The Mask of Volesprit - Chapter 4 - Niflheim
Volesprit stepped through the gate. Everything went black and a second later, he was in a dark, cold, underground place. There was nothing before him but frozen rivers, souls and a giant black palace. It had to be the underground realm of ice and cold, Niflheim. One of the two primordial realms along with Muspelheim, the realm of fire.
You were first to discover Niflheim
Can’t gain any fame because of you class’ nature.
Experience from monsters and quests x2 in the whole realm for a week.
Volesprit turned to Hel’s dark silhouette and asked:
“So … where are we going?”
“Let’s go back to my palace … my physical body is waiting for us there.”
“Oh … so you don’t usually look like this?”
“Not really … that form is but a projection of my power.”
“I see. Then … shall we go?”
The silhouette of Hel nodded and showed him a gap in the rock surrounding them. There, a small road went down to the center of the earth. As minutes passed, the trail got darker, but Volesprit found out that members of his new race had no problem seeing in absolute darkness.Two hours later, they arrived in the lowest realm of Niflheim: named after Hel, the placed called hel, and which later became hell. There, a palace one would only find in horror movies waited for them.
Ten minutes passed. Volesprit was now before the gates’ feet and could tell that what looked like a palace was in fact a damn fortress. It had to be what High had described as a great mansion with extremely high walls and immense gates. The man had to be fond of euphemisms. It was way too big and well defended to be just an average mansion.
Death Knights opened the gates. Volesprit and Hel walked in and were greeted by ten enormous undead knight - he would learn later that they were called Hell Knight and were way stronger than the ‘average’ doom knight - and ten ice giant barbarian - it had to be some jötnar elite warrior - who knelt before them.
You were first to discover Hel’s Castle
Can’t gain any fame because of you class’ nature.
Experience from quests x2 for a week.
Volesprit turned to Hel and gave her a look that asked for answers. Hel giggled - the warriors’ eyes widened before the never heard before sound - and explained:
“You are my hero … the ‘Lord of Souls’. It is a matter of fact that my servants would recognize you as such. And give you the respect you deserve.”
“Oh … I meant to ask why they weren’t by your body’s side … I believed they knelt before you, not me.”
“They don’t see me, dear.”
“...”
Hel blinked before Volesprit’s blank look.
“What?”
“No, it’s just that … I must look like one hell of an insane man.”
“I would prefer you to look like Hel’s insane man, sweetie.”
Volesprit laughed and said:
“Jokes apart, let’s go before your men start thinking that I am completely and utterly mad.”
Hel - who now pouted as Volesprit once again took her tentative flirting as a joke - and Volesprit walked to the throne room where a superb woman with long black hair, fair skin, and Hel’s silhouette lied, on the said throne.
Hel’s shadow walked to the throne and entered her body. Soon, Hel woke up and smiled. Volesprit’s heart skipped a beat: she was stunning. Beautiful grey eyes, a delicate nose, small white teeth, and a timid smile that could soften the hardest men.
Volesprit smiled and said, half jokingly:
“I might have to reconsider your first offer, my lady.”
Hel blushed and muttered:
“Please do.”
A few awkward seconds of silence passed before Volesprit broke it by asking:
“So … what did you bring me here for, my lady?”
“Well … to teach you what you duty will be, and how to use your new powers. You might also want to join some of my warriors in battle to grow stronger as fast as possible.”
“Thanks for the last offer, but no thanks. I will grow stronger on my own. I don’t believe in such a cheap strength that you would gain it by resting and leeching off others’ battle experience.”
“Oh … that’s really manly. Stupid, but manly.”
“I don’t believe that to be stupid. You might be a goddess with innate battle skill, born with all skills at master level, but I am not. I have nothing to gain this way but fake strength. Let’s say that I go with your warriors and they power-level me… what level are they by the way?”
“The average level is… a little over 800 I think.”
“What … isn’t that too much?”
