TABLES AND EDITING BY THE GLORIOUS, GOD-LIKE BEING CALLED kikyorebo
Chapter two: First impressions
*drip...drip...drip...*
With the feeling of something wet dripping on my face, i slowly opened my eyes. Suddenly, blinding pain threatens to rip my skull apart, i fall from the platform i was laying, onto the floor.
“Urgh...” I moan, while holding my head as if to keep from exploding.
Images start to flicker througgh my mind like a movie on fast-foward and i finally understood what was happening. The knowedge that had been stored on this body was imprinting itself onto my soul.
“Not that understanding helps with the pain in anyway, though. Urghh...”
Once the knowledge of magic had imprinted itself, the pain subsided. However that small relief didn't last long, as the knowledge about this worlds' Gaeia, history and customs started asserting itself. The pain, if possible, was even worse and with blood coming out of my ears i passed out. To escape that horrific pain, i welcome the sweet embrace of oblivion.
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Once again, this time with the pain of something poking my ribs, i slowly opened my eyes. With a sigh and a positively pitful moan, i started getting up.
I realized that the pain in my ribs was caused by small rocky protusions on the floor in which i was laying.
“Well, that was certainly unpleasant. Thanatea-sama could've at least given me a warning about that. Suddenly being struck with pain equivalent with being hit by a mack-truck the second i woke up was no joking matter.” I grumbled, now in a bad mood.
“Now, where in the 9 hells am i?” I asked, while curiously looking around.
The place i found myself in was dark and damp. With walls, floor and ceiling made of what looked like very sturdy rock.
“Well, this looks like some sort of cave. Considering the structure, i am clearly underground. Uhmm... certainly a place which would be safe to store something, like my new body.”
Obviously, considering the structure, there was no natural light. However, it was still iluminated enough that you could see everything in reasonable detail, the reason for that seemed to be the football sized crystal, sat atop a pedestal, in the very centre of the room.
Interested, i approached the crystal and, after deciding it wans't dangerous, i lightly its surface. Mild warmth seeped into hand,along with a slight buzz, and a feeling of recognition i realized what the buzzing was.
“Magic...” I said, in slight awe.
Interested in how the curious device, i came closer and stared hard at it while caressing its surface. Suddenly, I heard a small ping inside my head and a window box appeared in front of me.
Inspect Skill: Activated
Startled, I looked at it and after roughly 3 seconds the window disappeared and was replaced by a similar, but bigger one.
Roryx CrystalThis crystal has been used by all races in Gaeia since time immemorial. This crystal only ability is very simple, however extremely useful. It absorbs the natural mana in the environment around it and converts it into light. The strength the of light it produces is directly proportionate to the amount of mana it has absorbed. As such, it is very useful as a household item since all sentient species in Gaeia possess magic. If you want to increase the light output, simply place your hand on the crystal and visualize your mana being transferred into crystal. To diminish the light output, reverse the process and visualize the mana within the crystal either being absorbed by your hand or being dispersed into the air.
Excited about having used my first skill, I chuckled and said,
“Well, this [Inspect] skill is certainly useful, huh? So I don't actually to say the name of the skill to invoke it, just visualize and wish for the information about an object. Uhmm, lets see what happens if I consciously use it by saying its name.
I look at a nearby rock and say,
“[Inspect]!”
Common RockThis is a common rock.
“Well, that's concise.” I say, with a heavy dose of sarcasm.
Looking back at the [Roryx crystal], i decided to try using magic for the first time. I once again approach the pedestal, and placing my hand on the crtystal i visualize energy circulating in my body like blood and travelling down my arm onto the palm of my hand and intonthe crystal.
“Gah!?” I shout, coveringn my eyes.
It seems i poured too much mana into the crystal, and now it's glowing like a miniature sun and releasing massive amounts of heat. Before i could do anything, i heard a loud crack.
“Holy shit! Is this thing going to blow up!?”
