The Mask of Volesprit - Chapter 2 - The Birth of Evil
Two weeks had passed since Volesprit had discovered the Dark Library. The beta test time was coming to an end.
Volesprit sighed. He was far from satisfied. Every discovery he had made had given birth to new questions. But still, the knowledge he had dug out from those books was no joke.
Volesprit had, after learning the ‘Magic Mastery’ skill, made a few experiments.
He had discovered how to use magic without any tools. Wands and staff certainly permitted a mage to amplify its magic power, but channelling his mana into the tool increased the casting time. Of course, for common mages who hide themselves behind warriors, an increase in casting time wasn’t a problem if there was a drastic increase in magical prowess.
But Volesprit certainly had no plans to hide himself behind another man. Or worst of all, a woman. He would rather be gutted than be shamed this way. He knew that it was an archaic way of thinking. But still he didn’t care. He would fight his own battles.
He also found out that multi-casting was possible. He didn’t understand why no one did it. To do a measly two or three tasks at a time isn’t so hard to anyone, after all. Or so he thought.
He also learned various things on a wide range of magic systems. Shamanic, runic, druidic, ecclesiastic, demonic … Volesprit didn’t understand why those men put barriers between magic systems. No matter where the power originated from, it remained magic. He didn’t care if men believed that using such a magic was evil. Magic was a tool. A tool was neither good nor evil. It served the task it had been made for.
Volesprit read all the books in the dark library, caring neither for subject, nor origin. Some spoke of such dark power that most mage wouldn’t even have the guts to touch them, for fearing the taint of such darkness.
Volesprit didn’t care about the ‘taint’. He had read the books, dissected the spells and learned from them. Until he found THE book. It was, among all the books in the Dark library, the most evil by far. It spoke of a kind of magic so ancient and so dark that … Volesprit had kept it for the end. The same way a young boy would keep his favorite meal to savor it at the end of a meal.
The name of the book was ‘The Way of the Soul’. The book taught the dark art of soul manipulation. With that art, one could bypass a man’s free will. Volesprit sighed. He was dejected. He had waited so long before attempting to read the book. For that.
“So boring.”
Still, he kept reading. The magic depicted in the book used a writing form he didn’t know about. At least, he might learn something useful.
Volesprit took some notes, and then frowned. Those who had created this magic were greedy bastards who looked for a way to put their filthy hands on people’s fortune and political power. But, from all the books he had read so far, an idea emerged.
Volesprit now had the hint he had been looking for: a way to bypass his limit of mana.
In this dark piece, Volesprit drew the base of the most evil spell ever created by human hands. Or any other kind of hands. Then, Volesprit watched his creation with grim eyes. This kind of spell … he would never use it.
He had drawn the damn spell because of scientific curiosity - he wondered if it could be made - and now that he knew, he regretted it. It’s not that he considered the spell evil. As he said it before, Magic was a tool. He just regretted losing his time. He could have spent it in more lucrative way.
And now, a message popped up before his eyes.
Thanks for your help on the beta test.
Volesprit disappeared in a flash of light and awoke in his bedroom. He got up and smile sadly:
“Nothing I can do about it. Tomorrow the game will be launched. I have done the best I could.”
Edward now had nothing better than eat and go to sleep. The day to come was going to be, after all, a busy one.
___________________________________
Volesprit woke up at six in the morning and, after grabbing a snack and washing himself, went in the capsule, and waited. As soon as his clock announced 6:30, he connected the game.
As his character had already been created, so he went past the character creation and woke up in the dark library. He then snatched the paper he had hidden there. Looked like the AI didn’t go look farther than his item windows. As he thought it would. It was logical, after all. If it was in the world BEFORE the launch, it would be accepted as PART of it. And not as HIS.
Volesprit left the room and smiled at Merle.
“Hello, my young friend. How are you today?”
Looked like the relationship one worked on on the beta test stayed as it was. Those fools really had lost their time when they had rushed to the fighting grounds.
“Well … I’m lacking a little exercise after all those days locked up in the library, but except for that, I’m fine. And you?”
“As fine as one can be in my old age. If you want to break a sweat, why don’t you go to the training grounds?”
“I’ll do that. Thanks for the tip.”
“You’ll find it two street north from the restaurant ‘La bonne chair’ you love so much.”
Volesprit followed Merle’s indication and entered the building. It was empty, but for scarecrows
and a brutish looking man.
“Hello, young man, what can I do for you?”
Volesprit turned to face the man and said in an icy cold voice:
“I’m just here to exercise. So, don’t pay me any attention.”
The man shivered when he met Volesprit’s gaze.
