[Imbues the user’s hands or weapon with powerful energy.] [While active, Basic Attacks deal 250% increased Damage.] [Each successful hit unleashes a powerful shockwave that deals massive area-of-effect damage.] [Additionally, the energy unleashed by the shockwave spreads outward, applying a slow effect to all enemies on hit.] [Type: Active Skill (ON/OFF)] [Range: 7 meters radius (increases with skill level)] [Current Skill Level: 0] [Mana Cost: 2% of total mana per hit] — First Strike: 250% of Basic Attack Damage — Splash Damage: 350% of Basic Attack Damage Siegfried’s eyes widened the moment he saw the skill's description. He already had powerful area-of-effect skills like Wave of Annihilation, Absolute Zero, and Eraser Swarm. Both Wave of Annihilation and Absolute Zero had massive mana costs and long cooldowns, making them difficult to spam. As for Eraser Swarm, while it wasn't as mana-hungry as his other area-of-effect skills, it had a fatal weakness of being ineffective against undead and poison-resistant enemies. However, Crushing Tremor was different. It had no cooldown. Instead, it could be toggled on and off at will, allowing Siegfried to dish out massive damage with just basic attacks. ‘Skills have to be tested out immediately!’ Siegfried immediately invested skill points into Crushing Tremor and activated it. His mana converged on his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp, and it flickered before letting out an ominous glow. ‘Let’s see the damage!’ Siegfried swung his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp at an undead monster rushing toward him. The upper body of the undead monster exploded in a single hit. The impact was so overwhelming that the monster didn't just die; it exploded into pieces. ‘H-Holy! Look at that damage!’ But it was still too early for him to feel shocked... When the first undead monster exploded, a chain reaction of explosions emanated from the point of impact. A powerful shockwave radiated outward, triggering explosions in a seven-meter radius. But the most terrifying part? The splash damage was even stronger than the first hit. Within seconds, everything within a seven-meter radius of Sigfried was reduced to a wasteland; every single undead monster was wiped out. It was like a cluster bomb was detonated. [Alert: You have gained Experience Points!] [Alert: You have gained Experience Points!] [Alert: You have gained Experience Points!] [Alert: You have gained Experience Points!] [Alert: You have gained Experience Points!] But Siegfried did not stop there... The battle was far from over, as millions of undead monsters were still swarming toward the Palace of Blood. ‘T-This damage is absolutely insane!’ Siegfried tore through the endless horde, swinging his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp like a madman and triggering a chain of explosions. Seeing the damage he was dealing sent electrifying chills of excitement through him. The undead monsters that survived the explosions staggered upon getting hit by debilitating slow debuffs. Crushing Tremor’s damage was one thing, but the slow effect it dealt combined with Embrace of Despair rendered the undead monsters unable to take a single step forward. The undead monsters were doomed the moment they stepped into Siegfried’s range. However, there was one drawback to the absurdly powerful skill. The mana consumption was slowly becoming noticeable. The skill’s mana cost was relatively low, but it added up quite fast when obliterating enemies nonstop. If he weren't careful, his mana pool would dry up in seconds. Siegfried pulled out his Infinite Flask from his Inventory and chugged it down during the battle to ensure that he wouldn't run out of mana. [A flask containing infinite energy.] [It has a bottomless spring of vitality, providing eternal sustenance to its holder.] [Effects: Instantly restores 20% of MAX HP, MAX Mana, and MAX Stamina] The Infinite Flask was like a fountain that restored twenty percent of his HP, Mana, and Stamina every one minute. As long as he paced himself properly, this was an invaluable treasure that could sustain him in battle just by drinking from it. Of course, Siegfried was still human, so fighting endlessly was impossible. Siegfried stood his ground against the endless horde of undead monsters. He looked like Zhang Fei at the Battle of Changban[1] holding off Cao Cao’s army. He stood as the final line of defense, blocking the undead monsters from reaching the Palace of Blood. ‘Hurry up and clear the dungeon. You guys are strong, right?’ Siegfried thought. He had absolute faith in his comrades, who were inside the Palace of Blood. At no point had he ever thought he was the only powerful one. He knew that those capable of staying at the top of the hundreds of millions of BNW players were by no means weak. Each of his comrades was strong and possessed their own unique skill sets. Cheon Woo-Jin was a Grandmaster, while Beowulf was Level 449 and on the cusp of becoming a Grandmaster. Aside from them, there were Gosran, Yong Seol-Hwa, Daytona, and Yong Tae-Pung, who were all Level 299 and renowned Adventurers. Each one of them had made a name for themselves in BNW, and they were all comrades who fought alongside Siegfried to protect the Nurburg Continent from various dangers. Thus, Siegfried had no doubt that they were capable of bringing down the boss of this dungeon. Just as Siegfried had predicted, Cheon Woo-Jin and the rest were busy fighting the boss monster. Before facing the boss monster, they fought against three Champion undead monsters that were Great Wizards, and they almost got wiped out by a mini-boss undead monster that was a Swordmaster. Thanks to the heroic efforts of Cheon Woo-Jin and Beowulf, they overcame the dangers and managed to reach the final boss, but... “Submit to nature’s will, beings who dare defy the laws of nature.” The boss monster unleashed a curse called "Aura of Mortality." The party’s struggle began as soon as they got hit by the curse. “Uncle...?” Cheon Woo-Jin muttered, and his eyes widened in shock as he looked at Yong Tae-Pung. His silver hair that gave him an aged yet rugged charm had turned completely snow white. Yes, he was a man in his