Shin deflected an axe with his steel shield, gliding deeper into the forest. Clanging rang out from the hobgoblin’s incessant blows, accompanying its roars. Its face was much like a goblin’s though a bit more human, its intelligence and skill a bit more too. A lanky, wiry body as tall as a man was more of an issue. Its reach was troublesome, too risky to fight head on as he could with its lesser kin.
With a frustrated glare, the hobgoblin grabbed the pesky shield to snatch it away and got sliced with a dagger for its trouble, pulling his hand back with a grimace. In a fit of rage, it smashed straight down with the axe. Shin’s legs buckled under the might of his blow even maneuvering himself to cushion the impact as much as possible.
He darted straight back with speed and the hobgoblin rushed forth, emboldened by the success of that strike. The hobgoblin raised his axe and swung at Shin who came to a sudden stop, and the axe stuck on a branch overhead. A spear thrust through its throat fast as lightning before it realized the trap its human foe laid. Shin twisted the spear and tore it out, and the hobgoblin fell to the ground.
A bow took place of the shield and spear, the uncommon tier one he looted from the party that attacked him. He nocked an arrow and rushed back to where he came. Three radiant guardians fended off a small horde of hobgoblins, the bulk of which lay still on the forest floor.
Shin took aim and drew his blow slowly, forcing strength past his limits, and loosed into the back of a hobgoblin’s skull. The uncommon tier bow was powerful but it required more strength than he had to draw it, forcing him to rely on body supremacy to push the extra mile. He couldn’t rapid fire as he had before but it was quite effective at felling stronger targets in a single shot.
He drew and fired again and another hobgoblin fell. A third dropped before a guttural roar drove some into the forest after him. Shin dropped the nearest with an arrow drawn in anticipation and loosed another before swapping the bow with a shield. He channeled his mana into the Call Kitsune, feeling for the lone thread distinct among countless and a white fox appeared.
The charging hobgoblins were met with grayish-blue fireballs, turning four mighty creatures into spasming tinder. The kitsune glanced at the defeated enemies then over to the battle raging ahead and finally back to Shin, with a mocking leer.
“I need you.”
The smug fox ran off towards the fray, and Shin followed. A terrifying roar followed a lunging bear which frightened and distracted the hobgoblins who paid for their mistake in blood as the radiant guardians cut them down with abandon. A swing of a massive club tore apart the bear illusion and a bellow set the hobgoblins back in line against the celestials.
The Hobgoblin Brute leader was larger and bulky with a protruding gut, a specimen of crude strength. It turned towards the guardians before jolting back, raising a hand just in time to block a ball of fire. It had avoided the worst but the fire still charred the end of his arm.
Three more fireballs struck the hobgoblin before it could think, setting it ablaze. It burst forward at the kitsune, who escaped into the forest, pushing and knocking down the trees before slowly to a limp, grasping at its neck before falling flat on its face. The guardians finished up the hobgoblins with the help of a few more arrows.
[Call Kitsune has reached lvl. 10. 25 attribute points rewarded.]
[Requirements for class upgrade reached.]
It had taken a few days, but he finally met his first goal. Shin looked through the prompts displaying his options. Healer, Battlepriest, Summoner, and Spiritualist. Battlepriest suited his current fighting style as a warrior priest and Summoner more so his planned one, but he selected Spiritualist without a second thought.
[Class has upgraded to uncommon tier Spiritualist. 25 attribute points rewarded.]
[Acquired uncommon tier skill Tame Spirit.]
[Acquired uncommon tier skill Vigil.]
A prompt arose to select a third skill himself, just as it had been for the priest class. Shin scoured the uncommon tier list for things regarding ghosts, souls, and spirits. There were some attacks, some defensive, and utility options, but his focus stalled on a skill that allowed one to raise the ghost of a dead body for a seance. Had it been at the start of the system, he would have chosen that without hesitation but knowing what he knew now, it would not grant him what he sought.
[Acquired uncommon tier skill Rest.]
As long as he kept rising, Shin was certain he could attain the power he wished, and to do that he needed to prioritize his current strength. Vigil was a skill that increased the speed of mana recovery at cost of mental and physical fatigue, so Rest, which relieved such fatigue at the cost of mana, complemented it perfectly. He needed to fuse two sets of skills and these would be his first.
[Human Spiritualist (uncommon) - Intermediate Peasant]
Strength - 28
Agility - 70
Constitution - 31
Vitality - 34
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Dexterity - 33
Perception - 29
Force - 24
Spirit - 129
Control - 83
Willpower - 36
Skills:
Treat Wounds lvl. 10, Holy Screen lvl. 4, Summon Radiant Guardian lvl. 10, Cushion lvl. 3, Call Kitsune lvl. 10, Advanced Martial Combat lvl. 10, Quickstrike lvl. 10, Tame Spirit lvl. 1, Vigil lvl. 1, Rest lvl. 1,
Traits:
Body Supremacy, Eyes of the Spirit King,
Shin ignored the points he had just received, his total already being 497. He left a small window of breathing room just in case one of his stats decided to increase again, but after all this time, it seemed that was only unnecessary caution.
