《New Earth》Chapter 122 - Hidden In The Shadows
Advertisement
Azrael woke, bleary eyed and stared up at the ceiling. His ceiling in his house. A satisfied smile crept onto his face as the realisation sunk in. He was home. And in his won bed. James had crashed at one of the dwarves’ house.
In the living room, Alena was already putting together a breakfast made from leftovers from the feast. He poked them with his cutlery, before taking a small bite. It was edible, a vast improvement from when he’d left. He looked to Alena, who was watching him with expectation.
“Well done.”
Relief and pride blossomed from the soul link and he saw her cheeks slightly blush. He had a feeling she’d practiced a lot while he’d been gone. Though, that wasn’t the only thing she’d apparently kept practicing while he’d been gone.
Drawing on the soul link he summoned Alena’s status.
Status
Name: Alena
Class: Villager (Lv.3), Shadow Scout (Lv. 4),
Spy Master (Lv.2)
HP: 250/250
MP: 240/240
STR: 23
END: 25
DEX: 28
AGI: 19
INT: 24
WIS: 21
Titles:
{Azrael’s Oathbound}, {Silent Hunter}, {Trainer}, {Observer}.
Unique Skills:
[Status], [Shadow Cloak].
Skills:
Dagger Arts (Lv.28), Meditation (Lv.14), Trap Making (Lv.19), Stealth (Lv.24), Housework (Lv.23),
Leadership (Lv.12), Intimidation (Lv.17), Tracking (Lv.17), Hunter’s Intuition (Lv.6).
In everything that had happened last night he hadn’t gotten a chance to properly appreciate Alena’s growth. Compared to the other villagers, she had had the largest growth in terms of skills, titles and stats. She’d even gained a unique skill of her own [Shadow Cloak]. That in itself was a monumental feat.
He started by looking at her two newest classes, [Shadow Scout] and [Spy Master]. [Shadow Scout] made the most sense. She’d already had the [Scout] class when he’d left. [Shadow Scout] was undoubtably influenced by her unique skill [Shadow Cloak], though whether she’d gotten the skill due to the class or the other way around wasn’t something he could figure out. Since [Scout] was a third tier class, the [Shadow Scout] was almost guaranteed to be a fourth tier class. [Spy Master] on the other hand was a bit of an unknown anomaly.
Advertisement
Azrael wondered whether there was a problem with the system, or whether that was simply the closest representation that it could find for a class. Did Alena get it for stalking prey, or for observing game. Wouldn’t it be [Tracker] then, and not [Spy Master]? Either way it was another class and meant more stats. Due to the name, he guessed that it was most probably either a second or third tier class, with a slim chance of being fourth tier.
In terms of stats Alena was fairly balanced. She had ample strength and endurance, no doubt from hunting in the forest, but her highest stat was undoubtably her dexterity. [Dagger Arts], [Trap Making] both relied heavily on this stat, as did most likely [Cooking] and [Stealth]. Her magic related stats were also reasonably high, at least higher than most of the other villagers. Due to this he believed that [Shadow Cloak] was most likely a mana reliant skill.
Azrael closed the Status window and looked at Alena.
“What’s [Shadow Cloak]?” He asked. “How does it work?”
Alena paused, momentarily considering. Finally, she stopped what she was doing and tugged at his sleeve.
“I’ll show you. Outside.”
Azrael rose and followed her outside, to just beyond the clearing.
Once there, Alena dropped into [Stealth]. Since he’d been watching her as she’d fallen into [Stealth] it was nowhere near as effective as it could have been. Her high proficiency in the skill offset that somewhat, but their soul-link overwhelmed even that advantage. Alena began to move around and he shut off the soul-link between the two of them, finding it just that slight bit harder to follow her with his gaze. Still, he was aware enough of her position that he would have been able to do damage to her with a [Fire Bullet]. Then, she vanished.
Advertisement
Sure, she’d already been slipping from his perception with [Stealth], but it was as if she had just vanished from existence. There was no trace of her. He could only surmise that she had activated [Shadow Cloak].
Extremely curious, he activated [Mana Sight]. One by one he blocked out the various mana flows, ignoring them. Plant, earth, air, life and water mana. He ignored them all, focusing solely on the pools of shadow mana, as well as antithetical streams of light mana that filtered through the forest canopy. However, upon first glance he could see nothing wrong.
Light mana streamed down, being absorbed by, and absorbing in equal measure, shadow mana. The shadow mana formed viscous pools, sticking to the trees, undersides of leaves and patches of the forest floor. Unable to find Alena, he re-opened their shared soul-link, letting it guide him to her position.
Now, with the soul-link counteracting Alena’s [Stealth], Azrael could pinpoint her general position. A quick blast of [Search] further narrowed down her exact position. [Stealth] and [Shadow Cloak] kept her hidden from his mundane sight and greatly hindered even his magical Skills, but due to now knowing where to look, he knew where to focus on with [Mana Sight].
