The air in the chamber felt heavy, oppressive.
The Undead King stood before Alex, towering and menacing, its skeletal figure cloaked in dark, tattered robes.
Wisps of black mist swirled around the creature, giving off an eerie, malevolent energy that seemed to sap the warmth from the air.
The glowing blue eyes of the Undead King locked onto Alex, as if sizing him up, measuring his strength.
The system's notification blinked in the corner of Alex's vision.
[Undead King - Superior Boss - Level 50]
[HP: 100,000]
A Superior Boss.
But Alex was calm, he had already expected this, and so the fact the Undead King hefted a massive, jagged black sword didn't surprise him either.
It moved with unnatural speed, raising the weapon high as it prepared to strike.
Alex stood his ground.
"Stay behind me, Alice," Alex said over his shoulder, his voice was calm, but his eyes never left the Undead King, "You can't beat it."
Alice nodded, clutching her bow tightly, her face pale.
She was only level 23 now, and even though she wanted to help, she knew that getting too close to the boss would mean instant death.
The Undead King's sword came crashing down.
BAM!
Alex raised his hand just in time, casting Earth Shield.
The shimmering barrier of rock materialized infront of him, absorbing the blow.
The force of the impact sent cracks rippling through the shield, and the ground trembled beneath their feet.
-2137!
The shield shattered, but it had done its job.
"Grand Fireball!" Alex shouted, channeling his mana.
A massive orb of fire erupted from his staff hurtling toward the Undead King. The spell exploded on impact, engulfing the boss in flames.
-2908!
But compared to its 100,000 health points, this amount of damage was clearly nothing.
The Undead King staggered back, blue flames licking at its skeletal frame, but immediately recovered.
"Once I beat you, I will plunge this world in darkness…" The king spoke before swinging its sword horizontally this time.
Alex barely had time to react, ducking under the swing.
BAM!
Even with the dodge, the force of the swing sent a shockwave that struck Alex, and his health bar dipped dangerously.
-400!
"Damn it," Alex muttered, feeling the sting of the hit through his armor.
The [Awakener's Set] was absorbing most of the damage as it gave him 1000 additional points of both physical and magical resistance, but the boss's strikes were brutal.
Normally, a hit like that would deal over 2000 damage, enough to kill any other player at his level in one blow.
Even with his enhanced resistance, each hit chipped away at his health.
He couldn't afford to take too many more like that.
"Alex, are you okay?!" Alice cried out from behind him, her voice filled with worry.
Star Shot!
Fwish!
-273!
"Damn," Alice's face turned cold.
"I'm fine, just stay back!"
Alex quickly cast Lightning Strike, and a bolt of lightning shot from his staff, crackling as it slammed into the boss.
-2258!
The Undead King convulsed slightly from the electrical impact, but it wasn't enough to stop its assault.
It raised its sword once more, this time with an eerie green light flickering along the blade.
Alex's eyes widened, he recognized that glow.
"Spirit Slash!"
But Alex just dodged the blow while deflecting it with his own strength.
"…"
This kept going for a good ten minutes, but little by little, Alex was gaining on the king, able to deal so much damage to it that it now only had a little under 10000 HP.
The Undead King straightened, its glowing eyes blazing with unnatural light.
It raised its sword high, chanting something in a language Alex didn't understand.
The air around them grew thick with dark energy.
"FOOLISH HUMAN, I SHALL REIGN OVER THE SURFACE!" the Undead King bellowed, its voice echoing through the chamber.
Before Alex could react, the Undead King disappeared in a swirl of black mist, teleporting upward.
"!!!" Alex's eyes widened in shock. "No way…"
The realization hit him like a truck: he knew exactly what the Undead King was planning.
"THAT FUCKER ESCAPED!" Alex cursed, turning on his heel and rushing toward the entrance of the chamber.
He had to stop it before it reached the surface.
"W-What's happening?!" Alice called out, struggling to keep up with him.
"The Undead King—it's going for the city! We have to move!"
Alex dashed through the twisting corridors of the temple, his heart pounding in his chest.
He slashed through the undead minions that crossed his path with ease with his daggers or spells to clear the way.
He didn't even bother checking the e
xtraction prompts.
For five long minutes, Alex sprinted through the temple, his mind racing.
Finally, Alex burst through the temple's exit and emerged into the open air.
But the sight that greeted him was… special.
The Undead King stood on a hill just outside the temple, towering over a group of players who had been unlucky enough to cross its path.
With a single swing of its massive sword, it cut through half a dozen players at once, their health bars evaporating in an instant.
The players immediately vanished in a flash of blue light.
"Fucking hell!" they were all mad, after all they were killed out of nowhere!
The Undead King showed no mercy, its glowing blue eyes fixed on the distant city of Dawn.
It was slowly making its way toward the city, cutting down anyone who stood in its path.
Grand Fireball!
Without hesitation, Alex activated his spell, sending a massive fireball at the superior boss!
-2908!
The Undead King turned, its eyes locking onto Alex.
It let out a low growl, as if recognizing him as the real threat.
"You cannot stop me… foolish human… quit your attempts…"
"Boss!" A member of the [Overlord] guild found Daniel while he was talking to a few shop NPCs to gather items.
"Hm?"
"A B-Boss has appeared outside the city, reported to be l-level 50!"
"…?" Daniel's eyes widened, but he still kept his calm, "Okay, what does that have to do with us?"
"W-Well…" the man fidgeted, having a hard time speaking, "T-The guy fighting it currently perfectly matches FateBreaker's spell casting and physique…"
"SHOULD HAVE SAID THAT SOONER," Daniel finished paying for his new [Dawn Holy Staff] and dashed toward the entrance of the city.
Ding!
[MartialMage: FateBreaker has been spotted fighting a powerful boss just outside the city, get him while he is distracted and kill the boss at the same time, our guild will be at the top!]
[SIR! YES, SIR!]
"Perfect…" Daniel smiled before opening up another panel.
[Private Message to Vex]
[MartialMage: Get ready, we will show that fool our full power.]
[Vex: Yes, boss.]
And so hundreds upon hundreds of [Overlord] guild members dashed toward the entrance of [Dawn City] to try and catch Alex off guard.