Star Forge Titan

Its skin, which had been scorched black by the sun, fell off piece by piece, revealing the blood-red muscles inside, and then even these flesh and blood were peeled off one after another.

Amidst the pungent smell of blood, a blood-stained skeleton stood on the snowy field, unconcerned with the sunlight. A complex eight-pointed star magic circle was carved on its skull, and the amethyst inlaid in the center continuously emitted a flickering demonic light.

"Spell imprints, skeleton manipulation, corpse agency, long-distance spirit mapping, I didn't know there was a great wizard of the Hippocrates school in the Elrond Undead faction." Afrediya stepped forward and looked at the skeleton sharply.

The Hippocrates School is a school of necromancers that excels at manipulating skeletons and creating undead puppets on a large scale.

Even in Elrond, where the study of necromancy is permitted, this school of spellcasting, which is specialized for warfare, is one of the royal family's key targets of supervision.

If a great wizard who has reached the fourth level appears among them, she, as the eldest princess, will definitely know it at the first time.

In other words, the appearance of the other party means that there is an external force behind this assassination.

Click, click, click! The white bones clapped their hands, making crisp applause.

"Her accurate spell analysis skills are worthy of Her Highness Princess Afrediya. She is the first talented scholar to become the top graduate since the Mage Holy Land of the Thousand Towers City opened its doors to the public for enrollment."

The skeletal jawbone of the necromancer's possession kept shaking, and unusually clear words came out of the mouth that was obviously empty.

"If this operation had not been supported by the Honorable One, and if he had not prepared a large number of backup plans among these small fry in advance, you might have been able to escape successfully." As he spoke, the skeleton possessed by the necromancer put his left hand behind his back and gently waved his right hand in the air.

As it moved, a circular magic circle outlined by light emerged on the ground. The two first-level [Adoptees] corpses contained within it began to move again, their limbs and bodies twisted into strange postures and biting each other.

The flesh and bones of the corpse seemed to be melting and constantly flowing and changing. In a very short time, the two merged into a skeleton warrior more than two people tall.

This terrifying undead puppet has four arms. The flesh and tendons have not been completely stripped off, and are deformed and developed between the bones. The two rows of ribs are opened to both sides like a bloody mouth, revealing the empty cavity inside. The ends of its arms are condensed into two curved sharp blades made of bones, which leave a deep groove the moment they pass through the ground.

"To be honest, if it wasn't for sharing my Lord's kindness with more people, I really don't want to kill an outstanding descendant like you with my own hands." The necromancer said with regret in a pretentious manner.

Afrediya gritted her teeth. With her magic power completely depleted, even if she used the extra spells given to her by the Elrond Mysteries, she would not be able to defeat a skeleton warrior controlled by a fourth-level great wizard, whose own strength was close to that of a third-level warrior, unless...

Secretly grasping the inconspicuous light golden bracelet on her wrist, Afrediya's heart was pounding with nervousness.

At this moment, Ivan suddenly walked up to Afrediya. Seeing his tall figure, the girl inexplicably felt a lot calmer.

Glancing at the skeleton warrior whose bones were constantly changing and crackling, the black-haired boy, under the gaze of the other two, moved his hands and feet while staring at them carefully.

Then he suddenly asked.

"Excuse me for interrupting, but you've just reached level 4 and haven't reached level 5 yet, right?"

"Oh? Indeed, although I am over fifty years old, I have been fortunate enough to complete the Road of the Fire Sword and win the final crown. However, compared with the noble perfect people, there is still a little gap." The white bones possessed by the necromancer spoke in a seemingly humble tone, but one could still hear an undisguised pride in his tone.

"The Crowned One..." Afrediya gritted her teeth. As the top graduate of the City of Thousand Towers, she knew very well the meaning of the other party's words.

The Path of the Fire Sword, in mysticism, refers to the process of strengthening the soul and also means raising spiritual power. Its highest level is called the "Crown," so those who complete this path and achieve the fourth-level professional status are honored as "Crown-wearers."

Under normal circumstances, only professionals who have reached the middle stage of the third stage are qualified to embark on the path of the Fire Sword.

