NOVEL NEXT Chapter 567: The General Awakens
The bright purple flames blazed with ferocity, spreading their heat across the entire second level of the General's Tomb. The temperature climbed rapidly, and the fire shimmered with an otherworldly, dreamlike hue that carried both beauty and menace. Anyone looking at it could easily imagine the devastating power hidden within those infernal flames.
Ethan crouched behind a half-broken stone pillar, his gaze fixed on the wall of fire. He quickly checked through his inventory, his skills, every option available to him, and still felt the cold dread settling deeper in his chest. Nothing he had could withstand that kind of damage.
The only thing even remotely feasible was his Divine Ability: Immortality. He could throw himself into the flames and rely on the invincibility period after revival to push through. But what if the fire burned him past the point of triggering it? What if Immortality failed? After everything Morzan had told him before, Ethan couldn't bring himself to test it blindly.
Wait...
"Second Avatar," he muttered, opening his control panel. A flicker of consciousness split away as he summoned the Rogue avatar, forcing himself to focus entirely on its control. The avatar activated Sprint and launched straight toward the wall of fire.
The instant the Rogue appeared, even in stealth, the massive crow circling above locked onto it like a predator spotting prey. Its beak opened, glowing as another blast built.
"Shadowstep."
With a sharp command, the Rogue vanished in a blur, reappearing at the very edge of the flames. The crow's energy beam cut through empty space, leaving nothing but smoke and the echo of its shriek.
Ethan's lips curved in satisfaction. The Rogue's agility felt so much smoother, so much more natural than the Druid class Morzan had saddled him with.
"Cloak of Shadows."
Dark energy shimmered around the Rogue's body, shielding it from all magic for three precious seconds. The avatar dashed into the inferno, heat rolling across its skin—yet no pain followed. It was as if the flames couldn't even touch him.
Ethan's heart steadied. The game mechanics were holding true.
"Grappling Chain."
Twin daggers shot forward, connected by a steel cable, embedding into the ground ahead. With a tug, the Rogue's body shot forward like a loosed arrow. One second of Cloak of Shadows already gone.
Only ten meters left. The General's Token fragment gleamed faintly on the scorched ground. Ethan retrieved the daggers and pushed forward at full speed. For a Rogue, ten meters in two seconds was nothing.
Originally, he had intended for this avatar to be little more than bait, a distraction or sacrifice. But the Rogue's sheer survivability was undeniable. With Cloak of Shadows countering any magic-user's worst attacks, its high mobility, displacement skills, and forced stealth abilities, no wonder the class was known as the King of the Wild.
Ethan still remembered Marcus Skeiner's despair when he had been hard-locked for forty-five seconds back in that dungeon run. Compared to that, being shoved into a Druid class by Morzan felt like outright sabotage. The thought only made him curse the old man more under his breath.
Up in the sky, the crow stopped firing. Its cruel eyes gleamed as it watched the Rogue dive into the flames, clearly savoring the thought of his impending death. But when Ethan's avatar didn't disintegrate instantly, suspicion flickered across its face.
[Ding... System Notification: Avatar acquired item: General's Token fragment x1!]
A grin spread across Ethan's face. It worked. He even had time to flip the bird at the crow through the Rogue's hand. "Idiot."
The word had barely left his lips before a catastrophic number exploded above the Rogue's head.
-999999999...! (Critical Hit)
[Ding... System Notification: Your avatar has died, triggering: Passive Skill - Feign Death, restoring 20% of maximum health, 99% damage reduction, lasting 1.5 seconds!]
Ethan blinked. "What the hell—Morzan even unlocked the Rogue's Divine Skill, Feign Death?"
Another streak of purple fire smashed into the Rogue.
-999999999...! (Critical Hit)
[Ding... System Notification: Your avatar has died!]
Not even a Divine Skill had saved it. The Rogue dissolved into white light and vanished back into his character panel. Ethan stared at the empty space it had occupied, dumbstruck.
"What is this thing's damage? Who the hell designed something this broken?"
The crow cawed again, its beady eyes swiveling toward his pillar. Purple light shimmered in its beak, ready to fire.
"I've been spotted."
Ethan didn't waste a second. His panther form sprang forward, sprinting like a bolt of black lightning. The crow's beam struck the stone pillar, obliterating it into rubble. Dust and fragments flew in every direction, but Ethan was already weaving through the chamber, dodging blast after blast with serpentine footwork.
While sprinting, he yanked open the avatar's inventory. The General's Token fragment gleamed in the last slot. He dragged it into his own inventory.
"Use it."
The moment he gave the command, the hundred fragments fused into a single dark token, the glow pulsing with an ominous power.
[Ding... System Notification: General's Token fragment x100 vanished! Acquired item: General's Token!]
"Use it again."
Even as he stumbled, nearly blinded by the crow's attacks, Ethan triggered the token.
A voice echoed through the chamber, deep and resonant.
"Who... dares disturb my slumber?"
Ethan froze mid-step. The voice hadn't come from the crow. It came from everywhere.
That tone... it was how ancient beings in fiction referred to themselves.
Before he could process further, a dark gate materialized in front of him. He had no time to stop and crashed straight through.
The world beyond was blindingly bright. He stumbled to a halt inside a stone chamber no larger than forty meters square, its boundaries sharp and clear. Torches burned along every wall, their flames steady and eternal, as if they had been burning since time immemorial.
Ethan barely had time to take it in before the voice thundered again.
"Young one, was it you... who disturbed my slumber? Do you know your crime?"
Crime? Ethan cursed inwardly. 'Know your crime, my ass.' But he kept his mouth shut and turned his eyes to the center of the chamber.
There, on a throne carved in exaggerated grandeur, sat a figure. Or rather, a monster. Its massive frame was pitch black, its skull crowned with two savage bull-like horns.
The creature's eyes snapped open, and the flames in the chamber seemed to bow to its presence.
"Hmph... I was speaking, young one. How dare you drift off while in my presence?"