NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 54: Battle Triggered
Adam didn't waste any more time as he immediately activated [Temporary Copy]!
[Select Viewer Skill to Copy]
A system prompt flashed before his eyes.
Bird Hunter.
[Temporary Copy has been activated…]
[Due to low level and low rank, skill picking will be randomized…]
Another chime.
[Temporary Copy is successful!]
[Temporarily Copied: Predator's Savagery!]
[Reducing Predator's Savagery to its F-tier version…]
[Predator's Savagery has been reduced to Excellent Hunter.]
[Temporary Copy: Excellent Hunter (30 Second Duration)]
[Quiet Hunter] : Attacks produce no sound, evoking a quiet and silent hunt.
Adam frowned.
'Not the best ability…'
A stealth-based skill with a short duration wasn't going to help much in a direct battle.
The only thing it gave him was silence...
Against a necromancer, that was close to useless.
His eyes flicked toward the enemy.
The Necromancer loomed at the center of the chamber, its withered body wrapped in layered robes of black and sickly green.
Skeletal fingers twitched as dark energy pulsed around them, creating patterns into the air.
The chains lining the walls rattled slightly, as if reacting to the power radiating from their master.
Adam didn't wait.
He activated [Body Blood Magic], summoning a barrage of crimson spikes that shot toward the Necromancer like razor-sharp javelins.
The creature didn't even flinch.
Its body convulsed, and suddenly, its chest burst open...!
Splitting apart into a writhing mass of skeletal hands.
The grotesque appendages snatched the blood spikes midair, crushing them in their grasp before pulling them inward, absorbing the very essence of the attack.
Adam's eyes narrowed.
'I knew you'd do that.'
He clenched his fist.
[Body Blood Magic].
The blood the Necromancer had just consumed exploded from the inside!
Spikes of hardened blood burst outward from inside its ribcage, piercing through its brittle bones.
The Necromancer shrieked loudly!
The sound hit like a shockwave, sending a pulse of dizziness through Adam's skull.
His vision blurred for a second, his knees threatening to buckle.
Leila, standing a few feet away, was equally affected.
But she pushed past the pain, knowing this was her opening!
She gripped her staff...
Mana surged through her veins, channeled into the staff.
A brilliant glow pulsed at its tip.
Then—
She fired.
A concentrated blast of mana erupted from the staff, streaking toward the Necromancer like a beam of divine judgment.
BOOM!
The impact sent a shockwave through the chamber.
Dust and debris burst outward.
The necromancer staggered, its robes tattered, parts of its form disintegrated from the sheer force of the blast.
But the battle wasn't over.
The ground beneath Leila suddenly ruptured.
From the shattered stone, rotting hands, dozens of them, lunged upward, clawing at her legs, trying to pull her down into the earth!
She didn't panic.
Instead, she tightened her grip on the staff and redirected her mana downward.
Another blast.
The sheer force of the explosion shattered the undead hands, reducing them to ash.
The impact sent Leila flying backward, but she twisted midair, landing in a crouch.
Adam didn't even glance in her direction.
He didn't need to worry about her too much.
She was ranked top 3 in the Orc Settlement faction for a reason.
Instead, he focused on the fight.
[Surreal Creation].
His body blurred... then split into multiple figures, each a perfect copy of himself.
The clones darted forward, dashing between the swirling mists of necrotic energy, closing in on the Necromancer from all sides.
However, just then...
A whisper was heard from the necromancer.
"I pray to you, my liege… Lord Varos, grant me the strength which death could not…"
It was a chant!
The air trembled.
Dark energy twisted violently, forming sharp, black bones that erupted outward like spears impaling Adam's clones in an instant!
The illusions shattered, disappearing into wisps of smoke!
Adam narrowed his eyes.
'Calling upon Lord Varos this early means he feels threatened…'
He clenched his fists.
He had studied this floor's history in his past life.
Every necromancer here inherited their powers from the same source... Lord Varos, the second floor's boss!
Centuries ago, a devastating war erupted between the Orc Empire of Norrukh and the Ancient Human Kingdom of Velmaria.
The battle raged for decades with neither side willing to yield.
But as Velmaria faced certain defeat, the desperate human mages resorted to forbidden magic.
They sacrificed their own soldiers, casting a curse that bound the battlefield in eternal undeath.
Every warrior who perished, orc or human, was forced to rise again, trapped in an endless cycle of battle, their souls bound by necrotic chains!
But the spell required an anchor...
And so, the strongest warlock of Velmaria, Varos the Pale, offered himself.
Binding his essence to the battlefield, ensuring the curse would never fade.
Even in death, he ruled...
And every Necromancer that emerged in this cursed land carried a fragment of his power.
