Endless Evolution As A Skeleton In A Game-Like World

Ark stared at the missiles flying towards him and genuinely felt like weeping. He was already fighting a monster with a body tougher than steel. And now...

”Missiles?! Seriously?!”

He would have run away from the missiles, but that would have been a foolish choice. Not only were the missiles likely homing, he would also risk having Olivia hit by one of them.

The only choice was to face them head-on.

Ark’s hand tightened on the staff of his Scythe, as though it would vanish from his hand at any moment, then he took a long, nervous breath...

Just before he dashed forward.

’This is madness...’

It was a level twenty-five boss. He had never even fought a regular monster on that level, let alone a boss. The right thing to do would have been to find a way out of this hell.

But even as the light of the missiles reflected on his bald skull, and the very air was clouded with smoke.

Ark charged right into the mess. Because that was the only thing he could do, it was the right thing to do.

If the players’ disappearance had anything to do with this boss, then the only way to find out what happened to them would be by defeating it.

His life was definitely at risk.

But what was life without taking a few risks here and there?

Booom!

The first explosion caused the entire lab to rumble. Fire shot up into the air, Ark was bathed with dust, and black clouds filled his vision.

He immediately slid down, his kneecap screeching through the floor as a missile rushed past his head.

It was so close that he could see the details on the body of the missile, as well as the inscription ”dreamer,” written on it, just before it rushed past, unleashing chaos somewhere in the distance.

Ark’s goal was the orb. Only by taking it would he be able to beat the—

He suddenly slashed forward, splitting a missile in two. The missile exploded, sending sharp pain through his arms, spine and skull. He felt something crack, but ignored it.

Another missile came, and Ark swung his Scythe, slamming it into its side and redirecting the missile.

But they kept coming, explosion after explosion after explosion rocking the lab. Still, Ark kept going, up until he could not—

He had just split another missile in half when the sound of a loud whistling reached his ears.

It was right above his head. There was no time to dodge, move or even think!

Ark immediately raised his Scythe, the weapon transforming into a shield in an instant. But what was a shield in the face of a bomb?

BOOOOM!

His body was tossed like a rag doll, rolling several times over the floor as his bones blackened with soot.

[Ark’s health is at 50%! All stats will be affected!]

Just one strike, and it had been enough to take out nearly all of his health...

His ears were ringing like bells had been placed in his head, red dust was pouring out of his body, and everything felt stiff, broken and in pain.

’Shit... I should have used phase...’ Ark cursed inwardly. He had been saving it to surprise the boss, but now he was beginning to regret that decision.

He pushed himself off the floor, his head throbbing as he looked up, only to see the monster standing right in front of him.

Once again, the oxygen around them vanished, rushing towards the golem, and then its body began to glow brighter.

”Not again!”

His teammates were all locked up in their own battles, no one was coming to save him.

”System, assign all seven points to mana!”

VWOOOSH!

The floor was suddenly coated in a burst of livid flames that completely swallowed Ark whole, melting the ground underneath his feet.

And then something changed.

Like a spark of rebellion, the fire suddenly reversed its flow, just before crashing right into the golem’s right head, blowing it apart.

Ark was standing atop the molten floor, pointing his finger right at the golem, completely unhurt by the attack.

Phase or rebound? He could not decide which of them was his favourite spell!

”One head down, one to go!”

The golem, visibly enraged, raised its leg as steam gushed out of its back, before bringing it down on his head.

Ark could have used phase one more time, but the seven points had only given him seventy mana points.

If he used it again, his mana would be too low, which was risky considering that the boss was not the only threat he had to deal with.

So instead of wasting what little mana he had left, he stared at the molten ground below him—

His legs were already burning from being in contact with it, but Ark had no choice...

Using dirt drifter, he dove right in.

The first layer of melted rocks seared his bones, filling him with agonising pain, but he swallowed it, gritting his teeth hard as he traversed the soil.

And then the golem’s foot came down, causing a shockwave to cut across the room—

Ark came out of the floor at a reasonable distance from the golem, but that was not the only thing he had managed to accomplish.

He stared at the glowing orb that was now in front of him and picked it as though it was a fragile egg, only to crush it within his hands.

Refreshing, revitalising mana suddenly flooded his bones, filling his mana stores. It felt like a glass of cold water after wandering through the desert, one so tasty that Ark couldn’t help but chuckle darkly.

”Alright then!”

Lightning erupted all around him, gushing through his body as he unleashed his aura. His eyes grew fierce as he met the gaze of the golem.

”Shall we try this again?”

[2:00]... [1:59]

The golem had only one good head left, but it was all it needed.

This time, it didn’t feel as though the oxygen in the room was being stolen, no, this time, it was something far worse...

The light in the room dimmed, the world around them turning darker, all while the golem grew as bright as a light bulb.

Orbs of light appeared around its head, swirling around it as it concentrated its power for one devastating strike.

But while it did this, Ark was not simply sitting back and waiting to take the damage. His mind was racing for an answer to the boss monster.

’I need something like that spell Olivia used!’

Olivia had somehow been able to compress her lightning into a singular point, multiplying the damage potential of the attack several fold.

The skill was definitely a modification of chain lightning, and since he had chain lightning, didn’t that mean he would have been capable of using it?

Ark shut off his eyes, turning his eye sockets into dark pits. The golem needed time to charge its attack, Ark needed to come up with a solution in that minor time.

’How do I reshape a spell? How do I alter it?’

He had done it once in the tutorial, and according to Olivia, what he had done was alter the very nature of his spell.

All he had to do was remember what he did back then, and apply it to chain lightning...

He took in an unnecessary breath, but it helped him relax a little.

”First... summon the spell...”

At the other side of the room, Olivia had managed to take out a number of golems. She stared at Ark from where she was, watching as he stood still in front of the boss monster.

”What is he doing? Has he given up?” She said in a hoarse tone as she tried to catch her breath.

Sweat and blood slid down her face, and she bit her lower lip so hard that it drew blood.

She would have gone to him, but the damn golems would never allow her through.

”You guys!” She turned to the undead that Ark had sent to help her. They were the same undead she had seen him summon back in the tutorial.

They were nothing compared to the boss, but they would at least be useful.

”Go help your master!” She screamed, but her words fell on deaf ears. They seemed more adamant about protecting her than saving their own master.

”What the hell am I supposed to do now?” Olivia thought out loud.

”Second... Mould the spell...” Ark whispered.

The lightning aura around him intensified. He raised his hands in front of him, moulding the aura into a single, sharpened point.

His fingers burned as he pulled the violent lightning, trying to force it to take shape. His hands trembled, and fire erupted around them, but he swallowed the pain and pushed even harder.

The result he arrived at was unstable, but Ark had to make it work.

”F-finally—” he said through gritted teeth. ”Visualise the spell!”

He knew what he wanted. A spell forged for the purpose of sheer destruction. A spell that could ignore whatever stood before it, tear down defences like they were paper and unleash untold carnage.

”That is the spell I envision!”

His eyes came back on, his blue orbs glowing like lakes of fire.

His mana grew turbulent. His entire body was ablaze with fire. His hands were trembling...

But Ark held it within his hands—

A blue-black streak of lightning had formed, stretching from the finger he had pointed forward, down to the one he had drawn back...

Almost as if he were pulling back a bow.

[You have awakened a new skill, Malformed Devourer (A-Rank)!]

[Chain Lightning has reached a new level of comprehension. Your spell grows stronger]

The golem suddenly unleashed a burst of concentrated light, a beam capable of boring a hole right through a mountain.

But what Ark unleashed was a spell capable of swallowing one whole...