It went without saying that Eldrian had gained plenty of XP, around 25 million. But sadly, the amount was pitifulpared to what he required for his next level. But it helped bnce the cost of keeping all his interface functions active at all times, at least.


    "Alright, we need a better n before moving forward again." Theas announced as soon as everyone gathered. From their group, Vivian was the only one who seemed tired, but she was quickly recovering. Eldrian had cast [Anthizei] on everyone, the Tier 4 rejuvenations spell and also handed Myropsis a mana recovering potion.


    Sadly, these potions would not help him recover his mana soul''s mana. At least not in any meaningful manner, considering the quantity and how little it helped inparison. Still, he downed one with the others.


    To recover the amount of mana he had spent was a slow process, unless he opted to drain several mana crystals. But that was an insanely expensive option. Eldrian hoped that his remaining mana would be enough. He had a few mana crystals for emergencies, and nned to use one or two to take out a revenant. If things went smoothly.


    Myropsis was the first to speak after Theas. "Indeed, I never thought they would chase us with everything they had."


    "They didn''t. The three strongest undead didn''t make a move." Eldrian countered, looking at Vivian with worry. However, she seemed to be doing better than he was, emotionally. ''She epted the facts far before me. Her aim isn''t to save her dad but to see him off to the afterlife...'' It was a sad cruel truth which Eldrian did not want to ept.


    "What part of the fort are they in?" Theas asked.


    "The keep, there are also a six more reanimates... And a ghoul." The ghoul was, of course, the one who had escaped from Vivian.


    "Then only the remaining lich and two revenants will be a problem..." Theas paused. "We need to decide what to do should they hold the captives as hostages."


    Before Eldrian could reply, Vivian answered, "We came to free them. No matter the cost."


    The resolution in her voice was shocking and reminded everyone what ''free'' meant. Keeping them alive was not the aim, keeping them from undeath was.


    Theas sighed. From what he had seen, his conclusion was that the undead had conducted a very long and drawn out ritual to turn the captives into a specific type of undead. Considering the time that had passed, it had likely been extended because of the captives being unwilling to wee undeath and the type of undead not being possible with unwilling targets. Which meant their souls were likely very damaged and corrupted in an attempt to twist their minds.


    Yet, even that did not ount for it taking as long as it had. Which made Theas recall the stories he had heard regarding Pyknos forest and fear the worst.


    "What about the lich we defeated?" Theas asked, not wishing to voice the worst that he believed is undergoing inside the fort.


    "No clue, but it isn''t nearby. There are some lower undead wandering in the surroundings, but no higher undead." Eldrian replied.


    "However, the revenants and lich being together will prove to be a problem. And unlike our previous fight, this fight will be within their nest. I won''t be able to stop the creation of a barrier if they have an array formation on hand. And if the revenants work together as shields for the lich, it will be able to cast spells freely. They might even throw spells at us themselves."


    "I have a n for that. I''m not sure if it will kill a revenant, but it should at least injure one." Eldrian went on to exin his n to use [Nova]. He had several nail sized crystals which he had borrowed from the duke''s smithy. Sadly, he had been unable to grab anyrger crystals.


    "What about using one of these?" Myropsis asked, handing Eldrian a blessed crystal. This particr crystal was a blessed fire agate. It was normally used as a core for weapons made specifically to deal with the undead. It summoned a type of holy me, but sadly, the crystals were too rare to mass produce such weapons.


    Examining the crystal, Eldrian soon shook his head. He would be able to make the crystal unstable, but there was no guarantee it would develop simrly to how mana crystals developed once unstable. If the mana inside didn''t react violently, then it would just be a waste of what he assumed was a very rare and expensive crystal.


    "What about that spell you used to finish of the ghouls and reanimates?" Vivian asked.


    "The problem with it is they can easily escape from it. And if the lich has a magical barrier constructed, I might not be able to use it. Nova should work regardless of what the lich does."


    "Then let''s try that ability of yours first." Theas said, "I have a few tricks I can pull. But the problem would be coteral damage if you all are with me."


    "Should we stay outside and leave this to you then?" Eldrian asked, and Theas gave him a quick whack.


    "I can''t deal with a lich being protected by two revenants. Killing a revenant will be hard even for me. Their armor is no joke, but the true problem is their resistance to most types of damage." Looking at the three before him, Theas pondered for a moment.


    Vivian''s strange mes mighte in handy against the revenants, but from what Theas had seen, it seemed to be less effective against higher undead than the Unwilling and lower undead. He suspected this was because the higher undead have epted their nature and weren''t constantly struggling with it.


    Her mes cleansed, but you cannot cleanse something from someone if they don''t want it cleansed. Undeath isn''t life, but it also isn''t death. Theas believed her mes could lift the curse of undeath keeping the lower undead and Unwilling bound, but would only do a little more damage to higher undead.


    "Is my assumption correct?" Theas asked.


    "I think so... I actually don''t have a good grasp of what I''m capable of. But what you said aligns with what I felt while using them."


    "I see..." Theas became quiet and looked at Myropsis. The centaurette was clearly not someone trained forbat, but her magic was strange and extremely powerful. However, she needed time to prepare -just like normal mages- and against two revenants, he couldn''t give that to her with any guarantee.


    Eldrian was the only one who seemed safe to take with, he was a Chosen, so even if Theas couldn''t protect him, it would be fine. And for some reason, Eldrian had been able to juggle two ghouls and five reanimates. Theas ced Eldrian''s strength at round Tier 6, not Tier 5. And that was ignoring his own unique way of using magic.


    "Alright, this is what we are going to do..."


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    AN2: Please see the chapter''s author''s note regarding supporting the story past reading, voting, and leaving ament. I do have a patr3on and PayPal.