《A Spellblade's Shift》 Chapter 1 It was a quiet morning. The sun was peeking over the horizon, illuminating buildings with the comforting glow of dawn. Lucian had been sound asleep until the world shaking woke him up. His eyes fluttered open and he felt the bed under him shaking. Then it suddenly stopped. He blinked a few times, and felt a new sensation he wasn¡¯t used to, looking down he saw a black tail beside him. ¡°What?¡± he rubbed his eyes sleepily. The sunlight filtering in through his window felt brighter than before. The shadows in the corners of the room felt shallower. The tail - his tail - shifted across the sheets. He felt it move, it was definitely connected to him. He gulped and gently ran his hand across his new tail in disbelief, ¡°It''s soft¡­¡± Lucian also noticed a few other strange things - or rather he felt them. First, there was an odd warmth in his chest that he barely registered as even present. Second, there was a difficult to describe feeling inside his head, almost like a tugging at his mind. As soon as Lucian had registered the presence of these feelings, he gained an understanding he had lacked before - as if struck by a bolt of inspiration, new knowledge bloomed within his mind. He sighed, reaching for the thing he now knew in his heart he could access¡­ A system message appeared within his mind.
System Integration Successful
You have been integrated into the system. Several changes have been applied. Your race has been randomly changed to catfolk. As a catfolk your Agility and Clarity have each increased by 1. Your Agility and Clarity will each increase by an additional 1 every level. Your post-integration stats have been calculated based on your pre-integration capabilities, and can now be viewed. You have pending class choices.
Lucian let out a whine. ¡°A catfolk?¡± Lucian questioned, reaching up and touching the top of his head. He felt a pair of ears. ¡°God dammit. I¡¯m a catboy.¡± Lucian let out a sigh and, using his newly implanted instincts, brought up his stats. He wouldn¡¯t stay focused on his newfound physical features for long.
Lucian Caldwell (Catfolk) - Level 1
Spirit: 46 of 46 (+1 per minute)
Constitution: 21 Endurance: 25 Strength: 23 Finesse: 20 Agility: 28 (+1 per level) Intelligence: 26 Willpower: 21 Clarity: 18 (+1 per level) 0 Free Points Available (+3 per level)
Class Skills (0/10): None General Skills: None
¡°Fascinating.¡± Lucian muttered as the knowledge came to him. He didn¡¯t spend all his time playing games, but he had played enough to get it. He inherently knew what each stat represented - he also knew that the warmth in his chest was this ¡°spirit¡± resource, and that it was both was and was not a core stat like the other eight listed. He knew Spirit grew in relation to his other stats but he also knew he could manually increase it with free points if he wanted to. This was all jarring to him, certainly, but it felt muted in a way. Perhaps it was just the ridiculousness of the situation that dulled him, or perhaps it was the feeling of excitement building within him. Lucian had always had a lot of energy, that''s why he did sports. He had always been bored by the mundanities of life, so he played games as an escape from banal reality. College was interesting, sure, but this promised to be infinitely more interesting than any degree he could possibly get. In truth, the concept of the entire world being turned on its head excited him. ¡°Well, one more thing to do, I suppose.¡± Lucian brought up his class choices.
Choose a Class
You have 3 available classes to choose from. Please select one. Assassin: Agile damage dealers focusing on stealth and single large hits. Assassins can deal huge damage if they catch their targets off guard. Spellblade: High damage close range combatants. Spellblades sacrifice defensive abilities for extreme offensive capabilities. Sorcerer: Offensive casters specializing in elemental magic. Sorcerers utilize a large Spirit pool to utilize high power skills.
¡°Assassins are cool. Sorcerer also sounds cool, throwing around fireballs if I had to guess but¡­¡± Lucian let out a laugh, ¡°A spellblade sounds way cooler.¡± For Lucian, it wasn¡¯t much of a choice - he chose spellblade. Magic was cool and all, but he had always thought swords were cool - and spellblade seemed to get a chunk of both words.
Class Chosen - Spellblade
You have chosen the Spellblade class. As a spellblade your Intelligence has increased by 2 and your Strength has increased by 1. Your Intelligence will increase by an additional 2 every level and your Strength will increase by an additional 1 every level. As a spellblade, you have gained 2 class skills. You have gained [Manifest Weapon] (Rank 1, Level 1). You have gained [Manifested Proficiency] (Rank 1, Level 1).
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. More knowledge planted itself within him - a feeling he was getting used too uncomfortably fast.
Manifest Weapon (Rank 1, Level 1) 10 Spirit + 2 Spirit per minute - Channeled Active Skill
Channel to manifest a basic spirit weapon. The weapon¡¯s potency scales moderately with Intelligence.
Manifested Proficiency (Rank 1, Level 1) Passive Skill
You have a baseline of skill with any weapon you manifest.
A smile played across his lips, and he got out of bed - stretching out a bit before hitting the lightswitch. The lights remained off. ¡°Power must be out,¡± he thought to himself, ¡°Almost certainly related to all this stuff going on.¡± He walked into the bathroom and checked the faucet too, thankfully that was running. He had a glass of water to quench the morning thirst before walking to the window and pulling the blinds all the way up, letting more sunlight flood the room. He didn¡¯t see the scene he had expected - instead looking out of the window he saw a verdant landscape, almost like some kind of jungle. ¡°Woah¡­¡± he remarked, taken aback by it. He pulled on a shirt, jeans, and a hoodie. His new tail was just high enough that if he wore the jeans somewhat low it wouldn¡¯t conflict. He, mainly out of habit, grabbed his phone and wallet as well. He slipped on and tied a pair of sneakers and walked through the kitchen then opened the door, half expecting to see something or someone on the other side. There wasn¡¯t. As he walked through the halls he heard a few people talking, some sounded panicked. Lucian was too curious about the outside to really care right now, though - too excited about exploring the changed world around him. He left his apartment building and looked out at the landscape. The road was cracked and torn up by thick roots. Giant trees pushed out through the buildings on the other side of it from him. He turned to look at his own building. It was one of several buildings not destroyed by what he could only imagine was the explosive growth of these gargantuan trees. He figured the broken up road and massive tree roots was probably the cause of the power being out. Lucian let out a laugh, looking around as he walked along the side of the road, ¡°This is crazy¡­¡± he chuckled, unable to contain himself. A shadow passed over Lucian as he walked and his ears perked up. A loud screech met them as I large bird-like monster began to dive towards him. Lucian¡¯s pupils dilated, and he leaped sideways. The monster crashed into the asphalt, digging its talons into the ground where Lucian had stood. It titled its head, realizing it missed, then looked up at Lucian as he took a defensive posture. ¡°Now''s as good a time as any I guess¡­!¡± Lucian laughed, heart beating faster with anticipation as he tried to activate a skill. As if he had done it a hundred times, he felt his Spirit move of its own accord as he activated [Manifest Weapon]. He could see its limitations and possibilities. A basic melee weapon - nothing complicated or specialized. He saw, and he felt, the parameters involved in its creation, and visualized what he wanted. He could feel the Spirit draining from him as he used his skill. He opened his hand as a handle of blue light formed in it. He grabbed onto the handle as the light surged upwards, forming a crossguard and then blade. He took a step back as he felt knowledge of how to use his new weapon engrain itself into him from [Manifested Proficiency], and he leveled the longsword made of wispy blue light at the monster, ¡°Alright then, shall we dance?¡± The monster opened its beak, revealing a row of razor sharp teeth-like protrusions, and unleashed another screech. It flapped its wings and charged along the ground at Lucian who brought his left hand to the hilt of the sword as well, transitioning to a two-handed grip. Lucian didn¡¯t know how strong this monster was. He didn¡¯t know if it was level 1, level 2, or level 10. He didn¡¯t care. He pulled his sword up and stepped to the side, making use of his agility to move out of its way. Even if it had more agility than he did, it had momentum from its charge. Lucian brought his sword down towards its head as he moved to the side. The monster lurched, twisting its head to avoid most of the blow. But it didn¡¯t avoid all of it. The tip of the sword traced a line across the side of its face and it let out a high pitched noise that made Lucian cringe. He narrowly dodged being hit by the edge of the monster¡¯s wing as he ducked down and pulled back, ¡°Woah!¡± Lucian backstepped a few paces, taking up an on guard stance again. The monster, now with a shallow cut along its face, began to circle around him. Lucian turned to face it as it circled around him. It sized him up with its beady eyes. Lucian tightened his grip on his sword. The monster moved before he did, rearing up then lunging at him with its beak, intent on snapping Lucian up. Lucian pulled back, but not far enough. The monster¡¯s beak slashed across his left forearm, drawing blood with a nasty but extremely shallow cut - but that put the monster right where Lucian wanted it. He drove his longsword forward with all the strength he could muster in a deadly thrust. His sword cut through the air, its tip connecting with the monster¡¯s eye. He drove the sword through its eye and its orbital socket, feeling the resistance of bone only briefly before the skull gave way and the sword sank deeper still. The monster screamed and thrashed. Lucian saw the wing coming but wasn¡¯t fast enough this close. The edge of the monster¡¯s wing nailed Lucian in the chest, and sent him flying backwards into the wall of a nearby building - causing pain to shoot through his body and the air to leave his lungs. Then the monster stopped struggling and died. The sword embedded in its eye dispersed into wisps of blue light and vanished. Lucian gasped for air as he fell to the ground, his heart was racing and his body was in pain. If the wall had been closer he might have broken something but he didn¡¯t feel like anything was broken. He stumbled back and sat down on the ground, ¡°That¡­ was amazing¡­¡± he laughed, taking a deep breath. Aside from the pain, he also felt a strange power surge through his body. He focused on that power. He knew instinctively that it was a level up - in fact it was two.
