Somewhere far, far away...
A man sits atop the peak of the tallest mountain, Mt. Nix, unfazed by the blistering cold. He rests there, almost asleep, deep in meditation. He is draped in white with a katana laid upon his lap. His eyes drift open above his half-covered face from his red scarf. He mumbles to himself. “So begins the tale of Penumbra and her elemental guardian deities.
“I’m sure she’ll have fun with them all.” As he said that, he closed his eyes once again.
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It has now been nine years since my little run-in with Fenrir and her cave. I am now fourteen years old, an age that beast-men treat as really damn close to an adult. Ever since my initial meeting with Fenrir, I’ve been able to use magic. Alone, I learned how to utilize my new innate [Dark Elementalism] which allows me to use skills and magic of the [Dark] element. Here’s my new skill ‘compendium:’
Skills: [Hand-to-Hand Expert], [Appraisal], [Berserker], [Tailor], [Hunter], [Danger Sense], [Magic Sense], [Survivalist], [Feather Fall], [Familiar’s Sense], [Stealth], [Camouflage], [Darksight], [Night Vision], [Menace], [Night Slash], [Shadow Movement], [Shadow Domain], [Shadow Stealth], [Darkness Manipulation], {???}
Hidden Skills: [Gladiator of Claw & Fang], [Otherworldly Senses], [Otherworldly Blessings], [Prophet of Fenrir], [Fenrir’s Child], [Creation], [Dark Elementalism], [Potential of the Bard]
Magic: [Dark I], [Dark II], [Dark III], [Dark IV], [Dark V], [Dark EX], [Magic Weapon (Dark)], [Non I], [Non II], {???}
Divine Magic: [Summoning I], {???}
Unique Magic: {???}
Note that most of these are levels of magic I am capable of using. For example, [Dark I] allows me to use the first of the ten levels of all dark magic. I feel like it would take too long to list all the magic singled out that I can use. Just know that I can use the first five levels of dark magic along with the strongest level. Why I can’t use six through nine is beyond me- and Fenrir doesn’t wanna answer. Also, the [Magic Weapon (Dark)] thing means that I can take my hands, a sword, or really any weapon and imbue it with the power of darkness.
Those hidden skills can also be explained. They are skills that are exclusive from person to person. Everybody has skills, but not everybody has hidden skills. And, everyone who has hidden skills cannot find another person with the same one (unless put under extremely specific circumstances). They also cannot be seen with [Appraisal].
As for the [Summoning I] and [Familiar’s Sense], Fenrir says that it’s probably because of her existence. Being outside of my body and soul technically counts as summoning. She also says I can technically use her senses as my own as well as summon beasts to command once I learn how to use the skills.
The only thing that I’m really curious about are the {???} labels in my Skills and Magic. Fenrir says that it’s something that I am yet to learn but will be earned soon enough. Hope she’s right since I wanna get even more powerful. It’ll be fun, she says.
All this and nobody noticed without me telling them about my abilities. No one in our village knows about my skills, nor my magic, nor about Fenrir. Before you ask, yes, she is still some weird ghost-like wolf that hovers around my body. She is invisible to others, too. The only people who actually know about my skills are my friends Cadence and Silas. Thankfully, they’re keeping it a secret from everybody else. Maybe I’ll give a story about how they discovered it.
Anyways, tomorrow morning is my coming-of-age ceremony. This ritual is conducted whenever someone turns fifteen- the adult age of our village. There, my skills, my magic, and my potential for those two is determined and shared. This also means that I’m turning fifteen tomorrow. Thanks to my [Camouflage], though, I can hide a lot of my skills and magic. I plan to show only my [Hunter], [Tailor], [Non I], and [Dark I] skills and magic. I hope the village likes me when I show them this because all the other ceremonies have concluded with someone having some sort of job-like skill, such as [Mason], or generic magic, like [Non I].
