the sheer number of skeleton soldiers, there was only one Undead Lord, and only one Demon Cave Core hidden within its heart.
A resource this rare could never satisfy so many guilds.
"Has Su Xuan arrived yet?" Lu Bo asked, stroking his small mustache.
"I've notified him. He should be here soon," Shen Siqi replied.
"A few guilds are already getting restless," Lu Bo continued. "If they make the first move, we won't have time to wait for Su Xuan."
"Mhm." The Shen siblings nodded in tacit agreement.
At that exact moment, a C+-rank player decided to strike first.
Five adventurers—all above level 40—charged straight at the Undead Lord's army.
"Attack!"
Seeing someone take the initiative, the remaining players immediately issued commands, sending their own adventurers into the fray.
The battle officially began.
Faced with waves of adventurers surging forward, the Undead Lord remained eerily still, seated in place, seemingly indifferent to the chaos around it.
Meanwhile, the undead knights began issuing orderly commands, directing the skeleton warriors to counterattack.
In an instant, the two sides collided.
Steel flashed, magic roared, and elemental spells painted brilliant arcs across the battlefield.
Only when a high-tier spell detonated at the center of the field did the thunderous explosion finally awaken the Undead Lord.
It slowly opened its deep, ghost-green eyes, soul fire flickering within its pupils.
A trace of anger leaked from its gaze, causing the air around it to grow heavy and oppressive.
"So noisy."
The low, thunder-like voice rolled from its throat—but amidst the chaos, no one heard it.
The Undead Lord exhaled a breath of pale blue death-energy and turned its gaze to the gravestone beside it.
With a withered, yellowed bone finger, it gently caressed the stone.
"My love," it murmured softly, "after I erase these insignificant insects, I will return… and continue atoning to you."
With that, the Undead Lord slowly stood.
Its towering body reached nearly six meters in height, and the massive warhammer in its grasp inspired instinctive fear.
In a cold voice, it commanded:
"My people—leave these foolish invaders here forever."
ROAR—
At the Undead Lord's order, every skeleton unit erupted with renewed power!
Just as Akira arrived at the battlefield, his expression shifted in surprise, because—
[Your adventurer Loserine has received a buff from the Undead Lord! Combat Power +50%! Strength +50%! Battle Lust +50%!]
"…?"
Akira's steps faltered slightly.
"A global undead buff? Even affecting enemy units?"
This was the first time he had ever seen a skill that increased the combat power of all undead—friend and foe alike.
Empowered by the Undead Lord, the undead forces surged forward, launching a ferocious counterattack.
"Damn it! Their combat power just skyrocketed!"
"This is getting tricky—and the Undead Lord still hasn't even attacked!"
"The buff comes from the Undead Lord! We need to take it down fast!"
"It's level 55! Only the highest-level adventurers here can deal with it quickly!"
"Let's cooperate for now! After the Undead Lord is dealt with, we'll decide who gets the Demon Cave Core!"
"..."
Recognizing the severity of the situation, the players temporarily set aside their rivalry and selected the five highest-level adventurers present to jointly confront the Undead Lord.
Lu Bo's level-50 mage was an obvious choice—and when the others noticed Red Lotus had arrived, she was immediately added to the list.
Lu Bo stroked his mustache and said confidently, "We'll be sending out two level-50 adventurers as our main force. The Demon Cave Core should belong to us."
"Don't be ridiculous! Without us holding back the undead knights and skeletons, how would you even get close to the Undead Lord!?"
"Exactly! We're sending three adventurers too—no way you're taking all the credit!"
"First kill is fair game, but the Demon Cave Core must be split evenly!"
"..."
Even as the battle raged on, players had already begun heated discussions over how to divide the spoils.
Which was understandable—many of them were positioned far from the front lines. For those not fighting personally, settling利益 quickly mattered more than combat.
Meanwhile, Akira's full attention was fixed on the Undead Lord.
[Norland (Epic)]Level: 55 (0 / 33,000)Race: UndeadStrength: 1250 / Agility: 1060 / Mana: 880 / Constitution: 1355Growth: 10 (All attributes +10 per level)Skills: (Expand)
"..."
Akira stared at the status panel, deep in thought.
The raw stats alone were troublesome—but what bothered him more was the gravestone beside Norland.
To his surprise, the gravestone seemed to possess… an attribute panel of its own?
Though he couldn't open it, Akira was certain of one thing.
It will join the battle.
"…Is that the real hidden boss?" Akira frowned slightly.
If whatever lay beneath that gravestone was also level 50 or higher…
Then the other adventurers here would never be able to handle two bosses of that caliber.
As that thought crossed his mind, a strand of pale blue soul light drifted out from the gravestone.
Hm?
Akira narrowed his eyes.
That looked like… the soul of a mature woman?
And strangely—
No one else seemed to notice her.
Only him.
Before Akira could fully process what was happening, the soul floated straight toward him.
At the same time, a panel unfolded before his eyes.
[Soul of Norland's Wife (Epic)]Level: 52 (0 / 31,200)Race: Undead / (?)Strength: 800 / Agility: 850 / Mana: 1480 / Constitution: 770Growth: 10 (All attributes +10 per level)Skills: (Expand)Status: [Soul Lure] (Source: You)
Akira: "?"
What the hell!?
Why did Soul Lure go and seduce someone else's dead wife!?
Wait—
Something was seriously wrong.
As the soul drew closer, Akira suddenly realized—
She wasn't human.
She wore a gray-blue dress, her face alluring and mature—but her limbs were not arms and legs.
They were octopus-like tentacles, long and supple, each one lined with clearly visible suction cups.
As her emotions fluctuated, the suction cups gently pulsed… softly sucking in rhythm.
..
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