The instant the barrier collapsed, Bobo was already moving.

  The Dreadbone Sentinel moved, too.

  Not in a rush.

  It advanced like a force of nature, with momentum.

  Its steps were measured, methodical—each motion deliberate, as if it had already seen this battle play out a thousand times before.

  Bobo was faster.

  Golden blur fast.

  Even if his opponent was at the peak stage of the common rank, Bobo showed no fear.

  Not a second of hesitation, not a fraction of delay.

  Because I had been preparing for this moment.

  Adrenaline Flow: Already active, pushing Bobo’s skill to its peak before the fight even started.

  Neural Acceleration: Bobo’s instincts and calculations firing at terrifying speeds.

  Every nerve, every muscle—operating at maximum efficiency.

  And the result?

  Speed. Power. Control.

  Bobo closed the distance in a heartbeat.

  His fist rocketed forward—

  But—

  The Sentinel reacted.

  Not by moving.

  Not by dodging.

  By striking.

  Gravestep.

  Its body lurched, covering the short distance in an instant.

  Its main form was slow—but its attacks? Fast. Precise. Unrelenting.

  Then—the tendrils.

  They lashed out from its spine, six in total, whipping forward with unnatural speed.

  Designed to ensnare, to control, to restrict—a trap.

  Bobo’s punch halted mid-motion, forced to react.

  His reflexes kicked in.

  His body twisted—a blur of fur and muscle.

  One tendril snapped at his leg—he kicked it away.

  Another curled toward his back—he dodged sideways.

  A third came from above—he slammed his palm into it, deflecting the strike.

  But there were still three more.

  And they weren’t slowing down.

  I saw everything.

  The way the Sentinel compensated for its lack of mobility.

  It didn’t need to be fast.

  It only needed to control the battlefield.

  And if Bobo got caught—if those tendrils wrapped around him—this fight would turn into a slow, grinding loss.

  No chance. Not happening.

  “Bobo! Stay aggressive! Close the gap!”

  Bobo heard me—

  And moved.

  Instead of retreating, he pushed forward.

  Instead of dodging wide, he cut inside the Sentinel’s range.

  Instead of escaping, he attacked.

  Fast. Direct. Relentless.

  And just like that—

  The real battle began.

  Bobo stayed close.

  The Dreadbone Sentinel fought best at mid-range, where its spinal tendrils could curve, snare, and strike with full force. Bobo knew this.

  I knew this.

  So Bobo didn’t give it that space. He smothered it.

  He struck first—his fist rocket-punching into the undead’s hip bone.

  BOOM.

  Bone cracked. A visible dent formed. Not just surface damage—structural damage.

  The Sentinel shifted, but it didn’t retreat.

  It simply adjusted.

  It was learning.

  But Bobo—

  Bobo was faster. He stayed close, and he was relentless.

  A clawed hand lashed out—Bobo ducked.

  A bony knee jerked upward—Bobo twisted aside.

  A tendril snapped down from above—Bobo’s tail flicked, redirecting its arc by a hair.

  Every second. Every inch.

  They were dancing to a deathly rhythm.

  The Sentinel had more weapons. Its fingers ended in razor-like claws capable of raking through stone. Its legs were dense, reinforced by hardened bone—every stomp enough to shatter rock.

  But Bobo had one advantage:

  Speed.

  He saw each blow coming and moved before it landed.

  He couldn’t dodge everything, but he wasn’t worried—he knew he had me watching his back.

  I kept my distance, scanning the Sentinel’s frame with the Abyssal Eye of Ruin.

  Bobo was punching, but the Sentinel wasn’t breaking fast enough.

  I saw the flaws, the weak points, the imperfections.

  “Bobo!” I shouted, my voice cutting through the battle. “Target the left knee—left side! The outside!”

  He didn’t hesitate.

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  He weaved around a claw strike and slammed his foot into the Sentinel’s left knee.

  CRACK.

  A spiderweb fracture spread through the bone. The Sentinel faltered, balance shifting—but it wasn’t down yet.

  I adjusted. “Ribcage—upper right! If you can’t, go for the clavicle!”

  Bobo responded instantly.

  A sharp elbow strike to the upper ribs, sending fractures all across the skeletal frame.

  But the Sentinel countered:

  A Gravestep burst—sudden, fast, unpredictable.

  Bobo had less than a second. He twisted, barely avoiding a direct hit.

  Not completely, though.

  Claws raked across his shoulder—shallow, but still a hit.

  Bobo didn’t flinch. His tail flicked in frustration, but he didn’t let it slow him down. He kept the Sentinel’s damaged knee in his sights.

  This was the moment.

  “Again! Left knee—harder!”

