Most would think, you killed a giant… so no more enemies within the night right? Nope! Wrong they are. I killed a bunch of sand crabs the size of a large dog. As soon the giant fell and I began to think about my current skills a tremor went through-out the beach area nearby. Massive crabs began to siege my position in masse. I was just thinking, I want some fish, haven’t had any in a while. As if the ocean parted upon my wish… thousands of crabs just up and went, Hey! Hello! Don’t mind me and my brothers we just want a bit of shadow elemental and we heard the signal for a late-night snack… Too bad I was thinking something similar in the snack department. What confused me though was I didn’t order delivery. Oh well, I won’t say no.

“Alpha, go and kill the crabs, bring some of the more mature ones back, like 5 or so. I’m hungry and this fire is perfect. I’m going to just make us a pot for food first”, Alpha bowed in respect than walked off nonchalantly slowly drawing his sword from his back. I just turned and though how to create a pot for food. Hmmm, cut some rock… no that won’t work too well. It would probably come out like a cube with its top missing. As I was thinking I could here *CRACK* every second or so. It was like a beat was playing. I decided that alpha probably wouldn’t want to kill the sieging crabs by himself. I summoned 12 shadow minions to go help out. The beings took the form of my Void-Walker form and dashed off to join the fray. I didn’t even look at the battle as I had bigger problems to deal with. How to get a bowl for my food.

As I was thinking I heard a massive *WUSH*, the sound of a large body of water being thrown into the air from something massive breaking the surface. I turned to the sound and looked at what could have caused such a scenario. A big walking upside-down bowl… I mean a giant crab was scuttling across. It was at least four times bigger than the biggest of its compatriots. Seaweed that was crumpled upon its back like vines, was whipping around lively, smacking even its friends trying to crush my minions. I started to walk towards it with a frightening smile on my face. Black drool was seeping from my cyan-colored mouth that was formed in my pitch black hood.

I still held my new sword twilight, as I haven’t had the chance to un-summon her. As I was walking my minions understood my intention and formed a path through the crabs. The claws of my void-walkers crushed the shells of their foes easily like squashing a bug. Guts and crab juice littered the sandy beach leading to the hexagonal stone beach, which further led to the ocean. My void-knight cut the crabs expertly like a master chef in the kitchen. Precision, speed, and power all wrapped upon in a nice combo that decimated the crabs. While also allowing many mature ones, that were slightly bigger than the other ones, to be harvested for later.

I was getting closer to the king crab and started to jog, then sprint across the sandy beach. The king crab was easily 6 meters tall. It saw me and started to scuttle towards me with rage and bloodthirst. When I was about 3 meters away I pulled space mana through me into my sword and swung in a horizontal line. The king crab’s instincts flared and a wall of seaweed that seemed as strong as steel formed in front of him. As if cutting the horizon itself, a pure black line formed from my swing and traveled through the air splitting the crab in half, its legs and bottom torso cut completely through and it's upper shell half cleanly split from its lower body. The wall of steel-like seaweed didn’t stop the line of the pure void at all.

As if the seaweed was nothing but a mirage, The crab was killed in an instant, but pure rage allowed it to do a last move and sharp crab shell thorns from its legs exploded, killing all of the surrounding crabs within 10 meters. Of course, I was ethereal when not attacking and using abilities so the shrapnel-like thorns just flew through me. I was interested in the after-death kill move and began to think if I can add something to either the royal guard or my summoned shadows. Make people think more than twice about attacking me in the future as a precaution. Hell even just summon living bombs would be an attack of its own. This needs testing in the future.

I turned back around to see the thousand… now a few hundred... army running back into the sea in a full-on retreat. I decided I will let the minions finish up as I head back to my stump. I un-summoned twilight, tightening the grasp around the handle of the sword and willing it to return to the shadows. It disappeared quickly as if it was nothing but a phantom fading out of existence.

…

The battle was finished and my minions returned to me, I decided to let them lie in ambush, rather not want to waster the 1200 mana I used to summon them. It was quite a bit of my mana, luckily I can regenerate mana so quickly so the loss was covered. Only the 240 mana lock was left which had no real impact on me.