Worried, and a tad scared, i run like the hounds of hell a trying to bite my ankles and hide behind the stone altar on which i had first woken up. Seconds later, a small explosion shook the entire place.
After the tremors stopped, he opened his eyes and and stepped out from behind the altar.
“Jesus tap-dancing christ! What in the flying fuck just happened!? Bloody hell!” I exclaimed, considerably freaked out.
Dust permeated the air. Coughing, i looked around, worried about the structural integrity of the place after the explosion.
“Man... that was bloody dangerous” i say, while looking around.
That's when i noticed a bluish glow coming from the walls all around me. Curious, i hesitantly approached the nearest wall. There i noticed the glow was coming from several simbols carved on the walls and ceiling.
“Huh? What's this?” A said, a bit suspicious of magic after the explosion.
I considered using [Inspect], but then i remembered something. And that was the fact that i should possess an extremely deep and comprehensive knowledge about magic.
So looking at the strange symbol, i concentrated and tried to call up said knowledge. Suddenly, information started flooding my brain, similar to what happened when i first woke up, sans the pain thankfully.
~ Uhmm... so these are magical sigils, huh. They are used in magical formulas to give a magical attribute to things, as well as casting spells. Aparently, when you cast a spell, a magic circle formed by these sigils will appear. The sigils specify the type of magic being used and its effects~ i thought, while staring intently at the walls and ceiling.
“ And these particular sigils were carved to give the structure the ability to withstand both phyical and magical damage, up to a certain degree. Not only that but these seem to be very powerful, no average person would ever be able to make even a single dent in these walls no matter how longn they tried. Well, this magic WAS cast by divine beings so that's to be expected i guess” I said, while feeling very impressed.
“Phew! That's actually a very good thing, having the ceiling fall on my head because of my carelesness and inexperience would not have been amusing”
However, now i had a problem. Thanks to my magical knowledge i knew that the glow of the sigils would only last for a couple more minutes before it vanished and then the room would swallowed by darkness.
Trying to think of something quickly, i decided to search my brain for spell that i could use as a light source. I found many, however all spells to create light itself required a light affinity, the only way for someone whitout light affinity to create light was through the use of the [Roryx crystal], so i decided to look for fire spells, after all fire also produces light. Many of them were from the [Light arts] branch, and because of my darkness afinity any light arts spells would consume 3x more mana, and i don't want to use so much mana, even if the spell is basic, before i learn to control it better.
Not that i am complaining, darkness afinity, together with light afinity, are the rarest and most powerful afinities. As long as the spell is classified a dark arts, i can use at half the mana cost regardless of the element or properties of the spell. Same thing applies to those with a light affinity. People with normal elemental affinities, air, water, earth and fire, could only cast spells at half the cost if the spell matches their afinity. For example, a person with fire afinity can cast a fire spell, no matter if it's light art or dark arts, at half the cost. However if they tried using a wind spell for example, it would take twice as much mana as it would take for a person with air affinity. And if they tried using a water spell, it would take 3x as much mana, since it's a spell from the oposite element to their affinity. Same applies to a person with water affinity trying to use fire magic, or person with air affinity trying to use earth magic and vice versa.
In my case, regardless if it's a fire, air, water, earth or non-elemental spellsuch as healing magic, as long as is classified as dark magic, i can cast at half cost.
There are also two special elements, darkness and light, and spells from these elements can only be used by those that have a darkness or light affinity.
My necromancy for example, because it's a unique magic, it not only requires a darkness affinity, but true necromancy can only be used by those that, like me, are born with the ability. It cannot be learned.
All magic is classified as either dark arts, light arts or neutral arts.
Neutral arts can be used by individuals with all affinities at base cost. However, said cost is by default vastly enormous, since the neutral arts encompass things such as gravity and time manipulation.
