Shane grabbed the spiked mace from the belt loop with his right hand and raced into the sizzling steam cloud towards the tall, silhouetted figure. As he burst into the steam and smoke, he could hear Alabaster violently coughing and waving the cloud away with his free hand. His barrier shield was still up, but there were noticeable cracks near where it emanated from his palm. Shane saw this as he got within striking distance.

In a fluid motion, Shane planted his feet, pivoted his waist to maintain momentum, and swung the mace into Alabaster's cracked barrier with all his might. Shane felt an incredible exhilaration as he watched the barrier shatter and fade all at once. Having only been slowed slightly, the mace kept moving and impacted Alabaster's outstretched hand.

16 Damage!

The weapon's weight and its extra knockback modifier sent Alabaster's arm into the air above his head. The force of the blow made it look like his arm had been tugged upward like a puppet's. Alabaster jumped back thirty feet in a single bound—his barrier hand mangled and bloody. At first, he laughed, a pitch high and joyful at the surprise attack. Shane couldn't help but smile along.

"How was that Alabaster? Impressive enough?"

Alabaster's laugh faded, slowly replaced by a deep sinister chuckle. "That was indeed impressive, Shane, though I suppose I owe you a physical response as well, no?"

Shane was about to retort when he noticed Alabaster hunker down into a powering-up pose and tense his entire body. Alabaster was shirtless underneath his dark trench coat, with pants made of white silken fibers. Woah, he's actually kind of jacked, thought Shane, a little shocked at this boss vampire's imposing physique.

Alabaster's clenched fists became engulfed in frightening orange energy, which then quickly traced up Alabaster's arms and past his shoulders. As this happened, Alabaster's arm's muscle definition increased and hardened. The orange glow receded from his fists but was still easily visible in the vein structure of his hands and arms.

Alabaster took a new stance like a bull ready to charge at Shane.

"Brace yourself, boy," he said smiling, but his eyes deadly serious.

Shane gulped, dropped his mace on the ground, and assumed a defensive stance. His palms were open and facing Alabaster, fully ready to receive the attack. The next few moments were a blur.

Alabaster burst toward Shane with so much speed and strength that he kicked up a shovel's worth of dirt with each step. Shane commanded Tank and Rogue to execute a pincer attack from opposite angles as Alabaster advanced. As they both moved in, Alabaster pushed his arms outward at them, creating a shockwave that blew apart the skeletal minions down to their bones.

If there was enough time for Shane to be scared, he might have wet himself, but it took all of one second for Alabaster to close the thirty-foot gap.

Shane watched his advance very closely and, at the last second, intercepted Alabaster's punch to his gut. Even though Shane caught the strike with his hand, its power was enough to immediately break his wrist and forearm. Alabaster's fist broke free of Shane's now feeble grasp and continued unabated into Shane's ribs.

-110 HP (Alabaster's soul-enhanced strike)

HP: 35/145

Mana: 87/112

Fatigue: 30/118

Insane, Shane thought while his vision alternated between the ground and sky as he flew through the air, flipping top over bottom. He lost count of the times he flipped after five. Just when he thought he was going to land in a tree, he hit the ground stomach first and couldn't breathe nor even blink. Pain radiated from his hand, arm, and chest. He was sure he had at least a few ribs broken.

Just as he was sure he would pass out from a lack of oxygen, his diaphragm unclenched, and he took a single huge ragged breath. He stayed like that for several moments, taking in huge mouthfuls of air. Shane slowly propped himself up and struggled onto his shaking legs. Pain bloomed everywhere at this point, but Shane forced himself up and looked Alabaster in the eye. Alabaster was walking towards where he landed; Shane guessed he must have flown thirty feet or more.

"How are you feeling, Shane?" asked the vampire.

Shane could sense a hint of concern. It was undoubtedly warranted with how much pain he was feeling. He pushed through it and gave Alabaster his best smile. "Better! Now that the conditions for my new spell have been met."

Alabaster tensed as Shane held out a shaky hand. Shane took in a deep breath and yelled with an air of complete authority.

"Soul Siphon!"

59 Damage!

50 Mana Damage!

Alabaster was shocked to feel a good portion of his life essence and Mana leave his body. The amount was impressive, so when Alabaster witnessed those dual energies transfer to Shane's, he couldn't help but grin in jubilation.

Shane felt immediate relief in his arm and chest. The bright, blooming pain was now a dulled but constant ache. Though he was reasonably certain his wrist was still at least sprained. Alabaster dashed over to Shane and grabbed both of Shane's hands.

