"What on earth is happening?"
Deluc thought as an unexpected battle broke out with the sudden attack of an uninvited guest. He was quickly overwhelmed, unable to respond in time, and got injured without being able to dodge the opponent's relentless attacks. Blood flowed from every part of his body.
His clothes were burned, his wounds were open and torn, and his vision was so bad that it went dark at times. He couldn't believe someone had entered the hideout without going through the entrance. Even more surprising was that the opponent seemed to predict his every move perfectly, as if seeing into the future.
Deluc, who rarely got flustered, felt a chill down his spine and even broke out in a cold sweat.
Deluc had been practicing evil and malicious magic for a long time. It was a special technique that absorbed life force and nutrients from the human body with his hands. He enjoyed getting close to his opponent, touching them, and then draining their life force.
If he grabbed an arm, it would shrivel; if he grabbed a face, it would do the same. Especially when he grabbed the left chest where the heart was, it was fatal, leading to almost instant death. But his opponent persistently kept their distance using Haste, never allowing him to get close.
Instead, they tormented him madly with magic infused with holy power.
The most devastating for Deluc was the holy Paralysis magic from the first surprise attack. Because of it, Deluc was paralyzed for 3 seconds, unable to do anything, and most of his current wounds were inflicted during that time.
"Cough! Cough!" Deluc spat out black blood. After losing his Life Force Vessel, he was rapidly losing vitality and aging. Without it, he couldn't resurrect even if he died, so he hadn't been active outside at all. But somehow, the security of his hideout had been breached.
"Deluc! You're slow to react!" "Ugh!" This time, the attack came from behind. The opponent swiftly used Haste to keep changing positions around him. Each time, magic filled with holy power exploded, which was hard for Deluc's weakened body to withstand. He knew very well that he was weak against holy power compared to regular white magic, so he never used ordinary white magic even once.
"Haah, haah." The opponent seemed to be a 4th class magician. Compared to himself, who was 6th class, they were two levels lower, but his body was not as it used to be. Time! If only he had more time, he felt he could turn the situation around, but the opponent gave him no chance.
Just then, as Deluc turned to cast black magic, something heavy flew at him. "Ugh!" He was hit on the head with a staff. Not just any staff, but one filled with magical power. With Strength magic added, Deluc experienced a dizzying sensation and fell sideways.
"I know this isn't enough to kill you, Deluc."
The opponent's voice faintly reached Deluc's ears as he lay fallen. He knew for sure that even as he was collapsing, he was desperately looking for a chance to counterattack. But his plan was thwarted.
And then, what came to Deluc was his opponent's Heal magic. Normally, Heal magic would be a precious spell to heal Deluc's wounds and restore his strength, but not now. It was a White Heal mixed with holy power, which was completely opposite to Deluc.
Simply put, it was like injecting poison instead of medicine into his body.
"Ugh! Ugh!" Deluc groaned. Since the battle began, he hadn't been able to counterattack properly even once and had been one-sidedly beaten. His surprise attacks failed completely due to the opponent's precise evasions, and each time, Deluc bore the brunt of the fierce attacks, paying a harsh price.
"Am I... am I going to die like this?" For the first time since becoming a lich, Deluc felt fear of death. He wanted to avoid it, wanted to run, but his body wouldn't allow it. Ten years, just ten years! Only about ten years left until the long-awaited resurrection of the Demon King, and he was facing the greatest crisis of his life.
"Feel the blessing of the gods with your entire body!" "Aah!" This time, the opponent used holy Clean magic. Normally, Clean magic purifies and cleans everything. But when combined with holy power, it becomes a kind of Burn that incinerates everything the purification energy touches with holy power.
Sizzle. Sizzle. Sizzle! White smoke rose from Deluc's entire body. It was a painful attack that penetrated the skin and burned even the bones and joints. He was completely caught off guard. As if thoroughly analyzed, he couldn't even make a proper move and was one-sidedly attacked again and again! It was frustrating. But contrary to the anger rising inside him, the situation was paradoxically reaching its worst.
"Deluc, the Demon King you're waiting for hasn't come yet. Instead, I'll take the many benefits you gained from killing innocent explorers and magicians. Gratefully, of course." "How, how do you know me?" "If you're curious, go to hell and ask the god of the underworld!" With that, the opponent shoved a white light orb of holy Light magic straight into Deluc's mouth. It was a forced situation, as if feeding him something against his will.
Gulp. Deluc swallowed the light orb he couldn't spit out. Or rather, it was swallowed without him realizing it. And then, "Ugh!" Deluc let out a dying scream from the extreme pain spreading from deep within his heart. Unlike the immense pain rapidly spreading through his body, he couldn't even let out a proper groan. It felt like his lungs and heart were being squeezed. It was the worst pain, so much so that he couldn't even express it.
