The Crypt-Broodmother didn't just move.
She adapted.
The moment Arthur's command rang out—
"Archers. Fire."
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
Three crystal spikes shot forward like sniper rounds.
—but the Broodmother twisted her massive upper body unnaturally.
TINK. TINK.
The heavy projectiles glanced off her purple crystal armor, shattering harmlessly into the mist.
Her six glowing green eyes locked onto Arthur.
Not the summons.
Him.
"She's targeting the commander…" Arthur muttered.
Smart.
She vanished.
A terrifying blur of crystal and flesh tore through the battlefield—
straight toward him.
"Ghoul Fiend. Intercept."
BOOM!
The massive undead stepped in, raising its heavy cleaver.
[Skill Activated: Brutal Cleave]
CLANG!
The impact shattered the air itself.
—but this time—
the Broodmother didn't clash head-on.
She slipped past the block with horrifying agility for her size.
A massive, armored centipede limb struck from the side—
CRACK!
The Ghoul Fiend was sent flying, pitch-black ribs splintering mid-air before it crashed heavily into the cavern wall.
Arthur's pitch-black eyes narrowed.
She learns mid-combat.
The Broodmother smiled.
A twisted, intelligent, demonic grin that sent a chill down the spine.
Her chest aggressively expanded.
A horrifying, blinding green light gathered deep in her throat.
[Warning!]
[Lord-Tier Skill: Absolute Toxic Breath]
The cavern screamed as a tsunami of condensed, highly pressurized poison erupted forward.
It swallowed everything in its path.
No escape.
No blind spots.
Arthur didn't move.
Not because he was confident—
but because moving... would be slower than dying.
"Ghoul. Archers."
His voice was calm.
Cold.
"Pin her."
No hesitation.
Not even for a single second.
The Ghoul Fiend roared—charging directly back into the toxic storm, throwing its massive weight forward.
It didn't hesitate.
It never did.
It didn't know how.
Its corrupted flesh dissolved.
Its pitch-black bones cracked and sizzled.
Still—
it grabbed her thick lower body, locking its melting arms in a death grip.
The Archers abandoned their range.
They leaped off their vantage points directly into the boiling acid.
Their purple crystal frames melted—
—but they locked her multiple demonic arms in place.
Absolute Loyalty.
To Arthur...
they were tools.
The Broodmother shrieked in triumph, ignoring the melting skeletons grappling her.
The toxic breath intensified—
engulfing Arthur's position entirely.
Stone melted into lava-like sludge.
The battlefield vanished beneath the green wave.
Silence.
She stopped breathing.
Panting heavily, green saliva dripping from her fangs.
Victorious.
Step.
Her six eyes widened.
Step.
From within the epicenter of death—
a silhouette moved.
The corrosive fog parted.
Arthur walked out.
His dark coat—gone, melted to the seams.
His academy uniform—burned into ragged scraps.
His body—untouched. Flawless.
[Passive Skill Activated: 100% Poison Immunity]
[All toxic damage nullified.]
"You aimed at a human," Arthur said quietly, walking through the melting stone.
"That was your mistake."
For the first time in its ancient existence—
The Broodmother felt genuine, primal fear.
She tried to retreat, ripping backward with immense force.
But the dissolving remains of the Ghoul Fiend and Archers—
still clinging—
still locking her joints in place—
bought him time.
One second.
That was all the difference...
between life—
and extinction.
Arthur raised his hand.
"Assassin."
A pause.
"Now."
A dark green shadow dropped from the ceiling above.
Silent.
Perfect.
The Plague-Bone Assassin.
It had never joined the battle.
It had been hiding in the toxic fog, waiting.
For this exact, perfect blind spot.
It landed squarely on the back of her demonic neck.
Both daggers plunged forward—
Straight into her two largest eyes.
Deep.
Directly into the brain.
"SCREEEEEECH—!!!"
The Broodmother thrashed violently in pure agony—
Crushing the remaining skeletons, smashing the walls around her.
The cavern shook, threatening to collapse.
The world trembled under her death throes.
But it was too late.
The concentrated toxin—
the [Lethal Corrosion]—
spread inward.
Melting.
Consuming the brain matter.
Ending.
Her massive body stiffened.
Then—
collapsed onto the melted stone with an earth-shattering thud.
Silence.
Arthur stood still.
Breathing heavy.
Sweat pooled on his forehead.
Blood trickled down from his grazed shoulder.
He had gambled his entire army.
And won.
[Ding!]
[Incredible Achievement!]
[Lord-Tier Boss Defeated!]
[Level Difference: +16]
[Massive EXP Multiplier Applied]
[Experience Gained: +45,000]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
...
[Current Level: 14]
[Notice: Mental Energy Capacity Greatly Increased]
Arthur closed his eyes.
Power surged through his veins—violent, explosive, overwhelming.
He waited for the adrenaline. The relief of surviving an impossible encounter.
He felt nothing.
[Notice: Empathy Suppression Active. Corruption Level: 5%.]
[Warning: Host Emotional Response Further Suppressed.]
"…This won't scale forever," Arthur murmured, ignoring the terrifying emptiness spreading in his chest.
His voice was quiet, analytical.
The System always balanced itself.
He opened his eyes.
The dungeon had gone dead silent.
Too silent.
As if the very earth feared the boy standing in the center of the carnage.
Arthur walked forward.
Toward the massive corpse.
Over ten meters of pure destructive power.
A Lord-tier existence… reduced to raw material.
Floating above its ruined head—
A dark-purple, fist-sized crystal.
[Item Found: Crypt-Lord Core (Epic)]
He ignored it.
His pitch-black eyes were locked entirely on the colossal body.
Slowly—
He raised his hand.
A deep, terrifying, blood-red light ignited in his palm.
The air grew immediately heavy.
The dungeon bedrock trembled.
As if something... forbidden... was about to happen.
[System Notice:]
[Warning: Attempting Irregular Synthesis on a Lord-Tier Entity.]
[This action exceeds standard system parameters…]
The dungeon trembled.
The System hesitated.
Arthur smiled.
"Then..."
His eyes turned completely pitch-black.
"Let's make something it was never meant to control."
"Absolute Synthesis."