Episode 376
Episode 376
Lee Han continued questioning the undead mage to extract more information.
The undead mage, also deeply curious about the outside situation, readily answered Lee Han's inquiries.
Originally, this palace had been the dwelling of the Ghoul King, with his royal guard defending the throne while his soldiers patrolled the perimeter, firmly blocking any wandering intruders.
The Ghoul King had been a violent tyrant, but his power was genuine—so even when chaos erupted nearby, his palace would burn with a noble darkness, its radiance undimmed...
"There was nothing like that."
—What?!
"There was nothing like that. No burning darkness... just an ordinary structure. We got in pretty easily."
Though the undead mage had no flesh or muscles on his face, his bare bones still managed to convey sheer shock.
—Impossible! The Flames of Otherworldly Dominion have been extinguished?! There's no way the arrogant king would have allowed that!
"Yelling at me won't change anything..."
The undead mage was so bewildered by this unbelievable news that he remained dazed for a while, unsure how to react.
Then, a clattering sound echoed from the opposite corridor.
—We're in trouble! The prisoners are coming!
"Aren't you also a prisoner?"
—Our circumstances may be similar, but our statuses are different. Those bastards revel in battle and suffering.
The prisoners locked in this palace dungeon shared the same fate, but their identities varied greatly.
Some, like the undead mage, had been imprisoned for defying the Ghoul King's orders, while others—like the ones approaching now—had been thrown in for their violent love of combat.
The latter type didn't despair over being trapped in an inescapable prison. Instead, they worked hard to maintain their hobbies even inside.
Namely, attacking and defeating fellow inmates.
After all, even if undead prisoners in this dungeon were smashed to pieces, they'd fully recover and revive within a week. For battle-crazed warriors, it was nothing short of paradise.
—Do you know why there are no bars here? Because the king wanted the prisoners to fight each other.
"Got it. So what should we do?"
—What do you mean, what should we do? Don't resist. Just accept it. Provoking them will only make them happier.
The undead berserkers of this dungeon were utterly enthralled by combat itself.
Unless one hid like the undead mage and got lucky, fighting back would only excite them further.
Of course, to Lee Han, the mage's words were unacceptable nonsense.
'I can't revive, though.'
"Let's fight together."
—Fight together? Why would I?
"Either way, if enemies come, I'm dragging you in. Don't regret it later—let's just fight together from the start."
—...Wherever you came from, you've clearly inherited a despicable bloodline!
Cursing, the undead mage stepped out of the cell.
Still, the mage disliked the unruly undead berserkers more than intruders like Lee Han, so once outside, he gave earnest advice.
—They're tough, and there are many of them.
After wandering this dungeon for countless years, grafting stronger flesh and replacing their muscles, the undead berserkers had developed such tenacious defenses that most magic couldn't penetrate.
Moreover, they didn't move alone—they traveled in packs. So for an undead mage, no matter how skilled, there was no winning against them with magic alone.
—To break through, one spell won't be enough... So what magic can you use?
Instead of answering, Lee Han cast his spell.
There was no time to explain and wait.
As over a dozen skeleton warriors materialized in the corridor, the undead mage gave Lee Han an approving look.
"I can't tell which kingdom you're from, but you seem to be at least a head mage-level talent."
"......"
Ogoldos, who was being supported beside him, was too flabbergasted to speak.
"But your movements are too slow. It seems you haven't practiced Undead Summoning much."
"Yes. I'm still very lacking."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Lee Han cast frost magic on the spears and bows held by the Skeleton Warriors.
As the frost magic learned from Alsicle took effect, a chilling cold began emanating from the dull bone spears and arrows.
"I see. You've focused more on other areas than Undead Summoning... Frost magic is a good choice."
"Scatter and surround, Parkmu."
When Lee Han even used Illusion Magic, the undead mage looked astonished.
"Illusion Magic too? It's rare for a Black Mage to use Illusion—"
"Hands of Severing, cleave the enemy."
"???"
When Enhancement Magic appeared as well, the undead mage went beyond surprise into outright bewilderment.
"Wait, which kingdom did you say you were from?"
If there had been time, the undead mage would have loved to ask in detail which kingdom Lee Han served and where, but there was no time. The moment he roughly grasped Lee Han's magical capabilities, the undead mage began preparations.
"If that entrance gets breached, consider it an automatic defeat. There's no winning in close combat against those berserkers."
The undead mage erected a bone barricade at the end of the prison corridor and positioned Lee Han's Skeleton Warriors there. Then he began summoning his own undead minions.
"!"
Two armored undead knights appeared, their eyes blazing with cold blue light.
The strength of a mage's summons alone speaks volumes about their skill.
"Even if they look strong, there's a limit to how long they can hold. Without support from other magic, they'll break through immediately."
"I'll do my best to hold them off."
Lee Han took up a Skeleton Warrior's bone bow and began casting <Lesser Speed Boost>, <Lesser Weight Increase>, and <Lesser Penetration Enhancement>.
The low-durability bone bow creaked and screamed in protest, but Lee Han pushed through with the desperate resolve that he just needed to survive this once.
