Chapter 53 – Death Summoner Clark

*Whoosh! Boom!*

*Screeech!*

The hunt was going smoothly.

Killing in one shot with Fire Blast or sending the ghost wolves ahead made it easy to clear the area.

‘I don’t even need to use Lion’s Roar, do I?’

Lion’s Roar wasn’t something he learned just for the banshees.

It worked on ghosts too.

But it didn’t seem necessary to use it for now.

‘It would be better to use it when there are more gathered…’

While thinking that, he continued searching through the forest.

*Hehehehe…*

*Hihihihi…*

He found various types of ghosts gathered together.

There were about twenty of them.

‘Bingo.’

It was exactly what he had been hoping for.

*Tatadat!*

Min Do-jun fearlessly charged into the middle of the ghost crowd.

Seeing their prey running towards them, the ghosts raised their claws excitedly to greet him.

*Taat!*

Min Do-jun leaped high and landed right in the middle of the enemy lines.

Then,

“*Kraaaaargh!!!*”

As soon as he unleashed Lion’s Roar, all twenty ghosts grimaced simultaneously.

*Screeeeech!*

*Screeeeech!*

‘Now’s the time.’

Min Do-jun swung his sword wildly.

*Slash! Slash!*

With each swing, the ghosts were shattered into pieces and vanished.

Before, he couldn’t feel much when cutting them, but after using Lion’s Roar, the sensation of his attacks became clear.

‘When you use Lion’s Roar, physical damage works for a while.’

With physical damage added, it became much easier to defeat them than before.

That was why the ghosts were falling so easily.

Moreover, they seemed mentally shaken and couldn’t even counterattack properly.

*Slash! Slash!*

The combined physical damage made the ghosts collapse one after another.

[Experience +10,800]

[Experience +16,200]

[Experience +13,500]

[Level Up!]

It took only 15 seconds to take down all twenty of them.

‘As expected, hunting them one by one isn’t satisfying at all.’

He had been frustrated catching them one by one as they appeared. But now that he could take down a whole group at once, it felt refreshing.

‘I hope there are more of these guys…’

But it was time to leave now.

The time limit was approaching.

‘I only have an hour left. I should get going.’

Min Do-jun stopped hunting and ran towards the shrine.

As he passed by, he occasionally killed any ghosts that appeared while running swiftly forward.

Thanks to hunting non-stop for five hours straight, Min Do-jun’s level had reached 775.

Considering he had been at level 750 when entering the dungeon, he had gained 25 levels in total.

‘Is this the place?’

As he entered the shrine at the center of Ghost Island, there was an altar that looked suspicious at first glance.

Min Do-jun took out some jewels from his inventory and placed them on top of the altar.

If this were any other Ghost Island in another country, nothing would have happened. But here, the jewels glowed and disappeared.

‘It worked!’

And then…

*Whiiiiing—*

“Ugh…”

A fierce wind swirled around the altar and pushed Min Do-jun far back.

‘I wanted to attack as soon as it appeared, but I guess that’s not possible?’

The smoke rising from the altar began to form a shape. Soon after, a sorcerer with blazing eyes appeared before him.

‘It’s him!’

Clark.

The sole named boss of Ghost Island had revealed himself.

[Who dares summon me?]

Clark spoke. Even though his words were automatically translated and understood by Min Do-jun, there was no surprise on his face. 

He knew from experience that humanoid named bosses could speak languages that any awakened person could understand. 

‘But they can’t understand what I say.’

Knowing that conversation wouldn’t work, Min Do-jun didn’t bother responding. He simply stared at the information window revealing Clark’s weaknesses.

[Death Summoner Clark]

– **Description**: A named boss that only appears on Ghost Island. He protects himself with a sturdy barrier.

– **Battle Style**: He repels approaching enemies with wind magic and summons skeleton soldiers to fight. If enemies get close, he swings his staff.

– **Weakness**: Limited mana, head

Although Min Do-jun already knew the strategy, he was pleased to see the information displayed.

‘If I can see the info, it means he’s beatable.’

*Woooong—*

He buffed his weapon, preparing for battle at any moment.

As the wind subsided and Clark descended to the ground, Min Do-jun realized it was time to attack.

*Taat!*

Min Do-jun charged forward confidently.

[You insignificant fool!]

Clark swung his staff, sending a wave of wind towards Min Do-jun.

But as if anticipating this, Min Do-jun had already leaped into the air.

*Whoosh—*

From mid-air, he cast Fire Blast directly at Clark’s face.

*Boom!*

Perhaps because he was holding a sword, Clark didn’t expect Min Do-jun to use magic and failed to raise his barrier in time, getting engulfed in flames.

[Ugh, you insolent brat! Arise! My ser—…]

Clark staggered backward and tried to chant a spell, but quickly put up a barrier when Min Do-jun suddenly closed the distance and swung his sword.

*Thud!*

Even though his attack was blocked by the barrier, Min Do-jun didn’t stop attacking.

*Thud! Thud! Thud!*

He kept pounding away at the barrier with reckless abandon, believing that it would eventually break. Cracks began to form on the surface of the shield.

[Get away from me!]

With Clark’s shout, a gust of wind erupted once again.

This time, Min Do-jun couldn’t avoid it and was pushed back.

[Arise! My minions!]

Clark slammed his staff onto the ground with a *thud*, summoning armored soldiers through the smoke.

It was Clark’s specialty: summoning skeleton soldiers.

‘Annoying creatures.’

Despite the appearance of ten summoned soldiers, there wasn’t a trace of fear on Min Do-jun’s face.

After all, he had his own summons too.

‘Awoo, let’s take care of them together.’

[Woof!]

Min Do-jun and Awoo charged at the skeleton soldiers and began slaughtering them.