“That, young man, … Just how many people did you kill to get... so dark... ?”
Volesprit ignored the man and went to the scarecrow. He took a fighting stance and started punching the scarecrow, lightly. To warm up. Before switching gears, and hitting with all his might.
The instructor who had watched him from afar growled. The fool was going to break his hand if he continued like this. Sighing - he really didn’t want to approach the young man - he came to him and touched his shoulder:
“Excu …”
Volesprit glanced at the man over his shoulder. His eyes promised death to the man … who backed down in a blur.
New Stat: Killing Intent
Killing Intent +10
New Skill: Blood Lust
Your eyes shines with Killing Intent
Killing Intent x2.
“Calm down, man. I … just wanted to give you an advice … so don’t kill me, pretty please?”
“What advice?”
“Your … hands … you will break them at this rate …”
Volesprit sighed:
“Not really … don’t make me lose more time.”
Volesprit showed him his hands. They were coated with mana. It was one of the discoveries he had made in the Dark Library. The ‘Mana Overcoat’ skill. He used it mainly on his fist and feet. That would allow him to deflect swords barehanded and to increase his mobility.
Volesprit resumed hitting, while the instructor retreated to the back of the room. He had no intention of fighting with his fist to begin with. But his mother had hired people to gather informations, and they had reported that he could gain some stats this way.
Volesprit had decided he wouldn’t come out of the city until he finished this training. Six hours later, a window popped up:
STR +1
That would certainly take most of the four weeks he was forced to stay in the city. That also meant he was going to have to look for a job in the meantime. Volesprit continued hitting for another six hours, gained another stat bonus, and a level in the ‘Mana Overcoat’ skill.
He then left the training hall and went to his favorite restaurant ‘La Bonne Chère’. There, he went directly to the cook and asked him if he was looking for some hands to hire.
The man was no fool. He saw how women watched him for afar. The man was a chick-magnet. Even if he didn’t need anyone, he would have hired him. He gave him a job as a server - he had to put that face somewhere it would be seen - and smirked, as two hours later, when the restaurant opened, women who passed before the restaurant, watched inside and stopped dead in their tracks. And hurried inside while whispering to their friends about how the restaurant ‘La Bonne Chair’ had hired a super hottie. The women gave thumbs up to the chief for hiring Volesprit, and he earned a quite respectable amount of money thanks to their tips.
Volesprit was always excessively polite and smiling, even when he was sent to attend men, who were … a little less nice to him. They certainly loved jokes. Especially those who were made at his expense. But somehow, Volesprit always managed to dodge the bullet. And men respected him for that. Even if they hated him that much more for it.
Days passed. Volesprit befriended a young teenage girls, Cassandre, who worked with him. She had discovered a hidden class, ‘Cook of the Gods’ after reading a book of ancient cuisine and praying to Andhrimnir, and came here to work and learn her craft under the head chef who was known as the best cook in the country.
Cassandre was a really sweet, but naive young girl. Her sweet smile eased the anger of Volesprit who, even though he showed nothing, had been on the verge of beating up the gang that came every day to piss him off.
Everyone loved her, even the women - because of her age, they didn’t see her as competition, but as something like Volesprit’s little sister - for her cheerful character. Everyone except for those who harassed Volesprit. They saw her as a mean. A mean to draw Volesprit out of the city and beat him up. They couldn’t do him any harm for fear of the guard reactions.
More than four week had passed. Cassandre had left the city to try her chance at the fighting grounds - the Cook of the Gods class specialized in cooking boss level monster’s meat and making mead. So, like Andhrimnir, she had to go out of her way and learn to fight to find such meat.
Volesprit promised to join her soon, but he still had a few hours left to spend to complete the basic training, and learning the spells he had drawn for the occasion. So they agreed on meeting the day after at 2 p.m.
Volesprit entered the training grounds and resumed hitting the scarecrow. The sun had already left the sky and gone back for a few hours when the final message which showed he had finished the basic training popped:
Strength rises by 1 point. (+1 STR)
Agility rises by 1 point. (+1 AGI)
Vitality rises by 1 point. (+1 VIT)
Fame rises by 20 points. (+20 FAME)
Life rises by 100 points. (+100 HP)
The instructor cautiously approached Volesprit and said:
“Congratulation … You have finished the basic training. It is a tradition for the instructor to give a iron weapon to a man who has just finished the training, but … I don’t really know what to give you. It’s a first for me to see a man punching a scarecrow with his hands coated with mana.”
Volesprit didn’t actually need any weapon, but he could give it to Cassandre.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
“A light weapon … a rapier, please. For a five feet tall girl.”
