The ground groaned and shattered as the massive Ossein Drake, Karcoss, was slammed into the dirt. A creature ten times its size was brought low by the deceptively small Skeleton Warrior, whose grip remained like an iron vice. Before the drake could even snap its jaws, the Skeleton Warrior plummeted from the sky, its landing shockwave carving a crater into the earth. Every time Karcoss beat his skeletal wings in a desperate bid for altitude, the warrior’s blade swept down, pinning the beast back into the dust with crushing force.
The battlefield had split in two.
CRACK.
On the other side of the clearing, Franklin’s Frost Ward spiderwebbed with fractures. Realizing he was seconds away from becoming a stationary target for the Undead legion, the Lich dropped to the ground, his boots kicking up a cloud of frost.
Ethan Sorel didn’t give him a moment to breathe. He leveled the Staff of the Withered Wood at the undead mage.
[Soulfire Burn]
-2,568
The base damage of a Level 1 Soulfire Burn was negligible, a mere tickle to a boss of Franklin’s stature, but damage wasn't the goal. Ethan wanted the proc. The Crown of Malediction glowed with a sickly, malevolent light atop his head.
[System: You have afflicted "The Forsaken — Franklin" with Doom Curse. In 5 seconds, the target will take 800% of your Spell Power as Magic Damage, with a chance to summon a Doomguard for 5 seconds.]
[System: You have afflicted "The Forsaken — Franklin" with Vile Blood Curse. Target’s health regeneration is nullified for 5 seconds.]
"Damn you! That is my Crown of Malediction!" Franklin shrieked, his voice a raspy cacophony of rage.
It was a bitter irony. Franklin was likely the first boss in history to be dismantled by the very gear he had yet to officially drop. Though the Crown sat on Ethan’s brow, the system still recognized it as "requisitioned" until the Lich was truly dead.
As the Frost Ward shattered into glittering shards, Franklin slammed his own staff into the earth. A wave of ice-blue energy erupted, a hundred-meter frost nova that turned the ground into a skating rink of death.
"Inferno!"
[System: You are affected by Inferno. Movement Speed reduced by 30%.]
Franklin’s eye sockets flared with a violent Soul Flame. A beam of concentrated, pitch-black necrotic energy erupted from his staff, lancing through the air and striking Ethan squarely in the chest.
[Death Ray]!
-960,000!
"Hahaha! Overconfident brat!" Franklin’s jagged laughter echoed across the wastes. "No human body can withstand a Death Ray. You are dust!"
The Lich’s cackle died in his throat as the smoke cleared.
Ethan Sorel stood there, unmoved. His health bar hadn't even twitched.
"What... what are you? How much health do you have?!" Franklin stammered, the Soul Flame in his eyes flickering with genuine terror.
Ethan glanced at the shared health pool UI. A 960,000 damage hit was a rounding error at this point. Is this it? he thought. An Epic-tier boss and this is all he’s got?
"Shared Life Pool!" Franklin hissed, the realization hitting him. "You’ve mastered a skill that rare? A mortal?"
Ethan shook his head, unimpressed by the Lich's shock. For an Epic boss, Franklin seemed remarkably sheltered. "If that’s all you have left, then we’re done here."
Ethan flicked his wrist. "Kill him."
The Ossian Legion surged forward like a tide of bone and rusted steel. Sensing the end, Franklin’s expression twisted into a mask of desperation. He knew the Shared Life Pool was powerful, but he also knew its one fatal flaw.
"Death's Decay!" Franklin screamed.
He ignored the blades of the Skeleton Warriors, soaking millions in damage just to complete the incantation. A massive, blood-red rose pattern materialized over the entire battlefield, pulsing with necro-energy. Simultaneously, Karcoss roared from his crater, his bone wings glowing.
[Ossuary Cage]!
Bone pillars erupted from the earth, forming a jagged prison around Ethan’s primary Skeleton Warrior. Then, the sky turned white.
[Inferno Inferno Difficulty]!
The two massive AOEs collided. The battlefield became a blender of frost and decay.
-48,000, -48,000, -39,500...
-31,862, -37,003, -38,987...
A storm of damage numbers rose from every single member of The Ossian Legion. Ethan’s eyes widened as his shared health bar—a staggering 200 million points—plummeted by twenty-five percent in a heartbeat.
Reality hit him like a cold shower. Shared Life Pool was an S-rank skill, but it wasn't a god-mode cheat. It was a double-edged sword. If an enemy possessed enough AOE power to hit every summon at once, the damage wasn't just shared—it was multiplied.
He glanced at his Skeleton Mages; they were hanging on by a sliver of health. If his Legion hadn't been buffed by his recent stat growth, Franklin and Karcoss would have just wiped his entire army—and him with it.
I can't be this careless again, Ethan thought, his pulse hammering.
With a mental command, he instantly retracted twenty Skeleton Warriors into his [Summon Capacity].
It was the perfect counter. The summons inside his storage still contributed to the shared health pool, but they were physically removed from the battlefield, making them immune to AOE. To kill them, the enemy would have to hit Ethan directly and drain the entire 30 million point pool—plus their second lives from his [Expanded Summoning Capacity] trait.
