Chapter 40 · Volume 1

The Skeleton Kills the Lizardman King

He carefully made his way down into the pit.
Before long, he reached the bottom of the pit.
As expected, it led directly to the sixteenth floor.
A lizardman guarding the side rushed at Li Xiuman as if provoked, waving its flaming claws.
Li Xiuman instinctively leaned back to dodge.
Then, using his momentum to spin, he kicked the lizardman in the chest.
Under the enhancement of [Great Strength Lv2] and his 18 points of Strength, the lizardman's chest caved in, and it flew backward, crashing into the wall before bouncing onto the ground.
It was about to struggle to its feet.
But a Fireball was already upon it, exploding and engulfing its body.
[Ding! Killed Lizardman Lv15. Experience +270]
After digging out the lizardman's magic stone, Li Xiuman continued to track the trail on the ground.
The number of lizardmen along the way clearly increased.
Li Xiuman realized he was heading in the right direction.
He carefully dealt with the lizardmen along the path one by one, swiftly pressing onward.
Finally, on the sixteenth floor, he found his target: the Lizardman King.
Just like last time, its body was extraordinarily robust, with explosive muscles bulging beneath fiery-red scales.
A pair of long horns showcased its status as a ruler.
Around it, numerous lizardmen stood guard like sentinels, never leaving its side.
Li Xiuman quietly slipped into the shadows.
Finding a cliff hidden in the darkness that offered a commanding view, he climbed up.
He looked down at the Lizardman King.
Li Xiuman raised his wand and aimed it at the Lizardman King.
Hum, hum, hum.
Red, yellow, and indigo magic circles opened simultaneously at the tip of his wand.
The fire element gathered, the earth element enveloped it, and the wind element propelled it, spinning rapidly.
This was precisely the hybrid magic Li Xiuman had improved during this period.
Casting it now was as smooth as flowing water.
“Tier 1 Magic, Molten Wind Spiral Spike!”
Bang!
The wand shuddered violently for an instant as the Molten Wind Spiral Spike shot out on cue, flying along its predetermined trajectory toward the Lizardman King.
The Lizardman King quickly sensed the danger.
But caught completely off guard, the Wind Spiral Spike had already arrived right before its eyes, carrying a howling gale.
It closed its eyelids in a flash, but the flesh over its eye was still ripped apart, and its eyeball exploded into a bloody mist.
“Roar!!!”
The agony caused the Lizardman King to bellow. For a moment, the lizardmen closest to it bore the brunt of its pain.
They were caught in the crossfire of the rampaging Lizardman King.
Seizing the opportunity, Li Xiuman extended his Bone Wings and dived from the cliff toward the Lizardman King.
The Lizardman King also recognized the hateful creature before it—the one that had escaped its grasp last time.
Roaring, it swung its claws, locking onto Li Xiuman in an attempt to shred this detestable foe.
Li Xiuman drew his bone sword and focused, staring intently at the oncoming claws.
The moment the claws were about to hit, he raised his left arm.
The claws struck heavily against his Wind Shield, deflecting away. Li Xiuman sidestepped in the opposite direction, narrowly dodging the blow.
Then, he lunged with his bone sword toward its wrist.
Under Ilu's guidance, this thrust had already been tempered ten thousand times.
It sank precisely into the flesh, drawing a blossom of blood.
Then, dodging the other claw like a butterfly, he raised his wand.
“Fireball!”
A Fireball shot out instantly, crashing into the Lizardman King's face.
The lizardman roared in fury, seemingly unable to believe that the human before it had injured it.
It swatted away the Fireball flying toward it and threw its maw wide open.
A breath of fire erupted, surging toward Li Xiuman.
Li Xiuman thrust his wand down in front of him.
“Tier 1 Magic, Wind Wall!”
The howling wind materialized into a wall, blocking the front.
The flames crashed into it and immediately split in two, washing harmlessly to the sides.
“Enjoy the debut of my new magic!”
Li Xiuman raised his left arm.
White bones grew frantically, and skeletal tubes extended one after another, arranging themselves in a circular pattern.
“Tier 1 Magic, Gatling Barrage!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A spell circle for Explosion and another for Wind Magic lit up simultaneously on his arm.
Then, bullets made of bone shot out continuously, raining down in an endless stream.
The bone bullets pierced through the flames, flying straight toward the Lizardman King.
In an instant, bursts of blood erupted across the Lizardman King's body.
They were all superficial wounds; the bone bullets could only barely penetrate its scales.
It seemed that attempting to achieve firearms suppression in this magical world was still somewhat unrealistic.
