Chapter 511: The Soul Warden [2], Emilia’s New Skill and Affinity

Vines of Desolation! Ice Spikes!

The vines erupted from the ground and rushed toward the Soul Warden, twisting around its legs and attempting to bind its arms before it could escape.

At the same time, sharp ice spikes formed around the monster, closing in from multiple directions to pierce its body.

For a moment, it seemed as though Leon had successfully trapped it.

However, the Soul Warden had already learned from its previous encounter with Emilia.

Rather than struggling against the restraints individually, it released a furious roar that sent a tremendous surge of energy through its body.

Roaring Shockwave!

The vines shattered, and the ice spikes broke apart almost simultaneously, their fragments scattering across the corridor.

Leon narrowed his eyes as the monster immediately charged toward him again.

He retreated while keeping his attention fixed on the approaching monster, hoping to create enough distance to cast another spell.

Cataclysmic Soul Fireball!

Unfortunately, the Soul Warden refused to give him the opportunity.

It continued pressing forward, swinging its mace whenever Leon slowed down and forcing him to interrupt his casting before the spell could take shape.

This was one of the biggest weaknesses of mages.

Their most powerful spells often required time to cast, even if it was just half a second, and an opponent who understood how to maintain constant pressure could prevent them from using their strongest abilities.

Without proper protection or enough distance, even an incredibly powerful mage could find themselves in a difficult situation.

Of course, Leon wasn’t particularly worried about that weakness.

He had plenty of ways to deal with the Soul Warden, and there was no reason to insist on using a particular spell when another ability could accomplish the same objective more efficiently.

After avoiding another devastating swing, Leon extended his hand toward the ground.

Soul Chains!

Three chains burst from the ground, their dark surfaces gleaming with the power of his soul.

Two of them shot toward the Soul Warden’s limbs, wrapping around its body before it could move away, while the third chain surged toward its chest, attempting to penetrate its soul and destroy it from within.

It was the same method Leon had used to defeat Dominik, and against an opponent whose defenses were primarily physical, it should work fairly easily.

However, the Soul Warden was in a completely different condition from the chairman.

Dominik had already been weakened before Leon delivered the finishing blow, whereas the Soul Warden still possessed its full strength.

Its soul was also protected by its powerful sub-talent, making it far more difficult to destroy through a direct attack.

The moment the third chain approached its soul, the monster sensed the danger and grabbed it with the hand holding the mace.

Leon immediately felt resistance as the Soul Warden pulled against the chain, attempting to tear it away before it could penetrate any deeper.

The pressure coming from its body increased with every passing moment, as if it was about to unleash its ultimate attack.

Yet, just as the Soul Warden was about to break free, Leon calmly took a step to the side and smiled.

"Goodbye," he said simply.

He wasn’t even the one who delivered the blow.

Behind them, Emilia had already finished preparing her spell, and she unleashed it.

Heaven’s Wrath!

A brilliant golden light erupted from her scepter, illuminating the corridor as the beam shot forward.

The attack struck the Soul Warden directly, engulfing its entire body in an overwhelming radiance that tore through its defenses.

The Soul Warden’s body trembled violently as the light consumed it, and the electricity surrounding its armor dispersed under the impact.

Its enormous mace fell from its hand, striking the ground with a heavy crash as the monster finally lost its ability to fight back.

However, it didn’t die immediately.

The golden light eventually faded, revealing the Soul Warden collapsed on the ground.

Its body was badly damaged, and it could barely move, much less stand up again.

It had been completely incapacitated by a single spell.

Leon didn’t waste the opportunity. He approached the fallen monster and swung his weapon, cleanly severing its head and putting an end to the battle once and for all.

Ding!

[You have killed "Soul Warden (Floor Boss)" and gained...]

[100% Drop Rate has triggered...]

Leon glanced at the notifications before turning toward Emilia, who was still holding her scepter.

"Only one spell to fully incapacitate a monster with 28 million combat power is incredible," he remarked with an approving nod. "Very good."

Emilia’s face immediately brightened at the compliment, she felt even more motivated to continue improving.

Leon, meanwhile, looked down at the ground and noticed something that immediately caught his attention.

There were two additional [Gate Fragments] lying near the Soul Warden’s corpse.

"Nice!"

He collected the fragments and examined them briefly.

It seemed like one had dropped from Emilia’s completed chamber while the other had come from the Soul Warden itself.

’Does it mean we were forced to kill the Soul Warden to proceed?’

Leon considered the possibility, but it didn’t make much sense when he remembered the description of the floor.

The instructions had emphasized that they needed to avoid the Soul Warden, suggesting that fighting it was unnecessary.

The more logical explanation was that there were more than five [Gate Fragments] scattered throughout the floor, and they only needed to collect five of them to open the exit.

’Let’s hope Celeste and Violet found another two, and we’ll be able to get out of here.’

With that thought in mind, Leon opened his [Storage Space].

He placed the everything on the ground in front of him, revealing several valuable items.

[Soul Warden Essence: Consuming this will increase Strength by 15,000 and Spirit by 10,000, as well as boost all lightning-related abilities.]

[Lightning Mace (Ancient)]

[Warden Horn (Material)]

[Sub-Talent Scrolls: Soul Fortification (A-Level), Supreme Strength Enhancement (S+-Level), Ultimate Lightning Affinity (S-Level)]

[Skill Book: Lightning Surge (Ancient)]

[Soul Fragment (Ascendant): Fusing with this fragment will very slightly increase the power of your soul.]

[Skill Stones x10]

"Oh, another [Soul Fragment]," Leon noted as he picked it up. "I guess that’s good."

He stored the fragment for the time being before looking through the remaining rewards.

The Soul Warden had dropped several useful items, but one person in particular would benefit from this kill far more than the others: Emilia.

Leon gave her two A-Level Soul Fortification sub-talent scrolls, allowing her to attempt a fusion with the one she already possessed.

He also handed her the [Ultimate Lightning Affinity (S-Level)] scroll, since his own lightning affinity was already at SS-Level.

Finally, he gave her the essence and the skill book.

Leon felt satisfied that he could provide her with so many useful items.

"Make sure you learn the sub-talent and skill before consuming the essence," Leon advised. "It’ll probably boost both of them."

"A-Alright."

Fwoosh!

A flash of light surrounded her as she learned the S-Level sub-talent, [Ultimate Lightning Affinity (S-Level)].

She then opened the skill book, absorbing the knowledge contained within and acquiring the Ancient skill [Lightning Surge].

Only after completing both steps did she consume the Soul Warden Essence.

A surge of energy spread through her body, strengthening her attributes while also nourishing her newly acquired abilities.

As Leon had expected, the essence didn’t simply increase her Strength and Spirit.

Ding!

[Your sub-talent has evolved into "Ultimate Lightning Affinity (S+-Level)"]

Ding!

[Your "Lightning Surge" skill had leveled up to Level 5.]

"Good," Leon said with a grin. "With that, you’re much stronger."

However, there was still one more thing she wanted to try.

Holding the two A-Level Soul Fortification sub-talent scrolls, Emilia prepared to fuse them with the one she already possessed.

She grabbed the first one and...

Fwoosh!

[Fusion failed.]

’Well, I guess it was indeed just luck at the time.’

Leon turned away for a moment, looking toward the damaged walls as he considered which direction they should take to reach the exit.

But at that moment, he felt something behind him and turned around to see Emilia’s body glowing.

Ding!

[Fusion successful!]