“What was that?” Yar exclaimed when he returned to his refuge. Then something happened that gave him an exhaustive answer.
“Oh, System,” he whispered when a message emerged in the air before his eyes:
Attention!
Yar Row Dark!
Darkness has paid its attention to you
You get access to the possibilities of Dark Magic
Gifts of the Highest Darkness:
Lightning of Darkness spell
Scourge of Darkness spell
Veil of Darkness spell
Attention!
Everyone, everyone, everyone!
The Global Greatest Change in the Belt of the Worlds!
New achievements are obtained:
The first adept of Darkness (Yar Row Dark - hidden)
Beloved of Darkness (Yar Row Dark - hidden)
Out of Darkness (Yar Row Dark - hidden)
Patriarch of Darkness (Yar Row Dark - hidden)
Launched Event No. 2
Revival of the first fragment of the old world - ‘Darkness’
Throughout the territory of Intergalactic Magic Matrix, it is possible to use the power of Darkness.
Behind this grandiose, even slightly frightening announcement came the usual message:
Confirm the modification:
Swords (Shadows’ Big Brother, Shadows’ Younger Brother)
Yar confirmed the modification and even recoiled in surprise since very quickly an inexplicable metamorphosis occurred with each sword. At first, they were melted, then they were covered with frost, glowing unbearably. Then they both became as black as coal, before completely disappearing from view. The swords changed their forms—sometimes they were shortened or lengthened, overgrown with thin ten-inch-long needles. Yar didn’t even notice how all this fussing stopped, but he kept blinking his eyes and watching the pair of weapons, waiting for other changes to take effect.
The twin swords looked amazing—they were incredibly beautiful. The blades were as black—as though they absorbed the very light—with a slight touch of blue. The cross-guard was also dark and seemed to be covered with frost, from which came a light whitish fog. The handle was elongated as if molded from coal, and at first glance it looked simple and fragile.
No, it’s not fragile, I was mistaken, Yar thought with admiration when he picked up his swords. Darkness clotted from the hilts and quickly swaddled his arms to the elbow with black ribbons, drawing his swords to his palms. At first, Yar thought that this fixation could interfere with the work of his wrists, and this would affect his fighting style. However, after several blows, he realized that this was different. Something told Yar, dancing with the swords, that garter tapes would help him in battle. He immediately tried to hit himself flat on the forearm. It didn’t work out, and the sword bounced with a jingle.
“Hey!” Yar screamed. “What about the stats?”
They were incredible.
Sword: Power Devourer ‘Ferocity’
(owner Yar Row Dark)
Scalable
Indestructible
Always Sharp
Non-transferable (exception - blood inheritance)
Damage: Clear Weather, Day 5,000 - 8,000 (critical strike + 5,000)
Damage: Mist, Dusk, Night 8,000 - 12,000 (critical strike + 10,000)
Debuffs:
Enemy’s First blood (withdrawal / appropriation, duration - the whole battle)
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
General Protection Withdrawal - 10% (assignment by owner - the whole battle)
Dexterity Withdrawal - 10% (assignment by owner - the whole battle)
Parry, Evasion Withdrawal - 10% (assignment by owner - the whole battle)
Health Withdrawal - 10% (assignment by the owner - the whole battle)
Swords, Axes, Hammers, Daggers Withdrawal - 10% (assignment by the owner - the whole battle)
Critical strike Withdrawal - 10% (assignment by the owner - the whole battle)
Supplement No. 1
First gain slot: (preferably necromancer essence + random gain)
Second gain slot: (Spell - Lightning of Darkness)
Third gain slot: (the Curse of Four Friends)
Supplement No. 2
Instant snatch
Full hidden wearing
Emergence of new features is possible (randomly)
Master Modifier: Archmage Yar Row Dark
Sword: Power Devourer ‘Fear’
(owner Yar Row Dark)
Scalable
Indestructible
Always Sharp
Non-transferable (exception - blood inheritance)
Damage: Clear Weather, Day 5,000 - 8,000 (critical strike + 5,000)
Damage: Mist, Dusk, Night 8,000 - 12,000 (critical strike + 10,000)
Debuffs:
The enemy’s first blood (withdrawal/appropriation, duration - the whole battle)
Strength of Magic Withdrawal - 10% (assignment by owner - the whole battle)
Acceleration Withdrawal - 10% (assignment by the owner - the whole battle)
Parry, Evasion Withdrawal - 10% (assignment by owner - the whole battle)
Will Withdrawal - 10% (assignment by the owner - the whole battle)
Sharpness, Accuracy, Rate of Fire Withdrawal - 10% (assignment by the owner - the whole battle)
Critical strike Withdrawal - 10% (assignment by the owner - the whole battle)
Supplement No. 1
First gain slot: (preference necromancer essence + random gain)
Second gain slot: (Whip Darkness spell)
Third gain slot: (the Curse of Pain Horror)
Supplement No. 2
Instant snatch
Full hidden wearing
Emergence of new features is possible (randomly)
Master Modifier: Archmage Yar Row Dark
Yar sighed and cut the air in a circular motion. It turned out that these swords were even better than his energy swords, and he almost exactly repeated the phrase of one of his most familiar scumbags, “Ferocity, Fear, you are on my team now. We will do a good deal! I promise you will like it.”
