The cavern echoed as the legion of skeletons marched with fiery intent. Hundreds of empty sockets locked into Buji.
Buji grinned at the approaching sight, rolling his shoulders as his Emberheart power flared within him.
To him, the last battle with their boss should have served as a lesson. "Hmm. The logic."
Ordinarily, his performance with the boss should have triggered their strength lesser than Buji expected. Instead of retreating, they were strengthening.
On his part anywhere, he felt his instincts sharpened, reminding him of the depths of his power.
"Right? They are nothing compared to what I’ve encountered as a hunter. Now, it’s ti to let loose."
He flicked his wrist, flicked it again, before resting them on the holder of his cord wrapped diagonally around his body.
Holding the cord, he flicked his hands again, outwardly. The cord unfurled, shimring under the ominous glow of these skeletons’ magic empty body.
Buji rolled into circularly in the air, taking note of its extensive length.
The skeletons rushed forward.
"Alright, Buji, it’s ti scatter the floor. Let’s dance," Buji muttered, keeping his voice low like a re whisper against what was coming to stay, to happen..
The skeletons, this ti around, attacked in unison.
The first skeleton lunged, raising it’s sword and probably aiming to cleave through Buji’s flank. But, before it could close the gap, Buji stroke his cord, lashing it out with inhuman speed.
CRACK!
The impact shattered the skeleton’s ribcage instantly, sending bone shards scattering across the battlefield. Before its remains could even settle, Buji flicked his wrist again, and the Cord shot outward, impaling three more undead warriors in a single motion.
"Unfortunately, you all are still too slow."
His activated his Phantom Step, his body flickered as he did so, weaving between his attackers with seamless agility.
A skeleton archer released a black-tinged arrow, but Buji twisted mid-air, the projectile grazing harmlessly past him.
Snap!
His Cord snapped sideways, slicing through five skeletons in a single arc. The mont they crumbled, another twenty filled their place.
And then, the ground beneath him trembled.
A skeletal warrior, far larger than the rest, burst forward, wielding a colossal two-handed scythe. Its structure was reinforced with a dark, tallic substance. Ita presence, also radiated with sothing far more sinister.
Buji’s eyes sharpened. He didn’t want to take any chance, or give his legion enemies any chance.
He, however, still wondered. This fight should have ended with killing the boss, but it seed it only fueled the strength of its subordinates.
"Slayer."
[Slayer Title Activated.]
The mont he invoked his Slayer title, the battlefield seed to slow. His perception sharpened, allowing him to process every enemy movent with ruthless efficiency. His fingers twitched—he vanished.
Reappearing above the towering skeleton, Buji raised his palm skyward.
"Molten Fluid Shield. Manifest!"
A swirling, molten force erupted around him, forming a protective barrier of living magma.
The skeleton swung its scythe, but the instant the blade t the shield, the weapon disintegrated, lting under the deft intensity of the heat.
Buji grinned.
"You think that’s enough? You think I did summon that for no reason?"
His hand twisted as he flinged his Cord, wrapping it around the skeleton’s skull and yanked hard—
SNAP!
The skull exploded into dust, and the body collapsed in a heap of already burning bones.
But there was no ti to breathe.
The cavern sowhat pulsed with an ominous energy. The fallen skeletons... were rising again.
But they weren’t the sa.
The flakes of fire that had once belonged to the defeated monster had settled upon them, strengthening their forms. Their bones no longer appeared to be brittle; they had hardened, now wrapped in a blackened, void-like tal. Their eye sockets flared brighter, their movents becoming unnervingly precise.
Buji’s smirk faded.
’They adapted...? Fine. I’ll just burn them harder,’ he said as if it was going to be easy. ’Besides, I wish I can get this Adaptation ability, it helps.’
"Magic Staff of Embellishnt."
[Summoned!]
The magic staff ⚕️ materialized in his left hand, as he warped the cord back around him, to a diagonal rest.
His grip imdiately tightened on his Magic Staff of Embellishnt, the ornate weapon pulsing with latent power.
"Infernal Strike—Unleash!"
He incurred, positioning the staff against the skeletons.
A vortex of crimson energy surged around the staff, coalescing into a devastating force. The very air ignited as he swung downward.
BOOOOOOOM!
A fiery eruption tore through the skeletal ranks, incinerating dozens in an instant. The sheer force carved a deep trench in the cavern floor, reducing everything caught in the blast to molten slag.
