Shin stood within the rocky woodlands, unconcerned with the sounds of brutal battle around him. He channelled the feeling of swifter movement from his steps to flow throughout the rest of his body, and yet again it failed. Shin paused in thought. Rare skills were much harder to upgrade, finding no success in the past day and a half of this second stage, but trying to upgrade the uncommon tier Quickstep in the way he wanted felt different. There was a wall preventing him. Inari was the same way, for some reason. There was no particular logic to his thoughts, but Shin felt sure he was capable of upgrading her to epic tier, yet it simply wouldn’t work.
With that, Shin brushed off his persistent desire for full body movement without so much as a sigh and focused on Quickstep again. His body blurred as he glided effortlessly through the narrow forest clearing, faster and faster he willed until light swelled and shattered off his body.
[Quickstep has upgraded to the rare tier skill Greater Quickstep.]
Shin checked the skill, finding as much as he expected. There was no fundamental change, only a slight increase in the amount it enhanced, sitting at 1.55x for level 1. Shin had no need to test the skill further, instead striking the air in a sudden rapid burst.
[Quickstrike has upgraded to the rare tier skill Greater Quickstrike.]
Inari dropped something at his feet carelessly before dashing back off to her one sided war. A new training partner. Shin walked over to the squirming gnoll, bleeding heavily from its severed limbs, and held out his hand. A warm yellow light enveloped the monster, slowly closing its wounds. As the injuries healed, Shin drew the cloudy dark blue sword and slashed deeply across the gnoll’s back. It tried to reel away with anguished screams but a foot slammed down, pinning it in place as Shin began healing again.
[Cure Wounds has reached lvl. 10. 25 attribute points rewarded.]
Shin rode the wave of progression without pause, pushing the skill further to Greater Cure Wounds. He cut off half of the remaining stump of its arm and cast it again. The wound closed more quickly than before but showed no sign of regrowing.
Shin tilted his head down, his version of a sigh, a regenerative ability of any kind sorely absent from his status. It was no small matter. There was a great difference between how he fought now and how he would fight if he no longer needed to worry about losing a few limbs.
With that, he turned his focus to Vitalize. When he chose the skill he had intended on fusing it with Cure Wounds to acquire a healing skill based on the target’s Vitality rather than his own Force. But with Spirit Possession among his repertoire, that was no longer necessary. Instead, he could try a different path. He took hold of the skill in his mind, and cast aside any trace of healing, pulling solely on the desire for stamina and something greater.
[Vitalize has upgraded to the rare tier skill Galvanize.]
‘Moderately restore the target’s stamina.’
Shin tested the skill and the boon of stamina was noticeable, but stamina was never an issue to begin with. He could push his body as hard as he wished so long as he was conscious, the true goal he had in mind being trading mana for aura. Shin couldn’t say he was pleased with any of the four skills he upgraded, but it would have to do for now. Rare tier didn’t seem to be able to meet his wishes in general.
[Human Shaman (rare) - Lesser Lord]
Strength - 120 (156)
Agility - 355 (461)
Constitution - 50 (65)
Vitality - 84 (109)
Dexterity - 33 (43)
Perception - 150 (195)
Force - 24 (31)
Spirit - 466 (605)
Control - 83 (108)
Willpower - 36 (47)
Skills:
Greater Cure Wounds lvl. 1, Mystic Wall lvl. 1, Summon Mystic Kitsune Guardian lvl. 10, Greater Buffer lvl. 3, Superior Martial Combat lvl. 10, Greater Quickstrike lvl. 1, Befriend Spirit lvl. 10, Meditation lvl. 10, Galvanize lvl. 1, Greater Quickstep lvl. 1, Harvest Spirit lvl. 1, Spirit Possession lvl. 1, Ripple lvl. 3, Condense lvl. 3,
Traits:
Body Supremacy, Eyes of the Spirit King, Ethereal Soul, Spiritkeeper,
He divided the points into Strength and Agility in the current split. Intermediate Lord was at 1500, based on what Onamuji told him, meaning he had little room to spare, at least until he was able to fuse a few pairs of skills. Or rather, by the look of his status sheet, advance to the next class tier.
