Chương 98: Chapter 97. Everything explodes

You have contributed to slay Thorn Bear x1. You have gained adequate experience. You have levelled up the skill Death Strike. Level 2 reached. Skill Stealer Activated. +1 point in Vitality. You have stolen the skill Thorn Carapace (Rare). The skill isn't compatible with your body and has been blocked. Another skill has been chosen. You have stolen the skill Paralysis Resistance (Uncommon). The skill has been registered as a new skill. It took a minute for Rayne to understand what he was reading.

Not only had he managed to gain a level in [Death Strike], which he knew was coming, but he had also gained a new skill, which was more than just surprising. Not because of the skill itself, but because it was the first time a skill hadn't been compatible with his body. He didn't know something like that could happen. But he had thought about it before. He had guessed that either his body would adapt somehow, or that he would simply not be able to use it.. But now he knew that wasn't the case.

It was for the best too, since having thorns on his back was the last thing he ever wanted. Compared to that, [Paralysis Resistance] sounded like something that could one day save his life. It was uncommon compared to the rare rating of the incompatible skill, but it felt far more useful to him. He immediately pulled up the skill description in his mind.

Paralysis Resistance (Uncommon) - Level 1 One of the worst ways to die is to get paralysed and see your death coming for you, but now you don't have to worry about that. The skill allows the user's body to gain basic resistance against paralysis spells, potions, illnesses, and everything else. It passively works all the time. Gives basic paralysis resistance ability, and can hold your body together for a while even against stronger paralysis attacks.

The skill sounded just as he had expected, giving basic resistance, and would probably grow as he used it more. But that would come later. Maybe he could level it up by drinking paralysis poisons on purpose, but that sounded both intelligent and idiotic at the same time. He would think about that when they weren't standing in a cavern that still smelled of burnt bear flesh and acid. For now, Rayne dismissed the notifications and walked back toward his party.

They had gathered near one of the walls, away from the massive corpses of the thorn bears. Nate was already chewing on jerky like nothing had happened, Bran was sitting cross-legged, inspecting a small cut on his forearm, and Kesh had taken off one glove and was flexing his fingers. The others had their eyes closed, and Rayne sat down with them without a word. He pulled out dried meat and hard biscuits from his pack and began eating slowly.

The fight had drained him of energy and although the food tasted bland and dry, it was better than air. He followed it with a long drink from his canteen. The rest of the warband soon started descending. Varrick's [Force Shield] shimmered into existence again down the cliff, and he guessed the man had taken another mana potion. Fighting the second thorn bear wouldn't have allowed him the opportunity to save mana.

Between sustaining shields and clashing against something that strong, Varrick should have been drained dry. But he stood upright on the ledge, maintaining the descent without complaint. One by one, the remaining soldiers came down. Within an hour, the entire warband had regrouped on the cavern floor, and Rayne immediately noticed that the casualties were lighter than what he had feared. The ones below had barely gotten injured, and the ones above had only a few injuries.

Most of them had apparently come from the boulder barrage, but it was only cuts and bruises. Only one man had taken a direct impact and suffered a broken arm. And even that was solved by half a bottle of health potion. The soldier would probably be fine in a few hours and would be able to fight again. It could have been far worse, but Henrexa was still blessing them. Once he was down, Captain Edran took command immediately and didn't allow them to sit in one place for long.

Scouts were dispatched to explore the cavern perimeter properly, including Bran, who groaned but didn't complain. His group returned ten minutes later.

"There's a hallway on the right," Bran reported.

"It heads in a straight direction, and there are no traps around the entrance." Rayne was already on his feet before the captain gave the command. They formed up again and moved. The hallway wasn't wide, but it was clearly carved. There were no crystals or boulders around, and the stone floor was smooth and dark, with dust coating it. As they entered, Captain Edran's voice carried over the group.

"We are close to the core. Stay sharp and keep your shields close!" Everyone did as they were told, and even Rayne felt that they were close to the core. Not because of instinct, but because the deeper they moved in the hallway, the stronger the mana became. It wasn't even just death-aspected mana. There was a lot of pure, unaspected mana in the air, and he was sure there would also be other aspects he missed.

Casper kept whispering to Captain Edran, and Rayne became sure that they were on the final level of the dungeon. But the question was how long would it take to get to the boss room? He estimated at least a few hours. In the end, his estimation wasn't wrong. For the next few hours, nothing major happened. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. They walked, and walked. The hallway seemed endless. The stone walls remained the same shade of dark grey, with the floor dusty.

The only change came in the mana density—it kept rising slowly and steadily, like pressure building inside a sealed chamber. The only dangerous thing happened when a part of the left wall cracked and fell. A section of the stone simply dropped down, but the scouts had seen the trap before it happened. They triggered it themselves before the rest of the warband could reach it, jumping away as the wall fell.

Rayne actually wondered if it was a dungeon trap or just the wall weakening, since nothing like that happened again. The marching simply resumed, and no monsters or traps bothered them. The only thing that did was the monotonous act of stepping forward in a long corridor stretching ahead. But they were used to it by this point. After a while, more than a few soldiers began muttering that the dungeon was emulating the Trial of the Eleventh Hero. Rayne remembered the tale too.

