Author's Note:

Sorry about the lateness! Like it had happened before I had lost the Internet for almost a week and it was somewhat tragic. It truly makes one feel separated from the world... But on the happier note, the chapter is here and hopefully you'll like it at least as much as previous ones. I can't promise the next one will be soon since before Easter I have two examinations for my own language and English but we'll see how it goes

****

"Wild Vines!" Twist, kick and punch. Jump away and run around to make a circle of fire. Evade the thrusts and skip away behind the mage. Hear the sounds of cracking fire and bones.

"Boy, one is coming your way!"

"Magma Blade!" Ace shouted out while hitting an unsuspecting death knight in the chest. It exploded and Ace gracefully landed next to the Hound that was done taking care of the bunch Ace had annoyed previously. "Good work" he praised the animal petting it and the beast licked him on the face. "Stupid mutt" Ace muttered while releasing the knights to their eternal rest.

"Can you still go on?" the mage asked, coming closer.

Ace consulted his stamina bar; it had around fifteen percent. "A few more groups should be fine but then I'll need to take a rest. Why can't you turn me into one like you, Skele?"

"I told you not to call me that!" the necromancer said with a glare but the blind kid took no notice of it. "Because you have to die first for me to be able to raise your body. How many more times will I get to explain that to you?"

"As many as we'll have to go for a break. It's annoying to be the only one who gets tired. I usually have the most stamina!" Ace complained half-heartedly.

"Among humans. You shouldn't compare yourself to undead. We're a whole different species."

"I kn-"

*Bark* *Bark*

"Ten incoming? That's more than usual."

"Improved Strength! Mist Barrier! Heroic Durability!" Skele casted buffs on Ace to increase his chances of survival.

Death Knights were high level monsters who had skeleton horses, wore heavy armour and swung a broadsword. They usually tended to stay alone since they were so strong and proud of it but the Hound usually managed to round at least five or six of them before bringing them to the slaughter house, how Ace liked to say.

"Ice Field!" he cast and jumped on it to meet the knights in a slide. He waited for everyone to get closer, the Hound to move through the iced ground quickly before starting his work.

His main part in the hunt was to disable the knights’ rides and do as much splash damage as he could since his aiming skills were still on the bad side.

The moment Hound was past him, Ace threw two bottles of alcohol to make the ground even worse. Horses' steps faltered after seeing something fall right under them but their riders urged them on and they fell together. Ace waited for the sound of slipping hooves and then called for [Flare]. "Burst!"

It blinded them for a second and set the floor on fire. Ace imagined the cave lighting up in beautiful colours as skeletons hissed and cursed burning in the flames. While they were still disorientated Ace activated [Flame Step] and jumped into their midst starting to claw with his daggers. One was imbued with [Bolt Arrow] while the other with [Gust].

If the first got activated the enemy was bound in place for a second while if the other, he got pushed away. In case of both of them activating at the same time for five seconds violent winds and electric surges screamed around hitting anything at random. It was a strong ability but happened extremely rarely. [Flare]'s and [Gust]'s explosion was much more common, if he used the two of them, although it was significantly weaker.

Ace felt a presence behind himself and without even turning back used [Acid Splash]. It was like breaking a bottle of acid by throwing it against the wall only you didn't need any walls or glass bottles.

The enemy receded after that so Ace slashed a few more times before retreating himself. It was fun using all his skills and running around but there were way too many enemies for him to take care of alone. And he couldn't fight in a group without being able to see.

"Your turn, Skele!" he shouted out leaving the battleground and sitting to look over his spells.

"Don't call me that!" Skele replied a millionth time and ordered his twenty or so skeletons to move forward. The fire on the ground was dying down and the ice was long gone.

He cast spells to strengthen his minions and the Hound while weakening his enemies' constitution and other statuses through dark magic. It was a child's play really.

