Chapter 72: The Void-Lich of the First Era

A/N: I made some mistake in the EXP calculation, so Leon level is now 85, I have corrected the previous Chapters

Ding!

[You have killed "Garrick, the Rotting Phalanx (Level 90, Boss)"]

[Experience Multiplier: 35X Applied. 6,500,000 EXP gained.]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 81!]

....

[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 85!]

Ding!

[Talent Devourer: Residual Talent Energy Detected: "Legion’s Bulwark" (Fragments Available: 15)]

[Talent Devourer: Residual Talent Energy Detected: "Indestructible Core" (Fragments Available: 10)]

Leon stood amidst the cascading avalanche of rusted iron and gray ash, his breathing steady despite the intense magical exertion required to break the Phalanx. He swiped his hand through the air, reading the glowing blue text that hovered in the dim, swirling purple light of the Gravesite Plain.

Level 85. He was officially within the peak recommended level bracket of the Battlefield Realm. His stats were reaching catastrophic numbers, and his mana pool felt more like a vast, deep ocean than a physical limitation.

"Two new fragment sets," Leon noted, his voice calm, evaluating the options while Auris stood guard beside him. "System, store the fifteen fragments of Legion’s Bulwark in my inventory. I do not need a distributed armor mechanic. However, the Indestructible Core is exactly what I need to anchor my defenses."

The glowing fragments of the Phalanx’s core collapsed into a dense, vibrating singularity of void energy.

"System, fuse the ten fragments of Indestructible Core."

Ding!

[10 Fragments of "Indestructible Core" have been fused.]

[New Talent Acquired: Indestructible Core — Grade: A]

[Description: The user’s internal mana core and vital organs become heavily fortified by dense, conceptual void-plating. Grants massive resistance against attacks that target the soul, internal organs, or attempt to forcefully extract or disrupt the user’s mana reserves. Passive health and mana regeneration rates are stabilized even under extreme physical trauma.]

Leon felt a sudden, profound heaviness anchor itself deep within his chest, right where his mana pathways converged. It was a grounding sensation, a physical reinforcement that made his entire biological structure feel permanently locked into place.

"Flawless," Leon murmured, rolling his shoulders to test the new internal density. "If we are facing endgame bosses, having my core protected from conceptual disruption is a necessity."

Before the dust from Garrick’s collapse could fully settle, the atmosphere of the Gravesite Plain shifted. The temperature did not drop, but the air grew suffocatingly stale. The sky above, previously a chaotic swirl of purple void energy, suddenly turned a sickly, necrotic green.

The Void Mist swirling around the edges of the plain violently condensed, spiraling inward to form a massive, floating throne of jagged obsidian. Seated upon the throne was a skeletal figure draped in tattered, void-woven robes that seemed to drink the ambient light. It wore a crown of burning purple fire that cast long, unnatural shadows across the dead earth.

[Boss Encounter 4: The Void-Lich of the First Era (Level 93)]

[Innate Talent: Domain of True Death, Phylactery Swap]

"Level 93," Leon read the prompt aloud, his golden and icy-blue eyes narrowing as he assessed the threat. "A caster archetype. Auris, keep your distance and stay mobile. Magic of this tier can rot your scales before you even feel the impact. We are dealing with an entity that has mastered death."

The Lich didn’t charge. It didn’t summon hordes of undead minions or brandish a weapon. It sat perfectly still upon its hovering obsidian throne, exuding an aura of absolute, ancient malice. It simply raised a single, skeletal hand toward the sky.

"Domain of True Death," a hollow, echoing voice grated across the plain, sounding like two massive stones grinding together.

A rapidly expanding sphere of necrotic green energy erupted from the throne, washing over the graves like a tidal wave of sickness. Wherever the domain touched, the gray earth instantly turned completely black, the very concept of life being stripped from the soil.

Ding!

[Warning: Hostile Domain Detected. All healing effects are nullified. Continuous necrotic damage applied.]

Leon instantly felt a sickening rot attempting to invade his bloodstream. It was a cold, venomous sensation that bypassed his Obsidian Carapace and began eating directly at his cellular structure. His SS-Rank Aura of the Undying flared brilliantly, attempting to flood his system with its usual overwhelming vitality to purge the rot.

But the Lich’s domain suppressed the regeneration entirely. The golden light of his healing aura was choked out, smothered by the necrotic green atmosphere.

Leon checked his status bar. His health was ticking down, a slow but steady drain that he could not natively out-heal.

"A domain that directly targets the life-force and completely shuts down recovery," Leon analyzed, his voice tight but completely composed. He looked up at the Lich, acknowledging the overwhelming tactical advantage the boss had just established. "You isolate the target from their greatest strength and force a battle of pure, unmitigated attrition. A flawless execution for a being of your era. I respect the lethality."

Leon shifted his footing, drawing the Blade of the Dragon God.

"But a domain expansion can be contested," Leon stated, his eyes burning with absolute focus. "Let’s see whose authority holds. Sovereign’s Eclipse!"

The pitch-black domain of absolute darkness exploded outward from Leon, violently colliding with the Lich’s necrotic green sphere. The two domains clashed in a terrifying spectacle of conflicting reality. Where the pitch-black void of the Eclipse met the sickly green of the True Death, the air violently ionized, sending localized shockwaves of pure destructive energy tearing across the plain and shattering dozens of nearby headstones into powder.

The Sovereign’s Eclipse pushed back against the oppressive magic, successfully carving out a spherical safe zone around Leon and Auris. Inside the darkness, the ambient void energy was severed, and the anti-healing effect was instantly purged. Leon took a deep breath as Aura of the Undying flared back to life, immediately restoring the health he had lost to the necrotic rot.

The Void-Lich hissed in genuine fury, its burning purple crown flaring as its absolute authority over the battlefield was challenged and fractured.

The entity began to cast. It did not use incantations. It simply pointed its skeletal fingers. Massive, localized gravity wells began to open across the Gravesite Plain, attempting to crush Leon into the earth with the weight of a collapsing star. Simultaneously, dozens of jagged spears formed of pure, condensed entropy rained down upon Leon’s position from the green sky.

"Move!" Leon commanded telepathically.