Chapter 152: Unfathomable Depths, Unlocking the Dragon Bone Tower
The Traveler had fought Black Hand before and knew how formidable he was. In a one-on-one, the Traveler felt his chances of losing were much greater than winning.
After all, Black Hand's elusive and bizarre fighting style was incredibly tricky!
But what was happening now?
Black Hand had been beaten into this pitiful state by Sunan!
From the time the key fragments appeared until now, it hadn't even been an hour. Considering the time spent chasing the key fragments and searching for other holders, their actual combat time was probably less than ten minutes.
In such a short period, Sunan had forced Black Hand to flee in panic, a development far beyond the Traveler's expectations.
Bloodmouth, familiar with Black Hand's strength and character, was equally shocked.
Black Hand was always arrogant—what level of crushing defeat would it take to make him look this desperate?
"Be careful, this guy is Sunan!"
"The wizard apprentice who killed Ugo!"
Flying beside Bloodmouth, Black Hand quickly spoke.
Hearing this, Bloodmouth was surprised, then overcome with excitement.
He hadn't forgotten that the key to the Starlight Tower was with Sunan. Killing him would make it his.
"The key to the Starlight Tower is mine!" Bloodmouth rumbled.
Black Hand's expression fluctuated, but he finally gritted his teeth and whispered, "Alright, I agree. Kill Sunan, and the key to the Starlight Tower is yours. We'll negotiate the park's key fragment afterward."
"Deal!" Bloodmouth's giant maw split into a vicious grin.
Nearby, the Traveler listened, secretly awed.
Sunan?
That's the Player's real name?
And he killed Ugo?
The Traveler had heard of Ugo's reputation, known for having a powerful insect with ancient bloodline—a formidable opponent.
And yet, he died at the hands of the Player!
Adding Black Hand's current dire state, it seemed the Player's strength was even greater than expected!
"Roar!"
A sound like an ancient beast's roar thundered, snapping the Traveler out of his daze.
Bloodmouth's body suddenly swelled as if inflated, skin tearing as blood-red muscles pushed through the wounds.
In an instant, Bloodmouth transformed into a towering ten-meter-tall giant of flesh, foul black blood oozing from the flesh, flowing slowly over the skin.
The giant's bald head bore only one cold eye.
"Roar!"
The flesh giant roared, charging at Sunan.
Simultaneously, Black Hand summoned two quadrupedal beasts to intercept the Traveler, while he wielded countless dark tentacles, attacking Sunan from all sides.
"This time, you will die!"
Black Hand sneered inwardly.
Bloodmouth's bloodline ability was unique, allowing him to unleash stored blood and flesh essence in a short burst, dramatically enhancing his strength.
Though it only lasted four to five minutes, during that time, his power rivaled a fourth-circle legend!
Even Sunan couldn't withstand it!
The cost was years needed to accumulate the essence again.
Regardless, he couldn't defeat Sunan alone, but with Bloodmouth at full power, they should prevail.
As for the Traveler, Black Hand never considered him a threat.
That guy relied on the Azure Spirit Branch's strong defense; his actual strength was negligible.
The two beasts were enough to hold the Traveler off while they dealt with Sunan!
"Damn!"
The Traveler had heard of Bloodmouth's signature move. Seeing it, his expression shifted, intending to aid Sunan, but the beasts blocked him, leaving him helpless as the flesh giant's fist crashed down on Sunan!
Boom!
A violent shockwave exploded, radiating from Sunan's position!
But to everyone's surprise, Sunan remained unshaken after taking the massive blow, completely unharmed.
"Over three hundred points of defense is quite impressive."
Sunan's eyes flickered with surprise.
A typical second-circle spell from a third-level wizard apprentice equated to less than a hundred defense points.
The flesh giant's punch wiped out over three hundred defense points from the Extreme Protection Ring, equivalent to the combined force of four second-circle spells.
This was undoubtedly at the fourth-circle legendary level!
"A temporary strength enhancement ability."
After a moment's thought, Sunan understood, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Such abilities usually came with significant costs and high consumption, similar to his magic core, making them simple to counter.
Just use strength against strength!
With a thought, silvery metal liquid oozed from his pores, rapidly forming into metallic spikes that stormed towards the flesh giant.
The giant, still stunned at failing to breach Sunan's defense, was engulfed by the metal storm. Its massive body was shredded like being caught in a high-speed turbine, blood and flesh torn apart, erupting into a thick black-red mist!
Though the shredded flesh quickly regenerated, the searing pain elicited a piercing wail from the giant.
The agony fully unleashed its ferocity, enduring the metal storm to deliver punch after punch at Sunan, the dull thuds echoing like thunder.
Both sides clashed strength against strength, abandoning defense to focus solely on attack, testing who would falter first!
The brutal scene left Black Hand and the Traveler wide-eyed.
But Black Hand soon regained his senses, seizing the opportunity to ambush Sunan with his tentacles.
The dark tendrils lashed the air, whipping towards Sunan's back.
Sunan countered with a Sonic Boom, his figure blurring and splitting into two.
"Spell Quickening? Compound Casting?"
Seeing this, the Traveler nearly popped his eyes out in shock, just like Black Hand earlier.
Two metamagic techniques, and the most challenging ones at that!
No, if he mastered Spell Quickening, then Silent Casting was certainly mastered too!
The Player had mastered three metamagic techniques!
The Traveler was momentarily awestruck.
He only snapped out of it when nearly struck by a beast's claws.
"Who exactly is the Player?"
Watching the Player effortlessly face Bloodmouth and Black Hand, the Traveler was filled with wonder.
Such power—it seemed no one in the Forest Cabin could compare!