Level Up!
You have leveled up from Spellblade Level 1 to Spellblade Level 3! Your Strength has increased to 26 (+1 per level). Your Agility has increased to 30 (+1 per level). Your Intelligence has increased to 32 (+2 per level). Your Clarity has increased to 20 (+1 per level). As a result of other stat increases, your maximum Spirit has increased to 48. You have gained 6 free points (+3 per level).
Lucian smiled and laughed again. This was fresh, this was exciting. Despite the fact that his life was probably going to change forever, he couldn¡¯t help but be overjoyed. This was the fresh spin on life he had been looking for. He pulled up his stats again, he had free points to spend.
Lucian Caldwell (Catfolk) - Level 3 Spellblade
Spirit: 36 of 48 (+1 per minute)
Constitution: 21 Endurance: 25 Strength: 26 (+1 per level) Finesse: 20 Agility: 30 (+1 per level) Intelligence: 32 (+2 per level) Willpower: 21 Clarity: 20 (+1 per level) 6 Free Points Available (+3 per level)
Class Skills (2/10): Manifest Weapon (Rank 1, Level 1), Manifested Proficiency (Rank 1, Level 1) General Skills: None
The free points, he knew, could be added to any stat he wanted - including Spirit as he knew from his revelation earlier, but he didn¡¯t particularly care to increase it right now. The upfront cost of activating [Manifest Weapon] was fairly high, but the over time cost wasn¡¯t high at all - and that fight hadn¡¯t even lasted long enough for that over time cost to matter. Lucian thought that the skill itself, [Manifest Weapon], was also fascinating. The weapon it created wasn¡¯t weightless - it had a certain degree of physicality to it. He felt that that explained the Strength scaling his class granted¡­ ¡°Perhaps with time, I could make the sword bigger or heavier - some kind of greatsword would be cool to use.¡± Lucian felt like he was pretty well off here, ¡°My class gives Strength and Intelligence. My race gives Agility and Clarity. I have passive scaling for half of the stats¡­¡± he mused as he toyed with several ideas, ¡°I could lean into those strengths, maximize my strengths but leave my other stats low, or I could try and increase those other stats as well to round myself out¡­¡± Lucian considered his choices, ¡°Increasing Constitution would be the smart play¡­ but leaning into my strengths would be more fun¡­ I don¡¯t feel like I need to increase Endurance yet either. The description of the class all but said it was a glass cannon. Agility is useful. If I was faster I would have been able to dodge that last attack. Who needs health if you never get hit?¡± Lucian knew that this wasn¡¯t a video game - death would be death, perhaps there was an afterlife or perhaps not but either way he only had one life to use. But the idea of living on the edge and leaning into his strengths was intoxicating. He put 3 points into Finesse bringing it up to 23, and 1 point into Strength, and 2 points into Agility, bringing them up to 27 and 32 respectively. The added points also caused his Spirit to increase to a nice round 50. With a smile on his face, and the feeling of his Spirit regenerating, Lucian walked onwards. Chapter 2 Lucian had spotted a huge tree towering in the distance and decided that was his destination, he figured it would prove interesting. He rolled one his shoulder as he walked. It had been twenty minutes since that monster managed to send him into a wall and he was still sore. On the bright side, his Spirit had topped up at 50, and he was keeping an eye out for any more monsters as he looked around. He saw another of those bird monsters flying overhead, this one looked much larger than the last but thankfully it didn¡¯t pay Lucian any mind as he ducked into an alley and waited for it to pass. It being larger could have meant a few things, ¡°The one I killed might have just been small. Or it might not have been fully grown.¡± Lucian chuckled a little. ¡°What luck, not running into a bigger one first. Well hopefully it won¡¯t be too long before a bigger one isn¡¯t a problem.¡± Lucian smiled as I slipped back out of the alley and kept walking along the road. As he continued towards the giant tree, he noted more and more trees around him. He was walking into a jungle that got denser and denser as he went. He had no doubt the huge tree on the horizon was at its center, that would only make sense. ¡­ The trees got denser and denser, and the pavement of the city gave way to dirt. Lucian looked around at the colorful plantlife. The first thought that came to his mind was ¡°These are pretty. I wonder if any of them are poisonous¡­¡± As he examined a large pink flower he heard a rustling in the leaves nearby and stood upright. A large centipede scuttled out of the undergrowth towards him. It had a glossy black and purple shell and large sharp looking venom claws. Its antennae flicked back and forth and the centipede reared up like a snake ready to strike. Lucian pushed off the ground, leaping backwards as the monster dove towards where he stood a moment before and he activated [Manifest Weapon], forming the same blue longsword in his hands. A sizable chunk of his Spirit was funneled away into the skill, leaving him with 40. He spun the sword in his hands and took a few more small steps back from the monster. It reared up again and let out a clicking hiss as a fluid that Lucian assumed to be a venom of sorts beaded on the tips of its mandibles. Something about this thing made the hairs on Lucian¡¯s neck stand on end. It might have been because it was a giant creepy crawly, or it might have been because Lucian instinctively felt that it was more dangerous than the last monster he fought. It lunged for him again, and Lucian brought his sword down to meet it. The spirit weapon impacted the monster¡¯s chitinous armor and Lucian felt the blade slip sideways. ¡°That isn¡¯t good.¡± The impact from the attack redirected the lunge, causing it to narrowly miss Lucian - but the damage it did was negligible. Lucian took a few steps back and brought his sword up again, ¡°The underside looks less defended - but it''s a riskier target¡­¡± Lucian¡¯s eyes passed over the creature¡¯s length, looking for an alternative. ¡°The plates are segmented¡­ but that would be a small gap¡­¡± Lucian kept looking for an alternative to trying to hit its underside as he sidestepped another lunge. Lucian kicked off the ground and leapt over the monster as it swiveled to try and slam the side of its head into him, spinning on his heel as he landed on its other side - ¡°Aim for the gap!¡± Lucian thrust his sword downwards at an angle, aiming for the gap between the chitin armor plates that lined its back. As he thrust downwards, he felt his sword stop early as a barrier of light sprung up around the monster, forming a second shell and deflecting his attack. Immediately, Lucian backed off. ¡°Fuck. A skill? That would make sense. Why wouldn¡¯t it have a skill?¡± As he retreated from his failed attack, Lucian felt another tug on his Spirit as his sword consumed another 2 points to keep itself active as he brought it back up into an on guard position and observed the monster¡¯s barrier. The drain was slightly countered by his natural Spirit recovery, technically a net loss of only 1 Spirit per minute while [Manifest Weapon] was active. The second shell hovered a few inches away from the monster - it looked exactly the same as its actual shell segments except translucent. The barrier was semi circular, protecting the top and sides of the monster but not actually touching the ground, possibly so it didn¡¯t block its own legs. ¡°It doesn¡¯t extend to the underside of the monster¡­¡± Lucian realized. ¡°It''s all in on its defensive position - designed to defend so long as its underside isn¡¯t exposed¡­¡± Lucian realized with a groan that he would have to try the riskier approach. ¡°It rears up when it attacks¡­ I could try then¡­¡± Lucian adjusted his grip, bringing his sword lower, tip pointed up at an angle. Lucian took a breath and readied himself, ¡°Come on then you overgrown bug¡­¡± As the monster reared up again to lunge once more, Lucian took the initiative and launched himself forward with a set of two long steps. He put all the force he could behind his sword, using his momentum to bolster the attack further. The monster and he met - and Lucian¡¯s sword pierced through its less armored underside. He kept driving the blade forward until he felt the resistance of its armor preventing him from pushing all the way through it. The monster, of course, didn¡¯t take this lying down. It was also using the lunge to attack - and managed to sink its venom claws into Lucian¡¯s left shoulder. Lucian let go of his sword and brought his right fist upwards - landing a punch on the underside of the monster¡¯s head, forcefully dislodging its bite seconds after it made contact. Lucian stepped back and pulled his sword away with him. Dark blue fluid flowed freely from the wound he had made. He felt a dull throbbing pain flare up where he was hit. ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Its claws weren¡¯t in him long and the physical damage they did wasn¡¯t extreme, but he had seen the dripping liquid earlier. Lucian could only hope it was a small enough dose of a weak enough venom that he didn¡¯t simply drop dead. 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Skill Level Up!