Now that I think about it, showing [Dark I] alone would arouse a lot of suspicion- that magic is innate for the beings of the underworld. If that’s seen, everyone will probably try to kill me. I should use [Camouflage] for the magic, too. I can at least show [Non I]. Maybe [Survivalist] or [Feather Fall]. I dunno.
At this moment, I am finally going back to check out the cave where I met Fenrir. I’m already at the bush I was accidentally pushed down (I’ve forgiven Silas about it, don’t worry). After all my training with Fenrir, the fall even to the bottom of the cliff doesn’t seem so bad. So, I leapt.
I landed on both feet at the foot of the cave, completely unharmed. Although, admittedly, I was a little scared. I could now easily see into the cave thanks to my [Darksight] and [Night Vision]. Looking around, it was pretty bland for the most part. It was just an ordinary cave except for something in the center. There’s a gray pedestal with a purple cushion on the top. Resting on the cushion is a glass sphere that has been shattered into chunks and pieces. Fenrir told me that that was where she rested before I came along.
“Would something happen if that sphere is repaired?” I asked her. She responded with a quick no. Nothing would happen. “You said you were sealed away a long time ago by someone, right?”
To that, she gave a nod. She didn’t bother to tell me about it; but she does say that she might tell me another day. Right now, there is something that she wanted me to see. Normally, I wouldn’t be able to see the thing she is referring to. Thanks to my [Prophet of Fenrir] and [Fenrir’s Child], however, it was easy to see. There, in the back of the cave, was a doorframe. Beyond this frame lies a legendary artifact- the |Necklace of Fenrir|. Fenrir says that it would give me extreme amounts of power; however, you could only use it if you were a [Gladiator of Claw & Fang]. Luckily, thanks to Fenrir, I am.
Going through the frame, I was greeted by that accessory. I took hold of it and used [Appraisal]. Indeed, it was the |Necklace of Fenrir|. Immediately, I put it on. Although I didn’t feel much change, I knew that it made me somehow even more super’human’ than I already am. With a job well done, Fenrir and I set out on the walk back home. The sun was setting and I needed to go hunt for food. Thanks to [Hunter] and my various sense skills, it is very easy to do that. When I arrived back home for my job, I was promptly given a knife for hunting and skinning. Us beast-men don’t need ranged attacks to hunt- we are akin to animals, after all. It’s so much easier to just run after the little guys.
When the sun had set, I was already walking through the dark, dank forest. I don’t know why animals were not as common as they used to be. It wasn’t me- I was rarely even handed this job and I never trained on living things. It started to worry me a bit. However, that worry was quickly diminished when I spied a horned rabbit. These little bunnies are pretty good eats when you cook em’ right. Not to mention pretty easy to find. It hadn’t noticed me because of my [Stealth] and [Camouflage]. I was literally standing right above it in every direction and it still hadn’t seen me. I feel like that Dragonborn guy from Cloudgedge with that Stealth 100. And so, I swatted the bunny into a tree and killed it swiftly.
I took the bunny, skinned it, and started to make my way back home. It’s pretty hard to see through trees- so I sprung up and got on top of one. What I saw shocked me. Number one, the view was just generally an amazing one- real nice to use on vacations or something. Number two, I had actually wandered pretty far from the village.
Number three, the village is on fucking fire.
Without a second thought, I jumped from the tree and casted a [Non I] spell:
I ran around the burning village, trying to find anyone who’s alive besides the humans who were killing us, yet found no luck. No one was being spared. I eventually came upon my house, burnt to the ground and still burning. Casting
They were already dead. Burnt to a crisp. Ashes to ashes. Walking out of the fire, there were a bunch of humans wearing that armor. They all had swords and shields at the ready. All I have is this blank stare for all to see. I looked down.
Then, as I screamed into the night sky, all hell broke loose.
[Berserker] has been activated.
I started off by turning off all rationality. I’ve already stopped caring.
[Hunter] has been activated.
The humans around me felt an odd presence emanating off of me.
