Percival stood still. Unafraid.
The Crownless King was a deadly threat for any low-level Awakener, but he had faced more deadlier foes.
He had faced the Demon Lord himself.
That said, he wasn't about to underestimate the boss of a Gate World.
Complacency was a silent killer.
Experience taught him that bosses often held hidden powers that manifested when they seemed on the brink of defeat.
There was no reason, the Crownless King, with his blood-red eyes boring into Percival, would be any different.
Percival felt the air become syrup, thick as poisoned water.
With a sound of grinding stone and tearing roots, he watched the giant king rise from his throne.
Vines snapped and re-knitted, pulling the colossal form upright. The Crownless King loomed, a monument of corrupted flesh and bitter history.
He dragged behind him a greatsword so wide it looked carved from the bones of a god.
The ground trembled as he took his first step.
Then came his voice. Echoing in its depth, causing the pillars of the crypt to shudder.
"WHO… DARES…?" he rumbled.
"WHO SEEKS TO DENY ME MY DESTINY? THE THRONE IS MINE BY BIRTHRIGHT! BY BLOOD! BY SACRIFICE!"
Percival couldn't care less about a throne.
He activated ⸢Bladewave⸥, slicing his sword at the air.
A crescent of compressed air shrieked across the chamber, striking the King square in the chest.
The crescent vanished after, leaving a dent of -20 points from the King's 2500 HP. It was a wound that would have felled a lesser beast, but the King barely staggered.
He let out a roar, one of rage and pain, and in response, the corners of the crypt vomited forth more beasts.
Wolves, Vinebeasts, and all the creatures from earlier advanced. Soldiers of the Crownless King.
"Deal with the beasts," Percival commanded his Skeletons. "I'll take the King."
It wasn't going to be a real challenge, but this was his first true battle since regressing.
As Percival's Skeletons and the beasts clashed, the King advanced, shaking the ground with each step.
He raised a hand.
Out of the walls thorns tore and lashed upward like a thousand barbed whips.
Percival held his sword vertically in front of him, activating ⸢Iron Stance⸥.
⸢Iron Stance: An unmatchable posture that solidifies the body, passively shunting incoming minor damage as the slim sword becomes a shield⸥
⸢D-Grade⸥
The thorns scraped and shattered against the invisible field around him.
Even though Percival's HP was incredibly high, that didn't mean he intended to take damage.
Or feel pain.
But the King wasn't finished.
He swung his greatsword, now weeping black sap, in a devastating, horizontal arc.
"YOU CANNOT STOP WHAT IS WRITTEN! THE CROWN IS MINE!"
Percival leaped over the blade and activated ⸢Flash Strike⸥.
⸢Flash Strike: A short-range, high-speed dash movement, executing a lunge or a slice between locations⸥
⸢C-Grade⸥
Likes blur, a dash of incandescent propelled him from the King's front to his side, slicing through his large shoulder.
The King struck again. Percival dodged. Another strike. He dodged yet again.
A simple move of his shoulder was all it took to evade the slow attacks of the D-Rank Boss.
While the others were on cooldown, Percival tested his simpler skills, spamming ⸢Slash⸥, ⸢Parry⸥ and ⸢Lunge⸥.
⸢Slash: A sword stroke fueled by mana⸥
⸢Parry: Deflecting attack with mana aid⸥
⸢Lunge: A rapid, deep thrust that uses mana to penetrate⸥
⸢E-Grade⸥
The Crownless King was yet to land a single hit on Percival.
It was not surprising. After all, he was facing a Lvl 150 Awakener who was toying with him to test his sharpness.
Frustration building, the King summoned thorns around his sword, turning it into a club.
Then he swung down, aimed to crush Percival's head.
Percival leapt forward, meeting the blow head-on.
He activated ⸢Blessed Edge⸥ dragging his sword to meet the Crownless King's.
⸢Blessed Edge: Channels mana into the edges of a sword, amplifying damage on contact for a short duration⸥
⸢C-Grade Skill⸥
Their weapons collided with a sound like a thunderclap.
Dust scattered.
Percival flipped backward, landing gracefully on the floor.
The King glanced at his sword. The vines were gone.
He glared at Percival. "ANOTHER PRETENDER TO MY THRONE... ANOTHER THIEF HERE TO DENY MY CROWN!"
