Ding!
[Congratulations, you have killed a [vengeful spirit]! [Vengeful spirit] has dropped the items [Robes of Despair], [Ring of Darkness], [Cursed Staff], and 20,000 gold coins. +40,000 experience points!]
The experience points they gained were not much (at least to them), but that was because they were sharing it between themselves. Six times 40,000 was 240,000. Had Adam been fighting alone, he would have gotten a lot more experience points.
Since it looked like they had a few new items, Adam looked at their spoils to see if anything might be useful.
Item Pouch:
Item Name: Robes of Despair
Item Type: Clothing
Grade: 1-Star
Use Requirements: Can only be equipped by Mages over level 15.
Description: These robes Grant the wearer basic defense and resistance to magic-based status effects.
Abilities: Magic Defense+25; Defense+25; 15% defense to fear, blind, confusion, curse, disease, disable; debrave, patrify, and charm
Item Name: Ring of Darkness
Item Type: Accessory
Grade: 1-Star
Use Requirements: Can only be used by Mages over level 15.
Description: This ring grants the wearer protection against the darkness element.
Abilities: 30% resistance to darkness element
Item Name: Cursed Staff
Item Type: Magic Staff
Grade: 1-Star
Use Requirements: Can only be equipped by Mages level 15 and above.
Description: This is cursed staff has decent attack power and grants a boost to all darkness related magic.
Abilities: Magical Attack+50; increases damage done by darkness magic by 150%
While the items didn’t seem all that good, they were better than the equipment Fayte currently possessed, so Adam gave them to her. All of her stats received an increase after she put them on, though the new robes did make her look like an evil mage.
“Let’s keep going,” Adam said as the staircase began moving again.
“This staircase is going to be a huge problem,” Fayte mumbled.
“I’m not even sure where this staircase is going,” Titania added with a frown.
“Hopefully, it will lead to the top of this tower or at least the dean’s office.” Adam ran a hand through his hair and released a deep breath. “That should be where the treasure is.”
“You mean if there is any treasure,” Fayte corrected.
Adam shrugged his shoulders and didn’t say anything further.
They continued to climb up the stairs and were forced to fight twelve more [vengeful spirits]. They used the same tactics they had in the previous battle to defeat them and thus earned another +240,000 experience points.
“Your [Flight] ability certainly is useful,” Titania muttered.
“I didn’t realize you could fly,” Fayte added.
“I had forgotten about it until we began fighting these [vengeful spirits],” Adam admitted with some reluctance. “I haven’t needed it yet, so I kinda just forgot it existed.”
“I wish I could fly like that,” Susan said in a shy voice.
“I’m sure we’ll be able to find some equipment with the [Flight] ability for you,” Adam said with a smile.
After exiting the moving staircase, they found themselves in what appeared to be a library with three levels. Dust covered much of the floor, the bookshelves, and the tables scattered around the room. The second floor was made up entirely of a balcony that went around the entire interior. Catwalks moved across the second and third floors as well, held up by colonnades that were evenly spaced apart.
The group kicked up dust as they walked in. Adam coughed several times and waved the dust away. He wasn’t the only one, as Fayte, Susan, and even Kureha were releasing coughs. Lilith did not and Titania flew into the air to avoid being caught within the dust cloud.
They continued moving as the dust settled. Adam walked up to one of the bookshelves and ran his fingers along the spines. There were many titles such as An Introduction to Magic, Magic for Beginners, and Intermediate Magic for Spellcasters. He grabbed one of the books, but could only watch in shock as it crumbled into dust.
“These books are pretty old. I’ve never seen that happen before.”
“They probably don’t contain any useful knowledge, which is why they are designed to self-destruct like that,” Fayte guessed. “My guess is the creator didn’t want to create too much complicated content, so he programmed them to crumble the moment someone tries to pick them up.”
“I guess that does make sense,” Adam said with a slow nod.
“Do you think there might be some treasure in this library?” asked Susan.
“I’m not sure, but I think we should at least search the area to find out,” Adam said.
They searched the library for what felt like an hour at least, but while Adam found nothing, Susan somehow discovered a hidden room with a treasure chest. It was one of those standard rooms that could be accessed via a hidden door when you pulled back one of the books on a shelf. He had no idea how she had discovered this. He assumed it was her Luck stat at play. Either way, they ended up gaining several new pieces of equipment meant for Mages.
Item Pouch:
Item Name: Magical Raiment
Item Type: Clothing
Grade: 2-star
Use Requirements: Can only be equipped by a Mage level 20 and above.
Description: These raiments have high defensive power and offer resistance to all the elements.
Abilities: Magic Defense+150; Defense+150; 30% resistance to fire, wind, lightning, earth, water, holy, and darkness elements
Item Name: Elemental Ring
Item Type: Accessory
Grade: 3-Star
Use Requirements: Can be equipped by any class over level 20.
Description: This ring was enchanted by a student who specialized in elemental magic.
Abilities: 20% resistance to fire, wind, lightning, earth, water, holy, and darkness elements; 20% boost to fire, wind, lightning, earth, water, holy, and darkness spells
The two items located inside of the treasure chest were impressive, but sadly, no one had the level to equip them. Even Adam was still trying to reach level 18.
