Chapter 32 : A Skeleton Mage(1)

In the cabin,

"You are finally back, my little princess?", said Grandpa Stefen with worry but, relief was present in his eyes when he gazed at his granddaughter that was currently in his hug.

Tears filled Elena's clear eyes when she finally found herself in the warm embrace of her grandpa after all that time. For her, it was a warmth that came after eternity.

In her past life after she left this place; the earth, after a year because of notifications from the system.

She didn't want to, but she had to. This changed her life on so many levels. She was constantly on the run and she only came to know it later that it was all thanks to her own... beauty. No matter where she went, those vicious men will try to take away her chastity.

At first, her naïve and innocent self was almost rap*d by a group of men but all thanks to.... him, she managed to survive but at the cost of her saviour's life. She didn't know who he was and why he saved her in that situation, going so far as to embrace death.

She was moved and truly grateful to him and in this life, she would definitely save him and hopefully repay him. It would be difficult because she doesn't know who he was? All she knew was that he had a tattoo! A tattoo on his left shoulder, right beside his neck.

"Elena"

The tattoo was truly unique since she had never seen a tattoo like that. It was a black eye, with symbols and design so complicated that she felt even the moat advance designers could not replicate it.

"Elena"

Nevertheless, no matter how difficult, she would definitely not let him die this time around!

"Elena, ", said Grandpa Stefen when he saw the dazed look of his daughter as he shook her shoulders.

".... Wha.... What?", exclaimed Elena as she looked around, startled.

"What happened to you just now?", asked Grandpa Stefen with anxiousness palpable in his eyes.

"..... ", Elena looked at the worry in his eyes. She truly missed these. She smiled in her heart as she looked at him, " It's nothing, grandpa."

"...sigh....little girl, I really should have taken you along with me, ", said the old man as he felt regret when he saw his precious granddaughter dazed. He should have kept her away from such gruesome creatures, but alas, as fate would have it, she had to come here all on her own. Only God knew how much she has experienced in this past week.

"...sigh.. ", he let out a sigh once again.

"Grandpa. I am fine. I really am.", said Elena trying to convince him.

.....

"Why are you still here?", asked the old man as he gazed at Aisha.

"Boss, I have got some progress on the mission.", Aisha said as she glanced at her young miss, who was going out of the cabin.

About an hour ago, they have arrived here in the camp and right away went into the infirmary to treat the injured. Only after that did they come to meet grandpa Stefen. After chatting with him for a while, now her young miss was going to rest since she was tired.

"... I know. I can see that.", The old man sighed as he took a last look at his granddaughter, who waved at him. He, too, returned the wave with a smile, but right away when she left his sight, his warm eyes turned cold and collected as he said calmly, " Fill me up with the details. Don't miss anything at all."

"Yes, Boss."

....

*Bang*

*Bang*

*Bang*

*Bang*

In the absolute darkness of the dungeon's room that only had him and an unknown number of skeletons, Bittu charged ahead just as he has been doing for the past unknown period. He was still unconscious so the passes of time was not something he cared about.

As the cards sliced through the air, Bittu could feel the power coursing through him, fueled by the mysterious energy that had awakened within him. It was as if he had tapped into a wellspring of darkness, drawing strength from the very depths of his soul.

[You have killed a Lv. 3 skeleton.]

After all this time, the only thing that has changed was the skeletons, going from the initial Lv. 1 to Lv. 2 and currently at Lv. 3.

Suddenly, with a swift motion, Bittu extended his hand towards the horde of skeletons, a surge of corruptive energy spread through his hands and the three cards that had manifested in front of him flew towards the skeleton like a deadly projectile. Each card struck its target with pinpoint accuracy, tearing through bone and sinew with unnatural precision.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

[You have killed a Lv. 3 skeleton.]

[You have killed a Lv. 3 skeleton.]

[You have killed a Lv. 3 skeleton.]

[You have killed a Lv. 3 skeleton.]

....