Anyway, since only someone who has light affinity create light itself, i searched and found a fire spell from the dark arts branch that would satisfy my needs. It was the most basic fire spell, it created a small flame, about the size of a big fist, and you could create as many as you wanted, as long as yiu had enough mana left to maintain them. Each cost 20 mana to cast and 5 mana per minute to maintain. Which means that for me, someone with a darkness affinity, it only cost 10 mana to cast each and and 3 mana per minute to maintain, since the spell belongs to the dark arts branch.
So, after repeating the spell a few times under my breath, i begin the chant.
{O, flame of Tartarus, came to the aid of this Dark mage, [Crimson flames]! }
Promptly, after feeling the odd sensation of having mana leaving yiour body, 5 bright red balls of fire appeared in front of me.
“Well, now that's just cool” i say, while grinning like a fool.
Focusing, i commanded them to move ahead of me as i continued my investigation of the place.
After searching the room, i determined that there really was nothing of interest there, the only things were the altar and, the now destroyed, pedestal with the [Roryx crystal]. However i also found a heavy wodden door in a nook on one of the walls.
Since there was nothing left to to here, i headed towards the door and, aftrr a slight hesitation, i opened it.
What greeted me was a dark corridor, built from the same stone as the previous room. Now that i knew what to look for, i noticed that protection sigils present on the other room were also carved on the walls of the corridor.
I also noticed that, set apart at regular intervals, were black sconces with [Roryx crystals] on them. Having learned my lesson, i decided not to touchnthe acursed things with a 10 meter pole before i had better control over my mana output.
I walked along the corridor while using the [Crimson flames] as a light source, they produced enough light although they made everything have an eerie red glow. While walking, i realized the corridor seemed to have a slight upwards inclination,therefore whatever was at the end of the corridor was on higher ground than the previous room.
“Maybe this leads to the surface?” i wondered aloud.
After a couple more minutes of walking, i finally reached the end of the corridor. There stood a door with a softly glowing magical sigil carved onto its surface. My knowledge told me that said sigil was the one used to cast a powerful locking spell, so powerful that even i would not be able to open.
“More divine magic, huh” i said, while thinking that Thanatea-sama really wasn't taking any chances with regards to the safety of my body while it waited for my soul.
However, i also knew that this type of spell allowed those that had a authorized magical signatuee. It stood to reason that i would be at least one of the authorized individuals, if not the only one, that could open the door.
With trepidation born out of my last interaction with a magical object, i slowly walked towards the door and, after slight hesitation, i put my hand on top of the carved sigil.
With a hum, the sigil glowed and then flashed bright green. After thatmi heard a click the door swung open.
“Phew! At last the door didn't blow up like the [Roryx crystal].” i mumbled while wiping the sweat off my forehead.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“ Now, lets move foward before the door decides to close by itself.”
I entered the room, and the second i stepped foot over the threshold bright lights flooded over the ambient, iluminating everything perfectly. I, of course, jumped 5 meters into the air, my nerves stuill frazzled by the explosion from before.
“Fucking hell! Scared the living shit out of me, damn!” i shouted with anger, mostly at myself for jumping like a scared like a little bitch.
Looking around the room, i saw that the light came from a combination of sconces and pedestals similar to those in the previous room and the cortidor. These however, were fancier, probably to match the room.
“Well, this is certainly not what i expected.” i said, after surveying the room.
The best word to describe the room was “regal”. The walls,floor and ceiling, altough made from the same stone as the corridor and previous room, were polished into smoothness. The room was rectangular in shape, and in one side, all three walls were covered with book cases filled with in books. The other walls were covered in beautiful tapetries, showing knights fightingnwith dragons, mages casting powerful spells and more fantastic images.
“Damn, those are awesome” I said in awe.
The wall on the opposite side of the room held a huge bay window, however before i could approach it, my senses picked up a magical signature coming from it. Weary, I focused my attention on said magical signature trying to determine what, if anything, was its purpose. Once again a ping was heard inside my head and a window appeared in front of my eyes.
Magic Sensing: Activated
“Oh yeah, I also had this skill, huh?” i said. Afterwards i focused my attention on the second screen that appeared before my eyes.
