Chapter 109: [Attempting Soul Bind...]
Jack could feel his body telling him to move. The slight twitch in his leg as the dragon was about to roast him alive.
He dove left in a roll that sent sand spraying, just as necrotic breath seared the air where he’d been standing.
The dragon’s attack turned the obsidian sand into blackened glass that hissed and popped from the heat, releasing wisps of toxic vapor that made nearby spectators gag and retreat.
Jack was getting better with his skills by this point. He didn’t need to shout his skills in his head anymore.
[Static Field Deployed]
Jack’s response was overwhelming.
Arcs of blue lightning erupted from his position, creating a crackling web of electrical energy two meters wide and three meters high.
The dragon’s next charge slowed visibly as electricity crawled across its skeletal frame, bone joints locking and grinding against each other as it was slowed.
Jack raised his hand, mana flooding to his fingertips in a torrent of barely controlled power.
[Arc Blast]
Lightning roared from his palm in a continuous, blinding stream that turned the arena into a miniature thunderstorm.
The splintered beams carved a molten line across the dragon’s massive ribcage, ancient bone hissing and cracking under the relentless electrical assault.
[-1,704 HP]
The dragon shrieked in fury and pain, a sound like tearing metal mixed with the screams of the damned.
Its massive wings beat frantically, creating a cyclone of bone dust that reduced visibility to mere feet.
Jack gritted his teeth and held his ground, sustaining the Arc Blast for another full second while electricity danced around his form.
[-1704 HP]
[Total Damage Dealt; 3,408]
[Bone Dragon HP: 11,592/15,000 left]
Corvin struck simultaneously, turning into a shadow that struck like a well placed blade as he dove toward the dragon’s exposed neck vertebrae with speed and precision.
[- 1,000 HP]
The great raven’s talons wreathed in dark energy as scraped the ancient bone, leaving deep gouges that glowed with dark energy.
[-500 HP]
[Bone Dragon HP: 10,092/15,000]
The dragon’s retaliation was swift and vicious. Its massive tail, each vertebra the size of a warrior’s shield, whipped around like a bone-spiked club capable of pulverizing stone.
Jack rolled desperately across the sand, feeling the wind from the massive appendage as it passed close enough to ruffle his hair.
The impact where he’d been standing left a crater three feet deep and sent cracks like a spider’s web across the arena floor.
"Too slow," Jack snarled, electricity crackling around his body more than it had ever done before.
It was so intense that some creatures in the arena had a hard time looking at Jack directly.
The dragon’s response was to rear up on its hind legs, foreclaws spread wide, and bring both massive appendages down in a devastating slam that could have flattened a building.
Jack teleported in a flash, appearing behind the creature’s left wing in a maneuver that drew gasps from the crowd.
[Arc Blast]
Another continuous stream of lightning carved into the dragon’s spine, vertebrae cracking and splitting under the focused assault.
This time Jack held the beam for two full seconds with both hands.
[-6,812 damage]
But the dragon was learning from each exchange, its instincts were adapting to Jack’s tactics. It spun faster than something that massive should be able to move.
The Bone Dragon’s neck snaking around to breathe necrotic fire directly at Jack’s new position.
Jack cursed creatively and dove behind a bone fragment the size of a small boulder, feeling supernatural heat wash over his improvised cover.
The ancient bone began to dissolve under the corrosive breath, edges bubbling and smoking.
’Corvin! Time for the swarm!’
The raven’s response was terrifying.
The denizens of the Tartarus Spire had just watched Jack kill a Terror Class monster without even getting out of his seat.
Corvin’s beak opened impossibly wide, defying anatomy and physics as shadow-ravens began pouring out like a pitch blackness storm.
Dozens of birds flew out until fifty spectral birds filled the air above the dragon, their violet eyes creating a constellation of malice.
[Carrion Swarm Activated - 50 Ravens Summoned]
The swarm descended in perfect coordination, each spectral raven striking at the joints and the vertebrae in the dragon’s body.
[Carrion Swarm Damage...]
[-2,500 HP]
The dragon thrashed wildly as fifty sets of shadow-talons raked across its bones, but the ravens were relentless.
BOOM!!
Suddenly, green fire exploded from where the impact heart would be. All of the ravens were gone, fading into jaws smoke before it returned to Corvin’s body.
[Bone Dragon HP: 780/15,000]
But the dragon had reserves of power that one wouldn’t expect.
With a roar that shook the entire coliseum and sent several spectators fleeing in terror, it unleashed a pulse of pure necrotic energy that scattered the weaker denizens away.
The wave of death-magic washed over the lower tiers, causing plants to wither, metal to corrode, and several demons to actually age visibly before the energy dissipated.
The dragon’s eyes glowed brighter as it focused on Jack.
This time it didn’t charge or breathe fire.
Instead, it began to chant in a language that Jack couldn’t process.
’What is going on, system! I can’t understand it.’
[That would be Dragon Tongue.]
’Dragon Tongue? Can you translate?’
[Processing...]
