Chapter Forty-Four: The Necromancer

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“Lin Fan…” Just as I was about to charge forward, Murong Shanshan suddenly grabbed my arm.

I glanced back at her and smiled. “No need to tell me to be careful, I’ll be fine.”

Murong Shanshan’s cheeks flushed a gentle red. “Cut it out! Make sure to lure all the monsters away—I’m out of health potions!”

I paused, ready to rush ahead, but she tugged at me again. “Wait, Lin Fan, one more thing. If any gear drops, it’s yours. I just want the reputation.”

“Really? Since when were you this generous?”

She beamed. “Well, you’re the pro here—without you, I couldn’t kill anything. If equipment drops, you should sell it or wear it; I don’t want to compete with you for it.”

Thinking it over, I realized there was no reason to refuse. I nodded, raised my sword, and charged forward.

The level 32 Undead Mage had a wide field of vision. The moment I stepped out, it cast Dark Sacrifice at me, instantly knocking off 120 health points. At the same time, a system message appeared: You have been corrupted by dark forces, losing 5 health per second for the next 120 seconds.

Damn, what a savage attack!

Without any magical resistance gear, spells really hurt. The damage numbers startled Murong Shanshan as well. She quickly warned me in the party channel, “Be careful.”

The Undead Mage’s Dark Sacrifice didn’t let up—a second spell came flying at me. I hurriedly circled around the five Enhanced Skeleton Warriors, drawing them in. With a long-missed Frost Slash, I struck the Undead Mage, interrupting its spellcasting. Murong Shanshan followed up, her combos disrupting the Mage’s next mana surge. The five Enhanced Skeleton Warriors swung their rusty greatswords at me: “55”, “57”, “66”, “62”, “48”—five numbers appeared in quick succession. They were strong!

One round of attacks took nearly 300 health from me! Coupled with the Mage’s spells, my 1,110 health was slashed down to 586 in an instant. Fortunately, the Skeleton Warriors were slow, and the Undead Mage’s spells were continuously interrupted by our attacks. Murong Shanshan’s combo’s ten-second cooldown was enough to keep the Mage’s spells in check. Only the occasional misstep forced me to use a health potion to stay alive.

I kept circling the Undead Mage, attacking while minimizing hits from the Enhanced Skeleton Warriors. Murong Shanshan skillfully pulled two of the skeletons away, lightening the pressure on me.

“Shanshan, I think I miscalculated…” I panted, hacking away as I spoke to the girl fighting by my side.

“What’s wrong?” Murong Shanshan glanced at me in concern.

“I don’t think we have enough potions to finish off these five Enhanced Skeleton Warriors, even if we kill the Mage.”

“So what do we do?” Murong Shanshan panicked, her movements slowing just enough for the Undead Mage to hit me with another Dark Sacrifice.

Damn! I glanced at my inventory and was stunned—my seven health potions had vanished without me noticing. The Undead Mage still had one-fifth of its health, and Murong Shanshan was visibly tense. Even she realized we were in a bind.

“Shanshan, looks like we’re going to lose a level here.”

Murong Shanshan muttered something under her breath, swinging a heavy attack as she said, “Just keep fighting. If we die, we die. See if we can at least finish off the Undead Mage. If we do, the quest is done.”

I looked at my 600-something health, mustered all my strength, and launched another Frost Slash. With her heavy blow, the Undead Mage’s health finally dropped to the brink.

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Suddenly, something unexpected happened!

The Undead Mage, who should have collapsed, raised both hands. A violent purple light enveloped its entire body!

“Oh no, it’s a boss self-destruct! It’ll hit all players and monsters nearby for 800 health!” Murong Shanshan’s voice sounded like a death sentence.

Boom!

The world went utterly silent.

Murong Shanshan’s fair face was splattered with grime as she stared at me in disbelief.

“Lin Fan, you’re not dead! You’re really not dead!!”

Indeed, how was I still alive?

I quickly checked the combat log, and a line leapt out at me: You have been revived by the power of the Rebirth Pearl, restoring 1,110 health and 462 mana!

The feeling of surviving by a hair’s breadth was incredible!

The Undead Mage’s self-destruction instantly wiped out the five Enhanced Skeleton Warriors. Murong Shanshan’s 862 health was blasted down to just 23. If she had been a squishier class like a mage, even at level 30, she wouldn’t have survived. No wonder so many people complained about boss self-destructs on the forums—at our current level and gear, even warriors could scarcely endure such a hit.

I showed Murong Shanshan the attributes of the Rebirth Pearl, and she was amazed, calling it freakishly lucky.

The Undead Mage dropped a cloak and nothing else. The five Enhanced Skeleton Warriors, however, dropped an armor, boots, and a ring.

Murong Shanshan practically drooled over the loot, urging me, “Lin Fan, it’s all yours—hurry up and pick it up!”

I grinned, gathered the gear, and shared it in the party:

[Dark Cloak] (Blue Equipment)
Defense: 32
Stamina: +12
Strength: +16
Agility: +14
Bonus: Increases resistance to dark magic by 25%

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Required Level: 26

[Undead Warboots] (Green Equipment)
Defense: 28
Strength: +8
Agility: +12
Required Level: 24

[Necklace of the Departed] (Green Equipment)
Stamina: +12
Strength: +8
Required Level: 22

…

Murong Shanshan’s jaw dropped. All three pieces were for warriors—my luck was truly extraordinary.

I immediately equipped the Dark Cloak and Undead Warboots, filling two empty gear slots. As for the necklace… after some thought, I traded it to Murong Shanshan. She beamed, eyes sparkling, and asked, “Is this necklace for me?”

“Of course. I can’t let you fight for nothing.”

The necklace’s stats weren’t overpowered. Honestly, I didn’t care much for it—even though necklaces of this quality were worth over a thousand right now. I just wanted to give it to her…

“Cheap…” I muttered about myself.

Murong Shanshan put on the necklace, smiling brightly. “Now my gear is finally complete. Thank you, Lin Fan!”

“Let’s turn in the quest. I’m exhausted. I don’t even know when my red name will clear.”

“Yeah, let’s hand it in!”