Chapter 721: The Spectral Fusion

[Spectral Fusion I activated]

A black mass surged toward Luke. All three enemies reacted at once, retreating on instinct, as if something inside them sensed the danger before their minds could catch up. Spectral darkness rippled in front of him, alive, hungry, obedient.

[Choose a core for Fusion: Juvenile Sunken Kraken or Splinter Monkey]

Luke didn’t hesitate.

[Fusing you with Splinter Monkey...]

The mass of darkness flooded into his body. It didn’t just cover him. It went inside him. Latched onto his bones, threaded through muscle, sealed around his skin like living armor. It vaguely took the shape of samurai armor, warped by the SplinterMonkey’s anatomy. Dark plates adjusted around his body, stretching his limbs, reinforcing his joints, molding him into something between man, beast, and specter.

A tail grew from his back. Luke felt every change. Every bone shift. Every fiber adapt. It was like thousands of needles had pinned the armor directly into his flesh. Then, in the next instant, there was no separation left. He and the Spectral Beast had become one. All its knowledge, all its skills, all the Splinter Monkey’s combat instincts were his now. Not like borrowed memories, but like something that had always been there, waiting to be used.

Luke stepped forward and smiled.

“Now it’s my turn.” His voice came out wrong, distorted, layered, like two voices speaking at once.

He jumped. His body shot forward like a compressed spring. Luke ricocheted off the walls of nearby buildings, gaining speed with every kick, until he came down on the two samurai with absurd force. The daimyo tried to intercept him, but Luke twisted away midair and struck with his tail, smashing into the man head-on and sending him flying. The samurai barely had time to recover.

Luke moved between them with a monkey’s agility, striking, spinning, using his hands, feet, and tail as if every part of him had been born a weapon. One samurai was hurled into the side of a house. Before Luke could reach him, the man leapt to the roof, but it didn’t help. Luke climbed the front of the building, grabbed the female samurai by the leg, spun through the air, and hurled her away.

He landed on top of the building. Only his tail touched the roof. The rest of his body sat suspended in midair while he watched the enemies below.

This is a stupid amount of power.

The Spectral Beast’s [Predatory Sovereignty] had dumped everything into him at once: how to use the skills, how to fight in that body, how to turn the SplinterMonkey’s biology into an advantage. It wasn’t just armor. The creature’s abilities were part of him now.

The fusion made more sense now. The beast core had boosted every attribute he had. Still smiling, he rushed the other samurai. Farther back, the daimyo raised his sword, and the blade began to glow white. Same powerful strike. More focused this time. Luke ignored it for now.

In one quick motion, he grabbed the samurai and bit into his hand. The man screamed. Luke tore off a finger, and when the female samurai came at him from another angle, he fired the projectile with [Compressed Air Shot].

The finger cut through the air like a bullet. It hit the samurai in the eye, and she staggered.

“Stay there,” Luke said, barely looking at her. “You’re next.”

He finished the motion by slamming the samurai’s head into the house. The helmet cracked under the pressure, and Luke finished him with the kukri.

[Your second class [Arcane Spellcaster] has reached Level 110!] (+40 Intelligence, +31 Wisdom, +22 Perception, +19 Willpower, +10 Agility, +8 Dexterity, +7 Vitality, +25 Free Points.)

[You have unlocked a new Second Class skill]

Then came the daimyo. Luke chewed part of the dead samurai’s hand and spat fragments at him at high speed. The daimyo deflected the projectiles with his sword, advancing through the rain of attacks. When he finally tried to strike, Luke dropped low and snapped upward with his tail, catching the man under the chin.

The samurai attacked from behind. Luke spun. His tail hit her full force, smashing her into a wall. Before she could react, he reached her with a double kick, crushing her against the building. She dropped, struggling to breathe.

“Your blind eye left you open,” Luke said, walking toward her. “If you’d learned to fight without relying on sight, that wouldn’t have happened.”

He ended it. A moment later, the daimyo appeared behind him. The two traded blows and leapt across the rooftops, tearing through pieces of the buildings as they passed. Tiles flew, walls cracked, beams snapped. The daimyo spun his sword and summoned a hurricane of sand, forcing Luke back.

Luke dove into a house, tore through the inside like a wild animal, then burst through the roof from below, right above his enemy. He threw his kukris at the daimyo and launched himself after them in the same instant.

He reached the man in midair. His fists came first. Then Luke opened his mouth and fired one of his own nails at the daimyo’s face with [Compressed Air Shot]. The impact knocked the man off his rhythm. Luke punched him again, his tail followed, and then he caught one of the kukris out of the air. The blade sank into the daimyo’s chest. The man fell backward.

Luke landed, glanced at his nail-less finger, and picked up the other kukri from the ground.

“Thought you’d be dead already.”

