The next morning he did not wake up on his new bed, but by the fireplace, which still had a bit of the embers of the previous night. He rolled over on his side in his underwear, whereupon he slowly began to get up and get dressed. Lazily, he let some of the information from the book pass in his mind again. Some of the information was really interesting.
Everything he would need for the day he began to spread out on a sheet in front of the makeshift bed. There lay the hunting knife, the bow from the wall, the short sword, the little book, the few coins, a rolled up cloth, two simple ropes that had seen better days, the folded coat, sewing kit and a few other utensils that were of their own use possessed.
This was a practice that had settled in his head from the military. Something that probably never really came out. But it was also very efficient for packing a backpack and was used to keep track of the materials used.
The hunting knife found its place on his leg, the short sword on his belt. The backpack was packed according to priorities.
He went through the list in his head again. There was a lot on the agenda. On the one hand he needed something to eat, on the other hand he had to generate more new skills. His attacks were still very inadequate and there was simply no defense.
For now the backpack was stowed next to the entrance and he went outside to practice simple aiming with the bow.
But who would have expected it? He simply had no talent for a bow.
Archery had been a real torture for him in his previous life. Perhaps a teacher could teach him a few simple manipulations with which he could at least find a purpose in an emergency, but maybe it just took practice. Not everything in life worked right away like in a film or book.
But there was nowhere to be seen a teacher, so what could he do but discard the bow? A quick dash in his mind and the bow was off his list of weapons. Maybe he could reclaim the resources from the bow or make a crossbow out of it? For the arrowheads he would find a very pleasant use.
Next, he started collecting mana on his left arm. He led this to shape it into a buckler in a 1 cm thick layer. Nothing more could be wasted right now without impairing his fighting skills.
He used everything like his first spell to shape this new one. However, this time he took out his little book and began to take notes.
Note:
Experimental setup: Use the different aspects that created the first spell to try to create a new spell with one aspect alone.
1. Willpower failure. Willpower alone cannot cast a spell.
2. Imagination failure. It felt essential to the manufacturing process though.
3. knowledge cannot cast a spell on its own, but combined with the imagination, things take better shape.
4. manipulation apparently forms the construct that springs from the imagination.
5. Different combinations show different results.
Assumption: Imagination and manipulation are formative, while knowledge and willpower are meaningful.
After each experimental setup, he made a few notes and wrote them down in German in his little book, while it asked itself questions in between. "How then does the system recognize the skill?"
All the experiments were deeply pseudoscientific to him, but what else could he do? It was like researching the basics of what the system considered necessary for casting spells.
The few attempts did not result in any new skills for him, of course, until he finally began to concentrate fully on creating them again.
The buckler was only recognized as a spell by the system after a few attempts.
[System: Congratulations, you've created another spell. Something that proves once again that everyone can create something. You have acquired the Mana Shield skill. The higher the level, the lower the costs.]
[System: Do you want to adopt this skill?]
[System: Mana Shield Skill Acquired]
[System: experience gained.]
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Doing a few exercises with it brought him to level 6 in this skill very quickly. The shield also seemed to grow a little with each step, to get a little thicker and at the same time the costs felt more manageable than before.
Indeed, once the spell became a skill, it was possible to ignite and maintain it with a simple thought of it. The system did the rest for him, unless he began to get involved.
This led him to think whatever the system was, its basic nature was to be supportive, but how far did it go?
After all, he preferred to concentrate on generating new skills. So he drew the short sword and began to attack one of the trees with the sword he knew for as long as possible. It took a little longer, but the system didn't seem to have forgotten him.
[System: Congratulations, you've acquired the One-Handed Swords skill. They prove that people don't need talent to learn anything. The skill slightly reduces its stamina cost and increases the power of its swings.]
[System: Do you want to adopt this skill?]
[System: one-handed sword skill level 1 acquired]
[System: experience gained.]
It felt to him as if he had wasted all his perseverance on it and he was now sure that someone was watching him, either out of boredom or for other reasons, or the system had a spark of personality. He actually felt a bit bullied by the system. After his hiatus, he spent some time unlocking skills with the dagger, which cost him much less time. The day had barely started for him when the whole morning was already over. At least the daggers seemed to suit him a little more.
He hadn't even started the hunt or done anything else. His stomach was already growling and there was almost nothing left of the roasted meat, when the river came back to his mind. He thought he saw fish in it and maybe he could catch which? The river itself seemed to be about five meters deep. It was also a few meters wide, but not quite enough for a large river.
Before long he started catching some fish. He caught it in two ways, on the one hand with a self-carved spear and with a makeshift fishing rod that was tipped with thread from the thread.
The latter proved to be much more successful, because the former, which could only be used at the edge of the river and was careful to always aim a little further than the fish itself was. In addition, the booklet taught the huntress the methodology of exception, as well as the preparation of fish. Which has already proven to be useful once more.
