Noah stood over a mound of crumpled bones. Once their life force was finished, it seemed that the stalwart nature of their anatomy was no more. Turning to dust, all that remained was the core inside their head, and extra fertiliser for the underground soil.

If it even worked that way. Noah shrugged. He didn’t know a lot when it came to farming, or maintaining a garden for that matter. But he knew how to fight. Again, another reason why he wanted to volunteer into this new world.

You defeated a - Level 48 Skeleton Elite Brute.

You defeated a - Level 50 Skeleton Elite Brute.

You defeated a - Level 51 Skeleton Elite Brute.

| Extra experience gained from fighting a higher levelled monster!

You have Levelled up!

| Noah ( Phantom Lancer ) level 44 -> Noah ( Phantom Lancer ) level 45

Krall, the Scourge of the Jungle has levelled up.

| Krall level 44 -> Krall level 45

He was getting closer to the next class evolution now. Of course, that was based on Ubos, not this world. But if it was level fifty, then he could perhaps evolve before having to deal with the Lord of the dungeon.

If that was the case, then he might be able to overpower it. And then there was Victor and Chloe. With his new class, he wouldn’t have to worry about any of their plots. Noah would be free to use his most preferred method of fighting. Overwhelming might.

Of course, that was banking on the hopes that it was indeed level fifty he would gain his new class evolution.

Cracking his neck, it wasn’t something he could prepare for. The System Manual didn’t tell him of the next threshold, so he prepared himself for the next room.

Grabbing hold of his spear again, he pointed it forward, and walked into the next room. He didn’t know if the next monsters were also going to be skeletons, but it was better to have his spear out first. To gain distance. To counter attack. It was why he chose the spear as his main weapon in the first place.

Unlike the previous rooms that were just dirt walls, ceiling, and cracked stone flooring. This new room was different. Tiles lined the floor. Not many were cracked, but that didn’t fill Noah with confidence. It meant that there was a distinct lack of fighting in this place.

There were no sword scars, no holes in the wallpapered walls, and even the chandelier above remained largely intact. Only a smattering of crystals had fallen onto the floor, smashing into fragments.

Now this is more castle-like. Noah remained cautious. His eyes glanced around, unable to help himself from admiring the scenery around him.

The fort from before was broken, cold, and made for war. However, the room was obviously a part of the grand castle. It matched the majestic appearance from outside, and to Noah, it made him duck his brows in confusion.

He hadn’t seen many floor plans in his eighteen years, but he had fallen down an entire dozen worth of skyscrapers. Surely this couldn’t be related to the castle above?

However, the room was evidence against that point. It was part of the castle. How, he didn’t know. Noah just had to conclude that the castle was obviously far, far larger than he could have estimated.

What if the last throne room wasn’t up top, but down. Deep down further still. If that was the case, he would have a lot of time to level before the others managed to catch up.

Should I risk it? In the end, Noah decided to take his time, and level up. He would attempt to head up instead of down. Noah needed Krall regardless of if the final boss was down here or not.

Then, he would mount Krall, and head down once more, sweeping up all the kills for himself; reaching level fifty.

With the plan fresh in his mind, all that was left was to–

No longer did the ground tremble, or the ceiling shake. Hands devoid of flesh and muscle were no more. They didn’t emerge from the walls, or claw their way through the ground below.

No, the candles that lit the room brightened. As if more fuel was added to the fire. They cut off. Then lit again. Standing in the room was a woman in a ragged white dress. Long black hair, darker than the abyss Noah had fallen down cascaded over her face, covering it.

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Noah peered closer. Eyes of white flashed behind the curtain of darkness.

The woman had long nails fashioned into claws. Her toe nails so long that they pierced the fabric of her socks.

Thud. Noah’s heartbeat pulsed. He had seen the damn woman from his nightmares. She was exactly the same as the woman from a certain movie he had watched with Peter and the others.

“Hello there. You seem like you’ve had a rough go at it.” Noah forced out a nervous chuckle. “Are you friendly?”

Level ?? - Flickering Corpse Bride.

In response, her mouth opened further than Noah thought possible. He grimaced, half expecting bugs to crawl out from within, but thankfully that didn’t happen.