The knights were a feared opponent by many simply because on a horse they were unstoppable. That's what they learned all their lives after all. But once one managed to get them down, they were only on a level of a good swordsman, not even close to a master.

So Skele’s skeletons had absolutely no problem overpowering them by sheer numbers and persistence. The constant heals they received from their master helped out in that regard too.

The Hound was just running around and doing whatever he pleased. That usually was focusing any knight who had previously touched Ace or at least had thought about that. Those tended to suffer the most pain before being immobilized by the mage and left alone until Ace could come and finish them off.

*Bolt Arrow [Active] Novice 4

Bolt of pure energy shoots in a straight line reminding of an arrow. Every three levels the amount of bolts will increase by one.

Mana Cost: 15*

*Acid Splash [Active] Average 2

A burst of acid that splashes in all directions. It does damage over time for five seconds. The duration and strength will increase with each level.

Mana Cost: 25*

These two spells were taught to him by Skele to better take care of himself as he put it. In Ace's opinion the guy thought of him as his own child and just wanted to share his vast knowledge or at least bits of it. The guy didn't really like magic as it caused his downfall but just couldn't fight against the fact that it was the saving grace for many things. Their survival in this dungeon too.

Then Ace glanced at his other spells and they have grown quite well too.

*Magma Blade [Active] Average 5

An ability that turns the blade into magma for two seconds and allows it to pass through armour.

Level advancement will extend the duration

Mana consumption 20*

*Flare [Active] Advanced 4

It is a simple spell that illuminates one's surroundings by a faint light. It is the only spell that can be used while meditating. Ancient magicians created it to teach young to channel their mana and concentrate. Only those who managed to keep the fragile light on for half a day were allowed to become apprentices of Magic.

Mana use 10/min

Special: Burst

Releases a small but bright explosion which is good for blinding enemies and creating fire.

Special:

The spell has reached advanced level and the spirit has become attuned to your soul. You can control it with your mind and word commands are no longer necessary.*

*Evasion [Passive] Average 7

Your quick reflexes allow you to easier dodge attacks and missiles.*

*Ice Field [Active] Average 3

Basic spell that freezes the chosen patch of earth. Higher levels allow the ice to stay longer and widens the range.*

*Instincts of a Predator [Passive] Average 6

You were born the hunter. Your perfect senses always tell you about the approaching prey or other predators. For reaching average level you can determine the threat level of your opponent without even meeting eyes with him

Higher advancement will bring better information.*

*Magic mastery [Passive] Average 4

You can learn and cast spells depending on the level of your mastery. Trying to cast higher tier spells may result in disaster.

+21% spell proficiency

+15 Int

+15 Wis*

*All Ears [Active] Average 2

You're able to listen in on others' conversations with ease. You'll be despised if found out.*

*Flame Step [Active] Novice 5

You walk leaving a trail of fire behind you for five seconds. The duration and power will increase as the skill advances.

Mana Cost 2/s*

*Excessive Heat [Active] Average 1

Your body releases a large amount of heat. Higher level will release greater energy.

Mana cost 5/s*

The levels of his spells had been around the first ones so once he started using them they grew as if they were on steroids. It was fun in its own way; he understood what people liked about being mages, why there were so many of them.

He might not have been able to see the visuals of his new spells but blasting an opponent from long range or stunning him in place with a single word was amazing. To cause a violent storm that hurt anyone but you wasn't too bad either.

The passive abilities which he started to rely on grew pretty quickly too. It became child’s play to evade or notice enemies without even paying any attention to them. The listening skill helped to hear better if he ever wished for it and [Excessive Heat] showed up to be a great tool to fight against cold and heat that Hound emanated. Fire resistance was no longer needed.

On top of that there was another new ability he developed or it could be said copied from Skele when he wasn't looking. It was called [Externus].

*Externus [Active] Novice 2

Anger and grief may drive people mad but it can strengthen them too. Yet there are also people who don't follow the normal rules. They fall under the heavy weight of longing but instead of giving up on life, they go stealing it from others.

