The sound of war was different this time.
It didn't come like thunder. It crashed like steel storms against stone — curses, roars, magic slamming against sigil-engraved barricades.
The Gloom-Reavers charged at the front, their corrupted bodies ignoring pain, clawing across the mine-riddled field.
Behind them, Valtross's core forces advanced: organized, brutal, empowered by something deeper than bloodlust.
And watching from behind, Valtross himself, wrapped in dark threads of mana.
"Advance," he whispered. "Let them believe they can hold."
"They're pressing harder than expected," Kael muttered, sweat glinting over his pale skin. "Reavers are resisting the mines."
Nyra fired another spectral bolt from her scout rifle.
"They're stalling us with meat. Valtross is watching for weakness."
Iden's fingers gripped the side of the tower rail, eyes locked on the battlefield.
He wasn't afraid.
But he could feel it — the weight of leadership, of creation, of protecting everything that had grown under him.
The System pulsed.
[Summoner Class: Evolution Criteria Met]Status: Eligible for Advancement
Choose Path:• Dominion Shaper – Command vast numbers, enhance group formations and global passive buffs• Warden of Bone – Amplify existing skeletons into elite variants, imbue traits, and gain resurrection rituals• Tactician Core (Hybrid) – Fuse command authority with blueprint integration and battlefield weaponry mastery
Iden's breath hitched.
He didn't hesitate.
[Class Evolution: Tactician Core (Hybrid) Chosen]→ Trait Unlocked: Battle-Linked Constructs – Can designate Skeletons to act as relay points for command-enhanced tactics→ Skill Unlocked: Tactical Override – Grants temporary AI burst and combat boost to an assigned squad→ Feature Unlocked: Specialist Blueprint Field Deployment – Deploy blueprint-based weapons mid-combat using resource reserve
Secondary Class: Arcane Engineer (Unlocked via System Quest Completion)
Mana thundered through him.
It wasn't light. It was code and logic, power and design, crystallizing in his mind like gears locking into divine motion.
"Alpha Squad," he muttered. "Formation Delta. Hold the wall."
The evolved Skeleton Warriors, now D-tier Elites, slammed into corrupted beasts with calculated precision.
Mages cast wide-area slowing fields. Archers fired glyph-etched arrows. Tanks interlocked shields against Reaver charges.
Each order Iden gave now rippled across his troops like divine instinct.
And Valtross finally frowned.
"He evolved."
The man turned, giving a nod to a blood-cloaked Reaver next to him.
"Then let's see how far he's willing to go."
The Reaver stepped forward, chanting in a broken tongue. The sky cracked.
A rift tore open, bleeding black flame into the air.
[System Warning: Forbidden Pact Detected – Tier C+]Entity Incoming: Abyssal Siege Worm | Gloombound Elite Unit
The ground beneath the forest shook.
"Iden!" Rael shouted. "That thing's massive!"
"It's heading straight for the wall!" Kael added. "Too fast for ground forces!"
Iden didn't hesitate.
"Bring me the Big One."
Kael nodded. "It's primed."
The massive Titanic Mana Core Warhead—the very first prototype, designed by Earth science and dungeon logic—was wheeled into the launch chamber.
Iden didn't blink.
"Lock trajectory… manual override. Target: Valtross himself."
"You sure?" Arlen asked.
"Yes."
He stepped to the rune console.
His hand hovered over the trigger.
"For Sanctum."
[MISSILE LAUNCH: ACTIVE]
The launcher screamed—blue light crackling across its spine.
The Big One roared into the air, a blazing comet bending physics with mana drag as it spun.
Valtross's eyes widened.
He extended one hand—mana twisting into a shield—
BOOM.
The sky exploded, blinding the battlefield in white-gold fire.
Trees collapsed.
Gloom-Reavers disintegrated in mid-charge.
The Abyssal Worm recoiled, body seared. Even the rift flickered.
And Valtross—
—was gone.
Or so it seemed.
The battlefield was scorched. Bones smoldered in charred grass.
And yet—
A single dark rune glowed in the crater's center. Faint… but pulsing.
Rael whispered, voice tight, "Was that enough?"
Iden didn't answer.
He was already walking to the edge, tactical display flickering in his eyes.
"Prepare for counterfire," he muttered. "He's not done."