*Crack! Thud!*

The skeletons fell quickly like leaves in autumn.

Unlike ghosts, physical damage worked on them, making them much easier to defeat.

‘I’ll deal with the summons first before focusing on Clark.’

Normally, one would target the summoner instead of the summons. But for now, Min Do-jun couldn’t break through Clark’s barrier just yet.

‘I need to make him keep using mana by forcing him to summon more.’

Since Clark’s barrier relied on mana, depleting it would make him easier to defeat.

*Thud!*

The head of a helmeted skeleton soldier rolled onto the ground. It was the last one standing.

Though summons didn’t give experience points, Min Do-jun made sure none were left alive. 

Clark looked visibly flustered.

[Damn it! Come forth at once, my minions!]

This time, twice as many soldiers appeared.

‘It would be great if Lion’s Roar worked on these skeletons too.’

Once again, Min Do-jun focused on taking out the summons rather than attacking Clark directly. 

Clark summoned another wave of soldiers for a third time—this time numbering thirty in total.

However, it only took Min Do-jun 30 seconds to wipe them out completely.

[Th-this can’t be… My minions…?]

Seeing that none of his summoned soldiers had managed to inflict any damage, Clark’s face showed signs of panic.

‘I think I’ve drained enough of his mana by now.’

Min Do-jun steadied his grip on his sword and cast Fire Blast while charging forward once more. 

*Boom!*

Although blocked by the barrier again, it seemed weaker this time as Clark groaned in pain.

*Thud! Thud!*

Min Do-jun closed in and shattered the weakened barrier with repeated strikes. 

*Crack— Crack—*

[You cursed brat!]

Clark unleashed another gust of magical wind in desperation. 

Though it seemed like Min Do-jun would be blown away again, he stubbornly held his ground and pressed forward once more. 

‘He’s definitely weaker than before.’

With all his strength, Min Do-jun swung his sword fiercely.

*Thud! Crack!*

*Thud! Crack!*

Clark, having used up his mana in a short span of time, was struggling to keep up with Min Do-jun.

*Screeeech!*

Finally, the barrier shattered, and Min Do-jun’s sword sliced through Clark’s flesh.

*Slash—!*

[Aaaaargh!]

Clark screamed in agony and swung his staff, but as a mage, he stood no chance of hitting Min Do-jun.

‘Now it’s time to finish this!’

Dodging the staff effortlessly, Min Do-jun slashed his sword again.

*Slash—!*

Clark’s head dropped to the ground with a dull thud.

Though it seemed like an anticlimactic death, Min Do-jun didn’t let his guard down.

The experience points hadn’t come in yet.

*Sssssss—*

Smoke began to rise from Clark’s corpse.

Before he could fully comprehend what was happening—

*Whoooosh—*

“Ugh.”

A fierce wind blew Min Do-jun far away.

‘Is this the start of phase two?’

Clark’s corpse, now enveloped in smoke, slowly rose to its feet. His severed head reattached itself, but his skin rapidly decayed and rotted away.

He had resurrected himself as an undead.

[Grroooaaaarrr…]

Clark let out a beast-like growl, seemingly having lost all intelligence. He raised his hand, and his fallen staff flew back into his grasp.

*Boom!*

When Clark slammed the staff into the ground, ghost soldiers were summoned this time.

‘This is getting annoying.’

Unlike skeleton soldiers, ghost soldiers were immune to physical damage.

Min Do-jun sighed but wasn’t particularly worried. After all, he still had his trump card: Lion’s Roar.

[Graaaah!]

At Clark’s command, the ghost soldiers charged at Min Do-jun all at once.

Min Do-jun dashed forward and dove straight into the middle of the enemy ranks.

“Kraaaaaargh!!!”

With a deafening Lion’s Roar, he paralyzed the ghost soldiers and immediately turned his attention to Clark.

It was as if he didn’t care about the summons at all.

‘In phase two, there’s no need to kill the summons. The barrier is down; I just need to focus on Clark.’

*Whoosh—*

His fire-imbued sword slashed across Clark’s chest.

*Slash—!*

The sensation felt like cutting through tough leather, leaving Min Do-jun momentarily unsure if he had dealt any real damage. But Clark’s reaction quickly dispelled any doubt.

[Aaaaargh!]

Clark howled in pain and swung his staff wildly in retaliation.

*Whoosh— Whoosh—!*

Min Do-jun easily dodged the swings and continued inflicting wounds all over Clark’s body.

Being undead made Clark’s body incredibly tough, and he wasn’t going down easily.

[Graaaaahhh!]

With a roar, Clark’s body erupted into flames.

“Ugh.”

Min Do-jun quickly retreated, but the flames clung to him as if alive, burning his skin.

At that moment, Min Do-jun noticed the paralyzed ghost soldiers nearby.

*Thud— Thud!*

Without hesitation, he switched targets and began taking down the ghost soldiers one by one.

[You have absorbed the target’s corpse.]

[Your health is recovering.]

The blistered skin on Min Do-jun’s body began regenerating slowly until it returned to its normal state.

‘The Vitality Recovery trait is really coming in handy.’

This was why Min Do-jun hadn’t felt exhausted even after nearly five hours of continuous fighting against ghosts—it was all thanks to Vitality Recovery.

‘I didn’t know I could absorb even incorporeal ghosts.’

With his health fully restored, Min Do-jun charged at Clark once again. Dodging attacks while delivering dozens of slashes in quick succession—

[Grrr… Impossi… ble… Ugh…]

Mumbling incoherently as if leaving behind a final curse, Clark dissolved into smoke and vanished completely.

[You have defeated Death Summoner Clark!]

[You have obtained Skill Book: Ghost Wolf Summon.]

[You have obtained Ghost Mask.]

[You have obtained Ghost Sword.]

[Achievement Unlocked!]