Alex swore under her breath as Seraphel vanished from her sight. Stupid movement skills. The falling ash wasn't helping her vision.

  “Did you see where he went?!” Ignis barked, his eyes spitting fire as he scanned the area.

  “No!” Alex snapped, irritability.

  “Burn the buildings down! Flush him out!” she ordered as she blasted apart any of the nearby buildings.

  Without hesitation, Ignis unleashed a torrent of flames, setting everything ablaze as he smiled. The deafening screams of the goblins and the scorching heat created a firestorm of destruction as they searched for the [Ice Mage].

  "Really earning that pyromaniac title," Alex quipped as she blasted flames all around her.

  She checked her mana regeneration. She was at sixty percent of her mana pool at this point, thanks to [Solar Metabolism]. But she was running out of mana quickly. She needed to end this fight sooner rather than later. The cacophony of battle and the heavy smoke restricted her senses so much that she didn't notice the trap until it snapped around her.

  Alex swore as the familiar sensation of a [Arena] skill wrapped around her. The world around her changed as the university was replaced by a massive graveyard with endless fields of tombstones.

  DING!!!

  The worst thing, though, was the overcast clouds. Alex could immediately feel her Solar metabolism skill shut off as she no longer had easy access to sunlight. Worse, the tombstones started to burst open as the dead rose.

  She spied goblinoids, humanoids, and undead beasts, all rising from their graves as they turned to face her.

  "[Multi-Cast: Magma Bomb]" Alex activated her skills, launching dozens of balls of magma down into the rising horde of undead. The magma splattered, killing dozens of undead, but more importantly, the magma sat there, turning the ground into a burning trap.

  The undead roared in outrage as they shuffled toward her. Alex huffed in annoyance. She just needed to kill the necromancer, and then she could get back to the fight.

  The undead surged forward, a cacophony of rotting limbs and guttural growls. Alex tightened her grip on her broom, the heat from her [Magma Bombs] already radiating up towards her. The horde advanced without hesitation, shambling over molten earth, their bodies igniting as they pressed on.

  "Morons" Alex snorted as they burned.

  She thrust her hand into her inventory, pulling out two mana potions and throwing them back like shot glasses as the undead burned from the magma.

  "And for my next trick," Alex threw her hand up into the air as she activated a summoning spell.

  A trio of flaming, winged snakes popped into existence above her head. They glowed like mini suns bathing their surroundings in light and warmth. The sun serpents hovered over her head, firing off tiny bolts of solar magic at the undead. Their attack did little, but the passive skill they all had supercharged her mana regeneration.

  Alex immediately felt [Solar Metabolism] kick in again as her mana started to climb rapidly.

  She pulled another mana potion and chugged it down.

  "[Multi-cast: Summon Fire Elemental]," Alex chanted, calling three creatures of pure fire into existence. Each fire elemental looked different; one looked like a wolf, the second a fish and the third was some kind of insect. But all of them were made of pure fire mana, and their shape was little more flavour text. The fire elementals launched themselves into the undead, burning the undead alive as they roamed through the growing horde of zombies.

  Alex didn't stop there as she kept dropping magma bombs to expand her perimeter. A ring of fire expanded outward in a wave of scorching heat. It incinerated the closest undead, their bodies collapsing into piles of ash, but the rest kept coming, undeterred by the literal wall of fire rolling over them.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw movement—a hulking undead minotaur tearing free from a tombstone, its massive axe dragging against the ground with an ear-splitting scrape. It charged, its empty eye sockets locked on her.

  "Of course, there’s a mini-boss," Alex growled.

  Raising her free hand, four fireballs shot forward, slamming into the minotaur's chest. It staggered but didn’t fall. Instead, it activated a skill and [Charged] forwards its axe threatening to take her head. Before it could close the gap, Alex pivoted on her broom, dodging the axe as it slammed into the dirt, burying itself in the ground.

  Alex activated her next spell, 'Flame Pillar.' The spell caused a column of fire to erupt beneath the creature, smashing into the undead like a flaming uppercut. The undead minotaur was launched upwards like a fiery comet.

