Alarmed, Shane awoke and tried to sit up to see what took out Mage, but his body wouldn't respond. He tried to move his arms and legs, but again no response. He couldn't even open his eyes or move his mouth. Panic set in as intense vulnerability coursed through his very being. Shane laid there for a few moments, only being able to breathe and listen to his surroundings.

He thought this could be a dream, as sleep paralysis was often like this. That illusion was immediately shattered upon hearing a voice that wasn't his own.

"Has the paralyzing potion taken effect?" A husky-sounding woman off to his right asked.

Shane felt a hard fist connect with the left side of his face with a loud "Thwack!". His cheek radiated heat and pain, and he could taste blood. It took almost everything he had to force himself to swallow it.

-Notice-

Your body has been acclimating to this world.

New information will be presented visually within your field of view.

-19 HP (??? 's Punch)

HP: 126/145

Mana: 102/102

Fatigue: 0/118

His head swirled from the attack and the new information being presented so rapidly.

A man closer to him on his left side snickered.

"Lookit ow fast e's breathin' Tashei, you know-e's feelin' what I gave um." the man spat out his words.

"Good," said Tashei, her voice cold.

"Though I suppose we should treat him with a bit more...affection, considering he went through the trouble of thinning out that nearby human camp."

Shane could feel himself sweating. Fear and panic swirled in his stomach as it threatened to purge its contents. He then heard footsteps approach.

"It is hard to believe this human was responsible. He looks so disgustingly weak." said a man, his voice smooth and refined but with subtle occasional pauses.

Shane heard a strange snorting noise, followed by something wet on his face. It was then he realized he had been spit on. This kind of encounter in a PC game would have immediately immersed him. Being in it, however, at this moment was nothing short of terrifying.

"That other human, the bearded one that wandered the road nearby swore up and down this man, with his skeletal minions, was the one that culled his crew," affirmed Tashei

"You know, that bearded man would have made a fine worker if you hadn't killed him, Recker," she growled at one of the men.

Shane wanted to rage, scream, and take back his kindness towards that shitty bandit for apparently getting him in this mess. At least he's dead, Shane thought with a mix of morbid and guilty satisfaction.

"This human is too lanky to have work for us. We should end him here," she snorted. "It's the humane thing to do for his kind, after all," and gave a short snicker.

"Can ah do et Tash?" the weaselly sounding man cackled. "Ah'll make et quick." The excitement in his voice was proportionate to Shane's dread.

"Fine, but don't start calling me that again, Recker. It's Tash-ei."

As she talked, her stern voice sounded more distant. She must be walking away, Shane briefly thought.

"Thank ya, ma'am."

There was a pause before a hand gripped the hair on Shane's scalp and lifted his head off the cold ground.

"Ol'right, time for ya ta go." said the man in Shane's ear.

If Shane could grimace, he would have as the man's breath was hot and foul. A few silent moments passed, then burning, searing pain exploded across the width of his throat, followed by a copper taste flooding his mouth.

-90 HP (Recker's Knife Slash)

Shane saw the HP he lost and realized in abject horror that his throat had been slit. The pain throbbed alongside his pounding heartbeat as blood poured down his chest and back.

"Afta ur gon, I'm gonna enjoy warin' that pretty cloak-a-urs." the man breathed excitedly into his other ear. Hearing this made Shane want to cry.

At this moment, an unquenchable rage filled him faster than blood was exiting his body. It began quivering alongside the feeling of his blood boiling with indignant energy.

-10 HP (Bleeding Out)

Shane's eyes flew open, he couldn't swallow the blood in his mouth, and it had started to pour into his lungs, but he couldn't care less. There was no way in hell this guy was getting the most remarkable piece of armor he found in any RPG. It took every ounce of focus and strength to barely lift one of his hands and whisper a single word. "Arise," mouthed Shane as Mana coalesced from his body to make the three skeletal companions he cherished.

-10 HP (Bleeding Out)

"Pro..tect." Shane managed to utter before his hand and arm fell limp, having lost the strength to lift them. Everything was much colder now. Both his vision and hearing began to fade. I must have already lost too much blood, he thought, almost casually. Shane tried to focus his vision, to see what was happening.

