The reason Xen was laughing in the face of the Underworld Orc was that the stage for the final showdown was finally set. As a Necroplague Slime, he had traded the chance to fight like a lich with an army of undead in favor of becoming a wielder of corruption and hexes, all so he could punch above his weight class if given time to lay on the debuffs—which is precisely what the mana-deprived floor boss had given him: time, while foolishly thinking it was benefiting him more than Xen.

  [Gor'Zhul: Underworld Orc (Level 41)]

  Afflictions: Blight Aura (Stacked), Withering Hex.

  [Blight Aura]

  Enemies within 5 meters suffer a slowly stacking debuff that reduces healing, regeneration, and magic defense. Corruption-type effects last longer depending on the number of stacks a target is burdened with.

  [Withering Hex (C)]

  Fire a thin beam that inflicts a single target with rotting energy. The target takes further necrotic damage over time and suffers a reduction in their physical defense and magic resistance. The effect is enhanced against already wounded foes.

  By themselves, Blight Aura and Withering Hex weren't enough to secure him victory. However, when combined, they became quite deadly. So long as Blight Aura remained stacked, the target was practically unable to heal or regenerate, meaning they had no chance of preventing the rotting effect spreading through their flesh from Withering Hex.

  A looming fate that Gor'Zhul seemed aware enough to conclude. So long as Xen remained within range, the rotting would not stop eating away at the Orc's muscles and inflicting immense pain. His magic and physical resistance were also rapidly dropping, and with Xen's [Solo Hunter] passive boosting his stats, the unthinkable was happening.

  Xen was now undoubtedly the stronger of the two.

  Raising his free arm, Xen summoned earth mana to his balled fist and said, "Clay Smash." Thinking he might end up in a situation like this, he had assigned the Clay Smash skill, which initially belonged to a Clay Orc, to a free skill slot. Due to his boosted stats and high level, he actually possessed higher strength than the Clay Orc he had gotten the skill from, and he easily pulverized the earthen spike that had skewered him through the stomach into dust.

  Falling to the ground, steam bellowed out of his large wound as another Orc skill, Earthen Regeneration, kicked in. In a twisted way, Xen found it rather amusing that he was defeating the Underworld Orc with skills he had looted from the very army that had been sent to kill him.

  In the corner of his eye, he confirmed the status of the skill.

  [Earthen Regeneration (B)]: Active (3x).

  He made sure to remain stationary as the skill doubled regeneration while underground and tripled if he stayed still like a statue. Whether the Underworld Orc possessed the Earthen Regeneration skill or not was unknown, as he had yet to land a hit on the monster. However, that was about to change.

  Xen needed to destroy the Earth Mage Throne, and the floor boss was standing in the way. As if sensing his bloodlust, Gor'Zhul stopped trying to tear the rotting energy out of himself and refocused on the threat before him: a half-naked human shrouded in steam, wearing a dented helmet and wielding a chipped sword.

  Pulling in earth mana from the cracked throne, Gor'Zhul raised both arms and pointed at Xen. "Entombing Grasp!"

  "Corruption Missile, Phantom Strike," Xen countered, taking the opportunity of Gor'Zhul being busy casting a large earth-altering spell to blast him in the face with more corruption magic. At the cost of a large amount of mana and life force, a dozen black orbs, followed by another dozen smaller ones, orbited his wrist and radiated the promise of death. "Fire," he commanded, unleashing them.

  Gor'Zhul managed to direct some of the earthen tendrils to eat a few of the death orbs, but many still found their mark. The eight-foot-tall Underworld Orc roared in pain as the B-grade skill, greatly enhanced by [Solo Hunter], punched through the Orc's weakened magic resistance, and the corruption spread like wildfire due to the fully stacked Blight Aura.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Xen followed up with a round of Radiant Smite directed right at the Orc's single eye to blind the towering monster. Now blinded, rotting from within, and with fist-sized holes littering his body from the volley of Corruption Missiles, Xen was even debating going for the kill. However, he couldn't, as the Entombing Grasp skill was still active, surrounding the Orc in a coiling mass of earthen tendrils that were seeking him out.

  "Crescent Rage!" Xen cleaved through the surge of tendrils and once again made use of Quiet Steps, Geomantic Perception, and his boosted speed to circle around the Underworld Orc.

  He now stood before the Earth Mage Throne, with the Underworld Orc standing behind it and withering in pain.

  "Second time's the charm," he said, unleashing another round of Crescent Rage upon the cracked throne. The moment the spell went off, the blinded Underworld Orc seemed to sense the incoming wave of mana from behind and spun around.

