Chapter 419: Skeletal Abomination, Reaching the Source
[Skeletal Abomination (Mutated)]
[Level: 100]
[Exclusive Talent: Undead Revival, Fusion.]
[Combat Power: 12,000,000]
[Details: Over the course of many centuries, the skeletons in the catacombs learned to merge with each other in case of a powerful intruder, though only in the Abyss difficulty, creating this horrifying amalgamation of bone that grows stronger with each skeleton it absorbs.]
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Even the sword that thing was carrying was made from skeletal bones, fused together into a massive blade that seemed to pulse with dark energy.
And it seemed to wear a dark armor made of compacted bone, towering at over 6-meters tall, its head almost reaching the tunnel’s roof.
"...Hm," Leon gazed at it, his mind already calculating his options and potential strategies, "Well, at least it went for us instead of the others, that’s something positive."
That thing’s combat power was extremely high, but not high enough for Celestial Might to activate and reduce its stats, meaning Leon would have to fight it head-on without any passive assistance.
And even if he did manage to defeat it, it also had the Undead Revival skill, meaning that after 5 minutes it would come back to fight again, making it a persistent threat.
’I hope it doesn’t have a third form after it dies,’ Leon thought grimly, preparing for the worst.
"Stay back," Leon spoke to Celeste, who did just as she was told, retreating to a safe distance behind him, "I’ll deal with that thing, you send a message to Violet and Emilia to be careful about these fused things."
"A-Alright!" Celeste nodded as she sent over the messages, her fingers flying across her interface with urgency.
Meanwhile, Leon faced the Skeleton Abomination, his magicless sword and destiny staff glowing in his hands as he prepared for battle, his muscles tensing.
SMASH!
The massive skeleton swung its skeletal blade at Leon with devastating force, the weapon carving through the air, forcing him to back away, and then use his vines of torment, erupting all over the tunnel to surround the monster and snap many of its body parts.
But strangely enough, even when many of its bones broke and shattered, they regenerated extremely fast, the pieces flying back together as if they had never been separated.
And it wasn’t that they didn’t break, it was simply that Leon saw the countdown panel just like the other skeletons, but far shorter, barely giving him any time to press his advantage.
Each time he destroyed a part of the mutated monster’s body, it simply showed:
[3... 2... 1...]
And then it regenerated, completely whole again as if nothing had happened.
That thing was literally unkillable, no matter how many spells or attacks Leon threw at it, it just kept coming back, its form reforming with each passing moment.
And after a few minutes of trying to find a weakness in its defenses, something else happened that made the situation even worse.
Fwoosh!
The countdown of the previous skeletons he killed ended, and they joined the rest of the monster, making it even stronger as they fused into its mass, their bones merging with its form.
[Combat Power: 12,400,000]
At some point, that thing would become strong enough to actually pose a real problem even for Leon.
But as the details part said, this was a mechanic of the Catacombs unique to the Abyss difficulty, a special challenge designed to test even the strongest players.
Higher-level difficulty dungeons always had some mechanic to make it much harder than anything else.
Leon had thought the undying part was it, but not at all, it was the fact that this massive monster could keep growing stronger, and that it was immortal, making it a truly terrifying foe.
But still, Leon knew it wasn’t the dungeon boss, since it didn’t have the boss label in its name, meaning there was something else waiting.
They’d have to move deeper to find the true source of this endless undead army and put an end to it.
"Run," Leon shouted at Celeste as she simply looked at the battle unfolding before her, frozen in place.
Vines of Torment!
He summoned a wall of vines in front of the Skeleton Abomination, blocking its path if not for a few seconds, then he rushed toward the opposite side of the tunnel, grabbing Celeste’s hand and pulling her along.
Leon ignored every skeleton that came his way, his only focus being escape, though he kept hearing the mutated monster run behind him, its heavy footsteps shaking the ground with each step.
This kept going for a few minutes, the chase relentless, and seeing all of this, Leon truly didn’t understand how anybody could clear this if they didn’t have an overwhelming amount of Combat Power.
Still, after a while, he finally reached the end of the tunnel, emerging into yet another chamber that seemed different from the rest, a place of ancient knowledge.
This one looked much more different than the first one though, filled with ancient books and artifacts scattered across the floor.
All over the walls were several tunnels, likely where all the others paths lead, meaning that in the end, you were forced to reach this place eventually, no matter which path you took.
The floor was made of marble, with a sun motif on it that seemed to glow faintly in the dim light.
The space seemed like a library with many pieces of furniture covered in dust and books on them.
Leon looked around the chamber, and in the middle of the room there was a desk with a figure studying a book.
As the figure looked up to see Leon, a powerful aura glinted in its eyes, and its form revealed itself to be a skeletal figure clad in ornate robes, its bony fingers clutching a scepter.
A faint blue flame was burning in its eye sockets, regarding the intruders with curiosity and a hint of amusement.
Appraisal!
[Catacombs Lich, Malachar (Boss)]
[Level: 100]
[Talent: Expert Necromancy (A-Rank)]
[Combat Power: 14,000,000]
[Details: An undead lich which spends the majority of its time learning about necromancy and the power of the undead, hoarding ancient knowledge and commanding the endless armies of the catacombs.]