Enchanted WindowsThese windows have been enchanted to show the illusion of actualy leading outside. The image you see is an exact projection of the current appearance and weather that would be observed from this position should the window really lead outside. If opened, the illusion will extend to asround 10 meters outside the window, and will recreate weather patterns such as rain and wind.
“Hou? That's quite impressive. And it proves my theory that i am still underground, even if in slightly higher ground than before.”
The rest of e room was also decorated exquisitly, in front of the book cases was a big and sturdy desk, made from a black wood. A confortable chair sat behind it, overlooking the rest of the room.
The middle of the room was done in a way to look like a living room. Three large leather couches were positioned in an semi-square with a coffe table in the middle. On the wall in front of th couch, was a massive fireplace with a crackling fire. The entire floor was covered in a thick, sinful carpet that made yiur feet feel like they were in heaven. After thining that, i finaly realized i was barefoot. In fact, i was wearing nothing but an undershirt and underwear, both in black.
“Wow, i must have been really on edge not to notice i was half naked until now.”
Thinking about what he would do about clothes, he decided to enter the single door, other than the one he came through, at existed directly opposite from it.
“Considering it seems someone either lives or lived here, i should be able to find something to wear” I said, while heading in the direction of the door.
And then, he noticed something flashing with a strong white light on top of the black desk. Approaching it, he realized it was a piece of folded paper.
Since [Magical sensing] was still active, he was able to determine it was safd to pick up.
Doing so, he noticed his name written in a beautifully flowing script, righin front of the paper. His name was written in the language of the dark elves, the race he now belonged to.
Curious, i opened the letter. After reading the first few paragraphs, i felt my eyes widen.
Dear Hikage-san,
If you are reading this letter, it means that the reincarnation was successeful.
By now you must have many questions, and this one shall do her best to address them. Firstly, as to why this one is comunicating through a letter.
~Well i did wonder about that~ i thought. I continue reading after my musings.
The reason for that is simple, after making the preparations for your reincarnation, i had to cease any and all interaction with the world of Gaeia and anyone in it, including you. After all, this world is not my juristiction, as this one is the Death Goddess of earth. Therefore i had no other choice, but to leave this letter, in which this one shall try to address all your possible concerns.
As you have reached this room, it means that you had open the door with magical lock in place. I war this means your macal knowledge has successesfuly imprinted onto your soul. Sorry about the pain, i thought it would be better not to maker you too nervous about the reincarnation process.
By now you must be asking yourself where you are. Well, you are in ty jidden location hidden deeply in the mountains known as Black Wyvern Mountains, in the border between the dark elf kingdom, Svartana, and one of three human nations, the Kingdom of Haspian.
Curiously enough, we were not the ones to build the facility, we simply found it while looking for a suitable place for you to reincarnate. After investigating, we discovered that it belonged to a dark elf hermit who died a little over a 100 years ago. Although had fallen in disrepair, it withstood the test of time thanks to the protection magics cast by said its previous owner. After some consideration, we decided to repair and renovate the facility, as well as to strengthen the proctection spells around it, making it virtually impregnable a well as unplotable. It means that, unless the individual had prior knowledge about its existance, no one will be asble to find this place unless you tell tgm of its location. And even if therenis someone alive that knows about it, they stuill wouldn't be able to approach, let alone enter.
Other than the room you woke up in, and this one, there are 4 bedrooms, one master bedroom with a full bathroom and 3 guest bedrooms, one comunal bathroom, and a fully stocked laboratory for spell crafting, potion making and magic tool creation. When you wish to leave, a hidden room exists behind the bookcase to the left of the study desk, touch it and say open, after it determines you're authorized through your magical signature, it will slide open and a small room with a magical circle on the floor will be revealed. That is a teleportation circle, the only way in and out of the facility. Of course a similar room exists on the surface, hidden behind a large, bluish bolderthat can be openes through the same process.