However, what did happen was a flickering flame hovered over her fleshy tongue. It became brighter and brighter. Noah could immediately feel the temperature in the air rise within seconds. She was ready to attack.

The flame spiralled into a ball. Her chest rose and then in the next second, spat it out. Straight for Noah.

Using [Shadow Blink], Noah appeared to the side but he didn’t move far enough. The blazing heat brushed against his right side, stinging his flesh. He reciprocated the fireball with a projectile of his own.

Spear in hand, he activated his Thrust Shard. Using all the muscles in his body, he threw it forward. It blasted through the air, through the darkness of the room. It slammed through the bride’s shoulder. Stumbling, her eyes turned bloodshot as she stared daggers into Noah’s body.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Noah prepared himself. “You started it.”

The corpse bride didn’t seem to realise her actions had consequences as she powered up another fireball in her mouth.

This time, Noah wouldn’t stand still until she attacked. He activated [Shrouded Presence], and along with his new body, he was hidden even more than before. Even the whites of his eyes were not mostly indiscernible.

Noah bolted to the side as the fire attack smashed into the wall behind where he once stood. Of course, now he was somewhere else. Somewhere the fire bride didn’t know. It was a thought, but what if she didn’t have dark vision like him? He was right.

She had consumed the flames from the candles and used it to power her own attacks. There was no light in the room. Against Noah who could see in the dark, it was his domain.

He lobbed Shard powered spears at the creature. Each hitting its mark. They weren’t as accurate as he liked. A couple of them even missed completely. Much like the accuracy with a bow, it left a lot to be desired.

After the sixth spear, he was starting to get the hang of it. Because it used his entire body, it was much easier than aiming an arced stick with a string attached. Noah just had to follow his body’s movements.

The next one slammed into its chest. If it was a normal monster, it would have died. But it seemed that like the undead, its heart wasn’t where its life force was kept. He should have known, considering her name.

Her fireballs were increasing in speed.

Noah braced himself as one scored straight for him. It blazed the air. Raising his shield, it slammed into him. He managed to block the brunt of the fire, but the fire's nature was chaotic, wild. It spread across his shield and licked the edges of his arms.

The smell of burned flesh festered in his nostrils, but thankfully the attack didn’t hold the same magnitude as the first few attacks. It was obvious the bride had sacrificed power for speed. It was a smart decision, but Noah would only allow it to harm him once.

Rolling to the side, a sudden flash of inspiration announced itself within his mind. What if he activated his bow skills [Power Shot]? In the description, it didn’t state directly it was for a bow. If it was anything like what [Thrust] was, it should work. So he tried it.

He felt the power immediately enter his spear. Noah tried to thrust it, but the power sizzled out into nothing.

Quickly blinking out of the way from another fireball, he tried it again. This time, he used the image of his spear not as a hand-to-hand weapon, but that of a javelin. Noah felt the difference as soon as he made the change.

The skill listened to his command. It powered the javelin he threw of pure Expansion Energy. Tearing through the air, it slammed into the bride's skull. Head snapping back, disappearing. The notifications of his kill rang out like fireworks in Noah’s mind.

You defeated a - Level 55 Flickering Corpse Bride.

| Extra experience gained from fighting a higher levelled monster!

You have Levelled up!

| Noah ( Phantom Lancer ) level 45 -> Noah ( Phantom Lancer ) level 46

Krall, the Scourge of the Jungle has levelled up.

| Krall level 45 -> Krall level 46

Like the undead before, the recently defeated enemy crumbled into nothing but its core… and something else.

With a jump in his step, Noah stood above the pile of dust. Within was a bead of black and red, and a pair of dangling earrings.

The bead was a little different to the other ones he had experienced. They held a trace amount of… death energy. Honestly, he wasn’t sure if it was. It held a cold nature, but the one that the bride had was hot to the touch.

The description was the same as the others before it. Possibly, his level of Identify wasn’t enough to differentiate between the different types of energy. Whatever it was, he wondered if there was a drawback if he absorbed two different types. Well, it was something he could worry about later.

Most of his attention was on the pair of earrings. They sparkled with a purple hue before he picked them up. When he did so, the purple vanished. It reminded him of the Skill Essences, or Pathways.

It was of Epic rarity.