Mana Cost: None

Energy Cost: 5*

He had been so surprised when it flashed before his eyes with words new ability learnt. At that moment he had been listening to Skele's story before falling asleep and not even anything about magic. The description was so fuzzy he gained nothing from it so he had asked Skele about that and scared the guy almost to his second death.

It showed up that the ability had somehow transferred from Skele to him and his companion could no longer use it. He wasn't exactly sad about losing it just annoyed that it was the kid who received it.

"We're done" Skele said, coming to sit down beside Ace.

"We'll be taking a rest here, right?"

"Yeah. It would have been troublesome to engage another group while being low on mana so I rather finished this one faster."

Ace nodded. "Externus.”

Tendrils of dark magic left Ace's fingers and forming small bubbles flew towards every living creature. They left Hound, Skele and his warriors alone but the death knights weren't so lucky. The little dark bubbles plunged into the places where hearts were supposed to be and after stealing life until they became the size of Ace's fist returned to the kid. It killed the skeletal knights while giving Ace extra two hundred health points for the next three hours.

This had the potential of making it a great ability if not the fact that for it Ace lost around ten percent of his remaining stamina and was immobilized while creating the dark matter which would later on turn into bubbles. For that this ability could never be of use in battle.

However, it was amazing here since Ace no longer had to walk to each skeleton like before and stab him while not forgetting to miss at least a few times. It had been a pain.

The Hound lied down next to Ace and the kid leaned against him to rest. His stamina was flashing red now with barely three percent remaining.

"You're such a lazy cat" Skele murmured crossing his legs to enter meditation mode. Ace smiled at that but didn't say anything. He fell asleep instantly, wanting to return to the action as fast as possible.

When he awoke he ate some barley bread and was surprised to see that his savings were running out. That was a really disconcerting thing, especially since there was nothing edible inside the cave. Or was that only because he couldn't see? He'll have to ask Skele. "Hey, Hound, let's go okay?"

The beast barked an agreement and allowed Ace to sit on him. Only when the kid was sitting comfortably, did it start galloping forward.

It was usual that Skele with his personal army would move ahead while Ace was asleep and train by themselves. Only because of it the army grew in number and quality. The new skeletons could move without making any sounds and had weapons that when clashing with others sounded as steel. They were much better.

"You sleep less and less" Skele remarked after finishing his battle.

"Really?" Ace asked surprised and noticed that his stamina bar was only a third full. "There had to have passed more than a few hours..."

"Almost three but last time you didn't sleep much longer than this either."

"No surprise that I'm still tired then" Ace said, yawning widely. "Did you find anything interesting?"

"I heard human voices."

"Here?" Ace asked shocked. He was sure none of his companions could survive around here so it only left the pretend knights from the first floor and he had no wish to meet those for the moment. Not only was he blind but tired on top of that!

"No. A few floors up but they were shouting so loud I could hear them all the way here. Although not loud enough for me to make out the words" Skele said counting his warriors. All were present so he started to walk, Hound fell in step behind him carrying Ace who was lost in thought. "Do you know those humans by any chance?"

"Most likely" the kid answered absent-mindedly. "We separated in that big room where you were pretending to be dead."

"What? You left them all alone in this cave for more than two weeks? How did you expect them to survive?"

Ace noticed the anger in Skele's voice and left his dream world. He looked at the necromancer. Even if he couldn't see, it was more comfortable for one who he talked with if he was looking his way. "They're not kids. They can take care of themselves" Ace said in a level voice.

"They're not?" Skele asked with a doubt in his voice.

"No" Ace said with a laugh. "Monthu is a grown up and always takes care of me and his little brother. No matter the situation, he always finds a way to make it better, at least some. Besides with them there are two other people. I don't know them well but they're pretty weak so I wouldn't think they could cause too many problems. Not to forget that all of them should be in the second level where monsters are nothing and there are no bosses or anything."

