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Chapter 9: Battle of the Skeletal Wizard
The lower-level skeletal wizard excelled in two spells, Dark Curtain and Decay. Both of these spells belonged to the element of 'evil' black magic.
In the game, black magic was brought to the land by the Minarian, servants of the Twilight Dragon, who lived on the frozen plateau north of Cruze before the beginning of the first era in the chaotic ages.
The Minarian shamans were proficient in necromancy and dark sorcery, and later these two types of magic, along with all offensive spells outside of elemental, natural, and sacred, were collectively referred to as black magic.
After the Holy War, Geert, the King of Flames, drove these dwellers of darkness to the cold east, and it was said that no one had seen them since then.
But Minarian definitely existed. It was recorded in the Dark Codex that the dark lords exiled to Madara learned the legacy of dark sorcery from these children of demons.
However, the name 'Dark Curtain' for this black magic spell was somewhat misleading because it was just an auxiliary concealment spell. This spell could only effectively obscure the tracks of a small squad of skeleton soldiers.
Certainly, this wasn't a complete vanishing act or true invisibility; rather, it resembled a form of camouflage, seamlessly melding into the dark backdrop. True to its nature, it only concealed from sight, leaving sound, smell, and other factors untouched, and its effectiveness was confined within a specific distance.
But at night, this spell would become the best cover for Madara's undead army, which was why Madara's army often chose to act at night.
As for Decay, Freya and others had already witnessed it once on Jason.
This was a sinister offensive spell that served as the primary means of attack for skeletal wizards. It harnessed the negative power to corrode their enemies, dealing damage commensurate with the severity of their negative emotions and the strength of their will until they met their demise.
This spell was similar to most black magic, manifesting destructive power by amplifying negative power.
Master of mysterious black magic, commanding mindless skeleton soldiers - inherently stronger and cunningly versatile, the skeletal wizard appeared to be a formidable foe to overcome.
However, Su Fei knew a secret: skeletal wizards themselves did not possess magical abilities. Their true power came from the bone staff in their hands, which was a powerful magical item unique to each skeletal wizard. Once it left their hands, it would turn back into an ordinary staff.
Understanding this, one could grasp how to strategize against them.
As another skeleton soldier fell, at Su Fei's reminder, Freya and Ethan, the best swordsmen among the militia, engaged the skeletal wizard preparing a spell.
"Attack its hands. Dark sorcery isn't as mysterious as you think," Su Fei pointed out the undead creature's weakness from behind, "See its gestures? Disrupt its spellcasting, take away its bone staff..."
The skeletal wizard suddenly lifted its head and locked eyes with Su Fei, a glimmer of resentment flickering in its phosphorescent green flames. Su Fei's throat tightened, feeling targeted. But he immediately regained composure, knowing the undead creature wouldn't bypass the militia to attack him.
Still, being targeted by a lifeless, cold monster was unsettling, forcing Su Fei to pause and wait for Freya and Ethan's attacks to take effect.
The skeletal wizard smirked ominously, giving its bone staff a wave. Instantly, the darkness around it rippled like waves, swallowing it whole. As Ethan's longsword slashed through, it found only empty air; the undead creature had vanished without a trace.
"Huh?" the young man blinked in confusion.
Su Fei remained composed; he was too familiar with these tricks: "Ethan, on your left!"
Ethan momentarily didn't react.
But Freya, who caught up from behind, swung her sword directly. The blade, gleaming faintly in the dim surroundings, seemed to reach the spot Su Fei had indicated. However, just before it could land a hit, the skeletal wizard stumbled backward.
Then everyone saw the shadow receding like flowing water.
"Human, who are you? You're not a mere militiaman!" A sharp voice erupted from the shadows, the skeletal wizard appearing somewhat flustered.
Indeed, militiamen wouldn't know so much; some of things Su Fei had said were only circulated among wizards even in Madara.
