TSA Chapter 77

After accepting the quest, Ran Qi and Night Owl entered the Domain of the Undead.

True to its name, the Domain of the Undead was a land of death and misfortune, shrouded in darkness. The only source of light came from eerie green ghostly flames, casting a faint glow that barely revealed the surroundings.

The muddy ground was littered with countless white bones, entwined with black death energy. This energy was extremely dangerous—whenever it detected the presence of the living, it would latch onto them like maggots on rotting flesh, draining away all their vitality. Within mere seconds, even a strong adult man could be reduced to a lifeless husk. This was why Priest Leslie had been so wary of the death energy.

As soon as Ran Qi and Night Owl stepped into the Domain of the Undead, the death energy seemed to come alive, surging toward them. However, the Blessing of the Light God buff on Ran Qi immediately repelled the energy with divine power. For the next three hours, he didn’t need to worry about his safety.

Meanwhile, Night Owl bore the Necromancer’s Curse, a power even more sinister than the surrounding death energy. The moment the death energy approached him, it was instantly devoured.

However, as he absorbed more and more death energy, the power of the curse grew stronger, and his health began to drain at an increased rate. What had been a loss of 20 HP every 2 seconds had now risen to 25 HP every 2 seconds.

It was clear that they needed to complete the quest as quickly as possible and lift the curse. The longer they stayed here, the faster Night Owl’s health would deteriorate—eventually reaching a point where even Ran Qi’s healing wouldn’t be enough.

“We need to move faster,” Night Owl said with a slight frown.

Ran Qi nodded in agreement. But looking at the sea of bones around them, they had no idea how to find the Necromancer’s remains.

Just as they were at a loss, Ran Qi’s sharp eyes caught something unusual—the ghostly flames on the ground seemed to form a pattern. Following the direction they extended, he realized they outlined a path, as if guiding them forward.

“Look! The ghost flames—they’re forming a trail, almost like a road,” Ran Qi exclaimed, pointing ahead.

Night Owl followed his gaze and soon noticed the anomaly as well.

“That must be the way. Let’s check it out.”

The Domain of the Undead was dimly lit, the ground muddy and riddled with bones, making movement difficult. The two had to support each other as they advanced. The eerie atmosphere weighed heavily on them, and unconsciously, they moved closer together. Their body heat mingled, making them appear almost as one from a distance.

After walking for an unknown distance, they arrived at a ruined site. Broken walls and crumbling structures lay in decay, long abandoned. The ghost flames had guided them here, but now they flickered out. Night Owl picked up a wooden stick and ignited it with a fireball, creating a makeshift torch for light.

“Let’s split up and search—there might be some clues here.” He handed Ran Qi a torch.

“Alright.” Ran Qi cast another healing buff on Night Owl and reminded him, “Don’t wander too far.”

“Got it.”

They began searching the ruins separately. The charred outer walls were covered in moss, and the once-intricate carvings were now unrecognizable. Ran Qi pushed aside scattered planks and stones until, at the center of the ruins, he discovered a pitch-black hole.

The hole appeared to lead underground, and from within came the deep, muffled sound of a beastly growl. Whatever lurked below was unknown…

This could very well be their destination. Straightening up, Ran Qi called for Night Owl.

“Let’s go in and take a look.” No matter what kind of monsters or demons lay ahead, they had to face them.

“Alright.”

The two ventured down a narrow, shadowy passageway, eventually emerging into a hidden underground chamber. It seemed to be a sacrificial temple, but not one dedicated to any benevolent deity—its sinister aura was enough to instill fear.

At the temple’s center lay a massive pentagram, with skulls placed at each of its five points and along the intersecting lines. The skulls were coated in dust and cobwebs, indicating that no one had entered for many years.

But the moment Ran Qi and Night Owl stepped inside, the pentagram suddenly lit up, and eerie blue flames burst from the hollow eye sockets of the skulls.

“Who dares trespass into my domain?!” A chilling, aged voice echoed through the chamber. “Since you have come, you shall not leave.”

