Devouring Dragon Heir-Chapter 43: Ch The Undead Cemetry 2

Klaus had been absorbing an almost endless supply of undead monsters from the Undead Cemetery dungeon, focusing solely on increasing his Darkness Affinity.

The initial onslaught of his summoned army had decimated thousands of lower-ranked undead, providing him with a constant source of darkness affinity.

His Darkness Affinity had now reached 4.1%, a massive haul for him in just a few hours.

This rapid increase truly hammered home the importance of S-rank and higher gates,

they offered an unparalleled density of high-quality elemental essence to absorb compared to lower-ranked dungeons.

The System informed him that with this level of affinity, he could now create an SS-rank skill using his darkness element.

The monster battle in front of him was raging fiercely.

Troops from both sides were being decimated and side by side replenished at an unprecedented rate.

Klaus’s diverse summoned army, empowered by the Tribe Leader (A) trait, fought with surprising coordination, holding their own against the relentless waves of undead.

The Cunning Conflagration (S) traps continued to flare, incinerating hordes of skeletal warriors, while the Crystal Garden (S) crystals impaled any larger threats.

Klaus’s Darkness Affinity absorption stopped increasing from the normal S-rank monsters. It had hit a plateau at 4.1%.

He knew now that only the dungeon’s true boss monster, the Necrolord, and the powerful S-rank Death Knight leading the enemy forces could grant him any further affinity increase within this dungeon.

The lower-ranked S-rank monsters, while providing experience and loot, no longer contributed to his core elemental growth.

Klaus suddenly stood from his imposing elemental throne.

He sent a mental command, and all the remaining lower-ranked troops he had summoned, the orcs, lizardmen, fiery goblins, lava hounds, blazing claws, and general yeti monsters, immediately retreated and vanished back into their respective subspaces.

Only his seven S-rank boss monsters remained on the battlefield, still thriving and fiercely engaged thanks to the powerful synergy effect of his Tribe Leader trait.

They were more resilient and powerful than the standard S-rank Death Knights they were fighting.

Klaus looked at his seven boss monsters and gave another mental order.

They immediately converged, surrounding the strongest Death Knight, the general who had been leading the undead charge.

Klaus then activated Crystal Garden (S) again, specifically to encircle his boss monsters and the powerful knight.

Huge, towering ice crystals, colossal and razor-sharp, erupted from the ground, forming impenetrable walls.

This created a perfectly circular, confined arena, trapping the S-rank Death Knight with his summoned bosses.

The remaining undead monsters outside the encirclement, including the lesser Death Knights and skeletal warriors, could not penetrate the towering crystalline barrier.

Klaus further manipulated the terrain around the outer perimeter of this battle arena, subtly raising jagged ice formations and treacherous pits to prevent any low-level undead monsters from approaching the ring and interfering.

He wanted a clean fight, or rather, a swift execution.

"Let’s get this shit done right here," Klaus muttered to himself,

a frustrated sigh escaping his lips.

"Fuck, I am insanely bored right now. I want to return and eat some fucking ramen." He was irritated by the amount of time this single S-rank dungeon was taking to clear.

His current pace felt sluggish compared to his usual efficiency.

He noticed, with a flicker of self-awareness, that he had somehow become too prideful, too complacent.

As a result, he had started underestimating everything around him, including the resilience of S-rank monsters and the patience required for such large-scale dungeon clearing.

This introspection was brief, however.

He decided he would dissect this strange shift in his mental state later, once the dungeon was cleared.

"If you seven don’t finish that crooked knight in a minute, then you can go back to your respective domains,"

Klaus declared aloud, his voice carrying surprising authority across the battlefield. He stood from his throne, his stance radiating impatience.

Inwardly, he was still wondering,

"Damn, why am I getting so impatient? Am I having mood swings?" The intensity of his irritation was unusual.

Listening to his orders, the seven S-rank boss monsters, who were already fighting hard, suddenly seemed to pale, even their monstrous forms betraying a hint of anxiety.

Their powerful new master was demanding something, and they absolutely did not want to fail him. They immediately did what they were told, unleashing every S-rank skill they possessed in a desperate, simultaneous barrage.

The confined space of the Crystal Garden arena worked against the S-rank Death Knight.

Under the relentless, overwhelming assault of seven S-rank skills used in rapid succession, the knight cried out, a guttural, pained shriek, its skeletal form struggling under the immense pressure.

It didn’t even get the chance to activate its own powerful skills, caught completely off guard by the sudden, concentrated burst of power.

Since the battle area had been purposefully limited by Klaus’s Crystal Garden, the knight couldn’t maneuver properly, especially on its spectral horse.

It realized this critical disadvantage a bit too late.

Its undead horse had already been injured by the initial flurry of attacks, weakened and disoriented by the seven monsters who were now chasing it like the sky was about to fall, relentless in their pursuit.

Under the ceaseless barrage of constant, high-power skills, the S-rank Death Knight was finally taken down.

Its skeletal form shattered, its essence dispersing into the cold air.

The seven boss monsters, puffing their chests out, a strange display of pride in their monstrous forms, dragged the dead knight’s remnants to Klaus’s feet.