Manifested Proficiency (Rank 1, Level 1) has leveled up to Manifested Proficiency (Rank 1, Level 2). The skill has become more potent, the level of skill it grants is increased.
Lucian took a few more steps back as the monster¡¯s body seemed to give out and it fell forward, its many legs twitching. It wasn¡¯t actively moving any more as much as it was just thrashing around - no longer a threat unless he was stupid enough to sit down right next to it. He had struck it fairly high up on its body, closer to the head, and figured he hit something vital. The amount of its blood that pooled under it seemed to agree with him. He could count it as a silver lining that using his weapon in a more tactical way than just swinging wildly seemed to rank up [Manifested Proficiency]. It was also nice to have the knowledge that a skill¡¯s rank wasn¡¯t tied to its rarity but was rather a level specific to the skill. He had no doubt, though, that skill rarity was still a thing - but it was a passing thought. Lucian dismissed his weapon and leaned against a thick tree, sliding down it as he panted. He felt sluggish and tired. ¡°Nasty¡­ piece of work¡­¡± Lucian muttered as he flexed his shoulder - it didn¡¯t hurt as much as he thought it would but it wasn¡¯t pleasant either - not to mention the holes it had put in his hoodie. He blinked a few times, and took a moment to think, and pulled up his stats.
Lucian Caldwell (Catfolk) - Level 3 Spellblade
Spirit: 39 of 50 (+1 per minute)
Constitution: 21 Endurance: 25 [23] (-2 from venom) Strength: 27 (+1 per level) Finesse: 22 Agility: 32 [30] (-2 from venom) (+1 per level) Intelligence: 32 (+2 per level) Willpower: 21 Clarity: 20 [18] (-2 from venom) (+1 per level) 0 Free Points Available (+3 per level)
Class Skills (2/10): Manifest Weapon (Rank 1, Level 1), Manifested Proficiency (Rank 1, Level 2) General Skills: None
Given that he felt mostly fine Lucian figured that the venom wouldn¡¯t kill him. The venom seemed to be affecting his stats directly but not by very much, only 2 each, but with Lucian¡¯s current stats that was nearly a 10% reduction to the affected stats. ¡°Explains why I feel so slow all of a sudden¡­ it¡¯s weird though, that I¡¯m more aware of the sudden decrease in my stats than the sudden increases brought by level ups.¡± As he sat there, the monster spasmed one last time before falling still - finally dying from its lack of blood. Lucian felt the momentary power of two level-ups flood his body.
Level Up!
You have leveled up from Spellblade Level 3 to Spellblade Level 5! Your Strength has increased to 29 (+1 per level). Your Agility has increased to 34 (+1 per level). Your Intelligence has increased to 36 (+2 per level). Your Clarity has increased to 22 (+1 per level). As a result of other stat increases, your maximum Spirit has increased to 52. You have gained 6 free points (+3 per level). As a result of reaching Spellblade Level 5 you have a pending class skill choice.
¡°Another 2 levels¡­ nice. Oh, and a new skill?¡± Lucian let out a satisfied sigh. He was definitely still capable of getting up and walking around, but he wouldn¡¯t want to encounter another monster until his stats were back to normal. So Lucian figured he had some time to figure out where he wanted to put his free points and check on what skills he could get as he waited for the venom to run its course. Lucian decided to check the skills available to him in case they impacted what stats he would choose to increase. He brought up the skill choices.
Choose a Class Skill
You have 3 available class skills to choose from. Please select one. Bodyslam (Rank 1, Level 1) 8 Spirit - Active Skill Launch yourself forward with momentum scaling lightly with both Constitution and Strength. Penetrating Strike (Rank 1, Level 1) 10 Spirit - Active Skill Empowers an attack to break through physical defenses. Firebolt (Rank 1, Level 1) 5 Spirit - Active Skill Launch a bolt of flame at a target. Its potency scales lightly with Intelligence.
He quickly disregarded [Bodyslam]. ¡°While mobility is important, it doesn¡¯t seem like my class is really designed to tank - nor do I want to slam myself against my enemies any more than I already am, especially not literally. I don''t think I can tank much of that. Plus, it says momentum, so using it to move around normally could be a pain.¡± He thought that [Penetrating Strike] was a good choice. After all, the reason he was injured against the centipede was because he had to search for a weak spot rather than simply go through any existing armor. Admittedly, he figured that it wouldn¡¯t do much against magical armor like that of the centipede¡¯s skill since the skill said it was for physical defenses, but if his first attack had actually done anything then maybe the centipede wouldn¡¯t have even gotten the chance to use that skill. For a similar reason, he disregarded [Firebolt]. While he felt a ranged option would be good to have - and probably needed eventually - he didn¡¯t feel like [Firebolt] would be very effective against the armor that had stopped him before. The natural choice, then, would be [Penetrating Strike] to cover the weakness he had just discovered in his own fighting style. His class and race both scaled his ability to hit hard and move fast, so he figured he should lean into that. He chose [Penetrating Strike]. Lucian felt the new information fill his mind and felt a subtle change settle within his chest. With his skill chosen and received, he directed his attention to his available free points of which he had 6. ¡°Again, Constitution would probably be smart, but that''s no fun. Stick with the plan, lean into my strengths. Better to simply never get hit and deal a lot of damage.¡± He put all 3 of the free points into Strength, bringing it up to 32, and the other 3 points into Agility, bringing it up to 37. The increased Strength and Agility brought his maximum Spirit up to 54. He felt the brief adjustment as his stats increased, and let out a sigh. He felt like it would be a bit before the venom left his system. Chapter 3 Lucian figured it had been a little over half an hour since he got bit by the centipede. The sluggishness of the venom was finally starting to wane. Shortly after, it was gone entirely. He stood up and rolled his shoulder, the wound was mostly superficial but it stung slightly. Thankfully he didn¡¯t need his left arm in ship shape to fight. With the venom¡¯s effects gone and his Spirit refilled Lucian stood up and stretched. It was time to continue onward. Lucian had to admit, the scenery was beautiful. As the trees grew more plentiful deeper into the jungle so did the wildly colorful flora. The sweet rose-like scent of a pink flowered vine clinging to a nearby tree drew him away from his path briefly. As he began to approach the flowers, he heard a buzzing sound that set the hair on his neck on end. A giant wasp - about the size of a football - flew into view, causing Lucian to leap backwards a few feet, swearing internally. The monster landed on the tree beside the flowers and began to drink their nectar. Lucian took a few more steps back. While he would have loved to kill it, where there¡¯s one bug there¡¯s probably more, and he wasn¡¯t in the mood to be swarmed and stung repeatedly. ¡°I don¡¯t think I really have the tools to deal with a massive group of small enemies right now¡­¡± Lucian let out a sigh and resumed walking into the jungle, away from the insect. ¡°Couldn¡¯t have been a bumblebee¡­ had to be a fucking wasp.