Now the situation was getting even more out of control than Wim had anticipated.
Lucius himself was supposed to face the Necromancer, but he was quickly held back by the Lord Undead he had summoned.
Now all that was left was for Wim to defeat the Necromancer himself.
Wim: "Damn... This is truly a disaster..." he muttered, complaining about his current fate.
But he couldn't complain now. He had to find a way to defeat the Necromancer without Lucius' help.
Considering that the fate of all the important characters now rested in his hands,
Amidst the rubble of tombstones and cracked ground, Wim's breathing became labored. He struggled to bear the pressure in his right abdomen as he stood with all his remaining strength.
Every time he moved his body, the pain felt like thousands of needles stabbing him from within.
Teleportation magic?
It was impossible in this situation. His focus was distorted, and one small mistake could send him to an unintended location.
Necromancer Heutsz, in the distance, stared at him with a lopsided smile.
Necromancer Heutsz: "Hehe, you're still standing? I'm impressed by your resilience, you mana-less brat."
Heutsz never imagined his opponent would be a Unio student with no mana, which was very strange for someone like Wim.
Considering that Unio Academy had very unique students, not one with no mana, Heutsz wondered.
How could someone with no mana be accepted into the Academy? That was what Heutsz was wondering.
But how could he understand that when he was about to die at his hands?
Wim didn't answer Heutsz's question. He simply took a deep breath, raised his hand, and retracted the grip of his Glint Sword. A faint mechanical sound could be heard from his Hidden device.
Click—click—click
Instantly, from his Hidden glove, a blade spun and folded, forming a *Crossbow Glint* with a mana core at its center. A light blue light still pulsed along the device's arm.
Wim: "Alright... if we can't get close, we'll play long-range."
Instantly, Wim pulled the trigger on his bow.
Twang!
A magical arrow shot towards the Necromancer, but Heutsz managed to block it with his Bone Barrier.
Wim then fired again.
Twang! Twang! Twang!
Wim continued firing again, and again, searching for gaps between the bones, constantly moving quickly, ducking and jumping between broken tombstones, and circling around each side of the Necromancer.
But Heutsz didn't flinch; he simply summoned his Bone Barrier from side to side, protecting him from the small attack. He didn't just defend, he began summoning Bone Spikes to finish Wim off immediately.
Necromancer Heutsz: "It's futile. You're running out of time."
Bone Spikes appeared behind him, nearly slashing Wim's back every time he rolled away while continuing to fire.
Unfortunately, one of the bone spikes hit his Hidden gauntlet, damaging it but not damaging Wim's arm.
Crack!
Wim: "Damn you old man," he thought.
Wim's breathing became heavier, his hands began to tremble. He knew that if this continued, he would fall before his enemy.
Wim: "Ha... Hah... Must... Think..." He muttered as his breathing became heavier again, and it became increasingly difficult to stay calm.
So, with his remaining strength and a reckless idea, Wim pulled a small tube from his bag and threw it at Heutsz.
Ting!
The cylinder landed a few meters in front of Heutsz, not exploding, not smoking, not sparkling, just sitting there.
Necromancer Heutsz: "What was that? A cheap joke?" the Necromancer taunted with a disdainful smile.
But Wim smiled slightly despite the bleeding, revealing that it was no ordinary cylinder.
Psshh—BOOM!
Necromancer Heutsz: "Arghhh!"
A blindingly bright flash of white light exploded from the cylinder, making the entire cemetery glow as if it had just been hit by sunlight. Necromancer Heutsz screamed loudly as he covered his eyes and took two steps back.
From there, it was revealed that the small tube was a Flashbang he had created while studying Alchemy.
Initially, he had wanted to create a bomb, but it was prohibited by the Academy for first-year students. So, he asked Senior Emily for help, but was refused.
Eventually, Wim began requesting something less dangerous than a bomb, namely a Flashbang, so that Senior Emily would accept it.
Although it was just as dangerous as a bomb, its destructive effect was less severe than a regular bomb, only emitting a flash of white light.
Furthermore, this was still a prototype, so it wasn't surprising that the activation time wasn't as expected, but it was enough for Wim to measure the time.
When Heutsz felt pain in his eye, it was a perfect opportunity for Wim to...
... run away and hide behind one of the tombstones.
As Heutsz began to regain his sight, he began searching for the manaless child with an annoyed expression.
Necromancer Heutsz: "Damn you, where did you go, brat?! I swear I'll skin you limb by limb, along with your friends!" Heutsz shouted from there.
Meanwhile, Wim, hiding behind one of the tombstones, tried to apply pressure to the wound with the remaining cloth from his academy robes. His breathing was labored, his body trembling from blood loss.
Now his Hidden device was damaged by the Necromancer's bone spear, and he only had one Flashbang left in his bag.
Now he was in dire straits, weaponless, and it looked like this would be the end for him.
Was this the end for Wim?
What if he died here? Would he wake up in his gaming chair knowing it was all just a dream?
He couldn't figure out anything, and he was confused.
But amidst this confusion, Art quickly floated toward him, but that would be a problem if the Necromancer saw him.
Wim: "...Art?"
Art: "Wim! It's time to use *that!*"
Wim: "That? What do you mean?" Wim stared at him in confusion.
Suddenly, a notification appeared.
[Congratulations, you have successfully replenished enough Mana to unlock Art's ability.]
Wim: "Huh?"
[You can now use the power of Fuse through your Blank attribute.]
Wim's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
He had never seen a spell like Fuse before, and in fact, in his own memory, it hadn't even existed in the game.
But before he could think further, he sensed the Necromancer's presence drawing closer through his Mana Detection skill.
Wim: "Damn, looks like there's no time. Art, let's do it!" he whispered.
Art nodded, then began to open part of the metal frame, revealing a glowing orange ball that was most likely the core.
Necromancer Heutsz: "There you are!" he shouted when he saw the strange light and spotted Wim.
From underground, he tried to attack again. Dozens of *Bone Spikes* appeared through the air, spiraling sharply towards Wim and impaling him.
Ssslak!
The bones hit his body, thinking that Heutsz had killed Wim, he smiled and laughed.
Necromancer: "Hehehe..."
But something strange happened, which finally made his smile turn into doubt.
The bones began to emit smoke and began to burn in the air, melting to ash before they could touch him.
Necromancer Heutsz: "What... Is that?!" He muttered as he saw his bones burning so intensely.
Heutsz started to take a few steps back to avoid something he didn't know. Fear gripped him at what he was seeing.
From behind the flames, Heutsz saw a figure emerge from the flames.
It was Wim, whose right eye was now orange while his left remained black.
He was holding what appeared to be an orange flaming sword covered in flames.
It was something that seemed inexplicable to someone without mana.