Ch-9: Clash of Bones and Sorcery

Light peered through the gate as Ethan pushed it open with his skeletal hands. The gate creaked, the sound echoing ominously through the chamber and drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

The goblin shaman halted his beating, and the Orcs guarding the small door turned to face the new arrival. A palpable air of confusion filled the room—how did a single skeleton manage to infiltrate so deep into their nest unnoticed?

'Now you see me,' Ethan thought.

Ethan didn't waste any time. He activated "Dash," and combined with the effect of "Aspect of Lynx," instantly closed the distance to one of the guard Orcs, who was standing some distance from the throne.

His skeletal form blurred, becoming a streak of motion that caught the Orc off guard.

Before the Orc had time to react, Ethan swung his mana-wrapped sword in an upward arc. The blade hummed with power as it sliced through the Orc's left arm and chest, stopping near the upper right shoulder.

The severed arm fell with a heavy thud, and Ethan pulled back his sword, the air crackling with residual energy. By now, the other Orc was already moving, snarling and swinging its club, aiming to crush him into a pile of bones.

As the club hurtled towards him, Ethan quickly summoned "Bone Shield." The club struck the circular shield made of bone, the impact ringing out like a gong and throwing Ethan back several feet.

But thanks to his enhanced dexterity, he landed gracefully, his leather covered skeletal feet barely making a sound on the stone floor, and then quickly surveyed the room.

The shaman and the Orc it was beating were also on the move. The shaman, perched atop the Orc's shoulders, wielded a staff pulsating with energy.

The Orc held a massive, door-like wooden shield large enough to cover them both when hoisted. Seeing that they hadn't begun their attack yet, Ethan refocused on the guard Orc, intending to dispatch it quickly.

The guard Orc charged at him, muscles bulging with every step. Ethan did what anyone with a shield might do if their only training came from watching Captain America—he threw it.

The Bone Shield soared through the air like a frisbee, striking the charging Orc in the head and bouncing up before clattering to the ground, causing the Orc to stumble forward.

'The increased accuracy from Aspect of Lynx is proving invaluable,' Ethan mused as he watched the Orc falter.

Ethan sprinted towards the Orc, determined to finish it off before it could recover. As he neared, his foot slipped on a patch of loose gravel, sending him into an awkward forward roll just as a bolt of fire whizzed overhead, missing him by mere inches and exploding on the ground ahead, scattering small rocks in all directions.

'What was that?' Ethan thought as he regained his posture. 'It must be the shaman. I was lucky I slipped, otherwise...' His gaze snapped to the shaman perched on the Orc's shoulders, busy chanting another spell. The energy swirling around its staff grew more intense, the air itself seeming to vibrate with magical power.

Deciding he had to act, Ethan's eyes darted to the Bone Shield lying at the Orc's feet.

Meanwhile, the guard Orc shook its head, recovering fully from the earlier blow.

'It's a summoned item, so I hope this works. Let's try it...' Ethan focused on the Bone Shield, willing it to return to his hands. The shield responded, vanishing from the ground and reappearing in his grasp with a faint shimmer of magic.

Without pausing to celebrate, Ethan spun and hurled the shield at the shaman. The mount Orc tried to raise its massive wooden shield, but the Bone Shield was faster, sailing through the air and striking the shaman's head. The impact disrupted the shaman's spell, nearly knocking it off its perch.

The shaman's eyes flung open, locking onto Ethan with a mix of anger and frustration. Ethan smirked, the flames in his eye sockets flaring in response to his triumph.

The shaman screeched in fury, its voice a harsh, grating sound. It turned its ire on the Orc it was riding, using its club-like staff to beat the unfortunate creature.

'This is my chance,' Ethan thought as he swiftly summoned his shield and sprinted toward the guard Orc. The guard Orc saw Ethan coming and swung its club. Ethan watched the club's trajectory and ducked to avoid it. The club whistled through the air above him as he swung his sword.

The glowing blade cut through the air with a deadly hum, slicing through the Orc's left knee with ease. The Orc stumbled forward, thrown off balance by its own attack and the sudden loss of its leg, its roar of pain echoing through the chamber.

Ethan didn't stop. He used his momentum to turn and execute a crescent slash aimed at the Orc's nape. His sword connected with a sickening crunch, and…

[Critical strike! 5x Damage delivered.]

The Orc's head toppled over as a fountain of blood erupted from the wound, the room briefly illuminated by the glow of his weapon.

The Orc's body fell to the ground, lifeless.

Now, the only targets left were the shaman and the Orc it was riding.

Ethan turned towards them, only to come face to face with a ball of fire, as big as a basketball, flying towards his face.

'Shit!' Ethan hastily propped up his shield as he couldn't dodge the ball of fire—it was too near.

[-50]

Ethan was thrown back due to the impact and landed on the Orc's corpse, which helped soften the blow. The bone shield was gone, blown to smithereens from the damage.

'Was that a fireball?' Ethan scrambled to get back on his feet. 'Thankfully the shield took the brunt of the attack, otherwise the damage might have been higher than just 50.'

By the time it took Ethan to get on his feet, the Orc and the shaman had already closed the distance and were now only 30 meters away. The Orc was charging at him with the massive wooden shield propped up.