But they kept coming.
Buji exhaled sharply. "At least, the spell is still active. Infernal Awakening!"
The mont he called on the feature, he felt his strength fueled. He beca more active, very agile. But then, he thought it had made a mistake, the battle was turning into a battle of endurance.
He lowered his head to see that the skeletons’ resolve were strong. They kept coming.
He tossed his magic staff to disappear, loosening his cord.
"I think it’s ti to fight smart," he muttered positioning his cord against the skeletons. "I can see raw power isn’t just enough, it appears to be weakeningly effective."
Using his mind, Buji called upon his Emberheart’s Successor title. At the instant, his Cord glowed with Emberheart’s fury. His hand glowed as well as a result of the magic he channeled to his cord.
The cord was no longer just a weapon, it has beco an extension of his will.
"Now, we move!"
He flicked his wrist, sending the cord to fling in am outward shot, and with precision, binding three skeletons together in an instant. He quickly pulled the cord towards him, and the unlucky skeletons crashed into one another, shattering on the cavern floor like brittle glass.
Another skeleton attempted to strike from behind.
Without looking, Buji spun, wrapping the Cord around its neck. A sharp tug—
CRACK!
The head popped off like the cork from a bottle.
With this, a deep, guttural growl filled the cavern.
"What was that?"
From the debts of the skeletal horde, another towering figure erged.
"All these weak towering figures that keep erging, hmm."
The size of the figure was huge, as it stood twice as tall as the rest. It’s entire body encased in void-tal armor.
The jagged crown of bones, used to decorate its armor signified its dominance, while in its hand, it wielded a flaming war axe.
Buji’s eyes narrowed.
Krekrekrekre!
He shocked. The sound just now ca from the smaller skeletons. They all bowed their head to the figure before them.
That sound, to the much of his knowledge will only signify honor. For the skeletons to make the sound only when it appeared, showed their were bestowing their honor to it.
’If I call this the Skeletal General, will I be wrong? Besides, that bow just now. It can’t be attributed to a general.’
’Wait... Does it an this is their boss?’
Buji beca more confused. What of the monster he had fought back then, why then did the skeletons kneel before its appearance.
As if to solve it’s confusion, the usual screen appeared before his eyes with an explanation, for the first ti since the battle started.
Ding!
[A high presence detected—Skeletal Boss approaching.]
[The instant you killed the dungeon boss, it had spread its essence through out the dungeon, strengthening its warrior. However, according to the skeleton order, their legion cannot exist without a ruler to command their actions.]
[Hitherto this, the skeletons’ selection, hence, will has rested upon their current boss while a warrior. It consud most of the essence spread by the dungeon boss to get to this form.]
[You’ve been doing greatly. Good luck as you keep up.]
"Cool," Buji muttered before looking up at the towering figure approaching. "So, you’re the boss, huh?"
The Skeletal General however, wasn’t ready to take shit. It didn’t waste ti.
It charged, with its massive axe cleaving downward.
"I see. May you know that attackers without a plan are liable to die young."
Even in the midst of his blabbing, Buji raised his Molten Fluid Shield just in ti. The impact from the strike sent a violent shockwave through the cavern, forcing him to skid backward.
’That’s a lot of power.’
But he wasn’t about to back down.
Buji dashed forward, activating his Phantom Step to blur his movent. His Cord lashed out—only for the General to deflect it effortlessly.
’Tsk. No openings.’
The General retaliated.
With unnatural speed, it swung its axe in a wide arc, flas trailing behind.
Buji barely managed to avoid the attack, but—
Shhhhkkkk!
A thin line of blood trickled down his cheek.
The attack had grazed him.
For the first ti in this battle, Buji felt a genuine sense of danger.
’Alright, this might actually be fun.’
He summoned his magic staff and thought, ’Funny how I naturally got accustod to its spell. I think a result of the Emberheart’s Will or is it the Successor title?’
anwhile, he targeted forward and activated his final trump card.
"Infernal Resonance: Awaken!"
His entire body flared with a golden-red glow, his power amplifying beyond anything he had felt before. The cavern walls cracked under the sheer heat radiating from him.
The Skeletal General’s sockets flickered.
It sensed it too.
The battle had taken the toils of annihilation.
And then—but still, the General moved.
Buji smirked.
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