Stone door

It was a strange sight. Skeletons were usually inside crypts or cemeteries. They never left those places. For one to show up inside a mine, something must have happened.

The skeleton wielded a rusty scimitar and no armor. It should not be a hard fight for Joshua. He hoped that there were no mage-like skeletons because those were a pain in the ass.

Joshua unsheathed his greatsword, which was something he had not done in a long time. Anxiety and adrenaline filled within, and he rushed toward the skeleton. The greatsword was so heavy that it seemed as if the wind was getting cut, and the enemy could not block the hit.

[-52 HP]

The damage output was decent. Joshua was not using any of his skills in the end. But it was to be expected. Joshua had a higher level, and he was by any means ordinary. The skeleton tried to give Joshua some attacks, but these were all easily dodged or blocked. In the end, it crumbled into pieces, and Joshua got some experience points.

Everything went smoothly, at least against the first enemy. The real problem was that Joshua did not know the mine's layout and neither what type of enemies awaited him.

Facing something he had no clues about was not one he enjoyed. Joshua's last adventure inside the goblin's tribe was not as clueless as this one. It was common sense that danger was everywhere, even more so in a world with magic and monsters.

"This task should not be as simple as slaying some random skeletons." Joshua thought.

That part of the mine had no signs of life. Joshua noticed some pickaxes threw up randomly, indicating that they left the place in a hurry. It was an odd sight.

Joshua put all of these thoughts at the back of his mind and continued to explore his surroundings. The mission had one clear goal; kill all of the monsters. An unused part of the mine brought only losses to the city and its citizens. For that reason, all of the monsters needed to die.

The night-vision sort-of-like skill that Joshua possessed came in handy. Everything was clear, and some odds stuff was present. First, it was already strange for skeletons to show up there. Second, Joshua saw a destroyed campfire that still had smoke coming out of it.

"A campfire built not so long ago? I'm pretty sure skeletons don't build those."

Joshua was sure that humans or at least some creatures with intelligence were there. Maybe the guards had hired others to try to clean up the place? Joshua felt it was the most reasonable explanation.

But the possibility of something more dangerous and scarier did not leave the back of his mind. One has to always think about the worst-case scenario and prepare itself. After the first clash with that skeleton, more of them started to show. At first, it was one at a time, but as Joshua walked deeper inside the mines, more of them appeared.

Their actions seemed strange as if they were guarding something or someone. That possibility had already crossed Joshua's mind. Skeletons were common in certain places, but it was also common for mages to summon them.

Why would mages end up in a place like the mines? Well, it was true that it was a place where people would not suspect. With that thought in mind, Joshua got more serious and tried his best to notice anything out of the ordinary.

The thing out of the ordinary he was looking for did not take long to appear. A stone door with some strange symbols carved in it. It was a crow. That was not the only thing that caught Joshua's attention. Someone was guarding the door, and it would not be someone easy to face.

[Lesser Lich]

[Level: 10]

[HP: ???]

Its health points were hidden, possibly due to some unknown ability. Joshua knew because of his Heavens Eyes skill, which allowed him to see up to 15 levels higher. He was level 5, so it should have worked.

That fact did not shake his spirits. He was confident that he would be able to win against that enemy. Joshua would probably need to use almost all of his triumph cards, but still, a win is a win.

As he got closer to the door, the Lesser Lich noticed him. It was completely different from the other skeletons. The Lich had a purple robe and an old-looking scepter. Magic users were something Joshua did not enjoy fighting. Their range advantage and the fact that they could possess some strange spells under their sleeves were daunting.

Still, Joshua would not run from a fight. He needed to clean up that part of the mines. Well, he was also curious about what was behind that door. Maybe the Lich was the one summoning the skeletons to attack the miners, or maybe the real reason was behind that door.

Anyway, with his greatsword in his hands, Joshua was feeling excited to face a strong enemy. A burning sensation ran through his body.

The past skeletons did not pose a threat to him, and that was somewhat boring for someone that loved to fight.

"Despicable human. How dare you trespass here?" the lich said.

Joshua was not surprised to see that. A goblin speaking the human language was something that caught him off guard the last time, but a lich? That was to be expected. The others skeletons were simply too dumb to do that. A lich was, in one way or another, a type of mage. Everyone knows that mages are tied to knowledge.

The Lich waved his scepter, casting a spell directly at Joshua. A sort of spike made of ice was shot towards him. It was not a high-level spell or any of that, but it was still a fast projectile. Joshua was sure that adventurers with slow reaction times would not survive that.

For him, that was not a problem, he side-stepped it, avoiding completely. It did not stop there, as he swiftly ran towards the Lich, to get in range for his sword slash. As he was nearly at attack range, his body stopped.

"What?" Joshua could only see the mocking face of the Lich…