Chapter Twenty-Eight: I’m Sorry, I’ll Never Pretend to Be Cool Again

"The item you provided saved my life. I have no way to repay you, so I can only offer my body..."

"Shameless! I don't need that!"

...

"Stand back, everyone. I'll handle this myself. Today, I'm going to take this pile of bones apart in style."

Yelin gripped his heirloom longsword. Although the weapon was of a lower grade, its inherent light-attribute attack was just enough to compensate for the deficiency.

"Bone獄息 is in its complete form. Can you handle it alone?"

Seria looked worried. Bone獄息, standing in the center of the Great Magic Circle, had been watching them like a predator. During the time between Yelin feigning death and waking up, it seemed to have done nothing, yet also something at the same time.

"It shouldn't be a problem. I've gotten a tiny bit stronger."

After Tana transformed and casually—well, verbally—obliterated the Beast King, the massive amount of experience gained had boosted him to Level 16, just two levels away from the theoretical Level 18 professional.

He had also learned from Shiat that "class advancement," which he previously hadn't taken seriously, was actually quite rare.

Class advancement either required one to be self-taught like Shiat, or to find a reliable mentor—such as Feng Zhen, who ran a dojo in Hendon Myre; GSD, who taught the use of the Ghost Hand; or the black-hearted merchant Kiri.

These mentors would assign difficult tasks, and only after completing them and grasping the essence of a profession could one be called a professional.

Becoming a professional was merely the first step. Whether one could continue down this path depended not only on talent but also on hard work.

According to Shiat’s estimate, at least a quarter of all professionals were stuck at the introductory stage, unable to achieve any significant increase in strength.

For instance, while there were many swordsmen in the Arad continent, the number of powerhouses worthy of the title "Sword Saint" was few and far between.

Even those with unique conditions, such as the "Ghost Hand," had too many who fell on the path to becoming an "Awakened One."

Every Awakened One was, if not famous, at least a respected figure the moment they revealed their strength.

"Bone獄息, I hear your fate is tied to the Great Magic Circle, making you immortal and indestructible."

Yelin gestured with his hand, and a black stone erupted from the ground, hurtling toward Bone獄息’s head.

This was an enhanced version of the Fifth Element brought by the Seal of Heaven, allowing him to manipulate objects within a short range without needing physical touch.

Before the stone could make contact, Bone獄息 exhaled a stream of freezing energy, shattering it into dust.

"Taking you down should be enough to qualify me as a professional."

Operating on the principle of ice and fire countering each other, he fired off several fireballs, but they extinguished in mid-air before they could even get close.

Following that, no matter how he provoked or attacked, Bone獄息’s feet seemed rooted in the ground. With half its body buried in the soil, it occupied the center of the magic circle, maintaining a purely defensive stance.

Before he had advanced to the class of Sword Soul, and without his backstep-slash imbued with sword energy, this magic circle with a radius of about twenty meters seemed like an insurmountable chasm.

Wind blades, fireballs, and falling rocks were all ineffective. Bone獄息 seemed determined to hold its position, waiting for the moment the Great Magic Circle was completely eroded.

"I'm sorry, I won't act cocky anymore."

Yelin conceded cleanly and immediately. If he had another bottle of Divine Protection, he might have charged in, but that item was precious—even the lucky Shiat had only managed to open one.

"Pathetic. Move aside, I'll cut it down."

Shiat rolled her eyes. What happened to that air of confidence when he said "leave it to me"? Only this shameless guy could admit defeat so quickly.

Klara and Seria snickered, while only Tana stared at the Great Magic Circle, frowning in thought.

Bone獄息 and the Great Magic Circle were practically fused; within the circle, it was nearly invincible.

Was the only way to dismantle Bone獄息 and then remove its remains before it could resurrect?

"It's over..."

"Yeah, it's over."

The former was a whisper from Bone獄息, and the latter was Yelin's agreement.

The power of Shiat’s Flash Shadow Triple Slash was beyond doubt. With a horizontal sweep of sword energy, ten Bone獄息s tied together wouldn't be enough to withstand her; they would just leave more fragments.

"What's over... is you!"

As the words fell, Bone獄息, which had been half-buried, began to rise. As its feet left the soil, even Tana’s expression changed.

Beneath Bone獄息’s feet, it was standing on a pile of horrific, tangled zombies. Its feet had merged with the mound of corpses, and strands of dark energy as thick as fingers swirled around it.

"Destroy it!" Klara urged.

Just now, mere wisps of that energy had left them powerless; with this erosion force, which was over a hundred times stronger, even Tana couldn't hold on.

"Flash..."

*Creak.*

A skinless, fleshless bone hand suddenly shot out from the ground, grabbed Shiat’s ankle, and yanked her. The three streaks of sword energy she had fired were thrown off course and missed Bone獄息 entirely.

"Oh no!"

Several strands of black aura coiled around Tana’s ankles, and a wave of intense weakness caused her body to go limp, dropping her to the ground and robbing her of the strength to attack again.

Within a few breaths, their two strongest combatants were effectively incapacitated, leaving a stunned Klara at a loss for what to do.

Huh? What was going on?

Unexpectedly, Seria, who had also fallen to the ground, remained calm and composed, because she saw Yelin also entangled in a black aura, yet his expression showed no panic at all.

"Honestly, if you were this strong before, then handling zombies wouldn't be a matter of 5,000 gold coins—you'd have to add three zeros to that."

Looking at Bone獄息, which stood on the pile of corpses like it had upgraded its arsenal, he realized that if this were a mandatory boss for class advancement, everyone except the "scientific geniuses" would be stuck at this step forever.

"Hey, the ground is cold. Do you have the heart to let us sit here? What if we catch a cold? The World Toy has no effect on this."

Tana tossed a small stone at him, watching the only person still standing with a hint of amusement. The fear she felt due to Bone獄息’s sudden move was replaced by a bit of confidence.

"Finish it within thirty seconds. I can't speak for Shiat or Seria, but before you qualify as a Dragon Knight, I might be able to pay you some interest."

Tana blinked, subconsciously licking her lips as if the air were dry, wetting them slightly.

"Ahem, interest or not doesn't matter. It's just that I am a man of integrity and upright character. I simply cannot stand Bone獄息’s actions—it’s outrageous!"

Shiat and the others felt nothing at this shameless speech, but they were equally curious: how would he defeat Bone獄息 without any long-range attack methods?

Yelin coughed twice and, feeling extremely awkward, pulled out a sword.

The blade was crimson. As soon as it was unsheathed, a wave of intense heat washed over them, and the scorching aura made Bone獄息 let out a roar of fear.

"A terrifying weapon! To emit such intense heat even here... even my sister's Magic Flame Moon isn't this monstrous!"

"You have such a magical weapon—why didn't you bring it out sooner?"

Shiat was speechless. Even at a time like this, he was still hiding a lethal weapon? Was he even human?

"What do you know? This weapon always reminds me of some embarrassing days... a lightsaber that was hyped up to the heavens. By the way, your sister, the Vagabond, had a part in that too."

[Flame Sun]: (Artifact) (Lightsaber) (Available at Level 20 with Lightsaber Mastery)

Physical Attack +266
Magic Attack +257
Strength +21
Physical Critical Rate +2%
Accuracy Rate -1%
Fire Attribute Attack
Lightsaber Resonance (Weapon Mastery) Effect +5%
Class Mastery Effect +5%
30% chance to cause Burn effect on attack

Remarks: A weapon crafted from a core of furnace rock discovered by chance in a furnace rock mine. The blade burns with an eternal, raging fire.
When your eyes gaze upon me, I know you cannot afford [Ancient Wishes]—Flame Sun.