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5. A Look at His Skills (1)

As he noticed something strange in those words, a familiar flat feminine voice echoed in his ears.

[Don’t tell them to anyone]

Reid's eyes widened, instinctively sitting up. He reached for his ear while trembling a bit. ...Was that Her voice?

No doubt about it, he was immediately convinced. Although faint, his memory of the woman's voice that echoed before he woke up in this world was very similar to the voice just now. It raises another question, why?

He could guess already. It was quite clear. He frowned. This just keeps getting more annoying.

Elihai had stated that Reid's arrival was unique, and a first for them. Perhaps, it wasn't Reid himself that was unique, but what he had brought.

His bed was in the corner of the room, and so he could comfortably lean his back against the wall. He thought about the matter seriously for a long time.

Reid's clothes were still a mix of thick cloth and unknown animal hide, but since they didn’t smell and seemed to protect him from Black Moon’s temperatures, he intended to buy new clothes after getting some sleep.

There was no concept of day in Alnarkiz, that was clear. However, there were times when the lunar eclipse in the sky disappeared completely, lasting for about fifteen hours. It seemed the rotation time on this planet was thirty hours per day.

Ashlyn, the inn’s owner, had warned him not to sleep during the lunar eclipse. The presumably Eclipsed Monarch had the power to corrupt those under the moon, but since the black moon had already disappeared, there was nothing for him to worry about.

After thinking it over, Reid decided that constantly dwelling on the voice's matter wasn't helpful. Of course, that didn’t mean he wasn’t taking it seriously. There were simply more pressing matters right now.

Reid turned his thoughts to his Race. Immediately, the familiar black screen with white text appeared.

[Race: Elf (Fallen)

Description: An elf whose powers have been stripped, lowering their status, thus called Fallen]

I thought it would be more, Reid felt a bit let down. He suspected that his Authority was still influenced by some form of corruption.

Even as a fallen elf, his Authority was likely at the Guardian level, which, although the lowest by Black Moon standards, was still quite strong.

Authority holders were rare, and passing the Trials to obtain it was similarly difficult. The environment around Black Moon generally made it hard for its inhabitants to gain strength.

His suspicion regarding the corruption was due to his own Privileges.

[Authority: Degradation

Privileges: Decayer, Forest Manipulation (Corrupted), Shadow Affinity, Eyes of Light (Corrupted)]

As Decayer was the opposite of Restoration— a Privilege well-known from the elves— it wasn’t entirely surprising to possess it after being corrupted by the Eclipsed Monarch. The same went for Forest Manipulation and Eyes of Light, the latter confirmed by Atronia to have a close connection to light—if not for the Corrupted tags.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Even after being replaced by a new soul, the Corrupted status remained on Reid’s Privileges. It was a clear sign.

Additionally, Shadow Affinity— closely related to the Eclipsed Monarch— was among his Privileges. Reid thought this said it all.

Speaking of which, I haven’t checked what the Privileges given to me by the Authority actually do.

Reid promptly did so, starting with Decayer, which was sparse.

[Privilege: Decayer Lv.1 (0% EXP)

Skills: Rotting Touch Lv.1 (0% EXP), Infusion Lv.1 (0% EXP), Damage Manipulation Lv.1 (0% EXP)

Bonus: Poison Resistance Lv.1 (0% EXP)]

Quite predictable, he thought.

He moved on to Forest Manipulation without much thought, deciding on how to cope with the thorough abilities after knowing all of his Privileges' Skills.

[Privilege: Forest Manipulation (Corrupted) Lv.1 (0% EXP)

Skills: Corrupted Growth Lv.1 (0% EXP), Degradation of Flora Lv.1 (0% EXP), Eclipsed Canopy Lv.1 (0% EXP), Poisonous Roots (0% EXP), Shadow Flowers Lv. 1 (0% EXP), Poisonous Thorns Lv.1 (0% EXP)]

That’s a lot… Reid was pleasantly surprised. But, on second thought, it makes sense. Aumanas was still an elf, even if a fallen.

Moving on to Shadow Affinity,

[Privilege: Shadow Affinity Lv.1 (0% EXP)

Skills: Shadow Cloak Lv.1 (0% EXP)]

“...”

That's all? Reid was surprised again, but unpleasantly for this time.

This is also normal, he grimaced, scratching his forehead. Neither I nor Aumanas had much understanding of that Privilege, from the look of things.

A person’s basic understanding influenced the available Skills. There were unique advantages to the influence of Divine Authority like the Celestial Wanderer, but this wasn’t one of them. You still had to learn. I need to learn them.

For the last Privilege, Eyes of Light,

[Privilege: Eyes of Light (Corrupted) Lv.1 (0% EXP)

Skills: Illuminator Lv.1 (0% EXP), Blinder Lv.1 (0% EXP), Call of the Light Lv.1 (0% EXP)]

Reid squinted his eyes in doubt. They seem normal. And because they seemed too normal, he checked their descriptions immediately.

[Skill: Illuminator Lv.1

Description: Provides bright vision to up to six people, particularly effective for detecting Dark Affinity disturbances.

Side effect: The longer it is used, the closer the giver and the given to fall into darkness]

He sneered. That's more like it.

Reid checked the remaining two.

[Skill: Blinder Lv.1

Description: Blinds one's vision with bright light and implants the seed of corruption of the Eclipsed Monarch.

Additional Effects (on enemies): Thinner Temperament, Confused Thoughts, Distorted Hearing.

Side Effects: Risk of being marked by the Eclipsed Monarch when used on something that draws His attention, fully corrupted by Him]

At first, Reid was pleasantly surprised by how the skill affected his enemies.

A skill that directly attacked someone's mind, the source of their actions, was incredibly valuable. Although it was only level one, and some individuals might easily resist its effects, it would still be useful for even minor disturbances.

The side effects are problematic. Reid thought seriously. But if I carefully choose my targets and situations, I should be able to use them safely.

With that in mind, he continues to examine the last skill of Eyes of Light, which somehow seemed out of place by the name alone.