Dragon Necromancer: Starting With First Dragon Bloodline-Chapter 62: Hard

"Agreed," Thalia nodded. "Though it’s a pity we have to leave so many behind."

Noa brushed the dust off his sleeve.

"But we can’t carry more. Let’s not push our luck and clear this place as quickly as we can," he added, his pace steady as he guided them towards the next path.

If there was darkness ahead, he was taking the lead.

When they had to choose paths or check for traps, Thalia took the lead.

Lily and Liz only existed when they spoke, showering the duo with compliments they clearly didn’t mean.

Noa grew excited as the ashes drew closer.

He didn’t care about the girls and planned to deal with them later.

Before that, he wanted to defeat the tomb’s final boss and gather his first set of dragon ashes.

With each turn, the maze became narrower, forcing them to stay close. Noa’s footsteps echoed first, Thalia matching his pace perfectly.

After what felt like hours, the path widened suddenly, only to end with a solid stone they couldn’t just break.

Noa stopped.

The ceiling was vast—vaster than any ceiling he had ever seen.

It stretched so far that even shadows struggled to penetrate its eerie darkness.

"We have to go back, right? There is nothing ahead?" Liz asked, already half-turning towards the path they had come.

Noa and Thalia shook their heads simultaneously.

The former didn’t speak but pointed his finger at the center of the room. From there rose a mound of flesh with green wings and green veins that glowed in the darkness.

The pressure it gave off was far stronger than that of a Rat King.

Just then—

The mound shifted. A red leech writhed out of it and shrieked so loudly, it spun the world itself.

It looked like the leeches they had slain previously.

But this one was larger, louder, and way stronger.

It was the Leech King for a reason. Seeing this, Noa and Thalia tensed immediately, alert and ready to attack at any moment.

The other two girls didn’t linger for long.

The previous experience shaped their fear and gave them the strength to fight.

Noa gripped his sword tighter. This time, he didn’t say a single word to Thalia—she already knew what to do.

He then stepped forward.

The formation was the same as before.

His blade was already concealed by the shadows, his eyes searching for the leech’s weak point.

In an instant, he blurred, masking his presence as well.

Then he dashed around the creature, striking only when he was sure the attacks would land and didn’t care if the monster threatened his life.

His sharp instincts were the first wall the leech had to overcome.

Because of his training and now experience, they were honed, allowing Noa to dodge or sidestep most of the attacks.

But if he failed...

If the Leech King’s bulky body was too much for him to evade...

There was always Thalia’s snow barrier he could depend on and continue his assaults without sustaining too many injuries.

When he dealt the first strike to its flesh, smaller leeches emerged from its blood.

They threatened Noa, nearly biting his hand.

Thankfully, he reacted swiftly and cut them down instantly, preserving his life momentarily.

"Tch," Noa clicked his teeth.

He bit his tongue in the process, the pain and the taste of blood keeping his mind focused despite struggling against an increasing number of monsters.

Each time he wounded the opponent, it spawned a smaller version of itself.

When Thalia, Liz, or Lily attacked, the outcome didn’t change, increasing the difficulty of this battle.

Blinking from one place to another, deploying more snow out of thin air, and sending it to shield Noa even tighter, Thalia roared, "It’s dangerous. We need to—"

"I know!" Noa blurted.

His sword grew even darker, almost coating his entire arm in shadows.

He attacked faster while also quickly stepping back, allowing Thalia to finish off the smaller creatures.

’I am getting better,’ he realized in mid-fight.

The arc his blade had to follow felt easier to spot, as if muscle memory was taking over without his awareness.

The technique Selaira had installed in his body and mind made him faster. Deadlier. Stronger.

For a moment, Noa felt invincible.

His confidence increased, allowing him to strike the Leech King’s side, forcing its thick flesh to bleed green, sticky liquid he didn’t want to touch.

Especially when the leeches erupted from the wound, snapping their creepy mouths at him.

He leaped back.

His eyes flashed gold, Dragon’s Gaze allowing him to see the swarm in slow motion. Suddenly, he noticed something flutter close to the king’s chest.

"The core."

It was the same core he had to destroy to clear the tomb and return to the real world.

Slashing it would also end the fight.

However, reaching it wouldn’t be easy.

The king spread its wide green wings and released green mist by screeching loudly.

It was the same toxin that had the burning effect. But thanks to Thalia’s shield, which corroded the moment it touched the mist, everyone survived the boss monster’s attack.

Noa didn’t even flinch.

He trusted, he knew he was safe, and as the dragon’s blood surged deep into his veins, he stepped forward.

Both he and the monster lunged at each other.

The latter had its maw wide open, planning to bite his head off.

Noa was ready for it.

He tilted his neck, letting shadows conceal his presence entirely. Then he appeared beneath the king’s chest, sword raised high for the massive blow.

But—

The leech’s wings snapped around him, almost splitting him in half.

Noa reacted in a split second, twisting his leg on the rough surface of the floor and completing the attack finally.

The king had nothing to defend itself.

Thalia, too, bombarded it with additional deadly spells, giving it bruises and wounds left and right.

Even Liz and Lily did some damage as well.

And with these combined attacks and Noa’s decisive slash, the core shattered into pieces.

The world spun and trembled before a wave of system notifications flooded his view, ringing in his head so painfully that he was forced onto his knees.