In one pool of shadow, draped against a tree, shadow mana was actively drawing in light mana. That in itself was not so strange. It was the fact that streamers of light mana warped themselves around the pool of shadow, letting it blend in naturally.
He smiled.
“Found you.”
Disappointment and irritation filtered into their shared link.
‘Cheat’.
Alena dropped her stealth, letting her figure fade back into his conscious thought and view. [Shadow Cloak], however, was still active. The inky drape of unnatural darkness covered most of her form, hiding it from view. The pure darkness amongst the dappled shadows of the forest mad it hard to look at directly and he found his eyes naturally slipping off of it, as his mind tried to ignore the mind-bending illusion. It was even stranger at the edges of the cloak, where shadow and light mana mixed and merged in smoky streamers. It was disconcerting, as if she wasn’t there, but at the same time was.
“Impressive.”
Alena’s fingers flashed.
‘Thank you’
Azrael grinned.
“Now let’s see what else you’ve practiced.”
He tapped her on the shoulder.
“Tag. You’re it.”
Alena responded by drawing her ever-present daggers, but Azrael used a gust of [Wind] to jump backwards. Leaves exploded upwards in the sudden wind and by the time the touched the ground again Azrael had long vanished into the forest, dropping into stealth.
Alena grinned. It was time to hunt.
Advertisement
- In Serial33 Chapters
Spellgun
For millennia, The Elders gifted pre-technological civilizations with a piece of technology that allows them to transcend the bounds of what is normally possible: The Implant. Altering reality on a quantum level, creatures with an Implant can gain extraordinary physical and mental abilities. In return, the Elders require wearers of the implant to pass through the Gauntlets - Entire worlds that have been hollowed out and turned into a training and testing ground for the wearers. Once their trial is complete, the wearers then are used by the Elders as their foot soldiers as they expand across the galaxy. What happens when a human accidentally receives an implant instead?
8 431 - In Serial6 Chapters
I Shall Eat Everything
Xuanhuan + LitRPG A young man is granted the opportunity to reincarnate with the ability to eat and gain traits. (The cover image does not belong to me. If the owner so wishes, I will take it down immediately.)
8 55 - In Serial36 Chapters
Ghosts Within
Remy was the best thief this side of old Boston. Well, he used to be the best. Now, Remy's nothing but a washed up con-man turned private investigator who owes a lot of money to the wrong people. Taking one last job to scrap together enough money to get out of town, he finds himself ensnared in schemes well over his paygrade. To save his own skin, he'll need use skills long gone to rust, old acquaintances who'd just as soon see him dead as succeed, and more than a bit of luck. Ghosts Within takes place in a semi post-apocalyptic world where the lines between technology and magic are blurred and scattered cities are the last refuge of civilization. Essentially, it's Blade Runner + Ocean's 11 with the magic system from Bioshock.
8 128 - In Serial9 Chapters
Storia: Sins of the Fathers
Kris Rosenfield has just turned 20, and is getting ready to face adulthood and the path that lies ahead of her. But when an unexpected turn of events overturns everything she ever thought she knew, she begins to question certain facts that she'd always taken for granted... like the truth behind her father's mysterious death.Masato Ikeda has stepped up to assume his father's position as a Yakuza enforcer, and one of his most important duties to the clan is to be part of a political marriage - to a vampire. What does this mean for his future, and that of his men?Tetsuya slips through the shadows of Tokyo's underworld, pulling invisible strings and uncovering insidious plots on behalf of his sensei. But do his interests fully align with that of his Guild's, or does he have an unseen agenda? Hello, everyone! Do you enjoy urban fantasy action, adventure and battle in the vein of A Certain Magical Index and Fate/Stay Night? Do you want to see magi, vampires, and all manner of otherworldly badasses clash both in the open and behind closed doors? If you do, I present to you: Storia! If you enjoy Brandon Sanderson's intricate and comprehensive magic systems, or Patrick Rothfuss's beautiful prose, or Stephen King's facility with language, or Max Gladstone's use of fantastic elements as a means of explaining the invisible forces that move the real world, well... I am not any of those authors. I am, however, deeply inspired and influenced by their work, and strive to approach their level of writing. I hope you give Storia a try, and do let me know what you think!
8 78 - In Serial20 Chapters
Son of Chaos
One night was all it took. One night to end an old life and start a new one. Destroying his school while trying to save his life, he is rescued from the brink of death by a group of strangers, carried back to a Camp upheld for people like him. Demigods. For the Greek Gods really do exist, as do the myths of old, and to this day children are born from the deities of Olympus who require training and care. Yet the time of relative peace for the demigods is coming to an end, and they will find themselves in the midst of a war the likes of which the face of Gaia has never seen before. Our hero has much to face, much to endure before the end can finally come, but he is not alone. Far from it. This is the tale of Daniel James Greenfield. The Son of Chaos. Percy Jackson Fanfiction Fanfiction timeline divergence from the original work starts after the Heroes of Olympus Series ends
8 111 - In Serial3 Chapters
♡Daminette One Shots♡
One Shots of Daminette
8 78