After the knowledge left his mind, he looked down at the symbols upon the floor. They were completely unintelligible. He could appreciate them for the aesthetic, but the meaning that was behind them was now lost upon him. Was this what it meant when the system said that all Paths but the [Path of Spirits] would be closed to him?
A confused mess of feelings bubbled to the surface. On the one hand, he was glad because he liked the Path he was on. Using his [Spirit of Death] Power felt natural and binding the Charms from the defeated Richard Montague had come easily to him. On the other hand, it seemed like the secrets to all sorts of wonderful and deadly Powers were locked away from him. He would never cast a fireball from his hand, unless there was some sort of fire spirit that would let him, or know the joy of discovering a new spell from a spellbook. Not only that, but he had been robbed of the choice by the circumstances.
His strength came from binding Spirits, something that seemed to be done through combat, either defeating a Spirit or another shaman, but despite his growing love for battle it was not all he wanted to be capable of. This new reality offered him the chance to be more than he was, and he had already seen what some could do on the form of the Lich's Necromancy. And whilst it was something he held no interest in learning, in fact there was an innate urge within him to put a stop to the foul practice, it proved there was more out there than pure fighting Powers.
He continued to speculate about the different Powers that might be out there in the wider Multiverse, as the System called it, and the feats that might now be possible as a welcome distraction from everything else as he stalked down the passageway once again. He was heading deeper into the catacombs, towards where he had seen Ander Phyris going and hoped to find some undead weaker than the bear to hopefully Level off. He had no idea how he was going to close the gap between him and it, let alone between him and the creature that created it, but he could make a start by getting access to more Attribute Points.
He was pulled from his thoughts by the sight of blue light glowing from around the corner in front of him. He silently approached it and peered around it to spot what he knew would be some form of [Skeleton]. He was right and he saw two of the red boned undead wearing what looked to be full, crimson plate mail, complete with a metal shield and sword each. He [Analyzed] them and was confronted with a new type of undead.
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[Unknown Skeletal Guard, Level 11]
[270/270]
[Unknown Skeletal Guard, Level 12]
[290/290]
[Skeletal Guard
Undead Lore II: Evolved Skeletons that have given up their ability to create [Bone Armaments] to instead reinforce their own toughness. They still retain the knowledge of how to use any weapon they did in life, and are often used as sentries. Their animation draws from a pool of magic that sustains their whole being, and as such they have no critical points but are instead slain if enough damage accumulates everywhere.
Experience: None
Threat: Moderate]
It seemed like he would be in for a tough battle. He felt within him for his Lifeforce, checking that he still had enough, and when he found that he did he started to plan.
The armour the guards' wore removed their main weakness, their light weight. He wouldn't be able to knock these undead around like he had their Lesser brethren. It also provided them near total coverage and protection, making it hard for him to see a way to strike at the magic holding them together. Hopefully, it would also slow them down.
Another problem was their position. He had broken up most of his fights into multiple bouts of single combat instead of facing all his enemies at once, however, he did not see a way to do that to these foe's as he lacked a means of threatening them from range and making them come to him. He assumed that they would stay and stand guard over their post, something that would make it near impossible to get passed them without slaying them first but would hopefully mean that he could retreat if things went south without them following.
He attempted to [Analyze] their armour and Armaments, but he couldn't. He didn't know for certain but he guessed that it was because they were in the possession of another being. Maybe in the future when his Skill tiered up more he would be able to find out everything about something and it's equipment before having to engage them in combat.
He stepped around the corner and immediately drew their ire. Their heads snapped towards him and the blue light spilling from being their visors and empty eye sockets became a few shades darker. Their shields lifted to face him and their weapons were pointed towards him menacingly. As he thought, they remained where they were, but then they did something unexpected.
With a clang, they each slammed their blades into their shields and gouts of fire shot out towards him. He backpedaled in suprise, ducking back behind the corner to avoid the flames. They crashed into the wall and left behind scorch marks before sputtering out against the cold stone. He felt the heat when it rushed passed him, and judged it to be as hot as the centre of a bonfire. It wouldn't be fatal if he was struck by it, but it would definitely hurt and leave him with burns all over. The shield from his Charm might protect him for a while, but he had seen it break once and he doubted it would hold up for too long. He was going to need a different way to approach this.