Chapter 289: The Golden Boar

After luring them in with the Sea Demon Soul, Marcus began clearing the surrounding mobs with calm, methodical precision. One by one, the lesser monsters fell, until at last only the Bone Boar, the Skeleton Marshal, and a tight cluster of enemies within ten meters of them remained, isolated in the center of the hall.

“Everyone, be careful,” Marcus said in a steady tone. “I’m turning off the mercenary system for a second. If this Bone Boar turns out to be trouble, you all need to bail immediately.”

Now that the battlefield had quieted, the Bone Boar was fully visible. Its grotesque frame and massive size made it an imposing sight, something that naturally stirred unease just by existing.

Marcus narrowed his eyes, studying it.

This was only the fourth level of Black Rock Spire, far from anything resembling endgame content, so in theory, it shouldn’t be too overwhelming. But the fact that the Dark Sorcerer had summoned both this creature and the Skeleton Marshal as a last-ditch effort made him cautious. DragonBlade and the others were still low-level. If things went wrong, they wouldn’t last long.

With the mercenary system disabled, they wouldn’t be forcibly dragged into combat. If the situation soured, they could activate Town Portal Scrolls and escape instantly.

First, he needed information.

He would check the Bone Boar’s stats, assess the threat, and only then decide whether to re-enable the system. A simple, reliable plan.

“Be careful, Stone,” someone called out.

Marcus gave a short nod.

Then he moved.

One after another, he activated every buff at his disposal, pushing himself to his absolute limit. This was as good a moment as any to test his true strength. The Bone Boar would serve nicely.

“Battle-Wolf’s Fury!”

A blood-red wolf emblem ignited behind him, swelling outward as if howling at the moon before crashing into his body. Instantly, a surge of raw, feral energy flooded through him. It was violent, hungry, almost intoxicating, like a predator on the verge of tearing into prey.

Battle-Wolf’s Fury, Cabaro’s set skill. It summoned a wolf spirit to possess the user, increasing Health and Attack by thirty percent, Defense by twenty percent, and granting a twenty percent Critical Hit chance. Duration: thirty minutes. Once per day.

He had been saving it for a true fight, yet somehow, that moment had never come. With his already ridiculous stats, most enemies never pushed him far enough. The skill had practically been gathering dust.

Even back in the Vixen Clan territory, when he rescued Alana, he hadn’t had the chance to use it. The eight Vixens had been so overwhelmingly strong that even with the buff, he would have been killed instantly.

So today, this oversized Bone Boar would finally justify its existence.

Then came the second skill.

“Dragon Soul Aegis.”

A golden dragon burst forth from the Dragon’s Crest on his chest, spiraling around him in a radiant blaze before plunging into his body. Light enveloped him completely, his figure wreathed in shimmering gold, like something descending from the heavens.

Dragon Soul Aegis, an artifact skill of the Dragon’s Crest. It increased all stats by fifty percent for thirty minutes.

Another ability he had hoarded for a crisis that never came. Unlike Battle-Wolf’s Fury, this one could be used three times a day. He really needed to stop being so stingy.

His stats surged violently upward.

’Perfect.’

He didn’t stop there.

“Shield Guard.” Defense increased by thirty percent.

“Bat Cloud Form. Wraith.” His movement speed doubled instantly, his body feeling lighter, faster.

Finally, “Phantom.”

Both Marcus and Pebble, his Temple Guard, slipped into stealth, their forms fading from sight. He urged Blackie forward, gliding silently to the edge of the monster cluster. Neither the Bone Boar nor the Skeleton Marshal showed any sign of noticing them.

’Good.’

He cast Insight on both targets. The Skeleton Marshal appeared first.

—

Level 45, High-Grade Silver.

HP: 20,000.

The commander of the fourth level of Black Rock Spire. It slaughtered intruders without hesitation, raising Skeleton Warriors from their bones and Vampire Zombies from their flesh.

—

Its abilities were straightforward: a spinning Bloodstorm attack that could stun, a command buff that enhanced nearby minions, a rapid Triple Stab, and the ability to summon Bone Medics to heal it.

Marcus dismissed it almost immediately. Nothing special. It was a standard fourth-floor boss. Comparable to the Two-Headed Mist-Tear Fiend he had already faced.

’Manageable.’

But when his gaze shifted to the Bone Boar, his expression sharpened.

—

Level 50. Medium-Grade Golden.

HP: 35,000

Originally a savage beast known as a Tusk Ripper, a creature that hunted dwarves using its enormous tusks. After being slain in a haunted graveyard, its corpse absorbed death energy and rose again. The Dark Sorcerer Myron had further enhanced it with dark magic, turning it into the monstrous Bone Boar.

