'This is the eleventh fragment, and now I just need to get nine more, and I will be able to unlock the secret passage to the instance dungeon.' Alex thought, looking at the dark bone fragment.
--------------
Name: Corrupted Bone Fragment
Material: Alchemy
Quality: Common
Description: A Bone fragment from a creature corrupted by chaotic energies could be used as a material for dark element items.
--------------
These corrupted bone fragments were a common material, but the creatures of the undead Cemetery rarely dropped them, and even though there was nothing special about them on the surface but in reality, these common bone fragments were the key to opening the hidden passage.
Alex kept finding new creatures to hunt, and after six more hours, he was done collecting all the twenty bone fragments needed to unlock the entrance to the secret passage.
'This should be the location.' Alex thought as he read the name engraved on a gravestone.
Alex stood in a graveyard with thousands of graves, and the one he was standing next to didn't look anything special, and there was no way to distinguish it from the other graves, and without prior information, there was zero chance for someone to discover its secrets.
'I wonder how that player found this hidden passage.' Alex thought as he took out the twenty bone fragments and placed them on the grave.
In Alex's previous life, an unknown player discovered the instance dungeon and sold its entry tokens in a private auction setting, and even though he never revealed his identity, he made a short post telling how he unlocked the secret passage.
After a few seconds, the dark bone fragments placed on the grave started losing their pitch-black color as a large intricate dark magic circle began to appear on the grave.
The bone fragments crumbled to dust in the next few minutes, and the magic circle was completed, and after shining for a few seconds, the magic circle vanished, and the grave crumbled into the ground, with stairs leading underground appearing in its place.
'I never came here to explore these underground tunnels, but I should be able to locate the instance dungeon by the richness of mana.' Alex thought as he descended the stairs.
The secret passage led to an underground tunnel system that was very complicated to maneuver through and filled with undead creatures of second and third Rank.
Alex was not worried about spending some time searching for the instance dungeon while dealing with monsters as more monsters meant more exp and level up for him.
-------------------
[8 Hours Later]
[System Notification]
[Undead Ghoul (Svosdaks) Killed]
[Exp Gained]
[LVL Up]
'I think I am very close to the instance dungeon.' Alex thought as he collected the loot from the mangled body of the ghoul.
Alex had been roaming the cave system for the last eight hours and killing any creature he came across, which had helped him reach level 72, and by feeling the rich mana in the air, he knew he was very close to the instance dungeon.
'I don't know if I have spent too much time in this undead-infested area, but this rotten stench of flesh and gore is getting worse the closer I get to the souse of this rich mana.' Alex thought, feeling disgusted with every breath.
Alex continued his journey, and after an hour of walking, he exited a narrow tunnel and entered a big open area with a very high cave ceiling.
Alex was happy the moment he examined the empty area, not just because he located the portal to the instance dungeon in the center but because he knew that he wouldn't be fighting any nightmarish battle.
'I was expecting a fight with a strong creature, but this is quite unexpected.' Alex thought, looking at the creature standing right next to the portal.
Alex knew there would be a guardian near the instance dungeon portal because of the highly rich mana, and a tough battle with him was inevitable, but after looking at his opponent's stats, he was not worried.
---------------
[Abyssal Lich] (Rare Epic)[Mutated]??'�??'�??'�??'�??'�
Title: [Variant Species][Named Creature][Corrupted Spawn]
Name: Valfred
LVL: 291
Rank: Third Rank (Peak)
HP: 1.4_Million/1.4_Million...(See More).
MP: 200_K/200_K.
Condition: [Healthy][Enraged]
Skills: [Summon Undead][Summon Death Knight][Miasmic Spears][Miasmic Chains][Bone Spikes][Touch of Decay][Bone Shield][Curse of the Dead][Curse of Blindness]x6
---------
Description: A creature of death with tremendous mana and mastery of summoning spells and a creature of true terror who could rival thousand of opponents in strength and drown them with his uncountable summons.
