Chapter 14: A 10-Second Battle

Fatak was a Level 3 necromancer skilled in raising undead creatures, with a particular preference for wraiths and specters. At that moment, he was humming a strange tune as he headed toward the graveyard. “I’m a beekeeper; I have a bunch of cute little ones. They tirelessly collect nectar and happily return to their hive…”

The graveyard was in sight. “Hm?” Fatak had a keen sense for anger. A pilgrim coming down the road to the east caught his attention.
“Who is that? Why does the life force within them seem to be about to explode?” As these thoughts crossed his mind, he naturally asked, “Buzakh, Masunufai.”

It was Nio approaching. Running into a guy dressed like a necromancer near the graveyard was exactly what he wanted, but the opponent’s high alertness gave Nio a rough start. He couldn’t understand the dark forces’ slang at all. As soon as Fatak spoke, Nio knew he couldn’t pretend any longer and rushed forward at him.

Fatak immediately realized the other’s hostile intentions. Raising his hand, he cast “Fatak’s Fatigue Spell”—originally called “Touch of Fatigue,” which used negative energy to exhaust the target until the spell ended. Fatak had modified it by eliminating the guiding phase, hence the spell was named after him. It was one of Fatak’s proudest achievements, which is why it occupied one of his two instant spell slots.

Yet Nio was currently brimming with energy. Although the energy of this fatigue spell was intangible and swift, it only temporarily dampened Nio’s strength. Compared to his earlier state of heightened energy, it felt like diving into a mountain stream on a scorching day—utterly refreshing.

“A little gift for you!” While running, Nio swung his hands, firing four wooden darts. With his strength now equivalent to that of a Level 4 elite warrior, the sound these darts made as they pierced the air was even sharper than that of ordinary crossbows. Due to his disguise, Nio hadn’t brought spears this time; these darts were used for his throwing practice. From a distance of over ten meters, they could even pierce the thick skin of wild boars.

Fatak was already sprinting into the graveyard, where his undead creatures waited, along with abundant negative energy he could use. Once inside, his overall combat power would increase significantly. Moreover, Fatak knew well that distance was a mage’s lifeline. That’s why the first magical item he acquired—also the most valuable one he owned—was a pair of boots: Ghost Boots!

Ghost Boots were top-tier magical shoes crafted by dark vampires skilled in creating artifacts, robes, and wands. They were originally part of a six-piece set, but Fatak’s status, abilities, and wealth only allowed him to obtain one pair. These boots boosted Fatak’s speed, which was originally even slower than that of an average person, to nearly that of a Level 2 warrior—someone who could cover 100 meters in 10 seconds. For a low-level necromancer whose life force had been severely eroded by negative energy, such speed was truly remarkable.

But this speed was clearly no match for the four wooden darts thrown by Nio.

“Backlash Spell!” A Level 1 necromantic magic, and it’s a verbal spell—spoken, it takes effect. It can cause all wooden-handled weapons, such as flails and spears, to turn and attack their user. Fatak wasn’t sure whether whatNeo had thrown was a wooden spike or a flying knife; seeing that the weapon didn’t reflect light, he instinctively used this spell while pulling out his staff from his bosom.

The wooden spike traced a strange arc through the air before shooting towardNeo. Its new driving force wasn’tNeo’s strength but the power of magic. Its speed and power were somewhat reduced, but if it hit, it would definitely hurtNeo badly.

Neo kept moving at full speed, charging toward the spike while waving his arms to create illusions, grabbing one of the spikes and shoving another away. With two spikes left, one scraped along his cheek as he dodged to the side, leaving a wound, while the last one pierced deeply into his left forearm. However,Neo dared to use his arms as weapons because he had activated the warrior skill “Ironclad,” which is typically mastered by Level 4 warriors. As a pseudo-Level 4 warrior,Neo could only double the toughness and hardness of his arms, but it still helped a bit.

Fatak preferred to be a scholar or researcher, so his staff was purely an offensive magic artifact. The Dark Evil Fireballs emitted thick smoke and a deep red color, resembling a ball of burning trash. Their main damage came from the poisonous fire rather than burning.

Fatak hadn’t markedNeo with magic before firing, so the Dark Evil Fireballs couldn’t target him. Yet they were fierce, and three of them came rushing at once in a triangular formation.

Neo knew well that Fatak was using them merely to stall, aiming to buy more time to enter the cemetery. Naturally, he couldn’t let that happen. While running, he suddenly knelt down, sliding forward on his knees while leaning back to lower his height. The three fireballs whizzed past him from less than 30 centimeters above, their scorching poison burning like blades or combs scratching his flesh.

The fearless are always troublesome.Neo’s reckless behavior terrified Fatak even more. Without hesitation, he waved his staff again, releasing three more Dark Evil Fireballs stored inside. This time, they came one after another instead of in a triangular pattern. He didn’t expect to hit them; as long asNeo could dodge the fireballs, he could regain distance and hope to break into the cemetery.

At the same time, Fatak chanted spells. Around him, black energy emerged like wisps of smoke from nothingness, gathering in front of him as a new spell took shape rapidly.

“Roar!” With a deep growl,Neo’s body underwent rapid changes as he transformed into a wolf. This was the first timeNeo had used his transformation skill without relying on the moon energy from his pendant or the power of moonlight. The experience was very different from using external forces, butNeo didn’t have time to ponder it carefully. Sliding left, dodging right—boom! One of the Dark Evil Fireballs missed its target and hit him in the chest.Neo barely managed to protect his eyes.

The exploding Dark Evil Fireball was like ashes violently torn apart from within; its color was noticeably dull, yet its heat was extremely high, filled with flying embers. Under Neo’s fierce charge, these flames quickly turned into streams of light and flew backward, but Neo was severely injured—his skin was charred, his flesh torn apart, and his face was mangled beyond recognition.