"Go to hell." Whoosh! A 4th class magic, Fire Wall, flared up fiercely at Deluc's staggering feet. "..." That was the end. His heart, which had been slowing down, stopped, and Deluc collapsed helplessly onto the blazing flames, truly facing execution by fire. It was a futile end for someone who had been hiding in the snowy mountain hideout, quietly waiting for a chance to rise again.
[Level Up! Reached Lv. 6!] [Level Up! Reached Lv. 7!] "My level went up again, bit by bit." It wasn't as much as in a dungeon, but his level had increased quite a bit. However, compared to Deluc's level, the experience gained was small. It seemed to be because he had dealt with Deluc, who was 'dying' after losing his Life Force Vessel, as part of the story. There seemed to have been a slight difficulty adjustment.
Anyway, I checked Deluc, who had fallen, just in case. It was certain he was completely dead. Once again, my Insight had done its job well.
[*Warning: Resistance to holy power is weakened, maintaining a state of 'hypersensitivity' to holy power. Avoid direct or indirect exposure to holy power at all costs.]
After checking Deluc's state with Insight and confirming the warning message, I was confident and relentlessly bombarded him with holy power magic attacks. The result was a great success. What Deluc needed to awaken his dormant inner power after a long period of rest was time. However, I never allowed him any leeway, and Deluc died before he could even exert more than 20% of his power.
The situation ended in an instant. Isabella, who had been watching from the side, shook her head repeatedly and spoke with an incredulous expression.
"You killed a lich! Just by appearance, he seemed to have lived for decades, an old lich!"
"He was a lich with many weaknesses."
"I've seen many white magicians, but I've never seen one as bold as you challenging a lich."
"If you're sure, it's easy to challenge. I had 100% confidence that I could win."
As I told Isabella, I knew everything about Deluc. His movement patterns, evasion patterns, and even his attack patterns. Since he was a boss monster that I had strategized against countless times, it was only natural that I memorized his every move.
He probably died with questions until the end. Starting with how I got in, he must have been curious about how I knew him so well. By now, he must be on his way to the afterlife, so maybe he can get his questions answered there.
"How is a magician of your skill in a small territory? With your skills, you could easily get a title above an earl and a high-ranking position."
"Thanks for the compliment. But I still have a long way to go. For magicians, the 9th class is the true peak, and I'm only 4th class."
"You're really something. But kind of cool too."
"Why is your conclusion suddenly going in that direction?"
"It's really amazing! Honestly, it's pretty cool!"
Isabella exclaimed in admiration. It seemed that in Isabella's eyes, who had watched many people for a long time, I appeared quite special.
"Phew, let's see." I pulled a bracelet off Deluc's fallen right hand. Ssss. His bony fingers had already turned to ashes and scattered. It was the obvious end for a lich without a Life Force Vessel. Without a means to resurrect, they vanish. I checked the options of the bracelet.
[Deluc's Bracelet: Nightmare] [Category Grade: 5 stars] [Option 1: Increases magic power by 100] [Option 2: Increases wisdom by 50] [Option 3: Increases magic defense by 10] [Option 4: Reacts to all negative emotions within a 50m radius. Negative emotions accumulate in the bracelet, transforming it into a more powerful form. Currently collected nightmares: 0 / 1000] [Option 5: If your level is lower than the opponent's, your strength and wisdom stats are applied at twice the enhanced state.]
"I didn't expect the category grade to be 5 stars. It's definitely a growth-type artifact! Unlike fixed-type artifacts, the options can steadily increase and expand, making it very attractive. It's the best artifact for me right now!"
I immediately put on the bracelet. I could see my magic power, wisdom, and magic defense rising simultaneously in the stat window.
Thanks to the artifact, I moved past the time when my wisdom was 15, and now it was 115. Theoretically, my magic damage had doubled compared to when my wisdom stat was 15. Even with the same 4th class magic, it would definitely show better firepower than other magicians.
Additionally, the 5th option would be a secret weapon to dramatically reverse the disadvantage of level.
"Huh? What's that?" Just then, I noticed a book left on the spot where Deluc's remains had turned to ashes. "Deluc never dropped a book before, not even once." It was something I definitely didn't remember. Yet, seeing it here meant it must be a book with some story behind it. I cautiously opened the book.
[Resurrection Spellbook of Lich Deluc] [Can resurrect spirits, ghosts, and specters into a specific human body. However, the resurrected subject is physically and mentally subordinate to the 'master' who resurrected them with this spellbook.]
"Resurrection?" "What is it, Jared? Why are you suddenly looking at me with those eyes?" At that moment, my gaze naturally turned to Isabella. "Huh? Why are you looking at me like that?" It seemed like a chance to gain a useful subordinate for free had just come up.