They then knelt in front of him, waiting for commendation. But Klaus found their proud posture surprisingly irritating.

"Pathetic," he commented, his voice laced with disdain.

"To think you all would be proud of such a simple task. Seven of you couldn’t even take down one monster of your rank without my direct help. Tch." He made a dismissive sound, a clear indication of his displeasure.

The seven bosses, who had been puffing their chests out just moments ago, were now sweating buckets, their monstrous forms shrinking slightly.

They looked as if they could almost cry if Klaus continued his scathing, lethal speech. Their initial pride had been thoroughly crushed.

"What the fuck is happening to me, System??" Klaus thought, a sudden, cold realization washing over him.

The intense irritation, the disproportionate anger, the strange disdain towards his summons it wasn’t normal.

[DING!! The hidden condition has been met!! Host is awakening a draconic trait prematurely... Please wait for 24 hours.] The System’s voice chimed, completely ignoring Klaus’s internal question.

"The fuck?? Is it a side effect of this?" Klaus asked aloud, his voice now tinged with genuine concern.

This unexpected trait awakening seemed to be directly linked to his volatile mood.

[This is not a side effect, Host] the System replied, its response blunt.

"Not a side effect, then why do I suddenly feel disdain towards almost everything? Why am I so easily irritated?" Klaus demanded,

his tone sharp, as if he could curse out the System anytime for its cryptic replies. The feeling of internal unrest was growing.

[DING!! Host must wait for a day before the answer reveals itself.] the System responded, maintaining its unhelpful posture.

"Aah, System, you are becoming more like those cliche systems day by day," Klaus said, bringing his palm to his face, as if trying to physically cool down his rising irritation.

The situation was maddening. "Fuck, did I hit puberty again?" Klaus muttered, as he suddenly felt waves of raw, immense energy surge and course violently through his body.

It was a terrifying sensation, a chaotic power rising within him.

"Anyway, let’s get this shit over with," Klaus growled, forcing his attention back to the present task. He absorbed the dead Death Knight.

His Darkness Affinity nudged up slightly, reaching 4.15% from 4.1%, a clear indication of the knight’s higher quality essence compared to the regular S-rank monsters.

He then activated Phantom Veil and sprinted at his absolute top speed, using Apex Velocity to its maximum.

He accelerated so much that visible sonic booms started appearing in the air around him, sharp cracks echoing through the desolate dungeon, rendering the Phantom Veil useless.

His cloaking ability simply could not keep up with his raw speed. So, he eventually deactivated the stealth skill, allowing the sonic booms to continue as he maintained his incredible acceleration.

On his Omniscient Tracking map, he could now clearly see the energy signature of every being that came within his expanded 5-kilometer range.

Suddenly, a very prominent entity was detected by him, a single, colossal marker, releasing a raw energy signature dozens of times greater than even the S-rank Death Knight he had just absorbed.

This was the dungeon boss, the Lich. Klaus set his target at that location, directing his relentless speed towards it.

As Klaus locked onto the dot on his map, a very sinister thought crept up his mind, unbidden and cold.

He wanted to see despair on that monster’s face.

He wanted to break it, to see its fear. But soon, he realized the dangerous nature of this chain of thought, how insidious and consuming it was.

This was not his usual pragmatic, goal-oriented mindset. This was something darker.

"Faack... not again," Klaus muttered, his jaw tightening.

He needed to end this quickly.

"I have to kill that thing before I lose control." The growing, overwhelming waves of raw energy from his trait awakening were clearly influencing his mind, pushing him towards a more unleashing a predatory, dominant state.

In a distant, crumbling remnant of what was once a grand church, deep within the Undead Cemetery, a huge figure of a Lich sat upon a throne adorned with countless skulls and decaying bone fragments.

This was the dungeon boss, the Necrolord.

The Lich had been observing the dungeon’s events through its Undead Sense Extension skill, an innate ability that allowed it to detect anything that came near its vast army of undead minions.

It had felt the initial disturbance when the powerful human entered, then the sudden, organized assault, the strange, confined battle, and finally, the death of its elite Death Knight general.

But for the last few minutes, since the battle had ended, it could not spot the powerful human who had so decisively decimated so many of its minions.

All it could see were large rings of disrupted mana, like clouds, being formed at certain places across the dungeon, signifying powerful mana discharges.

"Strange, where is that person?" the Lich murmured, its ancient, reedy voice echoing slightly in the vast, decaying hall.

The Lich was a highly sentient monster; it could hear, think, and speak like humans, possessing a complex intellect far beyond most undead.

It had been bored since the dungeon’s creation, rarely any truly strong individual had come to challenge him directly, except for one powerful human who had called himself "the Pope of a church" many years ago.

That one had been a formidable opponent.

Since the lich possessed the unique ability to be revived by the dungeon’s core if defeated (a special trait of S-rank dungeon bosses),

the Lich had gotten another chance to experience battle, thankfully, unlike most creatures.

Suddenly, its chain of thoughts was abruptly broken.

Through its undead senses, it detected an anomaly.

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