CHAPTER 29: CHAPTER 29: BOSS OF THE UNDEAD SOUL LAND, UNDEAD SOUL MAGE

Stark descended another flight of cracked stone stairs.

At the bottom, as expected, stood another stone door.

But this one was different.

A deep hum pulsed through the cracks of the frame, the sound of elements colliding.

It wasn’t just noise, Stark could feel raw currents brushing across his skin like tiny sparks of static.

Something powerful lurked behind that slab of rock.

It felt like lightning.

’I managed to kill a level 14 boss before, but that one was a shaman, low HP, weak attack.’

Stark’s grip tightened on his staff.

Bosses came in different forms.

Some were warriors who relied on brute strength.

Some were mages who unleashed storms of destruction.

Some were... special, to say the least, as they had their own way of fighting.

And then there were the support-class bosse, dangerous not because of themselves, but because of what they could do for others.

The undead shaman he had defeated earlier was one of those.

On its own, it had been little more than a nuisance.

But if it was paired with another boss, that was when support-class enemies became the deadliest.

The boss behind this door, though... It was not meant to work with anyone.

It was the type of creature that thrived in solitude.

A nightmare built to crush everything in front of it by sheer overwhelming force.

Stark exhaled, steadying his mind, and pushed the stone door open.

Ding!

[You have entered the "Final Hall"]

A chill prickled down Stark’s neck.

Zones always announced when you’d reached their last room.

He remembered the same thing happening in the [Abandoned Temple of Fate].

It was the game’s way of telling you: no turning back from here.

The hall beyond was vast.

Much larger than the first two rooms he had cleared.

Rows of marble pillars lined the chamber.

A faded red carpet stretched endlessly forward, frayed at the edges yet still regal.

Tall stained-glass windows flanked both sides, glowing faintly.

But when Stark glanced through them, they opened into nothing but endless black void.

And at the very center stood an altar.

Upon it... Crackling with arcs of blue

-white lightning... Waited the boss.

The creature was enormous, three meters tall at least.

Its body was nothing but a twisted skeleton, lightning bursting from every joint like it couldn’t contain the power flowing through its frame.

A violet robe hung from its shoulders, crackling with lightning too.

In its hand, it carried a staff.

The shaft was carved obsidian, and at its tip rested a silver orb swirling with trapped souls.

Faces twisted within it, screaming silently as they circled endlessly.

’That’s it... The [Soul Staff].’

Stark’s eyes locked onto it.

That was the reward he’d come here for.

The skeletal figure stirred.

Its head turned slowly, empty sockets flaring with blue fire.

"Someone is already here," it intoned, its voice echoing unnaturally.

With a single motion, it leapt down from the altar, landing hard enough to rattle the marble tiles.

"So be it."

Stark didn’t respond.

He’d grown used to bosses that could speak in his past life.

It was rare, yes, but the more intelligent or powerful the monster, the more likely it was capable of words.

Words meant nothing here.

Only survival mattered.

---

[Undead Soul Mage (Level 15)]

[Rank: Epic]

[HP: 100,000]

[Description: An undead mage that has incredible control over lightning, and wields the power of souls to strengthen itself.]

---

Epic rank. Its HP alone dwarfed anything he had fought until now.

Just being in its presence felt like standing on the edge of a storm.

Power radiated from it, thick and suffocating.

Stark’s expression remained neutral though.

’I remember this one. It has two phases.’

Later in the game, almost every serious boss would.

At certain thresholds of HP or if their state changed, they shifted.

They could unlock new powers, new skills, or even new forms that changed their battle style.

The Undead Soul Mage was no exception.

And if Stark didn’t burst it down quickly, it would get dangerous.

He raised his staff.

The boss mirrored him, lifting its own.

A battle between two mages.

Whoever dealt the most damage first would decide the fight.

Stark didn’t wait.

Sovereign Vines! Annihilating Fireball! Corrosive Crystal!

His spells surged in rapid succession, weaving together in a brutal barrage.

Fwish! Boom! Crack!

