《Spirit of Darkness》Chapter 15: The Base
Advertisement
I was once again inside the dark cave where I first awoke. It was deep in the final chamber, the mage's quarters which felt so foreboding not long ago. The eeriness of the chamber itself was offset by the sight of a kobold joyfully jumping on a bed.
“It's so springy, my knight. I adore this secret base of yours.”
Instead of renting out a room at the inn, I decided this was a much safer alternative. This was an imposing dungeon which only I was apparently able to clear, and it had its own built-in defenses. Well, they required some fixing, but once they are running they should prove quite a deterrence for any intruders. The bed was added in by me, as the mage didn't have one. Skeletons don't sleep.
“But how did you bring a bed here? It is far too large to fit into a bottomless bag, and there are all those stairs in the way.”
“18 strength,” I answered.
“Sorry?”
“I carried it by hand, I mean to say.”
As Lacerta mentioned, some objects are too large to fit into bottomless bags. After some experimentation I found several limitations. The most obvious one is that one cannot stuff an item if it physically cannot fit through the sack's opening. The second limitation is that although the space inside the bag is large, it is not infinite. Even if you could fit a bed in there you would quickly run out of space. The third and most important limitation is that weight is conserved. Meaning if you put a 100 pound iron weight into the bag, then the bag itself becomes 100 pounds heavier. A person struggling to lift such a small object is a comical sight.
I introduced Lacerta to the mage's library. The books proved too complex for me, but I hoped she would be able to comprehend them and then teach me their contents second hand. I wasn't sure if I wanted to specialize in spellcraft, but having more spells available never hurt. Lacerta scanned through the shelves containing the magical tomes.
“I saw some of these books before back in the fortress. They described beginner to intermediate magical theories. But there are several here that are new to me. They seem to be about... necromancy? It's very interesting. That's not a type of magic I'm familiar with.”
She picked one of the books and flipped it with intrigue.
Advertisement
“This one looks the most beginner friendly. With this, I might be able to learn the basics in a few days. Do you mind if I take it, brave knight? It would make for an interesting read on my down time.”
It appears learning these spells will take a while even with Lacera's aid.
“Of course. While we are on the subject, do you mind teaching me the spell you used before, Mana Missile? I would like to improve upon the basic bolt spells I already know,” I said.
“Of course, brave knight. As is customary, let me begin with an introduction. Mana Missile was developed centuries ago in what was called the golden age of sorcery. Previously based on the staple of the time, mana bolt, its main principles inclu-”
“I don't care. Just teach me the runes.”
The kobold gave me a disgruntled look.
“But how can you expect to truly attune yourself to the spell without understanding its principles? Any mage worth her salt must understa-”
“I really don't care. Just the runes, please.”
The eager kobold gave up and frustratingly opened her spellbook. I wrote down the contents of the spell and then carefully memorized the sequence. The rune sequence for everything besides the most basic spells was simply to complex to remember from just playing the game. Mana Missle takes takes two spell slots, so normally I wouldn't have enough intelligence to memorize it. My magical ring, however, let me do so.
Just like in the game, taking the ring off would make me forget memorized spells, with the most recently memorized ones being lost first. The most powerful spells in Spirit of Darkness took up 3 spell slots, so to achieve that I would require an intelligence score of 16. Of course, that assumed this new world didn't have spells more complex than that.
“Lacerta, what is the most complex spell you know of?”
“Well, I haven't learned it myself, but that would likely be Mana Storm. Are you interested in it, my knight? I must apologize, as I cannot teach it.”
That is a third rank SoD spell. It was comforting to know that at least as far as Lacerta's spell knowledge went, it didn't differ much from the game. That meant an intelligence of 16 would indeed give me access to the most powerful of spells. Of course, if that was only it, then there would never be a reason to go above 16 or 20 in the game. The catch was that a competent adventurer needed to have multiple spells available at once. Any change required opening one's spellbook and spending the time to re-memorize the spell you needed, so you couldn't do it during combat. Intelligence also determined the player's mana, so a low-leveled mage would not be able to spam spells nearly as much. In short, to be an effective mage I would need to put a lot of aether into intelligence.