  Bobo’s fist blurred.

  BOOM.

  The Sentinel buckled. The damaged leg caved inward, the entire frame tilting, collapsing onto one knee.

  I was already moving, gripping my stone weapon tight.

  The Sentinel’s skull was open.

  Exposed.

  Exactly where I wanted it.

  Time to strike while it’s down.

  But it wasn’t finished.

  A spinal tendril lashed out.

  I saw it. Felt it.

  No time to dodge.

  The tendril slammed into my ribs, knocking the wind from me. Pain flared, vision blurring for half a second.

  But I clenched my teeth—kept moving.

  One step, slow but determined.

  Then—

  BOOM.

  I swung my weapon down.

  It crashed into the Sentinel’s skull, splitting the bone with a thunderous crack.

  The impact rattled through my arms, the force traveling through its fractured frame.

  The Sentinel jerked. Twitched.

  Then—silence.

  Bobo landed beside me, breathing hard, eyes locked on the fallen skeleton.

  We didn’t lower our guard.

  Not yet.

  Not until we were sure it wasn’t getting back up.

  I knew it wasn’t done.

  A sudden shift.

  The broken frame jerked. Twitched.

  Then—it exploded into action.

  Its tendrils curled, bones scraping against stone. The remaining arm—the one Bobo hadn’t broken—moved. Fast.

  The Sentinel feigned collapse. A trick.

  I’d already taken a few steps back; I wouldn’t fall for it.

  Bobo moved first—his instincts screaming. His fist smashed into one of its arms, breaking it, then hammered the broken knee again, forcing the undead back down.

  But the Sentinel had waited for that.

  A sudden impact.

  Not from tendrils, but from the ground.

  Bone Eruption.

  Jagged spikes exploded upward in a sharp arc, forcing Bobo to retreat.

  And in that moment—it struck.

  Using Gravestep, not to attack Bobo but me, the one who’d broken its skull.

  The remaining tendril snapped out, wrapping around my arm.

  Tight. Cold. Hungry.

  I felt it immediately.

  But I rushed to keep distance.

  I wasn’t Bobo; I couldn’t just charge in and hope for the best.

  A pull.

  Not physical—something deeper.

  Like it was drawing from me.

  My muscles tensed. No.

  I knew this skill too.

  Life Siphon.

  Not today, buddy. You want my life force? Keep dreaming.

  My Abyssal Eye flared.

  The tendril shuddered. The pull—stopped.

  It wasn’t stealing anymore.

  It was just holding me.

  And that was a mistake.

  I tightened my grip on my weapon.

  “Bobo.” My voice was low.

  Bobo’s golden eyes locked onto me.

  “Break it.”

  Bobo’s arm whipped forward.

  BOOM.

  His fist shattered the tendril, freeing me.

  I stumbled back.

  The Sentinel lurched, its damaged frame fighting to stay upright.

  But we weren’t giving it that chance.

  I activated Vital Surge.

  My ribs knitted together. My breathing steadied.

  I surged forward.

  Bobo smashed its shoulder. I swung for the other joint.

  Bone cracked.

  The Sentinel staggered.

  Bobo’s next hit? The ribcage.

  My next hit? The spine.

  The fight turned messy. Brutal.

  I took the hits, took the pain, and kept using Vital Surge. I knew I wasn’t fast enough to dodge them all. I just had to endure.

  Piece by piece. Bit by bit.

  We broke it.

  Until nothing was left.

  Until it was done.

  The Sentinel was gone.

  Its bones lay in shattered heaps across the cavern, unmoving, broken beyond repair. There was no revival for this one.

  Just stillness.

  I exhaled slowly, feeling the last traces of battle fade. My grip loosened on my makeshift weapon, my body still thrumming with energy from Vital Surge.

  Bobo stood beside me, panting, golden fur streaked with dust and bone fragments, tail twitching—restless. But there was no more enemy. No more fight.

  It was over.

  Then—something shifted.

  A whisper in the air. A faint, unnatural hum.

  I felt it before I saw it.

  The remains of the Sentinel began to glow.

  A low, pulsing light flickered through the bones, like dying embers reigniting one final time. Not a resurgence—a reaction.

  I narrowed my eyes. What is this?

  Instinct took over.

  I reached out, pressing a hand against the largest piece of its remains. Then—

  A pulse of —raw, neutral energy.

  Mana.

  It flowed through me, through the cavern, through the shattered bones—then converged.

  The glow intensified.

  The scattered bones trembled.

  Then, in the center of the remains—

  Something formed.

  Not from the bones themselves, but from the mana condensing within them.

  A manifestation. A reward.

