I opened my eyes and saw a black landscape as far as i could see. Everything from the grass beneath my feet to the sky above my head, it was all black. Strangely enough i could make out all the shapes in my surroundings and could see as though it was daylight.
"..." I turned around and looked behind me to find a tall tower of some sort extending up into the black clouds.
I focused on it's structure as much as i could but couldn't tell exactly what it was made of.
I felt a strange sort of calmness and serenity despite finding myself in this unknown place and pondered for a few moments before a realization hit me.
Is this a form of spirit world or something? I can sense an extraordinary amount of mana in the surrounding but it's almost entirely of the darkness element. I made a fist with my left hand and tapped it on my right palm with a -pon- sound and murmured in a happy voice.
"This must be the realm of the darkness goddess, Darkeria.. was her name i think."
I started walking towards the tower and felt the surrounding mana thickening with every step i took towards it and an unseen pressure began to build up around me. I stopped walking when i was around twenty feet away and sat on the ground, the pressure becoming too much to bear for me.
"There must be a way to get closer without being affected this badly..."
I focused on the mana in the area and used my mana vision to make out the particles.
Expecting to find an overwhelming amount of black in my vision, i frowned at what i saw instead. A swirling mass of grey was slowly eroding the black and growing more chaotic in nature as time went on.
... What? I watched this proceed for several minutes and noticed that as the grey mana grew and consumed the black mana, the pressure in my surroundings grew denser and more uncomfortable. I tried to will the grey mass into a form of a sword like i did with the air and fire elements but a sudden sharp pain tore at my hand i looked down to see a large amount of blood flowing out from a tear in my palm.
"Fuck! What the hell is this?" I cried out in pain and frustration and poured my mana into my hand to expel and grey mana that was leaking into me. It was even more painful than when i tried to shape it but i endured it, slowly forcing it all out until it was all out. Once the last drop of the mana was out, my hand slowly started healing on it's own.
"..." I looked back up towards the tower and saw that only a thin layer of black was left defending the tower.
"Hello?" I yelled out with all my might, attempting to make contact with anyone who may be inside the tower.
After waiting several minutes i saw a slight ripple in the black mana near the base of the tower and a small light shout out towards me. After it hit me i found myself standing inside a large foyer decorated with swords hanging on the walls and chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling, everything as black as it was outside.
As i slowly looked around the large room i saw something shining on the ground by a large throne-like area at the far end. I tilted my head to the side a little and made my way slowly towards it, keeping an eye on my surroundings as i did. When i finally reached it i bent down and carefully inspected it.
It was a small, flat sheet of a black metal of some sort, carvings of strange letters and fragments adorned the side i was looking at. One particular pattern i could discern easily enough was the symbol of darkness, the eternal dark moon.
I slowly reached for it but stopped just short of touching it. If this turns out like the bloodstone... I made a small glove out of darkness and then picked up the small metal plate. It was almost the same size as a credit card so i decided to call it the [black card] for now. As soon as i stood back up again i felt the card vibrate a little and then disappear.
A series of strange noises and images swept through my mind before new knowledge surfaced into my thoughts. I instinctively knew that it had adapted to my mana flow and was in a sort of [spirit form] inside my soul. I could will it to take physical shape at will if i wast and it served as a sort of id card.
BasicName:Nick EverdreamAge16RaceERROR!!!Title[Aevolia's Hero], [Knight], [Master of magic]StatsLevel:15Mana Level:Lower rank deityMana:239,000 / 300,000HP2319 / 10,000Strength143Endurance100Magical power999AffinityCreation1500 / 100,000 [LVL MAX]DarknessMax [LVL 1]Light10 / 1000 [LVL 1]Fire83 / 1000 [LVL 1]Air103 / 1000 [LVL 1]Water1 / 1000 [LVL 1]Earth23 / 1000 [LVL 1]Ice0 / 1000 [LVL 1]Lightning0 / 1000 [LVL 1]Battle AffinityMelee2000 / 3000 [LVL 3]Magic33,000 / 34,000 [LVL 34]Ranged0 / 0 [Not learned]
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"..." As soon as i looked at the card a transparent screen emerged in front of me and i heaved a heavy sigh.
