Meanwhile, Jeremy—
"THIS IS AMAZING!" he shouted, while his three new skeletons burned everything to the ground.
He had even created two more undead of the same type just for the pure pleasure of destruction.
All the Flamehoofs had their stat points in Intelligence, turning them into glass cannons.
Sure, the damage was zero—Flamehoofs were immune to fire—but it was still fun.
He wasn't worried about the forest either—its vitality was monstrous. It seemed to heal fire damage before his eyes.
After destroying plenty more Flamehoofs, Jeremy's perception picked up on a Rank C Flamehoof in the distance. He intended to ignore it.
He wanted to complete his Aberration slots before massacring a Rank C, but things never went the way Jeremy planned.
The beast had noticed him. It was one of the leaders of this forest, and intruders weren't tolerated in its territory. So it howled and charged at Jeremy.
"Alright, looks like I gotta teach this damn wolf who's boss," Jeremy muttered with a sigh.
But then—
That howl wasn't just for show. It was a call.
In Jeremy's perception, another beast—just as strong—began heading toward them.
"Oh shit!" Jeremy cursed. "Should I run?" The thought crossed his mind, but only for a moment.
"No," he roared, "I'm an Apex. I am the top of the food chain here."
He spoke a line that didn't even sound like him.
And so, the two beasts drew closer and closer. Escaping was now impossible—not that he had intended to.
With two thunderous howls, the monsters appeared before Jeremy and his summons.
They seemed to study them.
And so did Jeremy. He looked at the beasts, surprised.
"What the hell!!"
One beast stood before him. Well, technically two—but while one was a typical Flamehoof with an intimidating aura, the other looked similar and yet completely opposite.
It was an identical beast, but seemingly made of pure ice. Jeremy was stunned—not by its beauty, but by the thought of combining the two into something unique: an Aberration.
"I need them." That was his first thought.
---
Glacialhoof
Rank C, HP
Lv 50 (max)
HP: 27,000
MP: 73,000
Physical: 55
Agility: 115
Intelligence: 170
Endurance: 60
Skills: Son of the Glacial, Glacial Blast, Glacial Dash, Glacial Immolation, Death Explosion, Glacial Wall, Glacial Domain
---
Glacial Wall
Summons a wall of pure ice, trapping the enemy inside. If it hits, deals magic damage equal to 150% of magic power.
---
Glacial Domain
Unleashes an ice storm that freezes everything. Deals damage per second equal to 50% of magic power for the duration of the spell. Applies a stack of "frost" that slows enemies. At 10 stacks, the target is frozen for at least 10 seconds.
---
The other Flamehoof had the same skills but with the opposite element, inflicting burn instead.
Fighting one was trouble enough—fighting both seemed far too much… or maybe not.
After a brief exchange of looks, Jeremy began issuing commands to his summons. He couldn't afford distractions.
The moment he saw the Glacialhoof, a plan had formed in his mind.
A very simple one:
Kill the ice beast first.
Simply because the Flamehoof's fire immunity made it hard for his glass cannon skeletons to deal damage.
But the Glacialhoof? He could be hurt by the new additions to the undead army.
And so the battle began.
Leo'sol was ready to hold off the fire beast, and Drae'mon, eyes locked on the ice beast, served as a distraction to let the new skeletal summons go wild.
The first move came from Jeremy himself. He activated his skill: Death Aura.
All his summons turned savage, the flames in their eyes turning pitch black. A faint shield shimmered around them, reducing incoming damage. Meanwhile, the enemies began taking constant damage.
"−1050"
"−1050"
The aggro was on Jeremy—but as soon as the aura triggered, his summons rushed to attack.
Leo'sol charged the Flamehoof with a Stomp of the Aberration, which the beast dodged easily. But that was fine. He had its attention.
Drae'mon, meanwhile, dashed toward the Glacialhoof. Unlike the fire beast, this one couldn't react in time and was hit hard by Poisonous Claw.
"−2000"
"−134"
Just as the Glacialhoof turned to strike back, it sensed intense heat from the side.
Then saw two Flame Blasts flying toward it.
Without thinking, it used Glacial Dash to dodge, only to land in the path of two more Flame Blasts.
This time, it could not escape. It attempted to block them with Glacial Blast.
Needless to say, the beast's spell was stronger than the skeletons'—despite similar stats. After all, they were two Ranks apart.
Jeremy wasn't surprised. He knew these beasts weren't punching bags—they had intelligence.
Still—
"−1050"
His ability kept chipping away. That alone could kill them eventually.
The beast turned toward Jeremy. It wanted him dead.
It used Glacial Wall, aiming it directly at him. But just as its front legs slammed down to activate the skill—Drae'mon struck from the side, making the beast stumble and miss.
"−3000"
"−150"
Meanwhile, Jeremy was sweating.
"I gotta be more careful…" he muttered, eyeing the icy wall just meters away. He could feel the biting cold radiating from it.
"If Drae'mon had been a second slower, I'd be dead."
The Glacial beast howled in frustration. It had already lost over 10,000 HP. It didn't want to use Glacial Domain, fearing it would hurt its ally—but at this point, it no longer cared.
Enraged, it unleashed the spell to end everything.
At the same time—
"Holy shit!" Jeremy's voice rang out.
A little earlier—
Leo'sol, after missing his stomp, was face-to-face with the fire beast.
It unleashed a Flame Blast at point-blank range.
Despite Leo'sol's high agility, he couldn't completely dodge the blast. His right side was obliterated. He could no longer use "Windshoot"—not that he intended to.
"−17,500"
"−340"
The damage was massive, but thankfully reduced by the dodge. The skeleton was scorched all over.
The blast had shattered the Death Aura shield—but had successfully inflicted Fear on the beast.
Sure, it only lasted a second, but it was enough.
The Aberration lunged, jaws wide, ready to use his iconic skill: Chomp.
His fangs pierced the beast's skull, clamping down.
"−1500*"
The Flamehoof howled in pain, crushed under the skeleton's bite.
And then—a claw pierced its belly and seemed to grow inside, amplifying its agony.
"−2000"
The beast was furious.
Was it really getting wrecked by a skeleton two Ranks below?
Enraged, it raised its front legs to unleash Flame Wall.
But Leo'sol let go of its head and, using the embedded claw for leverage, pivoted out of the blast's path.
The flames incinerated the forest. The scene would have been epic to look at from another perspective, but ...
"Holy shit!" Jeremy yelled, seeing the flames rushing toward him.
Without thinking, he dove behind the ice wall made by the Glacialhoof—taking damage just by touching it.
"−340"
"Damn, this ice is… ice-cold," he thought, somehow surprised.
Then—
As if synced, both beasts activated their ultimates.
One side launched Glacial Domain, the other Flame Domain.
A storm of fire and frost tore through the battlefield.
Luckily, after everything he'd been through, Jeremy had finally learned to stay back and let his skeletons handle it.
Well… not all of them.
Only Drae'mon and Leo'sol survived.
The four Flamehoof skeletons?
They died the instant the dual domains were unleashed.
They had almost no HP, after all.
The battle was at its climax. Would the skeletons win against the beasts, or would they die trying?
---
"What the hell is going on over there?" said the naive-sounding girl, her gaze fixed on a distant spot.
It looked as if a storm of flames and ice had broken loose, the scene nothing short of breathtaking.
"They're the bosses of this zone," said the more serious girl, gripping the hilt of her sword tightly. "They're fighting someone."
And so, driven by curiosity, they decided to get closer to the source.