Crumble Bones and Scatter Ashes

Roger was fast.

Like an agile mountain goat, he leaped and bounded across the hillside, darting and weaving.

Some of the Skeleton Soldiers noticed this outrageously bold Adventurer.

They raised their crude weapons toward the slope, preparing to stop him.

But their reactions were truly too slow.

Roger did not even need Cloud Mist Step. Relying solely on the movement speed bonus inherent to Hidden Hero, he brushed past them like a fleeting flash of light.

Thud! He planted a foot on a hard rock and leaped high into the air, pouncing like a hungry tiger upon sheep as he charged deeper into the Skeleton Soldier formation.

The next second.

He raised the back of his hand slightly. The Ninth Chant he had prepared long ago instantly ignited the power of the Suicide Ring! Second Ring Spell—Extreme Flame Storm! A muffled boom rang out.

Three terrifyingly fierce fire tornadoes rose from the ground, centered on Roger, growing and spreading without end! Their blazing tongues of flame resembled vicious fiends from hell, mercilessly sweeping the Skeleton Soldiers into their midst.

In the blink of an eye, they were burned into bone ash and scattered into the sky!

It was dusk, and due to the terrain at the pass, the gale was at its strongest.

Amid the passionate mingling of wind and fire, no one knew how many Skeleton Soldiers were ruthlessly erased!

The lingering sun at the horizon gradually faded.

Yet the flames on the ground still burned.

"You killed 1 Skeleton Soldier. Your total number of Skeleton Soldiers killed has reached 100. You have obtained a new milestone—Crumble Bones and Scatter Ashes!"

"You gained 1 XP."

"Your Fear Resistance has improved slightly."

Surrounded by magic flames of extreme heat, Roger was in quite a good mood. He even had the leisure to inspect the milestone he had just acquired.

"Crumble Bones and Scatter Ashes (C-rank Milestone)"

"Method of acquisition: Completely destroy the bodies and souls of 100 enemies by any means."

"Reward: 1 Milestone Point."

"Next stage: Completely destroy the bodies and souls of 1,000 enemies by any means."

"Note: It is necessary to crumble the bones and scatter the ashes of every enemy. After all, betting that they will not revive on the spot is far too risky."

That note spoke deeply to Roger's heart.

He decided that Crumble Bones and Scatter Ashes would become a mandatory standard for dealing with every enemy from now on, with no room for compromise.

It would also make accumulating Milestone Points easier.

"No wonder everyone envies mages. The feeling of gaining experience just by standing there and farming monsters is simply wonderful."

"Still... Extreme Flame Storm is great in every way, except that it is a little hot."

Although the fire tornadoes kept spreading outward, Roger was still affected.

He could ignore the magic damage from Extreme Flame Storm, but he still felt hot.

Fortunately, he had applied fireproof "Cold Fish Grease" to his clothes beforehand.

Otherwise, by the time Extreme Flame Storm ended, he might have been running around naked.

Taking advantage of the flames, the members of the punitive expedition also used the opportunity to regroup.

They tightened their formation, drawing a clear boundary between themselves and the chaotic skeletons.

As they watched the expanding fire tornadoes.

Nothing but shock remained on their faces.

"Roger... what class is he?"

Terry could not help asking.

Dorothy was equally stunned. "I always thought he was a ranger."

Terry shook his head. "He is definitely not a ranger."

"Only the legendary True Dragon Warlocks can fear no flames!"

Dorothy opened her mouth, not knowing what to say.

She had always thought she was the person in town who knew Roger best, yet she had not even figured out his class!

"No wonder he could take down the Red Tide Corpse horde all by himself."

Terry removed his helmet and tucked it at his waist, his gaze fixed on the center of Extreme Flame Storm. "But... has he always been this high-profile?"

The others all shook their heads.

Dorothy bit her lip. "No."

"He only became like this after killing the Red Tide Corpse Queen."

"I do not really understand either..."

But Terry gave a soft laugh. "I see."

"Hm?" Dorothy did not understand.

