Let's hope this is the end…Ethan said to Nora, the snake being silent for a long time now, the changes to his race seemed to affect her too and she looked almost dead while being wrapped around his biceps and shoulder but when he stepped into the corridor she woke up, looking around with her big blue eyes.

  You could have warned me you know, I was out cold when you…why are you laughing? Her tongue moved angrily in and out of her mouth. Ethan's fist literally exploded the zombie’s face as he hit it before shooting a barrage of spike into the horde that filled the corridor. Out cold, because I’m a winter elf now? I didn’t know you could be funny! She looked him straight into his eyes. I hope you didn’t really say that.

  He shrugged and summoned an ice wall that he covered in spikes before he shoved it into the next group of shambling corpses, killing more of the undead rabble. His focus returned to the battle in front of him. While the last corridor was getting smaller this one was at least three times larger, a horde of zombies started to attack him the moment he stepped into their territory.

  The miasma was thick in here and while it didn’t damage him so far it still limited his sight, when the first crawling zombie launched itself from the miasma he nearly pissed himself. For the last few minutes now he was killing those undead fucks in swathes, frozen zombie sculptures covered the ground and bodies covered in multiple spikes laid on the floor or got stapled to the walls.

  Like the fight before this room was clearly designed to tire the challenger out but he kept going. The whole fight took him around thirty minutes of pure violence, his body covered in black blood, his robe ripped apart in multiple spots, his hat lost in the miasma and his staff long gone from the first room. Calling him a mage felt wrong as he felt like a pugilist at best. The only thing keeping him going was the elemental infusion, that he discovered by accident, could be used to strengthen his own body to some degree.

  He took five minutes to catch his breath but he didn’t want to stay longer than needed in the miasma. Stepping into the final room his eye grew big, a quick inspection showed his final enemy.

  [Ra’kraz, the Ghoul King - Level 19][Boss]

  [A ghoul king is the strongest kind of ghoul (during this tutorial) they have absolute authority over other ghouls and similar undead. While not as strong in physical combat as ghoul lords they are superb magic casters and can have a variety of spells at their disposable, the death or necrotic elements being the most common]

  Ethan summoned a simple staff in his hand made from ice, he watched the ghoul king while slowly approaching it in a wide circle. A dust cloud formed around the ghoul when it started to move, slowly sitting up from its slumped over form. It took a deep breath before opening the red eyes, its stare piercing right through Ethan, locking on him. Then the king started to speak.

  “Another challenger that thinks he can slay me, you’re just a mortal, not more than a child trying to be an adult. Tell me what do you seek?” Ethan was shocked and in less than a second he opened his status to use his twelve free points, putting them in vitality, wisdom and intelligence, four each. The small rush he felt gave him some confidence back.

  Instead of answering he let out a war cry and sprinted toward the king, slamming his staff against the monster's head. At first he thought he killed it but the pieces he knocked off casually melted back together, showing the ghoul’s face without damage.

  “That was stupid boy.” it grabbed Ethan's staff and broke it apart, his hand glowed in a purple, nearly black color. The ice melted and the ghoul stood up. He pulled a book from under his robe and opened it while Ethan made a new staff for himself. Both of their respective energy crackles when hitting another, the air was statically charged as both of them activated aura abilities at full power.

  Pale blue and white frost magic against deep purple death energies. The book the ghoul held was flipping through pages on it’s own at a rapid pace while frost covered Ethan’s body in a thin layer that broke and reformed again and again. They stared each other down while waiting for the other to move first.

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  Ethan, having the advantage as Nora, sent him a picture of the ghoul looking to the left. Ethan smiled and moved a fraction of a second faster, his staff swinging in a wide arc around him to hit the ghoul’s arm while he was in the middle of moving. The ghoul didn’t groan or make any sound other than its bone cracking and the blacked bones pushing itself from the dead skin.

  Ethan continued his attack, combining thrusts and swings from different angles but the moment of surprise was gone, he couldn’t hit the faster ghoul again, it was like he could see in the future and anticipated every move he made. In one last attempt he threw the staff and pushed his palms towards the ghoul, the frigid air blowing over the ghoul but after sidestepping the staff the monster countered.

  Raising a hand a purple shield appeared in front of him, making their energies clash again. Ethan growled and pushed more mana into his attack, forcing the ghoul two steps back in the time it took the monster to adjust his magic.

  The book stopped flipping its pages and a thin laser like beam hit Ethan in the side, he felt something spreading through his bloodstream, some kind of venom or poison but to his surprise his blood froze the harmful fluid and stopped them in its tracks. He moved in a circle, taking one step left every few seconds, the king followed his movements trying to stay opposite of him.

  Ethan had a goal in mind and when his foot hit the staff he called it back in his hand with the help of his connection to the weapon. Giving his magic one last big push before stopping his casting all together, the ghoul defended himself but when Ethan threw himself forward feet first and he slid towards the ghoul from below he could only enjoy the look on the creature's face. He kicked the ghouls leg and in the moment the monster stumbled he stood up and thrust the now pointed tip of the staff into the goblins soft neck, piercing it’s brain.

  A grin bloomed on his face as he watched the dead ghoul hang there on his staff. With high expectations he turned to the throne and watched for a chest to appear or something similar.

  No new notifications were in his log and he realized his mistake, quickly he jumped away and turned around, the king still left five long claw marks on his arm. He covered it in frost and attacked with fists and magic, while the ghoul was certainly impaired due to the spike in his head he was still a killing machine with absurd regeneration.

  So he attacked him again, cutting off arms and legs to freeze and shatter them next. It felt cruel to take a creature's chance to walk again but this was still a dungeon.

  He pierced the ghoul with multiple spikes but it just wouldn’t die. He turned back to the throne and the ghoul tried to bite him, his mouth the only thing left working on his impaled head. He walked over to the throne and looked over it, even shoving it away but nothing. Then when he was in the middle of standing up again he felt something under his thumb, a tiny pressure plate on the backside of the throne.

  He pressed it and the seat of the throne flipped upwards, revealing a small bone cage and in the middle, a heart. The ghoul was furious, foam dripped from his limpless body, his speech still not returning. Ethan grinned and with a small needle of clear ice he pierced the ghouls heart, killing him this time for good.

  This time a chest appeared but when he opened it a bright light flooded the room and he felt something heavy on his head and covering his body, his hand locked around some round object.

  *Update* Congratulations for beating the catacombs!

  For being multiple levels under the final boss you unlock a special reward!

  The set of the wandering wizard is now soulbound to you!

  [Hat of the Wandering Wizard]

  [Robe of the Wandering Wizard]

  [Boots of the Wandering Wizard]

  [Staff of the Wandering Wizard]

  Set-Bonus 1/4: Increases your mana regeneration by 5%

  Set-Bonus 2/4:Increases your mana regeneration by 10%

  Set-Bonus 3/4:Increases your mana regeneration by 15%

  Set-Bonus 4/4 : Increases your mana regeneration by 20% | Self repair enchantment.

  Ethan smiled and looked down at himself, the dark blue almost black robe was clean and over higher quality than his previous one, the hat looked very stereotypical with the pointy end and the signature fold bending it ninety degrees to the side. The staff was made from wood but it looked more like polished obsidian and was cold in his hand, on top rested a white gem surrounded by a cage of pale blue twigs.

  For him there was nothing better than this, what each piece did was something he would find out later, for now he needed to be ready for the swamp.

  Leaving the catacombs dungeon. Transfer will commence shortly…please wait….