Chapter Thirty-Eight: First Battle with the Skeletons

The next day, when Zhao Xu logged back into Arthur, he felt completely refreshed, his state of mind clear and invigorated. For the first time in two whole weeks, he had managed a full eight hours of sleep. Wizards needed eight hours of rest to prepare spells, a rule that disregarded any distinction between light and deep sleep—a point that had often been criticized in his previous life. Yet none of this diminished the power of the wizard class.

Zhao Xu had logged off at the Obelisk Tower the previous day, and so upon logging in, he appeared once more atop the tower. Only if he died would he be resurrected by the Genesis Sanctuary and teleported back to the vicinity of the last town's temple he had visited. There was once a player who became lost in the wilds of Arthur, unable to find any way back, and was forced to use a precious Resurrection Stone to commit suicide and revive in town. It was only after realizing the rarity of Resurrection Stones that players began to value maps and “Survival” skills, gradually adding them to their lists.

When Zhao Xu came online, Antinoya was already there, waiting. She looked at Zhao Xu and said, “Sit down and begin preparing your spells.”

Zhao Xu obediently followed her instructions, sitting cross-legged in place, as if entering a state of meditation. He had already reviewed how to prepare spells when he learned them the day before. Even so, Antinoya offered a few pointers after observing his state.

The Obelisk Tower where Zhao Xu was seated was the highest point in the entire floating city. Yet he could not feel the slightest breeze, just as his mind was perfectly still. Most wizards, when preparing spells, would be busy flipping through their spellbooks. For Zhao Xu, it was enough to quietly focus on the spell models already inscribed within his mind. The current process was essentially pre-casting his spells. After spending an hour to prepare them, all he would need to do was select the appropriate spell and use the required amount of “swift,” “standard,” “full-round,” or even more time to cast it.

Most mainstream spells in Arthur were of standard action duration. Only a very few spells were inherently swift; for instance, “Feather Fall,” which could be cast with a single thought, would be compressed into a “swift” action. In actual combat, “full-round” spells, because they took so long, were easy to interrupt or target, so most wizards avoided them. Within a single round, even if one cast a “swift” spell, following up with a “standard” spell would stretch that standard action to nearly the length of a full round.

Thus, the usual rhythm for low-level wizard duels was “you cast a spell, I cast a spell.” After a little over half an hour, Zhao Xu suddenly realized all his spell slots were now prepared.

He had gained those spell slots simply by waking up; they appeared on his character sheet. All he had to do was spend an hour filling those empty slots with specific spells. Furthermore, he had three slots reserved for “Strange Foresight,” so he didn’t need to prepare those. This would save him some time during consecutive battles in the future.

At this point, Zhao Xu stood up, looked at Antinoya, and said, “Teacher, I’m ready.”

Antinoya glanced at him and asked, “Are you sure?”

Zhao Xu nodded.

Once again, Antinoya flickered to his side in a blink, grabbed him, and began to cast teleportation.

“You are about to be teleported. Do you consent?”

At last, Zhao Xu saw the words appear at the bottom of his character sheet’s dynamic panel. This was a privilege afforded to those who had become first-level professionals. The whole world was beginning to take on an information-based interface for them. However, after completing the ritual yesterday, all it had asked was whether he consented to the other party’s intended action, not specifying teleportation. This panel’s information source was himself; only if he believed it to be teleportation would it display as such. He couldn’t use this information panel as evidence in reverse.

Zhao Xu made no choice, letting everything proceed as it had yesterday—by default, he consented.

In an instant, Zhao Xu was transported from the Obelisk Tower to a vast, enclosed arena. All around him stretched empty space, bounded at the edges by high walls, like an enormous cage. Immortal flames burned on torches set about the perimeter, casting stark light so that neither he nor Antinoya could hide a shadow.

“This is the Primal Arena,” Antinoya said. “Wizards usually come here to duel with spells. Your task is to eliminate the summoned creature that is about to appear.”

“Don’t feel pressured. It’s just a projection. But if you can’t bring yourself to strike even at that, I suggest you go back to your research.”

Zhao Xu paid no heed to Antinoya’s words. In his previous life, he had slain more goblins than Antinoya had ever seen. Blood was only unsettling the first time.

Antinoya casually pointed and said, “Summon Undead I.”

A medium-sized human skeleton warrior appeared before Zhao Xu. Its entire form radiated a sinister aura, a large iron shield held before it to block attacks, while its other hand brandished a scimitar. Hollow eye sockets stared unblinkingly at Zhao Xu.

Looking at the skeleton warrior, Zhao Xu was instantly at ease. In his past life, he had participated in battles against undead armies. For an ordinary civilian, a skeleton was a tough opponent; but for a first-level warrior, it was no problem at all.

As Zhao Xu assessed the situation, the mindless skeleton warrior, obeying Antinoya’s command, charged at him as an enemy. Zhao Xu held his breath. In his mind, he recalled the creature’s statistics. A medium skeleton had 1D12 hit points, meaning between 1 and 12 (averaging 6 HP). Its attack was only first-rank; with his dodging ability, he had more than a fifty percent chance to evade. However, the skeleton’s armor class was 15, nearly five ranks above the natural base of 10, making it a tough challenge for someone unarmed like him. Its advantage lay in its Improved Initiative feat, letting it strike swiftly and often land the first blow.

As he weighed his options, the skeleton closed the distance. He might not be able to finish his spell before it reached him with an attack. Zhao Xu had to decide which spell to cast first. This was Antinoya’s test for him, and the choice he made would determine his score.

Protection from Evil, Color Spray, Magic Missile, Mage Armor, Ray of Enfeeblement, Displacement? Six first-level spells raced through his mind. But which to choose?

Magic Missile could fire a single force dart, dealing 1D4+1 (2–5 points) of damage, but it might not be enough to kill in one shot. Protection from Evil would counter the skeleton’s evil alignment, but only temporarily. Mage Armor would boost his armor class by 4, reducing the skeleton’s chance to hit to 40%. In the end, Zhao Xu gritted his teeth and began chanting the incantation.

A missile of condensed energy surged out from his hand.