Renn didn't destroy phylactery immediately. He exited basement to call Roger and Zoltan.
When they descended and saw bone altar and phylactery, faces showed utmost astonishment.
"Renn, how?!" Zoltan exclaimed.
Roger stunned too. Renn's odd abilities made him wonder: what other secrets does this youth hide?
First, his vision incredible.
Iron Beard's fortress had no lights, pitch black, but seemed irrelevant to Renn. Roger first thought Dark Vision element, but en route realized far beyond—saw vast distances.
Known: demon hunters' first main soul is Terrifying Gosoluna Cat, granting Gosoluna Eye. Made them hyper-sensitive to monsters and Fel energy, plus night vision.
Few Superhumans matched demon hunters in vision.
Roger, legendary hunter, enhanced his Gosoluna Eye many times, yet admitted inferior to Renn's super-senses.
Second, Roger noted Renn's reaction to Malicious Gaze.
Even he wouldn't take it head-on unscathed. Not fully paralyze like Zoltan, but momentary stun, attack disruption inevitable.
Renn seemed fully immune—spell just failed!
Finally, Renn outpaced him, predicted lich's post-Blink spot, ended it with one hammer blow.
Youth Superhuman mere months, killed ninth-level lich one step from legend. Unbelievable if told.
Now easily found phylactery. Roger burned with curiosity.
"So many perception marvels, superb sword mastery, Steel Body… Recently ordinary human. What happened?"
Renn noticed Roger's changed expression.
Knew actions shocked legendary hunter. To dispel doubts, explained:
"I have element seeing magic energy flows. Scanned area, sensed underground altar, found this.
"I see," Roger smirked. "You got lucky.
Never heard such element.
Even the ability to see flows of magic didn't explain all of Reyn's abilities.
Zoltan, however, didn't dwell on such thoughts. Right now, he wanted only one thing—to destroy the Lich Phylactery. But he didn't act rashly; instead, he carefully inspected the basement.
"I've checked everything; there are no magical traps here," Reyn smiled.
The lich must have considered this place sufficiently hidden, or he lacked materials for spells, but he had set up no defenses around the bone altar.
Zoltan immediately fired at the Lich Phylactery.
Boom! The Lich Phylactery flew into the air and fell off the altar. The silhouette of the lich that had just begun to form immediately crumbled to dust.
The Lich Phylactery itself remained intact, with only a small dent from the bullet visible on its surface.
Zoltan, sparing no ammunition, fired several more shots. The Lich Phylactery bounced from the impacts, but no damage was visible beyond a few new scratches.
They had always said that liches' phylacteries were incredibly durable—and today they saw it with their own eyes.
Zoltan put away his rifle and grabbed his two-handed axe. He unleashed a series of furious blows on the Lich Phylactery. Boom! Boom! The heavy sharp axe struck the box but left only shallow scratches.
"So tough!" Zoltan muttered incredulously.
He wasn't a Superhuman, so he had no class level. However, as a dwarf Rune Blacksmith, his strength was comparable to that of a high-rank human Iron Guard, somewhere between seventh and eighth level.
Dwarves naturally possessed immense strength, and years of training gave him power no less than second-level Strength element. And yet he couldn't smash some box.
Reyn was also surprised. He looked up information on phylacteries on his phone and said:
"The 'Lich Phylactery' itself is a fourth-circle spell. It seals the soul inside a metal box using a magical seal. It's extraordinarily durable; it's very hard to break it with brute force. The best way is to use a fourth-circle or higher Dispel Magic spell to remove the seal."
"Just a box, and so many problems..." Zoltan scratched the back of his head helplessly.
"Let me," Reyn smiled. It was hard to break, but not impossible. Zoltan just lacked the strength.
The ghostly dragon head descended on him again—he renewed Dragon Strength.
Reyn raised his Icebreaker. All the muscles in his body tensed, power surged into his arms. He swung back, concentrating his might for three seconds, then slammed the hammer down with force.
BAM!
A deafening roar echoed through the basement, making Zoltan recoil from the pain in his ears.
The black Lich Phylactery shattered into the tiniest fragments in an instant. The blow was so powerful that even the stone slab beneath it crumbled to dust.
A massive clump of death energy burst outward, condensing into a distorted face that let out a silent scream and dissolved into the air.
