The blood dagger was red and had a sharp blade. It looked beautiful, as it had a carving of a phoenix on its blade. At the hilt, vampire teeth were carved.
Anvil swung the blade, and it moved swiftly, cutting the air.
"Woah, it's so smooth." Anvil admired the blade. It was so light and sharp it felt as if it could cut through metal.
Anvil looked at the dagger's status.
[Blood Dagger]
— Inheritance Weapon
— A sharp dagger crafted by a skilled blacksmith. It can cut through metals, stones, and thick hides of monsters like butter. It was crafted to cut through dragon scales.
— A rune is engraved on the blade by a skilled runesmith with the effect of Blood Sucking.
— Blood Sucking: When the blade comes in contact with blood, it absorbs the blood. The absorbed blood is converted into life energy, healing the wielder of the blade. The more blood it absorbs, the more severe injuries, or even near-death injuries, it can heal.
"Amazing." Anvil kept the dagger in his pocket. It came with a sheath, so he didn't have to worry about cutting himself.
As he placed it, the dagger stayed surprisingly well, as if it wouldn't fall even if he ran around, jumped, or sat.
Anvil looked around the room. There was a single door at the end of the room beside the entrance. However, from its appearance, it looked like an exit.
Anvil wasn't ready to leave. He hadn't completed any of his side quests.
"Hidden item and hidden boss. They should be in a hidden room, right?" Anvil decided to explore this room first.
It was a fairly big room, probably the size of a football stadium.
Anvil ordered the undead [Chief Whimrat] to walk to the corner while ordering all the remaining undead [Whimrats] to touch and push all parts of the wall with their strength, hoping to activate any mechanisms.
After a bit of fumbling around, a random undead [Whimrat] found a button, which it pressed.
Rumbleeeeeeee! Thud!
With a loud rumbling, a section of the wall moved up, revealing a hidden corridor.
The corridor was wide and long.
Anvil took the lead and reached another door.
The door opened smoothly.
Inside was empty.
At the end of the room was a plain bronze chest. Anvil stepped into the room cautiously, scrutinizing his surroundings.
He let the undead in and made them move forward. A barrier was created around him.
Swoosh!
Suddenly, something moved swiftly.
Anvil saw a flash of shadow on the ceiling. When he looked up, he saw a wide mouth coming straight at him.
"Fuck!" Cursing, he dived sideways.
A large mouth hit the floor.
It was a giant snake.
[Hidden Boss: Man-Eating Serpent]
Hiss!!!
With a loud hiss, it charged at Anvil.
Suddenly, in front of him stood the undead [Chief Whimrat].
With its sharp claws, it grabbed the serpent.
Behind it, all the undead [Whimrats] charged and clung to its scales.
However, its tough scales were as sturdy as metal. The undead [Whimrats] couldn't even scratch it.
Hiss hiss hiss!
Hissing ferociously, it whipped its tail. The undead were flung by the force.
With great difficulty, it managed to escape from the giant undead's claws and moved back.
It hissed loudly and lunged at the minor undead. They tried to put up a fight, but the giant serpent opened its mouth wide and swallowed them whole.
Sizzle!
The sizzling sound was very loud. The undead couldn't put up a fight inside the serpent's stomach. They melted instantly.
It slithered to another undead and devoured every single small one. The giant undead tried to catch it, but it was so swift and agile.
Anvil guessed it would come at him next, so he made a small plan.
The giant undead pretended to chase the serpent while keeping its distance near Anvil.
As the other undead were eaten and its belly bulged, it charged at Anvil, trying to take its last prey and escape.
However, when it was a hair's width away from Anvil, a large force slammed its head.
Its head collided with the ground.
The giant undead grabbed its head, trying to pierce it with its sharp claws. Anvil ran away.
The serpent flicked out its long tongue and tried biting the giant undead, but the force was so immense it couldn't open its jaw fully.
It whipped its tail again. The tail hit the giant undead; however, it stood still, still holding its head. Then it slammed the head on the ground.
HISSS!
The serpent tried to thrash free; however, the giant undead jumped and landed on the serpent's body.
HISSSSSS! Crack!
Sounds similar to glass breaking echoed in the room. The scales of the serpent had a large crack. Deep green blood gushed out.
Ssssss!
A sizzling sound was heard.
The blood was corrosive and poisonous. It had melted the skin off the giant undead, reaching the bone and threatening to melt it.
But the giant undead stood still without a single sound of agony. That made the serpent deeply confused as it hissed in a way to communicate with the undead.
But its head was struck by a massive force. The giant undead rapidly clawed at its skull.
Its sharper and tougher claws, along with its strength, broke the scales. But the blood melted the nails. Despite that, the giant undead continued to claw.
Hissssss…
The hissing sound became weak. The serpent was exhausted. It tried to coil and writhe to break free.
But despite being 3 meters tall, it wasn't as strong as the giant undead. It couldn't resist.
Finally, it lay dead with a massive hole in its head.
Fortunately, its head was intact, and so was its skull.
Anvil approached the dead serpent. Seeing another massive amount of black smoke, he began sweating.
"Damn… I got lucky. If I hadn't worked hard to summon the [Chief Whimrat], I would definitely have died here. These tiny undead would just be its treats, and I would be its last prey." Anvil swore that as long as it was summonable, he would do his utmost to summon them, even if it was as exhausting as working 24 hours continuously without a break.
Anvil moved the smoke with his willpower. Maybe the time with the [Chief Whimrat] had strengthened his willpower or control over the smoke; it was less tiring and heavy than before.
But he still sweated a lot. His muscles ached, and he felt so exhausted he could fall asleep immediately.
Wobbling on his feet, he walked to the chest.
He didn't glance at his new summon. The giant undead serpent stood beside the giant [Whimrat].
Its snow-white skin was darkened. The massive hole in its head looked eerie.
Anvil opened the chest. A ring flew before him and suddenly slipped onto his finger.
"Ehhh?" Anvil was confused by the sudden action.
He stared at his ring finger.
A beautiful ring was there.
The ring had a smooth, streamlined design, but with a dark and menacing aesthetic. The band was a dark, matte material, possibly obsidian or blackened metal, featuring an intricate pattern of intertwined thorns and skeletal hands.
The centerpiece was a large, brilliant green gemstone. This gemstone was a vibrant, faceted emerald shape that caught the light beautifully.
However, it was not fully visible. The stone was partially covered by a cluster of sharp, yellowish-white teeth, which appeared to be clamping down on the gemstone.
From both sides, a skeletal arm extended toward the gemstone as if to free it from the teeth, or perhaps coveting the gemstone as well.
Anvil saw the status screen of the ring, which made him contemplate whether to laugh or cry.
[Cursed Ring of the Lich] (Ring illustration in comments)
— Hidden Item
— A ring crafted by a life-hating Lich. It is cursed with various curses. Whoever finds this ring is bound to it forever until they die. They will be cursed with the curse of binding and life. They will lose their life force every minute until they die. The life force is collected in the ring. The life force is converted into negative energy, which further strengthens and continues the curse.
— For an ordinary human, this is a cursed object that will potentially kill you. However, for a Necromancer, it is a blessing—an item worthy of being worshipped. A Necromancer can use the negative energy that is poisonous to any human to enhance their strength, reaction, speed, defense, and power.
— When the user of this ring, a Necromancer, touches a living body, they can drain its life force and convert it into negative energy. It can also absorb negativity from the environment. However, only places with extreme negativity and despair have enough negative energy that can be absorbed by the ring.