Chapter 14

  Theo headed towards the first District, coming across a zombie close to the inn. Theo used the Identify skill on the closest zombie

  level 1 zombie

  ” All right, let’s begin the training,” Theo thought

  Theo summoned the Spectral Guard. The shadowy figure appeared before him. Wielding a short sword, Theo sent a mental command to attack the zombie. The Spectral Guard did so, unsheathing its short sword; the Spectral Guard then walked calmly toward the zombie. The zombie shambled towards the Spectral Guard. As the zombie got close, the Spectral Guard, with a precise cut, lopped off the zombie’s head.

  “That was quick,” Theo thought.

  Spending a couple of hours letting the Spectral Guard fight higher-level zombies as the Spectral Guard skill levels up. Also, Theo decided to train the Wardens Command. Theo went to one of the streets with over 20 zombies on it, using the Warden Command for the first time. Theo yelled, "Stop!" At the same time, a wave of mana and other energies fused together and emerged from him, striking all the zombies in his vicinity. They froze instantly, and Theo felt the backlash. He felt horrible, worn out, and hollow, as if a piece was missing from him. Using a Healing Touch, he still felt off, so Theo checked his status. His health was 100%, the hollowness feeling felt soul-deep,

  Theo reread the description of the skill.

  Warden’s Command: This skill is based on willpower. If your willpower is higher than that of your opponents, they will be stunned. If their willpower is higher than yours, they negate the stun. Warden's Command allows the warden to command a room of people to be still for five minutes, but the duration may vary depending on the target's skills or resistance. This skill heavily taxes the body and soul, requiring 300 mana, 100 health, and 100 stamina points to cast, with a 24-hour cooldown.

  “So, I’m guessing I feel the effects of taxing my soul and body. No wonder it has a 24-hour cooldown. I cannot imagine doing this more than once at a time,” Theo thought,

  ordering the Spectral Guard to take care of the remaining zombies that were frozen like statues. The Spectral Guard quickly killed all 20 zombies before the five minutes were up, and it took Theo about an hour to feel almost normal. He spent the rest of the day using Warden’s Suggestion and letting the Spectral Guard cut down all the zombies. In the end, Theo skipped all the notifications and got to.

  Spectral Guard, Common, Novice 1 to 7

  Warden's Command Common, Novice 0 to 1

  Warden’s suggestion Common, Novice 4 to 9

  Mental Resistance, Common, Novice 5 to 6

  Physical Resistance, Common, master 2 to 3

  Soul Resistance, Common, Novice 5 to 6

  “Well, that’s one way to raise all my resistances, and I wonder if I can get my soul resistance high enough to negate the 24-hour cooldown?” Theo pondered.

  Theo decided to call it a day, unsummoned the Spectral Guard and his sword cane, and headed to the inn in the second district. Waving at the Host, Theo headed up to the second floor to the bathroom, took a relaxing bath, then went to the third floor, changed into another pair of brown clothes, and went downstairs for his meal.

  “Good evening, Host,” Theo said

  “And a good evening to you, Theo, “the Host replied

  “What is for dinner? Theo inquired

  for tonight; it is a simple stew with beef and vegetables with a side of bread and a dark beer,” the Host replied

  After a delicious meal, Theo said good night and went to bed. After Theo finishes his morning business and eats the following morning, he heads out to train some more. Theo looked at his status sheet and decided to try the skills he hadn’t used yet, heading back to the first district, which was pretty easy since he was right at the wall. Theo walked to the other side of the wall and entered the market district. Theo summoned the Spectral Guard. It was like the darkness: last into a shadowy figure. After a minute, they came across their first zombie. Theo used Warden Site on the zombies and saw that the zombies were empty of karmic energy.

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  “All right, need to try that on an actual person,” Theo thought.

  With a mental command, Theo sent the Spectral Guard after the zombie. While they were fighting, Theo used Summon Handcuffs for the first time. His mana flowed to his right hand; the mana emanating from his hand began to coalesce into a modern set of handcuffs. The mana solidified into a pair of handcuffs in less than a minute.