The undead mage, preoccupied with reinforcing the chokepoint ahead, failed to notice Lee Han stacking enhancement spells. Had he seen, he would have been shocked at such wasteful magic usage.
"They're coming!"
"!"
At the undead mage's low warning, Sharkan began growling.
A berserker with a hulking frame easily over 2 meters tall flashed its eyes and roared.
-■■■■!
It almost seemed delighted at finding a worthy opponent. Lee Han didn't wait—he fired immediately.
Thwack!
"What...?"
While the undead mage was scoffing at what seemed like a pitiful attack, the bone arrow embedded itself halfway into the berserker's chest.
Both the undead mage and the berserker were stunned by an attack that could tear through such dense muscle and tough skin.
"...Explode now!"
The undead mage recovered first, seizing control of the bone arrow to detonate it.
The gas inside the bone reacted with mana, exploding to damage the berserker.
-■■■...
With a guttural noise, the berserker tried to recover. The undead mage immediately cast another spell.
"Bind and drag it down!"
Not just one part but the berserker's entire body became covered in bone fragments. As its movements slowed, the undead mage took a deep breath and gathered mana.
"Appear, tendrils of virulent poison—melt it away!"
Unlike other spells, this unusually long and powerful incantation revealed the undead mage's specialty was poison.
A toxin of complex mana formation—unlike anything Lee Han had ever seen—took shape before morphing into arrow form and firing.
By sheer hardness or speed alone, it should have bounced harmlessly off the berserker's muscles. But the virulent poison arrow melted flesh and muscle alike, carving a path through.
However, the berserker didn't seem to feel any pain as it burst into laughter and began shaking off the bone fragments. With a brutal swing of its club, two nearby Skeleton Warriors were sent flying.
"Stab it!"
But the remaining Skeleton Warriors were still standing. Lee Han poured out his mana as if it were about to explode and issued a command.
Unlike the arrow Lee Han had fired himself, the bone spears couldn't pierce the berserker's body, but the chill imbued in their tips slowed it down slightly. As the consecutive attacks landed, the berserker grew irritated and raised its club again.
"Chill, become an arrow and strike!"
Lee Han swung his staff and fired an ice arrow. Upon impact, the chill burst forth, freezing the berserker's movements once more.
Sharkan let out a battle cry and charged forward.
With relentless attacks aimed at severing its ankles, the berserker abandoned its offensive and tried to deal with the surrounding enemies first.
Crunch!
In a single strike, nearly half of the Skeleton Warriors were annihilated, making the Undead Mage sigh in frustration.
He knew Undead Summoning wasn't his main specialty, but he hadn't expected to be this clumsy.
Had he known, he would've just conserved his mana for other Elemental Magic instead...
"Arise, warriors of bone!"
Lee Han chanted the spell rapidly without even pausing to breathe. In this critical moment, even a second's delay could turn the tide. There was no room for carelessness.
The shattered Skeleton Warriors rose as if nothing had happened. The berserker stared at Lee Han in disbelief.
-Stop wasting your mana like that!
"I'm keeping track of my calculations, so don't worry about it!"
-Is that really true? If so...
The Undead Mage honestly didn't believe it, but he decided to take Lee Han's word for now.
There was no time to argue about the truth in this situation.
A mage of considerable standing in the kingdom wouldn't spout outright lies, after all.
-Poison, rise again within, melting bone and searing muscle...
Poison mages had various tricks up their sleeves.
One of them was the technique of pre-summoning poison and storing it somewhere in the body.
Though an extremely dangerous method, it allowed for swift emergency responses by utilizing the nature of poison as an element—something only the most skilled Poison Element mages could master.
The Undead Mage expelled the stored poison while simultaneously replenishing it with mana.
Even that much was enough to make him feel his mana nearing depletion.
-Bones, offer your remaining mana to your master...
As a last resort, the Undead Mage tried absorbing residual mana from the bones he had fired earlier to recover—only to look to the side in shock.
Lee Han was madly firing a barrage of ice arrows like a lunatic.
Pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pak!
The ice arrows struck relentlessly, covering the berserker's body in a layer of frost.
Though none of the attacks pierced its body, the combination of the Skeleton Warriors clinging to it and the creeping chill noticeably slowed the berserker's movements.
Lee Han steadied his mind amid the tension and quickly calculated.
'Should I stick with arrows? Time is tight, and the damage has its limits. A Water Prison Bomb would be... too much. Maybe if it were Lightning Element instead...'
As lightning began to gather and flicker around Lee Han's staff, the Undead Mage shouted.
-Don't use lightning! It's a waste of mana. They have strong resistance to it!
"Is that so?!"
Lee Han cursed Perkuntra internally.
Damn this useless spirit.
-Listen carefully to what I say from now on! I'll teach you my secret Compound Poison. You'll be the one to create and use it!
"I'm not very familiar with Poison Element Magic!"
-If you're the kingdom's top mage, you'll pick it up quickly. The theory itself isn't that hard! It's the combinations that are tricky!
"I'm not the kingdom's top mage, and I'm not familiar with Poison Element Magic—"
Ignoring Lee Han's protests, the Undead Mage immediately launched into an explanation of Poison Element Magic.