“Summon Skeleton Warrior!”
A gray skeleton with a horned helmet, wielding a bone sword and a shield appeared in front of Lux.
‘Hmm, not bad,’ Lux thought as he observed his Skeleton Warrior. From the stats alone, he could already tell that it was stronger than Diablo back when it was still a Named Creature at its first level.
—-
< Skeleton Warrior >
Health: 30
Attack: 5 – 15
—–
“Is this the skeleton that fought alongside us back then?” Colette asked as she looked at the Skeleton Warrior. “He looks stronger than before.”
“No. This is not Diablo,” Lux replied. “I just want to see how this skeleton performs during a fight.”
“I see.” Colette nodded her head in understanding. “Still, I think it is stronger than most monsters here in Normal Mode. Of course, except the dungeon boss called Dark Draugr.”
Lux already knew that the only real threat in Normal Mode was the Boss, which was a monster that was at the peak of Rank 1 Monsters. This was why he had summoned his Skeleton Warrior in this stage. This dungeon was the perfect place to test its fighting abilities.
“Well then, time to suit up,” Lux thought as he equipped his Relentless Warrior Armor and his new sword, Oathbreaker.
—-
< Oathbreaker, Dark Blade of Eternity >
Rarity: Unique
(One Handed Sword)
Requirement: 100 Combined Stats
– Attack: 100-145 Dark Damage
– Physical skills deal 20% more damage.
– Has a 10% chance to trigger double damage with each attack. This ability works with skills as well.
—–
Lux’s red armor and sword caught the party’s attention because they looked so cool as a set. Even Matty, who liked nitpicking everything about him, was left speechless by his current attire.
“Big Brother, you look so cool!” Colette exclaimed as she looked at Lux with sparkling eyes. “Where did you get that armor and sword? I’m pretty sure that this set can’t be found here in Leaf Village.”
“My Grandma gave it to me. After hearing what happened during the Monster Outbreak, she thought that I needed equipment to protect myself in battle.”
Earlier, Lux had been wearing his Wolf’s Leather Armor, which was considered a fashionable set of armor.
Since he had two interchangeable equipment slots, the Half-Elf decided to use the wolf’s armor as his default Fashion Set to make others think that it was his only set of armor.
“This sword seems powerful.” Matty eyed Lux’s weapon with great interest.
He was a Dwarf Weaponmaster, which was a rare class just like the Paladin. It was normal for Matty to have a great interest in swords, so he had always been familiar with them. He could naturally feel that Lux’s swords were quite extraordinary.
“Its name is Oathbreaker,” Lux said with a smile.
p “It’s a good sword.”
“Thank you.”
After finishing their short chat, everyone started to pull their focus back to their mission.
Lux, Colette, and Matty were the vanguards, while the mages Andy and Axel were at the rear. The only cleric in their party, Helen, was at the center of the formation, and she was protected by everyone.
The Skeleton Warrior was used as a scout for detecting if there were any enemies ahead.
It didn’t take long before the Skeleton Warrior attacked the lone zombie that it had detected in front of it.
The battle didn’t last long. Naturally, the Skeleton Warrior came out victorious.
Lux observed his Summon and found out that it wasn’t as smart as Diablo when it came to making decisions in battle. Although its performance was passable, he had long gotten used to Diablo’s style. The Skeleton Warrior’s movement and attack patterns were too stiff for his taste.
‘Maybe things will change after its next upgrade,’ Lux thought as he continued to follow the skeleton from behind.
On their way, their party encountered two skeletons and a zombie blocking the path they wanted to take.
Colette, Matty, and the Skeleton Warrior only took a short time to deal with them because they were merely small fries.
After experiencing the Monster Outbreak, these low level monsters were no longer a big deal to Colette’s party. Just like Lux, their parents had given them Beast Cores to allow them to boost their stats and get their first Job Class. As a result, they had become stronger than they originally were during the attack on Leaf Village.
Lux could somewhat understand what Colette and the others were doing. They were trying to prove that they were no longer the weak little children who had almost lost their lives in a battle that was way out of their league.
‘People grow through adversity,’ Lux thought as he kept his stance to protect the mages and the cleric from any sudden attacks from their rear.
