As a mage, Norris has contingencies in place for unexpected situations like this.

He swiftly began to cast a series of spells to mask his trail and confuse any potential pursuers. With a flick of his wrist, Norris conjured a cloud of swirling, death-infused mist that obscured his escape route. The mist disrupted the tracking abilities of other mages, making it harder for them to follow his trail.

Next, Norris invoked an arcane spell, temporal displacement, creating a localized distortion in the flow of time. This allowed him to move more quickly and unpredictably. This took longer to cast but it was well worth it.

"That should give me some breathing room," he thought. Despite these precautions, Norris knew that he couldn't shake off all of his pursuers..... imaginary or real. Other skilled mages could still follow his tracks, albeit with greater difficulty.

As Norris ran, he mentally replayed the events leading up to his detection. "My spell, meant to gather information, had instead broadcast my presence to the entire realm.....ok that's an exaggeration.

But at least to the undeads in the vicinity."

It didn't take much thinking before he realized that the issue lay in the impurity of his death energy. Using his mana sense, he could pick up the traces of vitality in his mana. It smelt like floral mixed in decay. The floral irritating his senses, like tofu. Weird but currently as an undead, it is understandable.

Sensing more, his spell's energy signature didn't resonate with the Death Realm's ambient energy. With his senses, he could easily sense the floral filled energy at odds with the ambient energy around. This is just making it easier for undeads to pinpoint the source of the spell – and its caster.

"Ah, damn it," Norris muttered to himself. He knew that adapting his energy signature to blend in with the Death Realm's ambient energy would take time.

"Well my mana isn't going to be useful.

The only way to cast spells right now is to use energy points obtained from The goddess of magic. As the multiversal and most standard way of casting spells, This energy, known as arcane energy, comes at a significant cost."

Fortunately, Norris had trained in swordsmanship, and his body was honed for combat. He drew his sword, its familiar weight a comforting presence in his hand.

Looking at the his skeletal hands gripping the sword, he felt amazed.

With a deep breath, Norris steeled himself for the battles ahead.

Norris traversed the desolate landscape of the Death Realm, his eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of shelter. The twisted, nightmarish terrain stretched out before him, with jagged rock formations and skeletal trees reaching towards the sky like bony fingers.

After what felt like hours of walking, Norris spotted a dark opening in the distance - a cave-like structure that seemed to yawn open like the mouth of some ancient, fossilized beast.

He quickened his pace, hoping to find refuge within. Approaching the cave, he immediately started to assess himself, "I kinda feel I'm being paranoid. But things had just been going wrong. A home could make me feel grounded and with a few tweaks, my sense of security will rise up".

As he approached the cave, Norris noticed that it seemed... untouched. The surrounding area was free from the usual signs of scavenging or battle, and the air around the entrance was heavy with an unsettling stillness. Something was definitely going to happen.

Despite his reservations, Norris stepped inside, his sword at the ready. The darkness enveloped him, and he waited for his eyes..... soul flame to adjust.

Now a lich, the skeletal hands gripping the sword felt so natural to him. With all this combined, Norris felt a sense of security.

That was when he saw the adept skeleton warrior, standing motionless in the shadows. The skeleton's glowing eyes fixed on Norris. It seemed the intruder and by instincts raises its sword, ready to defend its territory.

Norris charged forward, his sword flashing in the dim light. The skeleton warrior met him with a calculated gaze, its blade slicing through the air with deadly precision.

_Clang!_ Norris's sword met the skeleton's, but he stumbled backward, caught off guard by the skeleton's superior strength and technique.

The skeleton warrior pressed its advantage, unleashing a flurry of strikes that Norris struggled to keep up with. Norris's foundation in mock combat allowed him to defend himself, but the skeleton's experience gave it a clear edge.

_Screee!_ Norris's sword scraped against the stone floor as he dodged a particularly vicious strike.

Despite his best efforts, Norris found himself on the back foot, desperately trying to keep up with the skeleton's relentless assault. All the combat skills he had were theoretical, with spars to compensate for practicality but now it's a life and death battle.

His footwork faltered as the skeleton lunged forward, its sword aimed for his midsection. Norris managed to pivot at the last moment, the blade grazing his robes as he raised his weapon in defense. But as he fought, something clicked. His stance adjusted, his grip on the sword tightened. His reflexes quickened, his technique improving with every clash of steel.

Sweat—or the memory of it, now that he was a lich—would have slicked his brow if he still had one. He feinted to the left, catching the skeleton off guard for a split second, but it recovered with a brutal overhead swing. Norris barely sidestepped, his sword meeting the skeleton’s once more in a shower of sparks.

However, even as he adapted, Norris knew he couldn't keep this up for much longer. The skeleton warrior was too strong, too experienced. And if he kept fighting, he'd only attract more unwanted attention.

With a burst of clarity, Norris realized he needed to end the fight quickly. He parried then retreated backwards quickly. This should give him enough time to cast a spell. He reached for his arcane energy, focusing his mind on a single, decisive spell.

Norris didn't like casting with arcane energy. Spellcasting with arcane energy demands strict calculations, leaving no room for intuition or emotional influence. This makes the process tediously slow, better suited for experimental purposes than combat.

Norris focused his mind, drawing upon the arcane energy within him. He cast a spell, creating a localized distortion in the spiritual energy surrounding him.

The air seemed to ripple and distort, creating a series of "echoes" that made it seem like Norris was in multiple places at once. The skeleton warrior's glowing eyes flickered, its soul struggling to keep track of Norris's true location.

Norris took advantage of the confusion, darting to the side and striking from an unexpected angle. His sword sliced through the skeleton's ribcage, finding its mark in the undead warrior's spine.

The skeleton's body crumpled, its bones scattering across the cave floor. Norris stood victorious.

He took a moment to adjust himself, his mind still reeling from the intensity of the battle. He checked his energy reserves. Intuitively he could sense how much more arcane energy, he could draw for the day was.

If not for the handicap of not using his mana, this fight would have been easy. But sometimes there might not be time to regret and say if.

He realized that he had to be more careful in the future, taking into account the unique abilities of his enemies and also unique circumstances of habitats where he fights.

He laid out a barrier to seal the energy leaks from his abode. With that, he could cast spells as he would normally. His sense of security

Examining the remains of his foe, Norris bent down in contemplation, "Now I'm very curious, let's see the difference between his bones and my bones. Is there difference in density? Ohh! Energy is used to strengthen them. Hmm. The mana senses of the undead does have it's pros. I can't smell the air but I can smell mana. Found the correct place to strike cause of that.", Norris cast a spell that moulded the earth to form a table and chair.

He brought the skull of the undead to his nose, "Smells heavy, pleasantly acidic. Weird.........."

With his sense of security heightened Norris could relax. A mage doing mage stuffs.