The daimyo’s body rose. He was nearly dead, but a ghost appeared behind him. The apparition looked like a geisha. She touched the daimyo, and something in his body responded, lifting him like a puppet.

Luke tilted his head. “Oh. Cute trick.”

The daimyo raised his sword and conjured another hurricane of sand. Luke dodged to the side, but when the dust settled, the man was gone.

“Looks like we’ve got a runner.”

Around him were the ruins of the town and the edge of the forest. Luke jumped high and focused on the monkey’s hearing. The world narrowed into vibrations, breaths, shifting branches, footsteps trying to be silent. He headed for the forest. His tail launched him forward, latching onto branches and whipping him through the trees. With a twist, Luke hurled himself forward and slammed into the base of a tree.

The daimyo screamed and crashed to the ground, his camouflage breaking.

“Nice camouflage,” Luke said.

Before the man could aim his sword and summon another hurricane, Luke had already cut off his hand. Then he took the katana and started cutting off his fingers.

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“Stop moving.”

He spat the fingers one by one, firing them like wind bullets.

The daimyo laughed, even from the ground. “You have no idea what I am. I serve one of the World Kings. I am a daimyo.”

Luke ripped the last finger from his hand and spat on him. “That’s how much I care.”

The daimyo’s face contorted.

“You mentioned a gravestone, right?” Luke continued. “Then I’ll write this in blood beside your corpse: Here lies the nameless daimyo. Died like an idiot.”

Enraged, the daimyo pulled a scroll from his robes. Luke immediately backed away. In the same instant, flames exploded around the man and swallowed him whole. The daimyo screamed as his own last resort consumed him. Luke threw the kukri. The blade hit before the fire could finish the job. The kill was his.

[You have slain a Human - Lvl 130 (Ashen Sand Samurai - Lvl 122 / Elemental Dominion Monk - Lvl 101 / Inkblade Painter - Lvl 104)] *117,741,258,021 earned (+10% Area Points Bonus)*

[You have reached Level 113! Half-Demon (Rank D)] (+8 bonus points to all attributes, +20 free points)

Luke watched the flames burn themselves out. “Yeah... guess you got cremated after all.”

He picked up the daimyo’s katana and examined it with interest. The weapon was good. Very good. But before he could put it away, it vanished from his hands.

Damn it. It was soulbound.

He sighed.

I wanted that damn katana.

Luke jumped into the trees and left the area behind. A few minutes later, the spectral armor evaporated from his body like black smoke unraveling in the wind.

[Your Splinter Monkey core has been destroyed!]

Luke looked at his own hands, flexing his fingers. “Still. Interesting test.”

As he moved through the forest, his body started to feel weaker. Tired. Since reaching Rank D, he almost never felt this drained. It was definitely because of the fusion with the core. As he crossed the forest, he opened the menu and checked the five available Spellcaster skill options.

[Telekinetic Burst (Epic)]: The Arcane Spellcaster uses [Enhanced Telekinesis] to hurl lifted objects at high speed, turning mental control into impact force. The number of objects launched, as well as their accuracy and stability, depends on the Spellcaster’s mastery and the skill’s limits. Object weight and durability directly affect the mana cost. Objects bound to the Spellcaster are easier to control, while objects linked to another entity’s mana, soul, or authority cannot be moved by this skill.

[Arcane Missiles (Ultra-Rare)]: The Arcane Spellcaster creates three mana missiles empowered by [Arcane Infusion], launching them at a target to trigger arcane explosions on impact. Each missile carries condensed mana, making the attack precise, destructive, and hard to evade. Because they are tied to the Spellcaster’s refined control, the missiles can be guided with [Enhanced Telekinesis], allowing trajectory adjustments during flight. This skill gains bonus power based on Intelligence.

[Arcane Wall (Epic)]: The Arcane Spellcaster anchors pure mana in the space ahead, creating an immobile barrier specialized in containing magical energy. While active, the wall reduces much of the impact from weak and medium spells, disrupting their stability on contact. Anchored at the point where it was conjured, the wall holds a safe line in front of the Spellcaster, allowing them to withstand magical attacks while preparing a stronger spell. This skill gains bonus power based on Intelligence and Willpower.

[Mana Bolt (Rare)]: The Arcane Spellcaster fires a bolt of condensed mana enhanced by [Arcane Infusion]. Simple, fast, and efficient, this attack channels arcane energy in a straight line, serving as a reliable form of direct magical offense. Because it depends on mana control and condensation, this skill gains a small bonus based on Intelligence.

[Arcane Map (Rare)]: The Arcane Spellcaster creates a blank map and sends an invisible wave of mana through the environment, using their Perception attribute to detect nearby shapes, paths, obstacles, and structures. The gathered information is transferred onto the map, gradually drawing the explored area. This skill is useful for exploration, navigation, terrain reconnaissance, and strategic preparation. The greater the Spellcaster’s control over the surrounding mana, the clearer and more accurate the map becomes.