Before the rise of the various nations, the vast majority of people in the relatively closed and independent supernatural organizations and professional guilds were stuck at the entrance of this road.

Although their strength could be considered the backbone of the entire Paladin, compared to the fourth-level crowned warriors who had completed the entire Path of the Fire Sword and reached the Crown Realm, the third-level professionals were still mortals at the soul level, and could only be considered relatively powerful mortals at best.

After all, above the fourth level, there is only the fifth level, the "perfect person", which is the last mortal realm.

"No, that's good." Alvin calmly completed his warm-up exercises under the watchful eyes of the Necromancer.

Then, he suddenly turned around and carried Afrediya onto his shoulders as if she were a sack of potatoes, while she screamed. Then, he ran away with his head covered in his hands.

This scene startled the skeleton of the necromancer behind him so much that its jaw dropped to the ground with a "crack".

"Damn it, how did he know that I haven't debugged the Skeleton Warrior yet?"

Picking up the jawbone in frustration, the necromancer broke up the bones of the proxy body and forcibly merged himself into the body of the unfinished skeleton warrior.

The substitute's head, which was emitting a strange light, was wrapped by the rapidly closing ribs of the skeleton warrior, and then the same demonic purple light lit up in the latter's empty eye sockets.

Immediately afterwards, a skeleton warrior who was as tall as two people ran across the snowy ice field like a galloping chariot, and the sides of his body were like sailboats sailing on the water, raising rolling waves of snow.

But the necromancer soon discovered that the distance between himself and the northern barbarian in front of him was getting farther and farther.

Yes, the first-level [Barbarian] is a common class, but the Barbarian possesses a unique trait called "swift movement." According to in-game data, as long as the load does not exceed a certain limit, a Barbarian carrying a "medium load" or less can move several times faster in the wild than an average person.

Considering that Ivan's own attributes far exceeded those of an ordinary first-level person, and that he carried almost no weight except for his linen clothes, even if Afridi·A Bag of Potatoes·Yata's load was added, it would not exceed 'medium load'.

Then, a dramatic scene appeared.

The young man ran in front carrying the princess like a barbarian rushing into a village to rob a village girl, while an undead puppet made of bones followed closely behind him with great momentum.

"What are you doing!?!" Afridi Sack of Potatoes Ya screamed and asked loudly.

"That old ghost is trying to scare you." Alvin turned his head and glanced at the seemingly imposing 'Skeleton Warrior' with a look of disdain.

"The skeleton's movements are stiff, and its aura is turbid. This kind of advancement either relies on potions or the power of evil gods. If you dare to say you're at level five, do you think I'll believe you?"

"Since you haven't reached the fifth level yet, what qualifications do you have to be able to use two corpses of first-level trash to create a skeleton warrior close to the third level from a distance of hundreds of kilometers with just a skeleton body?"

"A fourth-level person wants to do this kind of thing, is he worthy?!

At this point, Alvin couldn't help but burst into laughter, and then he heard a burst of curses and a dozen black and purple magic missiles from behind him, but he seemed to have predicted it, and he evaded the magic attack with a standard Z-shaped evasion and precise movement.

It was as if he had just dodged a gust of snowballs, rather than a magic missile with a power comparable to that of a small-caliber pistol bullet. After further distance, Ivan continued to release (release) (spray) without breathing heavily.

"That puppet is just a showpiece at best, its strength no more than level two. Its real killer move is most likely the lethal magic he unleashed using his skeletal body."

"And spellcasting ability through a proxy body will at least drop by two rings. The Hippocrates School is notoriously weak in one-on-one combat. The only spells that can guarantee a one-hit kill are spells like Hand of Withering and Finger of Death, which sacrifice range for lethality."

"No wonder..." Afrediya showed an expression of sudden enlightenment.

"So, what do you think he was doing with his left hand behind his back? That idiot clearly forgot he was using a skeletal body, and he actually tried to use his lonely spine and empty ribs to hide his spellcasting gesture."

