Chapter 10) Not a Fair Fight.

[Current Stats on Host Mystic:]

[Level: Novice 2/10]

[Mana Points: 20/100]

[Health Points: 10/10]

[Strength: 2/10]

[Agility: 5/10]

[Stamina: 7/10]

[New Attribute Core: Perception at 0/10]

[Offensive Skill: Accidental Dagger Attack Strategy. Mystic has proven to be quite efficient at causing damage through unpremeditated strikes with daggers. Current weapon of choice are the Gild Gaters.]

[Defensive Skill: Quick Escape from Danger. Mystic has the tendency to flee from anything that could cause him harm.]

[Defensive Skill: Panic Attack Syndrome. System has no positive comment concerning such a skill.]

[System Remark: Mystic has upgraded because of fairly pathetic performance in the Test of Worthiness Simulation, but he is still greatly disadvantaged in combat and general survival. Self Destruction is still an option.]

"There's something seriously not right with you, System." muttered Xavier, still braced to attack whatever came out of the fogg.

Master Kim Sao beckoned him over. "Quick, Xavier. Collect all the crystals you can to replenish yourself before the beasts get here. You are going to need all the energy you can get for this round."

That was when Xavier caught sight of the blue and red crystals glowing from different places around them. He recalled that the blue crystals were for Mana and the red ones for health. Somehow he had forgotten that something of such nature came out from vanquished beasts.

He rushed around to gather them into his body. Each time he touched any of the crystals with his fingers, they went through his palms sending a zing of tickling sensation through his body. Immediately, he felt relieved from pain and tiredness. It was like taking a drink of refreshingly cold water. Or maybe a long swim through an ice lake.

Xavier looked back at the slumped Astral Mystic, and decided to collect some for him as well. He didn't think about whether such a thing was possible or not. Once he thought about it, the next few crystals he reached didn't enter him. Rather they solidified into orbs, and he easily gathered them into his arms and hurried back to Master Kim Sao.

The Astral Mystic looked down at the crystal orbs and stared up at Xavier in astonishment.

"I collected some for you so you can get your strength and mana back." Xavier thought it wise to explain even though it was obvious.

Master Kim Sao was still amazed. "That should not be possible. Core crystals cannot be collected for a third party Mystic or saved for later."

Xavier frowned. "Oh...I didn't know that."

Kim Sao regarded him with a strange look, as if he was seeing Xavier properly for the first time. Xavier felt uneasy under his gaze and shifted in discomfort, but finally the Astral Mystic accepted the crystals.

"We will talk more about it once we reach the academy. For now, let's destroy this dungeon once and for all."

He absorbed the crystals and power flared from his body, brightening up his face and eyes. He pulled himself to his feet but staggered as he tried to move.

Xavier reached towards him in concern. "I thought the crystals would restore everything you lost while casting the spell."

Master Kim Sao shook his head. "Depends on the amount and nature of the crystals. My Mana and Health cores would need a lot more than what I got to be filled to fullness. I'm better than I was before, though." He looked beyond Xavier's shoulder. "They are here."

Xavier turned around and stumbled back in a glorious mixture of fright and shock.

There were five of them...the five Wizard Level Beasts. They looked like something from a really terrible nightmare, something real but yet so scary that it appeared beyond what could possibly exist.

It was very obvious that they were plants of some sort. Green skin, red petals sprouting from their heads and long sinewy branches poking from their upper bodies. But plants shouldn't have shaggy, wolf-like faces with maws that displayed fine rows of razor sharp teeth. Plants shouldn't be walking on stunted, clawed limbs that looked like those of tigers. Plants definitely shouldn't have scales of flames on their backs and long tails of snakes hissing behind them. What was worse? The beasts still had to have long chain whips in their hands. Said chains were black and rough from overuse.

[System stats on Ripper Roses.]

[Nature: Wizard Level Beasts.]

[Mana Points: 2500/2500]

[Health Points: 2234/2500]

[Strength: 1000/1000]

[Agility: 1000/1000]

[Stamina: 1000/1000]

[Offensive Skill: Lethal Chain Mania. Ripper Roses have retractable chain extension from their fore branches that are as sharp as they are terrible at inflicting pain. Chains posses acidic elements that can release flames and smoke.]

[Offensive Skill: Stare of Venom. Ripper Roses can cause numbing to brain functions and responses from their stare. Mystic is adviced not to look them directly in the eyes. The same paralyzing chemicals are found in trace amounts in the Ripper Rose's scent.]

[Offensive Skill: Widow's Tears. System has no information about this skill.]

[Defensive Skill: High resistance to offensive attacks. Ripper Roses also have fast recovery properties.]

[Defensive Skill: Low Level Teleportation. Ripper Roses can vanish from one location to another within a small range. They can go invisible within the timeframe of teleportation.]