Advertisement
The lizard took a look at Calvar, who was sitting (standing?) on the floor.
“Sir skeleton, would you like to learn some spells as well? You must be eager to provide my knight support in combat.”
The skull dismissed the offer.
“No thanks. Fighting is Eren's thing, not mine.”
“But sir skeleton, what is there to lose? Magecraft is one of the wonders of the world. Even as a head, you could achieve so much.”
Calvar began getting annoyed.
“I said no! Even if I wanted to, I can't. That stuff will kill me.”
Lacerta took the statement with curiosity, which exactly matched my own reaction.
“Calvar, what do you mean? I'm not aware of any negative consequence to learning spells.”
The skull sighed.
“Listen, I'm not an expert in magic, but I understand the basics of how it works. Spells require mana to cast, right? It's that energy which all living things and undead use. Well, I can't cast spells. I would run out of mana.”
“I don't understand. Even if you run out, can't you wait for it to regenerate?”
The skull sighed once again.
“Eren, look at me. Do I look like a flesh and blood being like you two? Do I eat, breath, and sleep? No. I'm an undead. Mortals think it's an advantage to not require those things, but it comes at a cost. I can't get energy from food like you. My mana doesn't regenerate, so if it runs out, I'll die. The only way for an undead like me to replenish is to receive mana from my master.”
As I began to understand Calvar's predicament, I couldn't help but feel his own anguish.
“Calvar, is that the reason why you want to find your master? Because without him, you will die?”
The skeleton stared in silence.
“Yes, Eren, you finally get it. Undead like me can survive for several years without replenishing our mana, but that depends on how much effort we exert and how much stress we're under. At my current state, I probably have less than a week left. Are you happy now, Eren? Did that information make you feel more comfortable?”
That was likely the first time I could truly understand Calvar. I thought him to be an eccentric scullion with an unusual sense of loyalty, but I realized it was far more simple and ordinary than that. Just like me or anybody else, he didn't want to pass away before his time. He didn't want to die.
“But don't get too bent over it. You are my arms and legs, remember? I'm counting on you, kid.”
With this information in hand, we made our way back through the dungeon. We passed through the trapped hallway, containing the huge boulder and the corpse of the skeleton mage. Wondering if my strength was sufficient to move the boulder, I gave it a shove. It was very close, but I just wasn't strong enough to displace it.
“If you wish to get rid of the boulder, why not blast it with spells, brave knight?”
“No, I need it to stay intact. Don't worry, I can move it.”
I didn't want to increase my strength score too quickly, but this gave me a good excuse to do so. Since it was so close, I judged a strength of 20 would probably be enough. After leveling up, I gave it another heave.
Using all my strength, I managed to move the boulder. I pushed it all the way back through the hallway, so it could serve as a trap once more. That's something I'll have to set up later.
I could now clearly see the body of the skeleton mage. It was no different from before. Its head was cracked from the blunt strike I gave while it was trapped, and half the robe was missing from my embarrassing attempt to scavenge it. Now that it was unobstructed, however, I could fully search through its corpse.
I wonder if things would have turned out differently if I didn't do so. What if I chose elsewhere as my base? What if I ignored the boulder? What if I wasn't so meticulous when searching the corpse? Things might have turned out differently. However, I couldn't help myself. After searching through the body, I found an unfamiliar object hung around the skeleton's neck. From there fate was sealed.
