“Yes.”

Ian said only one word but it was like he just appeared out of nowhere and disappeared when he finished the one word. Ian observed how the capsule brought him from the real road to what was the start of a new life.

While in the white room waiting for the AI to boot up he thought, 'This place is quite nice', which surely is sarcasm. I do hope this is sarcasm. Ian merely thought such things until a female voice which was the AI started talking to him.

— The scan on your iris and vein has determined that you are an unregistered user. Do you want to create a new account?

“Sure, why not.”

Unlike the others that may try to be polite, Ian has no hint of politeness in his speech. Maybe its because of his lack of interactions with others, he has developed a rude style of talking. There has been many case where people were searching for him as if he was lost when he was standing next to them. People thinking he skipped class when he was just sitting on his seat like normal. And there was one unusual case where Ian just walked out of a bank robbery in progress without anyone noticing him and called the police on them.

— Select the name of your avatar.

“Something cool.....like Shadow. Yeah Shadow will do.”

— Select your gender from male, female or neutral.

“Male.”

While answering Ian was thinking what could happen if he chose to be a short cute assassin in the service of her lord.

'Well it would be like that novel I read before but its best to make sure the others don't think me as a pervert. Peter and Mark are fine but the girls....one is shy, one is loud and one is the devil. All of them bad choices to fall in love with.'

Ian thought back to the last words his parents left him before dying in front of his eyes. His mother rubbed his head in the car while almost crushing him to death with her bear hugs that almost literally felt like a bear was hugging him.

'Remember, when you grow up follow your heart in choosing your life long partner.'

Then his parents went out to buy something leaving Ian in the car which is a very bad thing to do for a 3 year old child at the time. But nothing happened to Ian the child at the time. It was what happened to his parents. A simple hit and run. The culprit was never found. Ian was seemingly saved because his parents 'forgot' about him when they went out. That was how Ian thought about it and so his life then consisted of hiding in the corners of people's eyes.

Thinking about this, Ian thought, 'Hina was right that I should be a scout. People like me who have little presence are perfect for the role.'

— Royal Road has forty-nine races. You may select your race from the primary twenty-nine.

“Human.”

There was no need to decide on anything else since Ian never liked the idea that other races had certain advantages and disadvantages compared to the all rounder human and more importantly the human race was the most chosen race and this made will make it easier to blend into the crowd in cities.

— You may alter your appearance

“Show me my appearance.”

In front of him was an exact image of himself like a mirror except that it was real. Ian moved forward and 'touched himself' using his hand and felt his arm.

'Am I that thin?'

In his mind Ian was considering making himself a bit more bulky but it was not a wise idea to play as a body builder in game.

'Maybe a bit more muscle will help'

And so Ian changed his body to be fitted with a bit more muscle that was not noticeable at all unless you looked really closely.

“What else should I changed?.....well make my hair completely black it'll help me hide better in the night. Also make my eyes completely black as well. They say that darker eyes will see better in the dark as well.”

From speaking his thoughts out, he had already changed his character from a slightly more muscular version of himself to someone who only resembled himself. Ian was almost as tall as Peter at 178 cm and his now black hair as he seen waved around.

“Hmm.....Nah. I'm done. Nothing else to do.”

— Your account has been activated. Your stats and class shall be determined while you are playing Royal Road. Please Select a city and kingdom you want to start.

“It was called....Witchhelm right?”

Ian had some difficulty remembering the name of the city because a certain someone was getting too close to him. However he almost hugged the AI if it had a physical form here when the city did exist.

— Welcome to Royal Road.

Seeing that he was going in the game very soon, he made sure that he did not stand out when he will first appear.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

One moment he was in the white room the next he was in a city full of life. Some people looked at him strangely but then ignored him as always.

'So my lack of presences transfer in this game as well?' Shadow was a bit depressed but he did name himself Shadow in this place. However according to Hina and the others this was a good thing for a certain role.

Shadow looked around and found that the fountain was nearby and Mark was already there standing there alone. Walking as usual Shadow moved next to him and stood next to her.

'Is he going to notice me or not?'

Shadow did not realise it but he was actually walking with little notice on his footprints which emitted almost no sound at all and was keeping out of the sight of Mark's sight. Eventually Hina and Grace got here as well and Hina said to us, “So you two got here early” which for some reason meant that Mark was to look at Shadow like he saw a ghost and freak out. After almost immediately calming himself down from my 'sudden' presence, Peter got here as well.

With a smile Peter said, “Is everyone here yet?” looking at each and every one of us including me. However Hina was kinda angry of the lack of presence of Maria and as such with an irritated voice said, “Maria isn't She's late!” like a child.

'That's surprising, I never thought that she had that in her'

Peter made a Wry smile at this sight and Grace moved towards me without warning. She was tugging the edge of my shirt.

'Why is she tugging on me?'

Trying to stop Hina's sudden rage Peter said, “So are we going to introduce ourselves while we wait for Maria?” to the rest of us.

“We might as well” sighed Miriel saying, “Anyway I'm called Miriel now so call me that. I'm a Night Elf.”

“Raven, Human” said Raven after her.

Grace struggled but still managed to speak to the rest of the group, “I'm called....Serena...a Half-Elf...”

Ian simply said the words, “Shadow, also Human”

Sain smiled and introduced himself, “I'm Sain also a Human. Anyway we should friend each other while we can. Um...how do I do this?” while being confused at the end.

'He doesn't know? I better demonstrate then.' Miriel sighed and said quickly, “Send Friend Request to Sain, Serena, Raven and Shadow.”

Miriel sent you a friend request. Accept?

Shadow moved his finger to press 'Yes'. Unlike the others who were seemingly shocked by such a thing, I knew that such a thing would appear in this game.

You have accepted the Friend Request

“Send Friend Request to Serena, Raven and Shadow.” said Sain quickly.

Sain sent you a friend request. Accept?

Once again he moved his finger to accept the friend request.

You have accepted the Friend Request

“Send Friend Request to Serena and Raven.” said Shadow following through. Serena suddenly got surprised again and cling on his shirt again. Shadow tugged Serena indicating that she should go next. She looked at Shadow with her teary eyes and shouted, “Send....Friend request to Raven!” Raven looked a bit irritated but it didn't show on his face but Shadow could tell from the feeling he was giving off.

After a minute and when Miriel turned for the worse and with Serena being was clingy on Shadow, someone finally appeared.

“I'm here~”

With a smile this person wave and came to us....and to an angry Miriel. Miriel immediately went up to her and whacked Maria's head with her fist.

“Ow! Wait, what's this message I'm seeing?” she cried in exclamation.