As the voice fell, the pentagram’s glow intensified, and the skulls embedded in the formation suddenly rose from the ground, transforming into skeletal warriors clad in tattered armor. These were Level 50 elite monsters, with thick HP. However, for Night Owl, they weren’t too difficult to deal with.

As the skeletons roared and charged toward them, Night Owl calmly positioned himself in front of Ran Qi, shielding him. He then cast Glacier to slow them down, followed by a Firewall to block their advance, and finally unleashed a Firestorm to deliver the fatal blow.

Even though Night Owl was cursed, his strength remained unaffected, and his attack power was as terrifying as ever. His rapid skill execution left the skeletons with barely a sliver of health before they could even get close. In the end, they could only roar in frustration as they turned to ashes.

“Useless trash!” That aged voice echoed once more. “Come forth, my pet!”

The pentagram formation on the ground suddenly shone brightly, illuminating the entire temple as if it were daytime. The ground trembled violently, splitting open to reveal a massive skeletal claw emerging from the depths. It was as tall as two people and shrouded in thick, dark death energy, exuding an overwhelming sense of danger.

“Kill them!”

Under the control of that aged voice, the claw struck fiercely toward Ran Qi and Night Owl, its speed so fast that it tore through the air with a sharp whooshing sound.

Night Owl swiftly wrapped an arm around Ran Qi’s waist and pulled him back at high speed, narrowly avoiding the deadly strike.

The claw slammed into the wall, leaving deep, terrifying gashes.

“Roar!” A deep, guttural growl resonated from beneath the ground—the same sound they had heard before entering the tunnel.

“Go!” Night Owl made a quick decision, grabbing Ran Qi’s hand and sprinting toward the passage they had come from.

Behind them, the ground trembled even more violently, as if an earthquake had struck. The ceiling of the passage cracked, and large chunks of stone and soil began to collapse, as though a massive creature was about to emerge.

A priest’s running speed was simply too slow. Even with Night Owl pulling him along, Ran Qi couldn’t keep up.

“Get on! I’ll carry you!” Night Owl bent down in front of him.

Ran Qi gritted his teeth, jumped onto Night Owl’s back, and wrapped his arms around his shoulders.

Night Owl adjusted his grip, then dashed forward at full speed. Despite being a mage, his base agility stat was on par with that of assassins and archers. When he ran at full throttle, he was as fast as the wind.

With Ran Qi on his back, Night Owl sprinted wildly and barely made it out before the tunnel collapsed entirely. He didn’t stop immediately, continuing to run for a considerable distance until he was certain they were safe.

When they finally turned around, the ruins they had been in had completely crumbled. From the massive rift in the ground, a colossal bone dragon emerged.

Unlike the adorable little chubby dragon or the majestic dragons of fairy tales, this skeletal dragon radiated pure menace and danger.

This bone dragon was also level 50, but it was clearly a boss-class monster—its HP was dozens of times that of the skeleton warriors from before.

Still, Night Owl showed no hesitation. After setting Ran Qi down, he immediately raised his staff and engaged the bone dragon in battle.

The bone dragon was incredibly powerful. Even after Night Owl cast slowing spells, they had little effect on it. On the other hand, a single strike from the dragon’s claws took out nearly half of Night Owl’s HP.

Fortunately, with Ran Qi providing timely healing, Night Owl gradually identified the dragon’s weakness over time. It had high attack power, but it relied solely on physical attacks—its strength and razor-sharp claws being its main weapons. As long as Night Owl maintained distance and leveraged his ranged mage abilities, he had a chance.

This kiting strategy sounded simple but was incredibly difficult to execute in practice. Only someone like Night Owl, with his fast reflexes and high mobility, could pull it off.

Taking advantage of the dark environment of the Undead Domain, Ran Qi hid in the shadows. Whenever Night Owl passed by, he would quickly cast healing spells and apply continuous regeneration effects.

The bone dragon seemed to lack intelligence and failed to notice Ran Qi. It single-mindedly chased after Night Owl, but all it managed to do was steadily lose health without landing another hit.

The aged voice soon noticed Night Owl’s recovering HP and immediately realized the presence of Ran Qi. The voice erupted in fury. “Where did this little bug come from?! Kill him!”