With confident steps, Liam strode towards the amassed horde. He had spent the night before coming up with a plan, and the walk here working out all the kinks in it and he was sure it would work, even if it might take a while. He had seen the undeads' reaction for him getting too close and now he was going to exploit it.

"Are you ready for this?"

He asked his Spirits. Death, he had already spoken to whilst coming up with this plan but Protection he had only let know whilst on the way here. It had taken a little practice and getting used to, but ever since he had absorbed and activated the Partially Corrupted Spirit he had been able to sense what it was feeling. What he got from it now was a feeling of confidence matching his own and the ever present gratitude it had radiated since he fed it his Lifeforce. His Spirit of Death joined in affirming its readiness and he took the final steps towards the skeletal battalion.

In unison, the armoured undead all lifted their weapons and shields, bringing the former against the latter to create a deluge of fire that rushed towards him. Standing strong in the face of the deluge of flames that filled his vision, Liam prepared himself. He activated a free use of his [Spirit of Death] and took a hold of the black mist that spilled out of him with [Spirit Shaping]. At his direction, it gathered around the head of his axe in a thick cloud.

The flames roared as they surged down the passageway, only to be met by the swing of Liam's axe. For just a moment, the mist from his Power lengthened and solidified, extending the reach of his weapon as it cut through the encroaching wave. It deflected what it cut, scattering fire away from its wielder, and absorbed what it couldn't. The bone of his axe shifted from crimson to a glowing, angry red as it drank in the energy of the flames. Then, his swing reached its end and he was hit by the rest of the wave.

His shield flickered in and out of visibility as it clashed against the rolling tide of fire. Flames battered against the newly bonded Spirit until it could take no more and the energy protecting him shattered. Now undefended, he braced his body against the raging fire, only to find that the majority of the wave had passed and he only has to bathe in it for a moment before it fully passed over him. He quickly stepped back a few times, causing the horde to halt in launching its second offensive, and noticed the blinking notifications in the corner of his vision.

Before he could even open them, his spiritual sense picked up on a tide of energy coming from within, spilling out from his Lifeforce Pool and leaving his body to cling to him. He watched in fascination as his shield, which had broken only moments ago, was restoring itself even stronger than before. The energy kept on coming until it had reached twice what it was before then it slowed to a trickle that he assumed was it's natural regeneration. Finished observing, he opened his notifications.

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[Spirit Shaping I has improved to Spirit Shaping II

Ease and limits of Spirit Shaping increased]

[Spirit of Death I had Levelled Up!

It has reached Level 7.

60% bonus damage has increased to 70%. 45% merged bonus damage has increased to 52.5%. 45% merged physical resistance has increased to 52.5%. 1 extra free use per day]

[Spirit of Protection I had Levelled Up!

It has reached Level 2.

10% shield and shield recovery increased to 20%]

[Spirit of Protection I had Levelled Up!

It has reached Level 3.

20% shield and shield recovery increased to 30%]

He smiled at his gains with a grin that only grew wider when he saw that he had only lost 16 HP to get them. His shield had restored itself to 20% of his HP from his Spirit's Level Ups and the free use of his Spirit of Death had effectively refreshed itself. His axe hung at his side, causing the air around it to distort from the heat it gave off as it released the excess fire energy it had absorbed back into its surroundings. It didn't take long for the excess energies to bleed out of it and restore the bone's colour to its natural crimson.

He checked that the emotion coming through his bond with his [Spirit of Protection] was still positive before activating another free use of his Death Power and going again. It was easier facing it this time, now that he had experienced it once and had grown in strength. The extra damage granted by his improved [Spirit of Death] meant that even more of the flames were diverted from hitting him or outright extinguished. His shield also didn't break, instead thinning until it was looked thin and brittle but still stubbornly holding out until the end. He retreated back again and checked the new notification that popped up.

[Spirit of Protection I had Levelled Up!

It has reached Level 4.

30% shield and shield recovery increased to 40%]

The surge of energy came again, only less this time, and reinforced the shield until it was only a bit weaker than it had been before the second round of fire, although the trickle of its natural regeneration was now greater.

Happy that he had quickly leveled his newly bound Spirit up to par, he got ready to assault the skeletal battalion for real. Whilst he wished he could spend all day training his Spirits against them, he only had a limited amount of resources and time that would be better used against Ander Phyris or any other obstacles the lich chose to throw in his way.

"All warmed up?"

Liam joked to his Spirits.

"As warm as I'll ever be."

Those whispered words and a warm feeling from his other bound Spirit were the reply.

"Good, because it's time to put these undead back in their graves."