"What happened?" Midnight opened his eyes and heard his own raspy and deep voice asking a question. He was confused, disoriented, and fearful. However, these emotions were subdued and very familiar. He ignored them and concentrated on the world outside.
The first thing that entered his vision was the ceiling or more like the lack of a ceiling. Infinitely high above was the sky. It was black, serene, and dotted with countless miniature stars. From time to time murky grey clouds leisurely traversed the atmosphere, blocking the stretch of his vision, and making the stars blink like the eyeballs of unknown and mysterious creatures.
But these stars weren't the most eye-catching thing in the sky. One moon, giant and bluish, and another a white dwarf in comparison, were casting their light on his face. It was a scene he had seen. It was the night sky of Euclex.
With his years of experience, waking up in a haze, Midnight didn't move, or jump to his feet. Instead, he continued to lay sprawled with his back facing the ground and his arms wide-stretched to his sides.
He tried to think, to scoop his last memory fragments, and to link the missing pieces together.
I bought a bottle of salve, talked with Anna, and then met the nasty elf mage. Then, I had to change my initial plans and wait until night to go to the forest.
Now it is nighttime. Did I suffer an ambush and was killed by a player or monster? My trip to the forest ended prematurely?
No, this is the night sky in Euclex. This means that I am still logged in the game. If I died I would have been forcefully blocked out for two days. I am alive.
Midnight calmly turned his head to the sides and inspected his gloomy surroundings. A dirty narrow road, short walls crafted from wood or stacked on top, chipped stones, weeds, the chirping of bugs, the scent of a summer, dilapidated houses, and huts...This was Lesotte. He was in an alley inside of the village.
With this new information, he had a suspicion. He may have been knocked out by someone or something even before he could follow his plan.
It seems like I never left the Lessotian borders. I feel like something is missing. I vaguely have some recollections. I wanted to waste a few hours and do something.
He closed his eyes, relaxed his body, and tried to dig deeper into his memory.
In this darkness, he saw a medium-large ball with a warm orange-red color. He couldn't touch it, but he sensed it was covered in warm and fluffy material. It had the scent of the sun. However, the image was blurry and extremely elusive; impossible to grasp or distinguish.
At the same time, he found strange structures and shapes reverberating inside his head. They were complicated, mysterious, eerie, dazzling, illusionary, and three-dimensional. Each structure was composed of several smaller symbols and labels. Some were unique, while others were repeated symmetrically or in a haphazard yet somewhat logical manner.
This vision snapped him back to his senses and he understood what these things were depicting. He had seen them before in a book. These were basic spell structures! The requirements to use magic!
But how did these get in my head? This is illogical...I can't understand...
It should be impossible to learn the designs without the aid of a mage. The book clearly wrote that to safely grasp the basic spell structures in their three-dimensional form, the newbie magician, needs to open his mind and receive the knowledge directly from a senior mage.
Allendriel refused, and I haven't yet met that old lady. Could it be that I went to the forest, accomplished my goals, and returned to the village only to faint? But this means that a great deal of my memory was erased. This is somehow incoherent to what I vaguely sense.
Who injected me with this knowledge? And why was it done without my consent? What kind of price did I pay?
Midnight opened his eyes and struggled to get up. He ignored his nausea and the budding-up headache and inspected himself.
He felt extreme horror toward the strange existence that seemed to have probed in his head. This was very different from the AI reading his history! He had absolutely no recollection!
My body seems fine. I am not injured, and my mental state is just strained. I don't have any inclinations toward madness or instability. Toward this I am certain. I have had plenty of psychological counseling and I understand myself well.
Yes, the fatigue must be a result of the influx of mysterious information. My mana pool was all sucked up in the process, knocking me down.
With his unease slightly subsiding, Midnight fidgeted with the system and pulled the game's record. If one was unable to observe an announcement, they could do so later by viewing the backlog. It kept a list of all public and private AI notifications. And the natives referred to it as the bible or the holy scriptures of god.
Ping Ping Ping Ping
"Indeed..." As expected, Midnight saw a couple of windows pop up in succession. The one on the top was the oldest one he hadn't observed.
|Personal Announcement:
Congratulations! The goodwill of the Shapeshifting Fae towards you has increased to the level of friendly.|
What is the shapeshifting fae? I mean, who is this person? It sounds like the name, the title, of a native...
But Fae are a minor race inside Euclex. They are extremely rare, elusive, and hard to detect. I have never seen or heard of a native from this particular race, not to mention meeting one in person and gaining their favor.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
And this species itself is especially unpopular with the players. They resemble butterflies in size and appearance. This makes it uncomfortable, awkward, odd, and extraordinarily challenging to get used to living as one. Fae are closer to the embodiment of a phenomenon or a spirit. They are powerful, yet fragile...
Yes, I have only heard of one lady selecting this race. She liked its appearance. Unfortunately, she ended up as the Fae of Emaciation. Probably because her real-life profession was nutritionist, and she had often tried bizarre new diets with suspicious success. I remember she was complaining in Euclex's forum and the article gained popularity...
Midnight pushed the first window away and cast his eyes on the next one.
|Personal Announcement:
Congratulations! You received the Insight of the Shapeshifting Fae. You were enlightened to the most basic knowledge of magical structures, the four elements - Flamma, Aura, Lutum, and Aqua.|
Indeed, this is the culprit!... Midnight gasped and scoffed in his head. He was both grateful and puzzled. He hadn't done anything deserving a gift. And freebies often cost the most!
