"Poison Cloud!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    As the poisonous purple mist expanded to cover a five-meter radius, Caelius immediately shielded himself with his origin energy to block the toxins.


    However, the dense cloud obstructed his vision and dulled his senses, making it impossible to perceive anything around him.


    Within moments, he felt a presence darting toward him from within the poisonous haze. Suddenly, Old Bone''s dagger pierced out of the cloud, aimed straight for him. With quick reflexes, Caelius tilted his head slightly, letting the de narrowly miss.


    Without hesitation, he thrust his golden longsword toward the source of the attack, but his de sliced through empty air. Before he could react, another dagger shed toward him, this time from behind.


    Turning swiftly, he deflected the weapon with his armament.


    The pattern repeated itself multiple times.


    "This slippery zombie…" Caelius muttered in annoyance.


    "If I hadn''t already used my Golden Light Steps to expose them earlier, I could locate his position easily."


    He frowned. "The Golden String won''t work in this poisonous fog…"


    "This poison also drains my origin energy rapidly…"


    Despite the clear disadvantage, a grin tugged at the corners of his lips. He had begun to understand Old Bone''s tactics.


    Just then, another dagger shot through the smoke. This time, Caelius had to use both hands to lift his sword and block the attack.


    "Huff…"


    He exhaled sharply, exhaustion evident.


    Old Bone didn''t let this weakness go unnoticed. Seeing his Caelius''bored movements, he sent a barrage of daggers flying toward him.


    Summoning every ounce of strength, Caelius parried each strike, his breathing bing increasingly ragged.


    "Huff…"


    Amid the swirling poison, Old Bone''s mocking voice rang out, followed by his shadowy figure appearing behind Caelius.


    "Is this the extent of the Lion''s Cub''s strength? Are you truly worthy of that title? Why don''t you smile now?"


    Caelius didn''t respond. He lunged forward, his sword slicing cleanly through Old Bone—only for the figure to dissolve into thin air.


    "Hehe, you can''t defeat me in my domain," Old Bone taunted, his voice echoing ominously.


    Caelius'' eyes widened in disbelief.


    "Show yourself!" he demanded.


    The response came in the form of eerieughter.


    "Heh, even the Lion''s Cub has a foolish side. Very well, I''ll grant your wish."


    Suddenly, Caelius sensed multiple presences around him. Eight identical figures of Old Bone emerged from the poisonous fog, each wielding the same weapon.


    "Hehe, this is the end. Farewell," the eight figures dered in unison. Their armaments glowed with purple light as they charged at him together.


    Outside the Poison Cloud


    Meanwhile, the battle between Old Bone''s men and Uncle Gold''s group had erupted.


    From their positions, the five ghoul brothers watched the purple haze with eager eyes.


    The Fifth Brother sneered, "Haha, your young master is done for. No one can beat Old Bone in his domain."


    His words caused Karl and Fiona to exchange worried nces, their focus lingering on the mist concealing Caelius.


    Uncle Gold, however, remained unfazed.


    "Don''t lose focus! Do you think the young master will fall to some nobody?" he scolded.


    "Fiona, buff us. Karl, go wild—I''ll back you up!"


    Without hesitation, Fiona cast her spell.


    "Lion''s Boost!"


    Both Uncle Gold and Karl felt their strength and speed surge by 20%, the effectsting 60 seconds.


    "Go, kid!" Uncle Gold urged.


    Karl roared as he charged at the five ghouls.


    On the other side, the First Brother barked orders at his siblings.


    "Don''t let them do as they please! Intercept them!"


    The four other brothers moved in unison, daggers gleaming in their decayed hands.


    "Lion''s Smash!"


    Karl''s right arm bulged as his skill activated, enhanced further by Fiona''s buff. An aura shaped like a lion''s head erupted from his gauntlet, roaring as it surged toward the enemies.


    In response, the brothers unleashed their own skill.


    "Five Star Strike!"


    Their movements blurred as their daggers shone like purple stars.


    "First Strike!"


    "Second Strike!"


    "Third Strike!"


    "Fourth Strike!"


    "Fifth Strike!"


    The synchronized strikes shed against Karl''s attack, neutralizing it.


    "Tch!" Karl clicked his tongue in frustration. "These damn zombies!"


    Uncle Gold''s whip cracked through the air, aiming for the group.


    "Iron Whish!"


    Sharp, thorny spikes jutted from his golden whip as itshed toward the brothers.


    Yet, despite the whip''s power, the brothers deflected it with precision.


    "Hehe, is that all you''ve got? Now it''s our turn! Attack!"


    Before they could advance, a blinding light engulfed the battlefield.


    "sh!"


    It was Fiona''s modified shbang skill, derived from amon shlight ability.


    "Argh! My eyes!"


    "Spread out!"


    The brothers stumbled, covering their faces as the trio seized the opportunity.


    "Attack!" Uncle Goldmanded.


    Karl and Fiona unleashed their skills simultaneously, targeting the First Brother.


    "Golden Tailwhip!"


    "Lion''s ws!"


    "Exploding Light!"


    Theirbined assault struck with devastating force.


    The First Brother, barely regaining his vision, could only brace himself.


    "Oh… I''m screwed…" he thought as he struggled to defend.


    Boom!


    The impact sent a cloud of dust billowing into the air. Vincent''s Umbral Rats darted into the smoke while others remained on guard around him.


    "Brother!" the remaining siblings cried out in rm.


    In the chaos, Vincent took the chance to focus on upgrading his abilities.


    "Do you want to upgrade the Umbral Rat Legion?"


    "Yes."


    However, the system''s response left him stunned.


    "Upgrade process failed. The current skill has already reached its limit."


    "What?! Upgrades can fail? Does this mean some epic skills can''t advance further?"


    The revtion startled him. He''d always assumed upgrading was limitless.


    "So I need to find skills or items with higher potential? But how?"


    Shaking off the thought, he shifted his attention to the teardrop ne he wore.


    Name: Ne of Resistance


    Quality: Umon


    Effects: Slightly increases poison resistance.


    "I almost forgot about this…"


    He quickly upgraded it to epic grade.


    You have sessfully upgraded Ne of Resistance.


    Name: Venomous Ring of Resistance


    Quality: Epic


    Effects: Greatly increases poison resistance.


    Skill: Poison Immunity – Consumes 100 Origin Energy per 120 seconds. Grants immunity to ten types of poison.


    "Poison Immunity?! This is perfect!"


    The ne transformed into a glowing purple ring, which Vincent slid onto his finger.


    You have sessfully assisted in killing a Tier 2 (3★) Ghoul!


    You have received +1500 experience points!


    Talent activated!


    +15,000,000 experience points!


    "Fifteen million XP?!"


    He groaned in frustration. "What a waste… I can''t store more XP than my level allows."