Chapter 39: Boss Battle

Lightning struck the boss repeatedly while dark blades rained down upon its armor.

The entire hall shook.

Yogesh stared at the scene.

"What the hell?!"

He quickly moved farther away to avoid getting caught in the attack.

The storm continued for several seconds before gradually fading.

When the darkness cleared, the Frozen Crypt Ruler was still standing.

However, its armor was now covered in cracks.

Several pieces had broken away, exposing the frozen bones underneath.

Liam nodded.

’So even a Level 80 boss can’t completely withstand Dark Storm.’

But before he could launch another attack, the Frozen Crypt Ruler suddenly raised its sword.

The blue flames inside its eye sockets burned intensely.

A massive amount of frost energy gathered around the weapon.

"ROOOAAAR!"

A chilling roar echoed throughout the hall.

[The Frozen Crypt Ruler has activated: Absolute Frost Slash!]

The boss swung its sword.

A gigantic crescent of freezing energy shot toward Liam and Yogesh.

"Move!"

Liam immediately used Shadow Dash.

His small body disappeared from its position and reappeared several meters away.

Yogesh also reacted quickly.

His Spirit Wolf rushed toward him and pushed him out of the attack’s path.

BOOOOOOM!

The crescent struck the wall behind them.

The entire section of the hall froze instantly, and a massive layer of ice spread across the stone surface.

Yogesh looked at the frozen wall.

"That attack would have been bad if it hit us."

Liam nodded.

"Yeah. We shouldn’t underestimate it."

He looked toward the boss.

Although its armor was damaged, its movements had not slowed down.

In fact, the creature seemed to be gathering even more frost energy.

’It probably has several powerful attacks. I should test its weaknesses before using anything stronger.’

Liam summoned his Evil Eyes.

Several chibi-like Evil Eye manifestations appeared around him. They immediately spread out, surrounding the Frozen Crypt Ruler from different directions.

"Attack!"

The little creatures fired beams of dark energy toward the boss.

At the same time, Liam activated Abyssal Venom.

A dark purple mist spread across the floor and began creeping toward the boss.

The Frozen Crypt Ruler raised its free hand.

A wall of ice appeared in front of it, blocking most of the incoming attacks.

However, the Abyssal Venom continued spreading beneath the ice.

Soon, the poisonous mist reached the boss’s feet.

The Frozen Crypt Ruler looked down.

A faint purple glow appeared around its legs.

[The Frozen Crypt Ruler has been affected by Abyssal Venom.]

[The target’s movement speed has been reduced.]

Liam’s eyes brightened.

’It works!’

He immediately gave another command to his Evil Eyes.

They began attacking the same damaged areas of the boss’s armor.

Crack!

One of the pieces of armor finally broke apart.

Yogesh noticed the opening.

"Now!"

His Spirit Wolf rushed forward.

Yogesh followed closely behind, gathering spirit energy into his fist.

The wolf jumped toward the boss’s upper body, forcing it to raise its arm.

Yogesh used that moment to attack its exposed leg.

BOOM!

His fist struck the frozen bones beneath the armor.

Several cracks spread across the leg.

The Frozen Crypt Ruler staggered slightly.

Yogesh grinned.

"Got you!"

But the boss was far from defeated.

Its body suddenly released a powerful burst of frost energy.

The Spirit Wolf was thrown backward, while Yogesh was forced to retreat.

A thick layer of ice began covering the boss’s damaged leg.

Liam frowned.

’It can repair its armor with frost energy?’

The Frozen Crypt Ruler raised its sword again.

This time, several ice spears formed above its head.

They pointed toward Liam and Yogesh before shooting forward.

Liam immediately summoned a dark barrier.

[Dark Magic: Dark Barrier!]

A thick wall of darkness appeared in front of him.

The ice spears crashed against it one after another.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The barrier trembled but held its shape.

Yogesh, however, was still exposed.

"Spirit Wolf!"

His familiar rushed toward him and released a powerful howl.

Silver energy spread around both of them, forming a protective barrier just as the remaining ice spears arrived.

The attacks shattered against the barrier.