“Hum … the weapon should be for you sir …”
Volesprit watched the guy until he broke in sweat and muttered:
“I … I didn’t mean … I’ll go search for a rapier … five feet tall, right?”
“Right.”
“Ok, wait a minute …”
The instructor disappeared in the back room and came back with the rapier. He handed it over to Volesprit and waited for him to leave the room. Only then did he allow himself to get his breath back, muttering:
“This guy was really intense … almost had a heart attack when our eyes met. I swear I saw my own death written in his eyes. Hopefully, I won’t have to meet those eyes ever again.”
______________________________________________________________________________
Volesprit left the training hall, and walked until he arrived before the tailor’s shop. He opened the room, met the owner’s avid eyes - yes, the tailor was a woman - and greeted her:
“Good evening, madam. I am here to buy some spare clothes.”
“What are you exactly looking for, sir?”
“Some black clothes. Nice one, please. I don’t want to look like a buffoon.”
“Those clothes might interest you … they give a defence of …”
“When I said nice clothes, I meant nice looking clothes. Elegant one if you prefer.”
“But as for the defence …”
“If, and I really meant IF, the clothes are nice, then I’ll buy them.”
The women glanced at Volesprit and went in the black room. She came back with clothes who looked like they were made of pure darkness.
“The only clothes elegant enough for someone such as you are those one. But I fear I can’t sell them.”
“Why not? Are they that expensive?”
“Not really … but they are made from the silk of a spider demon, and the ink came from the blood of a succubus. The result of such a mixing is elegant, certainly, but really … evil.
“I don’t believe in evil. I’ll pay you the price you will ask, but I’ll have those clothes. Your little story has convinced me even more that those clothes are exactly what I looked for.”
The lady looked at Volesprit and sighed. She wanted to please him. And she could already envision what he would look like in those clothes. He would be so … fabulous.
“Give me two gold coins and they will be yours.”
The material themselves were worth hundred time more than this, but no one but him would buy the result of her experience.
Volesprit was going to hand her the coins when he spotted an elegant pure white mask on the display.
“How much more for this white mask?”
“Fifty silvers.”
Volesprit handed her the money and went into the changing room.
Name: Pure Black shirt
Stats: Durability: 100/100 Defence: 5
Descriptions: A shirt made from demonic drops, possess the power of Darkness. At night, the wearer of this shirt is invisible.
Restrictions: Must possess a soul tainted by the power of Darkness.
Options: Power of Darkness Based Skill x1,1
+20 Elegance
+10 Charisma
You are cursed: life regeneration=0
Name: Pure Black pants
Stats: Durability: 120/120 Defence: 4
Descriptions: A pant made from demonic drops, possess the power of Darkness.
At night, the wearer of these pants is invisible.
Restrictions: Must possess a soul tainted by the power of Darkness.
Options: Power of Darkness Based Skill x1,05
+10 Elegance
+5 Charisma
You are cursed: mana regeneration=0
Name: Pure Black boots
Stats: Durability: 80/80 Defence: 3
Descriptions: Boots made from demonic drops, possess the power of Darkness.
At night, the wearer of these boots doesn’t make a sound.
Restrictions: Must possess a soul tainted by the power of Darkness.
Options: Power of Darkness Based Skill x1,05
+10 Elegance
+5 Charisma
You are cursed: Satiety goes down twice faster
Name: Pure White Mask
Stats: Durability: 40/40 Defence: 0
Descriptions: If the light is strong, so is its shadow. The same can be said with white and black.
Restrictions: Properties changed because of a soul tainted by the power of Darkness.
Options: Power of Darkness Based Skill x1,2
+40 Elegance
+20 Charisma
INT +5
Volesprit smiled. He had planned to use darkness based skill from the beginning. Because there were more monsters possessing elemental resistance than monsters with resistance against darkness and light. Light magic was a defensive kind of magic … it was all about holy shield and heals. Darkness was more of an aggressive attribute. That was why he had redesigned all his spells with the forbidden runes he had learned in the Dark Library.
Volesprit came out of the changing room and smiled at the store lady … who fainted on the spot. Volesprit watched the lady for a few seconds, before shrugging his shoulder and leaving the store. After all, he had paid for everything. He didn’t see why he should have to wait for her to wake up.
Volesprit went to the meeting place and took out his blueprints. There was still half an hour left before the meeting time. Volesprit read four of the blueprints he had drawn and would currently be able to use and registered the spells.
You learned Soul Crusher:
Darkness base variation of Magic Missile.
You learned Death Frost:
Darkness base variation of Frost.
You learned Darkness Lance:
Darkness base variation of Lightning Lance.
Volesprit was suddenly interrupted in his studies by a plea for help reaching his ears. It was Cassandre’s voice.