Sigh
He exhaled softly and once again inspected himself.
For now, I can't find anything strange with my body or mind. Let's hope this Fae was truly benevolent. Heh, at least now I don't have to search for a mage. I should thank it for saving me effort and time...
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, looked all over the alley, and eventually found a stone to the side that was comfortable enough for him to use as a stool. He wasn't in a hurry to review his new understanding, but instead closed the window to check on the last two system notifications.
|World Announcement:
Congratulations to Player X for being the first player to encounter a Fae and receive its Blessings!|
|Personal Announcement:
Congratulations! You are the first person to encounter a Fae. Your empathy resonated with her, and she blessed you with a new title.
Title: Pupil of Change
The one who studied under the Shapeshifting Fae and glimpsed at the true meaning of Change.
Skill: Shapeshifter (Unique) - You can alter your physical structure and physiology and transform into a monster or animal once every day. You gain their senses, tongue, traits, and part of their skills.
Requirements: Profound understanding of the monster or animal. First-person encounter.
Duration: 30 minutes.
...
Detected Origin Title: Vespertine Scholar
Detected Origin Skill: Sage (Legendary)
Warning!
Your Legendary Origing Skill is ranked higher and has a suppression effect on the Unique Shapeshifter Skill. You have resistance toward blessings. The skill will be revised.
...
Revisions: Shapeshifter (Unique/Re) - You can alter your physical structure and physiology and transform into a cat once every day. You gain their senses, tongue, traits, and skills.
Requirements: None
Duration: 2 hours
...
The Shapeshifting Fae wished you the best, however, it was very stunned and confused by your strange disposition.|
"..." Midnight read 'calmly' throughout the whole passage, and his brows twitched. Then he silently cursed at the system, Damn it. What a waste of a good skill!
He wasn't sure if this was a good or a bad thing. On one hand, this meant that his resistance toward influences was working just fine, but on the other, it made him miss a good opportunity!
If I could truly morph into a monster, I could use it to blend with my enemies, confuse them, or attack them in a surprising and inconceivable manner. This could be an additional life in some situations!
Why would I shapeshift into a cat? To look cute? What skills does a cat even have?
He let himself sulk for a full ten seconds, then quelled the depressed feelings and analyzed if there were any benefits to this title and skill. After all, throwing a tantrum was pointless. What was done was already done. He could only squeeze out anything useful from this situation. And if there was nothing, just pretend it never happened at all. The most important thing was that he hadn't suffered any harm! This fact eased up the last bits of tension he felt from the gap in his memories.
To be able to shapeshift into a cat isn't entirely useless...
At least, they have a strong sixth sense, agility, balance, speed, and a certain amount of climbing abilities. Yes, the small size of the body can work wonders if I want to slip away undetected. Perhaps, I can use this strange skill to escape from pursuit.
However, some of the abilities of cats overlap with my Nightwatcher. For example night vision. Will those effects add up together, or the stronger one will suppress and erase the weaker effect?
I will grasp the tongue of a cat? That likely doesn't refer to being sensitive to hot liquids. Heh, will I be known as the Midnight Meower in the future? I can imagine it. A lone cat, gazing silently at the two moons, only to open its mouth and meow out...and then it gets knocked down by the slipper of some random neighborhood lady who is trying to sleep...He naturally lampooned and turned his attention to another issue at hand.
What made Midnight worried was the term traits mentioned in the description.
I hope that this doesn't refer to being extra horny in spring, or an extreme sense of laziness and love for sunbathing...
However, this exposed another big problem. It is the fact that different skills can react and influence one another! It isn't simply a matter of addition and extraction as well. Perhaps, in the future, this may lead to a severe negative reaction and danger...
He had an ominous feeling, but he lacked clues to follow this train of thought. Besides, right now, he didn't have any way to change or guard against such a development. He could only note it down in his mind. Another thing to worry about while paying attention and crossing his fingers in the hope for a good outcome.
Sigh, this is similar to the unconscious sway effect of my Clumsy. At least this time Shapeshifter is clearly an active skill. At worst I will not use it at all. There won't be a problem.
Midnight closed the windows and turned his attention toward the public announcement. Unlike the other three notifications, this one indicated that everyone in Lesotte, no the whole of Euclex, had heard about his encounter.
But after a few seconds of thought and scrutinizing the problem, he found out that it wasn't a big deal at all!
The system kept my name secret. Yes, the original setup is for the player to stay hidden while their name is displayed as Player X. Unless, I change it manually, all future public notifications will protect my identity!
He instantly felt relieved and pushed it to the back of his head. He had no intention to change the settings for now. Fame looked alluring, but at the end of the day, it brought only headaches and issues.
Indeed, the contentment will be momentary. After that, I will have to guard myself against curious players and gossipy natives. In the worst scenario, some may even try to rob or kill me if they believe I am a threat or that they can gain a reward. I am a humble person at heart. And I am not easily swayed by such grandeur. Heh, I should later check on the chat and see if this caused ripples and fluctuations.
Midnight didn't spend any more time in the alley and proceeded toward Lesotte's small cemetery. For the past couple of days, he had made the place his home for the night. It was deserted and most importantly of all, it was free!