"That is true" Skele agreed remembering from where the sound had come. "But don't you miss them?"

Ace thought about how to answer the question as it was somewhat important. "A bit. But I trust them to stay alive so we can meet again in the near future."

"Then should we be wrapping this up now?"

Ace nodded, looking longingly at the walls he couldn’t see. He ran around the dungeon so much, he should know it better than his own room. But he was sure he won’t remember anything next time for all he saw now was blackness.

"Who is the true boss around here if not the pretend ghost knights?"

"A lich. The form you take after death shows your true talent so it can be said he's a pretty good mage."

"Oh really?" Ace asked with sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Do you have any actually useful information?"

"I know a secret way to his treasury?" Skele said as if asking whether that was good enough.

Ace almost fell off the Hound after hearing that. "You can't be serious! A lich has a back door for his treasury?"

"As a mage he might have been extremely talented but as a human he was a failure" Skele said explaining in his own way.

"Did you know him while you were alive?"

"God help me no!" Skele said making a cross over his chest. "I had the misfortune of seeing him upstage a few times. I thought I was going to die for sure."

"Was he so bad of a spokesperson?" Ace asked laughing from Skele's voice shaking. It was a long time since he heard him so scared.

"You can't even imagine! He had no idea what grammar was, managed to confuse words that rhyme for example he was going to bring everyone fleece instead of peace." Ace burst out laughing. "But that is not all! When he talked, he kept on waving his hands which made him look like he was a bird ready to take flight. We called him an ostrich since he was quite fat, had a long neck and a small head with beady eyes. Whenever he came to talk in the balcony the audience could never decide whether to die from laughter or run for their lives as he was always leaning dangerously over his balcony."

"That's hilarious!" Ace said holding onto his ride as not to fall off. "How did it go? Was he elected for whatever he was trying?"

Skele chuckled remembering the old days. "The citizens really thought about it but everyone agreed that it wouldn't be good for the population's health. The guy’s father was an influential man so no one could ever laugh at him openly and we were sure that someone might actually die from trying to keep their faces straight while looking at him. Otherwise I'm sure we would have made him our mayor. None would have been able to resist it."

"I'm sure of it!" Ace agreed. "He was an outstanding man!"

"Of course. He was from a pure-blooded family" Skele supported Ace's idea in a mockingly regal tone.

"True, that brings out the best in people!"

Both of them laughed again and even the Hound barked together.

Enemies ,maybe scared of their loud voices, were all gone. No matter how far they went there was no one around. That didn't discourage them since they had already decided to end their wanderings. Skele just chose another path which led to the treasury and that was it.

"Did he have the brains to hire a rogue for making traps before it?" Ace asked as they were coming closer to their destination.

"The main path only."

"At least a lock?"

Skele shook his head. Ace breathed a sigh of disappointment. How stupid a person could get that he would think no one would find a secret path when he didn't even use anything to hide it properly.

"Is there anything still left there?" Ace asked dubiously.

"Everything's still there" Skele said calmly. "I came there from time to time to read his books but no one else had entered there. This dungeon is too much of a maze that continues and through floors for anyone to find the right way. If I'm not mistaken, there's only a few who had even entered the second floor."

"That's great. How many are there actually?"

"Seven. The whole last one is occupied by the Lich, necromancers and their summonings. Together they make quite an army."

Ace nodded in thought. He could tell Skele to return and bring his friends here but what would that give him? He would have more pieces to play with but what of that? The idiot duo would only be a nuisance while his friends too under levelled to be of any actual use. And if he used Monthu as a meat shield the guy would be furious and forget all about the promise Ace had gotten out of him for letting Hawk and Aurora join up. To sum up, all four of them would be just a distraction.

"We're here" Skele said over a whooshing sound.

"What was that?" Ace asked, hating his inability to see anything.

"A wall of dark magic. Only an undead can enter this place."