Volesprit got up and put the last blueprint in his backpack, and then ran to the fighting fields. There, Cassandre circled a fox with her arm, apparently trying to protect it from harm, as five brutish men tried to open her arms and kill the poor fox:
“Open your fucking arms, girly. This is a monster, and I’m gonna butcher it!”
“Nooooooooooooo! He is my friend … I tamed him, he is no monster … you don’t have the right to kill him!”
“Let him go, you fool! He’s my prey!”
Their leader sent Cassandre flying with a backhand. The fox, who had seen his mistress being hurt, jumped on the man and bite him.
“You damn monster. I’m gonna bloody murder you!”
The man lifted his sword, and then slashed at the fox.
But his slash never hit home. Volesprit’s had invoked his ‘Soul Crusher’ spell and had aimed for where his sword would be a second later, effectively parrying the slash, as this skill’s strong point was neither its power nor its mana cost, but its knocking force. And thanks to the loop cast system, the magic circle was still active before his left hands when the men turned to Volesprit, and three dark balls were waiting for him to launch on them.
“She said it is her companion? Are you deaf? Or just plain stupid? Or might it be … that you are both?”
The men turned in Volesprit’s direction and decided on the spot that they hated the man. They couldn’t see his face, but everything about him screamed that he was a refined, elegant, good looking man. The kind who had never had any problem seducing girls.
“Who the fuck are you? No, never mind … I’m going to make you pay for what you just did. But first …”
He turned his heels and launched an attack on the fox. Volesprit, who had seen that coming prepared to launch a new ball.
But Cassandre didn’t give him any time to do anything. She jumped between the man and the fox … and died on the spot. The fox disappeared with her, as they were now linked. When she was connected, he was at her side. When she disconnected, he disappeared with her.
Volesprit saw red when Cassandre disappeared. He launched his magic at the men, effectively separating them. Volesprit used the Soul Crusher spell as he would use pawns in a game of chess. It was but a mean to manipulate them.
When the leader arrived before Volesprit, he thought he had won. After all, the enemy was a newbie magician and he was a level 15 warrior. He had managed to come near enough to split him in halves. How could the fool understand that Volesprit had made him dance in his palm? Volesprit grinned and grabbed his arm with his right hand:
“Death Frost.”
Red ice formed under his hand, and soon, the man was trapped in a layer of this strange ice.
Volesprit then cast the ‘Dark Lance’. If ‘Soul Crusher’ was a spell to manipulate the enemies’ movements, ‘Death Frost’ a skill to immobilize them, then ‘Dark Lance’ was a spell to obliterate them.
A lance fell from the sky and pierced the leader’s body, which fell to the ground, lifeless. Volesprit turned to the remaining men and watched them as if they were the most repulsive people he had ever seen and claimed gravely:
“Don’t even think of leaving. As long as there will be any trace left of life in your bloody body, I will do my best to send you to oblivion. Even if for that, I need to taint my soul in an even deeper darkness.”
Level Up
Level Up
Level Up
Volesprit dismissed the few window that popped up to announce the level he had gained by killing the jerk
Then, Volesprit opened his backpack and took out THE blueprint. Not the one he had been on the verge to learn when he had heard Cassandre cry for help. THE blueprint. The one which could rule them all he had drawn in the Dark Library.
“Register skill.”
A black flame burned the blueprint and climbed Volesprit’s arm without harming his clothes. He then felt a horrible burning pain, which stopped as suddenly as it came. On his right arm, a tattoo as black as night appeared: the same runes as the ones on the magic circle had been imprinted on his arm.
New Skill: Soul Eating
When you kill someone, eat the soul lingering around his body.
Can only be used for one minute after the killing.
Recover 40% of the victim’s mana.
Greatly increases infamy.
Increases the death penalty.
Infamy +500.
As the man had killed Cassandre, he hadn’t received an infamy penalty when killing him, but just learning the skill had given him 25 times the infamy penalty for murder. As expected from the worst skill he had designed.
He then kneeled next to the leader’s body and called:
“Soul Eating.”
A terrible cry resounded. It was the voice of the soul Volesprit was eating. Howling from soul shattering pain.
Volesprit smiled evilly as a dark aura surrounded him:
You just ate a soul.
You recovered some mana.
Infamy +100
Race changed to Avatar of Darkness.
Class changed to Soul Eater.
You can’t change your class anymore unless a Soul Eater related class.
New Skill: Kiss of the Vampire
New Skill; Bite of the Ghoul.
New skill: Aura of Darkness.
Volesprit turned to the men who watched him while gaping and gave them a sinister laugh.