Damage numbers flared instantly.

-24,900!-13,860!-4,500! -1,125! -1,125!

A grin cut across Stark’s face.

His [Sovereign Vines], evolved to Legendary, tore through nearly a quarter of the boss’s HP by itself.

Combined with the rest, the undead soul mage was nearly cut in half before it had even raised a finger.

Only then did it retaliate.

Lightning Bolts!

The chamber exploded with streaks of light.

More than a dozen bolts screamed toward Stark at once.

He threw up [Magic Barrier], but as soon the bolts struck.

Crack!

The barrier shattered instantly.

Stark grimaced but kept moving.

The undead soul mage stayed silent.

It could talk of course, but it saw absolutely no point in doing so.

And Stark agreed with it, it was simply a battle to the death.

Soul Wave!

The staff pulsed with a blast of trapped souls, a shockwave tearing across the hall.

Stark didn’t hesitate.

He kicked off a pillar, vaulted into the air, and dodged the wave by inches.

His staff swung down.

Annihilating Fireball!

Another blazing sphere launched forward.

Fwoosh! Boom!

-13,860!

The mage staggered under the explosion.

Not because it hadn’t seen it coming, but because it didn’t care.

It was built for raw power. For overwhelming magical destruction.

Against another mage, it assumed endurance would win the day.

But... the mage before it was actually dodging?

How does that even make sense? Where did these movements come from?

The boss’s health bar plunged below 50,000.

And then...

"Futile attempts," the undead soul mage hissed.

Lightning blazed from its sockets, pure blue arcs splitting across the chamber.

"Only one mage will leave this place alive."

Its second phase began.

A thunder shield erupted around its body, arcs of electricity binding it like armor.

At the same time, three crackling orbs appeared overhead, chained directly to its form.

[Boss HP: 37,255/100,000 (Locked)]

Its health froze.

Stark’s expression didn’t change.

He’d seen mechanics like this before.

Many would be confused at this point, but it was obvious when you got used to [Eternal Soul] and its mechanics.

To be able to hit the boss again... you simply needed to destroy the three orbs that formed the shield.

Corrosive Crystal!

He flung the spell.

One orb shattered instantly, a chain snapping away.

Annihilating Fireball!

Boom!

The second orb exploded, another chain gone.

But when he aimed at the last—

Fwish!

The orb jerked away, darting across the hall.

The undead soul mage moved it deliberately, forcing it into motion.

"You won’t get past my shield," it intoned, its voice steady as the orb whirled faster and faster.

At the same time, lightning swelled.

Thunder Storm!

Stark’s instincts screamed.

Arcs of electricity gathered across the chamber, the air trembling.

If that spell went off, the entire hall would be drowned in lightning.

A guaranteed instant death for anyone caught inside.

He had no time.

His cooldowns were still ticking.

’I can’t waste time trying to hit it. I’ll do it the warrior way.’

A sharp grin cut across his face.

He sprinted. Straight at the boss.

The undead soul mage tilted its head, confused.

Why would a mage charge in? But Stark didn’t stop.

He launched himself off the wall, flipped into the air, and swung his staff like a hammer.

Crack!

The final orb shattered. The last chain snapped. The shield collapsed.

The mage unleashed its Thunder Storm, lightning surging through every corner of the chamber.

But Stark was ready.

Magic Barrier!

The spell formed around him in the nick of time, tanking the storm head-on.

Lightning roared and howled, but when it faded, Stark was still there, standing strong.

And in that instant, still midair, he pointed his staff down.

Vine Cataclysm! Annihilating Fireball!.

-24,900! -13,860!

[Boss HP: 0/100,000]

The Undead Soul Mage froze.

The light faded from its sockets.

Slowly, the towering skeleton collapsed, its staff clattering against the marble.

But before Stark could even reach for it—

Ding!

A system message blared across his mind.

And not just his. Every player in [Eternal Soul] heard it.

---

[Player "Oblivion (First Ruined City)" is the first to kill an epic-rank boss!]

[You have gained 5 Prestige Points!]