Chapter 5: Into the Darkness [https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/4/patreon-media/p/post/104228276/d4c9e8c6aeae419aa0815736ffe11afc/eyJ3Ijo2MjB9/1.png?token-time=1717027200&token-hash=XBbDusSm5wUQJc6gO3PbAKUlaR2VY7Dn67s7dlmt4xQ%3D]
Darkness engulfed me as I stepped through the portal, like ink spreading across a pristine canvas. The moment I crossed the threshold, sight became useless. My first thought was that I was under attack, but my personal protection was still active. This wasn't someone's darkness magic or another assault, but simply a lack of illumination. Whatever this place was, navigating this pitch-black abyss was impossible.
"Forgot to issue a flashlight," I chuckled bitterly to myself. Of course, for a mage of my level, conjuring a firefly was a matter of seconds. But what about other Earthlings who didn't possess magic? This thought was deeply unsettling and forced me to contemplate the fate of the people who had landed here.
I attempted to gather mana for a spell, but realized with horror that my reservoir was completely empty. A little longer and my mana channels would start to collapse, my mana core deforming. Activating the protection and transforming mana into life essence to heal my wounds had drained me entirely. I had to sit down in meditation, right on the cold stone floor, breathing in the dampness and the smell of mildew to replenish my reserves.
Gathering mana was easy - it was literally emanating from the surroundings, filling the cave with an unusual watery hue. This was excellent news for me, as water was my element in my past life. In these conditions, I could quickly regain my affinity with it. "An underwater cave? Or perhaps an underground lake nearby?" I pondered, sensing an unusual energy structure around me. The flows of natural mana intertwined and swirled into bizarre spirals and knots - I definitely wasn't on Earth, such anomalies never existed there. Sinking deeper into the meditative trance, I redirected my focus from my inner world and mana flows to the external energy structures and formations, expanding my perception field in the process. The first thing I sensed was that the planet's energy framework was twisted and unstable. It was as if Theia was screaming in agony, but no one could hear her. A sad sight, but I've relaxed enough, time to return to the outside world.
As soon as the tiny flicker of a magical firefly dispersed the darkness, I realized I was in a small cave with cracked, damp walls. Sharp stalactites hung overhead, poised to collapse at any moment. The atmosphere was oppressive, heavy.
1.jpg?token-time=1717027200&token-hash=ooRGiMw69Drby1j4pNuPyaJSJpy9WzT4N4mGg3UNTPA%3D [https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/4/patreon-media/p/post/104228276/487e5aba18404dcf9f1e9516a413adf7/eyJ3ZWJwIjowfQ%3D%3D/1.jpg?token-time=1717027200&token-hash=ooRGiMw69Drby1j4pNuPyaJSJpy9WzT4N4mGg3UNTPA%3D]
Suddenly, a shadow detached itself from the wall. Something sharp whistled past me, embedding itself in the opposite wall and shattering into tiny fragments. An icicle?
Before I could turn around, another one shot out from the same spot, this time aimed at my head. I barely managed to dodge it.
"Idiot! Why didn't I activate my protection before messing with the equipment?!" a belated thought struck me. And I wasted too much time in meditation studying this world. I got too relaxed, lulled by the familiar element of water. This won't do.
Dodging the icy projectiles, I rushed towards my attacker. A frog-like humanoid was hiding in a narrow crevice in the wall: green, warty skin, a disproportionately large head with huge cheeks, a long, thin neck, and slender limbs with webbed fingers. Its bulging eyes burned with rage, and its long, clawed fingers twitched nervously.
1.jpg?token-time=1717027200&token-hash=3mHfo01r5nke8CDxCOHxap54cClvkBoFCZjU3w2Fdtw%3D [https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/4/patreon-media/p/post/104228276/f5bbd78de74b4353814c05bcbeee23b3/eyJ3ZWJwIjowfQ%3D%3D/1.jpg?token-time=1717027200&token-hash=3mHfo01r5nke8CDxCOHxap54cClvkBoFCZjU3w2Fdtw%3D]
Seeing me approaching, the frog-man tried to flee, but it was too late. The staff, drawn from the coin, struck his head with a loud crack. Death was instantaneous.
A wave of energy surged through me, filling me with power and... euphoria. Now I understood the demons from my world - it was easy to get hooked on this kind of pleasure, like a drug.
"The main thing is to keep the fangs from growing," I smiled to myself, recalling a theory described in an ancient manuscript. It stated that demons were once humanoids, similar to humans, but they learned to absorb soul energy, which gave them strength and prolonged their lives. Over thousands of years, their souls mutated beyond recognition, and their bodies followed suit.
