Lance pressed his hands to his eyes and chanted inwardly, [Undead Eye]!
“The dim green flames surged instantly, and in the blink of an eye they coiled around Lance’s eye sockets.”
Green flames surged instantly, circling his eye sockets in the blink of an eye.
The situation deep in the hall instantly became clear.
But just one look was enough to make Lance’s heart tremble.
Armor and bones were scattered across the floor. Many of the breastplates were split in two, yet the cracks were incredibly clean, as if sliced through by a sharp blade in a single stroke.
Yet, this mess was insignificant compared to the towering figure.
Dark green blood gurgled from a massive hole in its neck.
The giant creature lay slumped in the center of the hall, its life force draining rapidly.
Still, its purple scales shimmered with luster, and its magic had not yet dissipated.
‘A dragon!’
The moment his vision cleared, the soul fire in Lance’s eye sockets suddenly contracted!
A chill swept through his entire body, making his bones creak.
Terrifying memories of being devoured by a legendary dragon flooded his mind like a tide.
Snap!
His jawbone clamped shut unconsciously, making a crisp sound that jolted him out of his terror.
Lance calmed his mind and looked closer. The figure had no wings.
Only then did he realize it was a Sub-dragon Species…
However, judging by its enormous size, it was clearly a Labyrinth Overlord level existence.
‘Who killed it?!’
Lance shifted his gaze down toward the moving figures.
At that moment, a Magic Power Greatsword erupted with a brilliant purple light.
With a shink, it sliced through the armor of an Armored Skeleton without any resistance.
Simultaneously, the figure dodged the attacks of the remaining Armored Skeletons with nimble movements.
Long, dark gold hair fluttered in the air, woven with green ribbons that moved in perfect harmony.
It gave her an even more ethereal and graceful appearance, while the slender, pointed ears peeking through her hair made her noble bloodline clear.
‘An Elf?!’
Lance looked closer.
He noticed fine beads of sweat on the girl’s pale face.
She was covered in a sticky, purple substance, and her clothes were mostly corroded, making her look incredibly bedraggled.
If not for the steel light armor on her chest, she would likely look even more pitiable.
As Lance observed the Elf, her expression shifted slightly.
Her cold eyes swept over, staring directly toward his direction.
Lance: !
Terrified, he quickly pulled his head back.
In this world, Elves were a genuine high-ranking race.
More importantly, they all believed in the God of Nature, Panice, and held the highest level of hostility toward the Undead — beings that desecrated life.
Lance now had zero desire to communicate.
He was almost certain that even if she knew he was a kind skeleton, she would not hesitate to send him back to the earth to return to nature.
‘No, no, I have to get out of here. I can’t let her kill me after she’s done with those Armored Skeletons.’
But just as Lance started to move, he heard a faint, pained groan.
He stopped in his tracks, turned around, and peeked back at the battlefield.
The girl had been slashed on the shoulder. Deep red blood seeped out, and her face grew paler as she leapt backward, panting heavily.
The Elf girl gritted her teeth, her heart full of regret.
She had vaguely sensed a lurker nearby and lost her focus for a split second, which allowed her enemies to find an opening.
She could clearly feel her body becoming sluggish, and even her thoughts were slowing down.
The venom of the Poison Flame Dragon seemed to have a mind of its own, flowing toward the wound on her shoulder.
‘This is bad.’ If she didn’t clean the venom and the wound in time, the longer it dragged on, the more dangerous it would become.
Eventually, she would be paralyzed and unable to move.
‘I have to finish these skeletons immediately…’
Having made up her mind, the Elf girl leapt back and raised her Magic Power Greatsword, taking a horizontal-slash stance.
She channeled all the magic power in her body into her hands, preparing to end the battle in a single blow.
But at that moment, a sudden pang of pain shot through her mind. Her magic power circuit was blocked.
The Magic Power Greatsword, which had been glowing with a purple aura, flickered and then dimmed rapidly.
In the blink of an eye, it vanished into thin air, leaving only a slender iron rod attached to the hilt in her hand.
Elf: ?
‘No way… Is my magic power circuit blocked? Now?!’
Thump, thump, thump.
Four Armored Skeletons stepped forward with heavy strides, raising their shields as they closed in on the Elf girl.
Her face turned pale, and she leapt back again, trying to open up some distance while scanning her surroundings.
Under Lance’s watchful eye, the green soul fire in the four Armored Skeletons’ eyes turned blood-red.
They spread out, surrounding the Elf girl and cutting off any possible escape route.
One skeleton, wielding a dark iron shield and a longsword, struck first.
It stepped forward and slashed at the girl. Her body felt stiff, and she barely managed to dodge the attack.
However, another skeleton carrying an iron club moved quickly.
Before the Elf girl could stabilize her footing, it slammed the club into her back with a dull thud.
The ferocious force sent her flying. She slammed hard against the wall of the hall, sending dust and debris flying everywhere.
Lance’s heart jumped. In his perception, the Elf girl was the only living being in the hall.
That meant she was a lone wolf of the dungeon, without any teammates…
Abandoning his hesitation, Lance rushed into the hall. Before the dust could settle, he charged toward the four Armored Skeletons.
The skeletons sensed Lance’s presence and instinctively moved aside to leave a space for him.
However, to their surprise, this incoming skeleton soldier didn’t follow its instincts to join their formation.
Instead, it lunged at the Armored Skeleton with the iron club, the one with the least armor.
Faint threads of light gathered on his sword. This was… Holy Qi!
The club-wielding skeleton felt an instinctive surge of panic and tried to avoid the strike enveloped in Holy Qi.
But how could Lance let it have its way?
He lunged forward like an arrow released from a bow, reaching the skeleton in an instant.
He aimed for the gap between the helmet and the armor. *Shink—*
The moment the Holy Qi-enhanced sword made contact with the metallic bone, a sharp, shrieking sound erupted.
The Holy Qi receded from the blade, pouring directly through the skeleton’s cervical vertebrae and into its skull.
The soul fire in the skeleton’s eye sockets flickered violently before being extinguished by the crushing force of the white light.
With a heavy *thud*, it collapsed to the ground, motionless.
The soul fire then gathered toward Lance, allowing his status to recover slightly.
Lance didn’t stop. Before the other three skeletons could react, he quickly closed the distance and dispatched the remaining Armored Skeletons in the same manner.
The entire process took only a few seconds.
As a price, however, most of Lance’s stored Holy Qi was consumed.
Holding his longsword, Lance looked toward the Elf girl.
After a moment, the dust settled. The Elf girl, clutching the wound on her shoulder, widened her emerald eyes.
Her mouth hung slightly open, revealing a hint of her pink tongue.
The astonishment on her face was impossible to hide. She couldn’t imagine who would come to save her.
‘Was it a passing Adventurer?’
‘Or perhaps a knight from a storybook coming to save a princess?’
‘Wait… a skeleton?!’
The Elf girl’s expression shifted, and the hope in her eyes instantly froze.
A look of loathing appeared on her beautiful face.
The tips of her fingers pressing against her shoulder turned white, and she gritted her teeth.
She lifted her head defiantly and squeezed out a single word:
“Undead…”