[Menace] has been activated.
The humans are scared now.
[Shadow Domain] has been activated.
The ground below all of us has turned black like a canvas drowned in ink. Fear truly sets in.
[Creation] has been activated.
Creating [Dark EX] magic spell:
26%... 71%...100%. Created [Dark EX] magic spell:
I was no longer thinking. Pure instinctive hatred has filled every nook, cranny, and crevice of my shattered mind. Everyone. Must. Die.
Casting [Dark EX] magic spell
From below, the dark, starry ground spouted out a flat triangle the size of the village’s remains. This triangle thrust all people it connected with, besides me, into a whole new universe of space. Screams were suddenly silenced as no sound could travel in the vacuum of space. There was no mercy. There were no survivors. Everyone around me is dead. Both my non-existent allies and my very real, and very weak, enemies. I knelt down as the clouds above started pounding their drums of thunder while the spell disappeared into the aether. As I felt the first raindrop of one of the largest oncoming storms in this world’s history, I started crying. When I did, I felt something else that I thought I would never feel again.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
The veil around my body has broken once more as eight different voices rang through my head explaining my current situation in different ways. “It appears your world has been set ablaze,” said one. “Your heart has been set in ice, it seems,” said another. “A terrible fate has distraught you as this storm, to be just as terrible, arrives to drown you out,” said a third. All eight said their names and titles: Ifrit of the Fire, Shiva of the Ice, Ramuh of the Bolt, Titan of the Earth, Siren of the Wind, Leviathan of the Seas, Bahamut of the Non, and Alexander of the Holy.
Each and every one of them… They are like Fenrir. They are spirits who were looking for someone who they can instill their power into. They are beings who were waiting for the time they could find a new home. Now, here I am. So much power has flooded into my body, mind, and soul. I wasn’t just ‘Penumbra’ anymore. I wasn’t just ‘me’ anymore. I was all of these powerful godlike beings at once. At my fingertips laid the power to create, destroy, and control entire worlds. Although I didn’t realize it then, I have, among so many other things, gained [Immortality].
Regardless, I felt almost nothing afterwards.
Not even sadness.
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Stats & Skill Compendium:
Stats:
Note: <###> = Real Stats, (###) = Limited Stats (as per [Stat Limiter]), ### is Public Stats (anyone who can [Appraise] Penumbra can see them).
HP: 1,000/1,000 <6,666,000/6,666,000> MP: 1,000/1,000 <444,000/444,000>
STR: 100 (2,000) <666,000> AGI: 100 (2000) <777,000> VIT: 100 (2000) <666,000>
INT: 100 (2000) <777,000> SPR: 100 (2000) <444,000>
Skills: [Hand-to-Hand Master], [Appraisal], [Berserker], [Tailor], [Hunter], [Danger Sense], [Magic Sense], [Survivalist], [Feather Fall], [Familiar’s Sense], [Stealth], [Camouflage], [Darksight], [Night Vision], [Menace], [Night Slash], [Shadow Movement], [Shadow Domain], [Shadow Stealth], [Darkness Manipulation] [Universal Elemental Manipulation], [Spatial Movement], {???}
Hidden Skills: [Gladiator of Claw & Fang], [Otherworldly Senses], [Otherworldly Blessings], [Prophet of Fenrir], [Fenrir’s Child], [Creation], [Dark Elementalism], [Potential of the Bard] [Path of the Bard: Pianist], [Non Elementalism], [Fire Elementalism], [Ice Elementalism], [Bolt Elementalism], [Earth Elementalism], [Wind Elementalism], [Water Elementalism], [Holy Elementalism], [Child Blessed By Gods], [One With The Universe], [Feared by the Prideful], [History of Lunacy], [Immortality], [Stat Limiter], [Break Limits], {???}
Pact Skills: [Hellfire], [Diamond Dust], [Judgement Bolt], [Gaia’s Wrath], [Lunatic Voice], [Tsunami], [Megaflare], [Divine Judgement], [Seamless Severance]
Magic: [All Dark I-EX], [All Non I-EX], [All Fire I-EX], [All Ice I-EX], [All Bolt I-EX], [All Earth I-EX], [All Wind I-EX], [All Water I-EX], [All Holy I-EX], [Universal Magic Weapon (Dark, Non, Fire, Ice, Bolt, Earth, Wind, Water, Holy)]
Divine Magic: [Summoning I], [Summoning II], [Summoning III], {???}
Unique Magic:
Skill Info:
[Hand-to-Hand Master] - The user has perfected the use of hand-to-hand combat. 100% more damage and efficiency to fighting with your bare hands, fist weapons, or claw weapons.
