Musclebound Necromancer?! Are You Kidding Me?

Chapter 15 – The Heart of Nightmare is shattered

"What happened? What's going on?"

Qiao Yu hurried towards the direction of the scream, where Zuo You and the others had already gathered.

There was no sign of Zhao Ziyue, only a dark hole in the ground that seemed bottomless.

"It looks like she fell in," Zuo You said, her face full of worry.

"There are no clues in the village. The Heart of Nightmare might be down there. I'll go down and scout the way for you," Ma Fei said, jumping into the hole without hesitation.

"Hey, Ma Fei! Wait!"

Zuo You stomped her foot in frustration. They had no idea what was down there. What if it was dangerous? Ma Fei was being reckless! Even if he was worried about Ziyue, he shouldn't be so rash!

"Forget it, let's go down too. If they run into danger, we can help," Zuo You said, jumping in as well. Qiao Yu and Yang Xiangdi quickly followed.

The walls of the long, dark tunnel were very smooth, and Qiao Yu slid down along them.

It felt like he was on a giant slide, just like when he was a kid.

"Huh?"

As he landed, Qiao Yu made a puzzled sound because the ground beneath him didn't feel hard.

It was soft, like standing on a sponge.

Curious, Qiao Yu pressed his foot down again.

"Qiao Yu, could you get off my stomach?" Yang Xiangdi said.

"Oh crap, sorry, sorry. I was wondering why the ground was so soft," Qiao Yu said, scratching his head in embarrassment. He looked around and saw that they were in an underground cave.

A foul, rotten smell filled the air, with occasional gusts of stinking wind.

"Is everyone okay?"

Zuo You's voice called out from ahead, and Qiao Yu and Yang Xiangdi quickly went over.

They soon found Zhao Ziyue unconscious but only slightly scratched. Relieved, they all gathered together again.

"This place reeks. Did we end up in the Nightmare Village's sewer?" Yang Xiangdi asked.

"This kind of place isn't ventilated. It's normal for decomposing microorganisms to smell," Zuo You explained.

"No! Look over there!"

Ma Fei's voice had a hint of fear. Everyone followed his gaze.

A Nightmare, as tall as a three-story building, was sleeping not far from them.

The foul air they smelled was coming from the Nightmare's nostrils!

[Rare Boss: Nightmare King] (Sleeping State)

[Level: lv10]

[Health: 1000/1000]

[Strength: 65]

[Defense: 20]

[Agility: 60]

[Skills: Bewitch, Nightmare Realm]

[Note: If you wake the Nightmare King, it will relentlessly pursue you.]

Seeing the boss's stats, Qiao Yu couldn't help but gasp.

As expected of a rare boss. Even at the same level 10, this Nightmare King was much stronger than the Skeleton King. In comparison, Qiao Yu suddenly felt the Skeleton King was quite unimpressive.

"Do you think the Heart of Nightmare is the heart of this Nightmare King?" Yang Xiangdi swallowed and asked.

"Maybe... maybe we should find a way to forcefully exit the hidden quest," Zuo You suggested, a bit frightened. With 65 attack points, it could probably smash her and her shield into a sandwich with one hit.

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"Since you're all saying that, I'll let this Nightmare King off the hook!" Ma Fei turned to study how to escape the underground cave.

"No! There's a chance!" Qiao Yu's eyes were fixed on the Nightmare King.

He had calculated it. With his current strength of 88, combined with the Strength Miracle, he had an attack power of 176.

Plus, with the Skeleton King's Ring's 50% bonus, his first hit could take away a fifth of the Nightmare King's health!

If he could hit the Nightmare King's weak points six times, there might be a chance to kill it and complete the quest!

However, this plan was like pulling chestnuts from the fire. A single mistake, and the Nightmare King would kill him instantly!

As soon as he finished speaking, aside from the unconscious Zhao Ziyue, the other three looked at Qiao Yu as if he were an alien.

Yang Xiangdi walked up and felt Qiao Yu's forehead.

"You don't have a fever, so how can you say there's a chance against a ten-meter-tall monster?"

"No, no, no! Listen to me!" Qiao Yu insisted.

Having soloed the Skeleton King, Qiao Yu understood that high stats didn't always mean strength. Every boss had a weakness; the Skeleton King's was agility.

Even at level 3, Qiao Yu could solo a Skeleton King.

"Although the Nightmare King's stats are high, its obvious weakness is defense. If victory were determined by stats alone, there'd be no need for the Inner World to have a combat system. It could just be a turn-based card game."

"By using our strengths against its weaknesses, we might have a chance!" Qiao Yu said earnestly.

"I think I know what you're planning. You need us to distract the Nightmare King, right?" Zuo You asked after a moment's thought.

"You understand me, Zuo You!" Qiao Yu nodded heavily.

"If each of you can give me one chance to attack, I promise I can kill the Nightmare King!"

Qiao Yu finished and waited quietly for their response.

After all, this was akin to dragging them into danger. With the Nightmare King's attack power, anyone hit would be dead on the spot.

Zhao Ziyue, as a healer, would be useless because it would be an instant kill, too fast to heal.

"Alright! We trust you!" Zuo You was the first to step up.

"Brother Yu, my life is in your hands!" Yang Xiangdi said.

Ma Fei snorted.

"If you can't do it, don't push yourself! It's not shameful to run from such a strong boss!"

Qiao Yu smiled.

"Don't worry! I'll go wake up the Nightmare King. You guys move Ziyue to a safe place and be ready to support me."

Qiao Yu began to climb up the Nightmare King's massive body. As long as he didn't attack, it wouldn't wake up.

He needed to find the Nightmare King's most vulnerable spot for his first strike!

Watching Qiao Yu climb higher, Zuo You and the others felt a pang of anxiety.

"Hmm? What's this?"

Qiao Yu found a mass of dark red flesh on the Nightmare King.

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

With each pulse of the flesh, a vast life force surged forth.

"This must be the Nightmare King's weak spot!" Qiao Yu said with a smile. He pulled out his staff, wiggled his hips, and aimed the end of the staff at the mass of flesh.

The Skeleton King's Ring effect activated!

Qiao Yu used all his strength to thrust the staff in!

"Critical Hit! -508!"

A terrifying number appeared above the Nightmare King's head, and its health bar instantly dropped to 492/1000.

Below, Ma Fei and the others nearly popped their eyes out!

Holy crap, 508 damage! Developers! Where are the Inner World's developers? There's a cheater here, do something!

Before Qiao Yu could celebrate, the system's notification sounded in their minds.

[Player Qiao Yu has shattered the Heart of Nightmare. Modifying quest...]

[Quest modification successful. Current quest: Kill the Nightmare King, Difficulty: D-level!]