Chapter 11: First Fight, First Undead (1/2)

Chapter 11: First Fight, First Undead

Aldrich heard another growl cut through the silent, deadly night, and he stopped thinking about the future version of himself The version where he had all his spells and maxed out stats and an army of undead

For now, he was still level 1 He could not get carried away He had to be careful

I froaze was, they were the E-class threats known as Strikers They were quadrupedal, al speed and two large tusks jutting from their mouths

Aldrich knew this because as a hero acadeency) data on all known Variants and how to deal with them

Unfortunately, it was up to the hero academies themselves to determine how to distribute the sensitive data, and in Blackwater, training data regarding Variants, especially higher class ones, was li students

However, inforh because of how many of them there were that one could find a plethora of information online on how to deal with them

The practical exa downcivilians, so he was readily prepared to deal with any lower-class Variant threat

One of the tests even involved distracting Strikers away from civilian zones

Aldrich took a look at the screen hovering in the corner of his vision that displayed his status He saw that the status tab was not the only one available to him There were also tabs labeled as , , and

Aldrich is were the saame, he kneould see the item he needed

-1x Tome of the Dark Arts

]]]

Aldrich mentally selected the Tome of the Dark Arts, and it reen particles The book was no larger than a small handbook with a leathery cover e of a screa face etched in the middle

This was the introductory toranted them three basic spells to use out of a sizable pool of fifteen

Aldrich consulowed a faint green The list of the possible spells he could use showed up in a small screen in front of hi sure the spells he already kneanted were there

He selected what he needed

Lines of glowing bright, ghostly green energy transferred fro up the veins of his ar them in the dark

[Spells: Chill Blast, Raise Undead Rank 1, and Anti-Life Shell Rank 1 learned]

Thankfully, Aldrich had a good fundamental idea of how to use his newfound powers All he had to do was mentally will his powers to work, as if they were just a part of his body, and because he kne his ga quickly and efficiently

Aldrich shuddered as he felt cold seep into his being, perood, the cold, like he belonged to it The book faded into dust, and at that ed out from the forest

They looked like enor jowls, though their square pupil eyes and tusks made it readily apparent they were no ordinary wildlife

They surged forwards with tusks jutted out, ai towards hi over a bunch of leaves as he dodged the barreling, savage bodies A crack sounded as the Strikers slammed into trees and shook their heads, momentarily dazed by the impact

Still, Aldrich ales were They had al theerously close to a free fall Any huans coed from the impact alone, not to mention the sharp tusks

Aldrich was faster than the wolves, though A good deal faster

Because he had the [Unburdened] status which applied only when he did not wear any equipility As a result, he was more than twice as fast as he was before, and even back when he was an ordinary man, he had top level athletic performance

Aldrich pointed his pale hands at the two Strikers just like his Necromancer character would He casted [Chill Bolt]

[Mana: 15/15 ] 11/15]

Tintry spheres of foggy white and blue surrounded his hands before twin bolts of pale blue energy shot forth The bolts zipped through the air, cold, condensed air leaving a frosty comet trail behind them

Both bolts landed square on one of the Strikers square at the head The impact jerked the Striker's head back like it was shot with a bullet, but it shook the blow off Its head was cut open with jagged scars covered with frozen blood, but the dah the skull and into the brain

"Hm," noted Aldrich

These Strikers were not ordinary Normally, E-class threats like them could be dealt pretty easily with conventional weaponry and the [Chill Bolts] would definitely have been enough to turn their brains into frozen ame, they could make sizable dents in boulders

But these Strikers had see habits, reest weak points as the thick fur on their bodies forame levels, the Strikers would probably be around level 4 or 5 A significant threat to Aldrich at this state

There was no doubt that if the Strikers got a clean hit on him, he would instantly die with ho his HP pool was

But Aldrich trusted in his reflexes and agility to kite his way through this ht

The other Striker roared and pawed the ground once before charging again

Aldrich dodged pre-e a crushi+ng blow to his body He then cast [Anti-Life Shell Rank 1], or, led passive

Unlike [Chill Bolt], [Anti-Life Shell] was a passive ability that surrounded Aldrich with negative energy that healed undead while draining the life force of regular ene the shell, especially at lower ranks, but in exchange, it did not deal e that accumulated over tihostly green aura that looked like ethereal mist surrounded Aldrich in a hazy sphere approxie to constantly cover both Strikers in this forest clearing

The Strikers sniffed the strange h threat from it to run away or deal with it Instead, they sat in thearound Aldrich fro his senses sharp for the ed him He could not use [Raise Undead] because it required corpses, but he had willingly chosen a spell that did not work because he was confident he could one shot the Strikers ell placed [Chill Bolts] to the head

Now, though, Aldrich had to readjust his strategy and beat the Strikers with a hit and run e of [Anti-Life Shell] and [Chill Bolts] to deal frost type dae that would slow the Strikers down

Aldrich had planned to take this fight without undead, but he had to ad undead would make his job a lot easier

After all, as a Necroion Necromancer, without his minions?