The Runesmith - Chapter 666 – Wall Of Bones.

‘A possible artifact grade… this whole journey might have been worth it if I make it out alive.’

Roland scanned the area. The most intriguing feature was the strange bone wall behind the draconic lich. Something was embedded within it, an item giving off readings unlike anything he had seen before. 

Runes were divided into five grades, each tied to a set of tiers. Equipment followed a similar structure, though with slight differences. Epic items marked the peak of tier three. Above them stood Artifact grade, which belonged to tier four, followed by Legendary, and finally Mythical at tier five. Whatever he was seeing now was likely tier four, and at the very least of epic quality.

‘It could be a dragon heart, or some other part of a high level dragon, like a tooth… or perhaps a lump of scales from a black dragon?’

Dragons were naturally tier four creatures, and like all monsters, their bodies could be turned into equipment. Swords could be forged from horns, claws, or fangs. Shields from massive scales, even full plate armor. With enough tier four dragon scales, he could craft true dragon armor instead of the lesser imitation he wore now. But first, he would have to deal with the creatures in this chamber and see what reward awaited him.

Roland narrowed his eyes, the faint glow of his visor intensifying as layers of data scrolled across his vision. His map filled with dots representing enemies, and the moment he stepped into the chamber, their numbers began to rise.

“This…”

The air thickened with undead energy. From the ground, they began to emerge. Hands, claws, and draconic skulls of long-dead beings, as if they had waited here for centuries. He took a slow step forward, his boots crunching against scattered bone fragments.

“This looks like an undead production line. How far do these bones even go?”

Beneath his feet, he felt necrotic energy gathering. The ground was not sand or stone, but layers of bone fragments and dried flesh. This was a place where a necromancer would be at their strongest. Death saturated every part of it and necrotic mana was everywhere. 

Yet, he was not afraid. He had two ways of dealing with this opponent, and the first was already in motion as his wolf’s flames surged forth.

“Awooo!”

Agni howled, the fire around his body intensifying. The azure glow shifted, growing paler until it turned fully golden. Flames burst outward, yet the temperature barely rose. Still, the undead clawing their way from the bone mass faltered and froze in place.

Their bodies were saturated with holy energy that interfered with the necrotic mana animating them. Before they could even take shape, their bones began to crack and crumble under the pressure of Agni’s divine aura.

Roland’s gaze shifted as he watched it all unfold. Normally, the undead would probably quickly overrun anyone who entered this place. Battling these monsters without a high level priest or a few paladins would be nearly impossible, but for Roland, who had trained against undead for years, this was nothing stressful.

He saw the monsters fail to form, and the ground, once a living trap, went silent. Only the larger skeletons and the zombies of the lesser dragons retained their shape, as they had already existed when Roland and Agni had entered this chamber. 

“Spread out and keep them busy.”

As the necromancer noticed what was happening, it rose from its bony throne. The golems at Roland’s side surged forward, divine runes glowing as they activated lesser fields of holy energy, attempting to flood the vast chamber. Necrotic mana lost its properties near holy energy, making it harder to gather, but against a powerful foe like this necromancer, it functioned only as a weakening effect.

The draconic lich rose slowly, its skeletal frame unfolding with eerie grace. Green flames burned brighter within its eye sockets as it lifted a staff made from a twisted dragon spine. The moment it struck the ground, the entire chamber trembled.

“…ꂑꁹ꓅꒓ꌵꁕꍟ꒓”

Its voice echoed from every direction at once, distorted and hollow, as if spoken through a thousand dead throats. It was an unknown language, perhaps used by ancient dragons or something the dungeon had recreated. Roland did not answer or even try to understand. His mind was already racing, processing variables and calculating outcomes. Something was bothering him, so he decided to take a more methodical approach.

“Agni, you’re going to have to act as bait for now. Use your speed and keep them busy, I need some time.”

“Woof!”

His wolf partner understood and charged forward. The moment he did, the draconic lich raised a bony finger in Agni’s direction, and the undead surged toward him.

A clash between the two forces erupted. The spider golems fired their cannons and projected fields of divine energy to hold the monsters at bay. The humanoid constructs advanced in a defensive formation, holding rune enchanted shields and spears. Their role was not to attack but to protect the spider golems in the rear, while the floating constructs provided ranged support from above, spreading chaos across the battlefield.

However, that was not all. Amid the fighting, a group of smaller arachnids slipped out unnoticed. Each was about the size of the floating golems and carried a cylindrical object on its back.