Alpha was dragging the crab kings shell over to the fire as a few of my shadow minions were attempting to set up scaffolding using twigs from the recently cut down trees nearby. It was funny seeing some of them struggle as they are using the void-walkers claw-like hands to put a delicate structure together. Once they got to the ending of the scaffold-like structure one of the minions accidentally knocked a piece out and it all crumbled. They all turned to the idiot with fierce glares. I chuckled to myself, People may think that they are mindless horrors, but I know better. They are just loyal children trying to do what they think is best for me. I would say my heart would beat with warmth, but I am made out of pure shadow sooo… don’t get one of those...Yet.

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The crab soup was cooking slowly, luckily there were freshwater ponds just a little further inland, didn’t want salty water from the ocean to ruin my cuisine. Using purple leaves as temporary water buckets my minions accomplished much in filling the shell-bowl. I gathered a few spices from nearby that I could recognize as thyme. It was nice seeing my hunting skills from the past haven’t rusted too much. Recognizing wildlife forestry was key to living and not getting poisoned. Yeah…. I learned the hard way. Damn poison ivy… then oak… and holly berries.

As I figured it was about time to see how I want to adjust my future stat points, a bunch of screens made me jump within my vision.

System

Level Up(x12)

Kills - Southern King Crab(earth variant)(x1), Crabs(x632)

System

New Skill acquired: Spatial Cleave

I mumbled, “It’s almost like someone doesn’t want me to become more op. Stop giving me more things to do or ill kick your ass.”

I quickly pulled up my stats,

Stats:

Level: 67, Tier 1

(Available Points: 33)

Mana(intelligence x10): 1820

Mana Regen(wisdom): 320/sec

Strength: 20

Endurance: 20

Perception: 50

Agility: 35

Charisma: 100

Intelligence: 182

Wisdom: 340

Luck: 30

I began to think about whether I want to min-max or go well rounded. If I go min-max I should definitely go more towards mage-assassin build. If I go well rounded I will focus on bringing my lower skills up first. Either way I believe I should first put points into Strength, Endurance, and Agility till each is 50. That way I can outclass anyone who wants to go against me but is a lower level. That will cover my weakness against low-level assassins or sneak attacks. Through strength, schemes become useless and through intelligence, numbers become meaningless.

I was about to bring all my lower stats up then I began to think again. If I just did this, then I would be going down the well-rounded path. What if I did a mix of both, going min-max but slowly increasing other stats along with it. A ratio of 3-1 or I can even go further doing 3-2-1. 3 Being my most important and dedicated path. 2 being stats that will help along my path. 1 being stats that will be brought up to cover serious weakness.

I thought of my main focus, it reminded me of the old choose your class video games from my past. Knight, berserker, mage, priest, assassin, ranger, and summoner. Hmmm, whatever I choose here will become my foundation. I have a feeling there are no take-backs. I decided something that would suit my shapeshifting capabilities. Something also needed to build with my mage-summoner build that seems to go along my class. Endurance isn’t needed if I can strengthen myself through becoming ethereal, or even creating some sort of shield through mana. I wonder what a shield of lifeforce would look like? Ah! Shit getting off track again.

With resolution, I thought of my future build. Mage/Summoner/Assassin, mage and summoner can go hand and hand with the mana needed to supply such abilities. It helps tremendously that I know quite a bit of ancient magic from my past, how else were the pyramids built? It also helps that I have these stat bonuses like Ancient Researcher and Primordial Soul. Then to tie everything up, what could an assassin wish for the most, shapeshifting abilities. Remembering that I can become a literal shadow even firms my belief in my choice.

I willed 15 points into intelligence bringing it up to 197 and my max mana 1970. I could feel a wave of relief wash over me. Harsh emotions like greed, anger, and fear are becoming more distant. Not exactly going cold, but more calculating. It helps that mental exhaustion is becoming even a further effect of losing mana. I then willed 10 points into agility. I could feel my shadow becoming more relaxed. As if IU just had a massage and my muscles are at peak efficiency. Dodging a bullet is something that feels easy, I could dodge the rain of tears from the sky with ease. Then I willed 5 points into strength. My shadow robe, body, and even aura seemed to condense a little. Becoming thicker as if I could will the shadows to bend steel or even puncture through a boulder with ease.

I decided to save the remaining 3 stat points. If I absolutely need to I can assign them then I will, but I feel like keeping a rhythm of 15,10,5 would be much more smooth. Or I could do 3,2,1 for every 6 levels. It depends on the severity of the situation I guess.

I looked off to the distance towards the mountains far out, the night seemed to be no obstacle as I could see clear as day. It was time to hunt further in.