As they approached the next graveyard, they heard distant fighting.

Mike and Lily looked toward the sound.

One of the small groups that didn't join Marcus was surrounded by skeleton warriors.

Two of the boys were swinging their swords wildly, while the third held up a weak shield spell that was starting to crack.

"They're in trouble," Lily said.

Mike nodded. "Let's help them."

They ran toward the group.

One skeleton warrior raised its rusted axe, ready to strike one of the boys.

Mike arrived just in time and cut the skeleton in half with one clean swing.

"Thanks!" the boy yelled, breathing hard.

Lily stepped forward and cast a water wave that pushed back the skeletons closing in on them.

"Stay behind us," she said firmly.

The boys quickly moved back while Mike charged ahead.

He broke skeletons apart with fast, heavy strikes, while Lily used water bolts to hit any skeleton that tried to sneak around to the sides.

Within moments, the skeletons were gone.

The three boys sat down on the ground, exhausted.

"Thanks… we almost died there," one of them said.

"You should stick to the safer areas," Mike replied. "These graveyards get harder the deeper you go."

"Yeah… we didn't expect this many," another boy said.

After catching their breath, the three got up and prepared to leave.

"Good luck out there," Lily said.

"You too!" they replied before heading back toward the plains.

Mike and Lily continued forward.

More graveyards appeared ahead, each one filled with skeleton warriors and mages.

"We should clear as many as we can before Marcus reaches this area," Mike said.

Lily nodded. "He'll try to take all the good experience for himself."

Together, they moved to the next graveyard.

Another skeleton mage noticed them and began chanting.

Blue fire gathered in its hands.

Mike raised his sword.

Lily prepared her spell.

The skeleton mage in front of them suddenly stopped chanting.

Its body trembled, and the blue flame in its eyes grew brighter—

and then Mike and Lily realized why.

This wasn't a normal skeleton mage.

Behind it, a stronger elite skeleton mage stepped out of the graves, its robe torn and its staff glowing dark blue.

And beside it stood something far more dangerous—

An Undead Knight, taller than both of them, wearing cracked black armor and holding a rusty greatsword that still dripped with dark energy.

Lily gripped her staff tightly.

"This looks bad…"

Mike didn't panic.

Instead, he took a slow breath… then another… following a specific pattern.

His sword began to glow faintly—first crimson, then slowly shifting into a darker, hotter black flame.

"Wait! You also have an Aura Art?" Lily asked, surprised.

Mike nodded.

It was originally a rare-rank Crimson Sword Art I bought. But after using Midas Touch on it, it changed into an epic-quality Black Flame Sword Art.

Lily blinked. "That's… you must have hit the jackpot."

Mike pointed his sword at the Undead Knight."You take the mage. I'll handle this one."

Lily nodded and ran toward the elite skeleton mage.

The Undead Knight slammed its greatsword into the ground and charged at Mike with surprising speed for something undead.

Mike braced himself.

CLANG!

Their swords collided. Sparks flew.The impact made the dirt around them burst up.

Mike slid back a few steps, but the black flame around his sword burned hotter, pushing against the knight's strength.

"Strong," Mike muttered. "But not enough."

The knight swung again—wide and heavy.Mike ducked under the blade and slashed upward, black flames trailing behind his strike.

A crack formed in the knight's chest plate.

The undead creature didn't react to damage.It simply lifted its sword again and swung straight down.

Mike stepped back and exhaled."Black Flame — First Form."

His blade ignited fully.

He dashed in and struck the knight's arm.The black flames burned through the armor, melting bone underneath.

The Undead Knight roared silently and retaliated with a heavy side-swing.Mike raised his sword to block—

BOOM!

The blow pushed him back several meters, but he stayed on his feet.

"Hard hitter, huh?"

Meanwhile, Lily fought the elite skeleton mage.

The mage shot another blue fireball.Lily dodged and fired a water jet that smashed into the mage's chest, knocking it off balance.

She shouted toward Mike, "I'm almost done here!"

Mike grinned under his helmet."Same!"

The Undead Knight rushed at him again.

Mike lowered his stance, black flames gathering along the blade like smoke.

"Black Flame — Second Form."

He slashed downward.

A wave of black fire shot out and hit the knight square in the torso.

CRACK!

The knight's armor shattered, exposing its hollow ribcage.

Mike didn't give it a chance to recover.

He rushed in, sword raised high—

"Black Flame — Third Form!"

His blade pierced straight through the knight's skull.

The black flame erupted inside the helmet.

The Undead Knight collapsed, its body falling apart into dust and broken armor.

Mike pulled his sword back and let out a breath.

He turned toward Lily—who was standing over the crumbled elite mage, breathing hard but smiling.

"All done?" she asked.

Mike nodded. "Yeah. Let's move on."

Mike and Lily walked deeper into the graveyard, stepping past the broken bones and ashes left from the fight.

Lily stretched her arms. "That knight was way tougher than the others."

"Yeah," Mike agreed. "There might be more elites ahead."

They kept moving between the old tombstones. The air felt colder now, and the blue lights floating around seemed to gather more densely. It was clear the graveyards were getting more dangerous the farther they went.

After a few minutes, Mike stopped.

"Look."

Ahead of them, on a small hill, more skeletons were gathering. There were regular skeleton warriors, a few mages, and one skeleton captain holding a rusted spear.

Lily frowned. "That's a lot. Do we clear this one too?"

Mike nodded. "We should. If Marcus gets here, he'll try to claim the whole area."

Lily sighed. "He really thinks he owns the place."

Mike lifted his sword. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

They moved forward again.

The skeleton captain pointed its spear at them, and the group of skeletons rushed down the hill.

Mike charged straight at the front line.His sword swung left and right, breaking ribcages and skulls with each hit.

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