Chapter 38: Necromancer vs. Assassin

I stood to the side, secretly noting the attack methods of the two combatants, especially the barbarian skilled in shouting techniques, carefully memorizing the range of his shouts. It's always better to be prepared; the more you know, the less danger you face.

It didn't take long for the barbarian skilled in shouting to show his inferiority in strength, and he was the first to fall. Immediately, the crowd below erupted into chaos. Those who had placed bets were either grinning from ear to ear or cursing loudly. The job changers didn't care much about the money; they craved excitement, thrill, and satisfaction.

Next, a thin, darkly dressed necromancer jumped onto the stage and shouted, "Roy, you little brat, come up here and let's have another go."

Good grief, the necromancer was wearing hard leather armor and, though he lacked a necromancer's staff, the short sword glowing with a blue light in his hand would make any melee job changer drool. This necromancer must be incredibly powerful.

As soon as the necromancer finished speaking, the crowd seemed to know what was coming and quickly cleared a path. A blue-leather-armored assassin, wielding a fist sword in one hand and a blue light shield in the other, silently leaped up.

"Garin, if you're so eager to die, I'll grant your wish," the cool assassin said in a cold tone, sending a chill down the spines of those around him.

"Hmph, all you can do is talk big. Don't forget, I've won one more time than you," the necromancer sneered.

"After this match, we'll be even," the assassin replied, his face expressionless, his cool demeanor and weathered, gaunt face likely to charm a crowd of aunts in the real world.

From their conversation, it seemed they were regulars on this stage.

"Ah, it's them again. The show is over; let's go," Doug yawned and tugged at my sleeve.

"Why should we leave? This is a battle between two high-level job changers; it's bound to be exciting," I asked curiously.

"No matter how exciting, if it's the same every time, it gets boring. Besides..."

He lowered his voice, as if afraid the two on stage would hear: "Their battles are like a rat dragging a turtle; there's nothing to see."

"Let's stay a bit longer; I haven't seen it yet," I said, my eyes glued to the two on stage, refusing to budge.

"Hmph, you'll see. This will be a long and boring fight," Doug said, and Gav, who rarely agreed with Doug, nodded in agreement.

If it was just Doug, I wouldn't have believed it, but with Gav nodding, it must be true. I became even more interested.

At that moment, someone brought up a large box and scattered its contents on the stage. I looked closely and was stunned; it was a bunch of dead rats. They were probably for the necromancer to use in his spells. It made sense; without corpses to summon, the necromancer wouldn't stand a chance against the assassin.

Garin, the necromancer, mumbled to himself, and soon the dead rats turned into skeletons. Poor little rats, their tiny bodies forcibly turned into skeletons. I cursed the lazy God again.

Roy, the assassin, waited politely for Garin to finish summoning the skeletons. Good grief, there were seven of them. The necromancer must have invested a lot in summoning skeletons.

Then, a clay golem emerged from the ground. The necromancer was breathing heavily; just these few summons had already cost him nearly 100 mana points.

Thus, the boring match Doug described began. Garin commanded four skeletons and the golem, keeping three skeletons as meat shields around himself, tightly surrounding him.

The four skeletons and the golem attacked first. The heavy golem stood at the front, its sturdy body and long health bar allowing it to withstand more attacks. The four skeletons, with their agility, tried to block the assassin's movements, attempting to corner him so the golem could deliver the final blow.

But the assassin's agility was no joke, especially with a speed boost, making him incredibly fast. The skeletons couldn't block his path and were frequently cut by his fist sword.

After a while, I immediately saw the essence of the battle. As Doug had said, it was like a rat dragging a turtle; the assassin couldn't get close to the necromancer, and the necromancer's skeletons and golem couldn't hit the assassin.

This was a war of attrition. The key to victory was whether the necromancer's mana would run out first or if the assassin would be cornered by the skeletons. It was indeed frustrating.

However, there were still exciting moments. The assassin's speed and precise dodges aside, Garin's control over his summons was impressive.

It was as if they were extensions of his own body, moving as he willed.

This made me think of my own summoning skills. After some observation and inquiries, I learned that druids and necromancers had their own strengths and weaknesses in summoning.

Necromancers had the advantage of summoning more creatures and could enhance them. Since they had no life, they were easy to control, requiring little training to command effectively. However, the downside was that these skeletons, lacking life, had only the instinct to attack nearby creatures. If not well-controlled, they would act chaotically, and controlling them required a lot of mental effort, even preventing many necromancers from moving while controlling their skeletons.

Especially in the later stages, if a necromancer specialized in summoning, with higher skill levels, they would need to command dozens of summoned creatures simultaneously. The difficulty is self-evident. Many necromancers reportedly suffered from severe mental disorders, possibly due to controlling too many creatures.

Druids, on the other hand, summoned fewer creatures, but they had life, which had both advantages and disadvantages. I believed the advantages outweighed the disadvantages.

The disadvantage was the difficulty in communication and command, requiring a long time to establish a connection.

The advantage was that they had life and, therefore, intelligence. You only needed to give them a command, and they would act on their own, requiring no further attention. You didn't have to worry about their combat ability being inferior to your direct control. These creatures, though low in intelligence, had terrifying combat instincts. Especially the ghost wolves and mad wolves, which were pack animals, were cunning and vicious. Just a few of them, working together, could display terrifying combat power, often leaving you amazed.

Back on the stage, under Garin's precise command, the assassin's space gradually shrank. Of course, he had opportunities to break through the encirclement and reach the necromancer, but consider this: even if he managed to break through, Garin had three skeletons as meat shields, wore hard leather armor, and wielded a blue military knife. Both his defense and physical attack were formidable. If the assassin couldn't defeat Garin quickly, the skeletons and golem would turn around and surround him, leading to certain defeat. Roy, the assassin, didn't need to calculate how long it would take to defeat Garin or how long it would take for the skeletons and golem to return and surround him.

There was no need to calculate. He had tried this risky strategy many times before, with more losses than wins. Unless his speed or attack power significantly improved, Roy wouldn't choose this extremely dangerous method again.

So, the only option left was to wear down the necromancer. Each time a skeleton was destroyed, Garin would have to summon a new one to maintain the encirclement. The key was whether Garin's mana would run out first or if the assassin would be cornered.

The battle continued. Garin had already replaced one batch of skeletons, and his face, which had been calm, was now pale, indicating significant mana depletion.

Roy, the assassin, was also in a dire situation, cornered on the stage.

However, Roy, who should have been more disheveled, suddenly smiled.

The golem, the mainstay and main force of the encirclement, was down to its last bit of health. One more strike, and the battle would be over.

"Ha!"

Roy roared and thrust his fist sword at the golem. With a loud crack, the golem split open and crumbled into a pile of yellow earth, disappearing.

"Ha ha..."

Without the golem, the necromancer's encirclement had a gap, and Garin seemed unable to summon another golem.

Roy smiled smugly at Garin, the outcome seemingly clear.

But what he saw was a victorious smile on Garin's face.