'Its most likely the game saying that you were hurt.' Everyone thought to themselves.

“Your late!” shouted Miriel in rage. Maria was completely dominated by the strength of will coming from Miriel.

“Anyway sent a friend request to everyone of us. No, tell us your name and we'll friend you. It'll be much quicker that way.” demanded Miriel like a bully.

“My name is Lyndis, a normal Elf.” said Lyndis after a few seconds.

Feeling sorry for he Shadow quietly said, “Send Friend request to Lyndis.”

[p=center]xXx[/p]

“First of all you guys know how to open your inventory right? Just say open Inventory and a window saying what you have will appear which should be 10 pieces of Rye bread and a Canteen of Water. You can refill the Canteen using a Fountain like this but you have to buy Rye Bread for 3 Copper each. Try it out.” said Miriel. All of this Shadow already knew but he suppose that it would do as some sort of review.

“Open Inventory Window.” said the 5 of us.

Inventory

- 10 Pieces of Rye Bread

- I Canteen of Water

- No Money

This window showed the items Shadow had currently. It wasn't much but everyone has to start somewhere.

Everyone looked and pointed at the window that was only visible to themselves. Sain then moved his hand and took out what was the Rye Bread for everyone to see.

'This looks....very hard to chew', everyone thought seeing the Rye Bread in Sain's hand.

“Anyway next is the Status Window which you will see all of your stats and such. Same thing as the inventory, just say Open Status Window.”

“Open Status Window” said the 5 again.

Status Window[quart=Name,Alignment]Shadow,Neutral[/quart][quart=Level,Profession]1,None[/quart]RaceHumanTitleNoneHealth100Mana100[quart=Fame,Infamy]0,0[/quart][quart=Strength,Agility]10,10[/quart][quart=Intelligence,Wisdom]10,10[/quart][quart=Vitality,Stamina]10,10[/quart][quart=Leadership,Luck]0,0[/quart][quart=Offense,Defense]10,10[/quart]Magic Resistance0%Elemental Resistance[quart=Light,Dark]0%,0%[/quart][quart=Fire,Ice]0%,0%[/quart][quart=Earth,Lightning]0%,0%[/quart][quart=Wind,Nature]0%,0%[/quart]

“Okay now that you know your status window, we have to talk about distributing stats. Know that it is better to be a master of one than a master of many. However don't let it stop you since its your character and we don't need to be something like the strongest. Now let's go our separate ways and find a class in these 4 weeks we have. Don't aim for the hidden classes since they may take too much time to get and don't just resolve yourself on being one of those common classes people get. I'll see you guys here in 4 weeks time.” said Miriel before leaving us to do whatever we want.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

Shadow walked away from the others whom were doing the same. As Shadow had to be some sort of assassin or whatever type character, he headed for the most shady type of place since it would be a good place to start. As he walked to that place, more and more of the city's clean bright streets were being turned into a dark, damp and overall unpleasant place.

'This seems to be the right place....now where do I go?'

Shadow thought to just go around and hope that he would 'fall' into place that would teach him the skills he would need. Shadow looked around to find that no one was looking at him at all for some reason.

You have gained the skill Stealth

'What in the world...'

Shadow opened the skill window for the first time and saw that a skill called Stealth was there. It was only as mere hour since he started his journey and he already gained a skill relating to how small his presence was.

“...”

Nevertheless Shadow opened the skill to see the information relating to it.

Stealth Beginner Level 1 (0/100)

To hide in shadows and bend into the background. This skill allows you to naturally do this and more. It is not only the shadows you bend into, crowds of people and even nature itself is a safe hiding spot.

Detectability Reduced by 10%

Sound made Reduced by 3%

“Are you joking?!” retorted Shadow in anger.

He had hoped that his lack of presence would not transfer into this game as well. He was tired of not being seen. Tired of people forgetting his very existence when he was standing right in front of him. However somewhere in his heart he knew that this was going to happen eventually since he was going to be the sneaky member of the group but...just not this fast.

Shadow had read that it may take weeks, even months to gain the skill you want by clearing the conditions placed by the system to generate it for your character.

“Ho ho ho. Look what came here!”

Noticing that something was wrong, Shadow looked around to find that the bums that were lying one the ground one by one stood up and surrounded him on all sides...well almost. There were still the alleyways and the roofs as well to escape with. However unlike in real life, Shadow's body could not handle those kinds of activities just yet.

“Why don't you give us everything you have!” said the dirty man that seemed to be the leader of the group.

The others that numbered to be more than 10 according to what Shadow see, agreed with him. All Shadow had were the canteen of water and the 10 pieces of Rye Bread. If he lost them then he would be starving to death later on. Other than that were the crappy beginner armour he had. In total these items couldn't even add up to even 1 silver.

But losing these things would be problematic later on as well. So Shadow decided to run.

'Chances of me getting through here before they come are pretty slim. But these guys seem stupid enough'

Shadow burst into the small alleyway which barely fit his already thin body with great difficulty while the bums tried to get to him.

“Don't go that way, the other side! Get him on the other side!” shouted the dirty bum pushing a couple of people to the side and running off himself to try and catch Shadow.

'Now all I have to do is go back...'

Shadow moved his thin body back the way he came from and got out before the bums got to the other side. Shadow decided it was better to head deeper in the slums of this city then to go back to where its more crowded.

“SHIT! GO BACK! GO BACK AND CATCH HIM!!!”

Shadow smiled knowing that this person and the others were definitely stupid. Their intelligence and wisdom stats must have been pretty slow which made them easy to escape. Shadow slipped into the shadows where it was easier for him to hide and walk away but things were going to be so simple.

Tap tap tap tap tap tap

There was someone walking near Shadow and it was most likely someone who would tip off him to the bums. Shadow decided that he would hide in one of the dark corners that were blocked off by other objects, listening to what this group was saying.

“Where is he?!”

“I can't find him!”

“Impossible! We have the entire area surrounded. If he decides to escape then we will find him!”

'Why do they want me so badly? There are other people in this world you can chase right?'

As Shadow was hiding with no visual ability to see them since the objects that were allowing him to hide from them also prevented him from seeing them, he was using his other senses to track them. To be more precise, Shadow was using his sense of hearing. After 10 minutes of this and other then the fact that his body was becoming stiff, a message appeared which also surprised him again but in a good way this time.

You have gained the skill Hearing

Hearing Beginner Level 1 (0/100)

Allows you to hear from further distance and in more accurately. This skill is activated when you focus on hearing.