'So there's no lock but a magical shield to allow only specific people in? Since when do such things even exist?' "It's a good thing I got you then" Ace said with a smile. "What is before us?" he wondered feeling the space around open up.

"Huge cavern" Skele replied. "The Lich thought he'd have mountains of treasures so he chose one of the biggest rooms for it, although, no one ever reaches this place so there's only a single pile of what he'd brought with himself before taking his own life."

"Oh right, I had forgotten that almost everyone here is a suicide victim. Do any feel wronged about it?"

"Some do but they're too scared to rise a protest. You'll win nothing by trying to persuade them."

Ace nodded and slid down the beast's side. He stood up right before the pile of treasures. Sitting down, he started to shift through it with every item ending up in his pockets.

"Isn't it cursed?" Skele asked in a shout as if just remembering it. "Let go of it all! Quickly!"

"Don't worry. I've been cursed even before meeting you and nothing has happened yet. I believe it'll last a bit longer until I can come out and get some cleric to heal me."

"And you haven't told me anything about it?"

Hearing the hurt in magician's voice Ace raised his head from the tiara he was examining. "Skele?" he asked carefully. There was something wrong here.

"Why didn't you tell me about such a thing? You've been cursed all the time and through all that time we spent together not even once did you feel the need to tell me about it?"

"What? Why? It's j-" Ace said quickly, not really understanding the situation when a large gust of wind threw him over the remnants of the treasure pile. Something sharp brushed his ribcage and unthinkingly he grabbed everything from under himself, stacking it into his bags.

"Who dares to enter my treasury?" an ear-splitting voice echoed through the cavern. "Show yourselves cowards!"

To Ace's surprise he heard Skele moving forward with a spell on his lips that immediately flew towards the voice's master. And from the sound of stone falling it didn't hit the right target or was redirected.

Skeletons from all around him went forward, surrounding Skele. Even the Hound was there snarling.

"So it's you runaway worm. You saw a few tricks, killed your master and now you think you can take care of me? What a fool! Be gone or I'll truly... Wait! Where's my mountain of gold! You idiot! You really stole it? Don't expect a quick ending!"

Skele didn't say anything, just buffed his warriors up and ordered them to move forward. Hound was left beside him to protect from flank attacks or assassins sent his way.

Ace heard the ground moving under him and jumped away to hide. His hands grasped onto a stone pillar and he pressed his back against it, facing the safe way, where there was no fighting.

He knew he had to help somehow but it was just so damn dark. How could he ever judge the situation right and attack the enemies if he couldn't see at all. Not even shadows dancing, dark forms moving around. There was simply nothing.

"Do you have anything to say stupid skeleton? Where's my treasure!"

"Far away in a place your hands will never be able to reach" Skele said condescendingly, opening his mouth for once.

'Is he trying to tell me to run away? Gladly. Just how could I possibly do it without Hound to carry me or you to show the way?’ Ace wondered in annoyance. ‘I'm not a fan of stupidity called heroism but I can't see any other way of survival. But really, even if I try that what am I supposed to do?'

While he was pondering that the sounds around him changed. There were ten times more clattering of bones and the sword clashing was reserved to a small island in the middle of the room. It was sounding grave for Skele.

There wasn't really a lot of time to think so Ace just took out his daggers and sneaked around the pillar. He felt silly doing that since he couldn't tell even if everyone was looking his way but when nobody interfered with him and he managed to reach the first skeletons, he started hitting his daggers one against the other. They were still imbued with the two spells and he was praying for their ultimate skill to activate. It had happened only once before but it hadn't been very long since he started using their combo so he hoped it was due to that.

Nothing happened for a whole minute, even when someone noticed his existence it, didn’t activate. The enemy swung its weapon at him but Ace was faster and embedded his both daggers into the soft flesh. 'A zombie?'