The chamber erupted into chaos as the clash began. Agni became a streak of gold, weaving between towering undead forms. Each step left bursts of divine fire that clung to bone and marrow. The lesser undead that dared approach him did not last long, their bodies destabilizing mid motion and collapsing into brittle fragments before they could strike.

The lich did not seem perturbed by this. It raised its dragonbone staff and quickly revitalized the undead, restoring those that had fallen and mending the damage caused by divine energy. Even before they crumbled, it restored its minions to full health almost instantly. 

It became a battle of magical stamina. Every time one of the undead fell, another was assembled in its place, only to be struck down again by Agni or the spider golems clinging to the walls and hiding behind the humanoid constructs. It was clear that if this continued, Roland’s side would eventually lose. His reserves were vast, but even he could not compete with the dungeon’s near limitless mana.

“Keep it up, Agni. I almost have it.”

At first, the solution seemed obvious. Defeat the lich controlling the monsters and the rest would fall. However, from the moment Roland entered the chamber, he knew something was wrong. If he relied on standard tactics, he would fail but after analyzing the situation thoroughly, an answer presented itself. 

He soon realized that even if the lich were destroyed, the battle would not end. The immense necrotic energy in the chamber did not originate solely from the boss. It came from the room itself. The entire chamber was the true enemy, and unless it was fully purified, the fight would continue until both he and Agni were drained of magic. That outcome was likely by design. The dungeon offered what appeared to be a valuable reward, but in truth it was the real boss of this level.

‘There… I can see it. The mana is connected.’

It took time, but he finally identified the link within the bone wall. An object embedded deep inside radiated immense magical energy. While its presence was obvious, most would not realize that it was distributing that energy throughout the entire chamber. It was a massive power core, the true force behind the undead dragons, and something most adventurers would hesitate to attack for fear of destroying a treasure as it closely resembled a dragon heart. 

‘The lich looks like the main foe, but it’s only a puppet made and controlled by that thing.’

Everything became clear once he understood the lich’s purpose. Most adventurers would focus on it instead of the hidden weak point behind it, and that mistake would be their undoing. Roland was not a typical adventurer. He was a runesmith who analyzed everything to a fault.

His plan began by drawing the defenders’ attention. He raised his own staff and tuned himself to the necrotic energy within the chamber. One of the lesser dragons stopped moving, then another, then a third, as he wrested control away from the dungeon.

Finally, the spider drones revealed their purpose. Throughout the chamber, cylinders inscribed with runes had been carefully placed. As they activated, everything was ready for the full counterattack.

The runes on the cylinders ignited one after another. At first, the light was faint, barely visible beneath the storm of magic raging inside the chamber. Then the pattern connected. Thin lines of pale energy stretched across the floor, linking the devices into a vast formation that spread across the entire battlefield. The glow cut through the necrotic haze and, suddenly, the magic ceased.

“That should do it but I think our friend isn’t too happy.”

“ꂑꁒꉣꌵꁕꍟꁹ꓅”

Within the chamber, the air began to shift as an invisible barrier took hold. It did not destroy the undead monsters or kill them outright, but it did something far more important. It halted the reanimation spell that had been constantly working in the background, stripping the monsters of their greatest advantage.

“I could call this the runic magic cancellation field. How does that sound?”

Roland spoke as he ordered his golems and the undead under his control forward. The remaining enemies would be the last. He was now able to block new spells from forming. No more undead could rise from the bone piles, and even the Lich could not summon more on his own. He saw the core embedded in the wall react frantically, but each attempt to cast a spell fizzled out before it could take shape.

This was a technology similar to anti magic powder, but far more selective. It took time to set up and consumed a great deal of resources, but when used properly, it could keep enemy magic in check. As long as the devices at the edges of the chamber remained intact, the field would hold.

“I can finally use this.”

From his spatial storage, he retrieved an old weapon. It had once been a two handed axe, but now resembled a mace. Forged from eldergold, it was a weapon he had obtained from the Albrook dungeon. After several modifications, he had reforged it into something smaller, yet far more powerful.

“Time to finish this. Agni, do not hold anything back.”

“Awooo!”

At once, the chaos within the chamber intensified. Agni’s flames surged, engulfing everything in a blazing inferno. Dozens of undead still remained, but their natural weakness to divine energy left them severely weakened and far easier to manage.

His golems had already suffered heavy losses, yet he continued to restore them, keeping them in fighting condition and preventing the monsters from reaching the spiders that fired without pause.