Hearing Distance Increase: 5 Metres

Hearing Quality Increase: 1.1 Times

'This seems useful. I can hear sound earlier than other people which means I can alert the others when monsters or other people are nearby in a dungeon.' Unlike the Stealth skill, Shadow had a very good impression on this skill even though he was more natural at Stealth than any other thing.

“Find him! We need a hostage in case on of them appear!”

'Who is 'them'?' thought Shadow as he was listening into their conversations.

“Damn it! We have to find another one before the sun sets. The purge is happening today! Just get any odd freeman here!”

“Are you an idiot! Most Freemen in this city are extremely strong. Its a rain drop in a desert that a new one just came! We need a weak one that we can use.”

As Shadow hid in the corner, much to his annoyance, his stealth skill increased rapidly for some reason.

Stealth has levelled up

Area which people can see you decrease when crouching

Stealth has levelled up

Less sound is made when walking

Stealth has levelled up

You are able to walk on solid ground without making noise when crouching

Stealth has levelled up

Sound made when falling or rolling is decreased

Stealth has levelled up

Weapon sounds are reduced

Stealth has levelled up

It is more difficult to sense your presence

In the mere 10 minutes Shadow had somehow managed to level the Stealth skill up to Beginner Level 7. Shadow checked the skill and found that his presence was reduced by 70% and the amount of sound he made was reduced by 21%.

'Well it can't be that bad to stay hidden in these kinds of situations' thought Shadow trying to stay positive in this helpless situation.

“Why are you hiding there? Who are you?” asked young female voice.

Shadow was shocked. No one bothered him at all and even the bums whom were searching for him soon gave up. But here a person found him in this hiding spot he just made and it was a child as well. Shadow got up and revealed himself to this person.

Shadow got a good look on this person. She was a short most likely Asian descendent shady person who had a small figure. Her long hair was tied into a ponytail that was almost as long as her body.

“...”

“...:

The two looked at each other without talking and when Shadow was about to speak, someone interrupted him.

“FOUND HIM!” shouted the bums.

They soon sealed off all exits and more than 10 of them surrounded him and this child. Some of them even carried old rusty weapons that while would not kill them immediately, would hurt a lot which would allow them to capture Shadow.

“Who are you?” asked the child again ignoring the bums that surrounded them.

Shadow decided it would be a good time to tell his name in case the child would be spared of this kidnapping and report it to someone.

“I am Shadow.” answered Shadow.

“Class?” the child asked again.

'Why would she want to know that? Would she want to know if I was useful?' Shadow decided to answer truthfully to this child.

“None.” he answered

“Level?” the child ask again quickly.

“I just started today.”

“Skills?”

“Stealth Beginner Level 7 and Hearing Beginner Level 1”

“...”

The child stared at Shadow with interest. A small smile came on her face when she heard Shadow report his skills.

“?”

“You'll be my apprentice.” the child proclaimed.

“WHAT?! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU BRAT!!!” one of the bums screamed in anger, mainly due to the fact that they were ignored. The bums rallied and charged at the two.

For some reason Shadow felt that they would get out of this situation without harm when looking at the child.

“I will protect my apprentice.” she said drawing out a small knife. Shadow observed her to find that it was getting more difficult to even sense her and that she looked like she was literally bending into the shadows.

“Assassinate.”

The child disappeared and reappeared behind one of the bums stabbing him in the back, killing him in one shot. The child then proceeded to disappear and reappear quickly killing off all of the bums. They didn't have the time to scream in pain. It all lasted for less than a second.

“Will you become my apprentice?” the child asked Shadow in a cute voice.

Become Anna's apprentice

- You will live with her until your apprenticeship finish

- You will be fed food

- You will be given training directly from him

- Will gain the title 'Dark Walker Apprentice'

“....Sure.” Shadow was a bit hesitant on accepting since the child named Anna.....well looked like a child but had superior skills which Shadow could learn from.

You have become the apprentice of Dark Walker Anna

You have gained the title 'Dark Walker Apprentice'

- Strength will increase by 1

- Agility will increase by 1

- 5% more damage in the Dark

Shadow got an extra point in Strength and Agility and a bonus for his damage in the dark. Shadow felt some sort of happiness in the fact that he was a bit stronger than before thanks to this.

“Why did you kill all those people?” asked Shadow curious on the answer.

Anna looked at him and said with a straight face, “They were not contributing to the city and instead disrupting the city and therefore had to be eliminated. I do a sweep once a month on those who act like this.” Anna was grabbing the loot from the corpse of the bums she killed.

“...”

Shadow could only stare in disbelief on this kind of action from a child.

“Come with me.” said Anna.

“Where are we going?” asked Shadow.

“Training Home. I need to make you strong enough to survive in 4 weeks.” she replied.

'What's going to happen in 4 weeks?' thought Shadow grimly before following Anna to where he would stay for the next 4 weeks.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

“We are here”

In front of Shadow was....well a house. Though it kinda looked more like a death sentence for those aware of what it truly was. To start with, the house was rather small compared to what seems to be the training centre right next door. It was relatively new looking house that had several signs that either say 'Turn now to live' or 'this is a death trap' written on it. On the other hand the place looked.....normal.

This was the main problem for Shadow since it could look better than it really was. While Shadow was thinking this, Anna went into the house which caused Shadow to follow....and fall into some sort of pitfall clinging to his life.

“What the hell?!” he muttered out loud with one leg hanging while his arms were supporting his body.

To describe what is trap is, you can only think of a very deep hole right at the edge of the inside of the house. It was large enough to drop an entire person in it and at the bottom were what looked like spikes that would pierce through him if he dropped down.

'You got to be joking....', Shadow looked at Anna who effortlessly passed over the trap without trouble, 'This may have been a bad idea....'

While Shadow was slowly falling into despair on what was going to happen, Anna came back from her short trip and saw Shadow half trapped in the pitfall.

“What are you doing? Why didn't you step over the trap?” asked Anna.

Shadow somehow managed to pull himself up from the pitfall that almost took his life with his 11 strength and said, “I didn't know there was a pitfall there.”

“Why didn't you know? Couldn't you see it?” asked Anna as if it was strange to not know that there was a pitfall at the entrance of the house.

Shadow thought back on the applications of skills and deducted that there was most likely a skill to detect traps.

“I don't have the Detect Trap skill.” said Shadow.

With those words Anna nodded and led Shadow to a room which had a ladder down underground which was very strange since these kinds of things were really rare for a household. Shadow gulped when he climbed down the ladder to the seemingly dark room which had no light at all.

“Get to the end and you'll get the skill.” said Anna.

Shadow almost decided to run through but his better judgement stopped him.

'This can't be that easy.' he thought and therefore asked, “Is there anything else in between?”

