Ethan descended through the fissure to the sixth layer. He found Leo and the others already locked in combat.

He'd been delayed for nearly twenty minutes up top. A carpet of shattered bones now surrounded his crew. Their opponent was… different.

A hulking, blood-red skeleton, standing four or five meters tall, wielding two wicked-looking bone blades.

"Well, look at that. A Skeletal Reaver," Ethan grinned, landing lightly behind them. The massive bones of its frame hummed with a deep, angry crimson light. "Your luck's pretty good."

"Boss, tell me this thing actually drops loot?" Leo grunted, expertly parrying a heavy blow from the monstrosity that sent tremors up his arms.

"Heh. This one definitely drops good stuff. Was it just… waiting here for you?" Ethan asked, genuinely pleased. This was a bonus rare spawn, a 'speed-run' treat that didn't appear on every attempt.

"Yeah, it charged us the second we landed. Damn thing hits like a truck," Leo shot back.

"Alright, let's finish it."

Ethan joined the fray. The Skeletal Reaver was a level 65 Rare Boss. As he fought, he kept an eye on Leo's status. Leo's "Stagger" debuff indicator turned a deep red—Severe Stagger—and his health drain spiked. In response, Leo pulled a gourd from his belt and took a deep swig. Instantly, the Stagger meter shifted to a manageable yellow, and the damage tick was cut in half.

'So the drink purges stored damage from the Stagger pool,' Ethan noted. It was a clever, active mechanic. The question is the cooldown. If that gourd refilled quickly, this class change was a massive win. He filed the observation away for later.

Leo expertly held the Reaver's attention, barely shifting his footing. The others crowded in tight to maximize damage. The cavern floor beyond was a treacherous sea of dormant bones; a single misstep could trigger another bone-army avalanche.

The Reaver's health steadily dropped. Just as it hit the 20% mark, a cold prickle of danger shot down Ethan's spine—a hunter's instinct honed over countless raids. The feeling came from… there.

He snapped his gaze to the side and triggered Insight Ring's ability. A faint, shimmering outline materialized in his vision—a cloaked figure gliding silently toward Ryan, who was deep in a casting chant.

Simultaneously, a flash of golden light erupted. Williams's eyes had turned liquid gold; he'd sensed the threat too and activated Divine Sight.

"Ryan, behind you!"

Ryan was channeling Pyroblast—a single-target spell with a brutal thirty-second cast time. The forming fireball in his hands was already the size of Leo's ale cask. He clearly knew he was in danger. He pivoted sharply without breaking his focus, just as the shimmering figure lunged, twin bone-daggers aimed for his throat.

"Get lost!" Ryan snarled, shoving his hands forward.

The massive, fully-formed fireball appeared directly between him and his attacker.

BOOM.

-45,942!

A colossal damage number erupted over the figure. It disintegrated into a shower of bone shards—a stealthed Skeletal Assassin. Right, the sixth layer had these patrols. They didn't stay dormant; they roamed the map invisible. Ethan had almost forgotten.

So that's why Ryan hadn't interrupted his cast—the spell had finished just as he turned. A point-blank Pyroblast had instantly vaporized the fragile, stealth-based skeleton.

Ethan felt a chill. That damage was utterly ridiculous. If Ryan ever got his gear fully enhanced to +30… the thought was terrifying.

"Everyone, stay sharp. I forgot about the patrols here," Ethan called out. "Those Assassins are nasty. High burst damage. If they stunlock you, no one's surviving it."

Whoosh… Whoosh…

Before he'd even finished speaking, two Flares arced into the air and burst into brilliant, hovering lights. Victor (Holy Priest) and Evelyn (Discipline Priest) had acted in unison. The overlapping circles of light illuminated their entire area, revealing any stealth.

A smart player would avoid the lit zones, skirting the edges. Monsters, however, were dumb. They'd walk right through their programmed patrol routes, instantly becoming visible. The Flares were their insurance policy, a necessary precaution in this lethal maze. Normally, priests hated wasting the mana on them—healing was mana-intensive enough—but this was a necessary precaution.

With no further surprises, the fight concluded a few minutes later. Under Ethan's relentless assault, the Skeletal Reaver finally collapsed.

Crash!

Loot exploded from its corpse in a glorious 9x9 grid, a shower of glimmering icons that clinked musically against the floor.

"What the—Boss! Did you turn off my loot privileges?!" Leo's hands swiped furiously at the air, grabbing nothing.

Ethan ignored him completely.

The others snickered. Back when Leo was the raid leader, they couldn't disable his frantic, instant-looting. It had been ages since they'd actually seen loot hit the ground, sparkling and pristine. Now, with Ethan leading, Leo was finally reigned in. Since they were technically inside a dungeon, loot was governed by raid rules anyway. Out in the open world, anyone could have swooped in and grabbed it.

Ethan ignored the other shiny baubles and headed straight for a flat, rune-inscribed stone that glowed with a subdued, icy blue light. He picked it up, examined it, and a smile touched his lips. This was the real prize.

"Ryan. Catch."

He underhand-tossed the stone across the cavern.

Ryan, startled, fumbled but caught it. "Huh?"

"Hey! No fair, boss! Favoritism!" Leeroy protested immediately. The two brothers' eternal rivalry, reflected even in their in-game names ('MyElderBrotherIsADog' and 'MyBrotherIsAFraud'), flared up on cue.

"Pipe down. You got the mana pool for this?" Ryan shot back.

"Mana pool? What's that got to do with anything?"

"Exactly. Shut it." Ryan dismissed him and posted the item's details in the raid chat.

[Skeletal Reaver Summoning Rune]

Use Count: 1/1

Property: Requires significant mage power to activate. A summoning circle must be constructed by at least six Magi or three Archmagi expending their full mana reserves. The more mana channeled into the summoning (up to 20 Magi or 12 Archmagi), the more powerful the resulting Skeletal Reaver.

Summoned Creature Level: 65-80. Type: Rare Boss.

Summon is under the caster's control. Duration: 30 minutes.

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