Although everyone had a boost in their strength, none of them wanted to be too complacent during their very first Dungeon expedition.
An hour passed and, just as Lux expected, their party managed to reach the Boss Room without any hitch from the common Undead.
“This is the real thing,” Colette gazed at the door with determination. “Everyone, please prepare to battle. Our opponent is a monster that is only a step away from becoming a Rank 2 Monster. It is more powerful than the Draugr’s we faced on the Monster Outbreak. Does everyone have their teleportation crystal?”
Lux, Matt, and the rest of the party nodded their heads. If they really couldn’t overcome their opponent, they would use the teleportation crystal to escape the battle.
“Okay, let’s go,” Colette stated as she pushed open the door.
After everyone had entered the room, the bronze gate behind them closed, sealing their path from behind.
The dim light coming from the glowing crystals in the room allowed them to see a figure seated on what seemed to be a small hill made of bones.
Blue orbs of light glowed at the monster’s eye sockets as the Dark Draugr slowly stood up from where he sat.
“It is about to attack,” Lux said with a serious expression on his face. “Colette, your orders?”
Lux asked Colette, but the latter didn’t reply to his question.
“Colette? What’s wrong?” Lux was about to pat her shoulder because she didn’t give him any reply. However, before his hand could even reach her, the little girl collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily.
“Colette?!” Lux immediately crouched down to check on the girl’s condition, but all he could see was that Colette’s body was trembling all over.
‘D-Don’t tell me this is some sort of trauma she developed from the Monster Outbreak?!’ Lux shifted his attention to his other party members, and almost all of them were showing the same expressions as Colette.
The Dark Draugr released a ferocious howl and charged towards them, holding a black sword in each hand.
“Skeleton Warrior! Block him!” Lux ordered.
The Skeleton Warrior charged at the Dark Draugr in an attempt to stop its charge, but as soon as the two Undead Warriors collided, the Skeleton Warrior shattered into pieces.
The Dark Draugr continued its charge towards the Dwarves with no intention of showing any mercy.
“S-Sh*t!” Lux cursed out loud as he grabbed Colette from the ground and carried her towards the Bronze Gate. “Matty, Andy, Axel, Helen! Use your teleportation crystals now!”
Matty breathed heavily as sweat streamed down his forehead. His body shuddered uncontrollably as he forced himself to move, but the Draugr’s intimidating presence froze him in place.
Andy, Axel, and Helen weren’t faring any better.
Lux had forgotten that these Dwarves were just twelve-year-old children. Although they had already changed their professions and became stronger, deep down inside, the Monster Outbreak had left a scar in their minds.
The Half-Elf even had a hunch that the reason why their party decided to challenge the Bronze Crypt was to overcome the fear that had buried itself deep into their hearts. ꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛʀs, ᴘʟᴀs ᴠsᴛ Novlꜰre.nt
“M-Mama…,” Matty’s tears and snot poured out from his eyes and nose as the Dark Draugr raised its weapons to cut him to pieces.
“Matty!” Colette shouted as she looked helplessly at her friend who was about to get killed in front of her eyes.
It was at that moment that a Black Knight suddenly appeared and smashed its shield against the side of the Draugr’s body, sending the latter flying a few meters away.
The Dark Draugr howled in anger as it stood back up, facing the enemy that had dared to get in its way.
A Black Knight stood in front of the Dwarves, carrying the sword, Tranquility, and the shield, Dawne, in its hands. A pair of golden eyes glowed brightly inside the Black Knight’s helmet as it stared at its opponent fearlessly.
“Diablo, don’t let that bastard near the children!” Lux ordered.
The Black Knight nodded its head before summoning a Forest Wolf to fight alongside it.
Diablo, Lux’s first Named Creature and trusted companion, pointed its sword at the Dark Draugr’s face and moved it in a taunting manner.
After being upgraded and getting its First Job Class, Diablo’s intelligence had risen to a higher level. He knew that his opponent was stronger than him, but he didn’t care. Right now, he only had one duty, and that was to protect everyone in the Boss Room and ensure that all of them would be able to leave this place alive.