[Hobgoblin (uncommon) - Intermediate Peasant rank]
Strength - 67
Agility - 81
Constitution - 59
Vitality - 68
Dexterity - 76
Perception - 88
Force - 50
Spirit - 53
Control - 39
Willpower - 44
[Hobgoblin Brute (uncommon) - Intermediate Peasant rank]
Strength - 105
Agility - 79
Constitution - 89
Vitality - 97
Dexterity - 85
Perception - 98
Force - 56
Spirit - 60
Control - 49
Willpower - 62
Shin inspected the two new enemies before walking over to a small cave entrance enclosing a swirling portal.
[Ant Tunnel Dungeon (uncommon) - Intermediate Peasant]
No further information on what the dungeon entailed, but Shin had grown used to a lack of information. He stared at it for a few moments before taking a seat under a tree, away and upwind of the hobgoblin bodies. Immediately, he engrossed his mind into the Vigil skill. The strain was obvious but the mana recovery was not. Only a modest increase for uncommon tier lvl. 1, it seemed it would take some time to see just how much of an effect it had.
Shin glanced ahead, giving some of his attention to the white fox gracefully swaying her tail in a regal pose in his clear line of sight, waiting. “You did great today.”
Her reaction held no objections, rather almost telling Shin as if the comment was obvious, but he could tell she was pleased. Shin looked at the kitsune and thought for a moment.
“Inari. You should have a name.” The fox seemed mostly unmoved and disinterested under the initial curiosity. “It’s a name for a powerful and great being.”
She held her nose in the air but Shin felt she was rather amiable to the idea.
“Inari.” She looked over at Shin, waiting on his next words. “You cost too much mana. I’ll call you again later.”
The fox brushed some dust at him as she disappeared in a huff. Shin patted it off and returned his focus to his skill. The limit of the tutorial was steadily approaching and he had only touched on the surface of the secrets it held.
---
A faint simmering blue mist surrounded Shin, mana more densely packed in the space around him, brought in by Vigil. Warmth flowed through his body, taking in a fraction of the gathered mana, offset only by the pressure building inside his head. He could suppress it to an extent and power through but not relieve it completely. A short rest would be needed soon.
A sharp clang assaulted his ears right next to his head. Shin’s eyes opened and shifted to the side, finding his radiant guardian’s sword blocked a large sickle held by a small creature. The guardian flung the creature back and Shin got a better look at it.
[Redcap (uncommon) - Intermediate Peasant]
A small bearded gnome with sharp teeth and glowing red eyes. It had a wiry, leathery body, wearing simple worn down clothes contrasted by intricately crafted metal boots and a large blood red cap. In its large clawed hands, it held the sickle much too long for farm work.
Shin rose to his feet and the guardian charged at the monster. The redcap was quick, both on its feet and with its weapon, dodging or blocking the strikes of the greatsword. It knocked away a strike and suddenly darted around the guardian towards Shin. The edge of its sickle glowed with a clear sheen as the redcap pounced, aiming to reap Shin’s head.
Another radiant guardian appeared and met the reaper’s scythe with a glowing sword, however the sickle carved clean through the blade, shattered the yellow screen and scratched deep into the steel shield that appeared. Before the redcap could react, the guardian pummeled it with the hilt of its blade, slamming it into the tree where Shin had just been.
The redcap coughed and struggled to its feet but found itself surrounded by the two guardians. It gripped its weapon, readying itself for an attack but an attack never came. Shin raised his hand and cast Tame Spirit. Instantly, he felt the mind of the redcap and his own bearing down on it, imposing, conquering, and Shin cancelled the skill.
The two guardians retreated back and the redcap fled into the forest. Shin stared at the ground in thought. Something in the redcap would be lost if he used the skill, he could feel it. It wasn’t quite brainwashing, but more of a loss of choice, a domination. Closer to his control over the unfeeling golems than the spirits he called. Shin didn’t like how it felt.
As Shin was about to walk back to his tree, he saw tiny faces peering out from behind the leaves, curious, innocent and a little wary. The guardians moved back a distance at his command. One of the pixies inched out from the protection of the leaves then flew over to him and others started to follow.
“Big friend.” The first pixie, the one he recognized having saved from the giant spider, hovered by his face as the rest fluttered around him.
“Friend?”
“Human friend?”
“Scary friend.”
“Big scary?”
“Scary eyes.”
Shin felt a childish mischievousness from the little pixies but that was all. The melodic ring of youthful voices sang out as they flew around. “Did you come to play?” Shin asked warmly.
“Play?”
“Question?”
“Silly human doesn’t know things?”
“Silly scary?”
“Play.”
The pixies gradually formed a ring, holding hands and circled around him, chanting. “Scary eyes~ Silly friend~ Scary eyes~ Silly friend~”
As the pixies sang around him, Shin felt mana and intent surge within his soul. He fell into a calm, letting the surge flow freely without resistance. On the outside, balls of light formed from the pixies and covered him in an ethereal glow before bursting into glittering shimmers.
[Tame Spirit has become rare tier Befriend Spirit.]
“Bye~”
“Leave big friend.”
“Silly bye.”
Just as quickly and irresponsibly as they arrived, the pixies flew off again. Shin looked at his new skill they had gifted him. He had missed out on the attribute point reward for maxing it but he was more than happy with the result. This new skill appealed and offered, not dominated, and more importantly, Shin felt instinctively that nothing would be lost. Shin watched the last of the pixies disappear within the forest and sat back down under his tree, returning to train again.