"Incredible, Shane! A simply marvelous performance! What was that spell?!" There wasn't a hint of elegance left; he was that excited to see such unique magic.

Shane winced as pain flared from his wrist in Alabaster's pale hands.

"It's called Soul Siphon; I leech a percentage of my opponent's current health and maximum Mana once I've made physical contact," said Shane, as he pulled his hurt hand from the vampire's friendly but firm grip.

Alabaster's eyes lit up in realization. "When I hit you, you grabbed my fist for that split second."

He surprised Shane by letting out another loud yet brief laugh.

"I must say, Shane, I've never met anyone like you with your kind of aptitude for multiple schools of magic!" said Alabaster, beaming.

Shane looked away briefly, "yeah, I suppose so, huh," and returned an awkward smile. If the vampire boss was already impressed, he would get a massive kick out of Shane's next idea."

"I want to try something out," said Shane. "Just give me a few seconds."

Alabaster stood there silently, almost obedient even while unable to help an overly enthusiastic smile. Shane closed his eyes, held out both hands, and pictured himself and Alabaster simultaneously.

"Regeneration," said Shane as if he were struggling to say the word.

Suddenly, dozens of small golden orbs engulfed both Shane and Alabaster. They began to dance and glow brighter.

"oooooooohh…OOOOHOOOOHHH!" cheered Alabaster as he clapped, delighted by yet another new spell in a completely different school of magic.

As Shane stood there concentrating, he could feel the spell slowly mend his sprained wrist and fully heal the rest of his body until he was fully healthy—without an ounce of pain.

After twenty-five, seconds had passed, and the golden orbs dimmed and dissipated, Shane opened his eyes and asked Alabaster how he now felt.

"Oh, I don't feel any different if you were trying to heal me."

Shane's mouth twisted in embarrassment while avoiding the vampire's friendly gaze.

Sensing Shane's discomfort, he added, "but that's not your fault! Not at all; see, as a vampire, light-based healing magic doesn't really do anything for me. Sad, I know."

Shane looked up, slightly puzzled. "That's because you're technically undead, right?"

Alabaster's face perked up, and he straightened himself. "I see you know a little vampire physiology! That is correct. To add to that, if I want to heal, I need to sleep or have shadow-based healing magic cast on me. Though I would argue magic like that is rare. That is why your earlier shadow-based siphon spell was so interesting!"

Shane couldn't contain his laughter at Alabaster's enthusiasm. The whole situation left him feeling light like a burden was lifted. He knew deep down he had been craving a connection.

Shane began to calm himself. "Haha...I had..no clue as to who or what would step out of that portal. I'm glad it was you, Alabaster."

Shane extended his right hand for a handshake. Alabaster's pale face had turned a few shades of red to his surprise. The vampire cleared his throat and shook Shane's hand in a quickly-crafted dignified manner.

"Yes, well, I am pleased to make your acquaintanceship Shane." Trying hard to put on an air of elegance and failing. "Would you like to accompany me back through the portal? I'd like to give you a proper thanks for indulging my interests."

Shane likely accepted the offer with too much enthusiasm, but Alabaster was not bothered if he did. This is precisely what he needed for the Level 5 boss quest, and if he could take something back with him, he was sure the experience and rewards would be worth the effort he just went through.

Both of them walked back to the portal that was once again glowing a mesmerizing deep blue.

"Does this portal always lead back to your lair?" Shane asked inquisitively

"I would hope so, my dear boy, as it is my portal after all."

Shane realized that not every portal was a randomly generated point of interest for the player. All points of interest might have had more to them than just being random activities for the player to consume. In Alabaster's case, this portal could pop up anywhere. Still, it would always be his, and Alabaster would always walk out of it.

Every encounter could have purpose and deep connections to other NPCs or places. Shane liked that. He allowed himself to feel good about his contribution to the team, making gameplay like that possible for him and hopefully the millions enjoying it in real life.

-Notice-

You Have Gained 168 Experience From This Encounter

"Oh cool!" said Shane, "I had no idea I could get exp just from fighting; I thought I'd have to kill you to get the exp." He said almost absent-mindedly to Alabaster, who gave him a look of confusion and curiosity.

"Would you please describe this E-X-P you are referring to?" He asked Shane, his air of elegance not needing to be faked anymore.

Shane felt excited at the opportunity to explain his situation. He began describing himself as a human from the real world as they both entered the swirling blue portal.