Yogesh took a deep breath.

"That was close."

Liam glanced at him.

"Still having fun?"

Yogesh grinned despite the situation.

"Of course! This is much better than fighting those ordinary monsters!"

Liam shook his head.

’This guy really enjoys fighting.’

He turned his attention back to the boss.

The Frozen Crypt Ruler was now approaching them.

Its damaged armor had partially recovered, but the cracks were still visible.

Liam realized that simply attacking it with ordinary spells would take too long.

He needed to target its core.

He focused his Evil Eye of Reversal.

The left eye began glowing with a strange light.

[Reversal of Ruin activated.]

Liam directed his gaze toward the boss’s damaged armor.

The destruction caused by his previous attacks began reversing.

Instead of restoring the armor, however, he focused the ability on the frost energy holding the broken pieces together.

For a brief moment, the energy reversed its flow.

The frozen armor began falling apart.

Crack! Crack!

Several large pieces dropped to the floor.

The Frozen Crypt Ruler staggered as its defenses weakened.

Liam smiled.

’That should make things easier.’

However, using his racial ability on such a powerful target consumed considerably more energy than he expected.

He decided not to waste any more time.

"Yogesh! Keep it busy!"

Yogesh immediately understood.

"Got it!"

He rushed forward with his Spirit Wolf.

The two attacked from opposite sides, forcing the boss to turn its attention between them.

The Spirit Wolf leaped toward its arm while Yogesh struck its knee.

The Frozen Crypt Ruler swung its sword toward the wolf.

But before the attack could land, Yogesh pulled his familiar away.

At that moment, Liam raised his hand.

A massive dark spear formed above him.

Dark energy gathered around its tip, becoming denser and sharper with every passing second.

[Dark Magic activated.]

[Dark Spear.]

Liam aimed at the exposed chest of the Frozen Crypt Ruler.

"Go!"

The spear shot forward.

BOOOOOOM!

It pierced through the remaining frozen armor and struck the boss’s chest.

For the first time, the Frozen Crypt Ruler let out a painful roar.

Its body staggered backward.

A faint blue crystal became visible through the broken armor.

Liam’s eyes narrowed.

’There it is!’

The crystal was embedded in the center of the creature’s chest.

It was likely the source of its frost energy.

"Yogesh! Its core is in its chest!"

Yogesh looked toward the exposed crystal.

"Understood!"

He recalled his Spirit Wolf for a moment.

Silver energy began gathering around his body and his familiar.

The two energies merged, creating a much stronger aura.

"Let’s finish this!"

The Spirit Wolf howled.

Yogesh rushed forward with all his strength.

The Frozen Crypt Ruler tried to raise its sword, but its damaged leg slowed its movement.

The Spirit Wolf jumped onto its arm, biting down and pulling it away from its target.

Yogesh seized the opportunity.

His fist, covered in concentrated spirit energy, struck the exposed crystal.

CRACK!

A fracture appeared across its surface.

The Frozen Crypt Ruler froze.

Its blue flames flickered.

Then Liam made his move.

He gathered dark energy around his hand and activated Dark Magic once more.

A concentrated beam of darkness shot toward the cracked crystal.

BOOOOOOM!

The attack struck directly against its surface.

The crystal shattered.

For a moment, the entire hall became silent.

The Frozen Crypt Ruler stood motionless.

Then its massive body began collapsing.

Its sword slipped from its hand and crashed onto the floor. The blue flames inside its eye sockets slowly faded as its armor broke apart.

A final notification appeared before Liam.

[Congratulations!]

[You have defeated the Frozen Crypt Ruler.]

[Boss Monster: Frozen Crypt Ruler — Level 80]

[Boss Core obtained.]

[Dungeon Boss Reward generated.]

Yogesh stared at the collapsing creature before looking at Liam.

"We actually defeated a Level 80 boss!"

Liam smiled.

"Of course. Did you expect us to lose?"

Yogesh laughed.

"You’re impossible."

Liam glanced at the notification screen.

He was more interested in the rewards.

After all, defeating a Level 80 boss in a Tier 2 dungeon should provide quite a decent haul.