The Traveler was amazed, while Black Hand was nearly driven mad.
He and Bloodmouth had hit Sunan countless times. Any other third-level apprentice would have been pulverized.
Yet Sunan remained unscathed, his invisible protective field seemingly limitless and unbreakable!
Even Saulo couldn't withstand their attacks for this long without a scratch!
It was ridiculous!
"What the hell is with this guy?!"
Frustrated by his inability to breach Sunan's defenses, Black Hand was nearly at his wits' end.
And then, things went from bad to worse. The flesh giant suddenly stiffened, deflating like a balloon.
Black Hand's face fell; he realized Bloodmouth had expended too much essence healing injuries, causing him to revert in less than two minutes.
Understanding this, Black Hand ceased his attack and fled.
With Bloodmouth's giant form and his combined efforts unable to defeat Sunan, they stood no chance now.
Continuing the fight meant certain death!
Escape!
Survival first, revenge later!
Seeing Black Hand flee, Sunan calmly directed the metal storm to pulverize the exhausted Bloodmouth into a bloody mist, casually summoning the fallen magical items and key fragment into his hand.
After securing the items, he activated a high-grade Rune Stone, transforming into a meteor in pursuit of Black Hand.
Hearing the rush of wind behind him, Black Hand glanced back, his soul nearly leaving his body. Panicking, he summoned beasts to block Sunan.
The dense metal spikes surrounding Sunan shot forward like arrows, piercing and shredding the beasts, continuing unabated towards Black Hand!
Sizzle!
The obstructing dark tentacles were shredded instantly, and Black Hand once again felt the fury of the metal storm.
This time, he had no strength left to flee.
His semi-shadow form lasted only a few breaths before being torn apart, obliterated.
The magical items and key fragment fell to the ground, quickly collected by Sunan.
Now holding four key fragments, they interlocked to form a nearly complete key.
Returning to the original spot, with Black Hand's death, the two beasts vanished into thin air.
The Traveler watched Sunan approach, his gaze complex and filled with awe.
Black Hand and Bloodmouth were renowned in the southeast continent, yet a single apprentice had not only held them off but killed them both—few could claim such a feat.
And from Sunan's demeanor, it was clear he hadn't gone all out.
The true extent of his power remained unknown!
Utterly unfathomable!
His gaze fell on the incomplete key in Sunan's hand. With a wry smile, the Traveler tossed his key fragment over without waiting for Sunan to speak.
He knew he couldn't take the other four fragments from Sunan, so better to make a gesture of goodwill.
Surprised, Sunan glanced at the Traveler.
He had expected a negotiation, but the Traveler's readiness to relinquish the fragment was unexpected.
After some thought, Sunan tossed a spatial ring to the Traveler.
"Payment for the key fragment."
The spatial ring belonged to Black Hand, with materials, gems, and gold already removed, leaving only a few alchemical-grade magical items.
He also included the low-tier protective magical item taken from Black Hand.
Since the Traveler was so straightforward, Sunan saw no reason to take it for free, offering the items as compensation.
After all, they were of little use to him.
The Traveler accepted the ring curiously. Opening it, his eyes widened.
"You're sure you're giving me all this?" the Traveler couldn't help asking.
It wasn't surprising—low-tier magical items were extremely valuable. Even for someone like him, fairly successful among third-level apprentices, he only had one.
Sunan casually gifting a low-tier item seemed extravagant to him.
"To me, the key fragment is worth far more than these things."
Sunan replied offhandedly, fitting the final key fragment. With a flash of light, the seams disappeared, forming a complete key.
Holding the square metal-like key, Sunan's eyes gleamed with delight.
He wasted no time, turning to fly towards the Dragon Bone Tower.
He couldn't wait to see what lay inside.
The Traveler hesitated, then followed.
He was also curious about what would happen once the tower activated.
The two arrived near the Dragon Bone Tower.
Sunan landed before the bone gate, inserting the key into the square slot at its center.
With a soft click, countless thin light strands emerged from the key, spreading across the gate's bone patterns.
The next moment, with a rumbling, the bone gate slowly opened.
Sunan took a deep breath and stepped inside.
His vision darkened momentarily before brightening suddenly, dispelling the surrounding darkness.
Sunan looked around, finding himself in a spacious hall.
The hall was paved with white marble, neatly arranged with stone chairs and tables, and the ceiling embedded with hundreds of ever-bright pearls.
These pearls had just illuminated the hall.
"It looks like a common area."
Sunan moved to the hall's center, where a teleportation array was inscribed on the floor.
Stepping into the array, countless lines of light appeared, weaving into a semi-transparent screen listing 'Second Floor,' 'Third Floor'... up to 'Fifteenth Floor.'
"Only fifteen floors?"
Sunan frowned with confusion.
The Dragon Bone Tower was over a thousand meters tall, its volume immense.
Even without spatial folding, it should have far more than fifteen floors.
Maintaining his curiosity, Sunan selected the second floor.
His vision blurred, and a strong sense of weightlessness enveloped him, leaving him slightly breathless.
After several seconds, the sensation faded, and solid ground returned underfoot.
"Been a while since I felt that."
Sunan mused.
This was his first time using a teleportation array in this life.
Steadying himself, Sunan looked up to find a brightly lit hall, much smaller than the previous one.
Doors lined the perimeter in a ring, with wide, clean corridors visible through the open doorways.
Sunan entered the first corridor on the right.
The corridor was lined with closed doors. Opening one, he found a spacious room, simply yet comfortably furnished, though a layer of dust covered everything, indicating it hadn't been cleaned in ages.
Examining other rooms revealed similar decor and layout.
Sunan quickly realized this floor was the residential area.
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