Chapter 15

  Theo sent the Spectral Guard ahead of him. The archer released an arrow at the Spectral Guard. This time, his construct dodged the arrow and moved forward simultaneously. The mage cast a black fireball and scented Theo’s way. Theo dodged it as well. The three skeleton warriors were in front of and guarding the mage and archer. Theo sent the Spectral Guard between the skeleton on the left and the one in the middle, focusing on those two skeletal warriors. Then, Theo moved to the one on the right. The chain on his left arm was uncoiled. Some of the chain was still connected to his arm, and it sprang forward, wrapping around the sword of the skeleton warrior on the right. Yanking the sword forward, the skeleton followed. Taking that opportunity, Theo imbued his sword with Cure Wounds and sliced toward the skeleton’s head, lopping it off in one strike. The helmet clanged to the ground. Without stopping, Theo went towards the mage. At that time, the mage cast another black fireball. Theo dodged while he was dodging the fireball, and the archer loosed an arrow. It hit him in the left arm; his armor or chains did not protect his upper arm. Feeling a slight pinch in his upper arm, Theo continued. Moments later, Theo sliced through the barrier of the mage, and then Theo cut through the skeleton into two pieces like paper, turning towards the archer,

  “What was the term that Daniel called some mages that can only dish out damage but not take a hit?” Oh yes, glass cannons. Are all the mages here glass cannons?” Theo thought

  As Theo was headed towards the archer, he unsummoned the sword cane in his right hand, yanked out the arrow in his upper arm, channeling Healing Touch to the open wound, and then re-summoned the sword cane in his right hand. All of this took about three seconds. Right after the sword cane was back in his right hand, with the naked blade showing, the archer released another arrow. Theo dodged and charged the archer, using the same trick with the chain. Theo grabbed the bow right out of the archer’s hand as he was a couple of feet away from the archer. The archer had an arrow in their right hand and was about to draw it back before the bow was promptly taken from them. The archer used the arrow as a makeshift dagger and adopted a defensive stance. Theo then used Warden’s Suggestion on the archer and simultaneously charged the archer. He released the bow, and it fell to the floor. Theo took the opportunity to launch a lunging strike toward the skeleton’s skull. Right before Theo pierced the skeleton’s skull. The skeleton breaks through the stun and, using the arrow, jabs it into Theo’s right side, underneath his armor. With a wince of annoyance, Theo finishes the strike and cuts off the skeleton’s head. Then, he turns to look at the two skeletal warriors, still engaged with the Spectral Guard. Theo yanked out the arrow and channeled a Healing Touch towards his right side. Then, Theo went behind the skeleton warrior. Theo utilized the skill of Warden’s Suggestion and imbued his sword with the Cure Wounds spell. Theo cleaved off the skeleton’s head with one blow. The other skeleton warrior was now pressed, as the Spectral Guard had only one opponent to deal with. Blocking one of the strikes from the skeletal warrior, the Spectral Guard lashed out with a right kick, causing the skeleton warrior to stumble. Then, a thrust of its sword pierced the skeleton’s neck and caused the head to roll off the shoulders. Theo went over to one of the skeleton warriors and examined the fine gear it was carrying. Theo picked up the short sword, and his hand immediately turned a grayish color. Notifications began to go off in the back of his head; he ignored them, watching as the gray got pushed back by normal skin. A back-and-forth happened for a couple of minutes until his hand was completely normal, using the Inspect skill. On the sword

  Cursed Short Sword. This short sword is infused with necromantic mana, dealing damage of corruption and rot to anyone who holds it, and those who are already dead are immune.

  “I wonder if I can use Cure Wounds on the sword to dispel this effect.” Theo thought

  Imbuing the sword with Cure Wounds, the light pink light flowed over the cursed sword, and black tendrils emerged from it; fighting back against Cure Wounds, Theo focused solely on the sword. He drank a mana potion when he started to get a headache due to low mana. An unknown amount of time had passed; Theo was drenched in sweat because of fighting against the necromantic mana in the sword. With another push of Cure Wounds, Theo won, as all the necromancy mana from the sword was exhausted; the sword now glowed with a bright pink light. Theo decided to sit on the ground, and now, in the back of his mind, there were more notifications to look at.

  Theo took a break and looked at his notifications.

  Ding

  Battle Healer Lv. 15 to 16

  Human F-Grade Lv. 19 to 20

  You have 10 free stat points to use

  Theo decided to put all his free stat points into vitality

  You are constantly using Cure Wounds and imbuing it to kill the undead and channeling it on items; it has evolved into Cleanse

  Cleanse is a skill that purifies the body of poisons, venom, curses, and foreign mana, etc.; for items, it purifies harmful mana and curses

  Healing Touch, Common, Journeyman 2 to 3

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  Cleanse, Common, Journeyman 3 to 6

  Spectral Guard, Journeyman 0 to 2

  Warden’s suggestion, Journeyman 0 to 1

  Physical Resistance, Common, master 5 to 6

  Sword Mastery, Common, Journeyman 4 to 5

  “Interesting,” Theo thought

  Theo grabbed another short sword and channeled Cleanse through the short sword. It still had a pink hue; the black tendrils lashed at the pink mana. Compared to using Cure Wounds. Cleanse takes a fraction of the time to purify the sword. Theo decided to cleanse all the equipment. At the end of it,

  “Well, what am I gonna do with all this equipment? It's not like I need any of it. I suppose I’ll leave it. There’s no way I can carry all this anyway, and it will just weigh me down if I do,” Theo thought.

