The moment Khajiit's bald head emerged from the underground passage, his cold gaze pierced through the gaps in the zombie encirclement, scanning the temple's exterior.
Barren tombstones and withered trees, no undead in sight.
His eyes narrowed.
He'd deliberately stationed low-tier undead around the temple to deter intruders and serve as an early warning. A necromancer shared a subtle link with controlled undead, sensing when it broke.
Of course, this was a precaution from when he first infiltrated the cemetery. After a year with few visitors, especially this deep, he'd severed those connections.
No issue, a necromancer could reassert control over undead, provided their corpses were present.
But now, the cemetery was empty. No undead, no corpses. They hadn't been destroyed, they'd been lured away.
"Prepared and deliberate!" Khajiit thought, his face calm, eyes indifferent. "And not alone?"
E-Rantel, a border city, lacked notable adventurer teams or strong individuals worth his attention.
If there were such a threat, it had to be an outsider.
You'll regret crossing a revered necromancer in a place like this.
Exuding menace, Khajiit stepped from the passage, his low-tier zombies parting instantly.
That's when he spotted it, a Guardian Angel hovering a foot or two above the ground, a hundred meters away. Its holy aura and glowing presence were impossible to miss in the dark.
That conspicuousness sparked Khajiit's wariness, not of the angel, but of something else.
"Detect Magic!"
He cast a probing spell.
Feedback came swiftly. The clearest signal was the angel's mana signature, but another emanated from fifty meters to his left.
Yet, his eyes saw nothing.
Suddenly, the invisible mana signature surged toward him.
"Don't mock me!" Khajiit sneered. "Think you can fool me with such tricks?"
He pointed at the unseen source. "Negative Ray!"
A dark purple mana beam shot from his fingertip.
Boom!
The ray struck the invisible target, a burst of mana collision repelling it.
The Guardian Angel, hidden by Camouflage, lost its invisibility under the magical assault, its form revealed.
Khajiit froze. Another Guardian Angel, not a stealthy thief or rogue with cloaking skills.
"Two Guardian Angels? Two divine type magic Casters?" He mused. "Or was that invisibility second-tier Invisibility or another cloaking spell? One arcane caster, one divine?"
The thought raced through his mind.
In that brief moment of distraction,
"Human Race Charm!" A hoarse, middle-aged man's voice erupted from behind the angel a hundred meters away.
"Undeath Mind!" Khajiit's eyes widened, barking the counter-spell. His pale face turned ashen as he glared at the distant angel. "You're toying with me?"
He felt no trace of mental manipulation.
From the shadows, Adam, cloaked in a black robe that hid his features, emerged from Stealth.
"Just saying hello." He rasped, chuckling, his eyes flicking to his attribute panel.
…
[Skill Points: 41 → 40]
Skill: Undeath Mind (Third Tier)
Cost: 15 MP
Description: Grants immunity to charm, hypnosis, and other mental control skills.
…
Got it!
Adam had two main concerns about Khajiit: the Bone Dragon and mental control spells like Human Race Charm.
The spell's name alone dripped with malice toward humans, designed by demi-humans and heteromorphs to enslave them. Without a counter, such spells left one vulnerable. Thus, humans developed Undeath Mind, a must-have for high-level casters, as falling under control often meant defeat.
Adam's raspy chuckle rang in Khajiit's ears like blatant mockery.
To Khajiit, this was a test of his mental defenses, forcing him to expend mana.
Such petty tactics, in his eyes, were the work of the weak.
"Foolish worm, you can't comprehend true power!" Khajiit growled, gripping his black staff, his voice icy. "Call out your allies. I no longer care about your motives!"
"You'll learn the cost of enraging me!"
His furious shout echoed through the cemetery.
"Allies?" Adam rasped, shrugging. "Sorry, none of those."
He beckoned, and the Guardian Angel repelled by Negative Ray flew back. Its initial role was to draw Khajiit's attention.
The plan had worked flawlessly, a perk of superior intelligence.
Swish!
With the angel's return, two stood before Adam again.
He glanced at the angel's chest. Its once-shining silver armor was dulled, pocked with rust-like corrosion from the Negative Ray's potent attack.
Undead were weak to holy and fire attributes, and vice versa.
"Hiding, are they?" Khajiit scoffed, unconvinced by Adam's claim. Seeing two angels, he was mildly surprised. "Summoning two at once? A special magic item or summoning specialization?"
Pointless tricks.
"Prepare to wail, fool!" Khajiit roared. "I'll make you a wretched corpse for your allies to find!"
He slammed his black staff into the ground, the Orb of Death in his other hand glowing with dark radiance.
***
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