The night was dark and cold in the desert, the sky’s light was extremely dim, making it impossible to see more than a handful of metres away. In the middle of this endless sea of darkness, a little figure covered by a thick blanket sat on a wooden sledge.
“I kind of miss the stars…” The figure said in a strange language.
Liz’s mana circuit glowed with a dim blue light, allowing her to distinguish the features of both Dere and Iso, who were peacefully sleeping in the sledge, covered in several layers of blankets.
She was glad her body wasn’t human anymore, even if she was in her prey form. She could withstand far more cold than a human would, she probably didn’t even need her blanket, but she didn't want to risk her cover.
Another difference her body had with a human one, was that she didn’t really need to sleep. Yes, she could still sleep if she wanted, and remaining awake for several days would increase her food consumption.
Liz’s eyes wandered away in the horizon, hardly distinguishing the shapes of the dunes from the night sky. But even if she couldn’t see anything in this unending darkness, she could feel it.
The tiny strands of mana floating around her, how it accumulated around her and her companions, how it leaked from their bodies. She had grown used to seeing the world this way, to feel this raw power blurring everything.
She remained there, sitting on the edge of the wooden sledge, playing with two mana needles, permanently vigilant. Finally, once the sky started to regain its brightness, she looked towards Dere.
“Wake up, wake up.” She said, as she gently moved her shoulder. “Wake up.”
“Huuuh” Dere groaned, still half asleep. “Whaaaat nooow?”
“Your turn.” She simply said, as she laid down against the wooden surface.
“Already…” Dere said, using a bit of water to wash her face.
She sat down and scouted the horizon, watching as the black sand started to regain its yellow colour. Next to her Liz’s consciousness began to fade away, as she ventured deep in her soul.
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She was welcomed by an endless expanse of green fields and bright light. She took a moment to admire the beautiful scene, opposite to the one she was seeing moments ago then, she walked towards the white pantheon in which her skills lived.
Once inside, she pressed her hand against a giant white slate and let her mana flow through her soul. It took her some time to understand everything she felt, how her stats and skills interacted with each other in the depths of her soul.
I wish I had studied soul magic when I could. She joked to herself, remembering when Rouge offered her some help in the subject. But even if she wasn’t a master in the subject, she was still knowledgeable enough to see it.
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Slowly, black letters appeared in the white slate, a simple representation of the power that had accumulated in her soul.
Name —> Liz
Х̵̢̙̦̓̅и̷͍̙̔̎͌͆̀щ̵̝͓̮̱͇̐̆̒н̵̖͍̑̿̄и̶̞̝͈̦̣̤͝к̸̞͚͕̯̺̭͋̍̏͛̐͠—> lvl 15
Stats:
Strength —> 13
Agility —> 23
Vitality —> 15
Endurance —> 18
Intelligence —> 32.55 ((23 + 10) + 5%)
Power —> 44.88 (44 + 2%)
Available stat points: 24
Racial skills:
Shape swap —> lvl 1
Predator’s strength/prey’s intelligence (passive) —> lvl 1
Feed —> lvl 1
General skills:
Advanced magic affinity (passive) —> lvl 3
Advanced mana system (passive) —> lvl 3
Magic sense (passive) —> lvl 4 Lvl up!
Soul awareness (passive) —> lvl 4
Stalk soul—> lvl 1
Eternal will (passive) —> lvl 1 (blocked)
Р̵̳̥͓̭͈̆͛̍͗̆ͅͅе̵̨̻̮͙̓͑͒̒͜͠а̸̧̨͕͕͖̿̀͋̉̐͘л̴̢̙̱̺̬̟̾͋̏̿͋̓͜͜и̷͚̠̼͑̿̄̕т̶̼̒͑͌̆͌̎и̵̝͇́̚-̶̧̟̩͈̥͕̞͉̅͛͊̿̂п̶̏̑̚͜р̶̠͔̜͔͕̠̰́͝ы̴̛̥̠͈̹͐͗̓г̵̻̼̀̓̈̇̈́у̴̧̘͕͓͓̗͇͊̉н̷̋̃͐́͜ —> lvl 1
Subskills:
Adaptability —> lvl 3 Lvl up!
thrill of the hunt/backstab (passive) —> lvl 1
Soul energy 167.852 units
WARNING, remnants are decaying and can not be used.
Notice: Adaptability now allows to distribute 10 extra stat points in two equal size groups.
“This is quite a development.” She said, distributing her points. “I will keep those extra points in intelligence though, and probably focus a bit more on my physical stats.
Her mind flashed with every moment her life was threatened because of how weak her body was. How most of the creatures in the forest were faster than her, even if she tried to assist her movement with magic.
Notice: you have assigned all your stat points.
Strength —> 15
Agility —> 30
Vitality —> 15
Endurance —> 20
Intelligence —> 42 ((30 + 10) + 5%)
Power —> 51 (50 + 2%)
Available stat points: 0
She continued facing her status, thinking about how little she really knew about how this world works. “How do I get more skills?” She asked to noone in particular.
She knew that evolving gave her more skills, she knew that training could also give her skills, but even after several months, her progress was starting to slow down quite rapidly.
She walked away from the slate and the letters began to fade, her steps echoed in the empty pantheon as she approached the giant chained orb. She felt the power contained inside it, greatly restrained by the chains that bind it.
“I think there are more chains than last time…” She said, but the difference was too small for her to be really sure, then she felt the ground shake.
Like a virus infecting her soul, several purple cracks began purring out of the dark stairs next to the orb. She fell to her knees as a surge of pain overwhelmed her heart.
Her vision blurred for a moment, as she made her best effort to endure the pain that slowly faded away. Once the pain disappeared, and the ground stopped shaking, she stared at the purple cracks that surged from the same place as the chains.
She slowly walked away, leaving the white pantheon and returning to the green fields. She sat down next to the little bird fountain that holded her unlimited reserve of mana and took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.
Liz’s consciousness began returning to her body, away from the depths of her soul, she gave a final stare to the green fields and the white pantheon, to the blue sky and the few clouds on its horizon then, she was welcomed by the orange light of dawn, as she heard the sand brushing against the moving sledge.