Free Web NovelChapter 36: The Intangible Threat
They pushed deeper into the eastern tunnels.
Within ten minutes, the environment of the crypt began to drastically change. The foul, stagnant water pooling on the floorboards completely froze over, crunching loudly under Felix’s heavy iron boots. The sickly yellow torches bolted to the walls sputtered and died, plunging the narrow stone corridor into absolute, suffocating darkness.
Every breath they took materialized as thick clouds of white vapor in the freezing air.
"Is it just me," Emily whispered, rubbing her bare arms, "or did it just get unnaturally cold in here?"
Arthur didn’t answer. His perception was already screaming at him. The ambient mana in the air hadn’t just dropped in temperature; it had completely shifted frequencies. The heavy, rotting stench of ghouls was gone, replaced by the sharp, sterile smell of ozone and frozen earth.
"Felix," Arthur said quietly, stopping in his tracks. "Hold the line. Right here."
Felix immediately slammed the base of his iron tower shield into the frost-covered stone, locking his shoulder behind it.
"I don’t hear anything," Felix muttered, peering over the rim of the metal.
"You aren’t going to," Arthur replied, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the pitch-black walls.
A low, mournful wail echoed through the corridor. It didn’t come from down the hall. It came from the solid stone right beside them.
The temperature plummeted another ten degrees.
Four glowing, ethereal figures drifted straight out of the solid rock walls. They were Specters—translucent, floating masses of pale blue undead energy, their faces twisted into silent, agonizing screams. They wore tattered, ghostly robes that trailed into nothingness.
"Ghosts!" Chloe shrieked, instantly taking a terrified step backward.
"I got them!" Felix yelled. He lunged forward, swinging his massive iron shield in a wide, sweeping bash meant to crush the closest Specter against the wall.
The heavy iron completely passed through the ghost.
There was no impact. No resistance. The Specter simply glided straight through the solid metal of the shield, and then directly through Felix’s right arm.
"Gah!" Felix cried out, dropping to one knee. The supernatural cold of the ethereal entity instantly sapped the heat and stamina from his limb, leaving his arm completely numb and useless.
"Felix!" Emily roared.
She vaulted over the kneeling shielder, her fists raised. She didn’t use her martial aura to conserve stamina, relying entirely on her monstrous physical strength. She threw a devastating right hook aimed dead center at the Specter’s jaw.
Her fist sliced straight through the ghost’s face as if she were punching thick fog. The momentum threw her entirely off balance, and she stumbled forward into the freezing mist.
"Physical immunity," Arthur noted coldly.
He didn’t panic. He smoothly knocked a standard steel-tipped broadhead, drew the string of the Whisperwind Longbow, and fired over Emily’s shoulder.
Thwip.
The steel arrow hit the Specter directly in the chest. It passed cleanly through the translucent body without slowing down and shattered harmlessly against the stone wall at the far end of the corridor.
"Vance!" Emily yelled, scrambling backward as the ghost drifted toward her. "We can’t hit them!"
The formation completely dissolved. The four Specters glided effortlessly past Felix and Emily, completely ignoring the useless physical threats. Their hollow, glowing eyes locked onto the highest concentration of raw mana in the group.
They drifted straight toward Chloe.
The introverted healer was completely paralyzed by terror. She stood frozen in the center of the dark hall, her deep-root mahogany staff trembling violently in her hands. She couldn’t even form the words to cast a basic light spell.
One of the Specters glided right up to her, extending a rotting, translucent hand directly toward her throat.
Time to test the gimmick, Arthur thought.
He dropped his physical arrows entirely. He let the steel broadheads clatter uselessly onto the frozen floor. He raised the Whisperwind Longbow, his fingers gripping the empty, glowing blue mana string.
[Active Skill: Mana Quiver (Lv. 1) Activated.]
As he pulled the string back to his cheek, he violently forced his own magical energy into the weapon.
[-15 MP]
A brilliant, highly condensed arrow of pure, glowing blue mana materialized instantly between his fingers. It hummed with raw, volatile power, completely illuminating the dark, freezing corridor in a harsh sapphire light.
Arthur didn’t hesitate. He released the string.
Thwip.
The blue streak tore through the air. It slammed dead center into the head of the Specter reaching for Chloe.
This time, the arrow didn’t pass through. The pure magic violently collided with the ethereal form of the undead. The Specter let out a deafening, high-pitched shriek as Arthur’s mana violently disrupted its spiritual structure.
A second later, the ghost practically exploded, tearing apart into a cloud of harmless, glowing blue mist that quickly faded into the darkness.
Chloe collapsed to her knees, gasping for air, her hands clutching her throat.
"Fall back behind me!" Arthur barked, stepping smoothly to the front of the formation. "Physical attacks are useless! I’m the only one who can touch them!"
Emily dragged Felix backward by the collar of his armor, pulling the numb shielder safely behind Arthur.
Arthur planted his boots. He took a slow, deep breath, letting his triple-digit Dexterity take the absolute wheel.
The remaining three Specters hissed, turning their glowing eyes toward the archer who had just eradicated their kin. They glided forward, their translucent claws extended.
Arthur’s right arm became an absolute blur.
Draw. Form. Fire.
[-15 MP]
Thwip.
A blue arrow ripped through the gloom, taking the right-flank Specter in the chest and blowing it into mist.
Draw. Form. Fire.
[-15 MP]
Thwip.
Another streak of sapphire light. The left-flank Specter’s head exploded outward.
Draw. Form. Fire.
[-15 MP]
Thwip.
The final Specter was inches away from Arthur’s face before the mana arrow pinned it squarely between the eyes, tearing its ethereal form to shreds and sending a rush of freezing air washing over Arthur’s dark leather armor.
The corridor fell completely silent once again.
Arthur lowered his bow. He didn’t look relieved. He actually looked incredibly annoyed. He pulled up his blue system screen with a flick of his wrist. freēwēbnovel.com
[HP: 320/320]
[MP: 190/250]
Four shots, Arthur complained internally, staring at the rapidly draining blue bar. Sixty MP gone in less than ten seconds. At this rate, I have exactly twelve shots left before I’m completely empty and functionally useless against magical mobs.
He dismissed the screen with a frustrated sigh.
Being the sole magical DPS is way too expensive, Arthur grumbled. I need to buy some MP regeneration gear, or start farming high-tier mana potions. This glass-cannon class burns through fuel way too fast.
He turned around to check on his squad.
Emily was helping Felix to his feet. The shielder was furiously rubbing feeling back into his right arm. Chloe was still on the floor, taking deep, shaky breaths as the color slowly returned to her pale face.
"Everyone alive?" Arthur asked bluntly.
"Yeah," Emily panted, looking at the dissipating blue mist. She looked up at Arthur, her brown eyes carrying a new layer of genuine respect. "I thought you were just a physical archer, Vance. I didn’t know you could manifest pure mana constructs."
"I’m full of surprises," Arthur replied, turning his back and looking down the freezing corridor. "Keep your guard up. The ghosts just proved Felix’s shield isn’t an absolute defense. We need to move."
