Chapter 33. The University
Upon entering the University, it became clear that the place was once an architectural masterpiece. Natural light flooded from the ceiling and walls. Smooth columns rose three stories. Gentle, spiral staircases rose to platforms that overlooked the foyer. Little reading nooks with places for people to study. But the welcoming atmosphere no longer existed. Skylights were now broken glass, scattered about the floor. One staircase had been crushed by a fallen column, restricting passage. Rubble and dirt everywhere. And specters, wandering about the room.
A ghost noticed us, and approached. It looked mostly human, dressed in normal clothes that were tattered and torn. Its clothing flowed around its body as if it were underwater. Every part of the ghost was white and gray, like Aimon’s family, but its face was not normal. He looked disturbed, dangerous. With black, empty spaces where its eyes once were.
Wraith
Level 20
HP 140/140
Stamina 300/300
Mana 0/200
It screeched, loud enough to fill the vaulted room with an ear piercing sound. Loud enough that several others turned their heads and collapsed on our position.
“Four Wraiths incoming,” Janica said. “And two Madmen.”
Madman
Level 20
HP 150/150
Stamina 280/280
Mana 0/200
The Madman lumbered toward us, its movements almost zombielike. Its hair looked wild, like mine looked at the end of a metal concert. It laughed, manically, in a high pitch tone that made me shiver.
Six mobs was bad. Without any healing spells, every point of damage that our group took could not be recovered without waiting for the health to regenerate.
I immediately got out my drum and began pounding the beat to Thriller. Maybe not the best choice because the guitar hook really carries that song, but I didn’t have time to second guess myself.
You activated Rhythm and Tempo.
“Ten steps back,” Henry called out.
We all stepped backwards. Aimon began firing his bow as we retreated.
As the mobs approached, they got closer together, converging on our position.
“Stay back,” Henry called. “Potions incoming.” He lobbed a white bottle over the top of our front-line fighters. He hollered, “Why don’t you all just chill out!”
I looked at Henry, impressed by the one-liner.
A green bottle immediately followed. The first bottle shattered on the ground, sending bits of glass toward our enemies. White liquid splashed forward. Ice grew up the legs of four Wraiths and a Madwoman. Long, snowflake-like projections locked their lower halves. The second, green bottle shattered next, splashing emerald liquid all over them.
Two debuffs popped up on the portrait of the Wraith I had focused.
Frozen 6 seconds.
Taking poison damage every 2 seconds for 20 seconds.
The health of the Wraith ticked down.
“Hit them from range,” Janica called.
Rowan lunged first at a Wraith with a spear in one hand and a shield in another.
Ilrune lunged with his staff while Aimon continued to fire arrows. Aimon connected time and again, heads and shoulders thrown backwards by the force of his arrows.
Cassandra vanished, and I saw her mostly see-through form circling around toward the Madman in the back that had not been hit by the frozen AOE.
While their legs were frozen in place, the upper half of the monsters thrashed and reached for our melee fighters. But Ilrune and Rowan stayed far enough away that their spear-tips made contact without being close enough to take damage.
The first Wraith fell, and Aimon focused another.
I wished, not for the first time, that I could throw lightning bolts. Or healing spells. Or call a giant storm. Anything really. Other than my musical talents, I was useless in a fight.
Another Wraith fell to Ilrune’s staff.
A Madman at the back circled around its frozen friends, flanking our group. It approached my position from the side, and I pulled out my staff in defense.
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Cassandra, who had been following the mob, lunged at it from behind. She stabbed the back of its legs in a side swipe of her daggers.
The Madman fell in front of me, its hands reaching my feet. It grabbed my ankles with bony hands. I fell backwards and tried to pull away as it held on to me. I yelped, a very unmanly sound escaping.
The Madman shrieked. A sound that curdled the ears.
On my interface, I saw that Cassandra, Henry, Ilrune, and Aimon had each received a debuff.
Feared for 6 seconds.
Cassandra crouched over the Madman, ready to strike down on its back, but the Fear spell sent her running in the opposite direction.
“Other mobs are about to pull,” Janica called out. “Get ready. Only two seconds left on the freeze.”
Henry ran toward another group of wraiths in fear, his body out of his own control. But his fear broke early. He stopped, then slowly backed away from the ghosts. He must have been feet from aggroing the group.
#x200e Rowan turned and buried her spear into the back of my attacker like someone planting a flag in the earth. She left it there, alive but stuck to the ground. She turned, pulling out her axe and shield.
The Madman that held my ankles screamed in agitation, thrashing about like a fish out of water, but still held my ankles. It scratched at my legs, and my health began to fall. It felt like the skin was ripping off of my shins.