Anna stared at Shadow and said, “Traps. Lots of traps. You'll gain the skill after this.”

“And if I die?”

“You can revive and try again later.”

Shadow sighed and looked at what looked to be a long corridor. To the left, right and back of the ladder, there were rooms which were dimly lit but the corridor was completely dark preventing Shadow from seeing anything.

“I can't see anything.”

“That's part of the training. You have enough food for a couple of days. Here.” Anna handed Shadow a bag filled with a couple canteens filled with water, “You'll need it.” Anna climbed back up the ladder and pulled it up with her.

'It looks like I can't get back up that way....'

Shadow looked at the dark corridor which he had to go through.

Number of Traps: Unknown

Length of Corridor: Unknown

Possibility to Survive this: Very Low

Shadow sighed once more on his bad luck in training.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

“Ah, Master” said Anna looking at a person who just came to the training area. The person revealed himself coated in dry blood with a person on his shoulder. The only particular thing that Anna noticed was that her master has blood on him which meant that he killed someone and he most likely saved the person on his shoulder.

“Anna, you just sent your new apprentice down the pit for training didn't you?” asked the person named Eden.

“Yes I have. The pit will be useful to train his skills” replied Anna trying not to notice that Eden was actually in a one piece dress, “Also why do you have someone on your shoulder?”

“This? Just made a round of cleaning up some trash and this one fainted though she has a strong will. I'm considering giving her to Mel since she doesn't actively seek out apprentices.”

Anna nodded and Eden disappeared soon enough but not before he left a message to her.

“Train your apprentice to the point that that person can enter the guild.”

“I understand.”

With that, Anna decided to increase the difficulty of the training by another step.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

Shadow was crawling on the ground making sure to try and not trigger any kind of traps on the way. Prior to this event, Shadow waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness which actually did help. He could now see 10 cm in front of him which was better than being completely blind in this place.

Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh

For a while now, thanks to his Hearing Skill, Shadow could hear this Whoosh sound as he went forward. It was most likely some sort of trap and Shadow knew what it may be and immediately regretted thinking about it since it frightened him to the fact that he had to go through it.

As Shadow inched forward he noticed that there was something in front of him. He could not exactly 'see' it but his instincts as a invisible man told him that it was very dangerous. However the thing that he sensed was on the ground and he did not notice anything above him, or so he thought. So he stood up making sure not to fall forward where the first trap was.

Then he stepped over the trap lightly and felt around the ground a bit to see if there were more traps around. Shadow really did try to see in the dark and as a result, another skill was generated.

You have gained the Skill Dark Vision

Dark Vision Beginner (0/100)

A Skill that allows the user to see in the dark. Things that reflect light such as mirrors or water will glow as a result of this while the amount of colour you would see is limited. Also highlights certain objects of interest sometimes.

Mana Cost Per Second: 5 Mana

Shadow smiled that this game did not forsaken him just yet. With this skill he would almost quite possibly see the traps there were ahead.

“Dark Vision!”

Suddenly the surrounding area was lit up in his eyes. He looked behind him to find a simple wire trap which he luckily did not trigger during his blind walk to avoid it. Then he looked forward.

“...”

The whole place was filled with various types of triggers and the traps that it triggered. Shadow saw spike traps, arrow traps, pitfalls, poison traps, and so on. There were so many that he couldn't count them all and the corridor was far enough that he couldn't see the end as well. Shadow presumed that the further down he went the more difficult it was to get through without triggering a trap which at his level and health, would kill him.

“I better start disarming these traps.” he commented.

There were several ways of getting skills in game which almost all involve clearing a condition. The first was simply repeating the action to get the skill. This was the most time consuming and hardest way to get the skill and there was a chance not to get the skill you want. The second was to learn it off someone with the required skill. This can and most likely will cost money. However it is almost certain that you will get the skill you want under the guidance of the Master you are training under. The last method is the easiest but the rarest kind since it requires a skill book to begin with. You simply read the book and you get the skill if you above the minimum conditions. But even the most common skills cost a lot in a skill book form. Skill books are ranked like quests. The rarer and more powerful the skill is, the higher the rank and on the market, even B ranked skill books are a rare find and A and S rank skill books if they actually get on the market sell out in seconds.

Shadow turned around and was just about to try and disarm the wire trap behind him but.....

“I don't have a knife....”

His sudden realisation made things even more difficult for him. He would need to use something sharp like his nails if he wanted to disarm traps. Then he remembered the bag.

'I hope Anna placed a knife in there.'

With the sudden hope, Shadow rampaged through his bag and searched around until he felt something that was not a canteen of water. Shadow pulled it out to find that it was a small knife that was most likely used to cut wire and other materials.

Shadow immediately went to one end of the wire trigger and cut it.

*Sound of a pitfall opening*

“Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!!”

Reacting immediately, Shadow clung to the edge of the pitfall and managed to pull himself up from it.

'Okay then.....time to not screw up on the next trap I try to dissemble....wait why is it dark again?'

The corridor went dark again all of a sudden that Shadow did not dare move just in case he somehow managed to trigger another trap and this time die from it. He checked his mana to see what happened to find that all of his mana disappeared.

'So I only have 20 seconds worth of Dark Vision.' Shadow checked the skill to find that it increased by 1% overall. According to what he knew, Mana regenerated extremely slowly to the point that it would take a minute to regain a point of mana. As such it would take 5 minutes to even use the Dark Vision skill again for 1 second.

As such Shadow was just sitting there, very uncomfortable waiting for his mana to regenerate enough for him to use Dark Vision again.

Eventually after the 5 minutes, he managed to regain the 5 mana he needed to activated the skill.

'Hmm.....only one second to know what to do next. Its just easier to wait a bit longer to ensure my safety in moving around'

As a result of this thought, Raven sat there for another hour looking around in the dark which caused him to be surprised in the emergents of another skill he did not expect to appear.

Night Vision Beginner level 1 (0/100)

Allows you to passively see better in the dark by reflecting more light into your eyes.

You will see 30% better in the Dark

'I can see....well that part is obvious but I don't have to spend mana to see better in the dark now. However its still relatively dark but I can kinda see the outline of stuff now. Well....at least I can try to disarm traps.'

Shadow held the knife in hand and went to the next trap which again was another wire trap. This time he made sure not to be in the vicinity of the trap and somehow managed to not set it off when he cut the wire.

'I wonder if its okay to go through....'

Testing his luck, Shadow moved forward cautiously as he disabled the traps one by one in a steady pace in the near dark.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

'Now if I step over this pressure plate it'll activate this trap which will in turn cut the wire which will trigger that trap and then that same trap will also cause arrows to fly......why is this so difficult?'