"Hahaha, this is so funny!" Ivan's unconcealed words startled a flock of birds in the quiet forest, and even the distant snow-capped mountains could hear faint echoes.

Although running away was unbecoming of aristocracy, Afrediya felt that the black-haired boy's loud mocking expression was inexplicably dazzling. Well, maybe it was because she was dizzy from being carried on his shoulders.

"Besides, who would stop and fight him to the death? Undead puppets are notoriously unprofitable. Even if you work yourself to death to defeat them, all you'll get is a pile of bone scraps. What are they used for? Feed them to the dogs?"

“Even dogs won’t eat anything that’s stained with negative energy!”

"Isn't that right, Mr. Great Wizard?" In order to further anger the enemy, Alvin deliberately dragged out his tone.

But contrary to his tone, there was no relaxed expression on his face. While carrying Afrediya with one hand, he was busy preparing something with the other.

"Uneducated northern barbarians!"

"Did the barbarians eat your bread?"

The boy's continuous "output" finally angered the necromancer, but he was obviously a stay-at-home in the mage tower, and the only words he could repeat over and over were barbarians, inferior people, and untouchables.

If it were Zumarion's group of wild mages who were mercenaries, their battlefield oral art would be brilliant and varied.

Incidentally, this also made Ivan even more certain that the other party was a fake fourth-level necromancer. A truly powerful and ambitious fourth-level necromancer would turn himself into a ghost (literally), and the undead, who were immune to even mental attacks, would not easily get angry.

However, the necromancer who controlled the bone substitute was at least a fourth-level wizard, and he quickly realized that something was wrong with this conversation.

"Who are you? How do you know so much about psychic skills?" The skeleton possessed by the necromancer asked coldly while driving the undead puppet to speed up.

"Me?" Hearing this, Alvin finally curled up the corners of his mouth. He knew that the other party had completely entered into his rhythm.

"A passing savage."

"Then die with your secret!" the necromancer roared.

The skeleton warrior kicked the ground suddenly, and the cold and solid frozen soil of the ice field burst into a circle of cracks. The huge undead puppet leaped high into the air, and at the same time, its closed ribs suddenly popped open, revealing the white skull of the necromancer attached to his chest cavity.

The skull emitted a flash of light from its eye sockets, and a large number of tiny magic light particles visible to the naked eye gathered towards its open mouth.

"Extreme Effect: Diffused Death Finger!"

Chapter 6: Kill with One Blow

The glow produced by the gathering of magic power illuminated the ice field with a dark purple color.

"Ahhhhhhh! It's the finger of death!" Afrediya, who was enduring the bumps on Ivan's shoulder, screamed intermittently, and her red hair swayed with inertia.

Because she was facing backwards, she was the first to notice that the necromancer was about to release a magic attack, and then her face turned pale as she identified what kind of spell the other party was preparing.

It was a seven-ring attack spell called Finger of Death. The principle was to rely on compressed high-intensity negative energy to forcibly tear the body of the recipient, torturing them to death and eventually causing fatal damage.

Of course, when this spell is released by a bone substitute, its power will drop from the original seventh ring level to around the fifth ring, and the time required to gather magic power will also be doubled.

However, the necromancer first used the spellcasting technique of 'Extreme Casting' to increase the power, and at the same time, by adding additional chanting sections, the original single-target attack spell was turned into area damage.

Using such a spell against an academic wizard who is not good at fighting and has exhausted his magic power, and a barbarian who is only at the first level, is like using a cannon to kill a mosquito. The result will only be that the two "mosquitoes", one male and one female, will die on the spot and turn into ashes, with no complete body left.

Hearing Afrediya's cry, Alvin remained motionless and steady, even patting her on a convenient spot to signal her not to move.

"do not move."

"Ah!" Afrediya's face flushed instantly.

"How rude! You, where are you filming?"

However, although the girl shouted "disrespectful" with her mouth, her body was very obedient. Or perhaps, the shadow cast by the skeleton warrior had made her so nervous that her whole body was stiff.

Afrediya knew that the only person she could rely on now that her magic power was exhausted was this black-haired boy who appeared from nowhere, called himself a barbarian, but looked nothing like a barbarian except for his clothes.