  "No!" Gor'Zhul snarled, trying to throw his body over the back of the throne to protect it, but he was too late. The wave of crackling red mana smashed into the Earth Mage Throne, widening the existing crack, and with the added weight of the Underworld Orc draped over the back, it fell apart. The earth mana stored within flooded out like a large ripple on a lake before dissipating back into the ground.

  The Earth Mage Throne was successfully destroyed, leaving the mana-starved mage without a lifeline.

  "Now who's the worm?" Xen jeered as he rolled his shoulders and strode toward the slumped-over Underworld Orc. The battle was practically over—a mage without mana was like a human without oxygen. Gor'Zhul was now nothing but a rotting Orc. "An Orc that tried to be a mage, without that throne of yours, you really are nothing. What a shame, I had been hoping for a better fight before my meal."

  Gor'Zhul raised his head and sneered at Xen. "You were right about one thing, worm."

  "Oh? I was right?" Xen said, very curious. Just what had he been right about?

  The edges of Gor'Zhul's lips curled up into a cruel smile. "Orcs do indeed make terrible mages, but who said I was a mage?"

  Xen paused his steps. That was a surprisingly good point. He had assumed Gor'Zhul was a mage all along because of the spells he was unleashing and the army of clay he commanded. Yet, his race was called an Underworld Orc, which didn't promise the use of magic like Undead Mage did.

  Seemingly finding amusement in his confusion, the Underworld Orc heartily laughed as he straightened up to his towering eight-foot height. "An Orc can never be a mage—we are warriors. I just preferred to impart my strength to my army." Reaching down, there was the sound of metal scraping against stone as he pulled out a giant battle axe that had been hidden in a slot behind the throne. Balancing the massive thing on his shoulder, he sneered. "This is when the true battle begins, puny worm." What little mana the Orc seemed to have left was poured into a spell that radiated out of him like a blinding light that reached all parts of the cavern. "Grand Ritual: Reclaim the Fallen."

  Xen noticed that the Clay Goblins, which had been constantly lurking near him, looking for an opening to strike, suddenly crumbled to dust. This dust then seemed attracted to Gor'Zhul. It wasn't only the few remaining Clay Goblins that disintegrated—all the corpses around him also disintegrated, and soon there was a dense dust cloud swirling around Gor'Zhul, which was being fed from all corners of the cavern.

  Not wanting to let this skill finish, Xen cast a Crescent Rage into the swirling storm, only for it to be casually reflected by Gor'Zhul's battle axe. He also noted the skill was far weaker than before. Checking the corner of his vision, he confirmed his fear that his [Solo Hunter] passive was sitting at a measly 10% boost as Gor'Zhul had destroyed the Clay Goblins.

  This isn't good, Xen cursed. Since the storm would seemingly eat any magic he threw at it and he was starting to run low on mana, he retreated a few steps and waited.

  After what felt like a few minutes, the dust cloud settled, and an unrecognizable Gor'Zhul stepped out. He was covered from head to toe in thick Clay Armor and was now standing tall while wielding a shiny battle axe. Gone was the hunched-back mage fused to a throne, and now stood a titanic warrior.

  "He really wasn't a mage all along," Xen muttered in partial disbelief. It had been such a convincing act all along.

  "What do you think, worm?" Gor'Zhul boomed, stepping forward and cracking the ground under his immense weight. "Feeling scared now?" He pointed the massive battle axe at Xen. "If you surrender now, perhaps we can work together and feast on those humans instead of each other?"

  It was phrased like a generous offer, but Xen wasn't dumb. Beneath that layer of clay armor, Gor'Zhul was still rotting. Blight Aura, Withering Hex, and the corruption from his missiles were still putting in work. While an impressive trump card, this wasn't a concluded battle just yet.

  "A tempting offer, but I was hoping we could exchange some hits now that you're all powered up," Xen replied, a hint of sarcasm in his tone. "Don't tell me you did all of that just hoping to intimidate me."

  Gor'Zhul laughed. "Very well, I will entertain a little worm like you."

  However, just as the battle was about to continue, Xen picked something up through his Geomantic Perception. Gor'Zhul seemed to notice it as well, as they both looked to the ceiling.

  Xen had to triple-check, but there was no doubt about it. He could sense the presence of a human rushing down the tunnel above the cave. They kept going until they reached the hole that led down into the cavern. Xen frowned as the human didn't continue on and rather chose to descend into the hole.

  Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a rope dangling down from the hole.

  "Shit," Xen cursed and looked back at Gor'Zhul—they exchanged a knowing glance.

  Things were about to get complicated.

  to read ahead!