Okay! So I made some changes to the earlier chapters to try an flesh out Nova's skill set a little more.

At first I thought I should make his first four years nothing but physical qualities that set up his character, but I decided to add a special skill that he learns from his mother. This skill is called Soul-Fire, I might explain it in detail in a later chapter, or go back and explain in an earlier chapter.

Then I had an inspiration to change some of the details of the last chapter. Remember the scene where Nova, Bahina, and their elementals are dancing in their soul-realm? Well I decided to create a skill out of that to be used outside the soul-realm. That is called Dance of the Flame, which is a unique footwork technique that Nova and Bahina use.

And I also elaborated more on the magic and weapon training that he did, as well as change his weapons from sword and dagger to dual-sword.

Feel free to go back and read the changes for yourself, I also made some changes to the prologues of Volume 1.

Now for V2! Let me know what you guys think, and I hope it doesn't disappoint.

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V2: Heaven's Tower

Prologue: Shadow Princess

The Elf-Forest Kingdom, Falirwe.

Elves possess a unique trait in their blood, which allows mana to flow through it with more ease than the other races. Although this trait only had an advantage in the field of magic, as their bodies were considerably weaker than other races, they could not handle the strain of mana-blood fusion to the extent that the other races could. However, their souls also had a unique trait.

Their souls were more pure at birth than the other races, and they all possessed an inherent elemental affinity. Because of this, many elves went in the direction of magic. Although there were some who were exceptions, and did not possess a good talent for magic in trade for having slightly stronger bodies.

And even though the Elves as a whole were considered to be one kingdom, Falirwe was vastly divided. If there was one thing elves were known for, it was for their desire to be superior to others.

The elven races were divided by their elemental affinities.

In the far north along the coast of the kingdom, the Water-Elves; in the north west corner near the tall trees and high cliffs, the Wind-Elves; in the central regions near the mountain range and volcanoes, the Fire-Elves; in the south western regions near the plains and deserts, the Earth-Elves; in the eastern borders in the dark forests, the Shadow-Elves; the south east regions in the crystal caves, the Light-Elves; and in the north east corner along the stormy regions of the sea, the Lightning Elves.

Seven elements; seven races; seven kings.

Even amongst these races, there were several clans, all who competed with each other for supremacy.

….

Most of Falirwe is covered in forest. Only places like the Volcanoes in the central region or the plains and deserts in the south west region were not covered by forest.

Each of these regions had various amounts of elemental energy around them after being built up from the countless years of elves gathering them.

The element of shadow. Some consider it to be evil, because of the dangers that lurk in the dark wildernesses. In truth, it is just an element. An energy the same as any other.

The eastern forests are surrounded by this energy. The dark wood of the forests warns travelers of the danger within. The fearsome beasts frighten those who see them, even if they are not classified as monsters. The Shadow Forest, realm of the shadow-elves.

In the deepest regions of the Shadow Forest, there is a long, deep crevice in the ground. A crevice that lacks even more light than the forest around it. A realm of darkness.. of shadow.

This crevice is the true home of the shadow-elves.

Unlike the other elven races, the shadow-elves only have one clan. The reason? Because the ruler of this one clan destroyed the rest.

The Duskmere clan. Even amongst the other elven races their strength is known. In general elves have weak bodies, but still this clan raises strong warriors.

With shadow and dagger, these elves possess frightening attack skills. They do not fight like the traditional style warriors, of which many mages are accustomed with, but with tricks and deceit. They are assassins. Those who hunt in the night, taking advantage of every weakness their enemy will show them.

That is the strength of the Duskmere clan.

….

Deep in the crevice is a palace of black rock. The palace of the clan head. Alinar Duskmere. The man who countless years ago slaughtered the other shadow-elf clans, and claimed the position for his clan as the strongest of the shadow-elves. The King of Assassins. The Shadow Reaper. One of the fiercest and most powerful of the elder elves within the Kingdom of Falirwe.

“Why can’t I go outside? This place is so depressing!”

“Honey, please.. This place isn’t that bad, you’re exaggerating. We have those wonderful hot springs at the lower level, remember? I recall you saying how much you enjoyed them.”