¡± Lucian continued along his original path, away from the horrible monster. Far away from it. It wasn¡¯t long before the sounds of water reached Lucian, and he began to make his way towards it. After a moment he found himself stepping out onto the bank of what he could now see was a nicely sized river. ¡°Where there¡¯s water¡­¡± he thought as he looked both ways down the river. Lucian figured that following a river would probably take him somewhere interesting or help him find something bigger to fight, something that isn¡¯t a wasp. It took a bit of walking, but he eventually found what he was looking for. Lucian spotted it down and across the river, on the other bank - a giant mantis, three heads taller than he was. Another creature of some sort, which was by this point in the process unrecognizable, was caught in one of its forelimb scythes and was being eaten, cut to shreds by its mechanically efficient mouthparts. Lucian briefly stretched out and took a moment to gauge the distance across the river. ¡°I feel like I won¡¯t be able to make the jump across, not with my Agility¡­ But¡­¡± His gaze shifted slightly down river, closer to the mantis, towards a couple of rocks jutting out from the water. ¡°Those, I can reach.¡± He walked down the river until he was close enough to the rocks and took a few steps back. He got a running start, and pushed off the ground. He felt the air whistle past him as he leapt through the air with a force that made his heart soar, it was thrilling. A brief mid-air adjustment saw him landing squarely on the rock as intended. The mantis raised its head and dropped its meal to the ground, looking to Lucian as it took up a threatening posture. ¡°Ha¡­ You wish.¡± Lucian chuckled and put his hand out, activating [Manifest Weapon] and summoning his sword. The rocks between him and the other side of the river were more conveniently located. He was sure he could reach them without a running start. And he did, taking another two leaps, before the third leap saw him land on the other bank of the river and the mantis began a charge. Lucian immediately shifted out of reach when he touched down, its scythe-like appendages cut through the air where he stood a moment earlier. ¡°Don¡¯t want to get caught in those¡­¡± Lucian whistled as he brought his sword to his side before swinging upwards at an angle as he leapt forward. His sword cut against one of the forearms, digging slightly into the chitin that armored it. Lucian¡¯s pupils dilated slightly and he twisted his body downwards, narrowly avoiding a swipe from the other arm - ¡°Fuck, you¡¯re fast!¡± Lucian laughed, ¡°And tough, huh!¡± He took three hops backwards, creating a much more comfortable distance. Lucian re-adjusted his grip on his sword bringing it up, the crossguard beside his head and the blade pointed forward. He pushed against the ground again, thrusting the blade forward in a lunging attack. The mantis responded by bringing both of its scythes downwards. At the last moment, Lucian realized he wouldn¡¯t make it. He ducked down and twisted his body, his feet leaving the ground as he rotated to face upwards, bringing his blade with him and managing to parry the attack. He skidded across the floor and slid underneath the monster¡¯s legs, cursing as he quickly got to his feet. ¡°Thats the fucking problem¡­ reach. It has more reach than I do.¡± He thought as he groaned and cracked his neck. His back stung slightly, no doubt the fall and skid had caused damage. He would have to worry about it later. ¡°Right now¡­ I need more reach.¡± Lucian breathed out and focused on his sword, on the Spirit flowing from his body into the weapon. He deflected another strike from the mantis as his mind raced. ¡°I can¡¯t risk reactivating the skill. The Spirit draw and the delay are problems.¡± He ducked under another slash and bolted off to the side, creating distance yet again. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He had no idea if what he planned would work. He felt like he had to try. He focused on the skill, his skill, and mentally pictured a change. He felt a pushback, and focused harder. He watched as the mantis began to move towards him again, and forced his will against the skill harder. ¡°Work!¡± He shouted at himself. The pushback suddenly gave way and he felt the skill buzz in response to his efforts. He pivoted and placed one foot further backwards, pulling his sword into a batting stance. The mantis began to wind up its attack and Lucian swung.
Skill Level Up!
Manifest Weapon (Rank 1, Level 1) has leveled up to Manifest Weapon (Rank 1, Level 2). Your control over the weapon¡¯s shape and size has increased.
As his sword cut through the air, the blade grew longer - the skill itself bending to his will. The mantis didn¡¯t plan on its range advantage suddenly disappearing. Lucian activated his new skill [Penetrating Strike] as he swung, and felt another 10 Spirit vanish. The edge of his sword shone with a faint white glow as it made contact with the mantis¡¯ forelimb as it swung down - and cut through the chitin armor protecting it. With another push of strength, Lucian followed the swing through, severing the attacking limb and grinning like a maniac. ¡°Ha! Fuck you!¡± He laughed and side stepped the other arm¡¯s attack, swinging his sword up into a second attack. Even with his extended reach, his sword only grazed a cut across the monster¡¯s body - and not a very deep one at that. ¡°If I want to deal any real damage to it¡­ I need to either use [Penetrating Strike] again, or get closer. But I can¡¯t get in close without the remaining limb being an issue.¡± He brought his sword down and moved back a step, the mantis also taking a step back to reassess the situation, blueish blood dripping from its severed arm. ¡°The simple solution¡­ is to get rid of the other arm too.¡± Lucian chuckled and took a step forward. Then the mantis raised its arm and a silver light encompassed it. Lucian¡¯s senses screamed at him to move. He tilted to the side with as much speed as he could muster as the mantis swiped down, sending an arc of silver energy shooting out, activating a skill of its own. He felt the air rush past his cheek, and saw some of his hair drift down past this face as he narrowly dodged the slashing force, ¡°Fuck! Of course!¡± Lucian gritted his teeth. It reared back and let out a hissing sound, sending another slash out at him. He was ready this time, and pivoted out of the way, bringing his sword forward through the air. The silver arc of light and Lucian¡¯s own blade met. Lucian¡¯s blade shattered the skill in its flight, dispersing it into motes of light and a gust of wind. The force of the clash sent Lucian backwards a few steps. Lucian felt [Manifest Weapon] take its toll as he regained a single point of Spirit, and charged forward winding up another heavy strike. ¡°Can¡¯t let this go on much longer.¡± He leapt to the side, deftly strafing out of the way of a third slash, then leapt forward off the ground. The mantis tried to deflect his downward strike with its remaining claw, but was met with [Penetrating Strike]. Lucian¡¯s attack cleaved through the arm, but found no purchase in the mantis¡¯ actual body. It didn¡¯t matter - he had literally disarmed it. The mantis moved backwards, trying to retreat from what it now knew to be certain death. But it wasn¡¯t as fast backwards as it was forwards. Lucian took two steps forward and swung his sword again - activating [Penetrating Slash] a third time. Blue blood sprayed against the dirt as the mantis let out a choked sound. Lucian¡¯s sword had cut halfway through its body, lacking the force to cleave the monster in two. With 13 Spirit left in his pool, Lucian pulled the sword out of the wound and spun around, slashing into the other side of its body and yet again activating [Penetrating Strike]. Like cutting a tree from both sides, Lucian¡¯s sword cleaved through the armor and flesh of the bug and cut all the way through, fully disconnecting its upper body. Lucian moved backwards as the top half of the mantis fell forwards, taking a breath as he came to a halt a few feet away from the monster. His reserves nearly empty, he let his weapon vanish.
Level Up!
You have leveled up from Spellblade Level 5 to Spellblade Level 8! Your Strength has increased to 35 (+1 per level). Your Agility has increased to 40 (+1 per level). Your Intelligence has increased to 42 (+2 per level). Your Clarity has increased to 25 (+1 per level). As a result of other stat increases, your maximum Spirit has increased to 58. You have gained 9 free points (+3 per level).