I felt an envelope icon blinking at the edge of my field of vision. A message from the system:
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Attention!
You have slain your first opponent and earned 5 EXP!
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"Only 5 EXP for a mage and that amount of energy?" I wondered. "Turns out some hypothetical cook needs to destroy four of these to complete the individual mission objective? Four ice mages?! We're screwed. No, maybe all the humans chose the ability to wield some kind of weapon and that made them into terminators, but somehow I doubt it. But I'll panic later."
"I need to see what's going on with my energy." - Before I could finish the thought, the system displayed a new window in front of me.
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Do you want to display the mana energy indicator on the external interface?
Yes / No
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After confirming the request, I glanced at the mana indicator that appeared in the upper corner of my field of vision:
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MP: 5/510
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"Hmm. Of all that ocean of energy that passed through me, I didn't get a drop. Maybe that's for the best. The system acts as a buffer, purifying the energy," I pondered. "Archdemons in my old world do something similar, only they have the energy of Darkness performing the role of the system, although it shares the received power much more generously."
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
I approached the frog-man's body, bent down, and touching his forehead with a finger, injected a drop of my life essence into his body. The creature's skin was slimy and repulsive to the touch, but I had to put up with the disgust. Anything for science. It would take a while for the mana for a diagnostic spell to accumulate, and prana could be directed without serious losses only through a conductor, or by touching the patient's body.
An interesting creature. A rather voluminous brain could indicate that my enemy was quite intelligent. A dual respiratory system - the creature could live both in water and on land. No poison glands, which is already good. And most importantly - the creature has a mana stone in its chest, which means it used to have a core of this energy that crystallized after death.
"I'll definitely need something like that. Without hesitation, I covered my hand with a thin film of life essence, forming a claw, and with a blow, pierced the sternum and pulled out the crystal. Blood flowed down the film, without staining my skin. Such manipulations hardly depleted my energy reserves."
I checked the crystal through the system:
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Lbx4xzO1YIlvX0PMxSnZH79ZmoWiExkbBEzHSclrQ3dEZwKb1cIt29NL_rWAqAU5RweScxBICGdekGbvUgGM8T5lM-Idqv4KzMHxXEXxo4Ns3-kg6xsnEPtvYxmU8AZYmKM0FLd8PsUtdF4nqOcAgDI [https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/Lbx4xzO1YIlvX0PMxSnZH79ZmoWiExkbBEzHSclrQ3dEZwKb1cIt29NL_rWAqAU5RweScxBICGdekGbvUgGM8T5lM-Idqv4KzMHxXEXxo4Ns3-kg6xsnEPtvYxmU8AZYmKM0FLd8PsUtdF4nqOcAgDI]
Small Water Mana Crystal
Description:
A mana crystal with a light blue tint.
Capacity: 200 mana.
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"Almost half of my reserve. Frog-men are profitable prey," I grinned. "You could even make a simple artifact out of this if you had more time, or use it to develop your affinity with water. But it looks like it's going to be used for emergency mana restoration in a dangerous situation."
I had barely concealed the crystal when I heard footsteps coming from the depths of the cave. Damn, I forgot about the smell of blood...
I hid the staff and listened. Two blue-skinned creatures with large bulging eyes and sharp teeth emerged from around the bend. Deep-sea dwellers. These repulsive fish-like creatures were familiar to me from my past life, they were servants of one of the dark gods. Sniffing greedily with their breathing slits, which served as noses, the deep-sea dwellers rushed to the frog-man's body and, without a second thought, began tearing it apart. I hid in the crevice and they didn't notice me.
1.jpg?token-time=1717027200&token-hash=9JH_Hclb7bgGGl32jo2CDczEbs6xbK7otNglZSQUbLM%3D [https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/4/patreon-media/p/post/104226753/e1dcb1967330455ca1c7f6fc621692ce/eyJ3ZWJwIjowfQ%3D%3D/1.jpg?token-time=1717027200&token-hash=9JH_Hclb7bgGGl32jo2CDczEbs6xbK7otNglZSQUbLM%3D]
The sight was repulsive. Assessing the situation and identifying my primary objective, I decided to act.
One of the water-dwellers stood with its back to me, intently devouring its share of the prey. I crept up and smashed its skull with a single blow of the staff. The second water-dweller proved to be more agile. It ducked, dodging my attack, jumped back, and spat a stream of caustic liquid at me. This attack came as a surprise, I had never encountered such surprises from these creatures before.