"My turn," Ethan whispered.
Franklin stared, paralyzed by the sight of his ultimate combo failing to finish the job. He had thrown everything at this human, and the human had simply... adjusted.
The main Skeleton Warrior shattered the Ossuary Cage with a burst of raw strength and pinned Karcoss back down. Ethan’s gaze locked onto the drake, his eyes turning a cold, spectral gray.
[Death Gaze]!
Karcoss let out a harrowing shriek, his wings thrashing in a blind panic as if staring into the maw of a primordial god.
[System: Death Gaze applied to Karcoss. Vitality Tier check: Success.]
-32,000,000!
A massive, eight-digit gray number hovered over the drake. Forty percent of its maximum HP vanished instantly, followed by a suite of debilitating curses.
Ethan then turned his attention to the Lich. He spent the resource he had been hoarding.
[Death Drain: Feedback]!
[System: 300 Death Miasma consumed. Skeleton Warrior’s primary stats increased by 600%.]
The Skeleton Warrior standing before Franklin suddenly swelled, its bones turning a polished, obsidian black as it doubled in size. The battle ceased to be a fight and became an execution. In less than a minute, Franklin, the great Lich of the Reaches, collapsed into a pile of robes and brittle bone.
But as the system chimed, Ethan’s brow furrowed.
[Congratulations: Whitenox has reached Level 16. Quad-Stats +1, Skill Point +1, Free Attribute Points +15.]
[Congratulations: Whitenox has reached Level 17. Quad-Stats +1, Skill Point +1, Free Attribute Points +15.]
Two pillars of golden light washed over Ethan, but he wasn't celebrating.
"Corporeal Form?" he muttered, reading the log.
The notification didn't say he had killed Franklin—it said he had destroyed his physical vessel. The experience gain was too low for an Epic boss, and the world-first announcement hadn't triggered.
A phylactery, Ethan realized. As a Lich, Franklin’s soul was tucked away in a hidden jar somewhere. Until that was smashed, the Lich was just a ghost waiting for a new body.
"Where are you hiding your Lifevault, you old rat?" Ethan scanned the lootless corpse. The final 10% of the zone’s exploration requirement likely sat behind the door to that vault.
"ROAR!!!"
Karcoss’s defiant cry broke his train of thought. The drake had managed to throw off the first buffed Skeleton Warrior as the feedback timer expired.
[System: Death Miasma has reached maximum capacity.]
"Fine," Ethan said, his eyes narrowing at the drake. "I guess you’ll have to be the first Epic kill on the record."
[Death Drain: Feedback]!
[System: All Death Miasma consumed. Skeleton Warrior’s primary stats increased by 640%.]
The second Skeleton Warrior erupted in power, its greatsword glowing with dark energy.
[Crushing Blow]!
[Crushing Blow]!
Two million-damage hits landed in rapid succession. Karcoss, despite having no nerves, let out a sound of pure agony as he was butchered. Against one buffed warrior, he was struggling; against two, plus the concentrated fire of 320 Skeleton Mages and archers, he was a carcass waiting to happen.
One minute later, Ethan applied a final Death Gaze. The drake’s soul flame winked out in a surge of terror.
[System: You have slain Level 20 Epic Boss "Undead Ossein Drake — Karcoss". Bonus XP for solo kill: +70%. Total XP: +25,000,000.]
[Congratulations: Whitenox has reached Level 18...]
[Congratulations: Whitenox has reached Level 19...]
Ethan watched his bar settle at Level 19, 32.28%. The jump from 19 to 20 was a massive wall—the experience required had doubled to 20 million.
Myriad Realms Online is brutal, Ethan thought. The gap between those with high-tier talents and the rest was an abyss. Without at least a B-rank talent, players wouldn't even be fodder; they’d be forced into lifestyle professions just to survive.
He allocated his attribute points, and finally, the chime he had been waiting for echoed across the region.
[System Announcement: Congratulations to player "Whitenox" for becoming the first player in the Azure Prime region to solo an Epic-tier Boss. Rewards: +100 Primary Stats, +50 Skill Points, 50x Soulstone of Vitality II.]
The rewards were astronomical. The stats and skill points alone were worth a fortune, but the fifty Tier-II Soulstones were the real prize.
Ethan opened his bag, his eyes flashing with greed.
"Cataclysm," he whispered.
[Target: 50x Soulstone of Vitality II]
[Select Ascension Path: Tier 1 / Tier 2 / Tier 3]
1. Ascension: Soulstone of Vitality II (0 Cost)
2. Sublimation: Soulcore Crystal (1,000,000 Soul Coins per unit)
3. Cataclysm: Soulcore Essence (1,000 Years Lifespan per unit)
Ethan stared at the options, his heart sinking. He didn't even know what a "Soul Coin" was yet, and a 50,000-year lifespan cost was currently impossible.
He sighed, shaking his head at the tantalizing power he couldn't yet grasp.
"Ascension, Tier 1."
[You have obtained 50x Soulstone of Vitality II (Ascended).]