"[Notice: The accumulated 'Life Force' have been selected as the cost of 'Probability'!]"
"[Notice: The 'Guardian of 12th Gate of Hell' has manifested!]"
I watched the transformation with a calm, analytical eye. The lives of those 'Reaper' Guild members, whether they were willing participants or just possessed puppets, had been used as a massive "sacrifice" . Their deaths provided the 'Life Force' required to pay the 'Probability' cost to summon a high-tier being into this world. It was a clever, desperate trump card, a last resort left behind by the demons to ensure that if their branch fell, it would take the whole city with it.
I wasn't particularly worried. Among the '12 Guardians' that haunt the depths of [Pandemonium] in the 'Tower of Trials', the 12th is certainly formidable to a normal person, but he is undeniably the weakest of the bunch. With my current level and 'Stats', he was a manageable problem.
As the ashes finally settled, a tall, skeletal figure stood in the center of the ruins. It wore a tattered black robe that seemed to swallow the light, and its three hollow eye sockets glowed with a hateful, sickly green flame. It was an 'Undead Litch'. In terms of power, it should roughly sat at the S-Rank level.
"Get out of here if you want to stay alive," I told the RMB staffer who had been brave enough to stand near me.
Sensing the overwhelming pressure and the thick, suffocating 'Demonic Energy' pouring off the 'Undead Litch', the RMB staff finally regained their senses. They scrambled backward, physically dragging away the hungry reporters who were still trying to get a shot of the monster. Not all of them were fast enough, though.
"[Activating 'Demonic Miasma' Lvl ???!]"
A wave of purple, toxic fog erupted from the 'Undead Litch' instantly. It rolled over the pavement, and the bystanders who weren't prepared for a high-level magical attack simply collapsed, their life force snuffed out in a heartbeat.
"[Activating the 2-Star Barrier, 'Sigil of Echo Containment'!]"
"[Activating 'Moon Imprint' Lvl 1!]"
"[Notice: Your 'Barrier' Skills have been greatly enhanced!]"
My reaction was a second too late to save everyone, but the enhanced barrier snapped into place quickly enough to minimize the tragedy. It formed a shimmering dome that locked the [Demonic Miasma] and the 'Undead Litch' inside the perimeter with me.
"[Activating 'Red Demon's Eye' Lvl 3!]"
"[Personal Information]"
- [Name: Undead Litch]
- [Age: 328 | Gender: Male | Sex: ???]
- [Class: Mage - Undead Mage | Rank: ??? | Level: ???]
- [Title: Guardian of the 12th Gate of Hell]
- [Stats: STR: ??? | AGI: ??? | VIT: ??? | HP: MAX | PER: ??? | Essence: Demonic Energy Lvl ???]
- [Exclusive Skill: 'Domain of the Undead', 'Demon King's Blessing' (Passive)]
- [Skills: 'Demonic Miasma' Lvl ???, 'Undead Summon' Lvl ???, 'Soul Corruption' Lvl ???, 'Black Bullet' Lvl ???, 'Eye of the Dragon' Lvl ???, 'Dark Cleave' Lvl ???, 'Resurrection' Lvl ???, 'Extermination Ray' Lvl ???, etc,...]
- [Copy Condition: The Undead Litch, being the Guardian of the 12th Gate of Hell, holds extreme pride in his magic abilities and knowledge. You will be able to copy one of his Exclusive Skills and one of his Skills if you can show him a magic that he could not even achieve in his long lifetime.]"
I had to chuckle under my breath. The 'Copy Condition' was surprisingly generous this time. It wasn't often the system gave me a chance to snatch two Skills at once.
"It has been such a long time since I encountered one of your kind," I said, stretching my shoulders as I prepared for the fight. "In the VR game, it took me thousands of trials and errors to even reach the 34th Floor where I first met a Litch. Should I consider myself lucky that we're meeting as early as the 3rd Floor this time?"
The 'Undead Litch' didn't bother with small talk. It raised a skeletal hand, its fingers clicking like dry wood.
"[Activating 'Soul Corruption' Lvl ???!]"
Ghostly, screaming apparitions draped in thick 'Demonic Energy' clawed their way out of the 'Undead Litch''s shadow. They flew toward me at a terrifying speed, their touch meant to rot the very soul of their target.
"[Activating The Exclusive Skill, 'Blessings of the Stars: Divine Light' Lvl 1!]"
"[Activating 'Hell Flame' Lvl 1!]"
Even with our gap in levels, the combination of pure 'Divinity' and the primordial heat of [Hell Flame] was more than enough to incinerate the ghosts before they could reach me. The 'Undead Litch' froze, its green eye-flames flickering in genuine shock. [Hell Flame] was a Flame that was only supposed to exist within the deepest reaches of [Pandemonium]. Seeing a mere human wielding such a Flame was a sight that even a 328-year-old mage who had spent his life researching magic in the demon realm could not comprehend.