[p=center]xXx[/p]

Several moments later...

Pin pin pin pin pin pin pin pin

Several small arrows flew to Shadow and hit his arms and legs causing him extreme pain.

You have lost 70 Health

You have generated the stat Fighting Spirit

You have generated the stat Endurance

'Ow ow ow ow ow ow that really hurt like hell!'

[p=center]xXx[/p]

5 days have passed since Shadow started his crawl through the dark corridor. His 'Night Vision' skill went to the beginner level 2.

Night Vision Beginner level 2 (0/100)

Allows you to passively see better in the dark by reflecting more light into your eyes.

You will see 60% better in the Dark

Able to adjust the amount of light which is reflected in your eyes

Blindness will be less effective

“Just one more trap.....”

In front of Shadow was what seemed to be the most difficult, dangerous and outright cruel trap he had seem so far.

“The red button or the blue button...”

It was the notorious two switch trap where both of them will end something, it was just which one would not kill him and let him get out of here.

'In other words its either up to luck or....its a trap altogether and there is some other way to get out of here.'

Shadow pressed the red button on a whim.

Luck has increased

You have gained the skill Locate Trap

You have gained the skill Disarm Trap

Locate Trap Beginner level 1 (0/100)

Able to see beginner traps passively. They are highlighted in blue

Disarm Trap Beginner level 1 (0/100)

Increase the chance of disarming beginner traps.

Tick

And a path appeared in front of him leading to a small room which had a ladder.

“I guess that's the exit.”

As Shadow walked through to the ladder and fresh air, he looked back to noticed that there were some parts which were highlighted in blue which meant that there were some traps he did not notice and trigger.

'And I thought I went through all of the traps in this place'

Shadow felt some disappointment since he didn't completely clear this place but he put it off as he got out of the place via the ladder.

You have gained the title 'Dark Seeker'

Dark Magic Resistance +1%

When he got to the top he noticed that Anna was waiting for him there silently eating bread.

“Did you get the skill?” she asked.

“Yeah....I got a couple extras as well.” replied Shadow noticing that the sunlight stung a bit to his eyes almost immediately. Anna nodded and then said something surprising again.

“Class change.”

“Eh?”

Shadow looked in confusion as a message appeared.

You have been offered the class 'Rogue'. Do you accepted?

An agility based class that can act as both Assassins and Thieves. Skills in both combat and sabotages, Rogues are able to traverse through the battlefield with ease and are often mistaken for one class or another due to their diverse skill set.

Calming himself Shadow said, “Yes” which prompted another message to appear before him.

Your Class has been changed to “Rogue”

Agility +10

Luck +10

You have gained the skill Backstab

Backstab Beginner level 1 (0/100)

Move in high speeds behind your target to stab them in the back.

Damage Bonus: 50%

Mana Cost: 10

Cool Down: 10 Seconds

Shadow seeing this checked his stats and skill again.

Status Window[quart=Name,Alignment]Shadow,Neutral[/quart][quart=Level,Profession]1,Rogue[/quart]RaceHumanTitleDark Walker ApprenticeHealth100Mana100[quart=Fame,Infamy]0,0[/quart][quart=Strength,Agility]10 +1,10 +11[/quart][quart=Intelligence,Wisdom]10,10[/quart][quart=Vitality,Stamina]10,10[/quart][quart=Fighting Spirit,Endurance]10,10[/quart][quart=Leadership,Luck]0,5 +10[/quart][quart=Offense,Defense]10,10[/quart]Magic Resistance0%Elemental Resistance[quart=Light,Dark]0%,1%[/quart][quart=Fire,Ice]0%,0%[/quart][quart=Earth,Lightning]0%,0%[/quart][quart=Wind,Nature]0%,0%[/quart]Bonus- 5% more damage in the Dark

- Agility and Luck +10

Skill Window

- Stealth Beginner Level 6 (66/100)

- Hearing Beginner level 1 (7/100)

- Dark Vision Beginner level 1 (23/100)

- Night Vision Beginner level 2 (2/100)

- Locate Trap Beginner level 1 (0/100)

- Disarm Trap Beginner (level 1 0/100)

- Backstab Beginner level 1 (0/100)

With the inclusion of the Backstab skill, Shadow now had 7 skills in total. Shadow looked at Anna on what to do next.

“Show stats and skills.” she ordered. After he showed her his stats and skills she then took him to some sort of training area. It was similar in design of a playground but it had all kinds of objects that are suited to be used as targets and courses to run through.

“Pick one and train.” she pointed at one of the training dummies and said, “Focus on Strength and Stamina first. Use the wooden dagger to hit it.”

With that Anna disappeared again leaving Shadow to train on his own. Following her orders Shadow went up to one of the dummies and used a wooden dagger which was located near the dummy to slash at it.

One....two....One....two....One....two....One....two....One....two....One....two....One....two....One....two....One....two....One....two....One....two....One....two....One....two....One....two....One....two....

Shadow continued to slash at the dummy using a one-two rhythm to keep his pace constant. Several hours later he got two new notifications from the game.

You have generated the skill Dagger Mastery

You have generated the skill Double Strike

In one go Shadow go two more skills which both are very useful. Dagger Mastery is something he would've gotten anyway but Double Strike is....well most likely due to the fact that he had been striking the dummy in twos.

Shadow checked the two skills immediately.

Dagger Mastery Beginner Level 1 (0/100)

Increases the speed and power of dagger blows

Dagger Power Increase: 10%

Dagger Speed Increase: 3%

Double Strike Beginner level 1 (0/100)

Deals two strikes at once to a target

Mana Cost: 15 Mana

Cool Down: 15 Seconds

Along with these two skills, Shadow also managed to gain a total of 2 Strength, 1 Agility and 1 Stamina during this time as well.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

2 days later while Shadow was doing one of the running course that required him to do some tricks here and there sometimes, he saw three people walk into the training area. One was Anna his master. One of the two whom weren't her looked very familiar to Shadow.

“Hey! Its been a while!” shouted the person.

Shadow took a closer look on the person to find it was Lyndis. Her character was easy to recognise due to the fact that she was pretty and she stood out compared the other two with her. Shadow in response dropped down from the running course he was in and walked up to them greeting them.

Since the first week, it seems Lyndis got some new armour and a sword as well. Shadow noticed that the armour was unusually stylish which was most likely due to her trait as a young girl wanting better looking clothes. The sword as Shadow saw it was the standard iron sword you can get for a silver piece in a store. While it had relatively low damage, it had a high durability stat which made it popular with beginners and the fact that it was the cheapest decent sword you can get early on.

