MMORPG: Rebirth of the Shadow Mage

159 The Second Wave Boss

Eli stood frozen as a skeletal horse galloped towards her, its bony hooves striking the ground with a haunting echo. The players behind her murmured in panicked gibberish, their footsteps rapidly fading into the distance as they fled from the approaching monster.

But Eli refused to join their cowardice. With a shrug of her shoulders, she felt a sense of liberation, as if the leeches had fallen off her skin. Instead, she braced herself to face the skeleton leader alone.

The orc’s heart raced as she watched the beast approach, its empty eye sockets burning with red flames.

Swish...

Suddenly, a glint of light caught Eli’s eye. A single arrow had descended from the sky, piercing the horse’s skull and shattering it into a million pieces. The force of the impact caused the horseman to tumble off the beast’s back, landing in a heap on the ground.

Eli stood in stunned silence as she watched the arrow’s trajectory, tracing it back to its source. In the distance, on the city’s wall, she saw a figure, a female archer with a dark bow in hand.

Eli’s thoughts were interrupted as she noticed that the skeleton was still clutching its bone-sword, its empty sockets now burning with two red flames of malice and pain. This was a surprising revelation for Eli, as she had always believed that the undead were devoid of emotions and sensations.

She cautiously approached the skeleton, her weapon at the ready. The red flames in its eye sockets seemed to be growing stronger, pulsing with an inner rage. The orc felt a shiver run down her spine.

***

.....

Leo continued to walk towards the city, his mind lost in thought. He was humming a familiar tune, trying to distract himself from the monotony of the journey.

As he approached the city, he took in its grand silhouette, towering majestically in the horizon. But something was off, he could sense it. Leo looked around, his eyes scanning the sky for any signs of trouble.

Suddenly, the wind changed direction and carried a sound to his ears. It was the sound of battle, clashing swords and shouting voices. Leo’s expression consorted. He couldn’t believe it, the siege of the city had already begun. It was supposed to start in a few days, but it seemed like events were unfolding faster than he had anticipated. He frowned, feeling a sense of unease wash over him.

‘Did the feature change once again?’

Trying to bite his nails, Leo was chewing onto his Shadow glove, but soon understood his actions and moved the hand away from his mouth.

‘I can still make it to the ending of the second wave...’

Leo gazed upon the battlefield, scanning the chaos for any sign of the most formidable foes. Despite the relentless barrage of spells and curses being traded between the two armies, he noticed something was missing. The unmistakable crackle of Mana that accompanied the casting of powerful spells was absent. Leo concluded that it was still the early waves of the battle, and the most dangerous enemies had not yet made their appearance. He knew that the Skeleton Mages, and the Lich, a powerful undead wizard, were yet to join the battle.

As Leo approached the city, the players on the battlefield came into view. The intense focus etched on their faces was palpable, and he could make out the details of their expressions from where he stood. It was then that he made his move. With a flick of his wrist, he released a dozen of his Shadow Soldiers into the fray.

Leo was wary of revealing his spells to the public, but the reward offered was too tempting to ignore. The shadows flowed through the crowds, their movements graceful and silent. They slithered past the players, merging seamlessly into the chaos of the battle. Suddenly, they began to change, their limbs elongating and contorting, transforming into deadly weapons. The players on the battlefield were momentarily taken aback by this sudden development, but they soon realized what was happening. They understood that the shadows were a summon of another player, and they weren’t a threat.

The shadows attacked with relentless stamina, their weapons cutting through the skeletons like a hot knife through butter.

Crackle...

Leo watched as his small band of soldiers cut a path through the throngs of undead, their weapons flashing in the pale light of the moon. As he surveyed the battlefield, his gaze was drawn to a figure atop the city wall, a vision of ethereal beauty that took his breath away.

She stood tall and proud, with two massive wings of black feathers spreading out from her back, their tips brushing against the stone ramparts. The feathers seemed to shimmer in the moonlight, as if they were dusted with a coating of diamond dust. But it was the lightning particles that truly set her apart, coiling around her body like an aura of raw power. The bright bolts of electricity seemed to dance and crackle, as if they were alive, and Leo couldn’t help but feel that he was witnessing something truly miraculous.

Even though Leo had the ability to see in the dark, due to having an unique sub-class. He was certain that the woman on the wall was aware of his presence. Despite the distance between them, he felt a strange tingle in his chest.

Her eyes, however, were focused on something else, something far in the distance that was beyond Leo’s line of sight.

For some reason this made him somewhat annoyed...

Following Ava’s gaze, Leo’s eyes were drawn to a figure standing in the distance. It was Eli, and she was facing off against another skeleton. The undead before her was imposing, with a bony sword clenched tightly in its hand. Its eyes burned with a malevolent red light, and Leo immediately knew that this was the second wave boss, a monster that could slash his sword at the speed not visible to an eye.

‘Shit...’

Leo let out a string of curses under his breath as he saw the orc clutching her abdomen, blood seeping through her fingers. Despite her tough exterior, she was in pain, and Leo knew that she was in trouble.

Leo’s first thought was of her HP potions, which would heal her wounds and restore her strength. He was not worried about her dying to the boss. But the skeletons that surrounded her were a different matter entirely. They were endless, and Eli would suffer, due to not having enough stamina to kill all of them.

As Leo watched, he felt a sense of urgency building within him. He knew that he had to act, that he had to save the orc before it was too late.

Leo felt a burning desire to draw his bone blades, to let them taste the bone of his enemies. He could feel the blades itching to fight, pulsing with an unquenchable thirst for battle. But despite his eagerness, he kept them sheathed, he knew that his strength stat was not enough to shatter a skeleton’s skull with a single strike of his blade.

Swish...

Leo’s hand shot out, a projectile of electricity arcing from his fingertips. With a deafening crack, the lightning bolt hit its target, illuminating the area with a blinding light. The players nearby turned towards him, their eyes wide with wonder and awe. A wave of murmurs washed over the battlefield, drowning out the sound of battle for a moment.

“Is that him?”

“The reward must be huge for him to be here...”

“I wonder if he’s into long hair girls.”

Leo felt a twitch in his eye as he heard the whispers of the players around him. He couldn’t believe how foolish they were, how they seemed to have forgotten why they were here. He had just seen one of their own beheaded by a skeleton, because the player had been foolish enough to try and take a picture of him.

How could they be so stupid?

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He knew that he couldn’t let these players distract him.

Swish...

He felt his blades extending to half of their size and lowered his body.

Swish...

Leo moved with wind speed, his agility unmatched by most of the warriors on the field. He weaved through the players, leaving them in his wake as he plunged deep into the heart of the undead army. His bones blades shone in the moonlight, casting a brilliant white glow as he cut through the hordes of skeletons.

With each step, Leo felt his muscles tense and relax, his body responding to the movements of the battle. He was a blur of motion, a master of agility, darting past the bony arms that reached for him, slicing through the rib cages of the undead with ease. The skeletons tried to close in around him, to surround him and bring him down, but Leo was too fast. He spun and dodged, his blades a whirlwind of destruction, carving a path through the army of the dead.

Even though most of his hits were successful, none of the skeletons died...

‘This is getting annoying...’