He raised his sword again, and from the edges of the weapon, he summoned his powers.
Roots of crimson energy burst outward, turning the air into a storm of brambles.
Percival looked up at the rain and grunted.
There was nothing to worry about with his massive HP, but the pain would be unnecessary.
He activated ⸢Radiant Guard⸥.
⸢Radiant Guard: A temporary magic barrier capable of neutralizing weak enemy projectiles.⸥
⸢C-Grade⸥
A veil of silver energy domed over him.
When the thorns fell, they shattered against it in a rain of sparks.
"HIDE YOURSELF BEHIND YOUR SHIELD! YOU BELONG ANYWHERE ELSE BUT MY THRONE!"
Slightly bored, Percival checked to see how his Skeletons were doing.
He grimaced.
Several of them were about to be killed, their health bars almost empty.
⸢Radiant Guard⸥ deactivated, entering cooldown, and the bramble storm ceased.
Percival ignored the roaring King and turned to his Skeletons.
He used ⸢Soul Draught⸥ on the beast corpses, revitalizing his Skeletons, before turning his attention back to the King.
He checked the health bar. 1490 out of 2500 were gone.
Just a handful of strikes remained to fell the boss.
His plan was the same as it had been in the earlier Encounter Zones: weaken the Boss enough with his Swordsman Skills and then use his Necromancer Skills to finish the job.
So he pressed on, using ⸢Slash⸥, ⸢Lunge⸥, and ⸢Bladeweave⸥, cutting the HP of the boss, down to a 220.
The King swung again. This time he was faster, the blade trailing trails of withered petals that exploded into poisonous mist.
The mist stung Percival's nose, weakening him, but not reducing HP.
Even so, with a Constitution of 910, there was very little a D-Rank Boss could do to weaken Percival.
The King's voice echoed, defiant and desperate. "YOU CANNOT DENY ME. I AM THE RIGHTFUL HEIR! I HAVE BLED FOR THIS CROWN! AND I SHALL WEAR IT!!"
Suddenly, all the vines covering the chamber awakened with a quake, and green dark energy burned out of them.
Percival's Perception tinged like a spider, and without thinking, he did something.
He shifted.
Blue smoke enveloped him, and he was suddenly gone. Vanished. A storm of spectral fragments scattering to ash.
He had used ⸢Grave Step⸥.
The vines struck the bare floor, exploding to a circle of green wrathful energy.
Percival's Skeletons were harmed, their HP reducing massively.
But the death throe had missed Percival completely.
He wasn't on the ground.
He was in the air, reappeared from blue fog behind the king of vines, sword hilt gripped tight with both arms as he activated ⸢Sword Projection⸥.
⸢Sword Projection: Extends the cutting edge of the sword outward like an energy blade. Can be controled mentally to target enemies⸥
⸢B-Grade⸥
A magical extension of his sword edge shot out, pure silver and certain death.
The projected blade pierced the King's back and erupted out from his chest, spearing directly through the pulsating, heartflower that served as his core.
What was left of his HP drained completely.
The King froze, the hellish light in his eyes flickering as he faced the certainty of his death.
He looked down at the magical blade protruding from his chest, then slowly turned to glance at his throne; at the crown, still held just beyond his reach by the dead priest.
For a moment, his evil eyes turned human. His pain almost real.
"NO!!!!" he wailed in a century old agony. "MY CROWN… MY BIRTHRIGHT…"
His massive form began to shudder, dissolving into a storm of ash and withering vines.
The lesser beasts joined, and their death was emphasized with a final, unified shriek as they crumbled to the floor, the vines retreating into nothing.
Percival stood amidst the settling dust.
His breath was steady. But his brows were furrowed.
He had just solo-cleared a Gate World but that wasn't what was on his mind.
There was a notification hovering in front of him. One that made his heart skip.
⸢Hidden Quest Completed!⸥
⸢Quest: The Blade and the Grave⸥
⸢Description: Combine a Necromancer Skill and Swordsman Skill in combat to form a unified execution⸥
⸢Reward: +100 EXP | +2 Skill Points |+3 Dexterity | +3 Intelligence |+5 Summon Spaces⸥
Percival stared. 'Another one?'