Daniel stood amidst the chilling silence of the Ossuary's final chamber.
The faint whispers of assimilated echoes faded from his mind, leaving behind a tangible sense of increased power and a skill list that was starting to look respectably dangerous, albeit with a few questionable additions like [Pocket Sand!].
His Assimilation Charges were completely depleted (0/15), a testament to the sheer volume of potential he had harvested from the fallen recruits.
It felt good, like finishing a massive, albeit slightly disturbing, all-you-can-eat buffet of power.
He checked his mental status again. Level 2 achieved. Attributes significantly boosted, Strength nearing 60, Vitality over 60, Agility already cracked 90.
His skills were refined, fused into more potent forms like the C-grade [Kinetic Hammer] and D+ grade [Steadfast Guard].
He even had a ranged magic attack now, the C+ grade [Mana Bolt+].
He felt leagues stronger than the raw recruit who had stepped through the Gateway what felt like an eternity ago, but was likely only six or seven hours.
But the cave wasn't done with him yet. The coldness, the wrongness, was strongest here.
And that faint, sharp tang of raw Verge energy persisted, seemingly leaking from deeper within this specific chamber.
His enhanced [Aura Sense+] prickled, detecting not life, but a concentrated knot of dormant, powerful energy further back, past the last pile of corpses.
Curiosity, now heavily armed with C-grade skills and monstrous stats, pulled him forward.
He moved silently using [Ghoststeps+], the passive camouflage effect subtly shifting his torn grey fatigues to blend with the dim, blue-green mushroom light and the dark, pulsing vines covering the floor.
He found it nestled in an alcove carved naturally (or perhaps unnaturally) into the cave wall. It wasn't grand or ornate.
It was a simple, sealed bronze coffin, about human-sized, sitting on a low stone platform. It radiated the cold, dormant energy his senses had picked up.
The air around it felt heavy, distorted, like looking through thick glass. Faint, almost invisible tendrils of energy seemed to snake out from the coffin, connecting subtly to the piles of bodies scattered throughout the Ossuary.
"Well now, isn't that cozy," Daniel muttered to himself.
"So, you're the reason this place feels like a giant, morbid battery." It clicked into place.
The coffin wasn't just sitting here; it was using the bodies, drawing something from them, life force, residual energy, maybe even the last dregs of their potential.
The Purge Beasts hadn't just dumped the bodies here; they were delivering snacks for whatever was in the box.
Opening it seemed like a monumentally stupid idea. The energy radiating from it felt ancient, powerful, and distinctly unfriendly.
Whatever was inside was likely far stronger than the Level 3 Gravehound Alpha he'd fought outside.
But… SSS-Talent. High risk, high reward. What secrets, what power, might lie within? His [Soul Assimilation] hummed faintly, almost eager.
Could he assimilate the coffin itself? Or whatever was inside?
"Okay, Plan A: poke it gently. Plan B: run very fast," Daniel decided, gripping his enhanced E-grade Vibro-Knife.
Poking seemed insufficient. He backed up a few steps, eyeing the coffin lid. It looked heavy, sealed tight. Time for a slightly less gentle poke.
He focused, channeling mana into his fist, activating his most potent physical skill. "[Kinetic Hammer]!"
Instead of punching the coffin directly, he slammed his fist into the ground beside the stone platform, releasing the kinetic energy as the focused shockwave.
WHUMP!
The ground trembled violently. The shockwave erupted upwards, shaking the stone platform.
Dust rained from the ceiling. The bronze coffin rattled, the lid visibly jarring from the force. It didn't open, but the seal seemed disturbed.
The cold energy radiating from it spiked sharply, feeling suddenly angry.
Oops. Maybe it didn't like being woken up, Daniel thought, tensing, ready to trigger [Ghoststeps+] for an immediate escape.
The coffin lid didn't fly open. It slid sideways with a grating screech that resounded horribly in the cavern.
Darkness pooled within, a void that seemed to swallow the dim mushroom light. Then, something began to rise from the blackness.
It wasn't fleshy. It was bone, bleached white but stained with something dark and oily.
A skeletal wolf, larger than the Gravehound Alpha, unfolded itself from the coffin. Its joints clicked audibly.
Its eye sockets weren't empty; they burned with flickering points of chilling blue flame that cast dancing shadows on the cave walls.
It moved with a jerky, unnatural grace, radiating power and malice.
Daniel instinctively scanned it, his Nexus Interface flickering rapidly.
[Blue-flame Skeleton Wolf – Level 5 (Demonized Elite)]
Stats: Extremely High Strength, High Vitality (Undead Resilience), High Agility, Very High Spirit.
Abilities: [Ghostly Howl (Fear/Paralysis)], [Soulfire Breath], [Bone Claws (Armor Piercing)], [Demonized Resilience (Resists Physical/Holy, Weak to Potent Elemental/Spirit)]
Threat Assessment: Apex Level 1 Zone Predator. Extremely Dangerous. Do not attempt to pet.
Level 5! And demonized? This was way beyond the Gravehound.
Its stats were likely double his own in key areas, especially Spirit. The Threat Assessment's final note felt vaguely sarcastic.
"Right, no petting the flaming bone dog," Daniel quipped nervously, tightening his grip on his knife. His E-grade blade felt laughably inadequate now.
The Skeleton Wolf fixed its burning blue gaze on Daniel. It didn't roar or snarl. It opened its skeletal jaws and let out a soundless howl.
[Ghostly Howl]!
Daniel felt it slam into his mind, a wave of pure terror and icy paralysis.
His F-grade [Mental Fortitude] flickered like a dying candle, offering almost no resistance.
His muscles locked, his breath hitched. Fear, cold and primal, threatened to overwhelm him.
