Once his Capability was off cooldown, Jhiah had a thought. The Shades weren't giving much experience considering their level, and he believed he knew why - they were likely summoned creatures, meaning a powerful spellcaster was commanding them, and if said spellcaster fell, their army would collapse.
This idea in head, Jhiah summoned the Spear of Light. Around 6 feet long, the spear made entirely of Radiant energy tore through the Shades with ease. Once he was past the monsters, Jhiah conjured the Avatars of Light, who spread out in search of the entity in command.
-You have slain 139 various Shades or Shade subtypes and obtained three levels. You are now level 304. You progress too fast.-
Jhiah scowled at the notification and muttered, "So this is my fault now?"
A group of five or so Avatars returned to him 30 minutes or so later, saying they had sensed an incredibly powerful aura of darkness not too far from Lyrandar. This energy was in a vast cavern hidden within a mountain, although the Avatars of Light had not entered the cave. Calling all of his Avatars to him, Jhiah set off.
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Although navigating to the cave was difficult, Jhiah encountered few problems. Other than a few Shades here and there, he encountered no monsters. The limited number of Shades made Jhiah think they had the wrong place, but that was before he felt the aura of darkness as well. Nearly overpowering him, it put a shadowy haze over his vision and made it slightly difficult to breathe.
Jhiah's Avatars of Light entered the cave first, searching for the source of the darkness. After a short stroll through the labyrinthine cave, Jhiah found an oddly powerful Shade, one that took a vaguely humanoid form.
--Lord of Shadow - 491--
"Huh."
Jhiah's Avatars swarmed the monster and dealt heavy blows to it before the monster shrieked, releasing dark energy that vaporized most of the Avatars. Jhiah charged in with the Spear of Light and stabbed it forwards, releasing a blast of energy thaat appeared to do little to nothing to the Lord of Shadow. The monster swung its fist, sending Jhiah flying backwards, before it pulverized the rest of his Avatars, leaving Jhiah to fight the Lord of Shadow alone.
Standing again, Jhiah checked his Shield.
-Shield (Radiant): 300,991-
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A simple fist had broken around four thousand points of his Shield. Jhiah Cursed the monster with Curse of Light and blasted it with Holy Smite before it could react. Seemingly enraged, the Lord of Shadow held out its arm and released a stream of dark energy that slammed Jhiah into the ground. His Shield had been reduced by another 15,000 points. standing once more, Jhiah threw the Spear of Light at the monster. When the spear impacted the Lord of Shadow, it detonated in a burst of light, sending the Shade staggering backwards. While it was unable to attack, Jhiah channeled Dissolve at it. An aura of light emanated from the creature while eating away at its Shield. Jhiah was only able to maintain the attack for around eight seconds, but it had heavily damaged the Shade - or so he assumed. Summoninjg the Spear of Light once more, Jhiah Warped out of the way of a bolt of dark lightning and appeared above the Lord of Shadow. It sensed his presence, but too late, and his spear pierced into its eye.
-Exploit Weakness has gained a level.-
The Lord of Shadow exploded, throwing Jhiah into the air and leaving behind a spherical gem.
--Core of Shadow - The pride of Ni'ktul, Bishop of Shadow. This stone, created through advanced alchemical means, was used to form the Lord of Shadow, an entity that allowed Ni'ktul to be promoted into Bishop by the Ancient of Darkness herself.--
Jhiah placed the Core of Shadow safely in his inventory.
-You killed the Lord of Shadow (Level 491) and gained six levels for yourself. You are now level 310.-
Jhiah heard a scream from deeper into the cavern. After casting Radiant Heal on himself multiple times and then waiting for his Essence to replenish, Jhiah ran to where he heard it from.
Contrary to what he expected, there were no people in danger. There was only one person, seething with anger.
--Ni'ktul - Nightshade - Bishop of Shadow - 679--
"YOU! You stole my creation. I will kill you... Or perhaps..."
While the Nightshade was distracted, Jhiah stabbed at him with the Spear of Light. In a burst of Radiance, Ni'ktul was thrown away from Jhiah.
More enraged now than before, Ni'ktul conjured hundreds of Shades. They swarmed Jhiah - not the best plan, as he was able to use Holy Purge to hit and destroy most of them. The rest were obliterated by a Radiant Blast. With another Curse of Light and Holy Smite, Ni'ktul was severly weakened - or so Jhiah hoped.
Unfortunately, Ni'ktul was able to send Jhiah flying with a bolt of dark lightning, which also stunned him. Although the immobilization didn't last long, it was enough for Ni'ktul to blast Jhiah with a continuous beam of dark energy for almost ten seconds. This severely damaged Jhiah's Shield:
-Shield (Radiance): 244,981-
After casting Radiant Heal multiple times, Jhiah leapt forward and attempted to stab Ni'ktul with his spear, but the strike failed to land - Ni'ktul vanished, and the spear only impaled air.
Jhiah felt a slight shift in the air behind him before he felt a blow to his head, and he collapsed, unconscious.