That was… heavy. I had been wondering why her response to my Energy was so… intense. But, of course it would be. How could she be ok with someone, especially a guy, touching her while she was paralyzed? And here I was worried about her causing trouble… I don’t think I’m quite perfect at reading people yet.

After taking a moment to collect myself, I go and attend Nate’s impromptu funeral. Pretending to be sad and comforting people presents enough of a challenge, but holding in my feelings whenever somebody lavishes him with praise… it physically hurts. He did so much to hurt people with his abilities. The good he did for others only emphasizes how truly evil his transgressions were… but I can’t tell them that. I can’t explain. He will be remembered, if any of the people here live long enough, for generations… and as a hero. He deserves to be forgotten.

They won’t see it that way, but maybe that’s for the best. I was worried about how well the group would stick together with Nate gone, but they seem to have banded together to keep ‘Nate’s legacy’ alive, sticking it out through thick and thin because that’s what Nate would have wanted. Maybe the most good he ever does is after his death, as a symbol to unite people.

If only it wasn’t so wrong.

Their ceremony is cut short as darkness falls and we rush to prepare for the incoming Shades. I join the front line with Seth and Dean, with Lauren and Loreian as relief and Amy, Lynn, and Rav as our ranged support.

The howls begin, low and careful in the distance. One crests the hill across from the entrance, and howls in delight. They must know that a fire means their food is still around. They will be sorely disappointed. A group of ten Shades cluster together before charging, splitting in half to skirt the fire. Our impressive array of ranged attackers knock out several, and Rav unleashes a small burst of light above the entrance, keeping us from being blinded, but still weakening our enemies. My sword hums as I engage the first in a long line of monsters, which howls in surprise when my arms suddenly start emitting light. It isn’t very bright, but they seem more reluctant to swarm me. At least, for a while.

I desperately want to activate my new skill... to wade out into these enemies as a shining beacon and dance among them until they lie still or I do. If only it wouldn’t be suicide.

[Swordsman of the Great River: River’s Flow [Active] (1) - Uncommon skill. The user enters a battle trance, raising awareness, speed, and reaction time the longer it is active. While active, the user, gradually loses cognizance of Stamina and Health, as well as the ability to feel pain. Presence and awareness during usage increases with level.]

Incredibly useful, to say the least, but it has to be used in moderation when standing on the front line. I can’t allow myself to suddenly collapse from exhaustion like before. Sure, I would be dragged back and someone else would take my place, but that will happen soon enough anyway. Plus, I can’t activate Fortify while it’s in use. It takes too much concentration, and even if I got it going, I’d use it until I passed out without even realizing.

Far too risky, at least until I get a better handle on it.

One of the Shades vaults over the one I’m engaged with and I can’t reposition my sword in time to stop it. A heavy blow from its freakish arm slams me into the cave wall, blurring my vision and causing a bleed effect from somewhere. It lands where I was standing, past the barricade. I quickly try to activate Fortify, but the head wound keeps my concentration too scattered. I barely manage to stagger to my feet when the encroaching Shade collapses and bursts into flames. Lauren’s face is wreathed in the aftermath of fire. She smiles slightly, almost imperceptibly, and covers the hole I left while I shake of the dizziness and ready myself to continue. She falls back as step forward, exchanging combat nearly seamlessly. I’m still not happy with her, but she seems… different. Better.

The fighting continues, and the rewards are minimal, as the Shades make it a point to escape before they’re slain, if at all possible. It’s aggravating, but, from what little I can see over the fray, our ranged combatants are finishing off a few that try to escape. They’re going to be loaded with Power after this.

BUT I NEED THAT SHIT MORE, DAMNIT. As if answer to my frustration, the Shade I’m fighting tries to use its stupidly tough skin to block my strike and trap my sword, but I’ve recovered enough to use Fortify again. It fails even to scream as whatever passes for its lungs are cut in half, along with the rest of its twisted body. Even in my moment of temporary triumph, one of the other monsters uses the body of its ally to screen its own attack, which I barely manage to jump out of the way of. It screeches, grabs a half of the fallen Shade, and smashes it into the barricade, impaling it deep onto the fortification. I return in time to fend it off before it can do more damage, but now, the attacking Shades won’t have to worry as much about the defensive spikes on their side of the barricade. The pressure on my position suddenly increases dramatically, and I call out for backup. Dean isn’t the backup I anticipate, but he’s what I get. He had pushed the the new girl, Loreian, into his place. Two greatswordsmen in a tight location? Sounds fucking stupid.

But… the truth is, both of us know how greatsword combat works. Hell, we even know a bit about how the other fights. Because of this synchronization in understanding, we manage to mostly stay out of each other’s ways while continuing to repel the enemy. The only time we run into trouble is when Dean seems to lose his cold fury to burning hatred. His attacks suddenly become much more aggressive, with no clear indication why, and I’ll have to interrupt my own movements to make way for him. It gets worse and worse until a particularly wild strike glances off a Shade and I have to actively parry it. The clash of metal on metal echoes strangely during a battle where only one side has weapons.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Pull yourself together, now isn’t the time to make mistakes!” But Dean doesn’t answer, his mouth set in a firm line. He reigns himself in a bit, still occasionally pulling stupid stunts, but overall acting more aware that I’m fucking next to him, which is good. Even though his actions convey how much pain he’s in, his expression is almost vacant. It’s… eerie. Inhuman, almost. But damn if he isn’t effective. As much as his chaotic strikes mess with my ability to perform, most of them are killing or crippling blows, where I generally need to duel enemies for a few moments before I can drive them off without Fortify. The pressure eases up as the torrent of Shades starts to slow down, and eventually stop. The remaining wounded and more cowardly of their number run howling into the night.

