Adhering to the simple philosophy of not letting things go to waste, Lance began to clean up the battlefield with great interest.
To Lance at this moment, the scattered pieces of armor with cursed effects were actually the most valuable.
The reason was simple: a Skeleton controlled its body entirely through the Soul Fire in its eye sockets.
Because of this, ordinary armor was a heavy burden for a Skeleton.
However, this kind of Cursed Armor could connect with the soul.
If the Undead wore it, they could manipulate the armor as easily as their own bones.
As he picked through the pieces of armor, the soulfire in Lance’s eyes flickered with joy.
Although a large number of breastplates had been cleaved in two by the Elf Girl’s Magic Power Greatsword, there was strength in numbers!
There were at least forty or fifty dismantled Armored Skeletons in the entire hall.
Even if some of the skeleton armor was incomplete, there were still many good pieces overall.
Before long, Lance had pieced together a fairly decent set of helmet and plate armor.
Both the helmet and the plate armor were forged from silver-gray metal.
The helmet, in particular, was a heavy knight’s visor with very little exposure.
Once worn, only a faint green glow could be seen in profound darkness.
It cleverly concealed Lance’s identity as a Skeleton without obstructing his vision much.
After some more scavenging, Lance finally found all his protective gear, even finding a pair of gloves.
If someone were to look at Lance from a distance now, it would be impossible to identify him as a Skeleton at a glance.
“If I approach an adventurer party again… I shouldn’t be attacked immediately, right?”
“Combined with my [Universal Persuader], if I keep a bit of distance, I should be able to pass for a normal adventurer…”
That Elf had run off so quickly that Lance hadn’t been able to get any useful information out of her.
Even now, Lance didn’t know which floor of the Maze he was on, nor did he know how to get back.
Although the Elf said she would return to repay him for saving her life, Lance didn’t really want to deal with her.
Raising his head, Lance turned his gaze toward the Dragon Stone that was ten or more meters long, and he instantly sucked in a breath of cold air.
Hiss… ‘Just what is the origin of that Elf’s sword?’
The state of the sub-dragon before him was quite miserable.
The purple dragon scales that originally covered its entire body were missing in patches here and there, and a large amount of flesh was exposed.
There were massive wounds in the vulnerable areas of its waist and abdomen, including several gashes that were four or five meters long.
There was even a piercing hole in its neck large enough for a person to crawl through. It looked truly hideous.
Furthermore, this sub-dragon had no wings, making it look like a giant lizard. it completely lacked the aesthetic beauty of a pure-blooded dragon.
Thinking of this, Lance recalled the legendary dragon that had swallowed him whole one month ago.
Even though he had been paralyzed by the Dragon Might back then, he hadn’t felt much fear.
His mind had been filled with admiration for that great dragon and a sense of awe toward mystery and power.
Even before he died, Lance had let out a heartfelt sigh: ‘So beautiful…’
But the bloody maw hadn’t been very beautiful…
As he thought of this, a chill ran through his body, and Lance quickly stopped his reminiscing.
Suddenly, a white light flashed in Lance’s eyes.
He saw a head-sized purple crystal emerging from the wound on the Poison Flame Dragon’s forehead.
“A Mana Core?!”
Lance was slightly shocked. He hadn’t expected the Elf Girl to leave before even recovering the Mana Core. How rushed had her departure been?
After all, for many monsters, the Mana Core was the most valuable item on their bodies, and this sub-dragon was naturally no exception.
Lance quickly moved and climbed onto the Poison Flame Dragon’s head.
With a *clink*, his longsword pierced the dragon’s flesh as Lance tried to cut the tissue binding the Mana Core.
But with that one thrust, Lance immediately realized something was wrong.
‘What is this? Is this meat or scales?’
Dragon scales were exceptionally sturdy; Lance knew this well.
But he hadn’t expected the flesh of this dead sub-dragon to be just as tough.