“They are my elite warriors, who will fight by my side in Ragnarok against Odin’s own elite troops, his Einherjars and his allied gods… Do you think they could afford to be any weaker?”
“When you say it that way… okay, let’s imagine they succeed in bringing me to their level. How do you think I should fight level 800 monsters with beginners level skills… and without any proper fighting experience whatsoever?”
Let’s note here that the warriors could power-level really fast, the same way Weed did when he killed goblins in the expedition in the Lair of Litvart: By stealing every last hit on high level monsters - the monsters would always be high level enough for him to gain a great amount of experience, but low level enough for him to be able to give the said last hit - he could power level to level 500 in a few weeks.
“And why would I want to grow that strong that fast?”
“You would be the strongest adventurer in those lands.”
“Ah … but I intend to be the strongest without any help.”
“I know you might have what is needed to succeed but you will never be able to have the same absolute difference in power you would have with our help.”
“And how would that be any fun? I do not enjoy crushing ants.”
Hel smiled and said:
“Neither do I. You pass this test.”
Volesprit brows twitched.
“A test? I see … it was a test, wasn’t it? You tried to tempt me to find out my true nature.”
Hel blushed a little and said in a faint voice:
“I plead guilty … I felt you were everything I hope for … but what if I was wrong … what if my senses had been dulled by my eagerness to have you at my side. When I made you my hero, I gave up on every other adventurer who could have brought glory to my realm. What if I rushed the decision? What if I brought destruction on my home just because of a pretty face?”
“I fear my face isn’t ‘pretty’ enough for that, my lady …”
“Please stop telling nonsense. Your face is the kind that would bring any queen to lead their kingdom to its doom. And I refuse to let that to happen to my land.”
“But I am no courtesan. I am your hero. A warrior for you to use. There lies the difference. I am a tool, it’s up to you to use the best of my ability.”
“And I know I was right to chose you because you think that way. But you are wrong. The Lord of Souls is no tool. He is my right hand. One who has to make decisions of his own. That is why I felt it had to be you when I first saw you… this ingenious way of fighting that required split-seconds decisions impressed me. Had you made any mistake, had you hesitated even for an instant, the consequences would have been fatal. But everything went your way.”
“They weren’t strong enough to make anyone break a sweat. I had quite a large margin.”
“Didn’t you? It makes me excited at the thought of what you would call a small margin.”
“I’ll do my best not to disappoint you.”
“I’m sure you won’t. Now, let’s go back to our main topic. As I said, you’re here to learn about your duties and how to use your new powers. Well, about your duties… there isn’t much to say. I am bored, so travel the wide world. I’ll watch you from here. But come back here at least once… no, twice a week to have a meal with me. And continue to wear elegant clothes.”
Volesprit watched her for a minute silently until Hel cared to explain:
“What? Don’t I have the right to follow my own hero’s adventures? And if I do, don’t I have the right to have some eyes candy? Speaking of which …”
Hel tended her right arm and touched Volesprit’s mask. Upon contact, the mask started to emit a dark aura.
Pure White Mask’s properties and name changed.
Name: Mask of Volesprit
Stats: Durability: Infinite Defence: 1
Descriptions: Cursed by Hel, it will always come back to cover Volesprit’s face when the wearer is within sight of a stranger.
Restrictions: Lord of Souls class required, Soul-Linked to Volesprit
Options: The options will grow with the wearer’s level.
At level 7:
Power of Darkness Based Skill x1,21
+42 Elegance
+21 Charisma
INT +5
Grants the wearer the use of the Soul Shapeshifting skill
“... I suppose you had a good reason for cursing me.”