mid-fifties, so his hair turning gray was not exactly unnatural. However, he was supposed to be a distinguished and handsome middle-aged man rather than some frail old man. His skin was covered in wrinkles and dark spots, making him look like a decrepit old man. And that was not all... His muscular arms shriveled into thin bony twigs, his upright posture had curved into a hunched back, and his eyes were losing their luster. In the blink of an eye, Yong Tae-Pung aged as if decades had passed for him. The boss monster attacked Yong Tae-Pung after transforming the latter into a frail old man. Yong Tae-Pung was sent flying, and he crashed into the ground. He stayed on the ground and couldn't get back up. Although he barely managed to escape death, his HP, Mana, and Stamina were all drained to the point that he was incapacitated and could no longer participate in combat. “Father!” Yong Seol-Hwa exclaimed and rushed to his side. But it was already too late.. Boom! Tss! Boom! Tss! When his HP fell below twenty percent, the Ushers of Death appeared. They were the untargetable entities unique to this dungeon, and no amount of firepower could stop them. In other words, there was nothing Yong Seol-Hwa could do aside from watch as they placed Yong Tae-Pung in the coffin and... The lid of the coffin slammed shut, executing Yong Tae-Pung. However, this was only the beginning... One by one, the party members began aging rapidly under the effects of the Aura of Mortality. Boom! Tss! Boom! Tss! Boom! Tss! Boom! Tss! The Ushers of Death danced across the battlefield and performed an execution parade. ‘We have to end this now...’ Cheon Woo-Jin thought desperately. “Adventurers! Your so-called immortality is nothing but a lie! You are not immortal! You never were!” Even Beowulf, who was tasked with marking the boss monster, had aged rapidly. His hair had turned gray as well. He was considered the strongest member of the party, yet even he was helpless against the boss' Aura of Mortality. Shwiiik! Shwiiik! Shwiiik! The party’s only saving grace was Gosran, who could still fight. She used her flight ability to avoid the Aura of Mortality and shoot arrows at the boss monster from long range. Thanks to her, the party managed to catch their breaths, albeit just briefly. Cheon Woo-Jin was becoming agitated. He checked the death toll and saw that it had skyrocketed in just a short while. Knowing that the Blue Knight of Death’s emergence was drawing closer, anxiety and worry gripped his heart. Siegfried fought like a madman to keep the horde of undead monsters from entering the Palace of Blood. [Alert: You have obtained Experience Points!] [Alert: You have obtained Experience Points!] [Alert: You have obtained Experience Points!] [Alert: You have obtained Experience Points!] [Alert: Congratulations!] [Alert: You have leveled up!] [Alert: You have reached Level 332!] [Alert: You have reached Level 333!] [Alert: You have reached Level 334!] [Alert: You have reached Level 335!] Fortunately, his struggle was being rewarded in the form of levels. ‘Whoa? Isn’t this a honey pot?’ he thought, grinning from ear to ear. He was sucking up Experience Points like never before, allowing him to level up rapidly. However, his joy lasted only for a moment. ‘Wait... What the hell?’ He checked the death toll without much thought, and his stomach instantly churned. While he was busy hacking away at the horde of undead monsters, the death toll had reached dangerously close to the threshold. As soon as he saw the death counter, he turned toward Hamchi, who was still running on the magical wheel, and shouted, “Hey! Hamchi! Let’s get outta here!” “Huff! Huff! Aren’t we supposed to hold the line, owner punk?” Hamchi was also reaching his limits from spinning the wheel nonstop, and it was proven by his huffing and puffing. “This isn’t the time for that! We have to go! Now!” “Just trust me! Move!” Siegfried spread out his +10 Black Crow Wingsuit. He abandoned his position and flew straight for the room where the boss monster battle was taking place. Meanwhile, Cheon Woo-Jin, Beowulf, and Gosran managed to shave off a significant chunk of the boss monster’s health despite their dire circumstances. However, the boss was deliberately targeting the weaker party members instead of focusing on them. “Death shall descend upon you all! Offer yourselves a sacrifice!” At this point, it was obvious that the boss monster’s goal wasn't victory. The boss was trying to kill as many people as possible in a bid to summon the Blue Knight of Death. Unfortunately, the boss monster’s strategy was working almost flawlessly. It only had to shave off the party members' HP rather than kill them outright. It was all because the Ushers of Death would execute anyone whose HP was below twenty percent. All the boss had to do was roam the battlefield, unleashing the Aura of Mortality, and the Ushers of Death would do the rest. The party members started falling one after another. “Retreat! Everyone! Retreat!” In the end, Cheon Woo-Jin was forced to abandon the raid and sound the retreat. He knew that it would only be a matter of time before the death toll hit one thousand five hundred if they continued raiding the boss monster. Unfortunately, even escaping was not easy. More party members dropped dead during the retreat, rapidly increasing the death toll. Just one more and the Blue Knight of Death would be summoned... One of the party members clutched his chest and collapsed to the ground. At the worst possible moment, the curse, Lurking Death, was triggered. “Ah...” Cheon Woo-Jin muttered, and his face turned ghastly pale. Siegfried dropped from the sky out of nowhere and swung his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp at the collapsed party member’s head, smashing it into pieces. Everyone froze in sheer horror at the sight. It was all because that party member’s death was the one thousand five hundredth death. The party member's death meant that the Blue Knight of Death would soon descend upon them. “HAN TAE-SUNG! YOU FUCKING TROOOLLL!” Cheon Woo-Jin screamed at the top of his lungs with bloodshot eyes. 1. Zhang Fei is a general from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Changban ☜