Treasure Hunting System： The Ocean Conquerer

Chapter 602: Chapter 283: Power of the Same Level_3

He had intentionally begun to hide his abilities, especially critical ones. He knew that once an ability was used, the next Level would often adapt to counter it, diminishing its effectiveness. Alka wasn’t sure if this happened to everyone or if it was a specific countermeasure because he possessed a Treasure. Thus, he watched the skeleton cautiously.

A Giant Axe, as tall as the skeleton itself, appeared in its hand. The blade was covered with Spells; just from its appearance, he could tell this was an incredibly powerful weapon.

I probably couldn’t withstand even one strike; it’s best to avoid it.

Alka waved his hand, and Mirror after Mirror materialized around him, forming a Mirror Maze. The Mirrors spiraled outward, with the distant skeleton at their center. Alka himself vanished, teleporting via the Mirrors to the maze’s perimeter.

Facing the Mirrors that now surrounded it, the skeleton gripped its Giant Axe and spun fiercely. A massive, blade-shaped attack wave spread out in all directions.

CRACK!

The sound of shattering glass echoed relentlessly. A single strike completely cleared at least three or four layers of Mirrors around it. More than half of the Mirror Maze was destroyed instantly.

Seeing this, Alka immediately dismantled the entire Mirror Maze.

No point leaving it; it would only waste time.

”Even at the same Level, they still target me,” Alka couldn’t help but mutter. He still left several Mirrors nearby for quick teleportation.

Two cards shot toward the enemy, tracing curved paths. The skeleton merely glanced at the incoming cards with its eye sockets burning with spectral green flames. The cards seemed to lose all momentum, ignited with the same eerie flames, and immediately plummeted to the ground.

Alka muttered, ”It won’t force me into melee combat, will it?”

Just as he finished speaking, the skeleton looked directly at him. Spectral green flames instantly ignited on Alka’s body. Fortunately, he was constantly protected by a Shield. Faced with this sudden attack, the Shield immediately activated. This flame wasn’t hot; instead, it was bone-chillingly cold. Though the Shield kept the flames out, their insidious power had already latched onto him.

Alka felt his movements becoming sluggish, and the chilling effect even seemed to reach for his mind. Fortunately, his soul was extraordinary, and his spirit even more so; the essence of his spirit was far stronger than his physical body. Thus, the spectral flame, despite its spirit-slowing properties, had no actual impact on his mental faculties. His thoughts still raced. Controlling his heavy body, he rolled to the side.

CLANG!

A loud crash echoed beside him; the skeleton had slammed its Giant Axe down where Alka had been moments before. A pale afterimage trailed behind it. Watching Alka evade, it raised its Giant Axe again. As the axe slashed downward, the skeleton’s entire body lunged forward, trailing a long white afterimage, and it instantly appeared before Alka. The axe blade chopped straight down.

Alka, having just steadied himself, instantly rolled backward. The wind pressure from the downward-slicing Giant Axe made his cheeks sting. At least he had dodged the attack.

Truly pathetic.

The slowing effect of the flames on him was finally dispelled by his Magic Power. Feeling his body lighten, Alka promptly threw a total of eight cards at the enemy. The eight cards flew from various angles, converging on it. Turning its skull, the skeleton only managed to halt four of the cards; it couldn’t track that many. The other four exploded by its side. This time, what erupted was not flame, but pure Holy Light. The Spells Alka attached to his cards were no longer limited to just those three types. It was just that the combination of those three was typically very effective under normal circumstances.

The exploding Holy Light immediately inflicted damage upon the skeleton. Its white bones seemed to corrode, pits marring their surface, and even the Soul Fire within its skull began to dim and waver.

AHHH!

A shrill scream tore through the air. From its chest cavity emerged a dark-green, skeletal soul-entity, which hurtled toward the epicenter of the Holy Light explosion. The soul-entity and the Holy Light collided, extinguishing each other simultaneously.

