In an instant, radiant golden light flared brilliantly, immediately drawing the attention of the surrounding players.
"Are they planning to use holy magic to form a protective barrier before entering the demon nest?""That's not a bad idea. Holy magic is indeed highly effective against undead and demons. But this fog was generated by a special magic array—holy magic probably won't be able to completely block its erosion.""We should warn them. If they rush into the fog recklessly, they'll be corroded by it in just a few minutes. When that happens, we'll have even more undead to deal with.""…"
Just as the group of players was about to call out and warn Kurose Akira, the golden light suddenly surged outward like a crashing tide, rippling in waves as it violently slammed into the eerie green fog.
In only a matter of moments, the fog seemed to encounter its natural nemesis. It scattered in all directions—then vanished completely, leaving not a trace behind.
"?"
The sight left the surrounding players dumbstruck, mouths agape, utterly speechless.
They had assumed it was merely a holy barrier meant to resist the green fog's corrosion. Instead, the spell had outright blasted away the entire fogbank.
What kind of absurdly powerful magic was that?
How could it be this overwhelmingly domineering?!
Before anyone could recover from the shock, Kurose Akira was already leading his guild members toward the demon nest's entrance.
"Wait! Friend! There's an ambush of demons and undead hidden in the forest!" someone shouted urgently.
The warning had barely left their lips when several skeleton warriors burst up from the ground, launching a ferocious attack.
For such insignificant undead, however, Lucia merely lifted her Scepter of the Sun and gave it a casual swing.
In the next instant, dazzling golden radiance erupted. The skeleton warriors disintegrated on the spot, their bones scattering across the ground.
[Skeleton Soldier defeated ×5 — Contribution Points +5!]
Kurose Akira didn't slow his pace, continuing deeper into the area. He knew he had to fully grasp the demon nest's situation today. If the opportunity presented itself, he wanted to eliminate the necromancer as soon as possible.
After all, he had a strong feeling that the necromancer was plotting something.
Otherwise, why would the surroundings of the demon nest be shrouded in that eerie green fog?
Wouldn't it be far simpler to lure adventurers directly inside, let the demons slaughter them, and then refine the corpses into obedient undead?
There was definitely something off about this.
The other players, witnessing the scene, were left utterly speechless.
They had never imagined that Kurose Akira's guild members could be this powerful. Dealing with level-20 skeleton soldiers with nothing more than a flick of the wrist—this was even more outrageous than the C-rank players they'd encountered before.
Though, when they considered holy magic's inherent suppression of undead, it almost felt… reasonable?
No—something still felt very wrong!
What's more, they noticed that after Kurose Akira's guild wiped out those skeleton soldiers, no other undead emerged from the ground.
Had the undead become too frightened to show themselves?
"Let's follow them!"
The other players acted immediately. But just as they were about to take their next step, massive numbers of undead suddenly surged up from the earth, completely surrounding them.
"Damn it! Even undead know how to bully the weak and fear the strong?!"
…
On the other side, Kurose Akira and his guild members had already entered the depths of the demon nest.
The interior was far simpler than he'd expected—a plain mountain cave. Along the stone walls, ghostly green candles flickered, providing faint illumination throughout the space.
"Master! He's up ahead!"Alice sensed a disturbance in the soul currents and quickly alerted him.
"Alright. Let's go."
Kurose Akira immediately led everyone deeper into the cave in search of the necromancer.
Before long, they found him.
The necromancer stood with both hands raised high, positioned before a massive demon corpse, a smug, self-satisfied grin plastered across his face.
The moment Kurose Akira's gaze fell upon that corpse, his brows knitted together in instinctive disgust. The demon's appearance was revolting beyond words.
[Giant Ghoul (Elite)]Level: 44 (0/22000)Race: GhoulStrength: 550 / Agility: 560 / Mana: 402 / Constitution: 666Growth: 8 (All attributes +8 per level)Skills: (Expand)
After examining the demon corpse, Kurose Akira shifted his focus to the necromancer himself.
He wore a dark green robe and a matching pointed hat, his entire body exuding a chilling aura. His skin was deathly pale, and his eyes gleamed with madness and smug delight.
[Ula (Elite)]Level: 38 (0/15200)Race: Human / UndeadStrength: 320 / Agility: 330 / Mana: 580 / Constitution: 300Growth: 8 (All attributes +8 per level)Skills: (Expand)Trait: [Soul Hook] (Upon killing, obtain the player trait [Soul Hook]!)
"A level 38 necromancer… and [Soul Hook]?"After reviewing the necromancer's panel, a trace of surprise appeared on Kurose Akira's face.
He hadn't expected that killing this necromancer would reward him with a player trait.
"Hmph!"
An old, low voice rang out as the necromancer's gaze snapped toward Kurose Akira and his group.
"So, another batch of insignificant insects has wandered in. My great ritual will not be allowed to be disrupted by the likes of you. You will remain here forever!"
As his words fell, countless corpses surged up from beneath the ground.
Kurose Akira watched them carefully, a flash of vigilance crossing his eyes. Among the bodies were not only demon corpses—but also the corpses of player adventurers.
"Deal with them."
The necromancer issued the command coldly, then turned his attention back to the ghoul corpse before him.
The summoned undead raised their weapons and advanced toward Kurose Akira's group.
Facing the oncoming horde, Loserine drew her sword and charged forward. Her blade techniques flowed like moonlight, and in an instant, several undead collapsed beneath her strikes.
The rest of the guild members followed suit. In no time at all, the summoned undead were effortlessly wiped out.
Naturally, Kurose Akira had no intention of letting the necromancer complete his ritual during this time.
He signaled Ivsha to begin chanting, launching a direct attack on the necromancer's true body.
A golden Holy Spear instantly condensed above the necromancer's head, crashing straight down toward him!
Yet at the moment the spear struck, the necromancer dissolved into a wisp of green smoke, evading the fatal blow with ease.
Seeing that his undead were unable to hold back Kurose Akira's guild, the necromancer frowned deeply.
"Insignificant insects! Your strength exceeds my expectations!" he snarled."But even so, you cannot stop this! The great Lord of the Undead stands with us! The legion of death will surely—AAH!"
Suddenly, golden ripples spread outward, instantly tearing the necromancer's body into countless fragments.
"So noisy."
Lucia cut off his rambling speech with cold impatience.
Under her power, the necromancer's body collapsed in an instant. And at that very moment, a new notification popped up before Kurose Akira's eyes.
[Congratulations! You have obtained the player trait — Soul Hook!]
[Soul Hook: You are adept at luring wandering souls! You will more easily gain the favor of ghosts. By consuming half of your soul power, you may awaken a dormant soul to serve you. (One-time use only)]
"?"