Tier 0 Spells
Overload (Innate) - Overloads any cast spell, increasing the offensive output relative to the amount of mana provided.
Combine: (External) - Due to your affinity with multiple elements, your Goddess has granted you the ability to combine the elements for certain effects, unlocks combination spells at certain tiers.
Tier 1 Spells
Spark - Discharge an electrical spark, point of origin can be within a radius of 10 meters.
Spark Stream - Discharge a consistent stream of sparks originating from the caster, until the caster loses focus.
Heal - Rapidly heals minor wounds, can be applied over time to heal major wounds. Does not heal fatal wounds. (Requirement: Holy)
Shield: Create an ethereal shield originating from the caster, blocking magical and physical attacks to a certain point. Threshold can be increased based on the amount of mana provided.
Ethenia looks at her spell list one last time, before her gaze changes to the tundra in front of her. ‘I keep forgetting that Athena is a deity, her concept of a small world does not equate to mine’. She thinks as she looks to the unending horizon.
While the world she’s on is relatively small, it’s still one quarter the size of Earth. ‘Not only is it a lot larger than I thought, if I didn’t double check with her after looking at the map, I’d think she was crazy.’
Looking down on her map yet again, still amazed at the conical shape of this world, she shakes her head. ‘Ok so I’m at the wide end, and it tapers down into a point. Athena said there was some sort of structure at the end, but she didn’t tell me what, or who I’m supposed to meet there.’
Shaking her head, she double checks her new outfit. Her boots resemble black military combat boots from Earth, but the material is more durable and comfortable. Athena told her that they were resistant to wear and tear, and should last forever, unless they’re put under more stress than they’re made for.
Her pants and jacket are of a leathery kind, resistant to edged and pointed weapons, as well as extreme cold. ‘Why is my entire outfit black, when I’m in a snow and frost filled world, shouldn’t my outfit be coloured to better blend in with the environment? Oh well.’
Casting another glance at the endless frozen land around her, Ethenia takes a deep breath and closes her eyes.
A growl interrupts her, and she opens her eyes to see three gray wolves stepping through the trees, baring their fangs, and crouching in a defensive position.
Ethenia grabs her shortsword, holding it in one hand in front of her, while raising her other hand, ready to cast.
Her mind quickly flashes back to her sister’s word.
“Remember Ethenia, while you’re a mage type, you can not gain Body Arts, and therefore never use weapon skills, you are still able to wield weapons normally, using your own strength, technique. Though they are unguided by the system, your strength is still miles above that of a normal human. Never neglect the physical aspect, even though there is no guidance.”
The middle wolf, the bigger one, the size of a large lion, takes a step forward. The two other wolves spread out to the sides.
‘They’re trying to flank me, I can’t let them.’ Ethenia thinks as she focuses on the wolf on her left, slowly stepping towards it, while keeping an eye on the two others.
‘Just a bit more, just a little more.’ She thinks as she’s trying to get into range for her magic. As soon as she’s in range she unleashes a stream of sparks, connecting with the surprised wolf. She notices the muscle spasms and it’s debilitated movement, and she picks up the pace while raising her sword.
The two other wolves start to move towards her at a fast pace, but they’re only slightly faster than her, and she reaches the paralyzed wolf, swinging her sword in an overhead arch, and straight towards the defenseless wolf’s neck.
A tremor runs through her hand as the sword connects with the wolf’s fur, muscles, and spine, but she quickly notices she hasn’t done enough damage. The sword is only a couple of centimeters into the neck, while damaging, it’s not enough to kill it.
Momentarily at a loss, the pack leader capitalizes on her frozen movements, and lunges. Ethenia quickly manifests a shield, and the razor sharp claws bounce off.
A plan forms in her head, and she casts a quick glance at the wolf behind her, still paralyzed. Looking back towards the leader, she waits for it to lunge again, but this time she doesn’t shield.
Quickly dropping to the floor, the paw passes above her, and hits the flank of the paralyzed wolf. Grabbing the sword with both hands, she drives it up into the belly of the pack leader, and the sword sinks halfway in before it stops, meeting too much resistance, but the damage is done.
Rolling over, she tries to stand up, but a flaring of pain on her thigh stops her, making her curse herself for momentarily forgetting about the third wolf, and leaving her open.
Quickly glancing down, she sees five centimeter long claw marks on her thigh, but her clothes are already mending. No doubt having saved her from crippling injury. It hurts, but she’s still mobile, even if slowed down.
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Steeling herself, and remembering the tutorial waves, and how she felt while fighting against multiple enemies, and their stronger constitutions, she stands up and stabs her sword into the neck of the injured pack leader, pushing with all her power until the point penetrates completely and sticks through the the other side of the neck.
Not being done, she adjusts her grip before dragging the sword towards her as hard as she can, until she feels the flesh give, and the sword drags through.
Looking at her handiwork, she sees the pack leader's head hang by a few centimeters of skin, dangling from its neck, dead. It quickly collapses on the floor, and she turns her attention towards the uninjured wolf.
‘1 down. Two to go.’
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Journal Entries
Day 1 - After the first trio, I managed to slowly heal myself before venturing further. I had to leave the corpses behind, as I was too exposed to try my hand at skinning them, or anything else. I know I need food eventually, but before that I need some sort of shelter.
