"Daruun summoned you?!"
While the miasma in the air was thick, Jack still felt no effect from it. Apart from the uncomfortable feeling against Jack's skin, the hero felt no threat from the murky energy.
Then, Duorda burst into laughter. His skeletal mouth opened wide as guttural guffaws filled the chamber. "If Daruun summoned you, then I don't need to hold back!" Duorda grabbed the chainless shackle around his wrist and ripped it off, doing the same to his other arm after the first.
Jack was startled to see what was happening. Thanks to the scenario and his preconception, Jack had always assumed that Duorda was already lv. 89. Only after seeing Duorda reach for those shackles did Jack notice that Crypt Lord Duorda's level was still only lv. 85, at least until those shackles were removed. Now at lv. 89, Duorda's excitement-filled laughter left Jack feeling tense.
"Duorda, why would you were level restricting equipment?" Jack asked, trying to keep the conversation going as long as possible.
"Survive and I'll tell you anything!"
Without another word, Duorda absorbed the surrounding dark energy in a fraction of a second, returning the chamber to its usual, dimly lit setting. But Jack was on edge knowing that Duorda was ready to unleash all hell. And he was right to feel such a way as the crypt lord extended his bony digits to cast his first spell.
"Permadeath!" shouted Duorda, unleashing a dark, ethereal wave of energy to fill the entire room. It was completely unavoidable for anyone within the chamber, invisible or not, but dealt no damage whatsoever.
Having never heard of such a spell, Jack was left guessing about its effects.
While still chuckling, Duorda loudly announced, "Now, even if you could return to life like heroes of the past, should you die by my hand now then you'll forever lay here to rot and become my summon. To take one of Daruun's chosen few as a summon would be the greatest of treasures!"
Understanding the stakes, Jack swallowed some saliva along with any fear. The hero didn't want to let any thoughts of hesitation keep him from fighting at his best. Jack understood that he would get only one chance now and would have to survive, as Duorda had put it.
"Then how would I survive?" questioned Jack, retrieving his new bow. "You were hailed as the strongest of all monsters to us heroes, and that was with dozens of heroes fighting together."
"But my draining ability is also most effective against multiple opponents. The more opponents I face, the more life I can drain. Pay attention. Though you couldn't feel it, notice now that your health was already being drained by the miasma I generate," stated Duorda, giving Jack a moment to confirm the crypt lord's words.
"That… That's just broken…" Jack sighed, unhappy but unable to alter the situation.
Duorda continued, "Against you alone, my draining can only heal me so much. You'll just have to deal more damage than I can heal. But you'll have to do that before you exhaust your health as well. Do you feel confident in your abilities to do so?"
"Nope." Shaking his head, Jack answered, "I don't know what's going to happen now, but I won't die here. I can say that much."
"Then prove it!"
A ray of the same black energy shot out of Duorda's fingertips. It rushed after Jack, who sidestepped and evaded the blast.
"Not bad, but we're still warming up!" Duorda shouted, doing his best to smile without any skin or facial muscles.
Jack dodged again and again, backing up to create more space. At the same time, Jack retrieved an arrow and nocked his bow. The first shot went as a common bow would act, without any magic added.
True to Jack's aim, the arrow pierced the air with undeniable speed to ricochet off of Duroda's skull. Not a single scratch was left behind but Jack was satisfied with the bow's pin-point accuracy. With that in mind, Jack released a second arrow covered in fire.
Duorda wasn't careless that time. The crypt lord reached out and snatched the arrow from the air like it was child's play. He chuckled, "That can't be your only trick, right? Show me more!"
Not letting up, Jack shot another arrow. It seemed to be ordinary but Duorda still reached to pluck it from the air. But as the skeletal hand wrapped its fingers around the arrow, it vanished in a blink of spatial energy. The arrow reappeared on the opposite side of Duorda to bounce off his face a second time. However, a cut in the bone was left behind.
"Oh… Show me more!" Duorda shot more blasts of black energy.
Jack was forced to move around while he shot, making use of his newly elevated bow skill and the legendary bow's added bonuses. He skillfully evaded the many blasts while hurling more and more arrows at Duorda.
This went on for a few minutes as Jack successfully avoided having his health drained. But Jack was annoyed to see how little damage he was doing.
If Jack didn't strengthen the arrows with spatial energy to teleport them and change their trajectory, then Duorda would constantly grab the arrows or destroy them in midair. But if Jack tried to use more spatial energy, then the arrow would break either in midair or upon releasing the bowstring. Jack had to find a balance but that balance wouldn't deal enough damage to kill Crypt Lord Duorda. The hero was certain that Duorda wasn't getting serious yet and the tables could turn in an instant given Duorda's life-draining abilities.
Unsatisfied with how he faired with the bow, Jack tried a new method of attack. Jack rushed Duorda while launching more arrows to keep the crypt lord busy. Once Jack was almost fifty meters away, he switched the bow for the legendary katana and activated Sudden Death. Thanks to his newly upgraded speed skill, Jack could use Sudden Death within sixty meters and he wanted to use it to the fullest.