[System Remark: Mystic would be greatly missed and remembered for his sure painful death. System has already prepared a Last Will and Testament to send to his surviving relations.]

The five Ripper Roses barely made a sound as they approached slowly. There was a certain beauty to their creepiness, and the calculated way they moved. Xavier observed that they moved in uniform tandem, as if they were different parts of one body.

"How do we fight all five of them at once?" wondered Xavier aloud. That didn't sound like a fair fight. Five against one and a half ( His humble self was the half) was a bad odd.

Master Kim Sao had already thought about that. His eyes closed and his body went extremely calm. Even the air about him seemed to stop moving, reducing in temperature and energy. His face glowed faintly as he began to mutter something.

Before Xavier's eyes, five projections of the Astral Mystic rippled to existence around him. They looked real enough at first glance but once he stared at them closely, he noticed that they were not solid enough to be real.

"The projections would last for a few minutes." explained Master Kim Sao. "Hopefully that would be enough time for us to turn the tides in our favour."

"Do you have to control the projections with your thoughts?" asked Xavier.

"No, not exactly. If I had to focus on them while I was fighting my own battle then I would be greatly disadvantaged. The projections are mere apparitions of myself. They would behave like me and do whatever I would do in particular circumstances. There's nothing real about them, though. It's an offensive skill that takes lots of practice to perfect, and the mana requirement can only be achieved by Astral Mystics and the levels beyond that." He swept out his sword to take on a ready pose. "Now we must fight."

The Astral Mystic and all his projections floated into the air and shot straight towards the Ripper Roses, their swords pointing directly at the beasts.

Xavier took another minute to get his anxiety and fear in check, before he sprinted towards the battle. He would have preferred to sprint away from the battle, but somehow he couldn't. There was no way he would've been able to live with himself if he abandoned Master Kim Sao like that. Yes, he was practically of no help at all to the Astral Mystic, but still...they were a team.

And this was his fight as well. For his mother. For himself. For his freedom from all those who mocked him for his differences and called him weak. He was a Mystic.

"I am a Mystic. I am a Mystic." He repeated quietly as he ran towards the Roses. " I am a Mystic. I am a Mystic. I am...going to die!"

Master Kim Sao and his projections were already keeping four of the Ripper Roses occupied a few feet away. That left just one for Xavier to try to...to do what exactly? Defeat? Vanquish? Play with?

The Ripper Rose flung its chains towards Xavier, but he docked to the ground and rolled away. The Ripper Rose charged at him, whipping and stomping the ground like a crazed animal. Xavier managed to avoid the strikes until one of the chains slapped against his back when he tried to dodge the Ripper's hissing tail.

He screamed as pain flared over his body. It felt as if the chain had eaten through his skin and broken the bones of his back. Stars blossomed in his vision, and he almost passed out. Almost immediately, another jarring chain strike struck his chest, flinging him back a few feet. He landed hard and blacked out for a few seconds.

[Current stats on Host Mystic:]

[Mana Points: 20/100]

[Health Points: 1/10]

[System Remark: Mystic is advised to use some mana points to heal himself up.]

Xavier coughed out the blood from his lungs and winced in hurt. "Do...do it."

An electrifying sensation traveled through his veins, and the his chest and back area warmed up immediately. The pain subsided but didn't completely vanished. He still felt as if he had been run-over by a street car.

[System Remark: Health Points have been restored. Mystic should use the Gild Gaters to fight his opponent. Ripper Roses have vulnerable spots on their stems that takes time to heal. Mystic should focus on those areas.]

Xavier wanted to disagree with this using many words, but there was no time for that. He looked up from his crouched position to find the Ripper Rose pounding towards him, chains raised at the ready to destroy him once again.

Xavier gripped the daggers and rose up. A flood of strength sipped into him from the powers of the daggers, and somehow his eyesight sharpened. Yes, even as the Rose sped towards him, he could now see the soft spots System had spoken about.

Not thinking about it, he sent one dagger flying to meet the Ripper. The dagger used its magic to move itself directly towards the Ripper's waist. Xavier sent the other dagger out too, and got the same result. They appeared back in his hands, green blood dripping from their blades.

"How about that, oh mighty Ripper. Not so tough now, right?" taunted Xavier. He just might stand a chance after all.

The Ripper Rose stopped short, growled in fury and vanished. Xavier looked around in confusion but didn't see it anywhere.

"Where did it go?" He wondered, braced for an attack.

He heard a growl over his head and looked up. The Ripper Rose came back into existence right there, surprising the Novice Mystic to no end.

As the Ripper arched down towards Xavier, its chains ignited with burning flames of fire. The fire travelled out till the entire Ripper Rose was transformed into a raging demon.

In the split second before the Ripper Rose delivered the killing blow, Xavier looked up and met its eyes. They were blood red and sizzling with malice. He lost all sense of awareness immediately. The last thing he saw was the fiery form of the Ripper dropping over him before everything went dark.