Shadow looked at the man that was with these two. Unlike the other two (Mostly to the fact that Shadow can't detect Anna's presence), he had a massive presence which almost caused Shadow to run away in instinct.

He had shoulder length brown hair and had various scars on his face leaving an impression that he was some sort of warrior. Likewise, he carried a sword with him that was most likely high levelled due to the design and wore light armour which Shadow couldn't describe unless it was in extreme detail.

'It looks like this person is well off in terms of money....else he may have gotten it from a boss monster' thought Shadow as he observed the man.

“Hey don't stare to much~” the man laughed at the sight of Shadow concentrating on him.

“This person is named Ron. He's a....magic swordsman?” said Anna though it was more like a question at the end of it.

The man named Ron sighed and then said, “How many times do I have to say it. I'm a Sword Priest.”

“Priest do not use elemental magic”

“Priests did use them before.”

“That was hundreds of years ago.”

As the two argued on the whether priests can use elemental magic, Shadow and Lyndis entered their own conversation.

“So where have you been for the last week. According to Anna you'll been somewhere in the first 5 days.”

“I was going through a dark corridor with no light and filled with traps that may kill me in one shot. It took me 5 days to get through it safely though I had a couple close calls.”

“...”

Lyndis sighed and said, “At least you were alone to do what you want. Ron here was disturbing all kinds of things and at one point we were running from his debtors. I got more done on my own then with him.”

“That's not a nice thing to say to your Master.”

Lyndis looked at Ron with puffed with cheeks and retorted, “Its the truth though.”

“Anyway, why are you two here?” asked Shadow.

“To train and run away from the debtors among other things.” replied Anna.

“Other things?” Shadow was confused, 'There were other things he was running from?'

“Nothing important” answered Ron immediately.

“Royal Knights for trying to flirt with a princess, Mercenaries for running naked in their guild, Tailor Guild for trying to model naked, Blacksmith Guild for stealing some weapons, Information Guild for putting in false information, Farmers for promising to marry their daughters and run during the wedding and so on.” said Anna nonchalantly.

“...”

“...”

“...”

Shadow and Lyndis inched further away from Ron after this with him knowing as a tear fell from his eyes from sadness.

“This person is a criminal.” said Anna which was the nail on the tomb.

Ron started sobbing on the ground as he muttered something about repenting and how women don't go near him anymore.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

“According to Ron, it is best that I choose one element to use along with my sword. Which one do you think is best for me?” asked Lyndis.

Shadow didn't even hesitate when he answered, “Fire.” He couldn't even stop to consider anything else.

“Why?”

'Because your personality is literally the same as fire and it annoys a large number of people like Miriel amongst others.'

“Because it perfectly represents your outgoing personality that people get along with.” answered Shadow without revealing his true thoughts.

Lyndis smiled brightly seeing that someone praised her and said, “Thanks, I'll tell Ron.”

Moments later Ron gave Shadow a sympathetic look which told Shadow that Ron knew Shadow's true thoughts about Lyndis and how he could not just tell her that since it may break her heart if he did.

“Shadow, come here.” said Anna appearing out of nowhere again.

'I swear, is this how other people feel about me when I just...appear?' Shadow suddenly got a revelation on his true character seeing Anna.

Shadow followed Anna to a corner of the training area away from Lyndis and Ron. There she took out a couple of tools out from the ground, she dug up a large box of some kind and opened it. There were several things in it from what Shadow could see. For starters there were a large range of weapons that he could only think of using as hidden weapons. The next most apparent thing was that there was a alchemy set.

Alchemy was a very rare skill, not that people did not want to use it but on the fact that almost everyone who was a alchemist refuses to teach others their secrets. This caused, and most intentionally an influx of the price of potions. Potions acted in the same way as in other games where the most common effects were to increase Health or Mana, other uncommon ones also increased stats temporary and inflict status effects on the drinker while there are unsaid rare potions that are worth thousands of gold on the market just for a small amount. Even the most basic potions cost at least some gold to buy per vial or bottle.

It was only natural that Shadow was confused then shocked that Anna had such a thing. Moreover it was more shocking that she was a Alchemist since it was the skills that people wanted. The set itself was cheap compared to the abilities of a skilled Alchemist.

“There are two more things I have to teach you. They are Alchemy and Hidden Weapons.”

Anna took out a small Alchemy set and a some clothes and armour. Shadow on her instructions placed the Alchemy set in his inventory and looked at the clothes and armour she gave him. They were almost completely black in colour and had multiple pockets on them.

“The clothes are the standard ones you can just buy but tare dyed black. The armour increases your stealth skills and is fitted for storage of hidden weapons and potions on the go.” she explained as Shadow wore the new clothes and armour he got.

He checked them as he wore them to find that he couldn't see much information on them at all unlike the food he got in the beginning.

Black Dyed Set of Clothes Durability: 20/20 Defence: 1

Information Unknown

Black Set of Rogue Armour Durability: 50/50 Defence: 15

Information Unknown

Shadow frowned at this and asked Anna, “Why can't I see the information on the clothes?”

Anna quickly took the items she gave him quickly stripping him and handing them back.

'Why does she have a stripping skill....?'

Black Dyed Set of Clothes Durability: 20/20 Defence: 1

Set of Black Dyed Set of Clothes that provide minimum protection but increase certain options

Options:

- Able to blend into the dark better

- Stealth Skill +10% in Dark

Black Set of Rogue Armour Durability: 50/50 Defence: 15

Set of Black Rogue Armour designed on speed and flexibility rather than defence of the body. While it provides low defence, it allows you to carry hidden weapons and potions on the person to use quickly in battle. There is a soft metal arm guard used to parry blades.

Restrictions: Rogue Class

Options:

- Carry Potions and Hidden Weapons

- Movement Speed +5%

- Stealth Skill +10% in Dark

- Dagger Speed +5%

Shadow was amazed at the stats the armour brought him, and even the clothes had an effect on his Stealth skill.

'And she says this is one of the standard ones....' Shadow looked at Anna with respect and in a new light seeing her generosity.

“....Hurry up and dress. Its improper to be half naked in front of a lady” Anna shifted her eyes away from Shadow blushing a light red.

Shadow looked at himself. He was in his underwear in front of a person who looks like a child. If anyone saw this, he would immediately be known as a flasher. Shadow quickly put in his new clothes and Anna finally looked back at him though she sometimes averted her gaze for no particular reason.

“I can teach you the use of the Hidden Weapons I gave you first.” said Anna not really asking but rather commanding.

Anna took Shadow's left hand and pressed a certain point on the arm guard which fired out a small knife not more than 3 cm. She opened up the device and showed him that it had several similar sized knives in it.