“You mean if we forget the fact that I would prefer to keep the sight of your magnificent face for my personal use? Of course I had a perfectly good reason. In fact, I have several of them. One:With this, no one will ever be able to sneak on you. Your mask will emit a dark aura and stick to your face every time someone comes approaches you. Two, this is the starting point of your legend. It will be your distinctive sign. Some will be recognized for their weapon. Or for their party members. Others for the way they fight. Your mask mask alone will be proof of who you are. Three … anyone can buy a white mask. But none that will emit this kind of dark aura. No one will be able to impersonate you. Four … all those who will be affiliated with darkness will see you for what you are … the Lord of Soul, Hel’s hero. Five … well, as I said, even a goddess can be jealous. If that can help limit the number of flies flying around you ...”
He didn’t know why, but Volesprit felt that the last argument was the most important one in Hel’s eyes. But who cared. The first point had been enough to convince him that the curse wasn’t such a bad thing. It would be more than useful. In fact, it would be a priceless advantage. No assassins would ever be able to take him on with this. And with what he had done to the five men, he felt he would soon meet quite a number of them.
“Okay … now that we talked about duties … what about teaching me how to use my skills.”
“First, have a look at your current skills.”
“Skills window.”
Brand of Darkness (Beginner level 1: 0%): Proof of your contract with Hel. Your eyes now shines in an ominous but seductive light.
(Passive): Increase Charisma by 100%. Darkness related skills have a 5% chance of activating the buff at no extra cost.
(Active): Power of Darkness Based Skill x1,2, Darkness spells and skills mana cost -20%, lasts 2 hours.
(Special): When the buff is active, if asking for the Darkness's Blessing, Power of Darkness Based Skills x1,5 (mana cost 2500)
Dark Magic Mastery (Beginner level 1: 28%): Enables you to use dark magic, mana consumption -2%, spell power +10%.
Soul Manipulation (Beginner level 1: 0%): Enables you to store five souls in you and manipulate up to two souls at a time. Storing a soul grants you bonus stats.
‘Ghost form’: Can transform a soul into a random ghost (effect based on skill level and on souls class) for 100 mana. Upon death, the soul will rest in you for a day before you can call it again.
Can only manipulate grade F souls for now.
Soul Eating (Beginner level 1: 50%): When you kill someone, eat the soul lingering around his body. Can only be used for one minute after the kill.
Recover 40% of the victim’s mana. Greatly increases infamy. Increases the death penalty.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Aura of Darkness (Beginner level 1: 10%): (Passive) You emit an aura so dark and thick that all spells and weapons are less effective.
Physical and Magical Damage received - Infamy/100.
Those touched by your aura are cursed randomly. Curses’ power and chance of apparition depends on Infamy and skill level.
(Active) Your aura moves on its own and attacks anyone in an area of five meters around you (20 mana per second).
Kiss of the Vampire (Beginner level 1: 8%): Steals life from an enemy (10 mana per second).
Bite of the Ghoul (Beginner level 1: 6%): Wounds your enemy and infects him/her/it with a random disease (illness' virulence depends on skill level) (20 mana per second)
Gates of Niflheim (Beginner level 1: 0%): Allows you to create a gate leading directly to Niflheim or back to Midgard. Only one person can pass through (increases with skill level) (costs half your current Maximum mana. Mana will be regained upon destruction of the gate).
Meditation (Beginner level 1: 0%): Allows the user to enter a meditative state through breathing techniques and concentration. After 30s, Mana regeneration +100%.
Magic Designing (Beginner level 1: 28%): You can create Magic Blueprints. The blueprints you design can be sold at 80% of their value. You can use the magic spells you designed at 110% of their power.
Soul Shapeshifting (Beginner level 1: 0%): Can take the form of anyone whose soul you ate (20 mana per minutes).
Blood Lust (Beginner level 1: 5%): Your eyes shines with Killing Intent. Killing Intent x2.
“Hum … those new skills are pretty interesting. Especially that ‘Soul Manipulation’ one.”
“Well, speaking of it… that’s not really a skill of my hero should have.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well … basically my hero’s class is a specialisation of his previous one. But because of your unique class, Soul Eater, you surpassed everything I could have imagined. It’s the first time in thousands of years that I have seen a ‘Lord of’ class. That might also be why you gained the ‘Soul Manipulation’ skill, which I believed until now to be a Valkyrie-only skill.”
