Connor vomited blood as he tried to stand, feeling his back crack with each movement. The beast rushed at him again, giving him no time to recover.
Just as it was about to attack, the banshee, now enraged, intervened. With its heightened strength from Vengeful Bane, it severely damaged the undead creature.
Guaaahh!
Screech!
The beast roared, and the banshee screamed back, exchanging blows unexpectedly.
As they fought, Connor wondered how the beast had grown so strong. It was capable of battling a Class One monster, and even with the banshee's strength boost, the undead creature held its ground.
He realized that the Lich might be supplying it with mana from a distance. Being a mage-focused Class Three rank monster, the Lich could have even more mana than him with the cheat perk, he couldn't tell for sure, but what he knew was, the undead beast in front of him was unkillable.
"But what is the Lich trying to achieve?" he pondered.
[ The Lich is currently an Ascension 1 Rank monster with the evolved Elite class of [ Nethermancer ] from its predecessor class [Necromancer], which allows it to enhance its undead army's individual strength by feeding them SP. It revived the Tigra-squirrel from a distance, brought it to floor 5, and bestowed a portion of its SP before sending it here to kill you.
As the Dungeon Master, the Lich has watched your journey with great interest. Impressed by your fight with the Tigra-squirrel, it wants you as a general in its undead army. It believes that with you on its side, it could evolve to the Transcendent class [Undead Overlord] and advance this dungeon to the Fifth and Sixth Order.
It also analyzed your Night Blend and prepared countermeasures, as you can see.]
"Tsk," Connor clicked his tongue, realizing what kind of menace had taken an interest in him. He had also forgotten that the lich was the main boss of this dungeon meaning it was the first one to evolve to its peak.
He didn't go through all that pain just to become undead here.
He wanted to escape from these two monsters wreaking havoc and destroying this place.
'Destroying this place... Wait a minute' Connor thought, as a dangerous idea formed in his head. He looked around the hall and pictured the scenario in his mind.
If his plan works, He could kill three birds with one stone.
( A/N: Write in Comments to see, if you can get the birds( objectives ) right, Let's see how many birds he can kill. )
He consulted the system to gauge the success rate of his plan.
[The plan is likely to succeed if there are no outliers.]
After receiving confirmation from the system, he began to execute his plan. He summoned his blade and infused it with mana. In his current condition, the success of his plan relied heavily on his control of the blade.
After infusing the blade with 3000 Mana Essences, Connor directed it towards the two corpses and his backpack. Carefully, he used the sword to lift them up and bring them to him one by one.
Taking out the first aid and ointments, he applied them to his chest and poured some on his back. They proved useful as they boosted his passive skill's healing abilities.
It wasn't enough for Connor to walk, but he could at least crawl and was slowly recovering.
He took a bottle filled with petroleum and sprinkled it on the corpses. Retrieving the lighter from his backpack, he kept it ready at his side.
"Let's hope this works," he prayed as he sent the bodies sliding back towards the entrance door, preparing himself for the daunting task ahead.
After double-checking that everything was in place, he used the sword as a platform to levitate high in the air, watching the intense fight between the beast and the banshee.
Initially, it seemed like the banshee was dominating. However, Connor could see signs of exhaustion. It was taking beatings that visibly injured it.
"If only I hadn't lost my sanity, I could have used Darkness Surfing to evade all those attacks. But that tail could still hurt me, just like it did before."
Connor felt disappointed by the banshee's lack of defense. When he fought it, it barely gave him any openings; the only attack he landed was almost a fluke.
Now, seeing the same monster getting trashed, he felt envious of how the tigra-squirrel fought. Its movements were like those of an apex predator hunting its prey.
He wanted to move like that. Last time, he couldn't focus on his movements, but now he carefully traced its patterns.
The tigra-squirrel bent and twisted its legs mid-charge to redirect itself, using its tail like a spring to accelerate and create force instantly.
It resembled a pinball gaining momentum from each collision, hitting harder and faster.