“Oh, yes. The wonderful hot springs. Please. I enjoyed them because they’re the least depressing place in this damned rock hole. I don’t understand why everyone seems so keen on living here.”

“It has its perks. It’s almost impossible for armies to attack us, and the shadow energy around here is incredibly thick. You should know this from your training.”

“What does that have to do with me staying here though? I want to go exploring! To see the world!

Auntie Esta told me stories of the plains to the west, she said theres people that look like animals, and to the south theres small people called dwarves who make really pretty weapons and armor. There’s all kinds of wildernesses around the kingdoms with dungeons, and thousands of adventurers go exploring these dungeons all the time fighting monsters and discovering treasures!

Why can’t everyone see all these things that they’re missing out on while literally living under a damned rock?”

“But dear.. The world is extremely dangerous.. I have many enemies, and if I were to let you leave then they would surely target you. An-”

“I have shadow magic for that! Don’t raise such pitiful excuses against me. And you should know I’m pretty strong too. You said I was even stronger than you when you were my age.”

“That’s true, bu-”

“Dad, pleaseee…”

Yes, if you’re wondering, these two are none other than Alinar Duskmere, the deadly King of Assassins, and his daughter.

His daughter was born nearly twenty years ago, and the experience of being a father changed Alinar greatly. The experiences of raising her, training her, and caring for her left him a changed man.

He never showed these changes in front of anybody else save for his close family, but many still suspected how much he doted on her, since he bought her so many presents.

Although he never slacked off in training her, teaching her everything he knew. She still had a ways to go before she could come close to his level, but compared to the other talented shadow-elves, she was like a prodigy.

Her skills were unrivaled amongst her peers, and she had long ago completed her basic training. Yet she was not cocky about herself, and she took training and fighting very seriously.

She also had an unusual sense of justice for a shadow-elf. Many times she would chase down criminals within the city, becoming more of a vigilante than an assassin. But her father only found this to be funny, after all he did not care whether she was an assassin or vigilante. The only thing that mattered was that she was strong.

The only thing she lacked was field training, but her father never admitted this. He couldn’t bear the thought of letting her off on her own, since he would have to stay within the clan to rule. Compared to his countless years of life, she was still just a baby. Too young, he thought to himself. Much too young.

Yet her she was, asking to be let out of her cage even though he never told her about field training.

“*Sigh*.. Alright. But only if you take Sarya with you. I won’t have you running around by yourself. And you better inform me of every place you go to. I don’t want you to disappear when I don’t even know where you are, okay?”

(Hehe.. Sure, dad. I’ll definitely do that.)

“Deal!” She immediately tackles Alinar with a hug, and then runs off through the palace in excitement.

“Hah… Such an energetic daughter.. There’s absolutely zero chance she’s not going to get into trouble.”

….

In the dark of the Shadow Forest, two figures walk casually between the trees.

Both of them share the same dark-gray skin color characteristic of the shadow-elves.

One has light gray hair with jet-black eyes. She wears black hide leather that is covered by a black cloak. Two dagger hilts can be seen at her side.

The other has solid black hair with mist blue eyes. She wears similar black hide leather, although seemingly better quality. A silky black cloak covers her, and, although it is black like the other’s, it appears to be even darker. Another set of daggers can be found at her hips, though their hilts are shaped differently. Her face is delicate and beautiful, but her eyes appear fierce and proud.

The blue-eyed one watches the other out of the corner of her eye, as if waiting for something.

“Hey, Sarya.”

“Yes Miss?”

“Can we spar for a bit? I wanna release some energy.”

“Ehh? But Miss..”

“Come on, let’s spar. No need to use weapons, just hand-to-hand is fine.”

“Ah.. I see.. If it’s no weapons it should be fine..”

The two of them walk about twenty paces away from each other, and take up similar fighting stances. With the left foot in front, knee slightly bent, and right foot turned to the side. Waist facing the opponent, and fists at their sides.

The blue-eyed miss shifts her weight on to her left foot, shooting forward to the other.

The black-eyed woman lowers her center body, preparing to leap to the side.

