章 8: Bones and Shadows

"Ha!" Horizon slashed at the skeletal dragon as it lurched toward him, its teeth rattling as if delighted to encounter a living creature.

The strike connected with a powerful force.

–10,089 Critical Hit!

Horizon was stunned by the sheer damage as the skeletal dragon crumbled to the ground in a heap of bones.

"Was it my passive skill [Dragonbane]?" he wondered.

[Dragonbane] unleashed a surge of devastating power when facing draconic foes, doubling his attack strength. In turn, the dragons attack on him halves.

But before he could analyze what had just happened, the dragon's bones began to reform, snapping back into place as the creature rose again.

"What the—?! They're immortal?!" Horizon gasped, his heart racing. He swung his sword in a wide arc as more skeletal dragons lunged at him, their soulless eyes gleaming with malevolent intent.

Each time his blade struck, the skeletal dragons shattered into bone fragments, only to rise again, undeterred by his assaults. Just as he prepared for another strike, a spear whistled through the air and pierced him in the back.

–1

Horizon sighed in relief; the damage was minimal thanks to [Dragonbane] and possibly his high CONS, or that the enemy was just weak. Quickly, he yanked the spear out and hurled it back at the approaching skeletons.

He had trained countless hours with swords, bows, spears, axes — every weapon imaginable. His hands had blistered over and over, but the skill he gained was now second nature. The spear flew straight, striking the skeletal dragon squarely in the head.

The creature let out a grotesque screech as the rune on its forehead shattered along with its skull, and the bones disintegrated into dust.

[ACQUIRED! 1AP!]

|| Nix'udjar Dragonkin ||

Medium undead, lawful evil

Most dragon broods (family) on Drakha adopt a dragonkin species as their own. The Nix brood is no exception, but their dragonkin are raised from the corpses of the dead, not from the living.

These creatures are little more than drones, yet they possess a cruelty far beyond what mindless beasts should have. Their resilience surpasses that of any breathing dragonkin.

They are often not referred to as dragonkin but as Nix'udjar — "risen in Nix."

HP: 289

MP: 50

STR: 17 +3 lair boon

DEX: 16 +3 lair boon

CON: 18 +4 lair boon

INT: 3 -4 lair boon

|| E N D ||

"Those runes . . . they're the source of their power," Horizon murmured, his eyes narrowing.

The series of notification didn't catch him off guard; he had anticipated its arrival since he got used to them in the ARK.

As he continued to slay beasts and monsters, their corresponding AP would inevitably appear alongside their stats which piled up in his ever-expanding library.

Horizon took a moment to catch his breath, but his reprieve was cut short as a deadly storm of arrows and spears descended upon his position. With a burst of adrenaline, he darted away, narrowly evading the lethal barrage that whistled through the air.

The air was thick with the stench of acid, sulfur, and decay, making it nearly impossible to breathe. If it weren't for his high DEX and CON, Horizon might have succumbed to the suffocating miasma.

With a single, sweeping strike, Horizon cleaved through a horde of enemies, but no matter how many he felled, more took their place. His breath was growing ragged, and he needed a change of scenery — just a moment of fresh air.

Without hesitation, Horizon bolted, his instincts guiding him as he sprinted through the chaos. He didn't know where he was headed, but he didn't stop running, intercepting arrows and spears with his own volleys and countering with swift sword strikes.

He only had 15 bolts left, so he saved them, opting instead to snatch the spears from the skeletal dragons and hurl them as makeshift javelins.

Eventually, Horizon reached the edge of a massive cliff that stretched endlessly in both directions. The area was a jagged expanse of uneven terraces and small plateaus, starkly contrasting with the sheer vertical walls that lined the cliff face.

The skeletal dragons had ceased their pursuit, but in their place appeared a ghostly, draconic wisp — a sickly blue mist, barely distinguishable from smoke, until it twisted and lunged at him.

Horizon rolled to the side, steadying his sword as the wisp darted toward him. He slashed at it, but the blade passed harmlessly through the ethereal form. The wisp phased through him, leaving behind a biting chill but no visible wound.

–9

[You are Frightened!]

[You're Immune to Frightened!]

"Looks like this one's immune to physical attacks," Horizon muttered. Without any magical skills to counter it, he had no choice but to retreat.

Three more draconic wisps materialized and lunged at him.

"Damn! There's no end to them!" Horizon cursed, realizing he lacked the means to deal with this new threat.

He sprinted through the vast, desolate landscape, but no matter where he went, the draconic mist kept appearing and attacking.

"Annoying things!" Horizon growled as ten wisps closed in from all sides.

~BaAnNG!~

A thunderous gunshot echoed through the air, followed by the explosion of the wisps. A barrage of blasts followed, each one obliterating the draconic mist, and a booming voice called out.

"HEY! You there! Are you okay?!"

Horizon turned to see an Elven male standing on the edge of a cliff, a smoking gun in one hand and a long sword in the other. He was overdressed in tattered clothing, a wide-brimmed hat perched over his long white hair, and his pointed ears peeked out as he smirked with pride at his timely rescue.