"That guy is a talent, he can use his mouth to give the finger of death." Glancing back, Alvin muttered and quickened his pace.

However, although he had his back to the enemy, his ears were always paying attention to details such as the sound of chanting spells. Combined with the brightness of the magical light reflected on the snow, he could even determine which specific stage the opponent's spell casting process had reached.

After chanting three sections of the spell, the mana brightness continued to rise. Three seconds, no, it is estimated to reach the peak after four seconds.

Alvin was calculating silently in his mind. He had fought with countless necromancers in the Skeleton Tide, and he might be more familiar with necromancy than some of them. He made a series of speculations and predictions almost solely by relying on his subconscious.

Before the Necromancer actually released the Finger of Death, Alvin "read" that moment even earlier than him.

The black-haired boy suddenly stopped, spun around in the blowing snow, and faced the undead puppet that leaped high behind him. Unbeknownst to him, a fully loaded folding crossbow appeared in his free right hand.

The ice-blue pupils suddenly shrank, and the two actions of aiming and shooting were completed almost simultaneously in an instant, as if similar operations had been done hundreds or thousands of times before.

In fact, if you count his experience in gaming, the number would be more, not less.

The sharp arrow cut through the air, turning into a cold light and flying towards the undead puppet in mid-air.

The power of this arrow is very limited, and it is impossible to threaten the opponent according to common sense.

but……

Only then did the necromancer's chanting come to an end.

However, because the proxy's spellcasting ability is limited, visual aiming is required when releasing the spell to ensure a hit, so the controlled skeleton warrior slightly opens a gap in the outer layer of tightly interwoven rib armor.

But the necromancer never expected that at the moment when he was about to successfully release the attack magic, a crossbow arrow would pass through the tiny gap and accurately hit his chin!

Therefore, the scattered death finger that was supposed to cover the two people below was shot upwards because of this attack.

Under the impact of several dark purple beams, the entire upper body of the leaping skeleton warrior exploded like fireworks, and the flying bones and flesh turned into a bright red rose in mid-air, falling to the ground.

"Hey, hey, hey, what happened?" Afrediya, with her head tilted backward, couldn't see what was happening in front of her.

She only heard an explosion, but didn't feel any pain. It became obvious who was the unlucky one.

"It's okay." Ivan put down the bag of 'potatoes' on his shoulder and walked to the remaining half of the skeleton warrior under the latter's stunned gaze.

"You fought well, and the magic effect is eye-catching." He said sincerely as he looked at the wreckage where only the skeletal body of Ba was left.

As expected of a fourth-order great wizard, he relied on spell marks to control his skeleton body to cast spells from hundreds of kilometers away, yet he was able to blast a second-order skeleton warrior into pieces with one shot.

Obviously, the other party's magical attainments were much higher than he had expected.

"Boy, I will remember you." The necromancer was silent for a moment and then said in a low voice.

Although he didn't say any threatening words, the sinister tone in his voice revealed a murderous intent that seemed tangible.

However, these words coming out of a lonely and half-burnt chin really made people laugh.

then……

"Hahaha." Alvin laughed unconcealedly.

"Pfft, cough cough cough." Afrediya laughed halfway but felt that it was not like a princess to do so, so she quickly covered it up with a cough.

But the girl's puffed cheeks and flushed face showed that she was having a hard time holding it in.

Seeing this, the necromancer, unable to bear the humiliation, did not even leave his name, and controlled the remaining jaw of the skeletal body to explode with a "bang".

With only a pitiful amount of negative energy remaining inside, even if it exploded, it would at best be a firecracker. Not to mention threatening the two people, even the jaw itself would not be completely blown apart.

"Why don't you just say 'I'll be back'?" Ivan shrugged, completely ignoring the other party's threat.

But when he turned around, he saw Afrediya staring at him. The young man who had remained calm and composed even in the face of the Finger of Death was stunned for a moment.

"Um, is there something wrong?" Alvin said hesitantly.

"Who are you?" Afrediya stepped forward and asked.