Chapter 49: The Ghost Ship (1) — The Master of the Netherworld

“At last, it’s unlocked!”

After clearing the first level of the Sunken Ship Catacomb, Elé’s class system had finally activated.

Master of the Nether, Level 0 (29/10,000)

Class Talent: Each time the class level increases, Strength +3, Constitution +2, Agility and Spirit +1.

Equipment Panel Unlocked (can fuse dungeon equipment; the number of equipment slots matches that of the Novice Hero panel).

Class Skills:

Lord of the Fallen, Level 1

Consumes mana to summon Garula Spirits to assist in battle. The strength and number of summoned Garula Spirits depend on the amount of mana spent. Their attributes and functions can be defined at will, but the total combined attributes of all simultaneously summoned Garula Spirits cannot exceed (skill level × total personal attributes), and no single spirit’s total attribute value may surpass (total personal attributes / 2).

Garula Spirits can persist indefinitely.

Mana Cartridge Creation, Level 1

Consumes mana to create and store mana cartridges; this skill can be used at will in daily space.

Maximum mana storage per cartridge: 100 × skill level.

Maximum number of cartridges: 10 × skill level.

Mana stored in cartridges can be extracted at any time, temporarily increasing the user’s maximum mana (after temporary mana is expended, the maximum reverts to normal).

Compared to Artoria’s Holy Swordbearer class, the overall improvement wasn’t significant—at least, not without any mana stored in the cartridges. But if all ten cartridges were filled to the brim, a single shot from Elé could cripple even a C-rank boss in an instant!

For now, she merely gained a summoning skill with various tactical options; in the future, her explosive power would grow, provided she diligently stored her surplus mana in daily space.

“Ah, it looks like I won’t be much help for the time being. I can barely muster enough mana just to sustain my enhanced attacks,” Elé apologized, looking rather embarrassed.

“No worries. Just lure the monsters as usual,” Zhao Tianhe replied with a smile.

“That won’t do.” Suddenly, Jeros appeared out of nowhere, shaking his head with an expression of mild exasperation. “Did you even bother to read the information I gave you? Have you forgotten what today is?”

“What day…?” Zhao Tianhe tried to recall the details about the Sunken Ship Catacomb—and then realization struck him. “Today’s the boss respawn!”

“Exactly.” Jeros nodded, his tone grave. “The leap in strength between a C-rank boss and a C-rank elite is far greater than between a C- and a D-rank elite! You could say that only from C-rank onward do bosses truly become bosses. Before this, D- and E-rank dungeon bosses were little more than souped-up elite monsters!”

“Is it really that extreme? As far as I remember, the only difference is that they get a ‘Domain’—a group buff that enhances their minions’ attack and defense, gives some special attributes, maybe a debuff aura for enemies… basically just a single aura effect, right?” Zhao Tianhe frowned.

“You can’t understand these things just by reading about them,” Jeros replied, unfazed by Zhao Tianhe’s skepticism. After all, Zhao Tianhe was different from other heroes; he’d never attended any advanced dungeon strategy classes or watched any recorded footage. Relying solely on written materials, it was easy to underestimate the danger. “But what do you mean by ‘aura’?”

“Hmm…” Zhao Tianhe paused, then explained, “It’s a kind of group buff magic.”

“Oh, that’s close enough, but domains often come with much stranger conditions and effects,” Jeros said. “Fortunately, at C-rank, domains are typically fixed. Many dungeon bosses have exploitable weaknesses to make things easier—unlike B-rank bosses, whose domains can shift at will. And this dungeon, the Sunken Ship Catacomb, was chosen by me specifically for its unique environment, which means…”

“There’s a simple strategy?” Zhao Tianhe asked eagerly.

“That means there’s absolutely no way to circumvent it!” Jeros laughed, shaking his head. “If my guess is right, the entire second floor falls within its domain. There’s nowhere to run.”

“Seriously?!”

“We’re training as if we’re tackling B-rank dungeons, so it’s good to get used to it early,” Jeros said cheerfully. “In short, C-rank bosses are no joke. That’s why I showed myself—because honestly, even I would be in trouble against a C-rank boss in its domain if I didn’t take it seriously.”

“Is it really that strong?” Zhao Tianhe was well aware of Jeros’s ability—this guy was basically a heavy magical bomber, with a payload capacity that bordered on the magical. He could flatten a city on his own and was a master of every conceivable support and defensive spell, with no apparent weaknesses.

If he said he had to get serious, that meant he’d unleash firepower capable of leveling an entire city block.

“That’s exactly how strong. Anyway, let’s go in.” With that, Jeros walked straight into the shimmering barrier leading to the second level, with Zhao Tianhe and Elé hurrying after him.

Today, the second level was different from usual. The vast underground lake no longer had its enormous whirlpool; instead, at its center floated a massive wooden warship nearly two hundred meters long!

“What’s going on? Not even a single minor monster? That wasn’t mentioned in the information sheets…” Zhao Tianhe eyed the eerily empty surroundings with growing unease.

“Of course it wasn’t. This situation is extremely rare,” Jeros said, floating up into the air and pointing at the stretches of land jutting into the underground lake. “Take a closer look—you should be able to see it better than I can.”

At his words, Zhao Tianhe enhanced his vision and looked where Jeros indicated.

There, he saw spatters of blood and scattered scales. And it wasn’t just that spot—nearly every place where monsters usually gathered bore traces of blood or battle.

“Monster infighting?!” Zhao Tianhe was stunned, as it was the only explanation that made sense—except, why would monsters do that?

“It’s not infighting. They were never a single group to begin with—this is common in higher-level dungeons,” Jeros said, landing with an uncharacteristically solemn expression. “This is hunting. These monsters have been preying on others to strengthen themselves!”

“No way…” Zhao Tianhe’s attention was drawn to the colossal five-masted warship, where he noticed something unusual.

Rivulets of blood-red light pulsed along the wooden hull, like veins coursing with blood, making the whole ship seem almost alive.

“Looks like we’ll need to do more than just take this seriously. We’ll have to go all out…” Jeros licked his lips. “At least C+ level—if we’re unlucky, it could be bordering on B-rank. Good luck.”

Zhao Tianhe nodded, and the three of them flew straight onto the deck.

The moment they landed, both Zhao Tianhe and Jeros felt their expressions shift.

“You are suppressed by the ‘Sea Wraith’s Domain.’ Your health and mana regeneration are reduced by 50%.”

“Your summoned creature, Elé, is only affected by 30% thanks to the Ancient Soul skill.”