  Theo was spent and called it a night. He headed back to the inn. Walking back with the Spectral Guard in tow, Theo checked his received notification.

  Ding

  Cleanse, Common, Journeyman 6 to 9

  Before Theo entered the inn, he unsummoned the Spectral Guard and his cane sword.

  “Hello, host. So, what’s on the menu for tonight? Theo asked.

  Chicken breasts with vegetables and a dark beer,” the host said,

  “How come you’re using only earth ingredients?” Theo asked

  “Well, that’s because all the ingredients are coming from your planet,” the host said with a smile

  “Okay,” Theo said

  The host brought out the food, and he dug in after finishing with a full belly. Theo called it a night. The next day, Theo returned to the noble district. Upon entering, he went to the nearest mansion, walking through the smashed and decorative rusted gate into the overgrown courtyard. Theo entered the four-story mansion; the walls looked brightly colored once upon a time, but now they were faded gray. Entering the mansion, there was a foyer and a sprawling staircase that led to the next floor. On either side of the foyer, doors led to the other sides of the mansion. In the middle of the foyer was a chandelier that had smashed to the ground, and cracks in the tile led away from it. Exploring the mansion, Theo found nothing valuable besides some mana potions, which he replenished in his bandolier. Theo decided to head back to the street and spent his time leveling up his Battle Healer class to level 20. At the end of the day, Theo checked his notifications.

  Ding.

  Human Lv. 20 to 22

  Battle Healer Lv. 16 to 20

  You have 10 free stat points to use

  Theo put all 10 free stat points into vitality

  You have gotten a new skill: Clean

  Clean: Clean is a spell used to cleanse the body and prevent infection and poor hygiene. It surrounds a person in mana and scrubs them clean of all foreign substances—10 mana to use per cast.

  "Ah, hell yes! I thought I would have to go through the whole tutorial without this skill,” Theo thought.

  Theo used Clean on himself, and as described in the spell's description, his mana emanated from his body, creating a bubble around him. A few seconds later, all the dirt, blood, and gore just fell off of him. Theo had a broad smile on his face.

  Continuing his notifications

  Healing Touch, Common, Journeyman 3 to master 0

  Cleanse, Common, Journeyman 9 to master 1

  Target Healing, Common, Journeyman 2 to 5

  Sword Mastery, Common, Journeyman 5 to master 0

  Club Mastery, Common, Journeyman 0 to 2

  Clean Common, novice 0 to 1

  Spectral Guard, Journeyman 2 to 5

  Warden’s suggestion, Journeyman 1 to 4

  Theo decided to check his character sheet to see all the changes

  Theodore Thompson

  Race: Human F-Grade Lv. 22

  Class: Battle Healer Lv. 20

  Profession: Warden Lv.25

  Health: 690/690

  Mana: 860/860

  Stamina: 680/680

  Stats:

  Vitality: 69

  Strength: 62

  Endurance: 68

  Agility: 64

  Intelligence: 86

  Wisdom: 76

  Willpower: 100

  Perception: 46

  Free Points: 0

  Class Skills:

  Healing Touch, Common, master 0

  Cleanse, Common, master 1

  Target Healing, Common, Journeyman 5

  Healers Intuition, Common, Novice 0

  Clean Common, novice 1

  Sword Mastery, Common, master 0

  Club Mastery, Common, Journeyman 2

  profession skills

  Warden’s Knowledge, N/A: Warden Site, Common, Novice 0: Universal translator, N/A: Spectral Guard, Journeyman 5: Warden’s suggestion, Journeyman 4, Novice 9: Warden's Command, Common, Novice 4: Warden’s Key, Common, Novice 0: Summon Handcuffs, Common, Novice 7

  General Skills:

  Inspect, Common, Novice 1

  Bonded Skills:

  Respond and Chains of Gehenna

  Titles: Warden of Gehenna

  Bloodline Skills:

  Mental Resistance, Common, Journeyman 0

  Physical Resistance, Common, master 6

  Soul Resistance, Common, Journeyman 0

  Bloodline: Fortitude

  Bonds:

  Galaxy Trade Store tablet, Chains of Gehenna, the Prison Gehenna, Sword Cane Rare

  Theo decided to call it a day and headed back to the inn, walking into the inn and approaching the host.

  “I have a question for you,” Theo said.

  “Oh, and what is that?” the host asked.

  “How come most of my class skills for Battle Healer are focused on the healing aspect of the class rather than the fighting aspect?” Theo asked.

  “Good question, and I apologize, but my answer will be brief.” I have no idea; you will have to ask the system itself for that answer,” the host said with a shrug

  After another wonderful meal, Theo went to bed.

  Well, tomorrow I’ll face the second Guardian, Theo thought, and with that, he went to sleep.