Thus, each necromancer that was in charge of a stronghold could request a one-time help from him!
As the chant began, Adam exhaled sharply.
The Necromancer, the one before them, was nothing more than a servant.
A puppet of Lord Varos.
The air rippled again.
Undead monsters came forward.
This time, armored skeletons, their bodies reinforced by layers of thick, blackened bone.
Their swords gleamed with a dull, eerie glow.
Adam clicked his tongue.
Leila planted her feet firmly, raising her staff.
"We're running out of time... the death knight should be coming here!"
"I know."
Adam replied.
He didn't have the means to kill a death knight as of now, hence they'd need to kill this necromancer before it came.
[wolfqueen22 has donated 15 coins]
[wolfqueen22 asks why the streamer can't kill a death knight]
[Disciple of Ice] : Death knights can only be killed through holy power, the streamer probably doesn't have any.
[pockyslee has donated 30 coins]
[pockyslee] : Maybe the streamer is just fond of them! ^^
[real777] : Maybe it's not a matter of whether the streamer has it. It's a matter if his viewers have it, lol. Doesn't he copy abilities from us?
[5th Style Sword Masster asks what "lol" means]
[Nalyd says that if you look closely, it's a drowning man.]
The Necromancer had regained its composure.
Its body, despite the damage, was already reconstructing itself!
Adam didn't hesitate.
[Select Viewer Skill to Copy]
A system prompt flashed before his eyes.
Experienced Old Knight.
[Temporary Copy has been activated...]
[Due to low level and low rank, skill picking will be randomized...]
A moment later, another chime followed.
[Temporary Copy is successful!]
[Temporarily Copied: Millennium Sword!]
[Reducing Millennium Sword to its F-tier version…]
[Millennium Sword has been reduced to Decade Sword.]
[Temporary Copy: Decade Sword (30-Second Duration)]
[Decade Sword]: Fires one sharp sword construct enhanced by the quality of your own mana.
Mana surged through Adam's body, gathering in his right hand.
A glowing sword formed, its blade flickering as if it wasn't fully solid.
It wasn't a real weapon, but it was sharp enough to do some damage.
The Necromancer twitched.
Even with its broken body, it could still sense danger.
Adam didn't give it a chance to react.
He threw the sword forward.
The glowing blade shot through the air like a streak of light, aimed straight at the Necromancer's chest!
At the last second, the undead raised its claws, trying to use a spell to block it.
However, Adam was faster.
[Body Blood Magic]
Adam had placed his blood around the area near the necromancer earlier!
Thick bloody chains suddenly erupted.
They wrapped around its limbs, locking it in place before it could escape.
The Necromancer thrashed, but it was too late.
The glowing sword struck.
The force sent the undead staggering back as the blade pierced through its ribcage.
Black mist poured from the wound, its body trembling as it tried to repair itself.
"Leila!"
Adam called, signaling that she should finish it up.
Leila was already moving.
Raising her staff high, she gathered a huge amount of mana.
The air grew heavy, pressing down on them like a storm about to break.
A bright glow formed at the tip of her staff, growing bigger and bigger.
Sparks flickered around it.
The Necromancer screeched, trying to pull free.
It knew what was coming.
Leila's eyes locked onto the target.
Then—
She fired.
A massive beam of magic shot forward, crashing into the Necromancer.
The attack burned straight through its body, tearing it apart from the inside.
Its bones cracked.
The black mist that made up its form scattered like smoke.
The Necromancer let out a final, horrible shriek...
Then it was gone.
Silence filled the room.
A system notification flashed across Adam's vision.
[Necromancer has been slain.]
[Splitting rewards…]
[+605 EXP][+0.6 Soul Core][+75 Gold]
[Level 36 → Level 37]
[Mana Quality has been slightly enhanced]
[Faction points are increasing...]
Leila let out a shaky breath, leaning on her staff.
"That… took more mana than I expected," she muttered.
[haremphobic has donated 15 coins]
[haremphobic] : Their relationship better not develop into something romantic...
[Prankster of Kingdom says it would be a funny relationship]
[JustJoeKing has donated 15 coins]
[JustJoeKing] : Doesn't he already have a harem?
[Experienced Old Knight] : Ah? When?
[JustJoeKing] : The ones who were on the first floor! Elara, Rei, and Nathaniel!
[Frog Eater] : Those were his party members, you idiot...
[JustJoeKing says it's the same thing]
Adam didn't respond, waiting for a certain notification to appear.
A deep rumbling sound shook the ground beneath them.
[Undead Stronghold is being captured.][Siege Battle has begun!]
[Undead Stronghold 7: 20% Conquered!]