Chapter 73: Gravehorn Reaper

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Gravehorn Reaper

[Abilities:]

[Gravehorn Charge

The Gravehorn Reaper gathers death energy within its body before charging forward at tremendous speed. Anything struck by its horns suffers devastating physical damage and death energy contamination.]

[Reaper’s Roar

A terrifying roar infused with death energy. Living creatures affected by the roar may experience fear, weakened physical strength, and temporary disruption of their concentration.]

[Deathquake

The Gravehorn Reaper stomps the ground with tremendous force, creating a shockwave that can destabilize enemies and damage surrounding structures.]

[Bone Crown

The horns and bones covering the Gravehorn Reaper’s head become reinforced with death energy, greatly increasing its offensive and defensive capabilities.]

[Death Regeneration

The Gravehorn Reaper can absorb surrounding death energy to restore damaged flesh and repair broken bones.]

Ragnar read through every ability carefully.

The more he read, the more satisfied he became.

"This is exactly what I needed."

The Gravefang Beasts would be hunters.

The Gravehorn Reaper would be something else entirely.

It was a monster capable of defending a specific location and confronting an entire adventurer party head-on. Its abilities covered both offense and defense, while Death Regeneration meant that adventurers would have a difficult time wearing it down through attrition.

Ragnar looked at the price.

[Cost: 9 Soul Points]

He laughed quietly.

"Just enough."

He selected the purchase option.

[Purchase Gravehorn Reaper?]

[Cost: 9 Soul Points]

[Yes / No]

Ragnar pressed Yes without hesitation.

[9 Soul Points have been consumed.]

[Remaining Soul Points: 0]

[Gravehorn Reaper has been added to the Death Floor.]

Ragnar looked at his Soul Point counter.

[Current Soul Points: 0]

He was completely broke.

Every Soul Point he had accumulated over the past several days was now gone.

He rubbed his forehead.

"Well, at least I spent it all on something useful."

A deep rumbling suddenly shook the dead forest.

Ragnar turned his head.

The ground several dozen meters away began to tremble.

At the same time, fifteen enormous dark portals appeared between the dead trees.

Ragnar’s eyes widened.

One after another, monstrous figures emerged from the portals.

The Gravefang Beasts had arrived.

Their enormous bodies stepped into the Death Floor, each one surrounded by a faint layer of black mist. Their skeletal armor glistened beneath the pale light, while the red glow inside their eye sockets illuminated the surrounding darkness.

Fifteen powerful undead predators now stood among the dead trees.

Then another notification appeared.

[Mini Boss will be summoned.]

[Location: Death Floor.]

[Preparing Mini Boss.]

The ground beneath Ragnar’s feet suddenly shook harder than before.

BOOM!

A massive shadow appeared deeper within the forest.

Ragnar slowly turned toward it.

Branches snapped, and the mist was pushed aside by an overwhelming wave of death energy.

Something enormous was approaching. Heavy footsteps echoed through the forest.

THUD.

THUD.

THUD.

Each step caused the ground to tremble. Ragnar’s eyes narrowed.

From between the dead trees, two enormous black horns appeared first.

Then the massive skull of the Gravehorn Reaper emerged from the mist.

Its body followed, it was even larger than Ragnar had expected.

The undead beast stood several meters tall at the shoulders, its enormous body covered in decayed flesh and exposed bone. The dark mane around its neck moved despite the absence of wind, while the purple flame inside its empty chest burned like a miniature abyss.

The Gravehorn Reaper stopped.

Its enormous head slowly turned toward Ragnar.

Ragnar looked at his newest mini boss with growing satisfaction.

"Not bad at all."

The Gravehorn Reaper lowered its enormous head.

Its front legs bent.

Then it lowered its body until one knee touched the ground, its massive horns pointing toward the earth as it silently acknowledged Ragnar as its master.

Ragnar placed one hand on his waist and nodded.

"You’re going to be staying here. Guard this forest and don’t let anyone pass unless I allow it."

The Gravehorn Reaper gave no verbal response.

It simply released a low, rumbling growl.

Rrrrrrgh...

The sound echoed between the dead trees.

Ragnar was about to examine the creature’s abilities one more time when he suddenly sensed another presence in his side.

He turned his head.

A figure had appeared beside him without making a sound.

Ragnar’s eyes widened slightly. Veyra stood there.

She glanced around at the newly transformed Death Floor, taking in the twisted trees, the graveyard in the distance, the numerous undead creatures moving through the mist, and the enormous Gravehorn Reaper kneeling before Ragnar.

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

"My lord, you didn’t tell me you were having fun here."

Ragnar turned toward her.

"You’re done with your work?"

Veyra nodded.

"Yes, my lord."

Ragnar glanced at her for a moment before looking toward the forest again.

Veyra folded her hands politely in front of herself. "Everything I needed to take care of has been completed."

Ragnar nodded.

"Good. I was just finishing up the defenses for the second floor."

Veyra looked around again.

Her eyes moved toward the Gravefang Beasts lurking between the trees, then toward the skeletons patrolling the ruined structures. Finally, her gaze settled on the massive Gravehorn Reaper.

"So this is the new floor."

"Yeah."

Ragnar turned slightly, allowing Veyra to see more of the forest.

"I chose the Death Floor. It came with twenty skeletons, and I’ve added some undead beasts. I also bought a mini boss."

Veyra looked toward the Gravehorn Reaper.

The undead beast seemed to sense her gaze and slowly raised its head.

For a brief moment, the two monsters stared at each other.

The Gravehorn Reaper’s purple flame flickered.

Veyra’s expression remained calm.

Then she looked away.

"It is considerably stronger than the ordinary undead."

Veyra turned toward Ragnar.

"My lord, do you want me to test this thing’s strength?"

Ragnar looked at her.

"Test it?"

"Yes."

Veyra pointed toward the Gravehorn Reaper with one hand.

"Since it is the first mini boss you have placed on this floor, it would be useful to know what it is capable of. We could also determine whether its current strength is sufficient to guard this area."

Ragnar’s eyes immediately lit up.

That was actually a good idea.

He had read the Gravehorn Reaper’s abilities, but reading numbers and descriptions was different from seeing the monster fight with his own eyes. He wanted to know how powerful a Level 20 mini boss actually was.

Ragnar glanced at Veyra.

"All right. Let’s see how strong a Level 20 mini boss is."