Since there was nothing more inside of the library despite its size, they left and continued traveling down a large hall, eventually reaching a circular stairwell that led up. The inside of this stairwell was much more cramped than the moving staircase. On the plus side, they didn’t have to worry about the stairs moving on them.
After reaching the end of the stairwell, they ended up in another hallway. This hallway was long, had numerous locked doors, and featured suits of armor that were holding large weapons in their wrought-iron gauntlets. The armored suits were covered in rust stains. As their group walked down the hall, Adam could swear he saw one of those suits turn its head to watch them as they walked past it.
“I-I… is it just me, or are the suits of armor moving?” asked Susan.
“So I am not the only one who saw that,” Fayte murmured. Unlike her stuttering friend who sounded frightened, she seemed relieved to know she wasn’t hallucinating.
“Be careful,” Titania warned them. “These suits of armor are actually a type of monster. They have been enchanted to attack intruders.”
Just as she said that, one of the armored suits stepped away from the wall and stood before them. A loud clanking sound from behind alerted Adam to another suit of armor doing the same, essentially pinning them in place. Titania floated above them and cast [scan].
Name: Cursed Armor
Description: This suit of armor has been enchanted by the teachers of the magic academy to act as a last line of defense and protect the students in the event of an invasion.
Class: None
Lvl: 35
Health: 350,000/350,000
MP: 500/500
Strength: +1,200
Constitution: +1,500<
br />
Dexterity: +100
Intelligence: +10
Speed: +50
Skills:
Skill Name: Slash
Description: The cursed armor can wield the claymore in its hand with ease, dealing incredible damage with one swing.
Damage = Strength
MP Cost 10
Cooldown Time: 1 second
Skill Name: Impale
Description: With a single thrust of its sword, the cursed armor can impale an enemy and throw them aside.
Damage = Strength + Critical Hit
Causes bleed status effect
MP Cost: 20
Cooldown Time: 5 seconds
These enemies were at about the same threat level as the [vengeful spirit], but they dealt physical damage instead of magical damage. Adam felt better about fighting these things than he did the spirits.
“Titania, sing [Song of Vigor]. Lilith, Fayte, Susan, and Kureha, attack the [cursed armor] behind us. I will take care of the one in front of us,” Adam gave the orders and everyone quickly followed through.
Because he wanted to take this thing out quickly, Adam activated [Blood Sacrifice] as he charged forward. The [cursed armor] raised its weapon and swung down as he reached it. Adam, however, had already anticipated this and moved aside, barely glancing at the sword as it struck the ground with a loud clash and shower of sparks. Now that he was so close, Adam swung the spear with all his might and activated [Dance of the Sakura Blossoms].
-23,940; -71,820; -215,460; MISS!
Adam’s base Physical Attack was at +2,660. [Blood Sacrifice] was a skill that increased this stat by 300%, while [Song of Vigor] caused a further 300% boost to it. That was three times three. The massive increase was enough that just a single attack from him could instantly kill the [cursed armor], so long as he used [Dance of the Sakura Blossoms] to unleash several continuous attacks that multiplied the amount of damage dealt with each successfully executed attack.
While Adam killed the suit of armor in a single attack, Lilith struck her enemy with [slash].
-5,265; -5,265; -5,265; -5,265!
Her newfound power as a Demon Knight Assassin meant she had a much higher attack power than before. She danced around the [cursed armor] and launched attack after attack, drawing all of its agro to her. The [cursed armor] tried to slice her apart with several vicious swings of its claymore, but Lilith would duck under or leap over each [slash] it sent her way. When it used [impale] to attack her, she used [counter] to devastating effect.
-15,000!
Thanks to her constant attacks, the [cursed armor] lost a good deal of health by the time Kureha unleashed her first attack. A [Thunder Bolt] blitzed through the hallway and slammed into the [cursed armor] with incredible force, pushing it back several steps.
-9,108!
With smoke still rising from its breastplate, the [cursed armor] could do nothing as Fayte and Susan fired their respective attacks. Fayte pointed the staff in her hands and launched [Energy Bolt]. Susan released the bowstring and fired off a [Fairy Shot]. Both attacks struck hard.
-1,170!
-2,925!
Once Kureha, Susan, and Fayte launched their respective attacks, Lilith came back in and finished the enemy off with [slash]. She swung her blade across its breastplate. A line of light appeared where her blade left as though it was slicing through the armor. Then she drew the blade back in and used [slash] once more before repeating the process for a total of -26,325 damage.
-5,265; -5,265; -5,265; -5,265!
-9,108!
-1,170!
-2,925!
-5,265; -5,265; -5,265; -5,265!
The four continued to attack, and Adam stood back and watched, ready to step in if they needed help, only to realize there was no need. Ten minutes after the battle began, it ended in the girls’ victory. Fayte fired off her last attack, an [Energy Bolt] that slammed into the face of her opponent and sent it clattering to the ground, where it remained after its health was depleted.
Ding!