The thing exploded in his face dropping disgusting meat all over him. Luckily, with the zombie's death its remnants disappeared too. Before Ace could dwell on it longer, angry wind rose up, hissing and cursing with lighting cracking alongside. The elements blasted everything that got in their way and created chaos among the undead who were learning how to fly and what it felt being electrocuted and smashed into a wall.

Ace used that moment to rush to Skele. He could still hear swords clashing so he went that way and purged those on his side with acid. They didn't seem to appreciate it but he wasn't one to mind that. "Skele!" he shouted out, rushing through the newly made gap.

"Kid! What are you doing here? You should have left when you had the chance!"

Ace rolled his eyes. "And die all alone from hunger in some corner? Thanks for the suggestion but no. If it's a must for me to go down, at least I'll do it flashily." He could almost hear a reluctant smile appearing on Skele's face. "Stupid boy..."

The kid laughed and used [Ice Field] on which he threw alcohol. "Same tactics?" Skele asked and Ace nodded. "Leave the small fry to me. I'll stop their advances and then will join you in fighting the Lich."

"Be safe" Skele said patting Ace's shoulder and left with that. Ace felt a bit strange but shook it off and used [Burst] with [Flame Step]. He'd walked a few times on the slippery surface so he trusted himself not to fall this time too.

Running was a tad more difficult but ice was already melting so it wasn't such a huge challenge to stay upright. While getting through, he didn't forget to kick and slash with both weapons together in case they might produce another light storm.

It didn't happen but he managed to leave the encirclement or that's how it felt when a chilling presence passed right through him. "A child? Is that your genius plan to defeat me, oh great skeleton warrior?" the Lich asked in a voice that made ants run down Ace's back. To pay the undead for that he swung his dagger backwards exchanging its enchantment to [Flare], her passive had a rate of success of almost a hundred percent.

This time was no different and even though Ace had [Excessive Heat] on, which prevented him from feeling heat, he could tell it had worked out. "Duck!" Skele shouted out and Ace didn't think before falling on the ground and rolling away. He heard something whisk past where he was standing just a moment ago.

"You think he's going to save you? He's just a hindrance and you know that!" the Lich laughed, his voice echoing around the cavern.

Unhappily Ace had to agree with that. With eyesight he might be able to do something but now? He was just walking in the dark, unable to know who are his friends and who enemies. That was a terrible situation so Ace decided to change it. There was not a chance he was going to be a nuisance. It was a description fitting others but never him. Never.

"Water, frozen up in time, rise and swallow this place in your icy grip, let the wrong doers be washed and cleaned of impurities which dirty your beautiful face, Ice Field!" Ace screamed the whole incantation out. It strengthened the spell twice if not more.

The whole cavern became a frozen domain, ice covering not only floors but walls and ceiling. The sounds of crashing overflew Ace's ears and without waiting he rushed forward, using all his force. Magicians tended to stick in the back and that's exactly where he was going.

"Kid, no!" Skele shouted out desperately but Ace ignored him. This was his life. It was great standing in the back and just receiving all the rewards but there the heart never raced like this. It was trying to make a hole in his chest with its violent movements, knowing just too well how dangerous and stupid the stunt was going to be.

Ace took out all of his daggers from the backpacks and while sliding forward started to infuse them with magic. He didn't really care which spell he used as long as it was one. It was a bet of high proportions and time was of necessity.

Even without seeing he knew the end of the cavern was almost there. It was a strange feeling he'd learnt in the time he'd been blind. Somehow he could just know if there was a huge structure obstructing his path.

Ace jumped right before hitting the wall and using it as a foothold jumped even higher while turning around. Hanging that second in the air he dreamed of looking over the battlefield and judging the situation. There was nothing of that for him so he smiled like a madman and threw fifty or so daggers right at the ground below. They struck each other and sparks flew when a storm rose up.

It was nothing like the previous one.

All Ace had needed was for a single combo to work out and then it would draw the energy from all the other weapons. Since each spell used his level plus dexterity and strength instead of intelligence or wisdom for determining its power the effect was monstrous.

