Hacking the Game Didn't Go as Intended [Part One]

CHAPTER 173: Several Weakness, One Doom - Ten Steps to Death

Dark Magic Resistance: 0%]

Daisuke and Zephyr leapt back when the Lich took another step forward, but before they could share a fleeting celebratory glance, something happened that they didn't expect.

The Lich tilted its skeletal head back, its hollow eyes flaring with a sinister glow, and unleashed a bone-chilling screech. The sound tore through the air, deafening and primal, shaking the very ground beneath them. Daisuke felt the reverberation in his chest as the clearing darkened, shadowed by the grotesque forms descending from above.

Out of the blackened sky emerged aerial monstrosities, their bat-like wings stretched wide, the membranes tattered and translucent. Crimson eyes glared hungrily from twisted, malformed faces, their screeches adding to the cacophony of terror.

"Dammit!" Daisuke spat, leaping back as his mind raced. Are anomalous monsters just like Field Bosses? Do they summon reinforcements at half health? His brow furrowed. Then why didn't the Goblin Shaman? Was it because he already had goblins swarming around him?

One of the newly arrived creatures shrieked and dove straight for him, talons extended and glistening with malice. Acting on instinct, Daisuke slammed his hands down, summoning radiant chains that erupted from the ground. The rattling restraints wrapped around the fiend mid-flight and dragged it mercilessly to the forest floor.

"Zephyr, now!"

The snarling wolf lunged, his fangs ripping into the grounded creature. Blood sprayed as the canine tore it apart, his growls resonating through the battlefield.

Daisuke barely had a moment to breathe before Lumielle's piercing scream cut through the chaos. He turned sharply to see one of the bat-like fiends streaking toward her, its talons poised to strike.

"Lumielle, get down!" he roared, darting forward.

With a flick of his wrist, a projectile forged from mana soared through the air and struck the creature's side, sending it spiraling off course. Before it could recover, Daisuke summoned another set of chains, yanking it to the ground where Zephyr was already waiting. The bristling wolf pounced, his claws and teeth tearing the monstrosity into ribbons.

"Stay close to me!" Daisuke shouted, even as he kept striking and grounding the Lich's minions.

DING!

[The rank of the active skill «Magic Chains» has transcended from rare to epic and the option effects have been adjusted accordingly.]

[Magic Chains]

[Rank: Epic

Classification: Active Skill

Lvl: 1

Proficiency: 7%

Through the art of shape manipulation, mana is molded into golden chains designed to ensnare and immobilize targets. Their strength is determined by the caster's mana concentration and unwavering will, and debuffs are applied only at the caster's discretion.

Skill Effect:

▪︎ Entraps targets at a cost of 5 mana per second. For more formidable adversaries, the mana cost scales with their strength.

▪︎ Ensnared targets have a 20% chance of being afflicted with «Paralysis», «Confusion», or «Silence» for 35 seconds.

▪︎ There is a 40% chance to unleash Lightning Damage equal to 25% of the caster's total mana. If mana drops below 50%, there is a 15% chance to inflict Stun Status on the target(s).