“These are used to distract enemies. This can hold up to 10 at a time and his low durability and damage but it can be coated to inflict poison, paralysis or any other thing you put on it.”

Anna gave Shadow a several more of the small 'container' which was wrapped over his arm guard to give in a total of 100 of these small knives.

“These kinds of things are easy to make so show one to a blacksmith and that person will make it for a small price.”

Then Anna took Shadow's right hand and pulled a string which pulled out a large dagger on the end the length of his hand. It was light and flexible but thin at the same time. Shadow presumed it was similar to the small knives in design.

“This is the hidden knife that is the standard in assassination. Its much harder and more durable then the small knives and deals massive amount of damage to a vital point, but it cannot be coated. I advise you not to use this in public since its meant to be hidden.”

Anna then showed Shadow how to use the small spikes in his boots. According to Anna they are not meant to be used in combat but rather to climb by stabbing it into the wall or tree. There are also spikes at the bottom but Shadow has to manually activate them and they are used to grip the ground.

“That's all the hidden features of this armour. However the higher rank you go the better the gear, I'm sure you'll be great in the guild.” Anna puffed her small chest up when saying this.

“Guild?”

“Ah...” Anna closed her mouth with her hands and quickly said, “Don't worry about it!” before telling Shadow what to do next while he waited. Shadow went to a large tree and used the climbing spikes on his shoes to slowly climb up it. It was a slow and very exhausting method of climbing.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

Several hours later Shadow managed to climb up the tree which seemed to be around 20 metres tall. If he fell down at this height then he would've died.

You have gained the Skill Climbing

Climbing Beginner Level 1 (0/100)

Able to climb faster and take less stamina. Also negates fall damage as well to an extent.

Climb Speed increase: 1.1 times

Fall Damage Negation: 5%

'Cool....now how the hell do I get down?' Shadow tried not to look down on the ground since he was 20 metres up in the air. If he dropped and was lucky he would have some broken bones and at worst he would die from it. Both options seemed horrible to Shadow and as such he decided to take the very slow path of climbing down with extreme care.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

Several hours later Shadow somehow managed to get down from the large tree. He was puffing in and out air due to the large amount of stress on his body and low stamina. However thanks to this his stamina increased by 1.

'Do stats increase rapidly when the body is under extreme stress? If so, the creator of this game is a sadist or likes to makes things more realistic to the point that most people won't like it being this way.'

Shadow silently cursed the creator of Royal Road in his heart as he almost experienced several life death situations climbing down from the tree alone.

“Start running exercise. You need more stamina and agility.” said Anna appearing out of nowhere again.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

One and a half week later worth of training, a certain person in purple robes appeared. It was Miriel. Although she did not notice Shadow for some reason, she did however see Lyndis and Lyndis saw Miriel.

'Why are they staring at each other?' thought Shadow confused on what exactly was going on. He knew that these two had a bad relationship from the beginning but that was only the first meeting and they should've at least forgotten the emotions from back then at least. Luckily they both sighed at the same time most likely thinking about the same thing else one of them might have taken offence against the other.

“So what kind of class have you obtained?” asked Miriel to Lyndis.

'It appears that she still did not notice me. I better come up close so she can see me then.'

As Shadowed walked towards the two, their conversation continued.

“Something similar to magic swordsman. According to my Master I can focus on one element to increase my power so I'll choose fire since it has the most power and range. What about you?”

“Support type mage. I focus on illusion and sound based magic. I can enchant your stats among other things.”

After this Miriel decided to look around confused.

“Where's Shadow?”

By the time she asked that question Shadow was behind her since....well she was looking the other direction when she asked the question.

“Right Here.” Shadow answered honestly.

Shadow could've sworn that Miriel screamed inside her heart as she turned to answer him.

“You.....don't do that again.....”

Lyndis was trying not to fall on the ground laughing at this sight but Shadow saw that she too was shocked the Shadow appeared out of nowhere to them as well.

“Don't bother. I've been telling him that for 2 weeks and nothing changed. Well at least he's a good assassin.” complained Lyndis seeing that Shadow appeared out of nowhere again. It wasn't his fault that people don't notice him and the fact that his gear actually decrease the chance of him being spotted.

“I am a Rogue not an assassin.” said Shadow. There was a clear difference between a common assassin and a Rogue. The first was that a Rogue can also serve as an assassin but also has a number of other skills as well.

“An assassin specialise in killing people and have high damage along with some other skills to back them up. A thief specialise in stealing stuff and not battles and rather run away when confronted with enemies. A Rogue is both of them, specialising in neither but both at the same time.” said Miriel explaining the difference to Lyndis who nodded her head.

“Correct.”

Shadow was pleased that at least one person knew the difference although Shadow himself did not know until Anna explained it to him.

“Anyway I wanted to know what you two could do but that's Sain's job not mine.”

'So she's still look out for Sain then' thought Shadow on the fact that she forced Sain to take the hardest role and yet does most of the work for him.

“Then why are you here?” asked Lyndis.

“I test out my spells.” Miriel raised her hands and said, “Melody of Speed!”

A soft sound echoed throughout the area and a gentle light surrounded Miriel, Lyndis and Shadow.

Melody of Speed is Active:

- 12% more agility

- Last 10 Minutes

Shadow immediately noticed that his now relatively higher Agility was further increased by the song or Melody....or sound Miriel created using her magic.

'This kind of thing is certainly rare...' Shadow remembered that most bluffs came from the a priest and other times certain classes may have some variant of their own but the most powerful bluffs came from priests alone. However there were rumours that the bluff power of Popes and some Saints were so extreme that everyone fought over them.

“Wow! I can't believe you got something like this up your sleeves!” exclaimed Lyndis in shock.

Miriel then went to one of the target practised place and shot out Mana Bolts at them leaving Shadow and Lyndis together though Shadow had a feeling that Miriel could not see Shadow for some reason which was very worrying.

Stealth has levelled up

You will seem to disappear when people are not focusing on you

“...”

Now his stealth skill was at Beginner Level 9. It levelled up once during his time with Lyndis but he had not expected that the skill would increase so much even though the only people he meet are Lyndis, Anna, Ron and now Miriel.

“Aren't you a Sword Priest?” asked Shadow.

“Wow! Where did you come from?!” she exclaimed in shock.

“...”

“That was a joke. I knew you were there. Anyway being a Sword Priest and Magic Swordsman is really similar so I just use the latter since its much easier than explaining what a Sword Priest is” she answered seriously.

“I see.”

