[Advancement successful. You have ascended to Stage 2: FrostShade Reaver.]

[Ding! Stage 2, Level 1 reached.]

[Ding! Skill gain: Drain Life, Channel Spectre(Frost), Draugr Resilience, FrostShade Form.]

[Drain Life: Drain vitality from a target upon touch.]

[Channel Spectre(Frost): Channel the Spectre of a recently deceased. The Spectre will remain for up to an hour, and obey your commands for the duration.]

[Draugr Resilience: Strengthen your skin with the resilient cold of a Draugr.]

[FrostShade Form: For a short time, turn into a Frostshade, allowing you to phase into the ethereal realm. Movement cannot be restricted by normal means. Allows for travel through certain physical objects. Passage through objects or creatures will cause a deep frost to infect the victim.]

Name:

Selene Parson

Race:

Human

Affiliation:

Earth

Stage:

2 - FrostShade Reaver

Level:

1

Credits:

691

Stats:

Strength(STR)

26

Agility(AGI)

18

Vitality(VIT)

24

Intelligence(INT)

16

Wisdom(WIS)

8

Charisma(CHA)

3

Skills:

Shadow Strike

Apprentice

Chill of the Grave

Apprentice

Spirit Echoes

Novice

Spirit Veil

Novice

Drain Life

Novice

Channel Spectre(Frost)

Novice

Draugr Resilience

Novice

FrostShade Form

Novice

The notifications and her updated Status were waiting for her when she woke up. Selen couldn’t stop herself from smiling, as her heart drummed in her chest.

“I did it!” she cheered internally.

She opened her eyes and looked around. She was lying in her bed, and Meelara was sleeping on the other. There was a dim light reaching through the repaired window. Her hat lay on the nightstand, and her clothes were neatly folded on a chair by the foot of her bed. Her breathing hitched as she realised, she’d been undressed, but then she glanced over at Meelara.

“There’s no way she’d let anyone undress me,” Selene thought as her panic faded. “Not sure how I feel about her doing it, but it’s better than some stranger.”

She took some time to settle her nerves before she sat up quietly. As she did, a lock of hair fell over her face, obscuring her vision. She reached a hand up and pulled it to the side, before pausing. She held the lock of hair up while frowning.

“My hair has grown again,” she lamented. “A lot too. It’s below my shoulders now!”

Her blond hair had grown to reach behind her shoulder blades, which meant it was now many times longer than before she advanced.

“Damnit!” she gritted her teeth. “I’m cutting it!”

She stood up, grabbed her sword, which was leaned against the chair with her clothes, and held it up when she hesitated.

“It’ll just grow back out,” she recalled what Cheela and Meelara told her. “Maybe I should just get used to it? I can tie it back, braid it, and other stuff to keep it from being a nuisance.”

She got dressed and walked to the bathroom. She spent some time fixing up her hair and ended up with a single, short braid. She returned to the bedroom just in time to see Meelara wake up.

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

She sat up in her bed, rubbed her eyes, and glanced over at Selene’s bed. She then looked around and quickly spotted Selene standing by the bathroom door.

“You’re awake!” Meelara smiled as she rose. “You gotta stop doing that. You’re always passing out on me.”

“Hah,” Selene snickered. “It’s not like I’m doing it on purpose.”

“Right, right,” Meelara smirked. “Congratulations by the way.”

“Thanks,” Selene picked up her hat and tried it on, adjusting it to sit properly above her braid. “How long was I out?”

“Oh, only the night,” Meelara started dressing. “You made a mess in the meeting room though.”

“What do you mean?” Selene had a sinking feeling.

“Hah,” Meelara grinned. “Lots of ice and shadows.”

“Did I hurt anyone?” Selene asked as she furrowed her brows.

“Nah,” Meelara shook her head and walked over to Selene. “We were prepared this time.”

“Oh, good,” Selene sighed in relief.

“Well?” Meelara leaned forward and raised an eyebrow. “Don’t leave me in suspense. How did it go? I know you succeeded, but what’d you get?”

“Stage 2 - FrostShade Reaver,” Selene smiled and puffed up her chest. After she spoke, she activated Frostshade form and dashed around Meelara. She avoided passing through her and reappeared next to her bed.

Meelara spun around with wide eyes, before frowning.

“Th-tha-,” she stuttered, and hesitated. “What was that?”

“Frostshade form,” Selene explained. “Let’s me move quite fast, and turn incorporeal. If I had moved through you, you would have taken frost damage.”

“Not bad,” Meelara smiled. “Sounds like a high-tiered skill. What about the stats?”

Selene tilted her head to the side, causing her braid to sway behind her.

“Twelve total,” Selene said, frowning. “No change to Strength and Vitality, but more Agility, Intelligence and Wisdom. I also got three more skills.”

“Nice spread,” Meelara nodded before she frowned. “Three more? Huh… You’d usually only get two or three in total, and if you get a high-tiered one… Well, it should have been the only one you got at the start. What are the other ones?”

Selene activated Draugr Resilience, and her skin turned grey.

“Draugr resilience,” she explained as she inspected her hand. The nails had turned black. “Increases my defence, and turns cold and frost into a buff to my physical stats, I think. There’s also Channel Spectre that allows me to channel the spirit of a recently deceased and turn it into a frost spectre. I obviously can’t demonstrate that one, and the last one is Drain Life.”

Meelara’s eyes widened and she took a step back. She swallowed hard before she snickered quietly.

“Uhh, wh-... That’s impressive… You- ah… Well, I knew you had potential, but this is insane.”

“Uh, right,” Selene frowned. “Well, uhm. What now?”

