The Great Stefan Walsh

Of course I’m going to continue.

Since all the damage is being negated by 【Heavenly One】, I might as well find out what this thing really is.

Liu Xuan lifted his hand, then pressed it against the stone slab again. As the cold sensation spread through his palm, the words on the slab changed once more.

【Offer another 30 points of life and pray for an audience with the great Stefan Walsh.】

Again!

Liu Xuan pressed his palm down again and again. The number on the stone slab steadily climbed until it reached 210 points of life, at which point his health finally dropped by 10 points.

Just as the debuff had stated, those 10 lost points did not recover afterward.

But that was fine. Keep deducting!

I’ve got over three hundred thousand health. Go ahead and take it! Let’s see how much you can drain.

I’m not backing down today!

220, 230… 480, 490, 500…

By the time the number reached 500, Liu Xuan was starting to feel a little irritated.

He had already pressed his hand dozens of times, but because of 【Heavenly One】, he had lost only a little over 4,600 health so far.

The stone slab remained completely unmoved.

Who knew how much it had to drain before anything would happen?

But after coming this far, Liu Xuan felt unwilling to simply leave.

What if—just what if—the next attempt was the final one?

Oh no. I’ve fallen into the sunk-cost trap too.

After pressing his hand dozens more times, the number on the stone slab had climbed past 900 and was nearing 1,000.

In other words, Liu Xuan had pressed his hand down nearly a hundred times.

And on that exact hundredth attempt, after 800 health was deducted—bringing the total loss to 32,400 points—the stone slab finally reacted.

The entire slab split apart, revealing a pitch-black cellar entrance beneath it. An icy, sinister wind blew out from within, accompanied by a hoarse and grating cackle.

“Kehehehehe!”

“I never expected some fool to offer me so much blood. My power is now even greater than it was before!”

“Prepare yourselves to welcome the great Stefan Walsh!”

As soon as he finished speaking, a black shadow shot out of the cellar.

The figure was completely shrouded in a black cloak. The exposed face and hands appeared to contain not a trace of flesh.

Yellow, withered skin clung tightly to the bones, as though a sheet of human skin had been stretched over a skeleton.

Its eye sockets were deeply sunken, and two ghostly green flames flickered within the pitch-black hollows.

Liu Xuan glanced at its attributes:

【The lich Stefan Walsh (Boss)】

Level: 25

Spell Damage: 500 (+1,000)

Health: 1,000

Mana: 2,000 (+32,400)

Shield: +324,000

Armor: 100

Magic Resistance: 200

Tenacity: 80%

Skills:

【Apprentice Mage: Stefan Walsh was once a mage apprentice. Even after transforming into a lich, he remains thoroughly familiar with the Frostbolt, Magic Missile, and Levitation spells he once mastered.】

【Command the Dead: Stefan Walsh controls a large number of undead servants. Until he dies, these low-level undead servants can revive indefinitely.】

【Master of Microcontrol: Under Stefan Walsh’s focused control, his undead servants become even more agile.】

【Necromantic Conversion: Stefan Walsh consumes mana to transform nearby dead lifeforms into new undead.】

【Chant of Torment: Stefan Walsh consumes mana to use a spell to torture his servants, increasing the damage they deal by 50%.】

【Bone Shield: Stefan Walsh consumes a certain amount of mana to summon a bone shield that can absorb damage equal to twice the amount of mana consumed.】

【Phylactery: A fragment of the lich’s soul resides within a phylactery. As long as it remains intact, the lich can revive some time after being killed.】

【New Enhanced Skills】

【Death Zone: Stefan Walsh radiates an intense force of death. Within a thirty-meter radius of him, no one can recover health.】

【Withering Gaze: All enemies who look directly at Stefan Walsh are afflicted with ‘Fear’ once.】

【Twisted Bones: Stefan Walsh consumes a certain amount of mana to twist and fuse several of his servants together, creating a giant skeletal monster. The monster’s attributes depend on the amount of mana consumed and the number of servants fused.】

This guy had ten skills!

It was the first time Liu Xuan had encountered a monster with so many skills. Forget monsters—even some poor players might not have managed to collect that many skills.

And if the Frostbolt and other spells mentioned in the first passive skill were included, he had even more.

The last three skills had specifically been marked as “New Enhanced Skills.” Liu Xuan couldn’t help wondering whether the boss had become excessively powerful and acquired new skills because he had offered too much blood.

The boss’s attributes were also different from those of ordinary bosses.

Both his spell damage and mana had numbers in parentheses after them, which should also indicate enhancements.

Furthermore, the creature had very little health—only 1,000 points—but possessed more than 300,000 shield points.

Those shield and mana values looked rather familiar.

Liu Xuan took another look. Weren’t they exactly the amount of health he had lost earlier?

Then there was no mistake. The more blood the stone slab absorbed, the stronger this guy became.

Stefan gripped a black staff topped with a skull. Stroking the skull with one hand, he looked down at Liu Xuan.

“Pathetic human, was it you who offered up your blood in order to request an audience with the great Stefan Walsh?”

“In consideration of your tremendous contribution, which has pleased me greatly, I shall chop off your head and use it to decorate my staff instead of turning you into one of those useless cannon fodder.”

With that, he waved his staff, and his entire body floated lightly backward.

At the same time, the skeleton soldiers throughout the village suddenly went berserk. They were like someone’s second-rate henchmen after being beaten into a pulp—they were no longer limping along slowly and sluggishly. Instead, each of them moved with surprising speed as they rushed toward Liu Xuan from all sides.

It seemed those creatures had previously been moving entirely on instinct. Now, however, they were under Stefan’s control.

Master of Microcontrol, huh?

Liu Xuan completely ignored the minor monsters closing in around him. Instead, he looked at the lich boss floating in the distance and curled his lip.

You’re lucky you ran.

If you hadn’t, this one attack would have blown you straight to hell.

Seeing that Liu Xuan had not moved at all, and that his undead servants had completely surrounded him, Stefan couldn’t help smiling.

He knew that his servants were all worthless trash, but even ants could bring down an elephant through sheer numbers. If this brat refused to run, he had only himself to blame.

But the scene that appeared before him the next moment made the green flames in his eyes flicker violently.

The instant those skeleton soldiers touched Liu Xuan, they all exploded, their bones scattering across the ground.

“How did he do that?!”

Stefan was both shocked and furious.

Since he was floating in midair, he had an excellent view of the battlefield. He quickly noticed that several skeleton soldiers farther away, which had not yet reached Liu Xuan, were still alive.

Whatever this brat had done, his damage had a limited area of effect!

So once the skeleton soldiers gradually revived, Stefan spread them out, then controlled one of them to attack Liu Xuan.

This time, the ones that were close were instantly killed.

Those a little farther away, however, remained completely unharmed.

Stefan couldn’t help but laugh. “I see now. Anyone who attacks you suffers reflected damage, and when they die, the damage also affects those around them. The range is about five meters. Kid, I’ve seen right through you!”