-10 HP (Bleeding Out)

The outline of the man who slit my throat has a red aura, a tail, and is named Recker, he thought, both delirious and amused. Of course, Endless Veil was a game that supported many fantasy races with different backgrounds, beliefs, and agendas.

Shane was usually aware of this fact, but in his current state, the notion of anything having a tail and talking seemed preposterous. Instead, he let his head limply hit the dirt and gave a choked gurgling sound as he tried to laugh it all off.

As Shane's vision completely darkened, he could briefly hear muffled sounds of yelling and cursing—his last thought was a wish for his summons to give those bastards a piece of hell.

HP: 0/145

At first, he had been feeling the ground on his back. A moment later, the ground was no longer there. His consciousness wavered in and out as he fell through empty space. When he regained consciousness again, it was only long enough to know that he had felt this sensation once before. I'm dying again, he thought lamely.

Consciousness began to manifest more as time went on. However, he personally had no sense of how long he had been falling. As if to punctuate this feeling, Shane's state of awareness occurred at faster and faster intervals until he stopped falling unconscious altogether. This isn't death, he eventually judged. I wouldn't become MORE aware after death. That's right. I'm reviving!

All I have to do is wait a bit longer, he thought. The darkness disappeared in a bright flash as he began hearing the sounds of nature. Shane had been hoping to feel a soft bed underneath him like the first time. Unfortunately, it was the same hard ground he had been paralyzed on top of. As the sensation of falling left him, he gained use of his arms and legs again.

Eventually, he opened his eyes to be greeted by a gorgeous blue sky beyond the canopy created by multiple trees. The previous night's memories haunted his mind as he slowly sat up under the shade of the tree he had earlier been so safe under.

Shane tentatively touched his neck, searching for some kind of scar. It was surprisingly smooth, save for some stubble that must have been growing while he was respawning. If he hadn't looked down to see his white shirt turned blood red and a large patch of dark red dirt beneath him, he would have written it all off as a terrible nightmare.

He remembered what Recker said to him, with his frightening red aura, and gasped when he didn't feel the hood on top of his head. Thankfully, the hooded cloak was still safely tied around his upper chest. Shane squinted as the warm sun's rays pierced through the shade, trying and failing to get his eyes to adapt to the brightness. Catharsis washed over him as he noticed his skeletal minions were nearby and mostly unharmed.

Mage was eyeing him intently while Tank constantly surveyed their surroundings for threats. A metallic glint caught his eye above him, and for a second, he thought it was Recker back again to finish the job. Shane gasped as his hands instinctively moved to guard his jugular. It took a few moments, but he realized the metal he saw belonged to Rogue—who was twirling his daggers up in the tree he was resting under.

"Oh! Haha! You scared me, Rogue," he said shakily.

Fear, weakness, and terror burned through him as he couldn't help but recall how he had just died. Even in the daylight, being surrounded by his companions wasn't enough to quell the tremors he felt deep in his stomach. A familiar and comforting emotion started smothering all the others as he sat there.

Hatred. Pure and unbridled. It swirled deep in Shane's guts as he poured over his memories. Why had they attacked him? What had he done to them to deserve such treatment and ending?

He didn't know, and he didn't care. He hated them; any reason why was enough to satisfy that hatred. He wanted them to feel twenty times the pain they caused him. He knew he'd need to become faster, wiser, and stronger to accomplish this. In short, he needed power.

Shane stood up, shook his hands to rid his mind of the unpleasant visions of revenge, and commanded his skeleton crew to help him reach Krooth.

The four of them moved at a moderate but constant pace towards their destination. Tank was upfront and ready to intercept any on-coming threats. Shane quietly stayed in the middle with Mage to his side, while Rogue took up the rear unseen and unheard—at least, for a low-level skeleton trying to be sneaky. Shane observed his stats once more. If he ran into that group again, he wanted to be ready.

