Master Of None

Everything seemed to be calm other than some of the stone coffins which would shake or rattle as skeletons tried to escape their burials. However, when the sound of a larger stone coffin shaking was heard everyone moved their attention to the coffin that the five skeletons had been worshiping. 

"Everyone, be ready. This can't be good." Walker was sure that the coffin that the other skeletons had surrounded held the flame mage that this ruin was made for. Even more, he could feel the fire elemental mana reacting to another mage's manipulation. 

"Fire! Magic coming!" The fire spirit could feel the mana it had been absorbing robbed from it. The magic was strong enough to over power its' own manipulation. This meant that the passed on flame mage was not going to be an easy opponent. 

When the skeletal hand broke the side of the stone coffin Walker could see blackened bones. These were not the same semi burned and brittle bones. These looked to be flame tempered and tough bones the same color as charcoal. 

"Midnight, take Onyx and hide away. This will be a tought fight." Walker was sure that he would need to use some stronger skills and magic. His strategy would have normally been to use water magic against a fire affinity monster. But the air was dry and the little water they had in flasks in his inventory was not going to be enough. 

Su took up a protective stance in front of Zenith who was still sketching away all the details of the map and even the designs on the wall. Walker wanted to yell for her to hide away somewhere but knew that there was nothing he could do to stop her. This was her duty after all. 

When they heard the slight crackling of coals and the clatter of bones on the stones Walker turned to see that the skeleton was much more than they knew. The skeletal bones were glowing like embers. These cracks were all over the entire skeleton making Walker feel like they were looking at something from another world. The red flame eyes that had taken up residence in the eye sockets were the last straw that forced Walker to use his all around appraisal skill to hopefully discover just what this monster was. 

'Ancient ember skeleton.

Once revered by the people as one close to the gods, this flame mage has left their body for the afterlife. The body has been worshipped by the undead fire mages that followed the previous flame mage for more than a thousand years. After being disturbed the fires within the bones have been lit again. The fire elemental mana is contained within the bones giving the skeletal remains the ability to conjure fire magic without gathering mana. The bones are incredibly valuable materials for any fire elemental item. This skeleton is weaker than the flame mage it used to be bit it holds the skills of the flame mage.'

Walker was not happy to read the all around appraisal result. This ancient ember skeleton was much more powerful than he expected. He wished he had brought an ocean of water with him to put out the fires within its bones. 

"Walker! It's attacking!" Su warned Walker just as a fireball formed and rushed at him. Luckily, Walker was ready and dodged to the side. However, a second fireball was already on its ay. This made Walker dodge and roll from side to side. 

The fireballs made scorch marks appear in the stones as they were fired constantly. Eventually, the skeleton stopped firing them off at Walker since it could not hit him. When it lifted its ember arms the largest fireball Walker had ever seen showed up. 

"Walker, get behind me!" Su shouted and Walker dashed to get behind him. He knew the strength of this fire ball was a lot and that the attack would most likely get around the shield and burn Su regardless. He used his multi buff skill but with the feeling of fire elemental mana condensing he knew it would not be enough. 

"After this attack forget me and defeat it immediately. Midnight and you should be able to double attack it and take it down." Su knew that she was risking herself since no one would be able to heal her burns while the two attacked. Onyx had already left Midnight and started ti become larger and coil around Zenith to protect her as well. There was no other option at the moment. 

The large fireball became a deep red and the air was sucked towards it as the ember skeleton pushed the fireball away. There was a painful feeling of impending doom that slowed everyone's thoughts. Walker wanted to manipulate the fore elemental mana but found that it was too well controlled by the ancient ember skeleton that literally had fire elemental mana as its core. 

The fore spirit had rushed away to avoid being caught up in the attacks since it could be harmed by them. It was made of fire elements mana and beings that could manipulate it stronger than the spirit itself was much more dangerous. The dark spirit was hiding away feeling useless while the other earth spirit had fused with the ground in hopes that a fireball would not hit it. 

The earth spirit that had been watching Su heard her words and felt her determination. It watched as Walker prepared to attack the instant the fore ball hit and how his swords started to flash with lightning. It couldn't understand if Walker would be able to defeat the skeleton but it knew that the skeleton was powerful and would hurt those that had rescued it. There was no way it was going to let its freedom and happiness be taken away. 

Without any hesitation, the elemental earth spirit returned to the earth dwelling shield and started to pull the earth elemental mana toward it. In an instant, the stones beneath their feet rumbled with mana. 

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