It was a famous story from the Second Epoch—of a hero named Iissaya, who was said to have walked an endless hallway created by Goddess Henrexa herself. The goddess had tested his mental endurance, forcing him to walk without knowing whether there was an end at all. He knew it because the story had been told to his predecessor by a bard when he was younger. The lesson in the tale had been simple: strength wasn't just in the blade, but in the will to keep moving when the path seemed meaningless.

Though, he didn't believe their lack of encountering danger was because of the dungeon. It felt more like a deliberate attempt by the necromancer to get their guards down or simply exhaust them before a battle. Captain Edran likely felt the same.

"Keep shields up. Stay sharp!" the captain would bark every so often, cutting through the low murmurs. No one dared loosen formation. And after what felt like an eternity, a scout finally ran back toward the front ranks, informing them that a cluster of undead filled the hallway just ahead. That wasn't too shocking, as it was just a matter of time before they encountered them, but what was surprising was the fact that there were only common undead there. No undead lords or elementals among them.

They could still be hiding in the back, but the scouts didn't notice any from their position. It almost felt wrong to Rayne to have only common undead fight them in the hallway, and he glanced toward his party.

"There's a catch," he said quietly.

"Don't leave formation no matter what and prepare for anything unexpected to jump out." They all nodded without hesitation. Captain Edran began issuing commands at once.

"Shield wall in front. Spears and swords right behind. Archers and Casper will take the first shot." They immediately tightened into formation, with Rayne and his party taking a position just behind the shields, and advanced. Ten minutes later, the undead came into view. They filled the hallway from wall to wall. Rows upon rows of decayed figures stood silently, eyes staring forward. They didn't look any different from the ones he had fought before, with rusted blades and remnants of armour around their bodies.

Rayne counted quickly and estimated at least three hundred, as the lines seemed to stretch for a while. That was a large number. But disciplined soldiers and mana users could easily grind them down. All of them had the necessary experience now. Captain Edran soon gave a short nod toward Casper. She raised her palm and a spell matrix unfolded across it, just as the first rank of undead jerked and started rushing toward them. A massive fireball bloomed in the hallway.

It formed in front of Casper's outstretched palm and then shot forward just as the first wave of undead slammed into it. The impact was immediate. Flames engulfed the front ranks. The rotting figures screamed as fire clung to their flesh, their movements breaking apart as heat consumed them. Several collapsed where they stood, charred beyond recognition. Casper didn't stop.

She pushed her hand forward and the fireball stretched outward, widening into a wall of flame that rolled toward the dense cluster like a burning tide. It crashed into the next line— And exploded. The blast was large and deafening. Dozens of undead were thrown backward and cried out, their limbs tearing free as the hallway shook with the force. A few soldiers behind the shield line cheered instinctively, but Rayne noticed something else.

His eyes were fixed on Casper, and she looked equally surprised by the explosion as the rest of them. Her eyes were wide, and he wondered if she hadn't meant to cause that explosion. Before he could process it fully or ask her, the remaining undead surged forward. Arrows flew at once. The first rank was cut down quickly—shafts piercing skulls and chests, bodies falling in uneven piles. But then one arrow struck an undead directly through the eye. The creature screamed and fell to its knees.

It should have been dead in the next few seconds, but then its flesh turned red. For half a second, it glowed. Then it exploded. The detonation tore through nearby undead, shredding them apart. The shockwave slammed against the shield line and pushed several soldiers back a step. Understanding hit Rayne and a few others immediately as they realised what was going on.

"Don't let them near us!" Captain Edran roared.

"Use ranged attacks only! Some of these bastards explode!" More arrows were launched immediately. Casper adjusted, releasing smaller but rapid bursts of flame that ignited clusters from afar. From time to time, the undead detonated violently after getting hit, and other times, they did so on their own. The hallway soon became a chain of explosions.

Rotten bodies burst apart as limbs flew through the air, and the shield wall kept feeling the impact, barely able to stand straight with the shockwaves rolling across the space. Ironically, the undead were destroying themselves faster than the warband was cutting them down. But not all of them fell. Some managed to keep moving ahead despite all the arrows, spells, and explosions. Rayne saw one such undead rushing forward, an arrow lodged in its shoulder.

Despite that, it still charged, and as he watched, its flesh started to glow red and it aimed straight at the shield wall.

"Brace!" Hobbs shouted. But before it could reach the front line, a shimmering [Force Shield] appeared right in front of it and it slammed into it, taking a step back. And the next second, it exploded. The barrier cracked violently under the impact. Fractures spread across its surface like a spiderweb. The blast scorched the ground around it and heat washed over the front ranks. Varrick grunted, but the shield held. Seeing more such undead try to cut through the assault, Rayne didn't stand idle.

He stepped forward, channeling mana through his blade. The act felt easier now—cleaner—after [Death Strike] had levelled. The dark energy gathered faster, more stable in his control. The shield line in front of him parted slightly as they felt the heat of his blade from behind and glanced back. He raised his blade to carve through a few undead. Then a sharp cry echoed from deeper in the hallway. Rayne's head snapped up. A group of birds burst from the hallway ahead.

Their wings beat wildly as they charged down the corridor. They let out another cry, and their skin started to glow the same ominous red as the undead.

"Shit," Rayne cursed and sent an arc of death mana toward them.

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