I’m… glad. Glad that we didn’t see an appearance from another of our number that had been corrupted. Maybe they weren’t all changed like that? One can hope.

Nobody moves or speaks as the howls fade into the distance. Whether because of the emotional exhaustion or physical, everyone looks immensely drained, even those that didn’t fight. Samuel, Tom, and Marie all stayed safe in the back, which made sense for the latter two, but I would have thought the giant ass tower shield would come in handy… whatever, we had all the spots occupied, and things worked out. If only every night could go so smoothly. I move around, healing what few injuries there are, before attending to my notifications.

[Multiple Dwarf Shades slain! +375 Power] [Feats performed! Your abilities may come from power you don’t fully understand, but they leave their mark on your body. Strength enhanced. Endurance enhanced. Dexterity enhanced.] [Congratulations! Skill levels gained! Transfuse Energy +?, Fortify +1 (4), Combat Proficiency +1 (6), Natural Armor +1 (2)]

The fuck is that question mark-

[Alert! Secondary Skill: ‘Transfuse Energy’ has reached a critical point, and can no longer improved without modification.

User may ‘Retrain’ this skill, setting it back to level 1 and gaining a Legacy Skill. Legacy Skills minorly increase the efficacy of the related Secondary Skill. Legacy Skills cannot be leveled.

User may ‘Crystalize’ this skill, greatly increasing efficacy. A Crystalized skill cannot be leveled.

Retrain? Cost: 500.

Crystalize? Cost 200.]

...Oh.

------

Name: Amadeus (Anthony)

Power: 489

Fragments: 31

HP: 34/34

H Recovery: + 6 / hour

Stamina: 34/34

S Recovery: + 22.5 / min

Energy: 21/45

E Recovery: + 7.5 / min

Mana: 0/1

M Recovery: 0

Primary skills:

Dexterity 20 (22) +

Strength 23

Endurance 25

Toughness 24

Intelligence 28

Perception 26 (30)

Will 5

Secondary Skills:

-Active

Transfuse Energy [Active] (10) Move Energy through physical contact into living objects.

Imbue Energy [Active] (7) - Move Energy through physical contact into non-living objects.

Energetic Attack [Active] (6) - Attempt to destroy the spirit of a target using your own.

Hide [Active] (3) - Utilize stamina to decrease your presence. Audio generated reduced. Light reflection reduced. Reduces effectivity of olfactory tracking used on you. Stamina usage increases with movement. Efficiency of Stamina usage and Perception required to detect user increased 5% and 1 respectively per level.

Fortify [Active] (4) - Enhance one’s own body with Energetic traits. Efficiency and efficacy of Energy usage increased by 10% per level.

Swordsman of the Great River: River’s Flow [Active] (1) - Uncommon skill. The user enters a battle trance, raising awareness, speed, and reaction time the longer it is active. While active, the user, gradually loses cognizance of Stamina and Health, as well as the ability to feel pain. Presence and awareness during usage increases with level.

-Passive

Energy Manipulation [Passive] (9) Medium - general ability to move and understand Energy. Improves through use.

Combat Proficiency [Passive] (6) Hard - General combat ability. Improves through not using it in training/combat.

Cold Resistance [Passive] (2) Medium - General resistance to the effects of cold.

Tamer [Passive] (4) ??? - Rare skill. Tame and forge bonds with monsters.

Hand to Hand Proficiency (3) Hard - Unarmed competence. Improves through practice using the body as a weapon.

Blunt Weapons Proficiency(4) Medium - Competence using weapons designed to crush and sunder. Improves through use of heavy and blunt weaponry.

Alchemy (1) Medium - Competence using alchemical equipment and crafting using alchemical ingredients. Higher skill level increases potency and ability to find and intuit ingredients. Raises through practice.

Natural Armor (2) Hard- Your willingness to take damage without any protection earns you extra effective Toughness when wearing cloth or lesser armor

Traits:

[Basic Energy User (10/10): Increases efficiency of all Energy use by 1%/point. Bonus doubles once the trait is complete.]

[Novice Energy Healer (10/10): Speeds active healing effects by 10%/point. Reduces concentration required for active healing once the trait is complete.]

[The Selfless (5/5): Reward trait. Saving one of your own at great personal risk has gained you the interest of the Administrator. Gain one free Primary Skill for every point. Reduced cost of Ascending once the trait is complete.]

[Path of Denial (23/25): Does absolutely nothing. Effect doubles once the trait is complete.]

[Novice Energetic Weaponry selected! (10/10) - Rate at which weaponry is bound to user increased by 5% per point. Number of simultaneously bound weapons doubled when maxed.]

[Combat Synchronization (0/10): Increases user/skill synchronization, making warnings more noticeable and reactions quicker through automatic movement. Allows ‘Combat Proficiency’ to be leveled through use once the trait is maxed.]

[Destroyer (0/50): What you’ve done can never be forgiven. Lethality of offensive Energy increased by 1%/trait point. Consequences unknown.]

Trait points: 3/61

Peripherals:

Dominations - 80%% Cathid

Exhaustions - 3

Status - Burned Channels: ---;

Inventory: Basic Clothing (cloth); stick; flowers: red(3), green(4), purple(4), white(4), green(bud) (3); 5 Bon nuts; small Mana battery (2); Leather Satchel; Crown (unidentified); Zweihander (Unbreaking)