Advertisement
- In Serial36 Chapters
Trailblazer
The story of a man who accidentally wrote another world into existence. Everyone breaks away from their mundane daily life in one way or another. Our protagonist, an unfortunate consequence of circumstance, being no different, often escaped the harsh reality of life by writing stories of an alternate world of swords and magic. Though he recognized the difference between reality and fantasy, he could've never imagined what would happen, when the line between the two blurred as lightning struck down from the skies, and his escapism fantasy became all too real... After he came to, he would soon learn that things in the other world aren't quite as he remembered them to be. The world he wrote of had become but a shadow of its former self. Albeit hesitant at first, he sets off on a quest to find out the secrets behind the Trails, yet even then, he can't help but wonder... Can he really bring his world back to its old glory? —————————— I have never written a story before in my life and now I'm doing so in a language I don't natively speak. Groundbreaking quality is probably not something to be expected, but I do my best to keep things readable. With the necessities out of the way, both constructive criticism and other suggestions are very much welcome, and I'll do my best to take them into account when writing future chapters.
8 420 - In Serial15 Chapters
Time of Devil
What would you do if everyone had a chance to defeat even gods This is a story about a guy named " Akuma " who goes under miserable life after the whole earth changes. He sets on a journey to get stronger even with the disadvantage he was given and tries to overcome it.
8 284 - In Serial11 Chapters
LUNA: WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT?
What happened last night? How unlucky she was to wake with a spear on her neck? And what language are they talking about? Did she just witness a wizard in a nightgown enchanting the shrubs? But that's not the important thing right now. What she really wanted to know is, what happened last night? So Luna embarked on a magical adventure to find out what misfortune had fallen upon her that she had to fight skeletons, monsters, dragons, and villains to stay alive. Was her destiny much bigger than an accidental summoning? Perhaps, she was chosen by gods to save the continence, or perhaps, she will deny her fate and have a cup of tea with the dragon instead? "With this Blade of Fate, I will decide my own destiny", she whispered to the man pinned on the wall, her sword against his neck. Disclaimer : I do not own anyrright to the photo. Kindly PM me if you want me to remove the picture. Taken from Pinterest, Fantasy Art by Z. W. GU
8 97 - In Serial76 Chapters
|Faceless| ~(Ranboo x OC)~
Dream asks his younger sister, Willow, to start streaming, and they finally agree. However, no one is allowed to know that she's Dream's sister.She eventually moves in with hey brother, Nick, and George. They're idiots, but they're like brothers to them.Ranboo one day asks Dream for some small streamers to collab with and Dream secretly gives him his sister's username. What will happen as Willow's channel grows and when the world finds out she's Dream's sister? Will Ranboo and Willow's collab just be a little something, or more?cover by @hmugogy ty **Updates are usually every 3-4 days, but it's pretty inconsistent lmao**1st book in the Skylit Universe ;)
8 103 - In Serial20 Chapters
Reylo One Shots
A collection of Reylo one shots (also featuring Adam Driver one shots)Credit to lillithsuar.tumblr.com for the beautiful pictures that I used for the cover!!
8 187 - In Serial39 Chapters
His Butterfly
BULLETS AND BROKEN HEARTS #1Richard Black had his eyes and heart only for his girlfriend Amara Wesley. They were what people called made for each other. Everyone knew they were to get married, have kids, enjoy their old age with each other. Richard had everything a man could wish in a relationship but he haven't told Amara he is the second son of the Mafia King Henry Black. Afterall he wasn't the heir, he was just the second son who lived two cities away from his father and his men. He just wanted to have a future with his Amara.But Fate had other ideas, an unexpected incident changes everything the Blacks have ever imagined.Richard have to leave his previous life behind along with his sunshine, Amara leaving the latter heartbroken and shattered.Now, four years later, destiny again strikes its magic bringing both Richard and Amara in front of each other, him being the cold, stone-hearted Mafia King and her being the same girls but with a broken heart.Join in the rollercoaster ride of happiness, love, tears, some snakes in human skin , fear and more importantly what we call destiny......................................................................................................................................Please give a chance to my story and your love to my writing. Constructive criticism is appreciated. This is the first book of the series Bullets and Broken Hearts.Yours, Ira 🦋
8 154