There were two pairs he had his eye on, Quickstep and Quickstrike seemed natural partners to get to his goal, blending the rapid strikes of his body with the speed of movement. The other was Greater Buffer and Mystic Wall. The result wasn’t an issue. He already had an idea of what he wanted and was content with that, but the act itself would prove tedious. Greater Buffer was rare, so Mystic Wall would need to be upgraded to match it, and then maxed again.
The magic shield skill line had been his slowest progressing by far as they scaled with Force, leaving him limited opportunities to train, not to mention being rather dangerous and inefficient mana wise. He had told Inari to throw him any monsters with a weak magic attack as her own skills were too strong, but by her current enthusiasm, even if she did come across some they were likely killed before they could even reveal such an ability.
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The white fox in question appeared by his side with a look of gloating farewell as she returned to his soul. She had gotten much better at judging the duration of her time limit lately. Shin glanced around at the silenced hunting grounds and sped off. Quickstep and Ripple were the most important for fighting so he would focus on leveling those, although he still wanted to find some spirits most of all.
As he scouted around him, the sight of a small figure dodging and fleeing a giant appeared in his world of colors. He sped over in an instant, spying the situation from the cover of trees. A towering humanoid monster lashed and swiped at a red haired girl who looked to have not yet reached her teens.
[Troll (epic) - Lesser Lord]
[Human Thief (rare) - Lesser Lord]
The troll stood hunched over with bent knees, yet still taller than an ogre, its body more muscle than fat and its gray skin like bloated leather. It had massive head with a large tusked mouth like that of a deformed goblin, with long arms and large clawed hands that nearly scrapped the ground as it moved.
But what Shin took notice of most of all, was the glint of intelligent glee in its eyes as it attacked just enough for the thief girl to avoid but never too slow to let her escape. It was toying with her at a speed almost enough to be a danger to him. The girl landed a deep slice on its hand but its flesh bubbled over and healed in moments. Shin paused, his mana not yet enough to summon Inari, but only for a moment before he drew an black bolt tipped arrow with several uncommon talismans tied behind.
The arrow barely pierced through the troll’s tough skin, but it was enough for its roll. The talismans burst into sizable balls of flame, and the troll roar in pain, it’s attention turned to the fire. With only a moment’s hesitation to realize the situation, The thief took off at a speed comparable to his own maximum.
The troll slapped at the fire before grabbing handfuls of dirt to pack on it, suffocating the fire. Its burn wounds slow to heal unlike the cut. It stared at the direction the thief escaped to, then sniffed around and looked to the woodlands, its eyes finding Shin’s. A deathly guttural roar fell down on Shin just as the worg had used and just as easily it was dismissed, with the same lingering strain on his mind.
A boulder leveled the tree he hid behind and half a dozen more on its wrecking path as Shin dove away. The troll hurled several more boulders and rocks of varying size before barrelling itself towards him, faster than he had moved against the thief. Even with its lumbering size it wasn’t much slower than his strained limit and its sharp nose preventing him from shaking it off. Shin glanced around for obstacles and distractions he could use against the monster, knowing his aura would run out first.
The troll raised a mighty fist behind him and slammed it into the ground. The land trembled violently, soil and stone split and broke apart beneath Shin’s feet and beyond. He burst to the side as the troll lunged face first with a snapping jaw at a speed so blistering he wouldn’t have been able to avoid if he hadn’t seen it coming.
As the troll sailed over the ground passed him, it lashed its arm towards the airborne boy. A black shield appeared in Shin’s arms as he braced himself, but it wasn’t enough. The strike battered him out of the air, sending him crashing through a tree and into another as the protection of buffer around him shattered.