"You still have not realized it?"

Terry put his helmet back on and wiped the Bone Powder-covered longsword clean.

"He is leaving!"

Dorothy froze instantly.

Because in this world, leaving meant it would be difficult to meet again.

She had seen too many Adventurers leave Tongma Town for Gem City, setting foot on the thorny road of chasing their dreams, only for her never to see them again.

"Because he is leaving, he can act without restraint."

"Perhaps today, we will be fortunate enough to witness his true strength."

"Brace yourselves! We cannot hold Roger back!"

With a solemn expression, Terry raised his greatsword with both hands.

The next moment, he charged toward the remaining Skeleton Soldiers.

The others immediately cried out and followed.

Under the suppression of Extreme Flame Storm, the Skeleton Soldier legion collapsed at lightning speed.

The roars coming from the dark tunnel grew increasingly loud, yet no monsters ever rushed out.

Roger swept his gaze across the battlefield, but still could not find any trace of the Corpse Demon.

That was not strange.

With something like the Doppelganger Magic Crest, which could deceive the Qi Divination Technique, it certainly would not be easy for the other party to be discovered.

"Hm?"

At that moment, Roger suddenly noticed an anomaly.

Floating particles had appeared on the surface of the Flesh Golem that Dorothy had stabbed down.

Before long, more and more particles appeared.

Under the illumination of firelight and the setting sun, they gave off a crystalline yet eerie blue glow.

"What dense magic crystals."

The intense warning from the Qi Divination Technique made Roger focus all his attention on those abnormal magic crystals.

Normally, such highly concentrated magic crystals would only appear on spellcasting classes about to advance! Corpse Demon!

The thought had barely surfaced when the Flesh Golem's belly was torn open from within by an azure claw.

Splurt, splurt, splurt! The claw was smeared with green pus and red blood, making it look utterly disgusting.

Very quickly.

A strange creature that was half ghost and half skeleton crawled out from the Flesh Golem's belly.

Its appearance was truly hard to praise:

It had a humanoid form. Its lower half had completely become ghostly, while half of its ribs and sternum remained on its upper body. The two arms extending from its shoulder blades were absurdly short, and its hands had degenerated into bird claws covered in a blue membrane.

Its head was enormous, accounting for one-third of its body. Its translucent skull looked as though it had been forcibly stretched open, while fierce Ghostfire burned within its hollow eye sockets.

More and more magic crystals surged in from every direction, attaching themselves to that ball of Ghostfire.

"What a surprise! An Adventurer from Tongma Town."

A shrill voice came from its hollow chest cavity.

"Unfortunately... you have no idea what you are truly facing!"

Before its words had even faded, an overwhelming sense of majesty surged from the monster.

Every Adventurer still fighting staggered involuntarily.

"Is this... Level Suppression?"

Terry could not help muttering.

In their perception.

The monster's oppressive aura was growing stronger and stronger! The storm gradually subsided.

Roger slowly walked out and retrieved his equipment.

"Qi Divination Technique!"

He locked onto the monster whose blood energy soared to the heavens.

As magic crystals continued to emerge, the monster's relevant data kept flickering and refreshing!...

"Corpse Demon LV11 HP 167 Weak to Thunder"

"Spell Domain: Evil Curse"

"Ghost Mage—Corpse Demon LV13 HP 194 Weak to Thunder"

"Spell Domain: Evil Curse"

"Host—Ghost Mage—Corpse Demon LV15 HP 270 Weak to Thunder"

"Spell Domain: Evil Curse"

"Metamagic Technique: Multiple Spellcasting"

Whoosh! The excess magic crystals formed a thin layer of magical armor over the Corpse Demon's body!

With that, the Corpse Demon's transformation finally came to an end.

"Its true body was hiding inside the Flesh Golem's belly!"

"Its true level is as high as LV15!"

"It possesses the metamagic technique of Multiple Spellcasting!"

These were the Corpse Demon's second, third, and fourth trump cards!

Roger let out a slight sigh of relief.