The skeleton, without hesitation, once again raised its Giant Axe and brought it down swiftly in Alka’s direction. Its body transformed into a white blur. This was the third time, and Alka had grown accustomed to its movements. Each attack initiation was overly obvious. No longer under the pressure of its Soul Fire, he immediately rolled back.

However, this attempt failed. Just as he prepared to roll back to evade, his body was frozen in mid-air, as if the surrounding space had been immobilized. Alka’s eyes widened; only his thoughts could still move.

A sharp pain shot through him instantaneously; his entire body, from the chest down, was split in two. The skeleton’s Giant Axe, drenched in fresh blood, had cleaved through him. This was undoubtedly a lethal attack.

The reason Alka wasn’t teleported away, despite the lethal blow, was simply that this wasn’t his real body.

My cautious mind is still analyzing... The ability to immobilize space... not many possess that. It lasted less than a second, just enough time for it to cross the distance and strike.

The mangled body collapsed, but Alka was still alive; his form instantly regenerated, as if refreshed. Alka used his Dream Realm substitute to aid him in the initial stages of battle, allowing him to gather information about the enemy. Clearly, this tactic was highly effective.

After this regeneration, a Mirror Surface immediately appeared on his face. In less than a second, Alka transformed into the Dream Death God. Billowing pink mist instantly engulfed the surroundings, turning the area into a hazy, rose-tinted world. The skeleton immediately felt its movements slow; even its very soul seemed to waver unsteadily. Mirrors once again appeared all around. A Mirror materialized under Alka’s feet, and Alka, now in his Dream Death God form, vanished.

The skeleton, holding its Giant Axe, watched warily. Numerous skeletal soul-forms, resembling skulls, surged from its chest cavity. These entities trailed paths of eerie green mist as they circled, opening their maws to emit piercing howls.

A black Scythe spiraled in from behind it. The skeleton, which had appeared slowed, spun around, swinging its Giant Axe in a semicircle to meet the incoming Scythe. Yet, the expected sound of impact never came; the Scythe passed right through the Giant Axe. Only the curved tip of the Scythe’s blade struck the enemy’s shoulder blade. A large chunk was gouged from its shoulder blade, the bone there shattering into fragments.

Taking this opportunity, several cards flew in and exploded around it. Holy Light flashed. At that moment, the circling skeletal soul-forms, as if finding their target, converged on the bursts of Holy Light. The moment the Holy Light flashed, the skeleton’s movements slowed once more.

Pink mist erupted. The Soul Fire within the skeleton’s skull was still affected by the mist, and it plunged into a Deep Sleep.

Alka emerged from a nearby Mirror, then flickered to appear beside the sleeping skeleton. Wielding the returning Scythe, he slashed directly at its skull. The skeleton’s skull immediately turned a metallic black. The Scythe struck it, producing a crisp, ringing sound.

Then, once again, Alka was frozen in mid-air. This carefully planned attack hadn’t worked. Instead, it woke the enemy from its Deep Sleep. The moment the enemy awoke, the immobilizing effect vanished. Its Giant Axe immediately swung upwards from below. Alka had to flicker away, hurling a trace of white light just before he vanished.

Good. At least I baited out its immobilization ability again.

Clearly, it can’t use that ability freely.

A pale dagger lodged itself in the enemy’s spine. After appearing in the distance, Alka sharply clenched his hand. The dagger instantly transformed. Numerous bone spikes erupted from its embedded position, fusing with the skeleton’s own bones. This alteration to its skeletal structure drastically changed its movements, making it exceedingly rigid. It struggled, trying to reverse the changes in its bones.

Alka flickered before it once more. This rapid succession of flickers made the second one consume significantly more Magic Power. This time, the Scythe swung upward. Its curved tip pierced through the skeleton’s lower jaw and straight into its Soul Fire—a weak spot Alka had been observing for a long time. Aided by the shimmering white aura along the Scythe’s edge, the blade penetrated effortlessly.

The struggling skeleton instantly went still, its bones sagging as if all strength had left them.