Chapter 95: Spirit Dungeon [2]

Amon blinked, and the chamber appeared and disappeared.

A strange voice whispered directly into his ear. "....Help me."

Amon’s expression became serious.

He immediately tried to move, but his body didn’t respond.

He couldn’t feel the stone beneath his feet anymore, nor could he hear the faint dripping water from the corridors behind him.

Only the sound of strings remained as each note seemed to vibrate directly inside his head.

Amon drew in a deep breath. ’This is some kind of spiritual illusion.’

He tried circulating the Spirit Sovereign Scripture.

The moment the technique began moving through his mind, the darkness around him trembled.

The voice disappeared, and his surroundings suddenly returned.

Amon found himself standing in the same chamber.

The Bone Harpist was only a few metres away, with its mouth salivating.

Its skeletal body crawled toward him while the thin strings stretched between its limbs continued vibrating.

Amon slowly exhaled. "So that’s your ability."

"Help me...?" The creature tilted its head.

’It is mimicking a human voice?’ Amon thought to himself.

The monster’s empty eye sockets stared directly at him before it plucked another string.

A sharp wave of spiritual energy rushed toward Amon.

He immediately raised his hand, and a transparent barrier formed in front of him. The spiritual wave crashed against it.

The barrier cracked, absorbing the shock.

Amon’s eyes widened slightly. ’This thing is going to be annoying.’

The creature raised both arms, and every string attached to its body began vibrating.

The strings suddenly released a dozen invisible waves.

Amon used Spatial Steps, and his body disappeared and reappeared several meters away.

The first wave passed through the place where he had been standing.

The second struck a pillar and carved a deep groove through the stone.

He immediately began moving.

Spatial Steps allowed him to teleport around the chamber in short bursts, while the Bone Harpist continuously fired spiritual waves in his direction.

The creature wasn’t particularly fast, but its attacks covered almost the entire room.

Amon narrowly avoided another wave before jumping onto a stone pillar.

He looked down at the creature. ’The problem is that I can’t kill it with anything except spirit-related abilities.’

He could freeze it, and he could crush its limbs, but none of those things could actually finish it.

That meant he needed to weaken it enough that Soulpiercer could touch its spirit.

Amon smiled. "I think I have an idea."

He raised his hand, and mana gathered around his fingers.

The Bone Harpist plucked another string, and Amon immediately used Spatial Steps.

The spiritual wave passed behind him.

At the same moment, a massive chunk of ice erupted from the ground beneath the monster.

The Bone Harpist was launched into the air.

Its body twisted unnaturally as it tried to regain its balance.

Amon didn’t give it the chance. He used mana thread and wrapped the monster with it before pulling it.

The creature crashed against the wall, and several of its bones cracked.

Amon landed on the ground and rushed toward it.

The Bone Harpist raised one arm and made the strings vibrate.

Amon immediately ducked as an invisible attack passed above his head.

He stepped forward and grabbed the creature’s wrist. "You’re really making this difficult."

He twisted, snapping the bone into two different pieces.

The Bone Harpist screeched.

Amon kicked its knee and forced the creature to stay in place as he pulled Soulpiercer from his waist.

The Bone Harpist desperately tried to crawl away.

Amon stepped over its body and drove Soulpiercer directly into its chest.

The transparent edge pierced through its skeletal body.

A black mist poured out from between its ribs.

The strings snapped one after another as the Bone Harpist’s body collapsed.

[Spirit-related killing method confirmed.]

[Bone Harpist eliminated.]

[Dungeon Time: 00:12:06]

[Speed Bonus: Moderate.]

Amon pulled Soulpiercer free as he looked at the timer.

He put Soulpiercer away and continued deeper into the dungeon.

The chamber behind him slowly returned to silence.

Amon passed through another narrow corridor before noticing something strange.

There were footprints on the floor.

’Someone came through here recently?’

He had checked the information Richard had given him. There were no reports of recent adventurers entering this section.

Amon stood up and looked ahead. ’...I just hope it’s not something I can’t deal with.’

He continued following the footprints, and the deeper he went, the colder the dungeon became.

The walls gradually changed from dark stone to something resembling pale bone.

The entire dungeon suddenly appeared different.

Thin streams of spiritual energy were flowing through the walls.

They moved like veins beneath skin, all converging toward somewhere deeper underground.

Amon stared at them. "What the hell are they supposed to be?"

That wasn’t mentioned in Richard’s report, and as he was about to walk away, Amon heard a sound.

Something was dragging itself across the floor ahead.

He reached for Soulpiercer when a small creature crawled around the corner.

It looked like a tiny skull with four thin legs.

Amon recognized it from the document, but he had forgotten its name.

The creature stared at him, and it suddenly opened its tiny jaw.

Amon sighed as he immediately kicked the monster away.

The Grave Crawler flew backward and crashed into the wall.

Amon walked toward it. "You could have just kept walking."

The creature struggled to stand.

Amon raised Soulpiercer and killed the monster with it.

The creature vanished into a small cloud of black mist.

[Grave Crawler eliminated.]

[Dungeon Time: 00:13:02]

[Speed Bonus: Moderate.]

Amon nodded and kept on walking deeper as the corridor eventually opened into another large chamber.

This one was filled with hanging bones.

Hundreds of them dangled from the ceiling like decorations, gently swaying despite the complete lack of wind.

Amon looked around and found those things creepy.

He stepped forward when a bone suddenly dropped from the ceiling.

Amon moved aside, but another one dropped in the place he had just arrived.

The boy was quick enough to change his direction as he looked up.

The hanging bones were moving... to be precise, something was moving through them.

Amon immediately stepped backward as a long, pale arm emerged from the ceiling.

Something slowly lowered itself from the darkness.

Its body was thin and distorted, covered in patches of pale flesh stretched over a skeletal frame.

Its head turned toward Amon as he recognized it instantly. His grip tightened around Soulpiercer. ’Bone Stitcher.’

The creature’s fingers slowly opened.

Several thin strands of spiritual energy extended from its fingertips and connected to the bones hanging around the chamber.

Amon took one step back, and the Bone Stitcher pulled its hand back.

Every bone in the chamber moved at once. Hundreds of bones suddenly shot toward him like arrows.

He immediately activated Dragon Emperor’s Scale Armor.

Black scales spread across his body, and the first wave of bones slammed into him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Amon was pushed backward but remained standing. He looked down at the scales covering his chest.

"Thank god for this thing."

The Bone Stitcher pulled its fingers again, and the bones around Amon suddenly twisted together.

They formed a massive skeletal hand that closed around him.

Amon’s expression became annoyed. "Seriously?"

The boy touched the skeleton hand, and frost exploded outward.

The skeletal hand froze solid in a matter of seconds.

Amon smashed his way through the frozen bones and landed several meters away.

The Bone Stitcher stared at him as the creature raised both hands.

The bones throughout the chamber began moving again as the entire chamber began to shake.

[Warning.]

[Dungeon Time: 00:18:41]

[Speed Bonus will decrease if completion speed falls below current threshold.]

Amon looked at the message, then he looked at the Bone Stitcher.

"Alright." He drew Soulpiercer. "Maximum effort."

The Bone Stitcher suddenly pulled both hands toward itself, and every bone in the chamber flew into the air.

The entire swarm began forming into something enormous above his head.