---------
[Important note: All the information about this specimen is not recorded in Philosopher Library. To record all the available knowledge, kill or detain the specimen for in-depth scanning to extract the information.]
---------------
The Lich had the body of a human, with his height reaching close to eight feet, and his body had many areas with visible bones, and his flesh was rotten and dried up, giving him quite a hideous appearance.
The area around the Lich was covered in hundreds of mangled bodies of undead that released such horrible stench that any weak-willed person would go unconscious by either the terrible stench or the gory sight.
'I don't need to worry about his curse skills as my skill (Psychic Shield) will passively protect me from them, and even though the Summon Undead skill will be annoying, it won't be a problem.'
'The only skill I need to worry about is the Summon Death Knight.' Alex thought, looking at the Lich who stood with his eyes closed.
Alex was worried about the Death Knight because a Death Knight summoned by the Lich would be a third Rank creature, and fighting it would be already hard enough on its own, but fighting it while getting attacked by other undead would be a nightmare.
'This fight could be tough or easy, depending on how I handle it.' Alex thought with a smile as he stepped toward the Lich.
"FFFFILTHY CREATURE OF LIVING FLESH." The Lich said as he opened his deeply sunken dry eyes.
"I WILL SKIN YOU ALIVE AND CONSUME YOUR VITALITY GIVING YOU THE GIFT OF DEATH IN THE MOST GRUESOME AND PAINFUL WAY POSSIBLE." The Lich said in his irritatingly loud voice and started laughing like a madman.
"KEKEKEKEKEKE"
---------------
System Notification:
[Player is in a hostile situation with a Creature that is Two Ranks higher in Strength.]
[Indomitable Conqueror Tittle Effect Activated]
[All Base Stats Increased by 20%]
---------------
"You rotten bag of bones, do you think you have the time to make threats?" Alex said as he sprinted toward the Lich, who kept laughing, not minding his charge.
A Lich's biggest advantage was his huge amount of mana and his ability to control countless undead and use them to defeat their enemies with greater numbers, but if one could stop a lich from summoning his minions than killing, it was much easier because of their trash defense.
'Blade Intent'
'Miasma Field'
Alex used the Blade Intent skill to increase his sword damage while he used Miasma Field to start building the Elemental AOE field knowing it would take fifty Seconds to complete and take effect.
'Chains Of Darkness'
Alex used the darkness chain to bind the Lich in place as he pushed forward with all his strength to deliver the strongest strike he could while the idiot Lich was underestimating him.
'You think a quick shield can save you.' Alex thought, looking at the massive shield of bones appearing in front of the Lich.
'Darkness Slash' Alex used the darkness slash and swung his sword, slicing right through the bone shield and smashing into the Lich, sending him flying from his position as the force from the sword was enough to break the darkness chain.
[-70K_HP]
'The bastard Robe is quite sturdy and definitely has a crazy damage reduction effect.' Alex thought, realizing that his strike should have sliced through any low-quality robes or, at the very least, should have done a lot more damage.
"FILTHY SCUM" The Lich screamed as he regained his footing, and before he could summon his undead minions, Alex was already on him, swinging his sword covered in pitch darkness.
'Your robe can protect your body, but what about your uncovered ugly head.' Alex thought as he brought down the sword, using the darkness slash dead on the Lich's head to do maximum damage.
"BOOM"
[-130K_HP]
"TINGG"
'This is bad.' Alex thought as he defended against a barrage of Miasmic Spears that pushed him back.
Alex's second attack was perfect as it could get as the blade descended right on the Lich's head with a fully powered darkness slash.
Alex was confident that the strike would be enough to do tremendous damage with a guaranteed critical hit, but to his surprise, just before the sword impact, the Lich's body was covered in a thin barrier that took most of the damage before breaking.
'I can't let this bastard summon Death Knight.' Alex thought as he avoided the incoming spears and pushed back toward the Lich to not give him a chance to summon his minions.
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