Alure’s Crypt.

9:23 pm, 16 th Peniel 1091.

Syèl and Shoko held their breath as the door to Alure's tomb slid open. The heavy door groaned loudly as its gears crushed the rust upon them, turning for the first time in a very long time. A gust of air blew out from the tomb, filled with the stench of decay. Despite the scarves they used to cover their noses, the duo were forced to shield their nostrils with their hands from the strong smell.

Shoko lightly coughed as she stepped beyond the door, followed closely by Syèl. The door opened to a small, rectangular hall. However, she could not make out what lay at the opposite end of the room as it seemed the outside light could not reach it. Ah, no. On second thought, it felt more like thick darkness swallowed up all light after a certain point,.

Shokō took careful steps toward the border between light and dark while ensuring her hand was securely tight on her sword’s hilt. The dark’s eerie silence unnerved her. She could feel a pair of eyes on her, but could not determine where its source lay. Frowning slightly, Shokō looked over her shoulder at the accompanying mage. “Syèl..."

"I understand,” Syèl prompted, and invoked a low-level spell. “ [Magelight]" The halben launched a football-sized ball of light into the darkness. The light-ball split into several smaller pieces, and spread out, illuminating the room.

The view illuminated by the balls of light caused Syèl and Shokō to unconsciously take a step back in shock. Several draugr wielding pikes, swords, and shields glared at them with red, glowing eye sockets. However, despite the draugr’s vast numbers, it wasn’t the draugr that caused the duo to briefly consider retreat.

That honor belonged to the 9-foot draugr cloaked in black flames who sat on a throne behind the small army. Either side of the monster were two giant scythes with shortened handles.

Krogh the Druhler: Lv. 84

Shokō and Syèl’s eyes twitched when they saw the name on its life bar.

A named monster.

Boss characters usually needed well-balanced parties of at least four or five members close to its level to stand a chance. Among these bosses stood even rarer and more challenging monsters. These were the named monsters. If a monster had a name of its own, then that was proof of its strength.

"To meet two named monsters in one day." Shoko gritted her teeth as she weighed her options. They had fallen down a height that was impossible to jump to which meant retreat was not an option. She spotted a door behind Krugh and guessed the key required to open it would drop as loot from the guardian. Shokō sighed as she drew her sword. "No choice then. We fight."

"That so?" Syèl decided to save his HP, opting to use only mana until he reached Krogh. Luckily, [Magelight] was a continuous skill which meant it would continue to stay in effect as long as he did not turn it off. However, it did absolutely no damage to the enemy and could only stay aloft for thirty minutes before it had to be cast again.

"How many can you make out?" Shoko asked as she calmed her beating heart. The room grew rife with tension as both parties stared each other down as if awaiting a bell.

"Twenty-five,” Syèl reported. He looked at Krogh who remained seated like this had nothing to do with him. “Krogh doesn't look like he's going to interfere."

"In that case…" Boom! Shokō suddenly drew her sword and cut a horizontal arc in front of her. Ki-infused wind blasted forward and knocked the skeleton’s vanguards backward. "Do not let them surround us!" Shokō warned, then dashed forward, intent on attacking before her targets regained their balance.

Syèl did not have any close-combat spells aside from his Blood Magic spells. However, since he had chosen to conserve his HP, he decided to play the role of a good support mage and fight from a distance. He used only the most basic of his spells because of their close to non-existent casting and cooldown time.

Syèl had over 17,000 MP, and because the basic spells cost between 5 - 20 MP, he could spam his favorite spell, [Fireball] without fear of running out of mana any time soon.

While Syèl rained all sorts of hell down on the skeleton army, Shokō ducked under a draugr’s swing and struck another behind her with the butt of her sheathed sword. She followed up the initial strike and sharply drew her sword, instantly shattering the bones of the first draugr. Without pause, she spun around and destroyed the one behind her.

Three draugr attempted to ambush the swordswoman. They brought their swords crashing down at Shokō, but she blocked their strikes with her scabbard and sword. Two draugr took advantage of her impediment to try running through her with their swords.

Shokō’s gaze sharpened as she sensed the approaching threat. A surge of ki began to form around her, but before the ki could explode outwards, the weight on her sword grew heavier, and a massive explosion ensued as fireballs slammed into the charging skeletons, knocking them back.

"I was never one for ranged combat," Syèl said, grinning down at her. He was balanced on top of her sword and scabbard holding three fireballs floating around him.

Shoko's face turned red with embarrassed anger. "Get off!"

"As you wish,” Syèl cooed, then jumped off as his fireballs slammed into the skeletons around her.

Once the pressure slackened, Shokō pushed upward and spun around in place, slicing the draugr around her., Syèl landed beside her once she completed her swing, and fired barrages of fireballs at the draugr till they turned to ash.

They stood back to back as the remaining skeletons formed a circle around them, weapons at the ready. Behind the immediate circle, a few draugr wielded bows which they notched with bone arrows.

"One thing I ask of you. One!" Shoko complained as she sheathed her sword, and prepared for another round.

"...Sorry?" Syèl weakly apologized, but the broad grin on his face did not help that much.

