The five undead mirror spirits, now using their [Reflection] skill and transforming into Skeletal Guards, charged at the real skeletal guards with their green-bladed swords.
The raid team watched with wide eyes and gaping mouths, unable to believe what they were seeing.
"He had such a powerful summon all along and didn't use it?"
"This guy is unbelievably strong."
"I can't believe such a powerful profession agreed to raid with us…"
The raid team sighed once again in shock and disbelief.
They had heard of high-grade summon-type professionals before, but none of the stories or information they knew could explain Ethan.
He seemed too absurdly powerful, yet strangely understandable.
Not to mention, Ethan was a newly awakened professional.
He was just beginning his life as an awakener.
He had not even undergone his first profession evolution, and he was already this powerful.
They could not help imagining how strong he would become after evolving or even double evolving.
The five undead mirror spirits clashed with the five skeletal guards.
They possessed the same attributes, the same appearance, the same set of skills, the same height and weight, and even the same type of sword in their skeletal hands.
Yet, instead of holding their ground, Ethan's summons were pushed back, their bones trembling as they sustained damage.
"Pushed back?" Ethan narrowed his eyes. "Oh, right… the Skeletal Warden's skill. I see. So the [Reflection] skill only copies the original attributes of the target. Good to know."
He then gave mental commands to his Undead Ice Spirits and Undead Earth Spirits, and in the next second, they unleashed their strongest offensive skills.
The Ice Spirits released their full-powered [Frozen Spear], while the Earth Spirits fired [Stone Javelin] after [Stone Javelin] at the skeletal guards.
But the attacks only managed to inflict minor damage as the skeletal guards actively used [Bone Shield] and [Bonebreaker Slash], either blocking the assaults or counterattacking, canceling out attacks on both sides and even overpowering Ethan's spirits.
"Even if his spirits can mimic the attributes and skills of the skeletal guards, they cannot replicate the effects of the Skeletal Warden's skill."
"The [Warden's Rally] skill not only increases their attributes but also boosts their skill effectiveness. And their attacks even seem more coordinated now."
Ethan had similar thoughts.
While the Undead Mirror Spirits could use [Reflection] to transform into their targets, inheriting their attributes and skills, that was where the replication stopped. They did not inherit buffs granted by other sources.
"Let us see if this works." Ethan suddenly had an idea.
He activated his summoning skill.
[Summon Undead Spirits: Skill Activated]
He summoned one more Undead Mirror Spirit and ordered it to use [Reflection] on the Skeletal Warden itself.
In the next instant, the metal-liquid, slimy body of the spirit began to shift, expanding into an eight-foot-tall skeletal figure.
Its bones turned green under the influence of the undead attribute, affecting the [Reflection] transformation.
It now wore a tattered robe, its skull hidden in the darkness of the hood.
Ethan glanced at the transformed spirit.
---
[Undead Mirror Spirit]
[Reflected form: Skeletal Warden]
[Reflection Duration: 00:02:30]
[Reflected Level: 15]
[Reflected Skills]
-Warden's Rally: The spirit unleashes a powerful battle cry, increasing the attributes of all your summons by 30% and enhancing the effectiveness of their skills by 35%.
---
"So it does work," he muttered, eyes widening with a grin. "Use [Warden's Rally]."
In the next instant, the transformed mirror spirit released a glorious battle scream, and waves of energy swept across all of Ethan's summons.
Every one of them, including the Undead King, began to emit a grey-green aura as their attributes increased by 30 percent and their skill effectiveness rose by 35 percent.
"Slay them," Ethan commanded calmly.
In the next second, his entire legion of summons charged the five skeletal guards.
A one-sided thrashing began almost immediately.
Swarms of [Frozen Spear], [Earth Javelin], and [Volt Burst] rained down on the skeletal guards, followed by the Undead Knights swinging their black swords at full force.
Even when the skeletal guards used [Bone Shield] to block the attacks from the other spirits, the Undead Knights and Mirror Spirits would strike them the moment their guard weakened.
They were given no time to stabilize, continuously overwhelmed from all sides, with no way to avoid suffering heavy damage.