[Appraisal] - The user has the ability to analyze and judge nouns in their field of vision. Information given and worded is based on INT.
[Berserker] - The user increases all stats by 1.5x but may not use any activated skills negative part of status disabled due to [Gladiator of Claw & Fang].
[Tailor] - The user has undertaken a proficiency with creating clothes out of cloth and cloth-like materials. 25% easier to make items using cloth and cloth-like materials.
[Hunter] - The user has undertaken a proficiency with nature and its inhabitants. 25% easier to make items using the materials of deceased animals.
[Danger Sense] - The user is aware of things that most people are not: incoming death. User is aware of anything potentially lethal within a 120 feet radius.
[Magic Sense] - The user is aware of things that most people are not: magic in the air. User is aware of all magical items, as well as magic particles, within a 120 feet radius.
[Survivalist] - The user has undertaken a proficiency with nature and its core. 25% easier to make items using the materials of nature itself.
[Feather Fall] - The user has hardened their body to withstand falling. Or maybe they’re just really, really light. Damage from falling is reduced by 80% from falls 120 feet high or higher and is nullified on anything less than that.
[Familiar’s Sense] - The user can, at will, use the senses of any Summon they have under their will.
[Stealth] - The user has trained themselves on how to hide using the scenery. 25% easier to remain unseen under the eyes of other people.
[Camouflage] - The user has trained themselves on how to hide more than just themselves. 100% easier to remain unseen under the eyes of other people. Furthermore, the user can disguise their status so as to fool other people’s perception of them (does not work if the one you’re attempting to fool has higher SPR).
[Darksight] - The user can see in darkness as though it were light, but only in shades of gray.
[Night Vision] - The user can see in darkness as though it were light, but only in shades of green. If the user also has [Darksight], the user can see normally with the full spectrum of colors.
[Menace] - When activated, all enemies around the user feel a sense of foreboding and dread emanating from you. They may take it as a challenge or run away/become paralyzed in fear.
[Night Slash] - When in darkness of some form, slashing damage dealt by the user is increased based on the darkness. Examples include night, shadows, tree shade, and dark magic items.
[Shadow Movement] - The user can use any shadow in their vision to instantaneously teleport. Only works of the user is also standing in a shadow.
[Shadow Domain] - The user may command true darkness. At will, the user can turn the ground dark as black in a 120 feet radius. No amount of light, magical or not, can dispel these shadows until the user says otherwise or the skill wears off.
[Shadow Stealth] - When in darkness, the user cannot be seen by prying eyes. Anybody attempting to perceive the user while the user is within the confines of a shadow must have higher SPR than the user in order to see them clearly.
[Universal Elemental Manipulation] - The user has full control over the elements. When the user sees/senses an element, magical or not, the user can control the element to their whims.
[Spatial Movement] - Through some difficulty, the user of this skill can basically fly. The user can create invisible footholds in the air to jump after already jumping. The amount of times the user can do this is limited by the INT they have.
[Gladiator of Claw & Fang] - Personally selected by divinity to wield small, finesse weapons in combat. The user can wield daggers, claws, and fist weapons with absolute perfection. When fighting an opponent with superior weaponry, stats of the user are increased based on the difference between the weapons. Magic is not taken into account.
