The moment his right smashfist struck the surface of the obelisk, some of the engraved symbols flared brighter. Jake felt a tremendous force slam into his chest, propelling him at least a dozen yards backward before he crashed into the wall behind him. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been hit with such a force—if there had even been such a time. One thing was certain: he had never encountered an opponent who outleveled him by so many levels.
Before getting up from the floor where he had landed after crashing into the wall, he assessed his sensations. Surprisingly, his body felt mostly intact, with no injuries he could perceive. Or so it seemed. With a thought, he checked his HP. As it turned out, he had lost five percent of his health, which meant he hadn’t come through entirely unscathed after all. Fortunately, any damage he had taken was already beginning to quickly heal.
However, the black obelisk wasn’t finished with him. Just as Jake jumped to his feet, it unleashed a bolt of lightning from the pointed tip at the top toward him. He barely managed to leap aside to avoid being struck. But the obelisk was just getting started. It unleashed long lightning bolts one after another that streaked across the area. Most of them were aimed at him, forcing Jake to duck and dodge as quickly as he could.
Despite his enhanced agility and reflexes, evading every single one of those lightning bolts proved nearly impossible, and eventually, one of them hit him. He felt it strike him on his left shoulder, knocking him off his feet and sending him several yards backward. This time, he sensed that the damage was far more serious than before. Even without looking at his shoulder, he could tell that his hardened body was cracked open, with mana seeping from the wound.
He didn’t have time to examine his injury, though. The black obelisk continued to unleash lightning bolts from its pointed end. Jake successfully dodged several more before he noticed a shift in the obelisk’s behavior. While it continued to fire lightning bolts, they were now much shorter than before. Additionally, instead of striking across the entire area, they seemed to focus on the immediate vicinity around it.
Jake stood at a safe distance from the black obelisk, watching as it continued to launch lightning bolts. Instead of firing one at a time, the structure now unleashed dozens of them all at the same time. They struck the ground within just a few yards of the obelisk. While he was no longer in immediate danger, he couldn’t move closer, as he would be instantly hit by several of the shorter lightning bolts at once.
Not that he wanted to get any closer to the black obelisk. His powerful smashfist had struck it without leaving so much as a dent or a crack on its surface. Even if the black obelisk hadn’t had the protective measure to retaliate against anyone who dared to attack it, there would have been no point in continuing to hit it. Brute force wouldn’t cut it. If the black obelisk could be destroyed, it probably had to be done in a way that involved more than just raw power.
As the electric storm raged on, the air crackled with electricity, sending prickling sensations across his skin. The black obelisk kept unleashing dozens of lightning bolts, striking an area within just a few yards of its base. Jake remained safely outside the effective range of the obelisk.
Since he wasn’t in any immediate danger at the moment, he decided to take a second to examine the wound in his shoulder where a lightning bolt had struck a few seconds earlier. Enhanced Regeneration was already working to close the injury, and mana no longer oozed from it. He had lost about ten percent of his HP from the hit, but the number was steadily increasing as the healing skill repaired his damaged body.
While the black obelisk unleashed lightning bolts in every direction, it simultaneously revived the undead he had defeated a couple of minutes earlier. He could see two different sets of symbols etched into the structure’s surface glowing a bright red. He had already learned which symbols were responsible for reviving the undead and which ones triggered the lightning bolts. He had also memorized which symbols had flared with a brighter light just before he was struck by the invisible force that propelled him across the area.
Whether there was a practical use for the knowledge he had gained, he didn’t yet know. Perhaps he would be able to put it to good use later, but for the time being, he had no idea how he could use the information about which symbols were responsible for which powers to his advantage.
Several of the skeletons finally fully recovered and rose to their feet. They immediately turned and began walking toward him, moving dangerously close to the raging black obelisk, paying no mind to the lightning bolts streaking through the air and striking the immediate area around the structure.
One of the skeletons strayed too close to the effective range of the black obelisk and was instantly struck by a lightning bolt. The undead creature blew apart in a powerful explosion of scorched and shattered bones flying every which way. The other skeletons continued advancing toward him, showing no regard for what had just happened to one of their own.
Jake remained rooted in place, unwilling to approach the advancing skeletons for fear of stepping into the effective range of the furious black obelisk. Instead, he chose to wait until they drew closer before engaging. There were only a few skeletons, so he figured it would take mere seconds to deal with them again. However, before they could close the distance, something unexpected occurred.
From the corner of his eye, Jake noticed that a different set of the obelisk’s magical symbols, which had maintained a steady glow until that moment, suddenly intensified in brightness. The structure had clearly activated another of its magical powers. Jake watched as a beam shot from the pointed end of the obelisk, enveloping one of the skeletons in a vibrant orange glow.
The skeleton rose two feet above the floor, hovering motionlessly in the air. The beam continued to shine at it, engulfing the undead creature in an orange glow. Jake watched as the skeleton transformed into something more dangerous. It grew in size, and its bone structure changed. The transformation lasted only a few seconds, then the altered skeleton was lowered back to the ground, and the beam ceased shining on it.
The skeleton looked much more dangerous now. It towered over seven feet in height, and its physique combined elements of both a human being and some kind of formidable two-legged beast. The bones were much sturdier and resilient now, looking capable of withstanding a powerful strike from a sledgehammer with ease.
Additionally, the beefed-up skeleton seemed to be imbued with potent magic. In one hand, it wielded a two-bladed axe that flickered with flames, and its eyes blazed brightly, sending tongues of fire upward. Its skull had elongated, taking on an animal-like snout, with flames pouring from its gaping jaws.
In his peripheral vision, Jake noticed that several more beams shot from the pointed tip of the black obelisk, enveloping other undead creatures in their glow. However, his attention remained locked on the already altered skeleton. With a thought, he summoned its description.
Awakened Dead – Flame Skeleton Soldier – Level 80 (Elite)
His suspicions were confirmed. Although the skeleton’s level stayed the same, its classification had changed from ordinary to elite—a concerning development. Elite monsters were far more dangerous than their regular counterparts. The skeleton in front of him had not only become stronger but had also gained some fire abilities to boot.
The worst part was that the other undead creatures were also being transformed into more dangerous versions of themselves.
The flame skeleton soldier suddenly burst into a sprint toward Jake, interrupting his train of thought. As he watched it advance with impressive speed and power, he couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that the fight was going to be anything but easy.