  She had no time to celebrate. More tombstones cracked open, revealing a fresh wave of foes. Undead Goblinoid archers raised spectral bows, their arrows already alight with dark energy. She flew behind a crumbling mausoleum as the first volley whistled past her, the projectiles exploding on impact and sending shards of stone flying.

  The undead archers didn't get to shoot off a second volley before the insectoid flame elemental was on top of them. The flame elemental tried to mimic the motions of a beatle using claws and pincers to kill the undead. But all it really did was burn them. But that was enough. She kept dropping magma bombs at any undead she saw. The area was starting to look less like a graveyard and more like a volcano.

  Where the hell was the necromancer? He had to be in here somewhere. Alex cursed under her breath as the flying undead started to take to the air. Undead goblins riding on undead pterodactyls rose up into the air. Alex cursed again as she threw up a larger shield, as the undead peppered her position with spells. Alex shot up into the air, her sun serpents wrapped around her body as she launched chain-lighting spells at the pterodactyls. Lighting wasn't as nearly as effective as fire, but it would knock the flyers out of the sky, and the landing would take care of the rest of the work.

  Arrows shot up through the air, unerringly aimed to take her head. Alex activated [Ephemeral Form], turning herself and her sun serpents intangible as the arrows whizzed through her body. Then, the pterodactyl riders launched a wave of spells at her. Alex ducked and weaved under the spells. While [Ephemeral Form] made her immune to physical damage, it didn't do anything against magical attacks.

  Alex's world started devolving into ducking, dodging and rolling through the air on her broom as spells and arrows shot past her. Alex fired back with magma bombs. It was a lot harder to hit the flyers, but each magma bomb helped turn the ground into a volcano. She was so busy ducking and dodging between arrows and spells that she nearly missed the giant rock that an undead troll threw at her. Alex had to phase through the boulder, but as she slid through the other side, she was immediately blasted by a [Sacrificial Strike].

  Her [Ephemeral Form] provided her with no protection as the blast of vital energy knocked her out of the sky and sent her spiralling to the ground. Her [Arcane Shield] took the brunt of the damage as she crashed into the ground. Two of her sun serpents died on impact, leaving her with just one snake to regenerate her mana.

  Alex rolled over as a shadow moved at the edge of her vision. Alex whirled, her hands glowing with a magic shield. The necromancer lept at her, bringing his bone scythe down onto her head. The scythe bounced off the shield, and Alex shot a wind blast to send the goblin tumbling backwards.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  The goblin necromancer was cloaked in robes stitched together from the skins of his victims, their gaunt faces twisted in triumphant sneers. The necromancer's voice echoed across the battlefield, carrying with it a chilling command.

  "To me! To me!!!" the goblin screamed as a wave of necrotic energy rippled outward. The remaining tombstones shattered as the necromancer gave up any attempt at restraint as he unleashed a flood of undead monstrosities—twisted amalgamations of bone and sinew that moved with unnatural speed. One of the undead cast a spell at her, and a wall of spectral chains erupted from the ground, aiming to lock her down.

  "Trump card time," Alex huffed.

  She activated [Mana Supersession]. Her body surged with raw energy, and she shattered the chains with a burst of raw arcane force. No spells, just pure [Mana Manipulation].

  One of the undead slammed its mace into her head, the weapon bouncing off of her [Arcane Shell]. Alex cursed as she felt just how much mana that one attack had drained from her shell. If she didn't win before [Mana Supersession] ran out, she would be dead.

  Alex raised up her fingers like pistols as she rapidly fired every magma and lava spell she knew. Each spell blasted apart tombstones and undead alike. Even the stones started to melt as the ambient temperature kept rising.

  The undead were putting up a better fight this time. They activated skills and tried to get closer to her, but she just blasted them with a stream of molten stone as she leaped away. Out of their reach, a massive undead hydra lumbered towards her. She leaped up onto the tombstone and jumped off of it onto a mausoleum.

  "Stupid broken broom," she cursed. "I can't even fly without it. And I can't grab a new one from my inventory. Waste of a skill."