Day 2 - I found some shelter. I managed to cut down a few smaller trees, and prop them up against a hillside. Encountering another pack of wolves, this time four. I managed to win after my experience with the first pack. While they have good tactics and group formations, they’re not very intelligent, and I’ve found the best way to deal with them is having them injure each other. Skinning the wolves and taking their claws, I used the skin as a roof, pinning them into the wooden framework with the claws. I must confess that there’s still blood, guts and muscles hanging from the furs, but it’s the best I can do for now.
Week 1- Wolves taste absolutely horrendous. Maybe it’s my preparation, but they’re barely edible. I suppose I’ll get used to it, unless I find anything else to eat. I have kept to my temporary shelter for this week, not wanting to wander too far, but I think there’s something observing me, as I hear the trees rustle sometimes, but it shouldn’t be the wind.
Week 2 - I was right. Something was observing me. My best guess is it was some sort of snow elf, at least that’s what it looked like. Tall, slender, pointed ears. Gray eyes, white hair and eyebrows. I forgot about elf weight, as I saw it jumping from branch to branch, and barely even made a dent in the snow on the branches. Towards the end of the week I ended up fighting one, but it was too agile for me, none of my spells could hit, and my sword didn’t have the reach, as they were firing arrows and ice magic. I managed to retreat with superficial wounds, but I can’t progress, I need to reach the next tier.
Month 1 - I have lost count of how many wolves I’ve killed, it has to be over a hundred. The experience gain has stopped, but I’ve finally reached the next tier, and attained Tier 2 spells. I’m not sure how I’ll fare against the elves, how many they are, or how strong. They haven’t followed me after I retreated from the forest, but I feel exposed here, with the open landscape.
Month 3 - I’ve attempted another fight with the elves, and I managed to kill one. The experience gain was immense, no doubt due to their intelligence being on par, if not above that of humans. Surprisingly there’s been no repercussions, but I have moved far west, hopefully making me harder to locate. Athena didn’t tell me a lot about this world, I don’t know if everything is hostile, or if there’s any allies to be gained.
Month 6 - I was naive. The elves followed me, and a few more skirmishes happened, where I killed a couple. I was lulled into a false sense of security. How naive I was. It happened around the 5th month. A massive ambush during the night. There were at least a dozen elves. I don’t know how I managed to escape, or if they let me. I’m still recuperating from the injuries. The healing spell works slowly, and it’s taken me weeks to get rid of the major injuries, but I lived. It was close. Too close. I never want that to happen again. I also need a new weapon.
Year 1 - I have made progress. I’ve spent hours every day simply testing the limits of my spells, and ingraining them into my muscle memory. I took this too lightly at the start, but not anymore. I’m trying to gain some proficiency in hand to hand combat, but it’s difficult. The little training I had focused more on observation, strategy and some self defense, but not for fighting. Eventually I figured I needed real experience, so I isolated a few wolves, killing their packmates before grappling, punching, kicking, everything I could try with only my body. It worked, I eventually gained an understanding for how I have to move, but I’m only scratching the surface.
Year 5 - Finally. I’ve reached Tier 3. It took fucking five years. I barely recognize myself anymore. My body is devoid of unnecessary fat. I have scars on most of my limbs, luckily there’s none on my face. I’m still a girl, I’m allowed to be a bit vain. I have progressed a lot, and gotten past the first forest. I found a few settlements with some primitive species that seemed friendly, or at least non aggressive. I managed to trade some wolf furs for a spear and an ax. They’re crude, but they are made of some metal, and better than anything I could have done myself. The snow elves aren’t a problem anymore, unless they’re in large groups, dozens. I still have skirmishes with them, but they’re trying to leave me alone most of the time now. I almost feel like I’ve become some sort of adventure trophy, and objective, a goal for their tribe, or tribes. Heh, wandering world boss.
Year 10 - I’m tired. I’m starting to lose grip on reality. Every day is just training, eating, and slaughter. Rinse repeat. Is this really what I want to do with my life? I have not spoken to an intelligent being for a decade. Gestures, primitive drawings is all I’ve done to communicate with the few non aggressive tribes, but I’m growing tired. How long is this going to take? Will I be able to fit into normal society? Will I simply be like those war veterans, returning from multiple tours, seeing danger around every corner, paranoia, PTSD. I don’t know. The bodies number in thousands, I have so much blood on my hands, but I don’t feel anything. Oh don’t get me wrong, I feel a lot of emotions right now, anger and despair being two of them, but remorse? Guilt? Nothing.
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‘Finally. 20 years. 20 years of loneliness, isolation, killing, training, eating the same food over and over and over and over and over.’ Ethenia thinks, as she stands in front of a large set of double doors.
Turning around she looks from her elevated position, and at the world behind her. She’s traversed most of it. Knowing that she now is looking at a world, almost devoid of life.
Her focus turns back towards the castle in front of her. It reminds her of a gothic style cathedral from Earth, with some added features. A moat. A drawbridge. Spires. Towers. It looks massive, no doubt being able to hold thousands, but right now she's too tired to care.
Taking a step towards the doors, she raises a hand to push them open, breaking them down if she must, but halts as a creaking noise emanates from the object in front of her. The doors open on their own, and on the bridge, connecting the gate and the castle, stands a single being.
Long flowing white hair. Crimson red eyes. Even from this distance, fangs can be seen peeking through from her upper lips. She’s beautiful. Ethereal.
Something inside of Ethenia resonates with the woman in front of her, and she knows it’s her seed. The woman in front of her is a vampire. A [Progenitor].
The woman smiles at Ethenia, before a soothing voice reaches her ears. “Hello, my successor.”