Roland charged forward. In one hand, he wielded the Eldergold mace and in the other his staff to control the undead. The mace pulsed with the power of an enhanced divine runic spell. The Aura of Golden Glory radiated outward, strengthening Agni and bolstering his golems as he advanced toward the final battle.

The lich hissed in indignation as its creatures failed to stop his advance. It tried to cast spells, but nothing emerged. The cancellation field, combined with the overwhelming divine mana in the area, suppressed all of its abilities. Left with no other option, it charged forward, gripping its bony staff and wielding it as a crude weapon.

A drake formed from blackened bones lunged at Roland, attempting to block his path. The moment the mace struck its head, the impact shattered it instantly. There was almost no resistance now. The holy weapon, combined with his gauntlet, amplified the force at least twofold.

Golden radiance surged through another draconic skeleton, this one a lindwurm, yet even it could not endure. The creature did not merely break. It disintegrated from a single strike, and soon Roland stood before his last obstacle.

“Any last words?”

“꓅꒓ꍟꌚꉣꋫꌚꌚꍟ꒓ꌚ ꅏꂑ꒒꒒ ꃃꍟ ꍟꇓ꓅ꍟ꒓ꁒꂑꁹꋫ꓅ꍟꁕ”

Like the draconic beasts before it, the lich attacked with reckless abandon. Roland said nothing further. The staff swept down in a wide arc, stirring a burst of wind. Though the creature was no close range fighter, its raw strength remained formidable. Even so, the attack was simple and predictable, and he deflected it with ease using his mace.

He stepped in, his weapon blazing with another smite. When it struck the creature’s chest, the impact rang out like the toll of an ancient bell. Golden light burst from the point of contact and flooded its ribcage. Necrotic energy surged to resist, green and gold clashing like opposing veins of power. Its hollow eyes burst as the struggle lasted a brief moment, then a second strike crushed its skull.

In an instant, the creature’s body shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. As expected, no core was inside. This undead had been nothing more than a puppet, controlled by the true master of the area, the wall of bones that he now approached without hesitation.

For a brief moment, something began to form within it, an angry face emerging from the mass. He gave it no time to take shape. Others might have hesitated, fearing damage to the hidden treasure, but he did not. His life was worth more than any artifact, even one of the fourth tier.

The bone wall pulsed as if alive, the dark mass within it throbbing like a grotesque heart. Veins of necrotic energy spread outward with each beat, pressing against the suppression field. The moment the lich fell, the true core reacted, struggling to preserve itself and form a new protective shell.

It was a tale as old as time, and he had seen it happen before in his own life. A boss monster taking on a second, more powerful form but this time, he refused to let it happen.

From what he could predict, the core would draw in the surrounding bones and reshape itself into something far larger. Perhaps even a creature like a bone dragon, a being that could reach tier four. That was not something he could allow.

He raised the eldergold mace high, divine energy gathering around its head into a dense, radiant sphere. The air bent under the pressure. Golden light warped the space around him, as if reality itself resisted the clash of opposing forces. With his dark gauntlet, he summoned gravity, forcing the bone wall downward and preventing it from gathering more mass.

Then everything exploded as he brought the weapon down. The entire chamber trembled as a tremendous surge of magical energy burst forth, bathing everything in golden light. It was blinding. Bones, dust, and necrotic haze erupted outward in a shockwave that rattled the ceiling above. Even the ground beneath Roland shook, sending shards of bone clattering in every direction. Agni howled, caught in the surge of divine power, but the wolf’s golden flames shielded him from harm.

Roland saw it. The black mass within the bones was still trying to pull more matter toward itself, trying to protect its core. He would not allow it.

He struck again and again. Divine smite triggered with each blow, radiant energy flooding the chamber. With every hit, the monster’s core shrank, as though the form before him was nothing more than a shell protecting the true being inside.

“Die already!”

Roland shouted as his mana reserves drained rapidly. The runes on his armor glowed brighter and brighter, and even the resilient alloy began to smoke. Then, at last, with one final burst of energy, he heard a crack.

Suddenly, the bones in the chamber stopped moving. A blinding flash of light burst from the core he had been hammering. A dragon’s roar surged from within the cracking black mass, and then everything fell silent. The lesser undead dragon shattered instantly, and the entire room began to collapse, including the ground beneath them.

“Shit! Agni, quickly, get over here! This place is going to collapse!”

He shouted as the bone floor disintegrated before his eyes and he began to fall along with it. Just as he was about to drop into the void below, and as the light faded, he caught sight of something within the chaos.

From the shattered black mass, something emerged. Something with a shape he recognized.

“Wait… is that a…”