“Ilrune… shields!” Rowan called out.
Two Wraiths charged at Rowan, finally released from their frozen state. The Madwoman did not. Instead, she arched back as if to scream fear into us again.
Cassandra’s fear broke, and she turned to the Madwoman. Her daggers crisscrossed across its throat, silencing its cry. It fell in a heap.
Ilrune rushed to Rowan’s side. Their shield went up in unison against the Wraiths.
A buff popped up on my interface.
Phalanx activated. Damage taken reduced by 90% for 5 seconds.
The Madman continued to claw at me, but my health held steady. Phalanx was saving my life. Then an arrow connected with my attacker. And another. It fell, lifeless.
Aimon nodded at me, then turned to start firing at the mobs.
I stood up and started the music up again, the snappy Michael Jackson beat now a song of victory. Tempo activated again, reducing my stamina bar to about half.
Cassandra darted in at the two remaining Wraiths while Rowan and Ilrune stabbed at them, just out of melee range.
The last two mobs fell.
You defeated Wraith x 4.
You defeated Madman x1.
You defeated Madwoman x1.
You received 120 experience points.
You received 32 Job Points in the Mystic Job.
We looked at each other in relief. Rowan’s health was at 82%. Mine was down to 70%. It would take me almost three hours to regenerate the health I had lost. Time that we couldn’t spare.
“That was so close,” Henry said. “I almost pulled the group on that side. My fear broke early. Must have been the Shadow Resistance.”
“Yep,” Rowan said. “I’m looking at my combat log. I fully resisted the fear. That Shadow Resistance saved us.”
“We need to keep moving,” I said. “We’re down to three hours before the seed expires. And who knows what trouble will find us.”
“Up the stairs?” Ilrune suggested.
“Yeah,” I said. “The headmaster’s office is somewhere on the third floor.”
We made our way up the staircase, and climbed over the pillar that blocked our way. We fought a group of four Wraiths at the top of the stairs, then a group of Madmen and Wraiths on the landing. This time around, Henry froze the Wraiths while everyone else focused on the Madmen. The fear was too dangerous. If people got sent into another group of mobs, it could wipe the whole group. Cassandra saved all of her stamina for interrupting the fears. In addition to her throat-cutting silence, which was on a two-minute cooldown, her Assassin Job had a skill that stunned a mob when she hit it in the back of the head with the butt of her dagger. We made short work of these groups.
You earned 200 Experience Points.
You earned 35 Job Points for the Mystic Job.
I was a sliver away from leveling up, so I changed my Job to Instructor so that I would get the best level up stats.
The spiral staircase that led from the second floor had been crushed by a falling pillar, the remnants of which lay thirty feet below us on the ground level. As a result, there was a gap in the staircase. It was missing almost fifteen stairs. Cassandra, Rowan, Aimon and Ilrune thought they could jump it, no problem. Henry and I could not. But Ilrune had some rope.
Ilrune jumped up first, followed by Cassandra and Aimon. Ilrune tied the rope around his person, then threw it down to us. Rowan held the rope at our end. Janica supervised.
“Henry, you’re up first,” Ilrune said.
Aimon held on to Ilrune to brace him. Cassandra held onto Aimon.
It seemed like insanity to me.
Henry flipped to the bottom side of the rope and began climbing up, hand over hand, with his ankles locked on top of the rope. It really wasn’t that far of a distance. He was up in seconds.
Cassandra let go of Aimon and moved to grab Henry to help him up. She stepped down to the bottom stair, just above the gap. She grabbed his hand, pulling him onto the stair.
People cheered.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
And then a crack splintered through the staircase above us. I saw it first. Those above must have felt it. They froze, looking at the stone underneath them.
“Move up!” Janica yelled. “It’s gonna break!”
They scrambled up, hand over hand, crawling up the stairs. Aimon reached the top first, pulling Henry onto the landing. Ilrune scrambled up next.
Cassandra vaulted up, light as a cat.
The staircase broke off near the top and plummeted to the ground, falling on a group of ghosts. The sound reverberated through the enormous chamber. It shook the entire building.
When the sounds and feels of the crash and the aftershocks finally stopped, I looked up at the group above. They looked down at me. And at Rowan.
They must have been twenty feet up and twenty feet over.
“What now?” Ilrune asked.
“You’ll have to find another way up,” Henry said.
Janica flew down to us. “I know a way,” she said, calling up to those on the third level. “Go that way.” She motioned for them to take a right from the stairs. “We’ll meet you at the corner of the building.”