  Bobo chattered in surprise, stepping back as the light coalesced—compressing until it solidified.

  A single, floating object hovered in the air above the bones.

  I narrowed my eyes, summoning my Divine Eye of Origin.

  The golden pupil shrank, refocused.

  The world around me faded.

  All I saw—

  Was this.

  And then details rushed in.

  I blinked.

  My breath caught.

  “…What is this?”

  1. Cracked Sentinel Core (High-Grade Undead Evolution Catalyst)

  A fractured yet potent core once embedded in the Dreadbone Sentinel’s structure.

  Function: Serves as an evolution catalyst for skeletal or armored undead beasts.

  Effect: Grants a reinforced skeletal structure, increasing bone density, durability, and resistance to blunt and slashing damage.

  Drawback: Due to its broken nature, it requires additional necrotic energy or binding materials to fully activate.

  Potential Use: Could be infused into an undead summon to enhance its defensive capabilities, or used to craft skeletal armor plating for undead creatures.

  2. Hollowbone Shard (High-Grade Bone-Infused Crafting Material)

  A remnant of the Sentinel’s reinforced exoskeleton.

  Function: Material used to forge weapons, armor, or skeletal reinforcements.

  Effect: Enhances structural integrity of undead creatures, making their bones harder than steel while remaining lightweight.

  Bonus Effect: If refined properly, can grant an undead summon adaptive reinforcement—bones that become harder after sustaining damage.

  Potential Use: Could be used to forge undead-bound weapons, reinforce skeletal summons, or craft protective skeletal armor.

  3. Withered Ossuary Essence (High-Grade Decay-Linked Growth Resource)

  A lingering necrotic energy fragment harvested from the Sentinel’s core marrow.

  Function: Used to enhance or accelerate the growth of undead creatures by improving their connection to necrotic energy.

  Effect: Boosts an undead summon’s lifespan, regenerative abilities, and resistance to exorcism-based magic.

  Bonus Effect: Grants an undead creature Hollow Fortitude, reducing the impact of dismemberment (e.g., an arm or leg still functions after being severed).

  Potential Use: Can be directly absorbed by an undead summon for enhancement or infused into a ritual to increase undead resilience.

  4. Broken Necrotic Vein (High-Grade Undead Energy Conduit)

  A damaged but functional channel of necrotic mana that once circulated through the Sentinel’s bones.

  Function: Enhances mana flow within undead creatures, improving energy efficiency and spellcasting for necromantic summons.

  Effect: Boosts mana efficiency, allowing undead summons to sustain abilities longer.

  Bonus Effect: When properly refined, can grant an undead summon a Necrotic Pulse, enabling it to release a wave of necrotic energy upon taking damage.

  Potential Use: Can be integrated into an undead creature to strengthen mana circulation or used to create necrotic-based equipment that stores and releases undead energy.

  ---

  I stared at the resources in front of me, my mind racing.

  Cracked Sentinel Core.

  Hollowbone Shard.

  Withered Ossuary Essence.

  Broken Necrotic Vein.

  All high-grade materials, all meant for undead. None of them should be useful to me.

  And yet…

  I hovered my hand over the Cracked Sentinel Core, watching faint pulses of energy flicker across its fractured surface. Weak, unstable—unfinished.

  A normal summoner or beast master would sell it.

  A necromancer might refine it.

  But me?

  My mind didn’t work like theirs.

  “What if I don’t need to be a necromancer to use this?”

  My Divine Eye of Origin flared to life, feeding me possibilities. Failed attempts from others. The typical logic of how these materials were supposed to function.

  None of it mattered.

  Because no one like me had tried this before.

  “If undead can absorb these materials, why can’t I force them into something else?”

  My heart pounded as the idea took shape.

  “What if I can break the limits?”

  My grimoire pulsed in response, almost… curious.

  I grabbed the Cracked Sentinel Core, rolling it in my palm. It felt cold, faintly heavy, struggling to stay intact.

  But I had something the undead didn’t.

  Adaptive Growth Factor.

  It wasn’t just for living things—it was for development. It didn’t care whether something was alive or dead. It only cared if it could be improved.

  “What if I can reforge it?”

  What if I didn’t have to be an undead summoner?

  What if I forced this core to adapt?

  A slow grin crept across my face.

  “Bobo.”

  The golden ape looked up, still catching his breath. He tilted his head, recognizing that familiar look in my eyes.

  I had an idea.

  A crazy one.

  A dangerous one.

  The best kind.

  I tightened my grip on the core, feeling its fragile energy tremble in my hand.

  “Let’s see what happens when you refuse to play by the rules.”

  And with that—

  I poured my mana into the broken undead core.

  Then I swallowed.