"Only two people? Are they crazy?"

Murmurs spread among the survivors. It seemed like two people were going out for a quest.

It's only been a short while since this all started, and they've already formed a team? Who are these guys...?

Derek, watching the survivors leave the safe zone, widened his eyes in surprise.

"That... that mage!"

It was the same guy who had threatened him earlier without hesitation and tried to kill him. The memory of the dark magic missile exploding right in front of his eyes was still fresh in his mind. Seeing that guy stepping out of the safe zone now, Derek ground his teeth in frustration.

If I could, I'd go after him right now...

But Derek knew that if he did, no one would ever team up with him again. Killing a person was very different from killing monsters. Suppressing his irritation, Derek sneered as he watched.

"Idiot. He thinks he's invincible just because he knows a few spells?"

Magic was powerful, sure. But it had a massive weakness — limited uses. No matter how strong your magic was, once it ran out, you'd just be a sitting duck. And they were heading out to face that many skeletons with just the two of them?

Doesn't he know how bad it is to face a horde early on? How did an idiot like that get chosen as a beta tester?

Derek could already see what would happen: they'd probably do fine at first, but then they'd run out of magic and come running back, panicked. Imagining the scene, Derek snickered. But then, he heard the mage speak.

"Black Missile."

Boom!

"...!?"

Everyone, including Derek, stared in shock as the skeleton crumbled to pieces, scattered all over the ground. The survivors, who had been watching, began murmuring louder.

"What the hell?!"

"That skeleton went down in one hit!"

"Is magic always this strong?"

"How the hell would I know!?"

Despite the commotion behind him, the mage continued without a care. He calmly pointed at the remaining skeletons and murmured again.

"Black Missile. Black Missile. Black Missile."

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With each spell, another skeleton fell, crumbling to the ground. It looked like these skeletons were made of paper, going down with just one hit.

But nobody was dumb enough to think that was the case. After all, they'd seen these skeletons go toe-to-toe with full-grown adults in a test of strength.

But to take down a skeleton in one hit?

Everyone stared in stunned silence at the mage . The only one who wasn't was Derek, who was clenching his teeth so hard it hurt.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

No, it's not over yet! That's not the end of it!

Skeletons don't disappear after being destroyed once. Sure enough, moments later, the scattered bones began to reassemble themselves.

"H-Hey, look!"

"They're rebuilding themselves!"

Hearing the survivors' cries of shock, Derek couldn't help but feel smug.

That's right! This is what skeletons are really about! Now what are you going to do, you bastard?

Skeletons regenerate if you don't finish them off completely. At the very least, you need to attack them twice to finish the job. For a mage , this meant using double the magic. Derek waited for the mage's panicked response, but instead, the mageremained calm and spoke in a low voice.

"Energy Drain."

Fwoosh!

"...!?"

With a single spell, the skeleton that was just reassembling itself crumbled to dust. The other two skeletons that had also started rebuilding didn't fare any better.

"Energy Drain. Energy Drain."

Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

The skeletons disintegrated like dust being blown away in the wind. Watching this, Derek's jaw dropped.

"Energy Drain!? That guy... he's a Warlock !?"

A Warlock— one of the most feared classes in the early game. Though it was weak in the later stages, early on, it was practically invincible. If that mage was a Warlock , then all of Derek's assumptions were worthless. In fact, in this situation, it was the perfect class.

Energy Drain was a spell that absorbed the life force and essence of monsters. It didn't work on creatures that were fully dead or without any essence, but skeletons, which always had at least one resurrection, were the ideal targets.

Damn it... He doesn't even have to worry about killing them carefully! He just smashes them to pieces and then uses Energy Drain to finish them off!

On top of that, Energy Drain was an attack spell too, meaning it stopped the skeletons from regenerating completely. The Warlock, fully aware of this, began using his magic with abandon.

"Black Missile. Energy Drain. Black Missile. Black Missile. Energy Drain...!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"This is insane!"

One of the survivors cursed in disbelief. The Warlock was practically having a field day, wiping out the enemies without breaking a sweat, racking up all the experience points.

Some skeletons managed to get close to the Warlock , but they didn't last long.

"Hey, Ethan! I'm too busy with the front. Can you handle the ones in the back?"

"O-Okay!"

Smash!

Ethan, who had been standing back like a bodyguard, rushed forward and slashed a skeleton with his sword, turning it into dust. Without even getting close to the Warlock , the skeletons were being obliterated. In less than five minutes, the area was cleared.

The Warlock, looking satisfied, turned to Ethan.

"Alright, now that there's nothing in the way, let's get going with the quest!"

"Uh, where should we start?"

"I know this place pretty well. Let's start with that building over there..."

The two walked off, leaving the stunned survivors in silence.

Derek stood there, wiping away the sweat on his forehead. One chilling memory came flooding back into his mind:

"If I see you outside the safe zone, I'll kill you."

At the time, he had brushed it off, thinking, Yeah, sure. Try me.

But now? That confidence was long gone. Derek wiped the cold sweat from his brow, his thoughts spinning.

Forget the quest. I'm not leaving the safe zone again.

For Derek, his pride wasn't worth more than his life.

And right now, staying alive was all that mattered.

The Full Chapters is Available Exclusively on Patreon!

Along with +100 of other chapters, only for my amazing supporters.

Join Me on Patreon 🚀

Click to unlock exclusive content and support my journey!