Jake
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Choose one.
>MANA ACCLIMATION(rank 0):
Increase your mana pool and how much mana you can interact with before suffering Mana Poisoning. (effects size based solely on skill level and skill rank of MANA ACCLIMATION).
>MANA HARDEN(rank 0):
Spend mana to harden yourself, increasing resistance towards all physical damage. (strength based on Mana rank and mana spent).
>MAGICAL EYES (rank 0):
Grants you night vision and the ability to see mana and magic when at close proximity. (strength based on Mana rank).
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With just a cursory glance I selected the mana acclimation, though I was quite curious about seeing magic, I already could see in complete darkness and the first skill just fit me too well, since my mana pool is way too small and mana poisoning sucked both as a literal feeling and a wall that capped how many mana I could use in a short span of time.
Not to mention having seen how weaker mana nourishment got when I sacrificed a health rank made me quite curious to see how good this skill would be since it didn’t rely on any stat ranks.
In moments I felt my body change and my connection with mana seemed to deepen, letting me feel not only the mana inside myself, but the mana close to my skin.
More than that, I instantly felt better, though still weak and trembling, most of my urge to puke had gone away and the headache had subsided.
I could tell it wouldn’t take long for the poisoning to pass, but no matter where I looked in the system I couldn’t find the estimated time again.
Sitting up and taking a deep breath I look around now more calm than before, for moments I watch Frost sniffing furiously the snow a few meters away before clicking the next claim notification.
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Choose one.
>MIND’S SHIELD (rank 0):
Augments your resistance against mind altering effects and gives a minute chance to reflect it back. (strength based on Clarity rank).
>DARK MINE (rank 0):
Imbue dark element mana on a surface, triggered on command or when a creature enters its range, on release stuns the closest creature dealing a small amount of damage. (strength varies on the amount of mana imbued on the mine).
>TRUE SIGHT (rank 0):
Grants you the ability to see through minor illusions and gives a minute chance of seeing a vision from the future. (strength based on Clarity rank).
Note: minute is a term referring to incredibly rare odds.
For example, an active skill that has a minute chance of ranking itself up may do so maybe once every 100.000 uses.
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In moments I felt the skills knowledge enter my mind telling me how to imbue a surface, deepening my understanding on how to control mana and showing me how to convert it to its dark element version.
Just like the first one, with a single cursory glance I selected dark mine, even if the damage was small, the difference between having some and having none was too big for me to ignore.
Though a part of me wondered.
Just how much can the skill the system gives do?
To think that a rank 0 skill would have a chance of seeing the future as a bonus, even if incredibly small, is absurd.
Would there be someone with a skill fully dedicated to it?
Hell, are just humans able to use the system? Frost seems to have at least one skill just as absurd as these ones.
A low growl took my attention off of my unending questions.
“Grow… need hunt… Jake walk?” Frost asked with broken sentences, that somehow made total sense to me.
“Yeah, but if you give me a few hours I might be able to actually help.” I answered, being pretty sure the poisoning would go away before night fell.
“No… hunt little… since hunt Jake.” She started tracking her newfound prey.
“Ok, are we going for the foxes again?” I asked her, intending to convince her of hunting later in the day if so, since I really didn’t want to spend another day waiting around in front of a foxhole.
“Frost not know” She answered me matter of factly.
“What? If you don’t know what you’re following, what if we end up finding the thing that clawed those trees nearby?” I asked worried she might put us in a bad situation.
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“Hunter power… Frost know… can hunt.” She answered with an annoyed tone.
“You say that but you almost died while hunting me not even two days ago.” I half joked, half stated.
Hearing this Frost paused, staring at me in silence for a moment, seemingly judging me.
“Can hunt Jake… Jake just lucky” She stated before going back to tracking.
With I snort I got up and followed her, closing the last system notice I had.
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In response to the acquisition of *DARK MINE* skill, your mana has been slightly attuned to the Dark element.
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***
Frost
After finishing the fish the cold mana in my body started to swirl at a fast pace for the first time.
I was close to a massive growth, the voice of ice and snow said.
Just a single mana rich meal away.
Not long after I found tracks of creatures I could feel would be worth it, though they seemed to move in large groups.
Not that that would change my plans in any meaningful way, killing the weakest and running away rarely ever failed.
*
Soon a few hours went by as me and Jake followed the creature's track, strangely never getting too far from the river’s mouth, whatever this thing was it seemed to like the river just as much as Jake.
Throughout our hunt many more clawed trees were found in our path, and just like I knew I could hunt the creatures we were tracking I could tell it would be impossible to hunt the beast that made those marks.
Slowly the scent had gotten stronger and stronger, till a point I could tell we were almost reaching them.
“Prey close… careful…” I warned Jake with our connection, as I slowly guided us to take cover between the trees.
After crossing the treeline it took no more than a minute to find our targets.
Five Jake-like creatures with half of Jake’s height were walking at the river’s shore, their skin was dark green, their claws a muted brown that resembled dirt and most importantly their gait seemed ragged and tired.