“Now?” Meelara took a deep breath and smiled. “Now, we take a walk, head out of town, and find some poor monster for you to test your new skills on.”

Selene smiled at that, nodded, and left the room, following Meelara.

“We’ll report to Beren first,” Meelara said as they descended the stairs. “He’ll want to hear about the results of our tests so that he can start including you in his plans.”

“What?” Selene exclaimed. She then glanced around, and her face grew red as she saw the faces of everyone in the bar turn to her. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “What do you mean, including me? I’m only Stage 2!”

“So, am I,” Meelara retorted. “So are Faren, Cheela, and Percive. Beren is mid-Stage 3. The first Stage is considered to be easy. You had an unusually harsh Trial. Stage 2 takes longer, and has more stringent requirements. The vast majority of people lack the drive, motivation and/or potential to reach Stage 3. I’m amassing experience to prepare myself.”

“But,” Selene frowned, still whispering. “You didn’t say any of this before! You’ve acted so strong, and powerful.”

“Hey!” Meelara's voice turned forceful, and she locked eyes with Selene. “I’ve been helping you. I have a lot of experience. Don’t you dare look down on me for not advancing as fast as you!”

Selene took a step away as her eyes widened and her brows raised. She blinked rapidly before furrowing her brows and looking down.

“I’m sorry, Meelara,” she said. “You deserve better. I don’t know what came over me.”

“Haah,” Meelara sighed, placed her hands on her hips and leaned her head back. “You experienced something that most talents experience. You don’t have much experience, and you feel like the ones around you are very powerful. Just… Just don’t be condescending, or belittle our efforts.”

“I won’t,” Selene nodded. “Thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Meelara responded. “Let’s go.”

They entered the room and found Beren sitting with Cheela and Faren.

“I still haven’t seen Percive since the first time I came here,” Selene thought.

“Advancement successful,” Meelara smirked after she closed the door. “From what she’s explained it’s quite powerful too. I’d like to take her out of town for a few tests before we make a full report.”

“How official sounding,” Selene joked internally. “Sounds like those Ascended I heard reporting to their superiors. I suppose it’s a hierarchy here, with Beren at the top.”

“Excellent,” Beren smiled and nodded. “Very well. Don’t keep me in suspense for too long. We’re in dire need of strong fighters.”

“Of course,” Meelara nodded. She then turned around, grabbed Selene’s arm, and pulled her out of the room, and the bar.

As they left Ellard’s Cove, Selene was finally able to take a look at the outskirts.

“I was too focused on my appearance, and projecting an imperious attitude, that I completely missed it,” Selene lamented. “It’s like a copy of how I lived in Lon Lon. Ramshackle buildings and tents, skinny people with fearful eyes. Downcast, and hopeless.”

Selene’s eyebrows furrowed as she walked, but she quickly shook her head and schooled her expression.

“I’ll change things!” she repeated her resolve. “I’ll make things better, but for that, I need to be patient. I can’t act too soon. As I am, I’d only die if I try anything.”

She walked on, keeping her eyes forward and followed Meelara.

They left Ellard’s Cove, and the shanty-town behind, and entered the wilderness beyond. They kept a fast pace, as Meelara kept speeding up until Selene couldn’t keep up any longer. She then slowed down to a pace they could both maintain.

Selene kept her Spirit Echoes active and attempted to hone in and focus on the various signatures she discovered.

“I need to keep training, and pushing the limits of my skills,” she thought back to her experience of improving her skills. “The higher their proficiency is, the better. Who knows what’s possible in the later levels.”

They kept going for hours until the sun was nearing the horizon, and Selene was sweating profusely. Meelara turned towards her and smiled.

“Alright,” she grinned. “Let’s spar. No skills!”

Without any more warning, she dashed at Selene and swung her fist forward. Selene reacted in time and dodged to the side while counter-attacking. Meelara deftly dove under Selene’s fist, and spun. She extended a leg and tried to sweep Selene’s feet, but Selene jumped over, at which point Meelara pushed off diagonally, slamming into Selene while she was in mid-air.

“Oof,” the air escaped Selene’s lungs as she was knocked back several metres, but after a short tumble, she got back on her feet; just in time to dodge the follow-up from Meelara.

This fight kept going, with Meelara keeping the advantage through most of it, until Selene lay flat on her back, breathing heavily and rubbing her side.

“Ow,” Selene grumbled. “That hurts.”

“Now you know,” Meelara snickered. “I’m not some pushover just because I’m Stage 2.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Selene groaned. “I know.”

“You’re doing really well, though,” Meelara praised her. “Your stats are increasing fast, and you’re able to make the most of them. You still need to learn a passive skill for fighting, but you’re well on your way.”

“Thanks,” Selene smiled, then winced as she sat up. “Gah! Would you let me use Drain Life on you, to heal up?”

Selene smiled nefariously as she asked, but Meelara only raised an eyebrow.

“Hah!” she laughed at the sitting woman. “As if!”

Meelara rolled her shoulders for a few seconds before she reached down and pulled Selene to her feet.

“Let’s go. We need to make camp for the night,” Meelara explained as she started walking. “We’ll be fighting monsters tomorrow. You’ll have plenty of chances to drain the life out of them.”

“Fine,” Selene grumbled, but smiled slightly and followed. “What kinds of monsters are there in this area?”

“Oh, plenty,” Meelara said. “Lots of amphibians, and there are the odd mountain monsters coming down here from time to time. We’ll be fighting for most of the day, so we’ll encounter most of the common ones.”

“Sounds good,” Selene said, smiling.

“I can’t wait to test out my new skills.”