He prepared the fish over the fire, which he watched curiously, because he would have loved to reach for it to control it. Flames had a deep attraction in his eyes, like any other of the elements. He could never quite figure this out, but with everything he owned he reached for the flame with his mana, he tried to swallow or grasp it with his mana, to give his mana its form and substance. Meanwhile, he really had to be careful not to let the fish char, but the urge to play with fire was just too strong for him. How could it be otherwise in a world in which there was so much to discover?
Finally, he couldn't believe it and stamped his foot in an unnatural force followed by an expulsion of mana in frustration.
It was surprising that he sent the mana that he had previously sent after the fire into the ground and that it seemed to react with that in the ground. Much easier than with fire, which is not static. He withdrew his foot in surprise. He went through the steps for a spell and shortly afterwards he formed the ground.
[System: Congratulations, you've acquired the Earth Forming skill. You seem to have a natural talent for the element. The skill slightly reduces its mana cost and increases the performance of its formation as you level up.]
[System: Do you want to adopt this skill?]
[System: acquired earth-shaping skill level 1]
[System: experience gained.]
All of a sudden, endless ideas popped into his mind on how to use this new skill effectively and the possibilities seemed endless.
Bunkers, traps, spikes, buildings, and a few other ideas quickly popped up in his mind. For an extraordinarily long moment he was so excited that he forgot about the fish and was only reminded of it by the slowly burnt smell.
"Damn shit! I forgot the fish! "
He grabbed the skewers over the fire, whereupon he touched the fish with his bare hands, which made him cry out because he burned his fingers on it.
[System: You have withstood the pain slightly, the void in you is slightly regenerating your exiled skin. Everything touched by the void showed slight resistance to burns, poisons, and other forms of attack.]
Moment. Was it more than pain? Was there poison and magic resistance? He would be happy to try a few things, if only it hadn't been painful. But it didn't appear to be a skill, but rather a natural trait of his Voidborn breed. Maybe he wasn't always unlucky in his life?
On the other hand, pain has always been an important indicator of injury. As long as you still felt pain, the regions were also alive. It only became dangerous when you were injured but could no longer feel any pain, because then important nerve centers were clearly badly damaged. Something that could ignore any pain had to be closer to the undead than to life, in his opinion.
[System: experience gained.]
After he had come to terms with the burned fish, he began digging pitfalls around the area at a distance of 5 km from his hut, which were only covered by a thin layer of earth. He marked this with the formation of the earth so that he did not fall into one himself.
Some had spears and others were live traps to collect creatures for his attempts at taming and other things that would surely come back to him.
The skill increased much faster than expected. He could hardly restrain himself from converting a large part of the area with the help of the earth shaping. So he did not begin to build a small 2 meter high wall around the hut.
He also began to create some underground rooms under the hut, but kept a moderate distance from the river, towards which he compacted the earth more and more to protect himself from the cool water. Slowly but surely he would turn this place into a fortress. He directed the river in a small trench around the building and a little outside space. He made a bridge out of rocks, which he pulled out of the ground, under which the water could pass. He closed the wall for the time being, because he could open it at any time by forming the earth. In fact, he had to quickly notice how much fun the magic brought him, although he would not ignore his body and strengthen it further, but he would put his main focus on the magic. The skill quickly became his best skill. With each new creation he gained more experience, from which it also further strengthened the skill.
That same evening he stumbled dog-tired back into the hut. He had washed a little by the river and was ready for his night's sleep by the fireplace. The tiredness did its day's work very quickly and overtook him and his lazy eyes. Only late in the night did he wake up to a rhythmic noise that echoed through the woods and was only carried to him like a whisper by the distant wind. The night was easily haunted by the dark sound of drums. He was reminded of the drums from the film with the children playing a jungle game. Its dark sound was auspicious. The sound spoke of the suffering that would sweep the countries. It gave him goose bumps all over his body.
He began to tremble slightly at the sound of it and could barely understand it. Somehow he didn't understand why these drums gave him goose bumps. His instincts screamed at him in panic to pick up his legs and run. Nevertheless, he stayed there, because although his instincts certainly didn’t serve up fairy tales, his curiosity outweighed his caution. Even if he knew it could mean his death out here.
Besides, he wouldn't have given up his new home without a fight. He was already used to the place. But he had to do without fire for the time being. Everything that revealed his position should have been taboo from there on. To do this, he also had to continue to shape, train and create new magic. He also wanted more than just a sharp sword to hand when forced into a fight. It would multiply its traps tenfold and turn the whole area into a single death zone. But more than the drums, he was surprised by the new messages that appeared in the system. A smile played on his lips, whereupon he lifted them in his corner.