Despite using all his strength, he could only pierce in less than two inches.
Lance immediately activated the skills [Detection] and [Appraisal], and the status panel of the Poison Flame Dragon appeared before his eyes.
[Status Window]
Name: Poison Flame Dragon
Race: Sub-dragon Species
Level: 55
Attribute: Poison; ???
Skills: Dragon Might (?), Poison Flame Breath (?), Undead Manipulation (?), ???, ???, ???…
The soulfire in Lance’s eyes suddenly contracted. He had completely failed to anticipate that this was a high-rank, late-stage sub-dragon.
Even though the target was dead and unable to offer any resistance, Lance still couldn’t fully see through its skills or skill levels.
There was a massive gap in strength between the two!
If it had been a one-on-one fight, Lance was certain he would have been slapped to death by this Poison Flame Dragon!
After realizing this, Lance immediately dismissed any thought of embezzling the Poison Flame Dragon’s Mana Core.
‘This is the result of the Elf lady’s hard work in battle! How could I do something so petty?!’
‘I’ll just return it to her next time I see her… as long as she lets me keep my life…’
There was no need to think about it; only a high-rank could kill a high-rank.
Moreover, this Poison Flame Dragon possessed attributes.
If converted to human terms, it was equivalent to a powerhouse who had just stepped through the Gate of Elements.
And after defeating this dragon, the Elf had also nearly wiped out an entire army of Armored Skeletons.
Although she had unfortunately lost in the end, her strength could be described as terrifying.
One must know that on the North Continent, the strongest visible combat power of a kingdom was merely a few knight commanders who had mastered elemental power!
Thinking that this might be the spoils of an Element-level powerhouse, Lance’s movements in cutting the flesh became cautious, fearing he might accidentally cause some damage to the Mana Core.
Following Lance’s efforts, a final *snap* sounded as the muscle connecting the Mana Core was severed.
Fortunately, Lance’s [Traveler’s Pocket] still had one cubic meter of space left, which was enough to accommodate this head-sized Mana Core.
However, when Lance put the Mana Core away, the scene before him left him stunned.
“Why is there still something coming out?”
In the center of the cavity where the Mana Core had been, a black substance was slowly seeping out.
This surprised Lance greatly.
He had never heard of a monster keeping something else along with its Mana Core.
With doubt, Lance began to pick the object out, only to be dumbfounded.
“This is a… key?”
A palm-sized, regular metal object appeared in Lance’s hand. No matter the angle, it was clearly a key.
‘What’s going on? This dragon even has a house key?’
With a thud, the entire hall trembled. Lance, who was standing on the dragon’s forehead, was thrown directly off.
Lance quickly propped himself up. The trembling did not stop, though the magnitude was slightly smaller than before, which made Lance increasingly nervous.
“I didn’t trigger some kind of restriction, did I?”
Lance’s heart was full of bitterness. He was just a Skeleton boy passing by!
Then, right before Lance’s eyes, an ancient black wooden door appeared out of thin air, scaring him into retreating several steps.
But the key Lance had just obtained clearly did not approve of his actions.
Catching Lance off guard, it suddenly exerted force, shot out of his hand, and plunged straight into the keyhole of the wooden door.
“It’s a trap!”
As the key entered the lock, the wooden door moved without any wind, swinging open with a swish.
The moment the wooden door opened, it felt as though an invisible hand had reached out, pulling Lance’s consciousness inside.
That was right! It was pulling his consciousness!
In Lance’s perception, he actually saw himself standing still in full gear, still holding his longsword in one hand.
Even if he was ten thousand times unwilling, it was to no avail.
As if being dragged, Lance was pulled closer and closer to that ancient black wooden door.
At that moment… Lance was already wondering if he was about to turn into a ghost and lose even his skeletal frame.
‘Noren… you have to live on bravely after your brother dies…’
With a bang, the wooden door slammed shut. Lance’s vision went dark, and he lost consciousness.