“Shit, shit, shit,” Ludwig cursed as he saw the raging hulking mass of muscles fully focused on him.
The Forest Lizardman Champion was enraged, its hulking, muscular form heaving with labored breaths. Orange, slitted eyes burned with primal fury, locking onto Ludwig like a predator eyeing its prey. Its spear gleamed ominously, slick with blood and fresh ichor from the fallen zombie, and its claws flexed in a grotesque rhythm, ready to shred anything in their path.
The roar it unleashed was earth-shaking. Loose stones and dirt trembled from the sheer force of its bellow, and the Champion’s tail lashed behind it like a whip, splintering the nearby rock. It stormed its way toward Ludwig and then lunged for him, Ludwig didn’t hesitate in stabbing the sword one last time into her other eye and hurled himself sideways.
“Not good,” Ludwig muttered under his breath, his hands tightening around the ceremonial sword lodged deep into the Queen’s eye. He tried to pull it free, but the blade was stuck firm, and his growing panic only made his movements more frantic.
The sword snapped in two in the process, Unarmed and clearly outmatched, Ludwig knew he had no way out of this. The moment the Champion lays his hands on Ludwig, the [You Died] screen will show up.
And that was about to happen as the Lizardman went for a full body lunge at Ludwig. its massive clawed hand swiping at Ludwig with terrifying speed. Acting on instinct, Ludwig hurled himself to the side, barely avoiding the strike as it slammed into the ground where he’d stood. The force of the impact sent chunks of stone flying and cracked the cave floor.
Ludwig rolled to his feet, his mind racing. He couldn’t fight this thing—not head-on. His only advantage was the Queen’s prone form, which the Champion hesitated to attack directly. Ludwig quickly darted around her, using her massive body as a shield to keep the Champion at bay.
The enraged creature hissed, frustration clear in its movements. It paced briefly, its tail lashing against the walls of the cave. Every time Ludwig moved to one side, the Champion adjusted, snarling in barely contained fury.
If the Champion were to use his full power, he’ll probably end up harming the queen further, Ludwig relied on that fact to use her as a barricade between the two of them as he was thinking of what to do next.
The champion hissed and roared at the same time, rage further fueled by Ludwig using the Queen as a barrier. The Queen’s health was depleting rapidly, especially since the blood wasn’t stopping anytime soon and pooled around her.
“Just a little longer,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. The Queen’s death was inevitable now, and once it happened, the dungeon should be clear.
The Champion suddenly roared, its patience snapping. It gripped its spear tightly and jabbed toward Ludwig with the speed of a striking snake. Once again, Ludwig dove out of the way, the blade narrowly missing his side. He hit the ground hard, the impact rattling his bones, but there was no time to recover. The Champion’s claws came down in a follow-up strike, aiming to pin him in place.
Ludwig scrambled backward, his back slamming into the cave wall. His breath hitched as the spear’s tip buried itself inches from his face, chipping the stone behind him.
“I really hate this!” he spat, rolling to the side and using the Queen’s body as cover once more.
The Champion growled, its frustration mounting as it circled the dying Queen. It hissed low, snapping its jaws in warning, but it still didn’t dare attack Ludwig through her body.
Then, with a sickening final groan, the Queen went still. Her health bar drained completely, and a notification flashed in Ludwig’s vision:
***
[You have slain Forest Lizardmen Queen]
[You have gained 1 {Feeble Soul}]
[Congratulations! You have activated the hidden piece of this dungeon! 🗝 ]
❖ By killing the Queen before slaying the champions the {Boss} status is now transferred to {Forest Lizardman Champion!}
❖ The rewards for this dungeon have been deferred until you defeat the {Forest Lizardman Champion} the quality of the reward has doubled.
❖ The {Forest Lizardman Champion} is enraged! Losing his queen caused him to go into a frenzy, all status ailments have been removed. One additional danger modifier [☠] has been added!
***
Ludwig didn’t even have time to process the implications before the Champion erupted in fury. Its roar reverberated through the cave, shaking loose chunks of stone from the ceiling.
“Oh, come on!” Ludwig cursed, backing away as the Champion lunged forward. The beast’s movements were wild and unpredictable now, driven entirely by rage. Ludwig didn’t hesitate in dipping out while the Lizardman was still raging out for the loss of his queen.
Though this made Ludwig think of how come these creatures can feel sadness and rage, and if that could make them more ‘human’ than him, he simply shook the idea away, he didn’t have the time or luxury to think about that.
Ludwig darted out of the cave, his mind racing. He needed a plan—anything to put distance between himself and the hulking monstrosity.
Ludwig ran as fast as possible from the cave.
“Use [Feeble Soul]” Ludwig said as loudly as he could.
[You have obtained 30 souls]
“Increase [Wisdom] stat by ten!” Ludwig shouted.
[Your wisdom stat had increased by 10. You have gained one Soul Level. You are currently Level 3, you have used 30 souls!]
[The next level up will require 4 souls per stat upgrade]
[Your Wisdom stat affects your mana stat, your Mana has been increased by 100!]
[Since you have leveled up, all ailment have been removed, all health and stamina has been restored!]
“Good!” Ludwig said. There was a broken and severely mangled up corpse of a lizardman, this was the lizardman Zombie from earlier that Ludwig summoned, and right around him were the bodies of two other Lizardmen that his zombie had killed.”
“Rise Undead!” Ludwig chanted though he didn’t need to, but it sure as hell felt cool to say that. He slammed his palm on the ground.
The necrotic sigils flared to life, spreading across the bodies in a web of dark magic.
[Would you like to raise [2] Undead corpses?]
“Yes”
Ludwig said and almost instantly his mind felt as if it was sucked out with a straw, mental exhaustion drew upon him but he could stop, he shook his head and immediately dipped forward once the sigil of Undeath was drawn on the ground.
[You lack the understanding to summon a servant undead]
[Your Understanding of {Necromancy} has improved]
[Your affiliation with Deus Necros further eases the process of the summoning]
[You have called forth {Lizardman Zombie}]
[Warning, your current wisdom and charisma is too low to fully control {Lizardman Zombie} he will consider you an enemy once he sees you]
“Ignore all the random notifications!” Ludwig cursed at the system and dipped forward while the two Zombies were waking up. His only worry was that if they start fighting each other.
Ludwig didn’t stay to watch the process. He bolted toward the nearby cliff, his increased strength making the climb easier. As he scrambled upward, he glanced back just in time to see the Champion storm out of the cave. Its orange eyes burned with hatred, locking onto the two newly risen Zombies.
This time Ludwig didn’t forget to inspect them.
[Inspect]