The translucent specter shrieked upon seeing the two. They remained unperturbed by the chill inducing screech and prepared to fight. The wraith's spectral claws expanded until they were a meter long as it rushed toward them.
Name: N/A
Race: Nether Wraith
Talents: [Nether Touched], [Phantasmal Ripper], [Death's Embrace]
Level: 94
HP: 1200
MP: 1850
Str: 80 (+30)
Vit: 70 (+50)
Agi: 115 (+70)
Int: 60
Wis: 115 (+70)
Talent Skills:
[Nether Bond] Lv MAX, [Spectral Claw] Lv MAX, [Grim End] Lv 6
Passive Skills:
[Living Corpse] Lv MAX, [Death Absorption] Lv 8, [Nether Body] Lv 8, [Enhanced Reflexes] Lv MAX, [Advanced Unarmed Mastery] Lv 1, [Increased Mana Regeneration] Lv MAX, [Blurring Agility] Lv 2, [Sagely Wisdom] Lv 2, [Strength Up] Lv 6
Active Skills:
[Death Grip] Lv MAX, [Soul Screech] Lv 8, [Ghostly Swipes] Lv 7, [Whispers of the Nether] Lv 6, [Life Drain] Lv 9, [Rip and Tear] Lv 5, [Soul Burst] Lv 4, [Deadly Incision] Lv 6, [Death Sentence] Lv 2
This wasn't the first time Sol and Amber had encountered this creature. They had previously ventured to this area to assess the strength of the monsters. During that time, they encountered a Nether Wraith, which proved to be a tough challenge, requiring Sol to go all out. The wraith's ability to send out endless waves of ranged claw attacks was far too powerful to be considered a normal skill. Initially, they thought its talent skill was simply abnormally strong, but now they realized it was an incomplete law technique.
After confirming the creature's skills again, Sol positioned himself between the Nether Wraith and Amber, activating his Lipon and releasing a sword of light. The purifying light agitated the wraith further as its claws took on a dark red glow and it lunged at him. Sol responded with a slash of his own.
The collision between the wraith's claws and his light sword resulted in an explosion due to the elemental nature of the two attacks. The wraith was blown back a few feet by the light energy, but Sol remained where he stood, basking in the death mana and feeling rejuvenated. His [Death Absorption] skill allowed him to convert most of the death energy into vitality, and the rest, which he couldn't absorb, had little effect on him.
Though unfazed by the clash, Sol felt something was off.
'Did it not use its incomplete law technique? Its claws felt so much weaker compared to the last time, and it didn't even try to attack from a distance before approaching.'
From the start, the fight was different than the last one, which was strange, as dungeon monsters usually fought the same way. There was no variance between one Awakened Gladiator and another—they would both charge forward and attack with all their might.
Sol wanted to warn Amber that this wraith was different, but before he could, the Nether Wraith charged again. Amber summoned a sand fist and slammed it into the wraith, while Sol released a [Mana Slash] toward it.
The wraith didn't dodge the sand fist or the [Mana Slash], and the two attacks collided, sending sand flying everywhere. Temporarily holding the creature at bay, Sol found the opportunity to warn her.
"This one's different from the last one we fought. Keep your guard up!"
Amber nodded, having noticed the difference as well. They waited, not wanting to make any rash moves until they could identify what was different about this wraith.
When the sand finally settled, the Nether Wraith was nowhere to be found. Sol looked around with [True Sight (Variant)], but he couldn't locate it.
'Did it run away? No, that doesn't make sense. Dungeon monsters never run away.'
He doubted the wraith had fled. It had to be lurking somewhere, undetectable by his recently combined [True Sight (Variant)], which incorporated [Enhanced Sight] doubling the range he could perceive mana and life energy from 30 meters to 60 meters.
Amber was equally cautious, knowing the creature wouldn't escape. Without needing to communicate, they instinctively put their backs together in vigilance. However, it was the wrong move, as the Nether Wraith suddenly appeared beside them, unleashing a barrage of attacks with [Rip and Tear]. With little time to react, Sol used [Overpower], causing time—or at least his perception of it—to slow down. He summoned two hands, combining the green and indigo chromas to create a bluish green barrier.
The wraith's rapid claws battered the barrier, causing it to tremble violently. The barrier wouldn't hold for long under the pressure, but fortunately, it didn't need to. It gave the duo enough time to back away from the wraith. Just as they did, the barrier shattered, and the two hands were sent flying backward, but they remained unharmed.
"Amber, can you buy me some time to figure out its ability? My two hands will support you."
She nodded and began creating and sending sand soldiers to keep the wraith busy, while the two hands flew around it, firing either red beams or yellow projectiles. The Nether Wraith let out another shriek, attacking the sand soldiers and hands wildly. Every so often, when it couldn't dodge, it would disappear and reappear a few seconds later.
A bit farther away, Sol's eyes flickered as he observed the colorful strings emanating from himself, Amber, and the Nether Wraith. He strained his eyes to keep up with the wraith's rapid movements, trying to discern what was different about it. Eventually, he discovered the truth.
'Its incomplete law technique comes from [Nether Bond], not [Spectral Claw]. So they can have different abilities...'
He identified one strand forming a new connection, similar to the developing law techniques of Sol and Amber. It was linked to [Nether Bond]. Now knowing the source of the wraith's different behavior, Sol exerted his will over the talent skill and began twisting it as hard as he could.
While Sol focused on negating the incomplete law technique, most of Amber's sand soldiers perished, and one of his hands was destroyed when the wraith teleported behind it. He wanted to send more hands to support her, but doing so would break his concentration. He had to trust that Amber could hold out for a few more seconds.
Amber's rate of summoning sand soldiers couldn't keep up with the speed at which the Nether Wraith cut them down. Within seconds, nearly all the sand soldiers were gone, and the wraith turned its hateful gaze toward her.
But before it was able to chase after her, the floor—covered in sand from the fallen soldiers—rumbled as a giant jaw made of stone rose up and clamped down on the wraith. Unable to dodge in time, the wraith confidently used its connection to the nether to warp between realms and escape. But to its surprise, it realized it hadn't moved an inch.
Sol chuckled at the wraith's surprised expression.
"Gotcha."
If there had been even the slightest chance of flying out of the stone jaws before attempting to warp, it was now far too late. The wraith could only helplessly be crushed.