  Alex launched a dozen massive magma bombs backed by [Multi-cast] and [Charged AttackI(Magical)]. The bombs exploded, taking the undead hydra to pieces. The pocket dimension was getting hot. Hot enough that she was covered in sweat as the pocket dimension had been transformed into an oven.

  "Dammit, where is the stupid necromancer?!" Alex hissed as she looked back and forth.

  But the necromancer had disappeared. Hiding behind the undead as his pocket dimension turned into a volcano.

  "Fine then. If you won't come to me. I'll come to you! [Multi-Cast: [Charged Attack: [Meta-Magic: Maximize Magic: Eruption]]]" Alex activated her skills.

  The world around her exploded, and the ground turned to lava. The temperature jumped from painfully hot to scorching.

  The undead faltered, their rotting flesh igniting in the superheated air before they even touched the bubbling magma. Those closest to the epicentre disintegrated instantly, their forms reduced to ash in the blink of an eye. Further out, skeletons and other bone-based constructs fared slightly better, their bodies glowing red-hot as cracks formed and widened with each passing moment.

  The molten earth consumed them with agonizing slowness, their struggles futile against the all-consuming heat. Shambling goblinoids melted into unrecognizable masses of charcoal. Even the more durable undead—hulking ogres and monstrous amalgamations—found their endurance no match for the searing embrace of molten rock. Limbs sloughed off, torsos caved in, and weapons fused to the remains of their wielders.

  But the devastation didn’t come without a price.

  Alex gritted her teeth as the radiant heat from her own spell surged past the tolerances of her [Arcane Shell]. Sweat evaporated instantly, leaving her skin dry and cracked, the intense heat leeching the moisture from her body. Red welts and burns began to form, spreading up her arms and face where her defences faltered. Her HP drained steadily.

  The shimmering barrier of her [Arcane Shell] thickened, glowing faintly as she pumped mana into it in the hopes of absorbing the brunt of the oppressive heat, but not enough to keep her entirely safe. It wasn't designed for elemental damage. Her last Sunserpent was burned away in the intense heat.

  The magma boiled, sending waves of blistering air up to meet her. Alex’s hands trembled, her skin reddening further, and her endurance pushed to its limits.

  "Come on, come on, upgrade already!" Alex muttered, her voice a strained whisper as she poured more and more mana into reinforcing her [Arcane Shell].

  Finally, after what felt like a small eternity in hell, she got the notification she had been waiting for.

  DING!!!

  Alex let out a sigh of relief as the heat that had been killing her disappeared. Her new [Mystic Shell] protected her from temperature changes as she transformed the [Necropolis] into a boiling pot. She didn't need to find the [Necromancer] anymore as everything in the pocket dimension burned.

  "Ugh. my Mana Debt is going to be insane." Alex groaned as the lava consumed the pocket dimension.

  DING!!!

  As the world around her dissolved, Alex felt the familiar pull of reality reasserting itself. She landed back in the charred remains of the university courtyard, the sounds of battle and flames filling the air once more for about five seconds before all of the lava that came with her spilled out into the university.

  She was fortunate that none of their allies were in range of the lava as it flowed out from her position. The nearby buildings burst into flames as the lava shattered the glass and flowed into the first floor of the buildings. Nearby goblins, orcs and trolls were swallowed up by the magma as they died screaming.

  At the same time, Alex was dancing atop of the lava flow. While her [Mystic Shell] stopped the heat from burning her, it didn't stop her from slowly sinking into the lava, so she had to keep moving.

  Pulling a new broom from her inventory, she rose back up into the air. She had already decided she wasn't going to keep her [Witch] class. Too much work. She shook her head as she flew upwards. She needed to focus on getting back into the fight.

  You may skip to the next chapter.

  Base

  Personal: +4 INT +4 WILL +3 EGO +3 CHA

  Racial: +3 WILL +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 CHA

  Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats

  Mini-Character List

  Alexandra Ling: Tom's best friend and the best magic user in hopkins

  Ignis Vermilion: The apocalypse forces pyromancer on loan for the battle

  AN:

  Patreon.