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"Well, this is suitable eerie." Issei muttered before slowly advancing down the corridor. He could tell that there were no traps in the corridor, at least none that his necklace could detect, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to be cautious. An ounce of paranoia can save a boatload of effort or something like that.
As soon as he approached the corner, a magic circle flashed into existence and made an enemy appear, one that Issei knew all too well from his forays into RPG's. Standing about the same height as Issei, wearing a purple coat with white gloves and trousers, with a pointed straw hat on its head and only a pair of glowing eyes visible. It was...
Black Mage Type A #567 LV15
[Soulless Doll]
"Damn you Rentarō for trying to pirate Final Fantasy IX!" the Gamer cursed angrily. "Know some shame, you bastard! I take back my pity!"
How dare the stupid bastard try and pirate his favourite Final Fantasy title! Now he was going to be forced to massacre his way through some of his favourite characters, he just knew it!
"KILL!" the cloth automaton rumbled as it raised its hands to cast a spell.
Fortunately, Issei had done quite a bit of grinding in Gizamaluke's Grotto and the Suburbs of Burmecia, so he knew very well the four attacks of Type-A Black Mages; Strike, Fire, Blizzard and Thunder. And he was in no hurry to find out what being on the receiving end of any of those spells would feel like.
Learn them? Yes. Hopefully that would be a reward from the Boss Fight or even a random loot drop.
"[Lesser Barrier Shield]!" Issei shouted, the barrier appearing just as a pair of grapefruit-sized fireballs shot out from the hands of the Black Mage and lanced down the corridor to strike it. Fortunately, his shield was at a level that, while cracked badly from the impacts, it was strong enough to withstand the spell.
Even as the Fire spell slammed into his shield, Issei was already running forward. The worst thing to do when fighting a wizard-type opponent was to let them keep their space. Close in, where they had trouble using their magic without hurting themselves (unless they were a lunatic like Teeksqueak the warped Warlock Engineer) and you'd have every advantage you could need to take them down
Granted, that hadn't been possible in FFIX, but hopefully the logic would prove itself applicable in a real-world situation.
"[Magic Weapon Reinforcement]!" he chanted under his breath, making both his Sword Breaker and [Sapphire Blade] glow red with his magic.
"KILL!" the Black Mage repeated and this time shot a blast of lightning at him. The shield managed to absorb the entire blast before it finally shattered, which gave Issei time enough to dart in and stab both of his weapons into the face of the Black Mage. It jerked a couple of times before the arms fell to its side limply.
You have slain Black Mage Type A! You receive 1002 EXP!
[Lesser Barrier Shield] has levelled up! LV6-LV7!
[Magic Weapon Reinforcement] has levelled up! LV6-LV7!
[Sapphire Blade] has levelled up! LV0-LV1! Skill not generated!
[Sapphire Blade] has levelled up! LV1-LV2! Skill generated!
[Sapphire Blade] has levelled up! LV2-LV3! Skill not generated!
[Sapphire Blade] has levelled up! LV3-LV4! Skill generated!
[Sapphire Blade] has levelled up! LV4-LV5! Skill automatically generated!
[Sapphire Blade] has gained the skill [Heart of the Earth]!
[Sapphire Blade] has gained the skill [Rapid Evolution]!
[Sapphire Blade] has gained the skill [Magic Reinforcement]!
[Heart of the Earth] (Passive) [LVMAX]
The Sapphire Blade now possesses the unyielding strength of the earth, increasing its Durability by ½ per level gained.
[Rapid Evolution] (Passive) [LVMAX]
Due to gaining so many levels at once in its first outing, the Sapphire Blade now absorbs EXP at a far greater rate than before, adding ¼ more EXP to that which it would normally gain.
[Magic Reinforcement] (Passive) [LVMAX]
Exposed to its master's spell of reinforcement during its first outing in combat, the Sapphire Blade will use the ambient magical energy around it to passively increase its own Durability and attack power, +10 and +20 respectively.
"OK, this is gonna kick ass." Issei smirked. Evidently, the skills that were generated upon levelling up the [Sapphire Blade] were influenced by the spells he used and the way he used the blade itself. A literal evolving blade that became stronger and became more useful the more you used it. That little ability was practically a Sacred Gear in and of itself in Issei's humble opinion.
What worried him slightly was the fact his enemies were, essentially, golems. Unthinking beyond orders to attack their enemy, unfeeling, relentless and all but unstoppable in large enough numbers against conventional enemies. Unlike with the ratmen, he couldn't use their sense of pain to distract them or make them flinch, nor would intimidation or other psychological and mental attacks likely work on them.
Just about the only ones that might be affected by any of that were, ironically, the three strongest Black Mages, the Black Waltzes. Specifically tuned to be masters of an element and imbued with power and intelligence far exceeding their lesser brethren, the Black Waltzes had been serious powerhouses in the early game of FFIX, and they were likely the first, second and third floor bosses respectively.
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