“A Valkyrie-only skill? Well, I guess I’m a lucky guy.”
“Well, the Valkyries’ version is a little different from yours. They don’t really use their skill to create ghosts who will fight by their side. That, my hero, might be because of the ‘Lord’ part. And that’s where we will begin your training. I might know nothing when it comes to your soul skills, but I know this: you are in Hel, dear. There are trillions of souls down there. And I can spare you a few thousands if that will help you gain a little strength. That training will permit you to level up your infamy and your Aura of Darkness, Soul Eating and Soul Manipulation skills. Not that bad of a training, is it?”
“Do you really have the right to do that?”
“My words are law in this realm, dear. And I say that as the Lord of Souls, you are free to clear your new domain of the worthless ones. Eat the ones who displease you and take with you those who you want to take with you. Now go, and good harvest.”
NEW QUEST: LORD OF SOULS’ TRAINING
Go and train your new skills at the Dorm of Souls.
Objectif: 20.000 Infamy, Intermediate level for: Aura of Darkness, Soul Eating and Soul Manipulation.
Difficulty level: None
Restriction: Lord of Souls Class.
Reward: Ownership of Necropolis, City of the Dead Souls. Soul Sizing skill. New skills based on the result of your training.
Volesprit bowed and told her with a smile:
“All will be done as my goddess wishes.”
You accepted the quest
You have gained the ownership of Necropolis, City of the Dead Souls
New Skill: Soul Sizing
Allows you to see a soul’s information (20 mana per use).
______________________________
You were first to discover Necropolis, City of the Dead Souls
Can’t gain any fame because of you class nature.
Experience from quests x2 for two weeks.
Necropolis was more of a small country than a giant city. Located behind Hel’s castle, it was, from what Hel had said when she lead him here, hundreds of kilometers long.
At the city gates only, there were already thousands of souls. Volesprit watched the crowd of souls and sighed. It looked like he had no choice but to spam his new skill to differentiate the one who used to be worthless criminals from the commoners. It looked like the skill that would level up the most with this training wouldn’t be the Soul Eating one in the end.
Volesprit scanned the crowd using his new skill and grinned: the skill was so useful. It gave the name and grade level of a soul, its level, the class it used to be and its infamy. The infamy level and the class were enough for Volesprit who stopped before a merchant and called.
“Soul Eating.”
System Notice: You just ate a soul
You recovered some mana
Infamy +100
The man had had an infamy level so high that anyone would understand he had been a bastard who ruined people’s lives for money.
The crowd watched him as if they just saw a monster, but none fled, because of what they were and what he was: they were only souls of dead person and he was their lord. They just resigned themselves to their fate. Most of them had been abused all their life. Why would it be different now?
The thing was, Volesprit didn’t aim for these souls. The one who had been poor farmers for all their life had nothing to fear from him. He went to a cute eighteen years old girl with chestnut short hair and green eyes who looked miserable and stopped as she stepped back in fear. He took his mask off, smiled and told her in the most gentle tone he could manage:
“I do not intend to harm you, young lady. My name is Volesprit, and I’m here to clean your city’s streets of its vilest souls.”
The young girl had stopped stepping back as soon as she had seen Volesprit’s face - who knew why - and told him, blushing and babbling:
“Nice to m-meet you my lord. I’m Catherine, but p-please call me Cat.”
“Nice to meet you Cat. So, do you know where to find those miscreants?”
“I do not, but my sister will, my lord.”
“Can you please bring me to your sister?”
“O-Of course, my lord.”
Volesprit let go of his mask, which instantly flied back to his face.
“Ok, let’s go, then.”
Cat led him to the city’s slums (PR note: Yes, there are slums in hell.) and opened the front door of a decrepit house. Inside, a carbon copy of Cat waited for her, if not for her eyes which were not green but violet - and stood up when she saw Volesprit.