"You assho-" Shokō’s retort was cut short by arrows flying towards her. She blasted them back with her sword and took a step back, sheathing the weapon again. "Watch my back this time."

"I got it... Prince." Syèl dashed forward, grabbed a skeleton's head and yelled, “ [Fireball] ” The flame which should have come from his hand had nowhere to go and instead exploded in the face of the skeleton. ‘It works! ’

The blood mage mentally rejoiced, gladdened that what was considered a medium-long range magic spell could actually be used in direct combat. This discovery, while seemingly trivial could significantly tip a desperate fight in a mage's favor if he had the right set of skills. The only downside to the spell was the fact that his hand also suffered some backlash from the explosion.

However, this was a problem that was easily fixed by instantly surrounding his hand with a mana shield in a split second between when the fireballs shot out, and they exploded on the target. That little timing required a massive amount of precise calculation which was impossible for a normal human.

Luckily, Syèl was anything but ordinary.

Syèl exploded several fireballs against the draugr’s head, then used [Ice Spikes] (an intermediate skill which formed spikes of ice that jutted out of the earth) to impede the movement of the skeletons that charged him.

As the draugr stumbled, Syèl used [Flame Bomb] which a high-level spell that shot out many fireballs that stuck to the bodies of enemies and exploded after ten seconds. It was an expensive skill, costing around 100 MP per shot. However, its effect was very much worth the price.

BOOM!

Syèl watched with a satisfied smirk as the bombs exploded, sending draugr bones flying in every direction. The surviving draugr were injured by shrapnel from their dead kin and stray flames. The draugr, despite their numbers, were too weak to possess any considerable threat. Syèl combined ice and fire spells to quickly dispatch what remained of the draugr company.

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Syèl looked around when the final draugr on his end succumbed to the embrace of true death, intending to assist Shokō. Unfortunately, he was forced to reveal a defeated wry mile when he noticed the swordswoman had long since finished wiping out her section of draugr and had been waiting for him.

"Took you long enough," Shokō teased, a snarky grin curling up the side of her mouth.

Syèl shook his head. "You sure hold a g-"

BANG!

A loud crash caused Syèl and Shokō to look towards the throne. They were shocked to find the throne had been sliced down the middle, with the separated halves kicking up dust on the ground. In front of the rubble stood Krogh, poised with his scythes, purple smoke billowing out from his eye sockets, nose and mouth.

"You children have done well to make it this far, and I have borne witness to your strength." Krogh's voice was deep and distorted like he spoke through a very terrible microphone. "Sadly, I must insist you leave this place. I will allow you free passage for you are-"

"Oi!" Syèl interrupted as a blood sword formed on his hand. The blood mage invoked [Blades of Blood] on perhaps the largest scale yet, as the curved blades grew under his arms and behind his legs. "You talk too much. Let's do this."

"Human arrogance and impatience,” Krogh snorted. “Despite how many centuries have passed, it never ceases to change. Tell me, child, what is it you seek in this crypt?"

"No clue. But I’ll bet we’ll find out what it is after we kill you." Syèl said with such confidence, both Krogh and Shoko stared at him mouth agape.

"KukukukuHAHAHAHA!..." Krogh clutching his skull with his right hand as he burst out in hysterical laughter. "The last person to speak to me with such impudence was my master." Krogh swung his scythes with vigor and slammed them into the earth. “Let me see if you are worthy.”

The ground shook beneath them as a crack appeared on the door which was supposed to have been their exit. The cracks rapidly expanded in the blink of an eye, then with a loud crash, the door, and sections of the wall around, and above it, crumbled on themselves, sealing that route off forever.

"As you wish, we will fight,” Krogh stated. “The true way out of this crypt and the answer to your search will be revealed if you defeat me."

"As it should be," Syèl said as he dashed forward. He jumped into the air and swung the blade down at Krogh. However, the draugr already anticipated the attack and swung upwards with its scythe.

Syèl knew from past experience that he lacked the strength required to take a direct blow, so he chose to divert the path of Kroger’s scythe using the flat of his blade. Unfortunately, he miscalculated the strength of Krogh's strike. Although he managed to guide Kroger’s blade away from himself, the recoil caused him to spin in place, too fast to fall or ascend.

Syèl gritted his teeth and stuck out his leg with the intention of using the blade protruding from his feet to stab through the beast's eye. Krogh was having none of that. The draugr grabbed Syèl’s calf mid-air and tossed him across the room.

Syèl righted himself midflight and slid to a stop next to Shokō. He wiped the sweat off his face, breathing heavily as he stood up. "He's strong."

"Still want to go it alone?" Shoko asked as she kept an eye on the monster.

"No,” Syèl relented with a nervous chuckle. “Hate to admit it, but I’ll most likely die even if I manage to kill him. Looks like we’ll be working together on this one."

Shokō snorted and remarked as she walked in front of him, "It's clear you don't usually fight alongside others." She crouched low and dropped into a stance as she glared at the approaching draugr lord. "It can't be helped. I'll use this to teach you the basics of team combat."

Whoosh!