The fact he leveled up three times only confirmed what he had thought. The mantis was stronger than the things he fought before. ¡°It¡¯s probably going to get worse the further into the jungle I get¡­¡± Regardless of his back, which stung from sliding across the riverbank, and his near complete lack of Spirit - Lucian was happy. He put 5 of his free points into Strength, bringing it up to 40, and put the other 4 points into Constitution bringing it up to 25 - on the assumption it would either help deal with pain or make him heal faster. ¡°Constitution wasn¡¯t the plan, but if the monsters keep getting stronger like this, some might be nice. Not too much, though.¡± The pain dulled slightly. The increases to his stats brought his Spirit up to 60. He tugged his hoodie up and reached behind his back. His skin stung where he touched it and upon examining his fingers he confirmed that he was bleeding. Lucian pulled his hoodie and shirt off so that the clotting blood wouldn¡¯t adhere the fabric to his skin, and hoped that the Constitution buff would help him heal faster. He found a nice rock beside the river to sit down on and rest for a little. Going further in low on Spirit would be a death sentence. Chapter 4 A distinct issue had presented itself to Lucian. As his maximum Spirit increased, so did the time it took to regain it all. Despite an increase to the maximum amount he could have, the rate of recovery remained at 1 per minute. It recovered while he fought but with how quick each fight had been so far that didn¡¯t amount to more than 1 or 2 Spirit regained. Lucian could understand something like this from the perspective of making things fair - high power use came with a high recovery period - but that didn¡¯t mean he wanted to deal with waiting. But he had to. At least the river was clear enough that he felt fine drinking from it to quench his growing thirst. After nearly an hour his Spirit was topped up and he continued on his way, continuing to follow the flow of the river. He stayed far enough from the water that if he noticed anything massive flying overhead he could duck under the nearby trees. This came in handy when another of those giant bird monsters made a pass over the river. Hunger would see him turning back soon, but he could press on a bit further. As it turned out, he would find something interesting before then. As Lucian walked the sounds of people talking, or maybe panicking, reached him in a stark contrast to the ambient sounds of the jungle. His ears perked up, straining to hear more. He swiveled, trying to locate the source of the sound. He focused and attempted to tune out everything else, and quickly located its direction of origin. Lucian figured he might as well see what was going on, and maybe lend a hand if he could - so he began to head towards it. It wasn¡¯t long before he spotted a group of people through the trees. There were five of them and they looked to be a family. Two adults, presumably the mother and father, and three kids - one looked injured judging by the red on her leg and was being carried by her mother, cheeks wet from crying - there was also a strip of cloth tied around her thigh like a makeshift tourniquet. Lucian called out to them ¡°Excuse me! Are you all alright?¡± he asked as he approached through the trees, ¡°I might be able to help!¡± The father, a fairly large man, turned towards Lucian as heard his voice, he tensed for a moment before realizing help was being offered. ¡°Please. My daughter is hurt.¡± The man looked at Lucian¡¯s ears briefly, but seemed too relieved at the offer of help to ask questions. Lucian walked up to the family and extended his hand, ¡°I¡¯m Lucian. How did she get hurt? Giant bug?¡± He shook his head. ¡°My name is Joseph. My daughter got hurt by the building collapsing. Luckily we haven¡¯t run into any giant bugs.¡± Lucian looked at the children, then back to him. ¡°I can lead you folks out of the jungle area. I have run into some but I should be able to protect you if that happens.¡± Lucian demonstrated by activating [Manifest Weapon] and summoning his glowing blue sword. This earned him some oohs and aahs from the kids and shocked looks from the adults. The injured girl seemed to lighten up a bit at the display. ¡°Today has been so strange. First some kind of ¡°integration¡± and now magic¡­¡± Joseph sighed and rubbed his temples. ¡°I guess I need to learn to roll with the punches.¡± Lucian nodded and looked towards the tree line, ¡°Well, regardless, we should get going.¡± Lucian dismissed [Manifest Weapon]. He felt like the Spirit cost was worth it to comfort the kids, and hoped that it didn¡¯t bite him in the ass. ¡°Come on, there¡¯s a river not far from here, we¡¯ll follow it up stream for a bit before forking off, to the path I used to come into the jungle.¡± Lucian explained as he began to lead the group through the trees and towards the river. As they walked, he was introduced to the rest of the family. The mother¡¯s name was Alana, and the kids were Jacob at 12, Charlie at 10, and Serena - the injured girl - at 7. Lucian learned the family had been traveling for an hour or so. He felt like they really were extremely lucky to still be alive. ¡°Luckily I found them before their luck ran out¡­¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. They reached the river, and began to walk up along its bank. Eventually, they came to where Lucian had left the now bisected corpse of the giant mantis. Joseph walked over to it, carrying Serena with him. He looked down at the corpse and audibly gulped. ¡°Yeah, kinda scary right? Big damn thing.¡± Lucian laughed, ¡°It definitely didn¡¯t go down without a fight, but I did remain largely uninjured. It didn¡¯t expect me to be able to cut through its armor so easily.¡± Joseph and Alana both looked at him with a mixture of fear and respect in their eyes. Lucian smiled at them ¡°We shouldn¡¯t linger here, the body might attract something else. I don¡¯t want to have to fight while protecting you all unless I have to.¡± Lucian gestured across the water, and to the stones he had used to cross. ¡°I should be able to take you all across one at a time.¡± Lucian tested his theory by trying to lift Joseph - which he succeeded at easily enough that he was fairly confident in being able to jump across the stones with him. He picked him up in a bridal carry, and began ferrying him across the river, leaving Serena with her mother. He was certainly a bit heavy, but not enough to stop Lucian from making the jumps. Then he brought Serena over second and handed her to Joseph, before doing the same for the other kids and their mother. As they continued up the river Lucian explained that the state of the city where he lived wasn¡¯t great, but it was certainly better - and that they would need to travel even further from the jungle, he suspected, to get somewhere with fully functional utilities. Luckily, Lucian was pretty sure that the further from the jungle they got, the easier traveling would be. As they cut away from the river and back into the jungle towards Lucian¡¯s original path, his ears twitched as they picked up a sound from the underbrush. Lucian raised his hand, ¡°Stop.¡± He said as he activated [Manifest Weapon], once again being full on Spirit. Lucian¡¯s hand tightened around the grip of his sword as it formed and he pulled into a readied posture. The undergrowth rustled and another giant centipede lunged towards them from its hiding place. It wasn¡¯t as big as the last one, but it was just as fast. Lucian was faster. Lucian swung his sword down and activated [Penetrating Strike]. The faint glow of the skill traced through the air following his sword, splitting the centipede in half before it could even realize it had to use its own defensive skill. Its blood splattered across the ground and Lucian brought his sword up and allowed it to vanish. The family behind him let out sounds of surprise and flinched away - but by the time they really processed they were being attacked the centipede was dead. Lucian grinned and looked down at his handiwork. It wasn¡¯t even a fight, the monster didn¡¯t stand a chance, ¡°Alright, we¡¯re okay.¡± Lucian looked back at the horrified family, the little girl had started to cry again. Lucian gave an apologetic look to the parents. ¡°We should keep going. There will be time to process all this once you¡¯re safe - and you will be safe.¡± Lucian stepped past the now still creature and gestured for the family to follow. They hesitated, their eyes now showing more fear than anything else - fear of the monsters in the jungle but also fear of Lucian. He had killed the centipede before they could even react, he could very well do the same to them. But rationality won out, and they followed him. He had no reason at all to hurt them, and they understood that to a degree - but the instincts telling them he was a threat were not simple to ignore. It was a tedious balance of emotions and lent to a tense journey. Eventually, it was over as the group approached the edge of the jungle. The trees thinned out and they could see the builds which had yet to be overgrown. The familiar sight elicited a collective sigh of relief from the family as they began to relax. Lucian smiled and looked back at the family, ¡°Here we are. Out of most of the danger. Keep an eye on the sky though,¡± he said as he gestured upwards ¡°The first monster I saw was an overgrown bird.¡± Alana stepped forward and offered her hand, which Lucian shook. ¡°Thank you so much for your help. And¡­¡± she sighed, ¡°I apologize for being so wary of you. You had no intention of-¡± she began to apologize but Lucian cut her off with a laugh. ¡°I know. You¡¯re all on edge. It''s only natural to be a bit afraid.¡± He said, offering a comforting smile. ¡°I can travel with you to the nearest hospital if you would like. I could use some bandages as well to be honest. My back still stings a bit.