The Corrupted Crusaders screamed and shouted as Penny's sword parried and lashed out, cutting through armor and limbs alike. Rob's arrows slammed into joints, eyes, and legs while Arthur slung dark Shadow magic, further corrupting and weakening the defenders as they pressed deeper into the Cursed Dark Conclave. 

They had cleared the first level and downed the floor boss there, but it had just unlocked the second floor of the ruins which led to their current situation. Arthur heard the scrape of boots behind them and turned as he already started casting. "BEHIND US!" Arthur snarled as he finished the spell and started casting Shadow Touch as Bog of Darkness ensnared a half dozen Corrupted Crusaders and Corrupted Crusader Cleric's as he hit each of them with Shadow Touch before downing a vial of Spirit Potion like a shot. 

The seven spells cast back-to-back totally depleted his Spirit Pool, but it had bought him time. "Concentrate on the others, I will deal with these corrupt bastards," Arthur called over his shoulder as he drew his staff and darted towards the hampered enemies. 

Arthur twirled his staff, he had learned earlier that he could cast Shadow Touch without using his hands or words, but it was the only spell he could use like that currently. Then he was among the Crusaders whirling his staff, deflecting their weapon strikes while lashing out at their limbs. 

Loud snapping sounds filled the hallways as bones cracked and broke under his furious assault only slowing long enough to occasionally cast Shadow Touch. While Arthur was not specced for melee, he had learned several harsh lessons over the last week from training and getting to his present location. 

He used that knowledge to stay alive and cripple his opponents as quickly as he could before the bog spell ended. Once it was finished, the warriors would quickly finish him off unless he left them crippled. 

As the counter on his HUD spun down, Arthur started making his way back towards Penny and Rob, the Ranger was already turning and started firing on the enemies Arthur had left behind as the Dark Magus took deep breaths. While he had weathered the melee, his Stamina sucked, and he needed a moment to recuperate. 

Between Rob and Penny, the fight quickly wound down until the hallway was dead silent, only filled with the labored breathing of Arthur, Penny, and Rob. "Damn, where did the other patrol come from!" Penny snapped as she leaned against the wall. 

Arthur shrugged his shoulders as he looked at his HUD, his Stamina was finally starting to refill but he still had several notifications waiting for him, so he brought them up while keeping an eye on their surroundings.

Arthur smiled, his Attributes increasing was due to the constant attacks, and while the Crusaders might have been dumb enough to trigger a curse that didn't mean they didn't know tactics and strategy. They had come close to killing all of them more than once, but they had pulled through by the skin of their teeth and the debuffs their cursed status conveyed. Arthur dismissed the notifications and pulled up his Character Sheet. 

While his Physical Attributes had increased, he was still nearly a cripple compared to his companions physically. He pumped three points into Constitution and Endurance to increase his Health and Stamina, two points went into Dexterity since avoiding attacks was more important than absorbing them and pumped eight points into Intelligence and the last four into Spirit before reviewing his new stats one last time.

Arthur wasn't a complete newbie anymore and once he settled down, he could train his Physical Attributes and slinging spells had proven a way to increase both his Intelligence and Spirit. While he was still a glass cannon, he could start fucking some shit up once he got to a higher level and he had started researching the Specializations for the Dark Magus Class.

Of the three specs, Necromancer provided with the most well-rounded skill set between summoning and casting spells. Once a Necromancer reached a higher level, they became nearly unstoppable with the capability of raising small armies. The challenge would be to get to those higher Levels, no easy task from what Arthur had seen so far. Shadowmancers were just an odd sort, little offensive power but had a ton of Buffs, Debuffs, and could summon Shadow Terrors as well.

"You guys ready?" Arthur asked as he dismissed the Character Sheet and started to move among the corpses, looting them with Robert.

Penny nodded her head as she pulled some fruit and dried meat from her Inventory to munch on. "Yeah, once you guys are done let's continue, I don't want to be here all night long." the Warden replied as they continued to loot. Most of the gear Arthur would sell-off, but he found a couple of rings among the trash that he offered to the others before taking them for himself.

The bump to his Health was more than welcome, but the increased Regeneration rates were what truly interested him. Health, Stamina, and Spirit were crucial in surviving in this world, running out of Stamina left a person physically exhausted while running out of Spirit caused headaches and dizziness. Both were crippling in a fight and while in a Dungeon, it would spell your death easily. 

"Ready?" Penny asked and Arthur nodded his head as he took a firm grip on his staff and checked to make sure his dagger was still on his belt. If this place was anything like the Dark Conclave in Vindomora, the community area with the shrine should be nearby. Arthur had warned the others about the basic layout of the dungeon, but it was just a theory that had proven correct so far. 

Penny stopped in front of a pair of doors and looked back at Rob and Arthur, the Dark Magus cast Void Shield and Shadow Sight, renewing the buffs before giving a nod to the Warden who shoved the double doors open revealing a large room similar to what he had seen but on a larger scale. 

Several abandoned stalls, tables, and other furniture lay around the room, but in the center was a small amphitheater area with a large crystal embedded in the stone that made up the Cursed Dark Conclave. A large, armored form was kneeling near the pulsing crystal and as I studied him [Stern, Corrupt Crusader Commander] appeared above the man's head. 

"So, one of the tainted has finally come to reclaim this place. You will go no further, the secrets buried here will stay here and there is nothing you can do about it." the man stated as he rose to his feet and donned his helmet. Arthur noticed a half dozen Crusaders moving to join him as the Commander picked up an oversized warhammer.

"Rob, spellcasters. Penny tank and kite, I will keep Drain and Shadow Corruption fully stacked on the commander while Rob deals with the Spellcasters!" Arthur barked as the room exploded into action. 

Penny darted towards the oversized Crusader, using her Challenging Roar Talent to grab all the Crusaders' attention. Rob darted into the shadows and disappeared into Stealth as Arthur quickly cast Shadow Touch on Stern. 

Stern grunted as the Shadow magic began to eat away at his Health and body but otherwise ignored what Arthur had done. The Dark Magus quickly cast the spell on the six other Crusaders before casting Drain on the Commander as he exchanged a few blows with Penny before she pulled back and started kiting the warrior types. 

Suddenly a barrage of arrows exploded from near one of the columns and slammed into one of the Corrupted Crusader Clerics. The second Cleric quickly cast a spell, but he was too late as the other man collapsed dead as Rob continued to fire on the second Cleric, but he was already darting behind one of the stone columns. 

Rob disappeared back into Stealth as Arthur started firing off Bolts of Darkness at the three Crusaders that were chasing Penny. While each of them probably had between two and three thousand Health before Buffs, yet they were all probably wearing cursed gear as well weakening them. Yet the Commander was at a whole different level since even the Shadow Corruption was hardly making a dent in his Health Pool making Arthur wonder what Level he was. 

Thankfully the other Crusaders were not as strong as their commander and between the Debuffs and the flurry of Bolts of Darkness, the trailing Crusader's Health Gauge was already blinking in the critical range, Arthur quickly cast Shadow Touch on her, renewing the Debuff as he switched to his next target when Stern stopped chasing Penny and turned towards Arthur. 

Arthur cursed and started running as Robert started firing on the final Cleric, who was casting spells as quickly as she could. Penny moved to intercept the boss, but the two trailing Crusaders continued to pursue her cutting her off from the others. Arthur grit his teeth as he mentally cursed himself as he prepared for a fight.