At the same time, mana receded from Ethan's sword, and it cracked and broke into pieces.

[The skill "Sharpen" has ended.]

Ethan threw the hilt at the charging Orc and looked around, trying to formulate a plan.

The hilt struck the shield carried by the charging Orc with a metallic thunk, and a plan popped into Ethan's mind as he looked at the Orc corpse.

'What was the thing that could stop momentum? Of course—force.'

And Ethan had just the right idea about how to generate that said force—gravity.

Without wasting any time, Ethan took a few steps forward toward the charging Orc and then turned around and ran at the Orc corpse.

Stepping on its lifeless body, Ethan activated "Dash" as he jumped, his sudden increase in agility flinging him nearly 80 meters into the air.

The world seemed to slow down as Ethan soared through the air, high above the charging Orc and the shaman. Not wasting any time to enjoy the sensation of soaring, Ethan quickly opened his inventory, aimed at the enemy, and started summoning the corpses of the Orcs and goblins he had stored in the inventory.

Goblin corpses plummeted through the air and landed with a sickening thud, some slowing down the Orc's momentum, others falling directly on the shaman. Although the corpses falling on the shaman were stopped by something invisible, as they didn't hurt it and just bounced off.

The sudden corpse shower made the shaman and Orc confused. The Orc stopped, and they both looked up, intending to figure out the source of such weirdness when their vision was blocked by something massive hurling directly atop them.

And before they had time to react, an Orc corpse fell directly on them, then another, and another.

Ethan only stopped at three because he was also starting to fall down and was now a distance away from the enemies.

[-12]

A damage notification rang out and Ethan's tibia developed a crack, indicating fall damage.

Ignoring the damage, Ethan stood up from his crouch stance and looked at the small mound of Orc corpses. There were no more notifications, and Ethan understood that his enemies weren't dead yet, although they ought to be heavily injured judging by the weight of those massive corpses.

Still keeping caution in mind, Ethan quickly went towards the weapon rack and stored every good weapon in his inventory. He then went near the throne and started collecting the potion vials. The vials were of different colors—some red, some blue, green, yellow, and black.

After storing the vials safely in his inventory, Ethan's sight went towards the corpse mound, which had started to tremble slightly—the shaman and the Orc were trying to get out.

Ethan quickly sprinted forward, intending to not give them a chance to get free and fight him in a head-on confrontation.

In a matter of seconds, Ethan reached the mound of corpses. The trembling had intensified into a full-on shaking, and soon the topmost corpse began to stir. With a slow, eerie movement, it tumbled off the mound.

'This is it,' Ethan thought, readying himself for what lay beneath.

A green hand emerged from the fallen corpse, immediately met by Ethan's spear thrust. A muffled roar echoed from beneath the mound as the hand thrashed about.

Ethan withdrew the spear and stabbed downward into the mound where the hand had emerged. He felt it penetrate deep, and after a stifled roar, a notification appeared.

[You have killed a Level 8 Orc. You gained 800 Exp.]

With the Orc dispatched, Ethan now focused on the shaman.

Suddenly, a dangerous premonition struck Ethan.

Before he could react, a wide ray of lightning shot through the mound, engulfing him completely.

[-62]

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[You are stunned! You cannot move or use your skills for the duration: 5 seconds.]

Thrown back and charred in places, Ethan crashed off the mound. The lightning had burnt the corpses to crisps and left a gaping dent in the ceiling.

The shaman stood unharmed within a colorless bubble shimmering with protective magic.

[Duration: 4 seconds]

The shaman's cruel grin widened as it beheld the stunned skeleton. Raising its staff, it began chanting another spell, conjuring a swirling flame at its tip.

[Duration: 2 seconds]

With a final gesture, the shaman launched a blazing fireball at Ethan, who took the impact squarely.

[-52]

[Duration: 0 seconds]

Ethan was hurled backward, his bones blackened and several ribs cracked from the intense heat.

Thankfully, the stun wore off, and Ethan could act again. He quickly used "Fortify" and "Skeletal Repair" multiple times to mend some of his damaged health.

[+50]

Now left with only 30 mana, Ethan saw the shaman preparing another spell, intent on finishing him.

But Ethan wasn't about to wait. He drew two daggers and activated "Sharpen," depleting 20 mana in the process. 'So, I can use it on multiple weapons, huh. Good to know.'

Throwing one dagger and then activating "Dash," Ethan propelled himself towards the shaman. The dagger, with a bluish glow, struck the shaman's invisible bubble, causing it to shatter into shimmering glass-like fragments before dissipating into the air.

Startled, the shaman's eyes widened as its concentration broke, only to see a glowing dagger hurtling towards it, guided by the hands of a charred skeleton.

[You have killed a Level 3 goblin shaman. You gained 3000 Exp.]

[Secondary Mission Complete: Find and defeat a dungeon boss.]

—--

A/N: I have a lot of work. I have to write assignments that I have been slacking on, have internal exams at college, then finals from 26th. Also a job. So, I'm sorry for the late chapter.

No worries tho, even if I post slowly, I will keep posting.