"So on top of being a fantasy world of science and magic... It' basically got an in built game system... Why am i not surprised..." I slowly re read the card and raised my eyebrows. Apparently time flowed a little different here in Aevolia because i was sure my birthday was at least another two weeks away. But what really surprised me was those stats.
"Level 15 with 999 magic power and 300,000 mana..." I looked up and a tear appeared in my left eye. At least it was only my magic that was cheat-like. "And what's with the ERROR!!! for my race? Am i not human?" After i finished going through the information i sighed once more before willing the card back to wherever it goes when i don't need it.
I looked around once again and saw a magic circle forming in the center of the room. Well may as well check it out since there isn't any stairs or a door. I casually walked up to the formation and stepped on it before finding myself in a room at the very top of the tower, standing in front of a giant window overlooking the black clouds and landscape below.
-clink- -rattle- I faintly heard the sound of chains rattling from behind me and turned around.
"Cliche much." I murmured as i gazed at a figure wrapped with chains at the far corner of the room. As if my voice was a trigger the figure shook a little, causing the chains to rattle again before looking up at me.
A shiver ran through me as i locked eyes with the figure of the unknown person at the other side.
Jet black feathered wings and long flowing black hair that fell to the waist and dark red eyes that pierced the darkness. An ample bosom and smooth face that made my heart ache softly as i stared at her. All in all a real beauty to behold that also tickled my protective urges. Despite all the mature features she had, she seemed only around 12 or 13 years old.
I took a step forward and reached out unconsciously before i realized what i was doing. I immediately snapped out if it and shook my head before slowly walking towards the young girl. With each step i took i felt a little bit of my mana being sucked out towards the girl but i didn't mind it. I felt a slight tingling in my head and knew that the girl before me was without a doubt the goddess Darkeria.
When i finally stood before her i brought my right arm out and held my hand out for her, my brand glowing bright black.
She hesitated for a second before reaching out her only unrestrained limb and touching my hand gently.
With a grand flash of light and a resounding boom n the air, her chains all evaporated to dust and i dragged her up from the ground.
"... Thank you..." i heard her whisper quietly.
I shook my head softly and smiled brightly before letting go of her hand and stroking her head a little.
"I only did what a hero should do. I rescued the captive princess, or in this case, goddess. I was a little surprised though. You look younger than i thought you would be, based on your voice from earlier. You're Darkeria right?"
She looked straight at me and titled her head a little to the side, the action looking so cute i nearly burst out squealing "so cuuutteee~"
"I may look like this but i am at least 1000 years old you know?" She huffed up a little and pouted, but didn't say anything about me stroking her. After a few moments of silence i took my hand away and felt a tugging at my consciousness before Darkeria smiled and said.
"I don't know how you got here but it seems it's time for you to return to your own body Nick. Thank you for releasing me from my captivity. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon enough. Just one warning though," The smile vanished from her lips and she lowered her voice to the point i could just barely make out what she said.
"If you see any grey mana in your surroundings of sense something wrong around you, be careful. It's the very essence of chaos and the source of power for the darkness. The one who sealed us goddesses and is trying to destroy this world is the cause of this mana. So please be careful."
The last thing i felt was a slight kiss on my cheek before everything went black...
Work is such a pain right now QQ so much forced overtime and not enough sleep.... sorry guys but i can promise a few more releases starting Wednesday and i'll try to pump out at least 4 or 5 chapters if i can since i'll be getting some much deserved holidays YAY! Anyway at first i wanted to avoid using a game like setting but before i knew it, it just wormed it's way into the story before i knew it... Oh well I'll see where the story goes from here i guess. I'll try to get another chapter up tomorrow if i can. Once again thank you for reading my work and i look forward to bringing more joy/entertainment to you guys in the future.