Shadow disappeared from Lyndis' sight and continued his training with weapons since Anna hasn't started his training with Alchemy yet.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

3 weeks into the confinement the 4 week rule, another certain person appeared out of nowhere. It was Sain and he was with a person who was most likely to be his master. Both Shadow and Lyndis stopped their training seeing them while their Masters sat together waiting for some odd reason...

'It can't be that important then.'

Shadow continued with his training before a loud sound was heard and he saw all of it from the corner of his eye.

WHACK

The man who was Sain's master whacked several objects that suddenly flew to them using the spear that was in Sain's hands a moment ago. Shadow could tell this man was skilled. Perhaps more skilled then Anna and Ron though they are different types of people so its meaninglessly to compare.

“It has been a while you two. Again Anna, you don't have to attack me every time I enter this place.” said the man. Shadow recalled deep in his memories that Anna once took out a voodoo doll and started stabbing it saying the words 'I'll kill you Gen' over and over again. He had removed the memory from his head after the shock of the sight and moved on.

“So this is the new apprentice that you're so proud of. Anyway the elf girl whose breaking those targets is my apprentice while the other one is the new apprentice of Anna whose do those jumps and such” said Ron introducing him and Lyndis.

For some reason Shadow did not want to be recognised as someone who knows Ron even though it was clear that he was a powerful person with a long history. As such he and from what Lyndis was doing, ignored Ron and continued training.

Shadow was currently doing a running course that involved him climbing over 3 metre high walls in quick succession while Lyndis was practising combining her skills with swordsmanship.

“Hey you two!” shouted Sain.

When Shadow heard those words he immediately stopped what he was doing as if a great force was commanding him to do so. Well it was Sain the so called leader of the group that everyone seemed including Shadow trusted ever since their first meeting.

“Yo! How's it been!” Lyndis hugged Sain and patted his back after letting him go.

Sain blushed when Lyndis hugged him and Shadow merely smiled at the sight. Ron frown at the attitude Sain was getting instead of him while Anna smiled knowing that she would get along with Sain.

“It's been a good 3 weeks. Although it seems like I'm the last one to make even some progress in skills.” said Sain mockingly.

Gen whacked Sain in the head and said, “I told you that learning skills was the last part of your training. Anyway let me give you some skills first before you start your reunion with another girl” Gen winked at Sain.

'Another girl? Has he met with Serena and Miriel already?'

The man named Gen left with the three to meet up with Anna and Ron who both had slightly different expressions. Anna was....angry while Ron was a bit tense around this Gen person.

'I wonder what happened in the past.'

“Anyway what have you two been doing for the last three weeks?” Sain asked. The first one to answer was Lyndis. “Long story short I met Ron, became his apprentices like everyone else did with their Master and started my training as a Magic-Swordsman. Basically you combine both into one and my class is that. I'm training to bring both strength and intelligence up.”

'So in the end you've decided not to explain what a Sword Priest is then.'

Then it was Shadow's turn to talk, “Like Lyndis, I met my Master and started my training after she saw that I had potential for it. She more or less made me into a Rogue which is the middle ground between a thief and assassin. I'm currently training to improve my agility and such.”

And finally it was Sain's turn to talk.

“Well the first week I have been learning all about tactics and the other things I need to know. Then the following two weeks I drilled in the same place as Raven to improve my physical abilities and now I'm going to learn all about how to use my skills.” Sain said quickly.

“Sain! You finished yet?! I only have a week to teach you all you need to know now, so get here!” shouted Gen. Although a bit reluctant, Sain made his way to Gen who was setting up some target leaving Shadow and Lyndis back to their training.

“I feel that Sain could be corrupted by that man” said Lyndis all of a sudden.

“I agree. The Gen person isn't liked much isn't he.....”

“I wonder what happened in the past.”

[p=center]xXx[/p]

1 Week later Shadow met with Anna to discuss the fact that she hasn't taught Shadow Alchemy at all.

“I'm not going to teach you Alchemy yet.” said Anna bluntly.

“Why?”

“Because you have no need for it right now. Also you have other things to focus on right now. I can teach you later but not now.”

“I understand.”

“The training is finished. You have graduated from me right now.”

You have Graduated from being the Apprentice of Anna the Dark Walker

Fame +10

You have levelled up

You have levelled up

You have lost the title 'Dark Walker Apprentice'.

All Bonuses from the title will be removed

You have gained the title 'Dark Walker'

- All Stats increase by 1

- 10% more damage in the dark.

“Open Status Window.”

Shadow placed the 10 points into Strength, Agility and Vitality in a ratio of 1:3:1

Status Window[quart=Name,Alignment]Shadow,Neutral[/quart][quart=Level,Profession]3,Rogue[/quart]RaceHumanTitleDark WalkerHealth280Mana115[quart=Fame,Infamy]10,0[/quart][quart=Strength,Agility]16 +2,22 +11[/quart][quart=Intelligence,Wisdom]10 +1,10 +1[/quart][quart=Vitality,Stamina]13 +1,17 +1[/quart][quart=Fighting Spirit,Endurance]32 +1,13 +1[/quart][quart=Leadership,Luck]0 +1,24 +10[/quart][quart=Offense,Defense]10,26[/quart]Magic Resistance0%Elemental Resistance[quart=Light,Dark]0%,1%[/quart][quart=Fire,Ice]0%,0%[/quart][quart=Earth,Lightning]0%,0%[/quart][quart=Wind,Nature]0%,0%[/quart]Bonus- 10% more damage in the Dark

- Agility and Luck +10

- All Stats +1

“Show Skill Window”

Shadow checked his skills next.

Skill Window

- Dagger Mastery Beginner 2 (55/100)

- Stealth Beginner Level 9 (86/100)

- Hearing Beginner level 1 (22/100)

- Dark Vision Beginner level 1 (25/100)

- Night Vision Beginner level 2 (9/100)

- Locate Trap Beginner level 1 (30/100)

- Disarm Trap Beginner level 1 (12/100)

- Backstab Beginner level 1 (45/100)

- Double Strike Beginner level 1 (14/100)

- Climbing Beginner Level 3 (22/100)

Overall he hadn't gotten far in the skill progression at all since he had a large number of skills. The only thing that rapidly increased was the Stealth skill and the only reason that it was still in the Beginner Level was that there were not many people around him which hindered the skill growth.

Checking these things and the supplies he got, Shadow left to the meeting place.

Unknown to him, Anna had planted something into him as an experiment.

Onwards?PreviousExitNext

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Author's Notes:

- Word Count: 11200~

- I had a bit more fun writing this chapter than the others you know. Shadow is more of the lone main character type. It's too bad that I needed to lessen the character development for the rest of the volume to focus on events. Well I can fix that in volume 2