[Congratulations! You have defeated 2 [cursed armors]! [Cursed armors] have dropped the items [Enchanted Breastplate], [Enchanted Claymore], [Enchanted Leggings], and 50,000 gold coins! +60,000 experience points!]
Killer Gargoyle
There were four different types of enemies located inside of the magic academy: [cursed armor], [vengeful spirit], [undead mage], and [golem]. Each enemy was at level 35, though they had run into a few 1-Star enemies that were at level 40. No matter what sort of enemy they faced, however, none of them could defeat their group, and they continued to ascend level after level.
Lilith, Fayte, and Susan had all leveled up thanks to the massive influx of experience points they’d been gaining. All of them were now at level 16, which was both good and bad. While Adam was pleased to see how Susan’s and Lilith’s stats were shaping up, he was still very worried about Fayte’s stats. They were just too low for his taste. He didn’t want her leveling up too much until she had a hidden class to give her stats a more significant boost per level.
By now, it felt like many hours had passed since they entered the magic academy. This place was like a maze. It was filled with hallways, secret passages, locked doors, and puzzle rooms. Sometimes they would have to solve a specific puzzle to proceed to the next area. There had been one room where they were forced to recreate the image depicted on a portrait by pushing square blocks across the ground. In another room, they were separated from each other and forced to individually solve a number of riddles and logic games. They hadn’t been allowed to help each other either. The roaring of the flames had prevented them from communicating. Not even their player chat feature had worked. At other times, they would have to battle against what Adam took to calling a sub-boss. These were the 1-Star enemies they were forced to fight.
And they were fighting one of those sub-bosses right now.
At the moment, they were standing on a series of stone platforms located high above the ground. These platforms had jutted into the sky after they stepped on them. Now they were at least a hundred yards above the floor.
The platforms were not big. They were large enough for two people to stand on if they stood with their backs pressed together, and there was one for each of them. It seemed the room was specifically made to work with however many people were in their party. Adam assumed if there had been eight of them, there would have been eight platforms.
That was not the problem.
The problem was the enemy they were fighting.
Name: killer gargoyle
Description: A gargoyle that has been brought to life using magic. This creature is a guardian that protects the magic academy.
Class: 2-Star
Lvl: 45
Health: 996,000/1,435,000
MP: 16,200/30,000
Strength: +2,000
Constitution: +1,000
Dexerity: +50
Intelligence: +50
Speed: +50
Skills:
Skill Name: Dive
Description: The killer gargoyle swoops down and attacks its enemies with claws and feet.
Damage = Strength * 150%
MP Cost: 1,000
Cooldown Time: 10 seconds
Skill Name: Tail Whip
Description: Using its tail to attack, the killer gargoyle does x2 damage
Attack will always knock opponent off their feet
MP Cost: 1,200
Cooldown Time: 10 seconds
Skill Name: Rend
Description: Using its sharp claws, the killer gargoyle will rend flesh from bone
Damage = Strength
MP Cost: 200
Cooldown Time: 0 seconds
Blitzkrieg: The killer gargoyle attacks fast and hard, swooping in and slicing into opponents with its claws consecutively
Each attack does x2 damage
Attacks do not stop unless the killer gargoyle’s attack pattern is disrupted
MP Cost: 10,000
The [killer gargoyle] was a lot more powerful than anything else they had faced so far, but more than that, what made this situation difficult was how they were forced to fight on these stone pillars. If it wasn’t for the fact that Adam’s [Goddess of Creation Greaves] could use the [Flight] skill, they would have long since been finished.
-MISS!
At that moment, Adam was already flying around their tricky foe, swinging his spear down to use [slash] as he passed by. Sadly, his attack missed because the [killer gargoyle] was a lot more versed at flying than him and deftly dodged the attack. Even though his attack didn’t hit, he still pulled its agro by being the aggressor. The [killer gargoyle] very quickly locked onto Adam as he landed back on an unoccupied pillar and charged in.
-9,108!
-1,170!
-3,300!
Not long after the [killer gargoyle] tried to attack him, Kureha, Fayte, and Susan all launched their own attacks. Kureha’s [Thunder Bolt] struck the [killer gargoyle] in the back, blasting a chunk of stone off its body. Fayte fired an [Energy Bolt] that struck it again. Her attack smacked it in the chest, knocking it back and making it swerve. Seconds after their attacks struck, Susan’s [Fairy Shot] landed a critical strike between its shoulder blades.
Because Kureha had done the most damage, the [killer gargoyle] turned to her. It released a furious shrieking sound that was like rocks grinding together and shot forward with a flap of its wings.
Adam did not let it go far. He pushed his toes off the platform and flew forward, once more swinging his spear in a powerful arc that activated [slash].
-36,720!
Perhaps it was because the [killer gargoyle] was distracted and couldn’t dodge, but Adam’s attack tore into its back and a large damage number appeared above it. Adam chuckled as the enemy turned to him with its glowing eyes the color of blood. Its stone body was already badly damaged, with cracks traveling along its torso, arms, and face, and several chunks having broken off long ago. Three of its fingers were now missing.
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