Shokō suddenly accelerated and split through the air like a sharp sword. The swordswoman ducked under Krogh's left swing and blocked the second scythe by slightly raising her sword out of its scabbard. She proceeded to push on the scythe, knocking the arm back and leaving the draugr momentarily defenseless. "Now!"

Syèl noticed the opening and ran to the draugr’s side, slashing away rapidly. What he lacked in strength and attack power, he made up for in the numerous slashes from the blades around his body.

Shokō meanwhile, detected a slight change in Krogh’s movements and hurriedly warned, "Back!"

Syèl sharply retreated, and as it turned out, not a moment sooner as Krogh recovered from the violent attacks and slashed at his position with terrifying speed. Luckily, Shokō showed up in front of Syèl and parried the blow before it struck him. Unfortunately, the pressure from the swing was quite heavy, and Shokō had to stifle a groan as several muscles along her arm tore open.

Krogh was not done with her though. He took advantage of her stationary position to launch a savage kick at her midriff. This she also blocked with her sword, but the force sent her careening into a wall behind Syèl.

Syèl’s eyes went wide as he watched her get buried inside the wall. "Shoko!"

"I'm alright," Shokō called as she jumped down from the hole in the wall. Apart from a small bruise on her face, she seemed to be generally unscathed. Syèl realized once again just how strong she really was.

Krogh deduced Syèl was the weaker of both warriors after judging their reactions. Thus he chose to attack the mage, and sliced away with his scythes, sending dangerous ki blades flying with each swing.

Syèl agilely dodged the critical blows and deflected those he could not evade. The curved blades on his arms and legs allowed him to parry strikes with literally every part of his body no matter which way he faced. Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, Krogh’s strength was far superior, and thus slowly but steadily chipped away at his health.

"Jump!"

In the midst of his distress, Syel heard Shokō shout out from behind him and immediately did as ordered without sparing a thought to how defenseless the act rendered him.

Syèl’s faith bore fruit as a familiar wind-blade flew beneath him and slammed into Krogh. However, though the blow managed to force Krogh to a stop, he stood his ground and wasn’t pushed back. Syèl, not one to miss an opportunity, cast [Ice Spikes] , which caused ice in the shape of spikes to shoot out from the ground beneath Krogh. The spikes tore through the draugr’s feet and momentarily held it in place.

Shokō did not miss the blatant opportunity as she dashed below the airborne halben and mercilessly slashed Krogh numerous times without giving it a chance to retaliate. Shokō’s strength was on par with—if not greater than—Krogh and her Sword Mastery had entered the intermediate level, which gave her a slight advantage in overpowering him.

After unleashing a punishing combo, Shokō jumped back, allowing Syèl to fire [Elemental Judment] to finish off Krogh.

In response to this, Krogh suddenly turned to dense smoke. The spears, with no target to hit, exploded after hitting the surrounding walls.

"Shit!" Syèl cursed as he searched for the draugr lord. His anger stemmed from the fact that [Elemental Judgement], while strong, had drained what left of his MP and had a cooldown time of fifteen minutes.

As if things could not get any worse, Syèl’s [Magelight] suddenly gave out, plunging the room into darkness. He needed to wait for his mana to regenerate before he could recast the spell.

"Don't panic," Shoko said, in an attempt to calm him. "Use your instinct."

"Don't worry about me. I'm used to the dark." Syèl assured as he slowly breathed out, waiting to pick up on any traces of Krogh's presence.

‘Shit!’

Syèl finally felt its presence, but it was too late. The monster was only a few feet away and had already swung his scythe down at him.

Clang!

A spark of light borne from metal clashing against metal briefly illuminated the area next to Syèl and he balked. One of the scythes was pierced through Shoko's body while the other was blocked by her sword.

Something shook in the depths of Syèl’s eyes. "Sho-"

"I'm fine!” Shokō interrupted as she pushed Krogh back and engaged him in a series of close combat clashes, their forms only momentarily illuminated by bright sparks. “I'll hold him off, prepare your strongest spell!"

"Don't you dare die!" Syèl shouted as the sparks revealed two Shokōs battling against the beast, then began to ponder on her instructions. Strongest spell... Till that moment, [Elemental Judgement] had been his strongest spell, but to kill this beast, he would need something stronger, something that could not be dodged. An image formed in his mind and mana began to take form in his outstretched hand.

Meanwhile, some moments later, Shokō realized her health had dropped below 100, and knew she could not afford to take any more hits. 'You better be ready!' She thought as she and her doppelganger knocked Krogh's hands skywards, then pinned their swords through its legs to the ground. "Now!"

Two tiny glowing balls the size of marbles appeared in the distance, illuminating Syèl who had an unreadable expression. He dashed forward and slammed his hands into Krogh, and the glow disappeared once again.

A second passed with nothing happening. "You failed!?" Shoko shouted, disbelief in her voice.

"Wait for it..." Syèl said, confident.

Krogh grabbed his chest writhing in pain as it began to glow, red flames bursting through his coat. With a loud bang, he exploded into pieces as a mixture of fire, ice, blood, water, wind, and electricity burst out from him.

"I call it [Elemental Bomb] . It's still incomplete though," Syèl said, clenching his fists.

Shoko stared at the burning chunks and swallowed hard.