Suddenly the blue-eyed miss smiles.. She turns into shadowy fog. Suddenly seven different figures of her are closing in on the black-eyed woman from all sides.

“Ah! Miss!”

But her realization was too late. The miss did not intend for this to be a spar. She intended to subdue her. The woman was hit in the back of the head multiple times, causing her to lose consciousness.

“Haha, thats what she gets for underestimating me. Mission success.”

She immediately begins running in a different direction than the one they were headed in earlier. She had told her father that she was headed towards an Adventurer’s Outpost to the south-west of Falirwe that was near the Death Valley desert, but in secret she planned to go somewhere entirely different.

She was now headed towards the adventurer’s outpost at the border of Pendragonia, which was built near the Forest Labyrinth dungeon in the wilderness between Falirwe and Pendragonia.

….

The miss arrives at the entrance to the adventurer’s outpost. It’s currently raining heavily, and the ground has turned muddy.

(Shit.. What bad timing, but this will definitely hide my tracks even better. Thank you rain!)

She runs into the town, headed for one of the inns.

By now, she has pulled her hood over her head. She cast a shadow illusion magic to change the size and shape of her body. Even her voice has changed. She now appears to be a black hide leathered man, who stands about six feet tall. Her voice is similar to a human males.

(Quite a good illusion, if I say so myself.)

She approaches the counter of the inn she entered, and a man who appears to be in his fifties and of the human race greets her.

“Good evening, how can I help you?”

“I need a room if you could.”

“You’re in luck, we have one room left from all the people trying to get out of the storm. That’ll be fifty silver for a day, or three gold for a week.”

He(she) reaches for a pouch at his(her) side and fishes out some coins. She places three gold in the man’s hands, and he hands her a sheet.

“Alright, please sign your name on this sheet and I’ll get you a key.”

(Ah, crap. I need a nickname..)

He(she) thinks for a few minutes… then she writes down the name Zoro. (Hehe, the legendary masked vigilante Zoro. Perfect.)

“Alright, baths close at ten, and breakfast is served at seven. Room number twenty three, on the second floor in the hallway to the left at the top of the stairs. Please enjoy.”

He(she) nods slightly, taking the key from the man’s hand.

Suddenly the door of the inn opens up, a few people look up.. then everyone looks up.

Standing in the doorway is a boy close to five feet in height. Twin feline ears are atop his head, and a tail drags behind him. A six foot tall tiger with white fur and pale blue stripes enters behind him. Not a completely abnormal thing, but what the thing that is causing so many stares is…

The boy and tiger are absolutely covered in mud, and behind the boy is a large sack made of stitched together hides that is bulging. The sack itself is almost taller than the boy. Not to mention that the boy is wearing ragged clothing covered with cuts and tears all over.

He walks up to the counter shyly, aware of why people are staring at him. His hair is rather long, and his bangs are covering up his face, plastered with mud.

“Uhm, sir. Could I get a room please? I don’t have money right now, but I will definitely tomorrow. I’ll even pay more than the cost to make it up to you?”

“Ah… um.. I’m sorry young lad, but I just sold the last room to this man right here.. I apologize..”

The boy turns towards the cloaked man he just motioned towards, and the boy pauses for a moment.. Then he walks up to the cloaked man..

(What does this guy want.. jeez he’s covered in mud!)

“Ah, sir, is it okay if I ask to share the room with you? I know it seems like a pain, but.. this sack is full of monster drops so I can definitely pay you well and I can just sleep on the floor. Please?”

(Crap.. I guess it can’t be so bad.. as long as he takes a bath that is. Plus it’s like free money..)

“Fine. But you have to take a bath first, I don’t want you stinking up the room.”

“Haha, no problem! Thanks a lot, sir! C’mon Bahina, let’s go to the baths.”

(Oh well. How bad can it be?

Wait.. That means I’m going to have to keep this illusion up all night?!)

....

Back in the black-rock palace in the Shadow Forest, Alinar is staring at a small crystal in his hands.

(So she headed for the Beast-Plains.. I hope she won't cause too much trouble. If she thinks she got rid of Sarya however, she'll be sorely disappointed.)

Nova Chapter List