My personal protection saved me. My favorite spell, but unfortunately it only protects against one short-term attack. I hadn't prepared any more defensive spells, and now I could only rely on myself. So, saturating the muscles in my arms and legs with prana, I lunged at the enemy. The staff struck the monster in the chest, crushing its rib cage.
A sweet wave of energy surged through the staff into my body, and the deep-sea dweller fell with a gasp.
A translucent coin appeared above its body.
"Loot?" I said aloud in surprise. "Just like in some computer game."
Inspecting the coin, I discovered it contained the "Acid Glands" property.
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gEv-Az6zCjQ7zvRaO_7f1Sy0SAkwMTe3dAkptZ4d6IyaRXHBU1Oadwi49S06UDAYvDTVHqmwwOkZcPf5j8FmgxW6WE4eFbR9nU6G679485aJwzZgIfMf8CT2CzX8pEXSXmXhK1yMiJBSxQqc66Qho2M [https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/gEv-Az6zCjQ7zvRaO_7f1Sy0SAkwMTe3dAkptZ4d6IyaRXHBU1Oadwi49S06UDAYvDTVHqmwwOkZcPf5j8FmgxW6WE4eFbR9nU6G679485aJwzZgIfMf8CT2CzX8pEXSXmXhK1yMiJBSxQqc66Qho2M]woeD1KxOEBH-SJkD-JZNisoG8iKWlG1EfkEX3VJiljc2vhDFRAD4hJoNnqRaLMUmmNyr695_7yI_hk8BKaTvgNyc7P0btvcTPMqlh0mRQddN3MnlVTwsBYXW5Osjz7WvDYEqYDOuABdRCpp-sZCbtOU [https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/woeD1KxOEBH-SJkD-JZNisoG8iKWlG1EfkEX3VJiljc2vhDFRAD4hJoNnqRaLMUmmNyr695_7yI_hk8BKaTvgNyc7P0btvcTPMqlh0mRQddN3MnlVTwsBYXW5Osjz7WvDYEqYDOuABdRCpp-sZCbtOU]
Property Coin
Acid Glands
Description:
Implants acid secretion glands and oral cavity protection from it into the player's body.
Implantation cost: 10 XP
Property Rank: E
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Interesting, but I don't need that. Such a property imposes its own limitations. You wouldn't be able to resist kissing some beautiful girl and hello prison...
I decided to dismiss the Firefly spell that was brightly illuminating the cave. This spell is certainly cheap and shines beautifully, but too conspicuous. The frog-man attacked the source of light first. Absorbing the remnants of mana from the spell, I decided to replace it with "Night Vision." This spell cost more, but didn't visually reveal me and allowed me to see in the dark, albeit only in the black and white spectrum.
Approaching the first deep-sea dweller I killed, I touched it with my finger. The skin of this frog-lover was also slimy to the touch. The humanoid's brain was significantly smaller than a human's, its body possessed both gills and lungs, the former could be closed by special valves on the neck. Everything as I remembered from my previous life, except for the magic crystal I was hoping to find. It's a pity, these crystals are very valuable and useful.
The second one, with the coin hovering above it, was more interesting. This fish-man had two giant glands under its tongue that secreted some kind of caustic goo, and its oral cavity was covered in some kind of oily, sticky secretion, apparently it was what prevented the acid from burning a hole in its mouth.
Only after finishing my examinations did I notice the envelope icon blinking in the upper left corner of my vision.
So, what does the system want?
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Attention!
You have slain your opponent and earned 3 EXP!
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Attention!
You have slain your opponent and earned 3 EXP!
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Attention!
You have leveled up! Current level: 1.
You have 3 unallocated bonus stats!
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"I'll deal with the stats when I'm in a safer place. I've lingered here for too long anyway. New guests might arrive soon." - Concealing the staff in the coin, and the coin in the ring, I ran further down the corridor, hoping to get away from the smell of blood. The cave was convoluted, with numerous twists and turns. I didn't know where I was running, but the main thing was to get as far away as possible from the dead water-dwellers and the smell of blood.
Suddenly, a woman's scream echoed from one of the side tunnels.
"Another player?" the thought flashed through my mind.
I stopped, hesitating.
"To go or not to go?"
On the one hand, I didn't want to get involved in someone else's problems, I had enough of my own. On the other hand, I couldn't abandon a person in need. My conscience would gnaw at me later, and that would negatively affect my aura.
Clenching my fist, I rushed to help.
"Let's see what's going on," I thought, feeling the adrenaline start to pump through my veins again.