The skeletons were crushed until they weren't even comparable to dust from the massive amount of power the attack held.

Ignoring all these, Bittu moved forward with the same cold eyes, with the same body filled with buries and within the same room that has held him captivated.

Even after destroying these skeletons with such strength, their numbers didn't come down rather, it felt like it went up with two replacing the ones who fell down.

Once again!

The surge of dark energy that radiated from his very being eating away what little light was left in the room, enveloping the surrounding skeletons in an ominous aura, sent out the cards to Kill these skeletal creatures.

The skeletons fell one by one, crumbling into piles of dust as the cards tore through them with relentless efficiency. Bittu moved with a grace and speed that defied comprehension, his movements fluid and effortless as he danced amidst the chaos, just like he had done countless time almost like a machine. But this time, a new notification flashed before his eyes.

[You have killed a Lv. 3 skeleton.]

[You have killed a Lv. 3 skeleton.]

[You have killed a Lv. 3 skeleton.]

[Soul power : 990/1000] -> [Soul power : 1020/1000]

[Congratulations, you have gained enough soul power. You have been promoted to Lv. 4]

[ You gain two undistributed stat. ]

But, he was not in the condition to care about the notifications; he ignored it as if it was invisible.

Just like that, after what felt like an eternity, suddenly away from his gaze, a blue skeleton had its eyes glow with the ethereal light just like the rest. Its body structure was the same as the ones before, the only difference being that it had something like a crystal embedded right in the center of it's chest, between its ribs. A while later, it moved towards Bittu, following the others.

Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, Bittu's senses tingled with danger as Goosebumps covered his body. Bittu immediately jumped back to avoid whatever made his skill activate.

With a defensive stance, he focused his gaze in the direction he felt the danger originate from, only to find a blue skeleton that was slightly glowing in the darkness of the room. With a focused gaze on the skeleton, a new notification flashed before his eyes.

[Skeleton mage Lv. 4-

Strength-> F

Agility-> D

Stamina-> ∞

Constitution-> E

Perception-> F

Spirit-> D

Description : An ancient being that was awakened from its slumber because of an intruder.]

"..."

Bittu's eyes remained cold and constant as he assessed the new threat before him. The appearance of a Skeleton Mage indicated a significant escalation in the danger he faced. It, being a mage, would definitely have an elemental affinity, which meant he needed to be extra cautious and ready for any sneak attacks.

But!

*roar*

In the next second, Bittu's body, that had taken a defensive stance on reflex, broke its form and charged towards the stream of skeletons with a roar, anger palpable in his eyes because of this instinctual reaction. The corruptive and dark energy didn't like the fact that it had to back off against such a pitiful enemy. It felt insulted.

"Cards! ", he called out with his voice as loud as thunder. Answering his call, the three cards that were still as good as new without a shed of imperfections circled around him.

With his mental command, pushing through the crowd with brute strength, they killed the skeletons without a hint of mercy as they travelled towards this new enemy.

Bittu also raced towards this new enemy as his instincts were urging him to finish this creature as soon as possible.

[You have killed a Lv. 3 skeleton.]

[You have killed a Lv. 3 skeleton.]

[You have killed a Lv. 3 skeleton.]

.....

After what felt like five minutes, when Bittu was just ten meters away from the blue skeleton, he felt danger.

He immediately wanted to back flip but, right then, he felt his danger intuition skill tingle with more intensity than before. Right away he knew he had to avoid going backwards and needed to either side-step or jump in the air, but jumping in the air would rend him vulnerable so, he swiftly sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the incoming attack.

*splash*

*splash*

*splash*

Suddenly, from his left, Bittu heard the sounds of water hitting concrete sand. He turned around, only to see water dripping from the walls of the dungeon. A normal person in this period would have been deceived in this dark but, with his strengthened perception, Bittu could also make out that there were sharp marks left in the dungeon walls, almost like it was hit by a sharp blade, from the attack made by the mage.

"....."