It was raining fire and acid. Electricity ran rampant hitting one target and then passing to anyone who was close by. The freezing winds turned the unwary into sculptures of glistening ice.

There was morbid beauty in it all.

Ace could hear a voice shouting as his body was smashed against the wall again and again. There was no way he could stand against the wind and it was stagnant in proving that it was the strongest here. Electricity rushed through his body and he fell to the ground covering his head.

He crawled under a small rock formation from the raging elements but he knew it wasn't safe. Acid could erode it at any moment and his body would break under the heavy stones. Rocks got loose from the walls and the storm started to play dodge ball with everyone who tried to stand up to it.

Madness was a good word to describe what was happening there.

The stone groaned above him and Ace was forced to get the hell out of there. He tried to find another shelter but the wind caught his small body and crashed it against a stone edge. A pointy end pushed against his stomach and he felt air leaving his lungs in a rush.

He lay motionless, pressed against the wall, trying to catch his breath in vain when something grabbed him by the collar and started to drag away. It was mightily uncomfortable since wind and his captor had different ideas about where he should be going.

A few ages and two meters later Ace felt a skeletal hand wound itself around his torso. He was pretty sure who it belonged to but the howling of the wind and breaking of all kinds of things was too loud for anyone to be able to speak.

Having a free moment Ace looked at his bars and felt like dying on the spot. His health was around seven percent, mana almost zero and stamina flashing red. 'I really wish I had slept last time normally...' he thought, wishing for unattainable while listening to the sounds of destruction. It was gratifying. The Lich could say whatever he wanted now but calling him useless was out of the question. And that was the main point of this escapade.

"Are you okay?" Skele asked over the still raging wind that was finally calming down some. Ace glanced at his bars again but seeing nothing new besides an increase in mana nodded. "As fine as I can be after what happened" he answered loudly trying to stand up. A strong gust rammed him into the wall for a millionth time in the last few minutes.

"What the hell did you do?" Skele asked, rising too but he managed to stay upright, wind rushing through his bones.

"Utmost stupidity" answered Ace truthfully. "Now I don't even have a single dagger or any kind of weapon resembling it. For the maximization even Sai had to be used..."

"Ahh so that's where it is from..." Skele said handing Ace a hilt of a dagger. "Most likely" the kid said in agreement. "What happened here?" he asked hating that he couldn't see for himself how much damage his spell had actually done. It should have been terrible but sometimes a dog's bark was louder than its bite.

"It's a massacre" Skele said after looking around. "Bones and flesh charred or eaten away. That's all there is to this place now. I'm quite glad you can't see it."

Ace pouted but there was no changing that. "What about the Lich? Did he run away?"

"It seem-"

"Silence! You stupid mortals! You might have killed a few of my undead but you're many thousand years too young to be challenging me, the great necromancer! Me, who has risen from the grave to becom-"

"Blah, blah, blah. Can you get to the point now?" Ace asked in snotty manner. "You're wasting my time now."

"Forces of hatred and anger combine your vile powers, Shadow Blast!" the Lich roared aiming at the kid. Skele tried to block it but he was a skeleton and they weren't well known for their quickness.

Ace felt dark energy run through his veins. He was sure it was supposed to corrupt his blood system and make him go mad or just drop dead but nothing of a kind happened. No. Something changed. He suddenly felt invigorated, full of energy as if he had just had a good night's sleep. 'What is happening here?' he wondered as his eyes passed over the bars.

Stamina and health were at their fullest, bursting out of place.

Ace looked up expecting the Lich to be there. "You know... I think you've just cast a wrong spell... Or were you planning to heal me up just so you can torture me more?"

There was a choking sound and Ace was sure the Lich was just as surprised as him concerning what had happened. That lifted his spirits and he cast [Acid Blast] at the most likely direction for the enemy guy to be. It hissed in annoyance. "Stupid brat! I'm going to kill you! Kill you! I tell you!" it screamed in outrage and Ace yawned widely. "What a boring thing. All he knows is screaming and screaming, was he a baby when he died or something?"