But his boosted Spirit (around 19 now) and sheer willpower fought back. He forced his limbs to move, shaking off the paralysis after a critical half-second delay.
That half-second was all the Skeleton Wolf needed. It lunged, crossing the distance between them in a blur of white bone and blue fire.
Its [Bone Claws], unnaturally long and sharp, swiped at Daniel's chest.
No time to think, only react! Daniel threw himself backwards, activating [Quick Dodge] for that instantaneous meter of movement.
The claws ripped through the air where his chest had been, the sound like tearing metal. The wind shrieked past his face.
He landed lightly, immediately activating [Ghoststeps+].
"Boom!"
The ground cracked slightly as he launched himself sideways, putting distance between himself and the undead horror. He needed space!
He whipped out his Reinforced Shard-Tip Bow. Arrows. Maybe the shard-tips could pierce the bone? He nocked an arrow, channeling [Venomous Strike+] into the tip.
If physical damage was resisted, maybe poison would work? He took aim at an eye socket, firing rapidly.
Twang-Clink!
The arrow struck the bone ridge around the eye socket and bounced off harmlessly.
The poison effect didn't seem to take hold at all. Physical resistance was high, and it was likely immune to biological toxins.
Okay, Plan C: Magic! Daniel thought frantically. He holstered the bow, focusing mana. "[Mana Bolt+]!"
A bolt of purplish energy shot from his hand, striking the Skeleton Wolf's ribcage.
FZZZT-CRACKLE!
The bolt hit with visible force, charring the bone slightly and making the blue flames within the wolf's chest cavity flicker erratically.
It staggered back a step, emitting a low, grating growl, the first actual sound Daniel had heard from it.
Success!
Its Spirit wasn't as high as its physical defenses, and the mana bolt dealt significant damage.
The Skeleton Wolf retaliated instantly. It reared back its head, and a torrent of the same chilling blue fire erupted from its jaws, [Soulfire Breath]!
The flames weren't just hot; they carried that same soul-chilling coldness as its howl.
Daniel felt the terrifying energy approach. He activated [Ghoststeps+] again, pushing his Agility (over 100 now) to the limit, becoming a grey blur dodging the stream of ethereal fire.
The flames washed over the spot where he'd been, freezing the very air and leaving patterns of frost on the pulsing red vines, which withered instantly. Getting hit by that would be bad.
This was a tough fight. The boss was fast, hit hard, had nasty debuffs, resisted physical attacks, and had a powerful ranged attack.
Daniel's advantages were his own speed, his spirit-based [Mana Bolt+], and maybe, just maybe, his sheer stubbornness backed by high Vitality and [Stone Resilience].
He circled the beast, using [Ghoststeps+] in short bursts to stay unpredictable, peppering it with [Mana Bolt+] whenever he had an opening.
Each bolt clearly hurt it, making it angrier, its movements becoming slightly more erratic. He had to drain its energy, wear it down.
The Skeleton Wolf lunged again, trying to close the distance. Daniel sidestepped, but it was fast. Too fast to just rely on dodging and shooting. He needed to disrupt it.
As it charged past, Daniel planted his foot.
"[Kinetic Hammer]!"
He released the energy as a shockwave directly into the creature's path.
WHUMP!
The kinetic force slammed into the skeletal legs. Bone rattled, and the wolf stumbled, its charge broken. It wasn't heavily damaged, but it was momentarily off-balance.
Daniel seized the opening. He dashed in close, knife ready. Not for a physical strike, but for a point-blank [Mana Bolt+] aimed directly at the flickering blue fire within its ribcage, likely its core.
He practically shoved his hand into its chest cavity (a thoroughly unpleasant experience, even with undead monsters) and unleashed the bolt.
FZZZZZZZZT-BOOM!
A much larger explosion of purplish energy erupted from within the Skeleton Wolf. The blue flames flared violently, then sputtered. The creature shuddered, its bones rattling loudly.
It took a shaky step back, then another, before collapsing into a heap of inert, slightly charred bones. The blue flames in its eye sockets winked out.
Silence returned to the chamber, heavier than before.
[You have slain: Blue-flame Skeleton Wolf (Level 5 - Demonized Elite)]
[EXP Gained: 300!]
[Level 2: 421/500 EXP]
Daniel stood panting, mana reserves significantly depleted. That was intense. 300 EXP was a massive jump, nearly putting him at Level 3 already. Killing high-level elites was definitely the fast track.
He approached the pile of bones cautiously. The cold energy was gone, replaced by a faint, lingering warmth. Now, the reward. He looked back at the open bronze coffin.
Floating silently just above the bottom was not treasure, not gold, but a book. It was bound in simple brown leather, but it pulsed with a faint, golden light.
He reached in and took it. The moment his fingers touched the cover, information flooded his mind via the Nexus Interface.
[Item Identified: Class Certificate (Unbound)]
Effect: Allows an Awakened who meets the prerequisites to undertake a Class Transition, unlocking specialized skills and attribute growth paths.
This certificate is 'Unaffiliated,' offering a wider range of potential class choices based on the user's aptitudes. Warning: Choice is permanent for this template.
A Class Certificate! He remembered the instructors mentioning these, rare items usually found only on higher Tower levels or as rewards for incredible feats.
It was a second chance, a way to specialize beyond just raw Talent and attributes. And an 'Unaffiliated' one meant maximum flexibility. This SSS-Talent wasn't just giving him power; it was handing him the keys to the whole damn kingdom.
He grinned, feeling the exhaustion replaced by exhilaration. First, assimilation, then figuring out what kind of Hunter, Warrior, Mage, or maybe something stranger, he was destined to become.