Although it had grown stronger after resurrection, it had also become bound as Myron’s pet. Later, when Myron was critically wounded, he summoned it in desperation. The spell had backfired, damaging the creature and reducing it to level thirty. Since then, it had been recovering by feeding on the death energy within Black Rock Spire, climbing back to level fifty.

—

Its abilities were far more dangerous. Barbed Hide reflected ten percent of incoming damage.

Tusk Toss allowed it to charge and impale enemies, inflicting bleed, stun, or knockdown.

Bone Barrage unleashed fifteen bone spikes in all directions, slowing anything caught within range.

And Bone Rebirth gave it a chance to revive itself upon death.

Marcus let out a quiet breath, then smiled.

’So it was injured, still recovering.’

That explained its altered appearance. And more importantly, it meant opportunity.

“Level fifty. Golden rank,” he said, glancing back at the others. “Stay back.”

He reactivated the mercenary system and immediately layered two more buffs over the group.

“Knight’s Prayer.” Their Health increased by fifteen percent.

“Adamant Aegis.” Defense rose, and incoming magic damage was reduced by twenty percent.

Then, calmly:

“Kill.”

At his command, his pets moved.

The Sea Demon Soul surged forward first, drawing the attention of nearby enemies. Goldie, Wyvern Saint Knight Lyanna, and the Vixen Queen Camillo followed from above, hovering as they waited for the right moment to engage.

The instant the Sea Demon Soul made contact, the monsters swarmed toward it.

“Pebble. Attack.”

With the surrounding mobs distracted and the Skeleton Marshal fully focused on the Sea Demon Soul, Marcus seized the opening.

The Bone Boar was still asleep.

’Perfect.’

“Ascendant’s Domain.”

Instead of opening with Desperate Strike, he chose his advanced self-learned skill. With a ten-hour cooldown, it wasn’t something to use lightly.

A wave of golden light exploded outward from him, sweeping across the battlefield. Wherever it passed, enemies weakened, their stats dropping, while his own strength surged higher.

The nearest Skeleton Warrior’s condition visibly declined.

But the moment he attacked, stealth broke.

Marcus and Pebble reappeared, and the Skeleton Marshal immediately noticed them.

The golden wave reached it.

-3,000. -3,000.

Both its Health and the Bone Boar’s dropped by fifteen percent in an instant.

Marcus blinked.

“Holy crap.”

The effect was absurdly powerful. No wonder it was considered a domineering aura. It was downright unfair. It was a pity it didn’t stack with Pebble’s version. That would have been completely broken.

The smaller mobs also lost health, but he ignored them. They were already locked onto the Sea Demon Soul, and his pets were tearing through them with ease.

He glanced at his own stats under full buffs: Twelve thousand Health. Three thousand five hundred Attack. Two thousand eight hundred Defense.

’Disgusting.’ There was no other word for it.

But there was no time to admire it.

“Pebble!”

“Kill!”

The Bone Boar’s hollow eye sockets flared with eerie light as it jerked awake, scrambling to locate the source of the attack.

“Desperate Strike!”

His twin longswords cut through the air with lethal precision.

-8,500. -8,500.

Two heavy impacts rang out as both blades punched deep into the creature’s ribcage. Critical hits. The damage skyrocketed, exceeding seventeen thousand in total.

With all his buffs active, especially The Ascendant’s Domain, critical hits were almost guaranteed. No Lethal Strike, though. That would have made it perfect.

Marcus grinned.

“Charge!”

Desperate Strike went on cooldown as he drank a Super Health Potion and drove Blackie forward. The Bone Boar’s Barbed Hide reflected damage back at him, a sharp sting that forced him to immediately drink another potion.

“Adamant Shield Wall.”

A shimmering barrier enveloped him, reducing incoming damage by seventy percent. It would only last a minute, but that minute was everything.

Now he was fully unleashed.

Every buff active, every stat amplified, his body blazing with layered energy, brilliant and overwhelming. This was his peak.

Time to see exactly how strong a level fifty Golden boss really was.

Then— the Bone Boar froze.

It simply stood there, unmoving, a faint spinning ring forming above its skull. It was stunned for three seconds.

Marcus’s eyes widened slightly. His luck today was absurd.

At the same time, he noticed something else. The Skeleton Marshal hadn’t turned toward him at all. It remained completely focused on the Sea Demon Soul.

That Taunt ability… It was ridiculous. It might even be Grandmaster-tier.

With the Sea Demon Soul scaling off his own power and his pets already wiping out the remaining mobs, it could easily hold the Marshal in place.

Which meant he could focus entirely on the Bone Boar.

“Charge!”

Switching back to the Bat Dragon Cloud Sword Marcus surged forward at full speed. Just as he and Pebble closed the distance, the stun wore off.

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