[ERROR...]
[Warning: Enemy casting high-level necromancy]
[Estimated completion: 3.7 seconds]
[Recommended action: Immediate intervention]
’Not happening.’ Jack sprinted forward, white lightning coating his entire body as he pushed his speed to the limit.
The dragon’s chanting grew more urgent as he closed the distance, its words tumbling together in desperation.
At the last possible second, Jack leaped, white lightning exploding around him as he materialized his spear mid-air.
Time seemed to slow as he drove the weapon toward the dragon’s skull with every ounce of strength and power he possessed.
[Lightning’s Embrace]
[Lightning Shock]
Lightning and steel drove through the dragon’s skull.
The spear punched through bone like a hot knife through butter.
[-159 HP]
[-887 HP]
Light flared inside the dragon’s skull like a dying star achieving supernova, then winked out completely as the animating force fled back to whatever hell had spawned it.
With a thunderous crash that sent tremors through the arena floor and brought dust raining from the upper levels, the Dread-class Bone Dragon collapsed.
Bones scattered across the obsidian sand like dice thrown by gods, each fragment still radiating traces of necromantic energy.
The sudden silence was deafening, as if the entire Spire held its breath.
Then the crowd erupted in a roar that could have woken the dead, shaking the very foundations of the arena with their approval.
Jack stood among the scattered remains, chest heaving as adrenaline slowly faded from his system.
The dragon’s skull lay at his feet, still smoking from the lightning that had ended its undead life.
’Let’s see if I can bind this thing,’ he thought, already envisioning having a bone dragon roast Marcus Thorne alive.
[Attempting Soul Bind...]
[Processing...]
[Failure: No true soul detected. Entity is a necromantic creature.]
[Unable to establish binding with an artificial consciousness.]
Jack’s expression darkened. The strongest potential companion he’d encountered yet, and it was nothing more than an elaborate puppet.
The frustration left Jack fuming. All that power, all that potential, wasted because some necromancer had animated bones instead of capturing a true dragon’s soul.
Movement in the announcer’s booth caught his attention. Jack looked up, still crackling with residual electricity, to find Valdoren leaning casually over the railing.
The Lich Lord met his gaze without a trace of concern, utterly unfazed by the display of power he’d just witnessed.
Then, Valdoren raised one skeletal hand and offered a second wave.
[Entity fully aware of your identity. No hostile action detected. It seems he respects you.]
Jack’s hands clenched into fists. His fingernails digging into the palms of his hand. The bastard was studying him like a specimen, cataloging his abilities for the future.
A high-pitched squeal broke the tense moment.
The imp, forgotten in the chaos of the dragon battle, was attempting to flee across the arena sand on stubby legs that weren’t designed for speed.
Corvin’s reacted immediately. After every battle he always got hungry.
The great raven swooped down with its beak opening wide. In one fluid motion, he swallowed the imp whole.
A grotesque display that sent several spectators scrambling away from the railings.
Valdoren’s amplified voice boomed across the coliseum: "AND THE RAVEN CLEANS UP THE SCRAPS! GIVE OUR SOUL WARDEN A SCREAM OF APPROVAL!"
The crowd’s reaction was overwhelming.
Half awed at Jack’s power, half terror at the casual brutality they’d just witnessed.
The sound crashed over the arena in waves, a symphony of inhuman voices that spoke of respect earned through violence.
[Enemy Defeated: Dread-class Bone Dragon]
[Enemy Defeated: Terror-class Imp]
[Experience Gained: 4,250 EXP]
[Death Tokens Acquired: 850]
[Reputation: +10]
[Local Standing: Significantly Elevated]
[Multiple entities now recognize you as a legitimate threat]
[Congratulations, you have leveled up!]
[Congratulations, you have leveled up!]
[Arc Mage: level 5 (2,200/10,000)]
[DING!]
[New skills available for purchase!]
Jack stood amid the dragon’s remains, blue lightning still dancing around his form like a living aura.
Bone fragments crunched under his boots as he surveyed the destruction.
Soft slither dragging across the sand announced Melania’s approach. She had somehow descended from the stands without him noticing, moving with the fluid grace of a predator in her element.
"Impressive," she said, emerald eyes glittering with intrigue as they swept over the battlefield. "Though I notice you didn’t make it your pet. Disappointed?"
"Frustrated," Jack admitted. "That much power would have been useful."
"True dragons are rare in the Spire," Melania replied, coming to stand beside him among the scattered bones.
"Most are too intelligent to be trapped here. What you’ll find are undead and the occasional wyrmling foolish enough to seek power in the depths."
Her words carried weight, but Jack’s attention kept drifting back to the announcer’s booth. Valdoren was still there, still watching, still radiating that infuriating calm that suggested he knew something about Jack .
The Lich Lord raised his microphone and spoke directly to him, voice carrying clearly across the arena: "Until next time, Soul Warden. I do hope our paths cross again soon."
"Tell me Jack, do you want to meet the Patriarch of the Ryzard clan?"