“Roar!!!”
The Lizardman King bellowed repeatedly in pain.
Spewing fire, it braved the rain of bullets and charged at Li Xiuman.
The other lizardmen were also ordered to pounce on him.
Li Xiuman had no choice but to split his attention to deal with the other lizardmen.
His bone sword danced into a curtain of steel, tearing apart every lizardman that rushed forward.
Li Xiuman fused his bone sword with his arm bone, gripped his wand, and sprayed the rain of bullets with his other hand.
“Quagmire!”
A large-scale Quagmire materialized.
All the lizardmen ground to a halt.
Li Xiuman took the opportunity to rush the Lizardman King.
As he charged, his left hand sprayed the rain of bullets directly into the Lizardman King's face.
The Lizardman King covered its face with one hand while kicking out at Li Xiuman.
With a thought from Li Xiuman, sharp Ground Spikes pierced toward the sole of the lizardman's foot.
Then, brandishing his wand, he swung it from the bottom up toward the lizardman's groin.
The lizardman shattered the Ground Spikes with its kick, pulled its thigh back, and blocked the wand.
Its other hand clasped an Explosive Fireball and slammed it toward his body.
Having his underhanded tactic seen through did not make Li Xiuman panic.
The bone on his left arm grew once more. The bones that had formed the Gatling distorted like clay, shaping into a massive bone shield that covered half his body.
Weathering the fireball head-on, the bone shield turned charred black.
Li Xiuman thrust his bone sword out from behind the shield, every single strike targeted at its lower body.
The Lizardman King grew increasingly enraged.
One moment the ground turned to sludge, the next moment earth spikes jabbed at its backside, and every sword strike targeted its vitals.
The lizardman felt as though all of its immense strength was striking cotton, completely unable to find a solid purchase.
Soon, the Lizardman King accumulated more and more wounds, with blood continuously trickling from various large and small holes.
The status effect [Weakened] also appeared on its status bar.
Just when Li Xiuman thought he had it in the bag, the lizardman suddenly let out a violent roar.
Orange-red flames erupted from beneath its scales.
Its entire body was coated in a thick layer of fire.
The rocks beneath its feet melted into magma.
Its eyes burned with fire as it glared fixedly at Li Xiuman.
“Boss phase two?!”
Li Xiuman was about to pull back.
But a flaming fist struck heavily from close range, directly sending his body flying.
Under the immense force, pieces of his bone shield chipped off and fell.
“Tier 1 Magic, Water Entanglement!”
A blue magic circle opened at the tip of his wand.
Water condensed from all directions, wrapping around the Lizardman King like a mass of tentacles, binding it tightly.
But before Li Xiuman could breathe a sigh of relief, the flames on the lizardman flared up once more.
With a sizzle, the water turned into white steam.
“Tier 1 Magic, Water Shield.”
“Tier 1 Magic, Water Veil.”
Two consecutive magic circles unfolded.
Flowing water turned into a shield, floating in front of his left arm.
Next, his entire body was coated in a thick membrane of flowing water.
Holding his wand in his left hand and his sword in his right, he charged resolutely at the Lizardman King.
Water and fire clashed repeatedly.
Water constantly condensed from the tip of his wand and flowed onto his body, replenishing the water covering him.
The wounds on the Lizardman King's body multiplied.
The cracks on Li Xiuman's body were also increasing, but relying on his Elemental Resistance, he struck with sword after sword despite the burning flames.
The Swordsmanship skills forged under Ilu's strict guidance bared their fangs. Strike after strike targeted the Lizardman King's vitals with pinpoint accuracy.
At the same time, he combined his Swordsmanship with his combat style, interspersing spells throughout.
Finally, he leaped into the air, ignoring his crackling bones bathed in flames, and plunged his sword into the Lizardman King's neck.
Then, with a twist of his left hand, he shoved his wand along the sliced wound right into its neck.
“Tier 1 Magic, Water Burst!”
[Ding! Slain Elite Monster: Lizardman King.]
[Experience +1000]
[Obtained Green Chest]
[Green Chest: A special item obtained by defeating an elite boss. Opening it gives a chance to obtain magic items, spellbooks, class change scrolls, or special items.]
[Ding! Special function unlocked: Quality.]
[Quality: Will mark the quality of items for the player. From low to high, they are: White, Green, Blue, Purple, Red, Orange, Gold, and Rainbow.]
Li Xiuman landed on the ground, staring at the prompts continuously popping up on his panel.
“Is this a game?!”

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