"Finally, that creature is truly dead!" Zoltan exhaled with relief and glee.
He looked at Reyn.
"You're strong, lad."
Reyn smiled modestly, saying nothing. Outwardly, he was calm, but inside, a storm of emotions raged.
After the lich's soul dispersed—invisible to others—it was immediately absorbed by him.
This was the most powerful soul Reyn had ever absorbed!
In life, the lich had been a ninth-level mage. After death, he had spent hundreds of years in this underground fortress. Due to a lack of materials, he hadn't reached legendary rank, but he was infinitely close, just one ritual away from his goal.
The soul entered the phone, and the charge level began to rise rapidly.
Reyn watched as the third energy bar on his interface filled from 15% to 100% in seconds. Green segments lit up one after another, catching him off guard.
"Damn! What a charge..."
Reyn felt overwhelmed. His head buzzed; he groaned stifledly.
Roger, standing nearby, gave him a strange look.
Fortunately, at that moment, Zoltan led them out of the basement, saying:
"We've been here long enough. Let's head back to the temple, rest a bit, then look for the passage to the sixth level."
"Alright," Reyn nodded, following him.
He walked as if in a dream, all his attention fixed on the interface. The third energy bar continued to glow; excess spiritual energy flowed in, but there was nowhere for it to go.
Reyn didn't want to waste a drop of this precious power.
He immediately opened his element icons and began pouring spiritual energy into them.
He currently had seven elements. Metallic Touch and Will of Truth were unusual ability types and couldn't be upgraded.
That left five: second-level Steel Body, fourth-level Strength, first-level Charge, second-circle Dragon Strength, and first-circle Reynbow Beam.
Time was pressing; spiritual power leaked away every second. Without hesitation, Reyn selected all upgradable elements and started the process.
Five progress indicators flickered simultaneously.
The overloaded third energy bar finally found an outlet, and the charge level began to drop rapidly.
Reyn felt a bit better; the tension eased.
Soon he noticed that only four of the five indicators were growing. The Dragon Strength indicator just blinked but didn't move.
"What's wrong?"
Reyn didn't understand at first, but then he realized.
He was a third-level mage and could only wield first- and second-circle spells. To master third-circle spells, he needed to undergo a soul transformation ritual and reach fourth level.
Such were the limits of a human soul. Even his mutated phone, capable of raising spell ranks, couldn't bypass this rule.
Mid-rank mages (fourth to sixth level) could wield third-circle spells; high-rank mages—fourth-circle.
Casters below legendary rank, whether mages or other classes, couldn't master spells above fourth circle. Only with aids—scrolls, magic circles, or enchanted items—could they temporarily cast higher-rank spells.
Only upon reaching legendary rank could one learn fifth- and sixth-circle spells.
However, body-type elements had no such limits.
Reyn stopped upgrading Dragon Strength to avoid wasting energy.
Then he noticed the charge dropping too fast. In less than ten seconds, it fell to half—energy leaked like water through fingers; even the powerful lich soul couldn't keep up with the expenditure.
Reyn grew worried—he didn't want to waste the entire charge. He quickly paused the upgrades.
The charge began rising rapidly again, nearly reaching maximum. The sensations were like a roller coaster—thrilling and terrifying at once.
After a few tests, Reyn finally understood the issue.
The problem was Steel Body and Strength—these two elements consumed too much spiritual energy.
To raise Steel Body from second to third level required as much energy as four full mage soul transformations from third to fourth level! One progress segment took four full charge bars!
Fourth-level Strength was less demanding but still required two hundred full charge bars to reach fifth level.
No matter how powerful the lich's soul, it wouldn't suffice for upgrading these two elements.
Reyn resolutely abandoned upgrading Steel Body and Strength, directing all energy to Charge and Reynbow Beam. These elements required less energy, though the charge still kept rising.
He had to wait until the bar nearly filled, then pour a bit into Strength to balance intake and expenditure, not wasting a drop.
In just over ten seconds, Reynbow Beam reached second circle.
Like Dragon Strength, it stopped upgrading further.
Reyn could only focus on upgrading Charge, periodically pouring some energy into Strength.
The Charge progress indicator moved steadily forward.
From first to second level took just over fifty charge bars. Then second level, third... The upgrade continued seemingly without end.