  “While I can think of a few circumstances where that might be useful in the future,” Theo thought

  shortly after the Spectral Guard killed the zombie,

  “All right, let’s develop the skills to get them up to journeyman level.”

  Theo spent three days working on many skills and raising them up. By the end of the third day, he had achieved most of the skills that he had worked on to the level of Journeyman.

  Theo was at the end of the first District; he decided to check his notifications while there were no zombies around. He still had the Spectral Guard out and, with a mental command, had it guarding him.

  Ding

  Spectral Guard, Common, Novice 7 to Journeyman 0

  Warden's Command Common, Novices 1 to 4

  Warden’s Suggestion Common, Novice 9 to Journeyman 0

  Mental Resistance, Common, Novice 6 to Journeyman 0

  Physical Resistance, Common, master 3 to 5

  Soul Resistance, Common, Novice 6 to Journeyman 0

  Club Mastery, Common, Novice 0 to Journeyman 0

  Summon Handcuffs, Common, Novice 0 to 7

  Theo decided to look at his character sheet as well.

  Theodore Thompson

  Race: Human F-Grade Lv. 19

  Class: Battle Healer Lv. 15

  Profession: Warden Lv.25

  Health: 460/460

  Mana: 80/780

  Stamina: 450/650

  Stats:

  Vitality: 46

  Strength: 59

  Endurance: 65

  Agility: 61

  Intelligence: 78

  Wisdom: 68

  Willpower: 89

  Perception: 43

  Free Points: 7

  Class Skills:

  Healing Touch, Common, Journeyman 2

  Cure Wounds, Common, Journeyman 3

  Target Healing, Common, Journeyman 2

  Sword Mastery, Common, Journeyman 4

  Healers Intuition, Common, Novice 0

  Club Mastery, Common, Journeyman 0

  profession skills

  Warden’s Knowledge, N/A: Warden Site, Common, Novice 0: Universal translator, N/A: Spectral Guard, Journeyman 0: Warden’s suggestion, Journeyman 0, 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 5

  Soul Resistance, Common, Journeyman 0

  Bloodline: Fortitude

  Bonds:

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

  Theo decided to head to the second district and test out his skills there. "Hopefully, this time, the Spectral Guard can last more than one hit," Theo thought. Moving to the right this time, Theo saw a collection of workshops offering various crafts, and unlike the other parts of the city, all the workshops were a bit dingy-looking but in working order. Theo went to a workshop; it was a smithy with all the equipment and ingots a novice would need to practice. Theo walked in and noticed there was a journal. Flipping it open, it was filled with detailed instructions on how to make knives, swords, and armor pieces, among other things. Theo closed the journal and then walked to the next workshop, which was an alchemist's workshop filled with all types of herbs and bottles. Theo walked in, and there was a thick textbook on the table. The title was "The Beginner’s Guide to Creating Potions, Tinctures, Powders, and Salves."

  “Well, I say one thing: this tutorial is deafly not built specifically for me because the system already knew what class I was going to choose,” Theo thought.

  Throughout the whole district, there wasn’t a skeleton or zombie in sight. Theo walked into the noble district filled with mansions as far as that miasma would let him see. Theo noticed that the Cobblestone Street was in better repair compared to the rest of the city that he explored. The first mansion Theo came across was a sprawling building with a courtyard fenced off with a rusted iron gate. The gate itself had holes in it, and in some places, the gate was rent apart. And of the building itself was a four-story mansion, run-down, with a roof caved in and some areas.

  “I kinda want to go in there, but there will probably be no loot. Let’s train my skills some more before I start exploring the buildings,” Theo thought.

  Theo walked deeper into the noble district and came across a group of five skeletons, using the Inspect skill on them.

  Skeleton Warrior level 19, Skeleton Warrior level 19, Skeletal Warrior level 19, Skeleton Archer level 19, Skeleton Mage level 19.

  Theo summoned the Spectral Guard and also the cane sword, making all four chains visible. The three skeletal warriors wore matte black full-plate armor, carrying short swords and shields. The archer had nice leather armor and a recurve bow with an arrow quiver on its right hip. The mage wore a dark black robe and held a gnarled, dark brown wand in their right hand.