"Right, I need to focus." Lost in admiration of its movements, Connor almost forgot his motive.
"It's almost time for the skill to end," he thought, glancing at the banshee.
According to the system's information, [Vengeful Bane] would fade after 15 minutes.
It proved correct, as the redness in its eyes and its fierce aura slowly faded away.
Positioning himself directly above the banshee, Connor hid in the darkness of the hall, now in ruins with fire lanterns scattered from the pillars.
As the undead beast approached, the banshee used [Darkness Surfing] to dodge its attack.
Connor moved away to avoid its range, knowing the beast wouldn't stop there. Still maintaining the darkness veil, he contemplated his next action after the banshee recovered its sanity.
Exhausted from expending all its energy in countless battles, the banshee lost its undead army.
Amidst this chaos, the banshee remembered the annoying human responsible for its demise.
As it turned to where Connor should have been, its vision flipped upside down.
No, its head was severed. But how? That was the last thought of the banshee as it died.
A series of notifications popped up in front of Connor.
[You have completed the evolution requirement for the skill Night Blend]
[Used the skill to kill an enemy that is at least ten levels above you (1/1)]
[Evolving Night Blend (1st order active) to Darkness Surge (2nd order active)]
[You have slain a Lv. 26 Necromancer, Ariana (banshee)]
[You have obtained 2300 SP]
[You have gained +10 Strength, +20 Endurance, +27 Stamina as excess SP.]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[...]
[ The vengeful banshee has an absorbable skill: Vengeful Bane (3rd order active). Would you like to absorb and overwrite the skill rune?]
[ An absorbable class has been detected: Would you like to take [Necromancer] as your subclass?]
[ Beginner Note: Subclasses are fixed once engraved. They cannot be changed later. The subclass is a non-upgradable class that won't advance or fuse with other classes.]
Connor immediately selected yes by tapping on the screen
Instead of a message, His profile screen appeared
[
Name: Connor Lennox
Race: Human
Class: None
Subclass: Necromancer
Rank: Unranked
Level: 12 (43/1200)
AP: 4
Attributes:
->Strength: 63 (+3)
->Endurance: 67
->Stamina: 4/107(+5)
->Agility:33
->M.P: 10
->Mana: 1300/50
Weapons(2) Equipment(0) Skills(4) Weapon Arts(0)
]
Connor was so happy right now that he would have done Hula dance, if not for his condition.
Seeing his profile, he felt very proud of his stats and to get a subclass so fast in just 2.5 days since the apocalypse began.
But celebration could wait; Connor focused on escape.
His body had healed enough to allow slow walking, but facing a monstrous beast, walking wasn't an option. He immediately filled his mana to 2000 with the SP and infused it into his blade.
As the undead approached within meters, he accelerated with the blade, never letting go as he rocketed toward the entrance. Grabbing the corpses of the scorpions, he used the sword as a surfboard.
The undead Tigra-Squirrel roared, giving chase.
Navigating the second-floor passageways at speeds exceeding hundreds of miles per hour, he dragged the corpses. Several times, he nearly fell due to the unfamiliar high-speed surfing, but his increased agility helped him manage. He reached the second floor's starting point, where he had stashed a group of dead scorpions before challenging the boss, as an escape plan.
Connor ignited the scorpions in his hands and hurled them at the pile of corpses near the entrance. As they burned, toxins evaporated, filling the air.
The beast arrived just in time, but Connor quickly hid high in the air. Unable to find him, the beast leaped onto the platform leading back to the first floor, ready to leave. However, the platform remained, indicating Connor was still on the second floor.
It was too late as the platform descended swiftly, causing the beast to roar in frustration, unable to escape its descent.
What Connor did next was daring—he jumped into the large hole, following the beast.
Now he was the pursuer.
Unaware until the lich alerted it, the beast looked up and saw Connor descending toward it. Using its tail as a spring, it attempted to leap and catch him in mid-air.