But Su Fei remained silent. Freya's second strike quickly followed. The skeletal wizard's eye sockets flickered with green light as it hatefully raised its bone staff to deflect the girl's sword. The skeletal wizard possessed 1.7 units of strength, and Freya was probably not stronger than Brandon.
Her attack was effortlessly redirected, causing her to stumble forward. Instinctively, she clutched her left shoulder, her brow furrowing slightly.
It seemed like the previous arrow wound had reopened.
"Big sis, let Markumi handle it, your wound..." Ethan shouted as he witnessed this scene, simultaneously parrying the skeletal wizard’s attack, unable to contain his concern.
Markumi and Little Phineas had caught up from behind at this moment.
"Phineas, step back!" But Freya barred the path for the kid, commanding sternly.
"But I'm also a militiaman!" the boy protested.
"Step back, understood?!"
Phineas flushed red with anger, but even so, he didn't dare to disobey Freya's order. Among this group of young people, Freya had always been the leader—kind-hearted yet firm in her convictions, earning everyone's respect.
And Su Fei, in the rear, shook his head. The battlefield wasn't a place for arguments. Yet, the steadfastness of the ponytailed girl earned his admiration. Such girls were rare in his previous world.
"You four, attack together," he spoke up from behind.
"You—" Freya drew in a deep breath, unable to resist the urge to turn around. Behind her, the young man was lying on a rock, and Roma was still at his side, innocently blinking at them.
That disloyal girl, she switched sides so quickly! Freya felt a twinge of frustration.
"Skeletal wizards are tough opponents. You four can cover each other," Su Fei said earnestly.
"But Phineas..."
"He's a militiaman too."
Freya bit her lip, looking back. Markumi and Ethan were already pushed back under the skeletal wizard's attacks. If that undead creature found an opportunity to cast a spell, this team would suffer more casualties.
That was something she couldn't bear.
With that in mind, she could only nod. "Fine."
"Hooray! Brandon, you're amazing!" Phineas cheered loudly, drawing his sword. But Freya, from behind, grabbed his collar, pulling him back and sternly ordered, "Stay with me, don't leave my protection zone, understand?"
"Aw..." came the disappointed response.
With Freya and Phineas joining the battle, the situation immediately turned. Freya and Ethan were already exceptional swordsmen among the militiamen, and to their surprise, Phineas showed no inferiority.
In Su Fei's words, this child's attack was aggressive and decisive, with sword strikes that were precise and swift. It was not like the balanced swordsmanship of the Eruin military, which focused on both offense and defense, but more like the aggressive combat swordsmanship of Cruze.
But regardless of perspectives, in the views of a seasoned warrior, this was already high praise.
Su Fei felt that perhaps when Phineas reached Brandon's age, his swordsmanship might not be any less impressive, though he might lack a bit of flexibility. After all, Brandon seemed born for combat.
Sometimes he wondered, if the original Bradon hadn't died in history but had grown up in war, would his achievements be any less than Freya's?
But alas, fate was fickle, and history knew no 'what ifs.'
Of course, the most important thing in this battle was the reminders of Su Fei throughout the battle. It appeared as though Su Fei could decipher the skeletal wizard's thoughts effortlessly. Whether it was anticipating its next move, understanding its motivations, predicting a spell preparation, or determining the optimal moment for intervention, he could discern its slightest intentions with uncanny precision.
The skeletal wizard grew more and more unnerved. Undead might not feel fear, but they could still become flustered.. Finally, it almost screamed, "Who are you, a necromancer? Or Black Knight?"
This statement was met with Freya's merciless strike, and the skeletal wizard's hand, clutching the bone staff, was sent flying high into the air. The monster shrieked in agony, the green fire in its sunken eye sockets dimming.
"Damn humans..."
The battle ultimately ended with Markumi's straightforward strike; the skeletal wizard was already faltering, its hands and bone staff shattered. It howled defiantly, watching as the sharp sword pierced its skull.
