Dotting the walls of the icy cavern are a number of small light blue crystals, these small crystals radiate enough light for the cavern to be relatively visible. We know absolutely nothing about the region we are currently in, nor do we know about the creatures we may find within.

The air within the cave is slightly circulated now that the icy wall has been destroyed. Unlike the forest the monsters within emerge immediately.

The bone chilling cold is much worse within the cave than it was outside, thus I used my fire manipulation after lighting a torch to increase the heat energy it produces.

As we continue down the cavern the rattling of bones echoes from much deeper.

"It appears this place will be filled with undead." I am rather uneasy, this will be my first time encountering an undead in virtual reality.

Maddy doesn't say anything, but scowls at the thought of the wretched undead.

Bam! Before we expected multiple dozen undead erupt from the ice walls. These skeleton creatures are clothed mostly in rusty metal armor and wield longswords and shields.

"Warrior type skeletons, shadowbirds take the lead. Aim for their joints. Maddy, we should use the throwing knife combo." I begin giving commands after analyzing the enemies.

The cavern is not wide enough for all skeletons to stand side by side, so the shadowbirds create a wall and deal with the skeletons more easily. Maddy begins throwing her knives and I assist in their direction. Each throwing knife accurately hits arm and leg joints in order to weaken the skeletons while the shadowbirds use their strength to crush their skulls. Focusing my thoughts I realize I can do some area of effect damage and use the ice in the cavern. I focus on on of the walls and concentrate spiritual energy into the wall. I picture an ice spike erupting from the wall and smashing into the skeletons. I lift up my hand and swipe it, directing the ice to destroy four of the skeletons.

Even though we are vastly outnumbered the skeleton's bones are very brittle from centuries in this frozen land. Their armor is also nearly useless due to their thin bodies causing it to fall off. I focus my energy which remained in the ice spike into a single point, after releasing the focus it expands out and hurls ice in every direction. The large ice chunks hit skeletons in every direction finishing off another two.

The shadowbirds destroyed about three each, yet remained undamaged due to Maddy's support in breaking off their limbs. After a few more minutes the shadowbirds finish off the last of the skeletons, after which we all take a rest around a fire to warm ourselves back up.

"These skeletons aren't nearly as bad as I imagined. If we ran into zombies with rotting flesh I can't be sure I would have held down my breakfast." I am enjoying our journey further into the cavern, this adventure is much more reminiscent to standard rpg dungeons.

Now that I have the meditation skill I can restore mana much more easily compared to previously when I had to drink mana potions like they were water. With our current setup I don't require any health potions and neither does Maddy, however this is because her assassination skills aren't very useful against skeletons.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"As light falls upon these ancient lands, a dark shadow is cast as well. My powers are born of darkness, but darkness is not evil." A strange voice seems to reverberate through the cavern walls. The ice shakes and small bits fall from the ceiling.

A look of dread covers Maddy and I's face as we find that yet another expert is behind this dungeon. The person here seems to be the necromancer who raised the skeletons, but he probably doesn't yet know we are here.

In order to lessen our sound Maddy uses her silent step assassination ability, the shadowbirds utilize that same skill. During their training period Maddy taught the shadowbirds a few of the skills that don't require a specific class. Since I was never taught these I utilize my nature manipulation to decrease my impact on the ice. The clacking of bones grows increasingly louder as we reach further and further into the icy cavern.

Following Maddy we walk onto a balcony overlooking a large room, presumably the main hall. Standing behind a lectern at the front of the hall a pale hooded figure reads from a dark book. The book emanates an aura of extreme darkness. The necromancer raises their left hand and expels a dark cloud of energy. Hundreds of skeletons fill the main hall, and those touched by the black smoke begin to absorb it. Rather than trying to interfere we decide to just observe the strange occurrence, it's not everyday that one gets to witness the powers of necromancy.

The shadowbirds look ready to battle with the skeletons, but I quickly shake my head at them gesturing that it is a bad idea.

After a few minutes of releasing energy the necromancer releases a sigh and removes their hood. Our expectations were quite normal, but they were quickly dispelled. The man standing their might be considered a boy to many, his short brown hair and fragile figure gives one the feel of a stereotypical nerd. The young man continues reading the book out loud, but rather than casting a spell he seems to just be reading a recipe.

'He might not be as strong as we thought!' I look towards Maddy with a smile on my face, she responds with a similar expression. We plan our moves without words and decide it best to kill the necromancer first before fighting the skeletons. I don't know the level of this necromancer's strength, so rather than using magic at first which he might sense we have Maddy attempt to kill him instantly. In the blink of an eye Maddy, who was previously standing next to me, was crouched behind the scrawny necromancer.

With a swipe from her blades the head and body were separated and a glowing mist flows from the body into her daggers. Holding my staff I don't give the skeletons a chance to attack her and cause a dozen ice spikes to erupts from the ground and block off the skeletons.

"Maddy hurry! Grab the book and his items and flee!" I shout towards Maddy to remove herself from danger. She takes the book and a ring around his finger and sprints then leaps up to the balcony.

"Why didn't you grab everything he had?" I look towards her questioningly.

"I couldn't, he was a player."