The swords didn’t answer—they didn’t even give a sign—but Yar knew how to fix that.
However, he was at a loss when he read the next message, the letters of which looked as if cut out with a sword. Again, the system, blowing fanfare to the whole of white and dark worlds, reported that the first dark artifact had emerged in the Belt of the Worlds. Glory to the System and Darkness, Yar was incognito again.
He received as a reward some weird thing that lay on his palm. If Yar hadn’t previously encountered such artifacts and hadn’t been able to read stats, then he would have got rid of this stuff.
A hefty black nail, according to its essence and stats, was an unbelievably valuable treasure—despite the fact that it looked as if it had been made by a drunken master with the help of a spoiled drill, a blunt file, and someone’s teeth.
Dark Demiurge’s Chest Crutch
Supreme Dark Artefacts (maximum)
Higher Magic Surgery (maximum)
Higher Magic Neurosurgery (maximum)
Intuitive Symbiont Tool (maximum)
Supplement
Full release of the creative and artistic potential of the owner
Disposable (complete dissolution - 30 minutes, 100% absorption)
The head of the Midnighters clan began to quickly undress. He was in a hurry. It seemed to him that the wight army could break into his shelter at any moment, or something else could prevent him from using this artifact.
Yar had already seen a similar nail once, so he knew what to do. He brought the point of the crutch to his bare chest and began to look for a better place. After a few minutes, he had already found several entry points. Each time he found the desired place, the artifact wriggled like a leech, trying to slip out of his hands while blazing brightly and vibrating.
However, Yar hesitated, realizing that he needed to choose the most effective place on his body. Noting them with the scratches, he spent some more time choosing. Finally, having decided on a place, glory to the system, it wasn’t his heart area, he pressed the nail to his body. The ‘crutch’ instantly bit into his flesh, and Yar hit it hard and sharply with his palm.
“Argh!” Yar screamed and collapsed backward. He recovered, panting heavily. It seemed that he had no strength at all. His head was spinning, as if someone had hit his head, and black dots were flashing before his eyes.
Yar shook his head and, thanks to his reserves of willpower, he raised himself up on his elbows. He looked at his chest, and there was almost no blood at all. Without hesitation, he used a remedial unit. It didn’t help much; the man had been trying to get up for a long time, and he seemed to have forgotten how to walk.
Finally, Yar decided to crawl over to the table, where, pulling himself up with his hands, he gingerly rose to his feet. He succeeded. Gritting his teeth and shaking from impotence, he straightened up.
“It’s so cold here… Wow! That was stunning!”
Yar caught his breath, used the whole series of remedial units, and stoically endured this medical sadism. Fortunately, after all these procedures, he came to life and seemed to get rid of all side effects in the form of the chills, the black spots in the vision, and other afflictions. This time, Yar examined his chest more carefully, but he didn’t find a scar. He could breathe freely; nothing unusual was felt when pressing on the crutch’s entry place.
Everything seems to be normal. I’m alive, healthy, and with a new achievement… But where are my swords? I don’t remember anything… Yar looked at his palms, trying to gradually recall the process of his transformation. However, he couldn’t manage to form his thoughts until the end, when two short and swift black swords appeared in his hands. Yar repeated the circular motion, and whistling cut the air around him.
Yeah! Yar grinned and thought that he needed to remove his swords and have a drink—according to the old earthly tradition. After such an experience, he needed to calm his nerves. Yar decided to drink in a simple way: just a glass of vodka. Only when he poured the glass, did he notice that the swords had disappeared. The man felt idiotic. Although the stats indicated full hidden wearing—just in case Yar checked the subspace storage—there were no swords at all. Nevertheless, he only had to think about them and start moving into the stance of a swordsman, and the swords reappeared in his hands. After playing for a minute or two, Yar decided to act strictly according to plan.
“Cheers to the dark demiurge and the first dark artifactor! I mean, cheers to me.” Yar drank half a glass of vodka. He didn’t even jerk; he was a dark demiurge after all.
He stood for a while, smiling, and then he slowly exhaled, taking out Esten Midday’s Reaper dagger, in which the soul of a familiar and unlucky portaler had been languishing!
Yar was pondering his decisions and the consequences of his future actions. He walked a little back and forth, pacing the shelter in order to finally recover and concentrate.
He had doubts, of course, Will I do the right thing if I decide to return Aire Ant back from oblivion in these circumstances? On the other hand, this portaler might become a very important factor in a future scenario. However, he is too weak to use his full talents. Will I be able to level him up in this damn inhospitable land? Yeah, that will be fun to try. Okay, back to work.