Chapter 16

  Author’s Note: Boss Music. Here is the link to the music I am referencing: . Play this when Theo sees the Guardian.

  Theo woke up, stretched, and did his morning routine before heading down to the bar.

  “Hey Host, since you have access to food from Earth, do you have coffee?” Theo asked.

  “I don’t know; let me see in the back,” the host replied.

  At that point, he walked into the kitchen. The host came out with a large portion of eggs, bacon, toast, and a hot, steaming pot of coffee. Theo’s mouth salivated.

  After eating another delicious breakfast, Theo said goodbye to Host and walked to the end of the second district, drawing closer to the third and final district of the city. As Theo walked through the haze, he was able to see the gate, where a skeleton wizard stood with two warriors before him. They were right in front of the gate, headed to the castle district, and off to their left was another Gothic cathedral. Theo could hear another haunting melody playing outside the church. Theo used the Inspect skill.

  Skeleton Guardian swordsman level 20, Skeleton Guardian swordsman level 20, Skeleton Guardian wizard level 20.

  He could make out that the two skeletons were Swordsmen who wore full plate armor that was matte black with gold accents, and they held their swords in their hands, which were void of color save for black tendrils radiating off of them. They both had a shield in their left hand, which was also matte black with gold inlays, featuring a drawing of a skeletal lion with a broadsword in its mouth. The wizard wore a blackish-gray robe with gold inlays, and the one he carried in his left hand was polished black with multiple jewels inlaid with gold.

  Theo summoned his chains, cane sword, and the Spectral Guardian.

