Ethan sat on the cold stone floor, his back pressed against the wall, still breathing hard. His
clothes were torn and stained, some places wet with blood that was already starting to dry. A few
rays of eerie green light filtered through cracks in the dungeon ceiling, flickering across his sweatsoaked face.
He let out a slow exhale and brought up his system window with a flick of his hand.
[Status Window]
[Name: Ethan Graves]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Overlord (SSS-Class) / Knight (Hybrid: Dominion Warlord)]
[Level: 35]
[Health: 240/240]
[Mana: 320/320]
[Strength: B]
[Agility: B+]
[Endurance: B]
[Intellect: B]
[Charisma: B-]
[Luck: B-]
[Dominion Points: 0]
[Potential Rating: SSS]
[Harem Slots: 0/10]
[Stat Points Available: 15]
"Fifteen points, huh…" he muttered, his voice hoarse. He cracked his stiff neck side to side.
"Against a Lich… I'm gonna need speed more than anything."
He focused his will on the Agility stat, dumping all fifteen points into it.
[Agility increased: B+ → A-]
A sudden surge of power shot through his limbs, like lightning racing through his veins. His fingers
twitched involuntarily. He flexed his hands, testing the new quickness crackling beneath his skin.
"Not bad… feels lighter," Ethan murmured. "At least I'll be able to dodge when that skeletal
bastard starts throwing death spells at me."
He closed the stat window, but another panel blinked open immediately.
[NEW SKILL AVAILABLE – IMPERATOR UMBRA DIVINA]
[Type: Sword Art / Dark Magic Hybrid]
[Description:]
[Channel supreme sword mastery fused with divine darkness. Generates a titanic sword aura
capable of sundering even soul-bound entities and disrupting forbidden magic. Deals true
damage ignoring defensive stats.]
[Requirements to unlock:]
[All base stats at S rank or higher]
[Sword Aura Proficiency: Master Level]
[Possession of a unique soul-forged weapon
[Soul resonance with Kaelrith Duskbane's Warlord's Fang]
[Status: Inaccessible until requirements are met]
Ethan stared at the glowing letters, his eyes wide. He clicked his tongue.
"Figures…" he sighed, brushing his damp hair back from his eyes. "The unknown skill. Not even
the devs released the details on that one. Nobody unlocked it in the game… not even me."
He dragged a palm down his face. "S rank in all stats… like hell I'm close to that yet. But one day,
it's mine."
He let the screen fade, then slowly climbed to his feet. His knees wobbled for a moment, and he
pressed a hand to his thigh to steady himself.
"Okay… next on the list. Lich dungeon."
He turned and limped toward a massive black stone door across the chamber. As he approached,
enormous skeletal carvings twisted across the surface, depicting scenes of dark sorcery and
monstrous undead armies rising under a skeletal king.
He placed a hand on the cold metal handle. "Here goes nothing."
With a deep breath, he pulled.
The door opened with an earth-shaking groan, and Ethan stepped into darkness.
Immediately, a wave of cold air rushed over him, as if he'd plunged into icy water. Torches along
the walls sputtered to life one by one, casting sickly green flames across the chamber. The ceiling
soared hundreds of feet overhead, supported by twisted pillars carved like rib bones.
Rows of skulls glared at Ethan from recesses in the stone walls. Wisps of pale soul-fire floated
aimlessly in the gloom.
"…This place looks ten times creepier in real life than in the game," Ethan muttered, eyes flicking
around warily. "Yup. Not gonna sleep tonight."
He advanced cautiously through a hallway littered with cracked tiles. Each step echoed like a
hammerfall in the silence. The stench of mold and old bones thickened the air.
Finally, the corridor widened into a vast circular chamber. A black throne sat upon a dais of
bleached bones. Dark purple fog coiled like snakes around its base.
Upon the throne sat the Lich.
Its skin was tight and grey, barely stretched across sharp cheekbones. Empty eye sockets burned
with twin pinpricks of blue flame. Robes of midnight silk hung from its bony shoulders,
embroidered with sigils that pulsed faintly with dark energy. Long, claw-like fingers rested on the
armrests of its throne, each fingertip tipped with blackened nails.
The Lich tilted its skull slightly as Ethan entered. A dry, whispery voice echoed through the room
as if coming from every corner at once:
"So… the challenger arrives. Flesh and blood… how quaint."
Ethan swallowed. His fingers drifted toward the hilt of Warlord's Fang. He forced a grin. "Yeah,
well… I thought I'd come say hi."
The Lich slowly stood, robes rustling like dead leaves. Its aura exploded outward— a crushing
pressure that seemed to squeeze Ethan's lungs. Purple lightning danced between the creature's
skeletal fingers.
"I sense… both darkness and light within you," the Lich murmured. "You are not merely a knight…
nor merely a mage. What… are you?"
"Overlord, bitch," Ethan growled, dropping into a fighting stance. "And I'm here to finish my damn
quest."
The Lich extended both arms. A deep, vibrating hum filled the chamber. Magic circles blazed into
life on the bone floor.
From the shadows, skeletal figures began clawing their way out of the ground. Their bones were
blackened and fused with scraps of cursed metal. Blue flames burned in their eye sockets as they
brandished rusted weapons.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
[The Lich has summoned Undead Warriors x20]
[Average Level: 30]
[New Summons incoming…]
Ethan's eyes darted across the room. His pulse thundered in his ears.
"Here we fucking go," he hissed, gripping his sword tighter.
And with a sharp intake of breath, he charged forward—right into the storm of the undead horde.