By the time the trio returned to the temple and settled to rest in the square before the entrance, the charge had finally stabilized.
Reyn stopped the expenditure in time, keeping the bar full.
He looked at the element icons in the interface, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily curled up.
Charge had risen three levels straight to fourth! And upon reaching third level, this common element became rare, requiring more spiritual power.
Additionally, the fourth-level Strength progress indicator had filled more than halfway!
Thanks to Will of Truth, Reyn clearly felt the changes in his body. This half-level increased his strength by at least two thousand pounds sterling.
Even without Dragon Strength, he could now exert nearly ten thousand pounds sterling.
He glanced at Zoltan and Roger resting nearby. Unfortunately, he couldn't test fourth-level Charge right now.
And how far did second-circle Reynbow Beam reach now?
Reyn mentally estimated: this lich's soul had given him over five hundred full charge bars!
"No wonder he was a ninth-level lich, nearly a legend. Spiritual power in abundance—enough for a dozen mid-rank souls," Reyn thought admiringly.
He gazed contentedly at the icons in the interface. All elements upgradable at his current mage level had reached their limits.
As soon as he escaped the fortress, he could immediately perform the second soul transformation ritual and become a fourth-level mage!
Even if they found nothing else, this expedition had more than paid off.
Zoltan and Roger rested, their breathing steady and deep. Reyn felt no fatigue at all; on the contrary, he was excited.
With nothing to do, he opened the dwarven dictionary on his phone and began studying dwarven script, preparing for further searches.
Several hours later, the rest ended.
Zoltan packed his chest, prayed to the Mahal statue, and said:
"Now we either find the way to the sixth level and go deeper, or return to the third and escape through that big crack."
Roger, recalling the height of that crack—nearly a hundred meters above ground—shook his head resolutely:
"Climbing up is too dangerous; everything could collapse. Let's search for a way down first."
Reyn didn't care; he went along with their decision.
In truth, he wasn't particularly hopeful of finding a downward passage. The lich had spent who-knows-how-many years here and surely searched every dungeon thoroughly.
If an exit existed, the lich wouldn't have remained trapped.
As expected, the trio scoured nearly all the fifth-level dungeons, cross-referencing the rough map from the ancient book, but found no passage.
There was no day-night cycle in the underground fortress. By the time on Reyn's comm watch, they had been here four or five days already.
Sitting on steps in one of the stone grottos, Zoltan rummaged through his chest contents and said grimly:
"Food's running low. We can stay another three days max, then we have to leave."
He was deeply frustrated. Years of preparation—for nothing.
Roger glanced at Reyn, hinting it was time to contact the outside world.
Reyn nodded curtly. He decided to wait two more days. If nothing turned up, they'd retreat. He stood:
"Let's keep searching."
He hadn't taken a few steps when he froze.
"What sound is that?"
Reyn listened closely. Voice of All Things was strained to the limit. He caught a barely discernible sound source.
They had searched this grotto several times, finding nothing unusual. But now he heard a sound from the grotto's edge.
The sound was very faint and intermittent.
Reyn listened intently for a few moments and pinpointed the source. He approached a large pile of rubble—once a three-story stone building, but fallen boulders had turned it to ruins buried under a thick layer of earth.
Standing before the ruins, Reyn immediately noticed the air moving more actively here than elsewhere.
The sound came from under the debris, like a light wind rustle.
Wind meant space beyond the debris.
Reyn's face lit up. He shouted:
"Clear here! There should be a passage under the debris!"
Zoltan and Roger, who had watched Reyn's actions in surprise, rushed to clear the debris without a second's hesitation, joyfully.
They shoveled earth, hauled heavy stone chunks.
All three were no ordinary people; work progressed quickly. In half a day, they uncovered a downward passage in the ruins. When Reyn strained with all his might to shift a boulder over ten thousand pounds sterling, a void opened beyond, from which a damp breeze blew.
Zoltan sniffed and shouted excitedly:
"Mushrooms! This is the sixth-level mushroom farm!"
His cry echoed far into the dark space beyond the boulder.
And immediately, a sharp, chaotic noise came from afar—as if myriads of creatures were shrieking disorderly and rapidly approaching.
Reyn and Roger paled simultaneously. There were living creatures on the sixth level!