With a crack, soul fire burst from its body—a dying counterattack. But with Su Fei's reminder, only Ethan, a bit slow to dodge, suffered a minor burn on his right hand.
On the other side, the rest of the group had taken out the remaining two skeleton soldiers, albeit at the cost of one member being wounded. As the forest returned to tranquility, only the sound of the wind rustling through the treetops remained.
Everyone couldn't help but pause, looking at each other.
Including Freya, each person wore a look of disbelief. They had actually won against four skeleton soldiers and a terrifying skeletal wizard.
Markumi's sword fell to the ground with a clang, followed by a chain reaction from the others. They couldn't help but embrace each other, shouting and crying out, with some even sobbing heavily to release their emotions.
Surviving a disaster left everyone feeling dazed.
However, Su Fei quieted down. He raised his head, seeing three golden lights fly from the darkness and merge into his chest. It seemed no one else noticed this detail, not even Roma standing beside him.
The merchant girl seemed relieved.
Huh, was he the only one who could see this? Su Fei couldn't help but feel puzzled.
He glanced around and subconsciously called out the character attributes, just as he did in 'Amber Sword.' After battles, Su Fei would always scrutinize the gains and losses first.
Rows of translucent green numbers immediately appeared on his retina—
Strength 1.1, Agility 2.0, Constitution 1.0, Intelligence 1.1, Willpower 1.3, Perception 1.0.
Absolute Strength 3.5, Element (Undeveloped)—
Brandon, Human Male, Level 1 (Power System: Physical, Melee; Talent: Indomitable)
XP: 4 (Civilian Level 1:—, Militiaman Level 2, 6/10)
Health (Weak, Critical): 10% (Bandaged state, recovers 1 HP per day)
Occupation (Free Skill Experience Points 1)—
Civilian [Basic Knowledge (Level 1), Geography Knowledge (Level 0), Local Knowledge (Level 1)]
Militiaman [Military Swordsmanship (Level 1), Combat Skills (Level 1), Tactical Theory (Level 0), Military Organization (Level 0)]
The noticeable changes in attributes were in strength and constitution, suggesting that his physical abilities had improved through the training and level up within the militia profession.
Finally, Absolute Strength increased by 2.5 units, primarily from the Ring of the Wind Sovereign's increase in Agility, with the change in physical qualities being secondary.
Lastly, in this battle, he only gained four experience points from the four skeleton soldiers and one skeletal wizard. It was only half of the expected experience. Su Fei pondered for a moment before reluctantly concluding that the experience must have been distributed amongst the group members.
This was absurd; how could there be such a thing in the real world? But as a gaming nerd, he didn't have any professional knowledge to explain all this. After all, transmigration itself was a more absurd phenomenon than anything else, wasn't it?
Initially, he wanted to figure out how the experience points distribution was calculated, but he quickly found it futile because it seemed to have no connection to the game at all.
"Fortunately, I don't have OCD..." He couldn't help but massage his forehead, feeling a slight headache coming on.
But next, Su Fei hesitated as he stared at his militiaman level. To be honest, he wasn't eager to invest experience in this profession. The militiaman was so useless that it was often referred to as an NPC-exclusive occupation.
He never imagined that one day he would waste experience on this profession. And he even chose the Talent of Indomitable!
There were too many talents suitable for warriors, and Indomitable happened to be the worst one. This skill could allow him to survive a fatal physical blow, but he only had five minutes to settle his affairs unless he received powerful healing before then.
But until now, he hadn't seen anything more effective than bandages for healing wounds. In the game, such items were everywhere.
But Su Fei didn't regret it much. After all, this skill saved his life.
However, the situation was the same now. Reality was that he couldn't find a way to change to another occupation. And he urgently needed strength, so the only option left was to go all out on the militiaman path—
Su Fei couldn't help but feel a bit depressed.
Was he going to transform from a seasoned warrior into a seasoned militiaman? Oh c’mon, weren't warriors already enough of cannon fodders?
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