The intense pain only further fueled Neo’s fighting spirit. Blue electric sparks flashed in his eyes, and a heart-pounding roar escaped his throat. His appearance continued to change violently—his wounds on the chest and face healed at an astonishing speed as his muscles swelled, with scabs falling off alongside the flying embers and black smoke, creating a terrifying sight.

Fatack, who had been watching secretly, was shocked once again. He had seen wolves before and knew about the healing abilities of wolf bloodlines, as well as their resistance to magic, especially dark magic. But he had never witnessed such rapid healing before, to the point that he almost interrupted his spell mid-cast.

After transforming, Neo became even faster and was on the verge of catching up to Fatack. “Hah!” With a shout, Fatack’s shadowy energy in front of him finally coalesced into a hand—a Ghost Hand that could cast contact spells no higher than level 4 on behalf of the mage.

Once this black hand took shape, Fatack pointed it at Neo with his wand, sending it flying toward him. Inside its palm glowed a poisonous green light, like water.

Neo had no idea whether this Ghost Hand could be controlled at will by the mage and cast multiple spells, or if it would act directly and once only. His recklessness in confronting the mage stemmed mainly from his excess life energy within him.

“Come on! Be brave and face pain and fear!” Without trying to avoid it, Neo raised his arms and charged headlong forward.

Boom! The green mist dispersed, causing all hair in its path to fall out and leaving behind a shiny green scab layer, resembling moss or severe psoriasis.

Putrefying Cysts! Elements extracted from an immortal body that eroded targets in the form of sulfuric acid, causing excruciating pain that could make even the strongest-willed people instantly lose control of their bowels and bladder. It also corroded flesh and damaged resistance to necromantic spells.

Almost immediately after, Fatack threw away his wand, formed seals with his hands, and cast the level 3 spell Putrefying Swelling! Since the target’s self-healing ability was extremely strong, waiting would not enhance the power of subsequent spells but would instead significantly weaken them. In that case, accelerating the process didn’t matter.

Pustules formed on the greenish psoriasis, bursting to release foul odors and yellow smoke. This was the full force of the Putrefying Cysts, further destroying the target’s flesh and causing pain so intense it exceeded what humans could bear.

Neo didn’t scream in agony but continued to run frantically, his teeth chattering so hard they bled.

Fatack couldn’t squeeze out any more time. In just over ten seconds, his spellcasting speed was already sufficient to qualify him as a level 3 battle mage. If not for Neo’s fearless bravery, stubbornness, and abnormal healing ability, Fatack would have already dealt the final blow to his severely injured enemy.

The black iron sword at Neo’s waist transformed into a brilliant streak of light, slashing toward Fatack. Fatack knew he had no way to dodge this attack, but he could instantly cast another instant spell: False Life + Death Armor, Fatack’s Life Swap! False Life granted the caster temporary health points, while Death Armor created a dark aura around the body that emitted a roaring sound—any attack targeting the caster’s body or weapons would be countered by this dark aura. The strength of both spells depended on their level, and Fatack’s Life Swap was particularly powerful not only because it combined these two spells but also because it allowed him to consume temporary health points first when attacked, then return 2/3 of the total damage to the attacker in the form of counterattacks from the dark aura. Thus, when Neo’s sword struck Fatack, Fatack collapsed, blood spraying everywhere, while Neo wasn’t faring any better—the dark aura turned into countless sharp spikes that pierced his body, making him feel as though he had been hit by a dozen arrows and turned into a sieve. “Damn it! I’ve heard mages are strong, but this is too insane! Attacking from less than 20 meters away without warning, pseudo-level 4 strength, super healing power—yet still ending up like this…” Neo staggered several steps before avoiding falling, panting heavily as he charged at Fatack again. Fatack had known he was in danger the moment Neo swung that sword—not because of the injury itself, but because it represented the strength of a level 4 warrior. Only beings like minotaurs could rival them in terms of vitality and recovery. Fatack’s Life Swap’s counterattacks weren’t enough to kill him in one strike, and he was still about six meters away from the graveyard. He didn’t think he had a chance to reach it before Neo’s next attack. Moreover, simply charging in wouldn’t work—he needed time to cast spells, though just a few seconds, which were extremely hard to come by right now. So, Fatack gritted his teeth—die! Fatack’s Instant Death Spell! Derived from level 3 necromancy’s fake death spell, it put the caster into a lifelike fake death state, concentrating all life energy in one place. Even if torn apart, they could revive immediately after reassembling their body and performing a dark resurrection ritual. If the opponent left the body intact, they could revive after 12 hours. It was truly perfect—having a seemingly dying man suffer a fatal wound and then using this spell. Even if Knight Adrian were here, he might say, “Hmm, a very powerful killing blow. Tch! These weak, sickly wretches (casters)!” Unfortunately, this genius who had already improved three necromantic spells at level 3 and was hailed as someone who might surpass his master, the level 12 necromantic archmage Gretchen Pandong, within 10 years—Fatack—had encountered Neo, who possessed the ability to absorb life force, and was full of physical energy and life force, eager to release it or enhance his mental strength to control it.

A clay pot breaks away from the well; a general inevitably dies on the battlefield. The tragic Fatak never expected that his sudden opponent would be just like him, sparing not even his corpse. As a result, his pretended death turned into a real one. Bound by the spell, his soul didn’t even have time to escape before being completely absorbed by Neo into “nutrient fluid,” leading to an eternal demise.
In a hidden chamber beneath Tulip Town, a bone-thin necromancer suddenly opened his eyes. Two bean-sized glows shone in them, radiating intense darkness and evil.
“Fatak—something’s gone wrong!?” The necromancer waved his staff, and a gust of black wind arose, carrying him away at high speed.