The Bone Drake opened its bone Jaws and screamed.
System Notice – Boss Trait Triggered – Wail of the Hollow
Effect: Applies Vertigo (8s) to all enemies in audible range.
James stumbled. His vision tipped sideways, and for a moment he felt weightless. Stone seemed to roll beneath his feet, and a pulse of nausea hit hard in his gut.
He wasn’t alone. Several rankers collapsed near the barricades. One retched into the dirt. Another spun in a circle and sat down, eyes wild.
Through the disorientation, James saw movement.
A dark mist slithered toward the Drake, thick with something old and wrong. It pooled across the street from bone piles and broken skeletons—corpses left unlooted from earlier waves. Some from Bone Giants. Some just forgotten.
The tendrils rose like smoke and slipped into the Drake’s bones.
Wings that had been torn and cracked filled out again. Splinters reknit. That dull gleam across its body sharpened back to an unholy shine.
System Notice – Boss Trait Triggered – Deathmarked Convergence
Effect: Absorbs ambient necrotic energy to restore wings and health.
James cursed under his breath and turned toward Ken.
Play Card – Quick Mind
Target: KenEffect: +5 Mind for 1 minute.
Ken lifted his staff and drove it into the stone. A ripple of pale light pulsed outward. Vertigo cleared. James swayed once and caught his balance.
Edward roared, already in motion. His hammer lit up with a faint red glow as he slammed it into the Drake’s side. The impact landed just as the creature was pulling in the last of the necrotic energy. The siphon shattered mid-channel.
The Drake reeled. Claws tore furrows into the stone as it tried to recover.
James's Alpha-Wolf hit it a second later.
The wolf hurled itself onto the Drake’s back, driving in with claws and teeth. It latched on behind the neck and held fast.
The Drake tried to launch into the air, but it couldn’t lift properly.
Another ballista bolt hit, deflecting off bone but helping to knock the creature off balance.
The Drake pivoted, trying to throw the wolf, then flared its ribs outward and released another spray of bone shards.
James braced. Shards sliced across his thigh and arm. Nearby fighters took it worse. Edward groaned, clutching his side. Blood soaked into his armor.
James forced a basic heal through clenched teeth, then checked the wolf.
It was still alive and fighting.
But not glowing.
Trait Deactivated – On Full Health: Boost Removed
Condition – Vulnerable Removed
That last blast had knocked the Alpha-Wolf down to half. Not fatal, but the buff was gone. James clenched his jaw. The wolf wouldn’t last much longer like this.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The Drake twisted sharply and managed to fling the Alpha-Wolf free. It landed hard, rolled once, then crouched low with its sides heaving. It growled but didn’t charge back in.
James held it.
Then the tide turned.
Bronze rankers swarmed back in—more organized now. Small squads coordinated with shield lines. Mages found firing lanes. Healing pulses glimmered across the square as support crews stabilized the frontline.
The Drake staggered again as a tangle of vines erupted from beneath it. Not enough to bind it fully, but it slowed.
Then came the shot.
A heavy bolt from a hidden ballista across the rooftops slammed into the Drake’s chest. The impact exploded into another mess of vines, wrapping the creature mid-flight.
It fell, harder this time, dragging stone with it.
James didn’t hesitate.
He opened the raid menu and sent the invite.
System Notice – Raid Group Created: Boss Fight – Bone Drake (Elite)
Leader: James Cooper
Then he played his card.
Play Card – Quick Presence
Target: Self Effect: +5 Presence for 1 minute.
The change was immediate.
Trait Enhanced – Pack Member Buff (via Pack Leader + Quick Presence):
+4.5 Might and Agility applied to all raid members for 60 seconds.
James didn’t have to say a word.
You could feel it ripple through the guild. Strike speed picked up. Deflections turned into stuns. Sword blows bit deeper. Shields held longer.
The Drake’s armor was breaking.
James reached for Squire, hesitated, then let the card fall away. The field was too crowded. There were too many bodies already stomping down loose fragments before they could reform.
Then came the second scream.
System Notice – Boss Trait Triggered – Wail of the Hollow
Effect: Applies Vertigo (8s) to all enemies in audible range.
This time, it hit harder.
James dropped to a knee. Magic blurred in his peripheral vision. Fighters stumbled. Even the tanks staggered backward.
The Drake thrashed and ripped through the vines holding it down. It lunged at the Alpha-Wolf and bit down, hard.
The wolf dissolved instantly, scattering into motes before it could even hit the ground.
The Drake spun in place, its wings flaring as it released another wave of bone shards.
A cry went up from the left as a defender collapsed. Shields cracked. A mage took a spike to the shoulder and dropped her staff.
But the line didn’t break.
Ken raised his wand and fired again.
A dull flash. The Drake locked in place.
Stunned.
Edward pushed forward. His breath came hard, his armor was torn, and blood still dripped from under one pauldron.
He didn’t say anything. Just raised the hammer.
It hit with a sickening crunch.
Bone shattered. The skull cracked open.
The Drake slumped forward and didn’t rise.
For a moment, no one moved.
Then the system caught up.
System Notice – Boss Defeated
A breath later, the alerts started to roll in.
[Party Chat]
Trait Unlocked – Life of the Party
Condition:
Effect:
? All party members gain temporary access to 1/3 of your inventory slots while linked.
? +10% passive bonus to morale-based checks or effects while in a party.
[Raid Chat]
Trait Unlocked – Party Bags
Condition:
Effect:
? Sweet Food – Unique ×6
? Metal Puzzle ×2
[Raid Chat]
Raid Loot Distributed – Bone Drake (Elite, Level 10):
? Consumables: Drakebone Essence ×8, Hollow Salt Cakes ×12, Fractured Mana Flask ×5
? Reputation: +300 – Verdigris Guild
? Raid Leader Reward: Rare Crafting Drop: [Rare Aspects Pack - Bone Drake] – Bound to Commander James Cooper.
System Notice – Quest Complete
Flight of the Undead
Reward:Pack Upgrade Token received.
Card Commander Level 5 – Upgrade Available
Before anyone had time to comprehend how rich they were, another alert blinked to life.
System Event – Verdigris Echo Dungeon-Break in Progress
The air thinned.
James could swear the system was pausing—waiting—just to watch them squirm.
Everyone froze.
Eyes tilted skyward.
A heartbeat.
Another.
Then—
System Event – Verdigris Echo Dungeon-Break Completed
The silence cracked like glass.
And then—
The cheering started.
They were rich.
Now, , the celebration could start in earnest.