[Otherworldly Senses] - Through some twisted fate, the user has the senses of another world. Anything they see or hear that can be coherently translated into words is automatically made sensible to the user. Damage done through voice that attacks the mind is rendered useless.
[Otherworldly Blessings] - Through some miraculous fate, the user has the blessings of another world. Anything they say or write that can be coherently translated into words is automatically made sensible to anyone who hears or sees it. The user cannot use mind damaging attacks with their voice.
[Prophet of Fenrir] - Permanent AGI and STR buff based on our friendship. You can also use any knowledge I’ve gathered. Do me proud, Penumbra.
[Fenrir’s Child] - I can teach you anything I know. 50% bonus experience gain in combat. Do me proud, Penumbra.
[Creation] - The user has been gifted the power of creation. The user can make their own skills and spells. They are limited in the amount of skills and spells they can create based on INT.
[(Element) Elementalism] - The user has developed unimaginable affinity with (element). +50% damage with (element) and -50% MP cost for using/manipulating (element). Furthermore, (element) damage against the user is nullified.
[Path of the Bard: Pianist] - The user has realized their potential for music and has found the instrument that suits them most. +50% expertise with the piano and any instruments similar enough to it.
[Child Blessed By Gods] - +100% Exp growth. Double stat gains. A lot of other things, but I’m not going to tell you that. *wink* >u0
[One With The Universe] - I think I’ll hold on to the information about this a little while. Sorry, pal. And I don’t just mean Penny. Signed, -CT
[Feared By The Prideful] - For showing your strength against a horde of people who take their own power in stride and winning against them, the user is now naturally menacing. Intimidation is 50% easier to even the most hardy of people.
[History of Lunacy] - The user has experienced pain, trauma, and torture the likes the average man will never think of. 50% easier to endure pain and trauma, mentally and physically.
[Immortality] - The user has obtained a step towards divinity: an undying body. The user does not age, nor can the user’s body be aged/de-aged magically. The user no longer requires food, water, oxygen, and waste excreting. The user’s body cannot be damaged by anything except by people with [Immortality], [Omnipotence], [Indomitable], or [Godslayer] equipment. Attacks against the mind and will are still fair game.
[Stat Limiter] - The user has the ability to change how much of the stats they actually use in comparison to the stats they actually have. This skill is usually used to spar but can also be used for spying and reconnaissance.
[Break Limit] - Is part of a package with the one above. Deactivates the skill [Stat Limiter].
Pact Skills: Skills that are only obtained through a Summon. Once per day, the user may use these Pact Skills by Summoning their respective Summon. For example, a person who can summon Salamander, a basic fire elemental, can use [Flame Breath] once per day by Summoning Salamander.
[Hellfire] - Ifrit’s Pact Skill. Dashing through the enemy’s lines, fire streaks through the path cleaved.
[Diamond Dust] - Shiva’s Pact Skill. Showering ice-cold diamonds upon enemy lines, the diamonds pierce through and freeze.
[Judgement Bolt] - Ramuh’s Pact Skill. Calling a thunderstorm, bolts rain down all over enemies as they burn to a crisp.
[Gaia’s Wrath] - Titan’s Pact Skill. Rending the earth, men fall into the crevice never to be seen again.
[Lunatic Voice] - Siren’s Pact Skill. Singing along the breeze, enemies fall as tornados and hurricanes bluster forth.
[Tsunami] - Leviathan’s Pact Skill. Bubbling up, his tsunami rushes forth to drown the enemies who could not withstand the force.
[Megaflare] - Bahamut’s Pact Skill. Glaring menacingly before he strikes, Bahamut rains pain from his mouth as foes disintegrate.
[Divine Judgement] - Alexander’s Pact Skill. With light that is holy, beams shoot down from the sky and smite those who fight the bad fight.
[Seamless Severance] - Fenrir’s Pact Skill. You’re not ready for this one yet, Penumbra. But do train until you are.