"You like taunting death, don't you?" Skele asked casting a variety of spells in different directions. "You might have gotten rid of all the small fry and turned their bones to dust so they can't be raised but the Lich is still a nightmarish opponent to face."

"Who said we need to face him?" Ace asked nonchalantly. "We got the treasure and cleaned our path back. I see no reason to stick around and risk our lives taking care of him for the greater good. Someone else can come and do it."

Hound barked aloud, nudging Ace in the side and the kid scratched under his ear.

"Who said I'll let you off this easily?" the Lich growled over the whole cavern. "You're not getting away from me!"

"It wasn't the plan..." Ace murmured under his breath. "I'm just too lazy to go looking for you."

While he was talking to himself Hound left his side, jumping on the Lich while Skele cast a few spells to take some of its health down. The Lich shook off the beast’s hold and threw ice spears at them. Ace evaded them and fell to the ground looking for some kind of weapon. His hand closed over a fist sized stone and he ran up the wall using it to jump on the Lich.

He smashed his new weapon at him a few times before the ghost turned incorporeal and he fell flat on the ground. "Not fun" Ace murmured cleaning invisible dust from his clothes and used [Acid Blast] just because he could. His mana bar was full anyway.

He repeated this routine a few times since the Lich couldn't get too far away or else they would escape through the back door they had come in.

By the fifth drop Ace’s health was close to running out.

"Skele! Can you cast that spell he used previously?" There was an affirmative mumble from the necromancer and Hound took up the front by himself, eating up the attacks and jumping on walls to reach and bite or kick the apparition floating around with screams and curses on its lips.

Skele was able to cast the right spell and feeling full of energy Ace rushed to battle once again. This time he fought more smartly, using spells while being in the air where they could actually do some damage instead of just looking pretty which he couldn't see anyway.

Even though he did all that, it still took them over two hours to finish off the guy. Some might have given up half way after seeing their impending doom or even started to plead for mercy but this idiot, as he was one without question, continued on his pointless attacks, not taking into account that both Ace and Hound were being healed by Skele.

The only dangerous times were when the mage had to meditate to regain his mana. It was close calls but nothing Ace and Hound couldn't take care of by combining their powers. After over two weeks around each other they were good at reading the other's plans from the sounds only.

"Waaah! It's finally over!" Ace breathed out falling on his back. His stamina was close to full but his brain weren't being refuelled by magic and felt tired. "I thought he was never going to shut up!"

"Yeah" Skele agreed picking up the dropped loot and throwing it on Ace's chest. "I can't believe he's actually dead."

The kid put the items away, not even glancing at them; he still didn’t have any way of identifying them. "What, it's been twenty years or so since he kept you locked up here?" Skele nodded. "Everything's good that ends well. You're free as a bird now. Revenge is in your grasp now."

"Yeah..."

"You don't sound too enthusiastic" Ace noted sitting up. "Did I miss something or is it the melancholy of losing your life long rival?"

Skele chuckled. "No. I'm truly happy that the guy is not haunting this place any more. Even stones need to rest sometimes."

"Is that so?" Ace asked falling back again. "When what is the problem? Shouldn't you be overjoyed by the idea of getting out of this oppressing dungeon where sun never shines? It's been decades since you last saw something else."

"It is" Skele agreed in a tired voice. "But I'm afraid. What am I going to find out there? What if everything has changed too much?"

Ace hummed a simple melody. "If I had been born a thousand years earlier, I couldn't say I was born too soon. The trees are the same, the grass is the same, desire for freedom alike. If I had been born a thousand years later, I couldn't say I was born too late. The trees are the same, the grass is the same, desire for freedom alike."

"What's that all about?" Skele asked with a laugh.

"I don't know" Ace said humming to himself with his eyes closed.