Firstly, to deal with the most currently impactful of my various issues. That being, something to stop my body from cannibalizing itself out of hunger. Which it would soon begin to do, based on the gnawing ache in my stomach ever since the major healing I'd experienced. I surmise the energy of the restoration has to come from somewhere. Then again, could whoever designed the healing enchantment not have provided a source? Eh, maybe not, I'm not exactly an expert on the subject.

Stay on track. Now. Simplest solution first. System? If you would be ever so magnanimous, where might I seek to acquire sustenance for this form of mine?

Meals may be requested either from the dormitories or designated non-educational grounds.

Success! Vague and mostly unhelpful, but an answer nonetheless. It was a quick jaunt back to my esteemed quarters, seeing as I obviously wouldn't be attending any place with the possibility of people. I shudder at the thought. As I open the door to the room I notice something. A small wardrobe sits along one wall. How thoughtful. A check within reveals the clothing I wore yesterday, for the arrival. As well as what I'd slept in. I had previously thrown the both of them on the floor for lack of place to put them, so this was convenient. Both looked pressed and without wrinkles or spots. Several identical copies of the uniform were present as well. I do hope to fill out the rest of the thing eventually, but having one outfit, if overly formal, is nice. In hindsight, I should have brought more things beyond what I could fit in my pockets. Oops. I suppose I can grab some stuff from home over the weekend.

Actually, can I? I haven't seen a transportation array since I arrived, now that I think about. Am I trapped here? That's unsettling. Well, not much I can do about it. I still have contact at least. I was smart enough to bring a device capable of communication. Stashed under the bed pillows in fact. And thankfully still there. Mmm, gotta love that sweet rush of content engineered specifically to get a rise out of you.

Anyway, back to the present. How long was that? About half the hour it seems. I should really look into improving my time management. What was I going to do again? Ah, right. Food.

At a prompting, the System bestowed me with a window of available options. Short names accompanied by an image of the thing in question. And nothing else. They looked... ok, I guess. Not fancily presented, to be sure. But not unappetizing, exactly. Definitely better than average at a place of education, but not quite as good as home cooking. Though I suppose I'm a bit spoiled in that regard. There were a lot of options though. Dozens of them, even.

In the end I went for a simple sandwich. Two slices of bread between which was a bit of cheese and ham. There was a blurring of the air in a small area. It lasted only a few moments before fading, revealing a small, round wooden table with barely enough room for the plate and glass of water that sat on it. I applaud whoever took the time to institute all the conveniences in this place. It surely would not be beneficial for my health. Though that shouldn't be much of an issue beyond the low Levels, so I suppose its alright.

The meal was fine. The water was cooled to just below room temperature and the sandwich wasn't cold. The bread was a little damp but it was tolerable. Certainly not something you'd opt for, but I guess that's the price of luxury.

I distracted myself from the mediocre flavor with some idle reading. There was a particular series I'd been interested in for a while now. A fantasy, under the premise of someone born without access to the System. Ridiculous, I know.

There were a few minutes left before I had to attend a probably less painful class. Probably. And I could think of at least one thing I needed to do. Well, would strongly benefit from, at least.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

I languidly slithered my way off the bed and audibly popped my spinal joints as I stood. A series of sharp cracks from the bottom up to the base of the neck. A nice loose sensation followed in the corresponding muscles. Anyway. I made my way to the attached 'practice room,' as it was labeled.

It was... lackluster. A seamless stone cube -though, that is quite the feat of stoneworking I suppose- bearing a door to the living space on one side and one to the balcony opposite it. The edges were about ten steps in length. The walls bore several unlit torches. In lieu, an omnipresent shadowless lighting emanated from seemingly nowhere. Unfortunate. Hopefully the dramatic braziers would cast usable darkness.

For the purposes of 'practise?' It was questionable, to say the least. Practice what, my sword form? There were no targets or foes. So a good half of my skillset at least was useless. Possibly more depending on the results of my imminent experiment.

Said experiment being... activating the last of my Skills. Something that realistically should have been done already but eh. Things happen the way they do. And that's this way. So begins my trial of Evocation. Firstly, the Skill.

Evocation

Mana cost: 1-10/1 second

Description:

Ability possessed by all Warlocks. Allows the caster to summon a manifestation of their Patron’s power. At low levels, this may only include limbs, effects or minor phenomena, while at higher levels, could include such things as bodily alterations, major phenomena or full manifestation.

At a glance, a channeled effect with variable cost. Like Walk', but I actually got to see the details instead of a cryptic ramble. Not that there were many details. Quite the simple Skill. Add mana and bang, there's your effect. Likely more complicated than that, but you get the idea. I tapped one of the torches and flinched back slightly as it ignited with a whoosh. The previous omnipresent light vanished. Dancing shadows were cast over the walls from the flickering orange light. Cast mostly by me, standing right infront of it, but also by the small outcroppings of material situated around the rim of the burning area. Probably for the express purpose of casting shadow.

I turned, so the flame was at my back and my own shadow lay before me. I mean, there was technically a chance I didn't need darkness to activate the Skill. Maybe it'd make some on its own. Or maybe it had nothing to do with the dark. Somehow I simply found that unlikely.

I focused intently as I mentally triggered the Skill, feeding it only the barest amount of energy. I thought... dark thoughts. Dark alleys. Rooms with the lights turned off. Closing your eyes. The dissolution of modern society.

The edges of my shadow stilled their movements. It solidified, darkening in opacity, sharpening in definition. A void black sillhoutte stretching across the floor and up the wall opposite. A grinning face split the head, holes in the dark forming a smile like that of a comedy mask. Slanted malevolent eyes peering out of the black. I could feel it as the mana began to drain from me, ever so slowly.

I extended a hand out to the side in test. A long, spindly limb split from the main mass. The hand unfurled, unnaturally long, gaunt fingers extending far more than they should have. With both arms extended, the shade could nearly touch both of its adjacent walls. It looked like a puppet on strings, the way its arms hung bent and its head crooked.

Lowering my arms, I willed the thing to move and it shifted. Its grin moved to the edges of its face, one eye vanishing as it ghosted along the walls. Billowing streamers of fog trailed behind it. It would not go too near the source of light, it's body curving around the edge of the brightest region, up onto the ceiling and flowing back down as I slid it past. The smile never wavered, shifting along its amorphous body. It would not bend sharply, save from its arms, nor could i disconnect it from the pool of darkness at my feet.

Though it wouldn't approach the flame fully, I found a single hand could, or even two from separate directions. The latter I discovered by positioning it on the ceiling and stretching its arms down to grasp the light. When my mana drew near empty, I had it reach out and tap the edge of the torch itself, which successfully extinguished it. With the return of the omnipresent light, my shadow... didn't vanish, but certainly got weaker. It felt... less real, if I had to describe it? It was still entirely opaque, fully there. It just felt less.

Until I canceled the Skill, that is. Then it vanished in an instant, dissipating into a blur of shade and fading away. That didn't take very long. Only about thirty seconds. I really should've done it a while ago.

Achievement!

Use all Skills for the first time.

You gain 50 Experience

Oh, would you look at that.