¡± Joseph nodded. ¡°We¡­ we would appreciate that, thank you.¡± His voice cracked a bit, the emotional roller coaster of a day starting to get to him. Lucian nodded in reply, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll come with you then. The nearest hospital isn¡¯t extremely far from here.¡± Joseph nodded, ¡°Now that we¡¯re outside of the jungle I can actually tell where we are¡­¡± he said with a chuckle. The group briefly discussed their route, opting to stay off of main roads as much as possible to avoid potentially bigger monsters, then set off. Chapter 5 The group travelled for about an hour before making it to the hospital. Lucian could have made it there much faster but didn¡¯t want to leave his group behind. As they approached the hospital they came upon a group of police officers holding a perimeter around the hospital¡¯s entrance. The corpse of one of the bird monsters Lucian fought earlier laid across the road - shot to death. The number of bloody spots indicating wounds on the body suggested that firearms were less effective for some reason, though Lucian could only guess what that reason might be. ¡°Hey!¡± Lucian called out to the police with a wave, ¡°We have a kid that¡¯s hurt!¡± His greeting drew the attention of the officers, many of whom did a double take upon seeing his new ears. They saw the family too, and after a moment, lowered their guns and waved the group over. ¡°Sorry. Tensions are high with everything going on.¡± One of the officers said, holstering her gun as she brought the group towards the hospital entrance. ¡°There are a few medical staff in but a lot of people are unaccounted for so we¡¯re making do with what we have. We¡¯ve had a few dozen survivors come here so far.¡± ¡°Survivors, you make it sound like a zombie apocalypse.¡± Lucian laughed, earning him a strange look from the cop. ¡°I mean, yeah, it is pretty apocalyptic but it isn¡¯t all that bad.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Oh! Did any of the police get classes when everything happened?¡± Lucian asked. The woman nodded, ¡°Yeah. He says it''s called Ranger. You know, bows and arrows and such. Did you?¡± ¡°Mhm, yeah. Spellblade.¡± Lucian raised his hand and manifested his longsword. The cop¡¯s eyes widened as she watched the glowing blue blade take form and she let out a whistle. Lucian swung the sword around a few times before letting it disperse. ¡°The first thing I fought was one of those bird monsters, actually. One well placed skewering through the eye took it down. Certainly more effective than the guns seem to be.¡± Lucian looked back to the glass doors and out to the police line. ¡°If I had to guess, the system, or whatever is behind all this, wants us to play its game using its rules, not ours. Would explain why the guns aren¡¯t as effective.¡± ¡°Are you sure your magic sword isn¡¯t just absurdly powerful?¡± The cop raised an eyebrow. ¡°It''s certainly better than a normal sword, but it isn¡¯t absurdly powerful. I have a certain instinctual understanding of what my skills do so I can say that much for certain. Ask the ranger, he should have an instinctive understanding of whatever skills it gave him too.¡± Lucian explained, ¡°You should probably also get him a weapon that fits his class.¡± The cop nodded and gestured down the hall. ¡°Alright. For now, go there. One of the doctors has a class and can help the girl.¡± At that, Joseph nodded and began to head down the hallway. Lucian and the rest of the family followed. A middle aged doctor wearing a white coat greeted them and brought them into one of the rooms. He had brown hair that showed some signs of greying and eyes that practically radiated compassion. He introduced himself as Doctor Anderson. ¡°Are you the one who got a class?¡± Lucian inquired as Joseph helped Serena onto the bed. Doctor Anderson smiled, ¡°Indeed. The universe has seen fit to make me a healer. I don¡¯t understand what''s going on or why it is but I try to accept blessings where they make themselves known.¡± Doctor Anderson rolled up his sleeves and turned to wash his hands in the sink before stepping up to the bed. He smiled down at Serena and began to make small talk with her as he brought his hand to her leg. His fingers an inch from the skin, a green light began to shine from them and the skin began to knit itself back together. Two minutes passed, and Lucian saw a bead of sweat form on the doctor¡¯s neck. The doctor withdrew his hand and the glow faded, and he let out a breath. ¡°There¡­ That should be mostly better. I still want to see if there¡¯s anything broken, but the bleeding should be dealt with.¡± He explained as he undid the makeshift tourniquet. Joseph picked up his daughter and sat down in the chair beside the bed with her. Lucian looked to the doctor, ¡°I¡¯m also a bit hurt, my back is all scraped up and I have an injury on my arm and shoulder, but you don¡¯t need to waste Spirit on me.¡± ¡°One of the nurses should be able to take care of you.¡± The doctor nodded after giving Lucian a quick once over. ¡°Just a bit further down the hall.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you.¡± Lucian turned to leave, but was stopped by a tug on his sleeve from one of the boys. ¡°Thanks mister.¡± Charlie said, holding onto his sleeve a bit. The rest of the family also chimed in with their thanks. ¡°You¡¯re all welcome. You all take care of yourselves.¡± Lucian smiled before leaving the room. Down the hall, it didn¡¯t take long for one of the nurses to sit Lucian down. The disinfectant stung his back, but it was much more manageable than the injury that actually caused it. Lucian let out a breath as the nurse applied some ointment and bandaged his back up. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The nurse got a fresh set of bandages for his shoulder and arm, but before she could get to disinfecting them they both heard gunshots. ¡°There¡¯s something going on outside.¡± Lucian hopped to his feet. ¡°I¡¯ll be back.¡± He promised before bolting out of the room and down the hall. When he got to the hospital lobby he saw a giant bird monster, probably 12 feet tall, charging at the line of police officers, much larger than the ones he had seen up close before. ¡°Well shit.¡± Lucian pushed the doors open and activated [Manifest Weapon]. ¡°Everyone scatter!¡± He shouted at the top of his lungs. Most of the cops took his advice, fleeing to the left and right of the bird¡¯s path while a few kept firing at it. Lucian rolled his eyes and charged forward. The cops looked at him as he moved faster than they had seen a person move before. Lucian grabbed one officer by the back of the shirt and pulled him out of the way of the charging monster and leaping backwards bringing them both out of harm''s way. He dropped the officer onto the pavement and he groaned - confused by the sudden movement but alive. The same couldn¡¯t be said for the other two officers who didn¡¯t listen. The monster slammed its beak into one of his, eliciting a swiftly ended scream as it crushed him, and batted the other officer away with its wing - the man sailed through the air and crumpled against the side of a building. ¡°God damnit!¡± Lucian pushed off the ground towards the monster. It unleashed a screech at him that made his head ring and his vision double - a skill no doubt. Lucian stumbled sideways, dodging barely out of the way of a peck that cracked the pavement. ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Lucian blinked a few times, his vision slowly correcting itself. ¡°A crowd control skill, great!¡± Lucian complained internally as he backstepped away from a second peck. As the bird pulled its beak back up from the ground, Lucian swung his sword at its head. It adjusted itself and parried his blade with the edge of its beak. Lucian brought his sword to the side and struck again but due to the effects of the skill on his vision, the bird moved its head slightly and dodged the attack. Lucian moved backwards more, leading the bird further from the hospital. His vision was starting to clear and the ringing in his head was lessening slightly. He leapt backwards to gain more distance and as soon as he did the monster¡¯s beak began to shine with a dangerous red glow. Lucian¡¯s pupils dilated as time seemed to slow. It had waited until Lucian was in the air, unable to push off any surface to dodge. Lucian¡¯s instincts kicked into action as the monster lunged forward, a sheen of energy surrounding its beak like a blade aimed at his chest. He swung his sword as hard as he could, bringing it down on the beak¡¯s edge. The force sent Lucian further into the air and forced the monster¡¯s head to tilt down as it changed the trajectory of the attack. The beak punched a hole in the pavement as Lucian soared upwards. The beast struggled to pull itself free, lodged in place like a sword in stone. Lucian began to fall, and raised his sword as he did, swinging downwards with the added momentum of gravity. A blue streak sliced downwards through the air as Lucian fell, sparks of white trailing blue as he activated [Penetrating Strike] just to be sure. His blade passed through the monster¡¯s neck like that of a guillotine, cleaving into the pavement below it as it severed its head in one motion. Its body fell to the ground away from Lucian with a thud, its head still stuck in the ground where it lodged itself. Lucian pulled his sword up from where it had cut slightly into the pavement and let it disperse.
Level Up!
You have leveled up from Spellblade Level 8 to Spellblade Level 10! Your Strength has increased to 42 (+1 per level). Your Agility has increased to 42 (+1 per level). Your Intelligence has increased to 46 (+2 per level). Your Clarity has increased to 27 (+1 per level). As a result of other stat increases, your maximum Spirit has increased to 62. You have gained 6 free points (+3 per level). As a result of reaching Spellblade Level 10 you have a pending class skill choice.