Name: Shane Carther

Race: Human

Class: Sage

Level: 3

HP: 145/145

Mana: 102/102

Fatigue: 5/118

Exp: 0/290

Soul Points: 3

Unspent Attribute Points: 5

Attributes:

Strength: 19

Agility: 19

Vitality: 19

Endurance: 19

Intelligence: 18

Wisdom: 18

Luck: 19

Physical Attack: 29

Magical Attack: 0

Physical Defense: 28

Magical Defense: 22

Everything looked well enough, but the truth is that it wasn't enough. He wanted more strength, speed, defenses, magical potency—everything. Going through something like that again wasn't an option. After putting three points into Intelligence and two in Wisdom, Soul Points stood out as something he could again use to gain an advantage over future encounters.

It wasn't enough to have strong minions if he couldn't overcome adversity on his own. Shane opened his "Skills" tab and highlighted "Minor Mana Siphon."

-Minor Mana Siphon-

(Common Shadow Spell)

Through physical touch, the user absorbs 1/10th of the opponent's maximum Mana.

Cost: 5 HP

Range: Melee

Duration: Instant

Cooldown: 30 seconds

Requirement: 5 Intelligence/8 Wisdom

Use "1" Soul Point To Evolve To "Regular" Rank?

Enter/Cancel

He pressed "Enter" with determination.

-Evolution Successful-

-Mana Siphon-

(Uncommon Shadow Spell)

Through physical touch, the user absorbs 1/5th of the opponent's maximum Mana.

Cost: 10 HP

Range: Melee

Duration: Instant

Cooldown: 25 seconds

Requirement: 8 Intelligence/13 Wisdom

Use "2" Soul Points To Evolve To "Major" Rank?

Enter/Cancel

"That's a no-brainer. The more power I stockpile, the less of my own blood I'll probably choke on." Shane hit enter, feeling more optimistic. Suddenly the screen flashed a new message he hadn't seen before.

-Notice-

Feats and Spells Can Be Morphed Once They Are Evolved To Major-Level Rank.

He remembered reading there was a morph mechanic in his class description when he first arrived in Endless Veil. On the current screen, the word "Morphed" was highlighted in red. Shane pressed on the word.

-Morph-

The Ability To Further Evolve A Feat or Spell In 1 of 2 Directions. This Results In An Evolution That Is Specific AND Expanded.

Morphs Are Free and Exclusive To The 'Sage' Class.

"That's awesome," he murmured to himself. Mild wind bursts tossed his gold-trimmed cape to and fro while Shane exited the last two menu screens. He accepted the evolution of "Mana Siphon" to Major-rank.

-Major Mana Siphon-

(Rare Shadow Spell)

Through physical touch, the user absorbs 1/3rd of the opponent's maximum Mana.

Cost: 15 HP

Range: Melee

Duration: Instant

Cooldown: 20 seconds

Requirement: 12 Intelligence/17 Wisdom

Morphing Is Available for (Major Mana Siphon). Proceed?

Enter/Cancel

His strong desire to hit "Enter" was enough for the screen to proceed without him having to lift a finger.

-First Morph-

-Soul Siphon-

(Rare Shadow Spell)

The user absorbs 1/4th of the opponent's Maximum Mana and 1/4th of their current Hit Points.

Cost: 20 Mana

Range: Melee

Duration: Instant

Cooldown: 20 seconds

Requirement: 17 Intelligence/17 Wisdom

-Second Morph-

-Mana Leech-

(Rare Shadow Spell)

The user absorbs 1/3rd of the opponent's Maximum Mana from a distance.

Cost: 15 Hp

Range: Up To 30ft

Duration: Instant

Cooldown: 20 seconds

Requirement: 14 Intelligence/20 Wisdom

Choose A Morph or Return To Original Spell?

First/Second/Return

This was not a hard choice for Shane, given how he couldn't currently use the second morph of Mana Siphon. However, the thought of boosting his mana reserves from afar certainly had its charms. He picked the First morph and watched as the screen faded to reveal his inventory screen with the new spell socketed into his third spell slot.

Having a spell of this caliber and utility made him feel immediately safer. The four continued their trek to the great city of Krooth while watching for danger along the way. They had yet to realize they would soon come upon a glowing portal in the middle of a field.