“Who are you and what do you want? Leave before I …”
She stopped in her track for two reason: one the man in front of her was alive. two, what he was hit her strong. A man who ruled over souls. Ruled, not had a little affinity. She had been a witch and her sister a shaman when they were still alive, so she knew the difference. Her face became as white as sheets - okay she is a soul, but even if they are transparent, they still copy normal human reaction, as Cat did when she blushed - and she closed her eyes. She had almost attacked the man. He was going to utterly annihilate her.
Volesprit who found the woman reaction perfectly comprehensible and knew she was too afraid of him to understand his explanation made a sign for Cat to introduce him and explain why he was here in the first place, while he left the house and waited for the woman to calm down.
Ten minutes later, Cat opened the door and made a sign for Volesprit to walk in. He followed her inside and took off his mask, as he hoped it would work as well for her as it did for her sister.
It did. The problem was, Cat and her twin sister couldn’t stop watching his face.
“What … do I have something on my face?”
“Well … not really, my lord.” Cat answered while giggling.
“Sorry for our rudeness. It’s just that you are … pretty dashing, my lord.” Her sister continued.
“And it’s an understatement, your excellency.”
“Hum … thank you … I guess.”
“You don’t have to thank us for saying the obvious truth, my lord. By the way … if you ever wondered, my rude sister’s name is Circe, your excellency.”
“I’m not rude … I just didn’t find the good timing to introduce myself.” she muttered in answer.
“Well, I’m sure you didn’t INTEND to be rude … but that doesn’t change the fact you were.”
“I did not find her rude.” Volesprit interrupted her and tried to tone down Circe’s embarrassment.
“Please … of course she was, your excellency. She almost jumped to your throat, then half-fainted on the spot when she felt your aura, made you wait outside a whole ten minutes and doesn’t even have the decency to give you her name. If you don’t find that rude, I don’t know what the word means to you, my lord. You’re just being a gentleman.”
“Could we please speak about other matters, please?” Circe - who was now beet red - interrupted her before she could humiliate her even more.
“Well, did your sister tell you what I came here for?”
“Yes she did … but, pardon me for saying so, but please understand … unlike you, we can be harmed here, my lord. Those souls are way too dangerous for our kind.”
“Well … I don’t only seek the vilest souls … I also need some good one to join me in my quest.”
“But what can we do for you, your excellency? We are almost powerless.”
“As I said, join me. You will then see about being powerless. Or not.”
Cat and Circe exchanged a glance, and nodded.
“Okay, we’ll be joining you, my lord.” Answered Circe.
Circe joined you.
Cat joined you.
The next souls to join you will be stored in you.
Cat and Circe had become translucent spirit ball. twirling around him. They asked him what happened and how they could be of any help in this form.
“Watch this... Soul Manipulation, ghost form.”
100 mana consumed.
Circe became a Wraith.
100 mana consumed.
Cat became a Phantom.
The next souls to join you will be stored in you.
Circe and Cat regained a corporal form, but a seemingly more solid one than when they were just souls.
“What is this?” Circe gave a cry of surprise when she tended her arm and sent an ectoplasmic beam.
Cat remained calm, read her new stats and skills, and gave him a sinister smile.
“You were right … I no longer feel powerless. I don’t know where your adventures will lead you, but we will follow you. To Hel and back again!” She said, winking, seemingly losing the politeness alongside the spirit form.
“I don’t know where I will lead you, but for now, what about to those vile souls’ headquarter? And Circe … please don’t believe you will eternally stay in this ghost form.”
“Does … this body have a time limit, my lord?” She on the contrary, failed at making a composed face, as a nearly fanatical devotion and awe could be felt from her.
“Not that I know … even if you died in this form, you would gain back a ghost body after a mere 24 hours.”
“Oh … that’s good to know … but what did you mean then, if I may ask?”
“I meant that you shouldn’t be satisfied with just a ghost body. Soon, ladies, I’ll find a way to give you proper living bodies.”