Together, they carried a dead deer with white colored fur that seemed quite similar to my own white snow fur, on its head a tiny crystal blue horn shined with mana even though the creature had been dead for quite some time.
They were pretty strong to be able to carry the deer so far away from where they caught it, I couldn’t even start to imagine why they were doing it, nor would I bother to do so.
With careful steps I approached the tree line, readying myself to jump on them as soon as I crossed it, but then…
“Wait Frost, I have a way to help out, but will need to get ahead of them for me to do it.” Jake said in a low voice stopping me in my tracks.
Staring at him for a moment the thought of just ignoring his antics and attacking the prey right now floated in my mind.
I could feel they were weaker, I could tell they were tired, I can take them on my own.
“No.” I sent it through our connection.
Jumping out of the treeline I dashed towards the five with my steps silenced by the snow.
In seconds I clamped my jaws on one of the creatures, without even conjuring my powers I crushed its neck just late enough for it to yell and alert its companions.
Instantly the other four squatted down putting their hands below the snow, a deep thumb sounds from below as brown mana seeped from their body and frozen dirt under the snow climbed over their skin in moments.
Jake enters the battle with a running kick towards the creature closest to the river, chucking it into the water before they even get up.
Taking his queue I jump on the crunch down on the closest creature, but to my surprise my teeth don't even reach skin; their defensive powers were quite strong for how flimsy it looked.
If it were a few weeks ago this is where I’d drop my hold and run like I learned to do when young, but for their bad luck I have learned my lesson and they are not the only ones that have powers here.
Icy cold mana flowed within me gathering in my teeth and invading the cold earth that protected the creature I caught, the prey feeling its end coming clawed desperately at my fur and face, trying its best to leave my grasp.
Ignoring the damage I used my weight advantage to pin it to the ground, never stopping the constant infusion of cold mana till crystal ice covered the prey's chest.
Moment by moment my jaws were closing in forming cracks throughout the frozen earth, my teeth slowly pierced its armor and punctured its skin, the taste of blood entered my mouth and screams of despair filled my ears, just a bit more and…
Before I could finish the downed beast its earth clad packmate tackled my side, tearing open my chest with its earth covered claws.
Dropping the frozen creature I turned my jaws towards the new enemy, snapping them shut with all my might.
Only this time this creature expected it, pushing me away the moment I dropped its packmate on the snow, sending me a few meters away from them both.
Red, red taints the snow as I get up from the ground, rage fills my mind as I jump towards the prey.
It tries to dodge, it pushes me away again, I jump once more, I clamp its neck down.
The creature claws and squirms, the earth stopping me once more.
I channel my mana, my mana bottoms out.
I use my power anyway.
Tiredness tries to stop me, luring me into unconsciousness.
But the creature still lives, so my jaws only grow stronger.
In an instant ice covers the creature.
In another I crush it to pieces.
My eyes turn into its downed pack mate.
Still breathing, still frozen.
Jaws close, it doesn’t breathe anymore.
I look around for more.
I only see one more creature.
My steps falter.
I fall.
I crawl.
I reach.
My mouth got to its leg.
As I start to close it an alarm rings in my mind.
‘Not prey, packmate.’
I drop to the ground.
***
Jake
‘One more down and Frost took one so… at max two more to go.’ I count to myself giving a last look as the second goblin I threw was carried away by the river.
Unlike the first one though, this one had put up quite a fight, cutting quite a few new holes in my cloak before I cornered him into the water.
‘I’m getting stronger’ I could feel it, but now was not the time to dwell on it.
Looking around I searched for the next goblins, only to find Frost dragging her tattered body to me with a crazed frown on her furry brows, painting a red trail of blood from where the three goblins lay reduced to nothing more than unmoving corpses.
“Frost?” I tried to call her.
Receiving no reaction I stepped closer, before pausing for a moment.
‘Do I really wanna get close to Frost with her in this state?’
Just the idea seemed stupid, but a feeling deep within me told me she wouldn’t attack me.
‘Worst case scenario what limb I need the least?’ I joked to myself, putting my right foot closer to her snout.
With cold sweat forming on my forehead I feel her cold teeth slide across my skin, as she puts my whole calf inside her mouth, lifting my right hand in the air I prepare myself to drop down a mean punch if she actually bites me down.
Thankfully after a small, and a bit worrying pressure, her body relaxes and falls unconscious to the ground.
Looking at her side the wound was deep, going down to the bone and in some areas seemingly going even further, so much blood poured in the ground, it made me question for a moment if we would survive even after “winning” the fight.
‘I mean, I am pretty sure her mark skill made me survive an arm amputation with little to no care and almost no complications, besides the dogshit night and constantly waking up because of random phantom pain, so it should work on her too right?’
Sigh
‘And we’ll need to talk about this bullshit of her full sending it without warning.’
I shook my head.
“Worry about this later, what is the best I can do right now?” I mumbled to myself, my eyes gazing at our surroundings.