Lucian let out a breath and looked back towards the hospital. ¡°I can handle stats and skills in a moment¡­¡± He walked back towards the police. The woman he had spoken to earlier was helping the man he had pulled away to his feet. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Sorry I couldn¡¯t save the other two.¡± Lucian apologized, looking over towards the body slumped against a building and the one crumpled where he had stood. ¡°You saved the rest of us, kid.¡± An older looking cop walked over and put his hand on Lucian¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Those men¡­ they were good men. Good men.¡± He nodded, ¡°But you saved the rest of us.¡± He patted Lucian¡¯s shoulder firmly. Lucian sighed, ¡°Thank you¡­¡± he said before looking around at the rest of the police. ¡°You need to get your ranger a weapon that will work against the monsters. A compound bow from a hunting store, or something. Or you¡¯ll lose more men. You have to adapt.¡± Lucian looked up at the man and he nodded, ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯ll get him what he needs. Thank you.¡± Lucian nodded in response before slipping sideways around the man and heading back into the hospital. ¡°God fucking damnit.¡± Lucian made his way back to the nurse, and sat back down on the examination table after slipping into the room. He let out a long breath and inhaled deeply. Lucian knew it wasn¡¯t his fault that they died - he didn¡¯t save them but he did try. There was a bit of guilt in his chest, but mostly it was a shocked numbness. Witnessing death is never easy. That shock hadn¡¯t set in in the heat of the moment, but now that he was sitting down it was settling over him like a cold front. He shuddered a bit as the nurse began to finish tending to him. Chapter 6 The shock of watching two people die, and the energy he had spent earlier in the jungle made Lucian understandably tired. He passed out on the hospital bed not long after the nurse had finished putting some bandages on his forearm. He woke up several hours later, still on the bed. Someone had put a thin blanket over him. He yawned and stretched out under it before sitting up. His stomach growled. ¡°Ah. I haven¡¯t eaten anything all day.¡± Lucian pulled the blanket aside and swung his legs off the bed, hopping to the floor. He still felt the level up information lingering at the back of his mind, but he decided not to make decisions on an empty stomach. He made his way out of the room and looked around before heading back to the hospital lobby. He could still see some of the police line outside. A few of the officers were in the lobby, along with more civilians who had arrived since he had passed out, and hospital staff. Some of the cops nodded to him when they saw him and he nodded back. The nurse who had tended to him earlier walked into the lobby shortly after he did, and came over to him, ¡°Are you doing alright?¡± she asked as she gave him a once over, ¡°You went out like a light earlier.¡± ¡°Yeah, thanks.¡± Lucian smiled, ¡°I was just tired and¡­ Shaken up, I guess is a good way to put it.¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay-¡± The nurse was cut off by the sound of Lucian¡¯s stomach demanding food. ¡°Ah! You must be starving, poor thing. Come with me. The hospital food court has some stuff you can have.¡± She gestured for him to follow, and he was more than happy to. Lucian ended up helping himself to some prepackaged sandwiches. He brought them over to a table and sat down, unwrapping one and taking a large bite. ¡°Mnnm. Not bad¡­¡± He mumbled to himself as he ate. It didn¡¯t take him long to tear through two turkey sandwiches. He began to review his level ups after he finished the second one. He had 6 free points to spend, and a pending skill choice. ¡°I¡¯ll do the skill first.¡±
Choose a Class Skill
You have 3 available class skills to choose from. Please select one. Slash (Rank 1, Level 1) 7 Spirit - Active Skill Amplifies the force of a slashing attack. Scales lightly with Strength. Arcane Pulse (Rank 1, Level 1) 8 Spirit - Active Skill Unleash a wave of arcane force. Scales lightly with Intelligence. Flame Infusion (Rank 1, Level 1) 3 Spirit per minute - Channeled Active Skill Infuse a weapon with flame. Scales moderately with Intelligence.
Lucian took a moment to consider the options presented to him. ¡°[Slash] provides synergy with [Penetrating Strike], and leans into what I am already doing. [Arcane Pulse] provides some area of effect damage, which would let me more readily handle several smaller enemies. [Flame Infusion] seems like the worst option. I could channel it on top of my sword but¡­ My instincts are telling me the more stuff you channel the harder it is.¡± He set [Flame Infusion] aside. He also questioned the intelligence of using fire in a jungle, since he planned on going further into it soon. He ended up settling on [Slash] after some deliberation. ¡°[Slash] scales with Strength while amplifying the force of an attack. I already use Strength to swing my sword so it¡¯s basically letting me double dip from the stat. The higher my Strength gets, the more pronounced its effect will be - not to mention leveling up the skill itself. AOE would be great but I can¡¯t turn this up¡­¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Yet again, Lucian chose to lean further into his strengths than cover for his weaknesses, picking [Slash]. He briefly felt the skill register in his body. Next came the free points - he had 6. He thought that Strength was important, especially now that [Slash] let him get more out of it, but he didn¡¯t want to fall behind in Agility since he relied on movement to stay out of harm''s way. He decided to put half of them in Strength and the other half into Agility, bringing him up to 45 in both and bringing his maximum Spirit up to 64. With his points allocated, he stood up from the table. He took the empty wrappers from his sandwiches to the trash, and left the food court to head back to the lobby. ¡°I gotta go get another hoodie¡­ I feel kind of naked.¡± Lucian thought as he walked back into the entrance area. ¡°If I go back to my apartment I can get some of my other stuff and see if there¡¯s anyone still there who needs help.¡± Lucian nodded to himself, and with his plan set he began to head to the doors. ¡°Hey!¡± Lucian turned to see the officer who had first brought him inside walking over. ¡°I would tell you to stay safe out there but I think we need that more than you do.¡± she laughed. Lucian chuckled, ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be fine. With any luck, more people will get classes. I am curious to know what causes it.¡± Lucian smiled, ¡°Hopefully you can get an interesting one.¡± The officer smiled back at him, ¡°I hope so too¡­¡± she shook her head, ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t mean to keep you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I''ll probably come back here anyway, especially if I find more people.¡± Lucian nodded to her as he left the hospital, waving a bit before looking to the mainstreet. ¡°I wonder how fast I can get back¡­¡± Lucian looked around at the nearby buildings as he made his way down the road. ¡°If I go on top of them and ignore the roads, I could get there faster¡­ but they¡¯re too tall here¡­¡± His eyes wandered across the sides of the buildings until he saw what he was looking for. He walked up to a residential building and around its side, finding a fire escape. He didn¡¯t bother climbing up the stairs, opting to instead simply jump up with a woosh and grab onto the railing, swinging himself over it and onto the platform. He quickly ascended the rest of the escape until he reached the top level. The fire escape didn¡¯t have stairs up to the roof. ¡°Not like that¡¯s a problem¡­¡± He launched himself up and grabbed onto the edge of the roof, and pulled himself up onto it. ¡°Moving around like this is fun¡­¡± he thought to himself as he looked off of the roof. From here, it was a pretty straight path to his apartment building, assuming he could cross entirely on rooftops. He cracked his neck and stretched out his legs before taking off along the roof and, at the last moment, launching himself off the edge of the building. Lucian sailed through the air and landed squarely on the next building, ¡°Woo!¡± he laughed and kept going, not wanting to lose the momentum he gathered with the first jump. He leapt from rooftop to rooftop, savoring the feeling of the wind rushing past him as he moved. Eventually, however, he came to a gap he wasn¡¯t confident in his ability to cross - jumping to a roof across a road. He came to a stop and looked over to it. ¡°Guess I gotta take the boring route.¡± Lucian mumbled to himself as he turned and began to walk to the edge of the building to start making his way down. His ears twitched and the hairs on his neck stood on end. Lucian froze at the edge of the building as a shape flew overhead. Lucian pivoted on his heel to watch it fly by him, a great bird-like creature in the sky above him. It looked to have 2 sets of wings and way maybe twice as large as the creature he fought by the hospital, but it was hard to tell since it was in the air above him. Looking at it filled Lucian with a mixture of emotions. Fear, but also excitement. Right now, Lucian wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against it - though he felt like if he kept working hard, it wouldn¡¯t be long until he could. Lucian watched as it veered sideways and accelerated with a burst of speed, a skill no doubt, heading back towards the massive tree in the center of the jungle. ¡°Yet another thing to work towards and look forward to¡­¡± Lucian sighed and looked back down over the edge of the building. There was no fire escape, but it didn¡¯t take him long to get down climbing between window sills. Lucian landed on the sidewalk and continued on the sidewalk. It wasn¡¯t long before he arrived at his apartment building. Lucian was pretty sure most people who were here in the morning had probably left. He made his way inside and climbed the staircase up to his room. He grabbed his backpack and put some clothes in it and pulled a new hoodie over his head as well, ¡°That''s better¡­¡± After packing his backpack with the stuff he felt like he really needed he went about checking the other rooms on his floor. Each knock was answered with silence. ¡°Figures people would have left already, it has been a while.¡± Some of the doors were even left unlocked. Lucian sighed, ¡°I hope they¡¯re okay, at least.¡± He decided to check the floors below him as he walked downstairs to the entrance, and again found no one. He walked out of the building with his backpack slung over one shoulder and looked back at it, ¡°Guess I¡¯ll have to find somewhere else to live now, huh?¡± He said as he turned his gaze down the road again. ¡°Well, whatever.