Much like the [Final Chamber] of the [Ruins of Oblivion], this place immediately let Karl know he had reached the end.
The air changed, and the pressure increased ever so slightly.
The hall he entered was far larger than the two previous ones.
Massive, stretching far ahead and far to each side, almost like it belonged to an entirely different structure than the rest of the [Moon Temple].
And even then, the design kept its original identity.
The ceiling still held the symbol of a full moon carved into the stone, big and circular, shining faint silver light down onto the entire hall.
It wasn't as bright as sunlight, but it created an eerie glow that coated everything in a pale tone.
On each side of the hall were tall stone windows, but they didn't show the outside world in any normal way.
All he could see through them was an endless night sky, completely calm, with a bright moon hovering over everything.
Its light bled softly into the room, mixing with the glow from the ceiling.
The entire place felt frozen between reality and illusion, stuck in a permanent night.
But the most important part stood directly in the center of the hall: an altar.
A lone stone altar that rose slightly off the ground, as if made to display something important.
And on that altar stood a creature that immediately caught Karl's eye.
The moment he saw it, he understood he had reached the final boss of the [Moon Temple].
It stood at roughly three meters tall, its body made of skeletal bones that constantly crackled with silver lightning, as if electricity flowed through the gaps where muscles and flesh should have been.
The bones weren't normal bones either, they looked reinforced, glowing, almost metallic, but still retaining the shape of a humanoid skeleton.
It wore a long silver robe that fluttered slightly despite there being no wind.
Lightning crawled across the fabric too, tracing its edges and sleeves.
In its right hand, it held a staff with a silver orb at its end.
The orb pulsed with a silver aura, sending faint ripples of power through the hall every couple of seconds.
'That staff,' Karl thought, eyes narrowing a bit, 'It looks good…'
The undead moon mage slowly turned its head toward Karl, as if it had sensed him the very moment he entered the room.
Its empty eye sockets flared with bright silver light, growing stronger as it noticed him.
And then—
"Someone is here once more…" the boss actually spoke.
Its voice echoed unnaturally, almost as if multiple versions of the same tone spoke at once.
Then the creature jumped down from the altar in a single controlled movement, landing on the floor with a loud thud that shook the ground.
"Hah…"
Karl did not flinch.
He didn't react to the boss talking either.
He was used to some monsters being able to speak.
It didn't surprise him at all.
Usually it was reserved for those that were extremely strong or extremely intelligent.
This boss clearly fell into those categories.
---
[Undead Moon Mage (Level 15)]
[Rank: Epic (Boss)]
[HP: 75,000]
---
Its HP alone was terrifying.
Even small teams of experienced players at this early stage in the game would have trouble dealing with a boss like this.
Fighting it solo? Impossible for anyone else.
"No one has managed to put up a challenge for a while," the undead mage said, its head tilting slightly as if studying Karl. "And you're… alone."
"I don't need anybody else," Karl replied, a confident grin forming on his face as he held his staff ready.
"So be it."
Karl remembered this boss very clearly.
It was the first one in all of [Gods Ascension] that introduced the [Phase] system.
Bosses strong enough to have more than one phase in battle.
It was rare at the start of the game, but later on, many powerful bosses had multiple phases, usually two, sometimes even three.
In higher-level regions, some had more abilities, different mechanics, complete transformation sequences.
But this one? If Karl remembered right… this boss only had two phases.
He pointed his staff forward at the exact same moment the undead moon mage raised its own staff.
It was clear just by looking at it, the mage's staff was far superior to Karl's current one.
But Karl didn't care.
His advantage wasn't his equipment.
It was his [Heir of Oblivion] class and his experience.
And if he could defeat this boss, that stronger staff might become his anyway.
The undead moon mage's staff flared brightly as it prepared to fire a [Moon Beam].
But Karl reacted faster.
Cataclysmic Fireball! Lightning Strike! Frost Crystals!
He fired all three spells in the same instant.
The moment the boss's staff gathered power, Karl unleashed his barrage.
His timing was perfect.
His casting speed was actually faster than most real mages in the game, despite the fact that in his past life he had been a warrior.
His experience carried him.
Fwish! Boom!
-22,350! -13,140! Blocked!
The fireball and lightning strike hit directly, their damage brutal and immediate.
But by the time the frost crystals reached the boss, it had already activated a [Moon Shield], blocking that part of the attack.
Still, Karl had dealt nearly half of its health in a single second.
Only after receiving all of this damage did the undead moon mage finally react and fire its first spell.
Moon Beam!
Silver light concentrated into its staff for only a split second.
'Shit, I should have kept an attack ready.'
This was the same type of "charging" attack as the [Moon Buff] from earlier bosses.
Attacks that could be disrupted if you hit the caster at the right time.
But Karl had already thrown everything he had the moment he entered this fight.
Every spell was now on cooldown.
And so, after that brief charge, the boss fired.
BOOM!!
A thick silver beam erupted from its staff, firing directly at Karl.
He immediately activated his [Powerful Magic Barrier].
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The beam hammered into his barrier nonstop for three full seconds.
The shield held, but it lost around 6,000 HP in the process.
'If I didn't upgrade my barrier, I'd be dead right now,' Karl thought, a grin forming. 'Good call.'
The undead moon mage didn't speak anymore.
It could, clearly, but it didn't find it necessary.
Karl didn't talk either. There was nothing to say now.
This was a duel between two mages, plain and simple.
Moon Wave!
The boss slammed its staff into the ground, releasing a shockwave of silver energy.
Karl dodged by using one of the pillars as a jump point, flipping over the attack in a way no mage would ever normally do.
"You aren't an actual mage, are you?" the boss suddenly said. "These movements…"
Karl didn't answer.
Cataclysmic Fireball!
The undead mage tried to cast a [Moon Shield] again, but the frost crystals from before had already cracked its shield slightly.
The fireball broke through, slamming into its chest again.
-22,350!
And it wasn't that the boss refused to dodge, it simply couldn't.
The undead moon mage was stunned by the fact Karl moved like this.
Real mages didn't dodge. They stood in place and cast spells.
But Karl?
He dodged everything like a melee fighter, using movement, walls, pillars, jumps, all while casting nonstop.
It made no sense to the boss.
And eventually, the boss's HP finally dipped under 20,000.
The second phase began at that moment.
"Futile…" the undead moon mage said, silver lightning erupting from its eye sockets. "Only one mage will win… and it is I."
The moon symbol in the ceiling suddenly flared, brighter than before.
The moonlight from the windows intensified, lighting the entire hall.
Then—
Bam!
From the ceiling, a massive silver orb appeared, hovering above the boss's head.
A silver chain extended from the mage's body, directly linking it to the orb.
[Boss HP: 17,160/75,000 (Locked)]
Karl's eyes narrowed. Its health bar was locked.
Meaning no matter what he did, he couldn't damage it anymore.
But he understood why.
Anyone who had seen these mechanics before would.
To damage the boss again, he needed to break the chain.
And to break the chain, he needed to destroy the orb.
Frost Crystals!
Karl immediately formed three crystals and launched them toward the orb.
The orb moved around unpredictably, making it harder to hit.
Slam!
Only one crystal connected.
Crack!
A crack formed on the orb's surface.
Then a panel appeared.
[Moon Orb: 2/3]
'Oh?'
Meaning it needed three hits to break.
He already landed one. Only two more needed.
Karl grinned widely.
If that was all he needed, then the victory was already in sight.
He just needed to land two more hits.