Connor swiftly altered his falling path with the sword, surfing down and avoiding the beast's grasp. As he moved away, he grabbed the sword, infused more mana, and struck the beast with all his newfound strength. The heavy blow sent the beast crashing into the walls.
Quickly surfing down again with his sword, Connor watched as the beast, restored by the lich's mana, fell from the height.
The descending platform was already too far down.
In the end, the beast crashed hard against the platform, shattering it much like it had in the second-floor boss room.
As it struggled to recover from the fall, the beast realized Connor was nearing the exit of the boss room.
Grabbing a large stone with its tail, the beast hurled it at Connor. He spotted the incoming projectile and attempted to dodge, but he couldn't completely evade it. The impact threw off his balance, and he crashed to the ground face-first.
Another stone followed, targeting the location of his sword rather than Connor himself. The dull blade, having lost much of its mana, couldn't move fast enough and got buried under the rubble.
Baffled, Connor hadn't expected the beast to use such tactics. He concluded it must be the Lich's influence.
He asked the system for advice, but the response was unexpected
[Fight the beast with your other weapon.]
"What? Fight that abomination with a knife?" he thought, then paused as something clicked.
[The Silent Judgement was a weapon used to destroy the will of the target before killing them, preventing them from becoming vengeful spirits. When used on an undead with no will of its own...]
"It will kill the will of the necromancer," Connor finished.
"Why didn't you say that earlier?"
[I was instructed not to give detailed explanations like a lecture]
Connor was speechless. Was the system getting back at him?
His thoughts were interrupted as the beast, now recovered, charged at him. He summoned Silent Judgement and activated his newly evolved skill, [Darkness Surge].
What happened next was unexpected. Darkness erupted around him, enveloping everything within a 10-meter radius, including the undead beast. Surprised, Connor pulled up the skill description:
[ Skill Name: Darkness Surge
Rank: 2nd Order
Activation: Creates a field of darkness around the user, binding everything inside to the laws of darkness, rendering them still. The user can move freely within this field, unaffected by outside interference. The field size depends on the mana used, and it drains 50 mana per second to remain active.
Activation Cost: 100 - ∞ Mana ]
Shocked at the skill's change, he noticed his mana draining rapidly. Refilling his mana to maintain the field, he approached the trapped beast.
Connor grinned; it was payback time.
He lunged the knife repeatedly into various parts of its body.
The beast made no sound, paralyzed within the darkness.
Connor wondered if it could feel anything but didn't care as he continued stabbing.
The green light within the beast faded, and its buffed form shrank into a frail corpse.
Connor released the skill, and the corpse fell to the ground.
He doused it with the petroleum from his backpack and set it ablaze, ensuring the Lich couldn't reanimate it again.
Then, exhausted, he collapsed, finally realizing that his nightmare was over.
**********************
Fifth Floor, Undead Dungeon version 31.332.08
The Lich smashed a globe in anger, realizing its plans had failed. With the first floor boss gone, no other monsters could enter the now-empty floor. It would take a month for the monsters to respawn and several more days for them to reach full strength.
The Lich rampaged, furious at the loss of its precious SP invested in the Tigra Squirrel.
------------------------------------
A/N:
Hello Guys, Hope you are doing good,
It's your lovely Author-san / Author-nim / Author-bhai / Dude / Bro / Mate / camarade d'auteur.
This marks the end of the dungeon arc.
Now , i know you all were somewhat bored with the sole focus on Mc, I too realized i had to repeatedly use the same nouns, It was hard to write referring to monsters as ' It ' all the time.
Now let's head to the real story with all the characters involved how will MC: Mister Connor face the upcoming challenges, if you are thinking I gave the MC too much power and made him too OP, just wait and watch. He wasn't the only one working hard to grow stronger all this time.
And pls pls pls Add my work to your library and vote for me with your power stones
Love you all , Hope you will love me back as well
Adios and Sayonara