5 Through the Threshold

Shin channeled his spell and green tendrils of smoky essence attached themselves to the fast-moving silhouette. [Drain] successfully connected. Warlock's life value stabilized, slowly going up against the adverse effects of damaging status alignments.

Beast closed in, swinging its massive bow at the closer skeleton. The primitive weapon could not withstand the force of impact. Pieces of hardwood burst, sprinkling sharp splinters around. Skeleton's head disintegrated, and it crumbled, turning into a cloud of bone dust. The monster did not stop there, taking out a sword and continuing its advance.

The unexpected way, in which the attacker used the ranged weapon surprised Shin. He felt that the opponent was far superior to those he had met so far.

"Not surprising. It only had a bit of life left."

Shin commented on the demise of his animated guardian.

Skeletons he had on him were already heavily damaged in previous fights. However, he had to admit that the power behind the strike was extraordinarily immense.

The second skeleton propelled itself violently against the monster.

The loud burst followed. The creature staggered, nearly falling. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shin took a good look at the assailant. Donned in an incomplete set of leather armor it already swang its sword anew. Obviously, a goblin. However, this particular specimen was about 30 inches taller and much more muscular than those Shin's previously met. Bulging muscles barely fit under the armor. It looked extremely potent.

"[Animate]."

One of the nearby corpses stood. 50 of Shin's mana points disappeared. Recently animated undead joined in, in an attempt to stop the powerful opponent.

About eight seconds passed since boy started channeling [Drain]. His essence was enough to last him another eight. Massive goblin pulled himself out of the grip of the skeletons, throwing the first one against the wall. Bones crumbled, turning into gray dust. Then, monster's blade cut through the air with rage. The skull of the recently summoned skeleton flew through the air.

Shin jumped back, sensing the impending doom. The way in which the monster decapitated his fresh summon filled his heart with doubt.

Next second, the monster was already in front of him.

A drop of warm blood dripped from the tip of the blade. Shin's eyes widened in shock. His facial muscles twisted as he looked up the edge of the sword, straight into the face of the hideous creature.

"Motherfucker!"

He spat out from behind his clenched teeth, staining lips with the deep crimson shade of imminent death. Bloody foam oozed from his mouth. He still held on, [Drain] would not allow him to die, even with his lung pierced. However, it was getting harder and harder to keep it activated. His life value was now critically low.

Goblin looked at Shin, tilting his chin slightly up. Malice turned his eyes red. Spit began to run down his sharp teeth. Annoying green smoke continued to connect him to his prey.

"[Summon]!"

Shin gurgled weakly, spitting out blood. Two new skeletal minions slowly rose from behind the hideous creature. They picked up two, long wooden splinters and drove them deep into the exposed neck of the goblin. Next, they struck, kicked and scratched wherever they could.

The large goblin tore his sword from boy's chest. A fountain of blood gushed from the gaping wound. Tears involuntarily ran down Shin's face.

Adrenaline pumped through necromancer's veins as he used his bare fists to hit desperately. He couldn't escape. Even at the beginning of the fight, he was not able to outrun hostile creature. Now, his mind focused solely on one thing.

"Die! Die! Die!"

The light in the eyes of the creature suddenly died.

[Killed a unique monster.]

Multiple molts of light gathered above slain goblin and flew into Shin's body.

[Gained 100 experience points.]

[Leveled up.]

[Gained 10 attribute points.]

[Gained 2 skill points.]

Boy's tattered body healed, shrouded in shine. He breathed a sigh of relief.

The very first unique monster Shin's faced turned out to be a powerful damage-dealer capable of inflicting bleeding and poisoning its target. Gifted in ranged combat, it could also fiercely fight in close-quarters. Finally, it boasted fearsome physical defense and remarkable speed.

It had a weak point. Its life was only to the standard of ordinary level one goblin.

Three loot boxes scattered randomly around its dead body. Shin took them up and items appeared.

In but a moment he held shiny, silver ring, the tiny flask of somewhat red liquid and long, steel sword. Holding his trophies, he felt an extraordinary lightness of existence. A smile crept across his blood-smeared face.

[Silver Ring] | Increases resistances.

[Potion] | Heals.

[Steel sword] | Damages.

"Now, that is some major lazy writing."

He said with a sneer. Bitter disappointment in his voice was something completely normal. After all, the descriptions of weapons were not lengthy and failed to mention any useful tip. Presently, Shin had no way of learning that seeing exhaustive item descriptions required the use of the particular skill. Currently, only a handful of people had discovered this secret.

He slid the ring on the index finger of his dominant hand. Flask landed in his pocket. Silver jewelry formed an interesting contrast with other elements of the boy's clothing. His clothes soaked in the warm gore and Shin could still feel the unpleasant metallic taste in his mouth. His eyes ached. He reeked of blood and was brutally aware of this fact.

However, it wasn't the time for that. Shin confidently invested his unallocated points. Modified elements flashed briefly in the status window.

Level 3 | Experience: 0

Life Points: 120 | Essence: 140 | Mana: 140

Str: 10 | Agi: 10 | Int: 30

Drain [5] | Animate [1]

Drain [5]

Channels essence through your foe, stealing 25 points of life per second.

Cost: 5 essence points per second.

"It's better now. That son of a gun."

He wiped his face with the sleeve. Refreshed, the boy looked in the direction from which a unique monster came. Deep within that hallway, an undetermined number of unknown threats awaited, concealed in inky darkness. For now, it seemed a more pleasant place to be given that Shin stood directly in a poodle of his own blood.

The boy's shoes left damp marks as he moved forward with his skinny companions. Just in case he decided to take the body of a freshly slain monster. One of the skeletons carried the carcass, while the other led the way, armed with a new steel sword.

Shin walked straight for about half an hour. He stopped only before the simple, silver door that blocked his path, thus ending an unexpectedly long journey. He did not encounter as much as a single monster along the way. Along the way, he decided to try using his necromancy on the unique corpse. Sadly, the animated skeleton was of the exactly same quality as ealier summons.

The silver door did not look like something that belonged in the dungeon. If it were not for their rectangular, characteristic shape, it would be awkward to even talk about the similarity to doors. Smooth plate lacked a rather crucial part. It was devoid of a handle.

The boy reached out but held himself back. His outstretched palm froze in front of the door. Indiscriminate touching of things of unknown origin has led him to the current plight.

"I should wait until my mana regenerates."

He said. Skeletons seemed to share his view.