What else...? Oh, i almost forgot. Behind the tapestry with a image of a black dragon, a there is a door that leads to the kitchen. Of course it is also fully stocked with enough food last 6 months.
And, at last, your bedroom has a closet full of clothes for all weathers and ocasions, as well as shoes and boots. There is also a vault with a sizable amount of money from every nation in Gaeia. Although it is not enough to last for the life span of a dark elf, it is enough to give you a head start. We could not mess with economical balance of Gaeia, after all.
Finaly, if you wish to expand the facility, do not worry. Our protection spells are configured with a self replicating capability, therefore it will grow to cover the new area as well, no matter how big. Also, do not worry about the magic required to fuel the spells, thankfully the facili was built on top of a convergency of Dragon veins (ley lines), therefore it has a nearly inexaustible supply of magic.
And as a final poiece of advice, do not forget to check your status window, to verify the changes that your reincarnation has caused.
Hikage-san this is probably the last time we shall communicate during your lifetime. I truly wish you the best of luck in your new life. This facilitymis our last present for you, even though i still feel it isn't enough to right the wrong we inflicted upon you. Until the our next encounter,
Merry meet, merry part and merry meet again.
Thanatea, Chief Death Goddess of Earth.
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As i read the letter, i examined each of the rooms it mentioned. As thanatea-sama said, all the rooms were fully furnished and stocked. The bedrooms we tastefuly decorated in a similar style to the study/living room. The laboratory was fully equiped and stocked, as was the kitchen.
After i finished the letter, i returned to the main room and sat onmone of the sofas in front of the fireplace.
~Well, i really appreciate that she went through all this trouble for me. As i thought, Thanatea-sama is really kind.~ I thought, while looking at the crackling fire.
“It's sad that i probably wont be abl to see her ever again.”
“Sigh...” I was feeling quite bummed out.
Then I remembered what Thanatea-sama had said near the end of the letter.
“Check my status, huh. Well here goes nothing.”
“[Status]!”
When the bluish white window appeared, I looked for any changes.
STATUS
NameFujiwara HikageAge16Level16RaceDark ElfClassArch-NecromancerTitlesLord of Black Wyvern Mountain; Master of Death; Favored by the GodsCurrent StatusEmotionally FatiguedHealth4250Mana6200Strength206 (+10%)Dexterity330 (+10%)Agility270 (+10%)Wisdom623 (+20%)Intellect947 (+20%)Stamina572 (+15%)
Racial Characteristics [Dark Elf]
Racial Attribute10% bonus to strength,dexterity and agility. 20% bonus to wisdom and intellect. 15% bonus to stamina.Racial FeaturesLong average life span, 1500 years. High physical regeneration, mana production and absorption, as well a mana output. Magical core capable of storing a minimum of 3x as much mana than an average individual of non-elvish origin.Personal Capacity20x as much as average, non-elvish individual of the same level. 15x as much as elvish individual of the same level.Racial Unique SkillChant Omission: DarkAllows user to omit the chant of any dark arts spell, as long as the spell has been cast at least once before with full chant.
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“Well, i can't even be surprised anymore. I truly am a cheat character. And what is up with that mana capacity!? It's basically saying that as long as we are the same level, i'll have 15 to 20 times as much mana as almost everyone in the world?! Isn't that at least a tad bit unfair?! And seriouly, what are those embarrassing titles, so chuni!” What started as a calm observation, quickly turned into a rant.
“I can't deal with this right now. No, i refuse to think of it any further right now.” Having decided i got up and headed towards the master bedroom.
One thing about the status window was right, he was emotionally wrung out.
Too much had happened in a short span of time, he need time to wrap his head around things.
Arriving at the master bedroom, he dropped into the bed unceremoniously. He fell asleep seconds after his head hit the pillow. His last thought was,
~ I should check out the surface when i wake up, i wanna know just how isolated from civilization i am~
Well, that is a worry for the me of tomorrow, let that guy deal with it.