Blood spurted from his mouth before he could stop it, the heavy shield disappearing as soon as his feet hit the ground and he broke into a sprint, no slower than before. His organs ruptured, his ribs shattered and several more bones fractured and broken throughout, but he held himself together as he ran as fast as he could without falling apart.
Roars and the sound of snapping trees followed him as the booming rapid footsteps drew closer. Shin darted through the sparse mountainous forest, bursting away from a second lunge and the mauling arm that followed, a trickle of blood draining down the corner of his mouth.
Something caught his eye and he changed direction as the troll starting to gain again. Over a ledge he jumped, sprinting straight for the three players on guard. He drew an axe and sword, and ran straight passed the trio as they planted their feet in defense, and the roaring troll barrelled over the cliff towards them.
“Run!” The squire of the group roared, and shouted again before they could object. “Now!”
Bjorn cursed, grabbing the mage woman in his arms and sprinting away. Moments later the sickening crunch of flesh and metal sounded behind them.
“Don’t look!” The distraught mage flinched at Bjorn’ shout as he turned. If they could just make it to the cliff ahead and passed the river, they had a chance.
With the edge of the cliff coming into view, Bjorn coiled himself for a lunge, and found his body sailing through the air. Buzzing in his ear was the only thing that accompanied the strange disorienting serenity as he floated, only for that serenity to quickly shatter as his body crashed back to the ground.
He tried to scramble upright in a daze and slumped as his arm didn’t take hold on the ground. As he started to come to his senses, he saw the blood pouring out of his arm half gone. He looked up in dismay to see the lifeless body of the woman between the troll’s jaw.
Bjorn roared in grief to his feet as the troll crunched down and thrashed a shrapnel of rock and soil at the man. He held up his arm on reflex and the stones struck him over the cliff and plunging into the river. The troll looked with disinterest at the sinking armored man carried by the swift flow of the rapids and sniffed at the air before ambling back where he came, swallowing the corpse in his mouth and dragging off the body of the warrior by the leg as he left.
Shin stored the vial of red liquid he just downed, channelling the newly upgraded greater cure wounds as he ran through the woodlands. The troll had stopped its chase, but he was far from safe yet. His injuries were dire. Forcing his bones and organs to hold together was only a stopgap measure. He needed to heal, before another threat reared its head.
He weaved through woodlands, avoiding paths with any monsters or players, searching for a deserted area of respite. A sphere appeared in the world of colors, distinct and wondrous and Shin felt something in his soul drawn to it. He stopped at its edge and through the veil, he would make out a spirit woman lying in the middle of the lake, sad and forsaken. He touched the sphere and was pulled in. He snapped into normal vision as the spirit rose up, tear streaks scarred her face of irrational distress.
[Lovelorn Nymph (uncommon) - Lesser Lord]
The spirit, beautiful and disheveled, let out a wailing shriek, water spouts shooting from the lake at Shin. He dodged through them and tried to pass back through the spiritual barrier around the lake to no effect.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
Shin’s offer of peace was met with another shriek and more piercing jets of water. The jolts of movement Shin was forced to make threatened to take their toll and he drew his bow. An arrow bounced off a hemisphere of mana with nothing but a crack. Three more arrows struck the same place and the shield broke apart but a fourth stopped on a second shield.
The water streams grew in number and power as though spurned on by the nymph’s rising madness. Shin was running out of time. He condensed a rippling surge within one hand and a red axe in the other. As he dodged another stream, he lunged at the nymph. A thrust shattered the shield and before another could take its place, his axe cleaved through the spirit. The nymph slowed and broke into prismatic lights which lingered and swirled into Shin’s palm forming a glowing ball emanating mana in the shape of a whimsical flame.
Shin stared at the soul for a moment with some pity and held it against his chest as it entered his soul. He looked around, the mysterious sphere still there but growing hazier. He took a seat on the grassy mound in the middle of the lake and fell into meditation, letting cure wounds heal his broken body, the consequences of the day already a footnote in his mind.