  Heading towards the three skeletons, the church appeared to be the same as it had from the first district. The gate behind the skeletons was a metal gate that was shut, and the walls that Theo could see were polished marble engraved with runes. As always, the cobbled streets of the main road were cracked and slightly worn but still in excellent condition compared to the rest of the city. Theo sent the spectral guard ahead and was behind his construct. The two swordsmen got into a defensive stance as the caster summoned a fireball and sent it Theo’s way. Theo dodged by a couple of inches; even then, he felt the icy cold of the black fireball. Theo commanded the spectral guard to occupy the two swordsmen and charged against the mage. Theo dodged another fireball and got to the mage, slashing against the barrier with a clink. Theo's sword hit the black translucent barrier. Theo struck it again. The caster raised something with a spell of some sort, a wind spell. Theo got flung back 15 feet behind his spectral guard. As Theo got up, his left arm was in an awkward position. Theo used the chains and his right hand to yank it back into the correct position, then channeled Healing Touch through his body to heal himself. Theo focused on his weapon as he cast Target Healing towards the mage; Theo and the mage dodged each other’s spells while the Spectral Guard and the two swordsmen clashed. Theo cast the spell Warden’s Suggestion on the skeleton swordsman on the right of his Spectral Guard. It had no effect. Theo did not attempt to apply Warden’s suggestion to the mage, knowing it would have no impact based on his previous experiences. After a few minutes of dodging and casting spells at the skeletal wizard, Theo noticed that his connection to the Spectral Guard was weakening and about to end due to constant damage and expenditure of mana to maintain the construct. Theo sent a Targeted Healing at the mage, then, through his connection to the Spectral Guard, sent mana to strengthen the Spectral Guard and to lengthen the time remaining of the spell, and the dance of bobbing and weaving between himself and the mage continued dodging another black fireball, Theo grabbed one of the mana potions from his bandolier and chugged it to top himself off; the skeletal wizard stopped casting the black fireballs, and the likely-tinted black shield strengthened, becoming more translucent black. Theo continued to bombard the shield with Target Healing, but it had no effect. He felt the wind start to pick up, having a very bad feeling about what was going to happen next. With a mental command, the chains from his legs and arms wrapped around him a little bit more firmly, sending a portion of each chain into the ground to anchor him for what was about to happen next. A couple of seconds later, the wind began to roar in his ears. Theo was firmly in place when the skeleton released this hurricane-level wind, but the two skeleton swordsmen and his Spectral Guard went flying. Theo unsummoned the Spectral Guard and channeled Healing Touch and Cleanse as the hurricane-force wind was infused with miasma, blasting him. The miasma of the cut deeply, he felt a wrongness within him that he had never experienced before. Using Cleanse even more to eliminate the feeling, as Theo healed himself, it felt like an eternity had passed, but only 4 minutes had passed, as the wind started to die down. Theo summoned the Spectral Guard again behind him, then rushed; the mage began to backpedal and throw weak black fireballs at him. Theo used his chains, extending them almost to their maximum, and lashed out at the protective bubble surrounding the mage. With each strike, the bubble shimmered black. As Theo was focused on breaking the shell, black flames engulfed him. Not as bad as the last time, but still, even through his bloodline, it felt like an icy bath hit him. He smashed his chain against the shield again, still holding his sword cane in his right hand. Another black fireball hit him; it felt like ice picks this time. Using Cleanse and Healing Touch on himself, Theo continued his unrelenting bashing. From behind him, he could hear the sound of swords clashing; the two skeletons had finally arrived. After a few more strikes, the skeleton cast a spell that caused the black haze around it like a black hole sucking in light. Less than 30 seconds later, Theo saw the mage again; it was clad in black-as-night summoned armor with spikes on the shoulders, wielding a broadsword as black as the void, with black miasma emanating from the blade and the armor. The mage started walking towards him. The mage and Theo got into striking range. The mage swung the broadsword like a club, and a few strikes later, Theo realized that the mage was not proficient with the weapon whatsoever. Still, with each block, Theo felt his body rattle, and with each parry, the pressure of the sword strike was felt, even a glancing blow. Theo focused on channeling a cleanse through his sword to keep up with the concentrated miasma blade. Theo also noticed the mage had horrible footwork. Theo set up a couple of strikes focused on the torso and head of the skeleton and had one of his chains on his leg lash out and trip the mage, catching him off guard. As the mage started to fall, it released a pulse of miasma. As the wave hit Theo, his body began to warp and rot. Theo cast Cleanse on his body, grabbing a mana potion from the bandolier and gulping it down. As the skeleton mage started to get up, Theo sent his chains off his body to fight with the mage. As the mage flailed his sword left and right, the chains acted like serpents, constantly weaving and dodging the blows and hitting the mage’s armor while Theo focused on cleansing his body of the miasma. A headache started to form after a mere 20 seconds and continued to a full-blown migraine. Even through his state of calm, a thought of fear crept through. Downing another mana potion and healing potion, Theo lunged at the skeleton while imbuing his blade with Cleanse. Theo focused on the edge of the blade with which to cleanse his head, throbbing with a piercing pain. As a result, Theo caught the mage off guard and was able to cut through the miasma armor on the skeleton’s left arm. Theo focused on cutting through the armor as the mage floundered to strike back, and Theo got a couple more strikes that went through the armor. The mage

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  Raised its sword, and the miasma started to pulse. Theo overcharged a Target Healing spell to the skeleton’s face, causing the mage's spell to implode on itself. It looked like a mini black hole formed around the blade and then folded upon itself, taking the skeleton’s right forearm. Also, at the same time, the skeletal armor began to dissipate as the black miasma drifted off the skeleton like smoke. Theo took the opportunity to strike at the skeleton’s neck; it brought up its left hand. Theo took a few strikes to cut through it and then cut through its spinal cord with two strikes, with a splitting headache. Theo chugged another mana potion and a healing potion to try to eliminate the lingering effects of the miasma blast. The two skeletal swordsmen and the Spectral Guard were still fighting. With a mental command, Theo had the chains crawl up his body and onto his limbs. With Theo heading towards the skeleton to his left, he issued another mental command, directing Spectral Guard to focus on the one on the right. Theo imbued his sword with Cleanse and went in for a strike towards the swordsman’s torso, leaving a gash in the back of the skeleton's armor. The skeleton turned and focused on Theo. The skeleton thrust its sword at Theo. Theo used his chain on his left arm to grab the skeleton’s sword, causing it to stumble. Theo took the opportunity to lash out with the imbued strike of Cleanse and entered the skeleton's guard, then proceeded to lop off the skeleton’s head; the Spectral Guard dispatched its opponent. At this point, the headache became a throbbing migraine. Theo drank a health potion and another mana potion and sat on the ground, focusing on healing himself. He was not completely one hundred percent from the infused miasma blast.