All five were solid options, each useful in a different way. Even so, Luke didn’t take long to decide. He needed to win this event, and one of them covered a weakness he couldn’t afford to ignore.

A while later, he managed to reunite with the group. They had already claimed the two towers in that region, but even then, the system still wouldn’t let them move on to the next stage.

“Look, I got a new skill,” Charlie said, practically glowing with pride.

Lulie flew beside her, beating her tiny wings in lazy circles. Then, as if slipping out of the first bat’s shadow, another one appeared.

Luke narrowed his eyes. “Two?”

Charlie explained that they weren’t exactly two different familiars. They were two Lulies. The same bat, split into more than one body and connected by a collective mind.

Luke got it almost immediately. “If there are two of them, then you can use [Sword Vampire Drain] and—”

“[Blood Familiar Armor],” Charlie finished before he could.

Luke looked at her.

Charlie gave him a satisfied smile, clearly proud she had reached the same conclusion. “We think alike.”

She was so proud of it that she’d even called it a “couple connection,” just because they’d had the same idea.

The group followed the marker toward the next area, until they reached another cliffside they were supposed to climb. Except they couldn’t even do that. A transparent barrier blocked the way, invisible until someone tried to pass through it.

As the twenty-four-hour mark drew closer, the rain grew heavier. The four of them hid high in a forest tree and started recovering. Luke, Angie, and Anne used meditation to restore mana and stamina. Charlie, on the other hand, had to rely on [Vampiric Sleep I], which meant actually sleeping.

“It’s almost been twenty-four hours,” Luke told Angie.

While they waited, he focused on his core and got a better sense of how [Spectral Fusion I] worked.

I think I burned a good resource.

Luke felt like he wouldn’t be able to activate that power again anytime soon. Maybe he wouldn’t even be able to summon the Spectral Beast for a while. There was a good chance it wouldn’t come back before the event ended. Still, it hadn’t been a waste. It had saved his life.

Bet that gunslinger watched the fight from somewhere and learned even more about me.

When the twenty-four-hour limit was reached, the notification arrived. Luke looked at Charlie.

“Charlie, wake up.”

Angie stood before she had even finished reading everything. “We have to move. A tsunami’s coming.”

“Come on... Charlie,” Anne said.

Charlie opened her eyes slowly, confused and still heavy with sleep. “S-sorry. I was in a really deep sleep.”

That was the downside of the skill. For pure recovery, [Vampiric Sleep] worked fine, but in an emergency, it was worse than [Meditation]. Charlie had to actually sleep.

She blinked a few times, then suddenly went serious. “I hear people climbing.”

They climbed. When they reached the top, they saw the tsunami crash into the forest below, swallowing trees, mud, and ruins with absurd force.

“That’s coming from the crater sea we’ve been around this whole event,” Angie said, analyzing the distance. “Did the volcano erupt or something?”

No time to think it through. A new notification appeared.

Area 3: Fortress

Ahead of you lies an enormous complex, a fortress. Scattered throughout this maze of buildings are only 10 Orange Towers. Once you claim an Orange Tower, you may immediately run to try to claim the single Red Tower, located on the island’s final beach. The event will end when the final Tower is claimed, but you would be wise to hurry. The world is collapsing.

[People on the Island: 137]

Luke stared at the message. “This is it. We’re at the end.”

Only 137 people had made it to the final stage. Not even close to the expected 180. The event had chewed through more participants than he’d realized.

“Should I fly?” Angie asked.

“Better not,” Luke answered. “A shooter could pick you off. We’re not in dense forest anymore.”

The four of them ran as fast as they could. Luke wanted to use the cloak’s power to move much faster, but saving mana was essential now. At the same time, a stubborn voice inside him kept saying some other participant might be burning everything without thinking and getting there first. The doubt pissed him off.

Then they saw the walls. They were enormous, tall enough to hide everything beyond them. No question. That was the fortress where the Orange Towers were scattered.

“If this works, Master Luke,” Charlie said, “we can all help get you to the final tower.”

“The challenge never said people without an Orange Tower couldn’t go to the Red Tower,” Luke said. “So it’s possible.”

In theory, they could go with him. They wouldn’t win the event without claiming an Orange Tower, but they could cover his advance.

“In that case, we only need one tower to win,” Angie said. “We’ll cover you, my lord.”

Before anyone could respond, an explosion went off beside them. Something tore through the air at high speed. Angie activated a dome. Anne followed a heartbeat later. The impact slammed into the barriers hard enough to crack them, throwing up a cloud of dust around the group. The moment the domes dissolved, all four were already in fighting stances.

A familiar voice cut through the dust. “I found you again, Angelica.”

When the dust settled, Jonathan stood there. Beside him, the Lich remained perfectly still.

“I’m not losing you again, Angelica. Not this time. You’re staying with me.”