The skeletal soldiers had already been wiped out earlier by Ethan before this battle began.
Within a few minutes, the skeletal guards had taken so much damage that cracks began to spread across their bones.
"I guess they are weakened enough," Ethan nodded.
The Undead Ice Spirits began mass-casting [Frost Wave], unleashing wave upon wave of powerful ice energy enhanced by [Warden's Rally].
Layers of ice rapidly formed around the skeletal guards, freezing them solid before they could even activate [Bone Shield].
Frozen like statues, the skeletal guards were then struck by the Earth Spirits' [Stone Spikes], a barrage of sharp, hand-sized spikes made of pure earth energy.
Each impact landed with the sound of rocks smashing into brittle glass.
Bit by bit, the frozen skeletal guards shattered, their bodies turning into piles of broken bone fragments.
Finally, the Earth Spirits unleashed their [Stone Javelin], which struck the lone Skeletal Warden, killing it instantly.
[Experience limit reached]
[You have reached Level 10]
[Your skill: Summon Undead Knight has reached Level 10]
[Your skill: Summon Undead Spirits has reached Level 10]
[Your Undead Graveyard capacity has increased by 1]
"Damn... he really cleared this stage on his own..." a support professional said, sighing.
"High-grade professionals are really different from us common folk," another added.
"Yeah, we'll talk about him some other time. Let's see what rewards we're getting," the hammer guy said, as a system prompt appeared in everyone's field of vision.
[You have defeated the Boss monster, Skeletal Warden]
[You have cleared the Final Stage of the [Skeleton Chamber] dungeon]
[Requirement fulfilled]
[You have cleared the [Skeleton Chamber] dungeon]
[Calculating Rewards...]
"I reached level 10, the peak of Tier-1. Now all that's left is to fill my skill slots and obtain three [Skill Enhancement Cards]. Then I can move on to Tier-2. But until then, I have to turn off my Experience Cultivator," Ethan sighed as he deactivated it.
From now on, no matter how many monsters he killed, his experience would not increase until he switched the cultivator back on.
He then turned his attention back to the system prompt.
"You defeated them on your own... You are so powerful," Jonathan said, smiling slightly.
"I just got lucky," Ethan replied as he retrieved 20 of his Undead Knights back to his [Undead Graveyard] and dismissed the rest of the summons.
The only summons he could carry with him were his Undead Knights, another weakness he was beginning to recognize as potentially problematic.
"Luck, huh... I just hope our luck is enough for at least one piece of equipment to drop," Jonathan said, sighing.
Ethan rubbed his chin, hearing the thought appear in his head.
"The rewards for clearing the dungeon vary; some are guaranteed, while others are left to chance. In this dungeon, the equipment this team is looking for drops by chance, and the only way to increase those chances is to clear the dungeon repeatedly until the desired item appears."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Chances are just luck. If my [Black Halo] trait's effects are real, then with my presence here, the equipment should drop. This should be the perfect chance to test one more time whether my trait actually affects the chances."
[Reward calculation complete]
[You have received 2,000 System Gold]
[...]
[...]
"What's going on? Why is the system acting frozen?"
"Looks like the equipment didn't drop... what's up with the system?"
[You have received [Bone Armor] equipment]
[You have received [Dead People's Belt] equipment]
[You have received [Killer Bone Sword] equipment]
[You have received [Warden's Ring] equipment]
[You have received [Warden's Robe] equipment]
"What the hell?"
"Is this for real?"
"Bite me"
It was like everything they had believed until now had been proved wrong.
They had been discussing how many times they'd have to clear this dungeon to obtain even a single piece of equipment.
The idea of multiple drops from a single dungeon raid had never occurred to them, which made it feel as if they were witnessing an impossibility come true.
The entire set of equipment from the [Skeletal Warden Set] had dropped at once.
Something like this had never happened before.
Ethan's eyes showed a mix of shock, surprise, awe, and bewilderment.
"No more tests. This is all the proof I need."
"My trait is absolutely real. It might just be the strongest trait to ever exist or ever will."