¡± Lucian fixed his gaze on the towering tree in the distance once again, ¡°This is more interesting anyway.¡± Chapter 7 It didn¡¯t take as long as it did the first time for Lucian to reach the edge of the jungle. He quickly scaled his way up one of the trees, grabbing onto branches and pulling himself up until he was perched high upon it. Lucian used the tops of the trees to traverse the jungle, moving from branch to branch to avoid the tangled maze of the jungle floor. When he reached the river, he was forced to descend to the ground so he could cross along the same stones he had used before - where he once again came across the body of the giant mantis. It was mostly gone, torn apart by the denizens of the jungle - one such monster, another giant centipede, was actively feeling on the carcass. As Lucian approached, it stopped eating and reared up, clicking its mandibles at him and hissing. Lucian rolled his eyes and summoned his weapon, ¡°You stopped being threatening 5 levels ago.¡± The monster paused for a moment, before lowering itself back to the ground and rushing at him in a serpentine motion. Lucian stood there, adjusting himself as it approached him. It lunged at him and Lucian took a step to the side. The centipede¡¯s jaws missed his legs and it continued forward along its path. Lucian raised his heel and brought it down, stomping on its back and pinning it to the ground. It tried to activate its defensive skill, but the barrier of light flickered and shattered instead of forming. ¡°Maybe because my leg is where the barrier would form?¡± It writhed, whipping its head around towards him since it couldn¡¯t move - Lucian¡¯s left hand moved like a blur, his fist closing around the back of the centipede¡¯s head like a vice preventing it from moving further. Its venom fangs snapped, trying in a futile attempt to bite Lucian. He brought his sword down, stabbing through a gap in the chitin plating along its back. He jerked the sword sideways, slicing out of the side of its body with a spray of dark blue blood. The monster snapped its fangs more wildly, thrashing harder in Lucian¡¯s grip, but he held firm. He thrust his sword towards its upper body, near the head, aiming for its exposed underbelly since he was holding it off of the ground. He felt the tip of his sword impact the underside of the chin armor as he skewered it. With a firm push, his sword parted the plates from the inside, piercing all the way through it. After a moment, it stopped thrashing and went limp. Lucian pulled his sword out and let it vanish into wisps of blue light, lifting his foot off of the monster¡¯s back and tossing its severed upper body a few feet away. ¡°Seeing the numbers go up is one thing but¡­ experiencing the changes that it brings is¡­¡± Lucian laughed, ¡°Much more impactful.¡± He readjusted his backpack and continued on his way. As he continued further into the jungle he climbed back up into another tree. They were taller here, and as he climbed towards the top he could see further out. He sat himself on one of the branches, back against the trunk. He looked out over the jungle. It was trees and trees and more trees, but there were the occasional remains of a building here and there. ¡°That¡¯s weird. There should be buildings everywhere, but only a few of them are still here. If the jungle grew up from the ground overnight then the ruins should be everywhere. It if was dropped on top of this part of the city there shouldn¡¯t be any buildings at all.¡± Lucian mused as he looked at a somewhat tall apartment building standing in the distance, now overgrown with roots and plant life - but still standing. ¡°What happened to the people in the buildings that just aren¡¯t there anymore?¡± Lucian wondered but quickly shook his head. ¡°No. Thinking about that won¡¯t do me, or them, any good. I can only hope for the best.¡± Lucian¡¯s gaze swept across the jungle. There was another building standing further away¡­ ¡°No¡­ that''s not just one building¡­¡± Lucian¡¯s gaze settled on a group of several buildings standing in the distance. ¡°Maybe there¡¯s something interesting over there. Or more people.¡± Lucian nodded to himself. With a destination set, he set on his way - yet again using the trees to move more swiftly than he would be able to on the jungle floor. He gauged that at his current pace, it would still take a bit to reach the buildings - however his journey there was not going to be as boring as he assumed it would. It didn¡¯t take long for Lucian¡¯s treetop movement to draw the attention of a flying monster. Lucian¡¯s ears twitched and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. He looked around quickly, before his gaze shifted upwards to a shape rapidly approaching him. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. In the tree, Lucian was a sitting duck. He quickly started descending, jumping halfway down into a roll on the jungle floor. As he hit the ground, he felt static in the air around him as a bright flash of light arced across his vision. Several forks of lightning raced across the sky and impacted the tree, each landing lower than the last, scorching leaves and carbonizing wood. The monster, which Lucian could now see was a giant hawk-like creature with black feathers that had silverish metallic edges, swooped over the tree he had been perched in. Sparks of electricity arced across its body giving it the appearance of being charged. ¡°Shit.¡± Lucian gulped. It had barely missed him, and he didn¡¯t fancy his odds of surviving being hit by an attack like that. The hawk turned and started flying back towards Lucian, flying lower over the treetops. The energy arcing around its wings arced more dangerously, gaining brightness as it flew. ¡°This thing will kill me¡­¡± Lucian needed to move faster than he had moved before. He briefly recalled the feeling of power in his chest, the feeling of his Spirit when he used his skills - the way it moved, flowed, within his body. ¡°Fuck!¡± Lucian swore as the charge dancing on its wings hit a visible crescendo. His heart was racing. He pulled on it desperately, willing it to move. For a split second, nothing happened. Then the world around him shifted as he took a step to the side. Air rushed past him as he flung himself sideways with supernatural speed. The ground where he had been standing exploded as lightning lanced out from the beast¡¯s wings, charring the ground and arcing off into the surroundings. Lucian flew through the air, passing several trees before crashing into one. He felt the air leave his lungs and his vision blur. The hawk shrieked again as it pulled up, flapping its wings and climbing higher. Lucian gasped for breath as his vision swam, heart beating out of his chest and adrenaline pumping through his veins. The hawk stopped climbing and spread its wings, arcs of energy sparked out into the air. Lucian didn¡¯t have time to rest. He grabbed the bark of the tree hard enough to cause it to splinter slightly, pulling himself to his feet. He looked up with horror at the hawk charging another attack. Lucian didn¡¯t have time to think, either. He had to act if he wanted to live. He pulled on his Spirit again. He instinctively tried to use less Spirit this time, to control the power. Knocking himself out against a tree would mean he couldn¡¯t dodge the next shot. He took a step just as the hawk was about to fire its attack, and as he pushed himself forward he felt himself accelerate. Wind rushed past him again as he moved, narrowly missing another tree. Lightning fell where he had stood as he moved, sending dirt in every direction. He skidded to a stop and looked back at the smoking crater in the ground. He didn¡¯t have enough Spirit in him to keep this up. He was down a third of his pool. The hawk flew forward as its wings glowed brighter again, charging up once again. Lucian exhaled and took a breath in. He tried to focus on the remaining energy in his chest. He took a step forward as the bird unleashed yet another fork of lightning at him. He felt his Spirit drop to 0 as he burned through the last remaining points as he launched forward, the ground behind him exploding in a flash of light yet again. The momentum of his movement carried him forward for a moment before it rapidly dropped and he came to a stop. He felt dizzy, both from the sudden deceleration and from the fact that he had used all his Spirit. Luckily, the bird seemed to be in a similar position, as it pulled up and began to fly away. Lucian dropped to his knees, taking several long breaths before letting himself collapse onto the ground. He felt something change inside him as a system message pushed against his mind.
You Have Gained a Skill
Through manipulation of your own Spirit, you have managed to gain a new skill. You have gained Quickstep (Rank 1, Level 1).
Lucian blinked a few times before checking what it did.
Quickstep (Rank 1, Level 1) 10 Spirit - Instant Active Skill
Unleash a burst of speed in a single step. Scales moderately with Agility.
¡°Ah¡­¡± Lucian coughed a bit, slowly sitting up. ¡°It gave me a skill to do what I did manually¡­¡± Lucian looked back at the destruction around him - the ground was riddled with smoking craters, and the plant life around them was burnt. ¡°Why didn¡¯t it give this to me earlier?¡± Lucian wondered, before coming to a realization, ¡°I wasn¡¯t fully in control the first time. Once I managed to control the movement more it gave it to me. It costs less Spirit as a skill, too. It''s like a reward for acting outside the box and being good at it.¡± Lucian laughed a bit but started coughing. He pulled himself up to the trunk of a nearby tree and leaned against it, taking a few more steady breaths. ¡°I¡¯m still not strong enough.¡± Lucian looked up at the sky. It was getting closer to dusk. Soon he might be able to see the stars. ¡°I¡¯ll come back for you¡­ once I¡¯m strong enough.¡± Lucian smiled. ¡°Another goal to work towards. Those are good to have.¡± For a moment, Lucian considered getting up and continuing onwards. The exhaustion and soreness throughout his body insisted he should take a break. He relaxed against the tree and sighed. ¡°Fine¡­ a bit of a break won¡¯t hurt. Probably.¡± Chapter 8 It took a little over an hour for Lucian to recover all his Spirit. His body was still sore but he could deal with that. He stood up and groaned, leaning against the tree for a moment. ¡°No more traveling on top of the trees, I guess¡­¡± He sighed. ¡°I do need to reorient myself, though¡­¡± He thought, having gotten turned around as he dodged for his life. He carefully climbed the tree he had rested under, only high enough to see the buildings he was headed. He dropped back to the ground and began to walk. Surviving such an encounter left him feeling strangely confident. Armed with a new skill, he felt that he stood a better chance than ever of beating whatever else he came across - provided it wasn¡¯t worse than that bird. ¡°Speaking of [Quickstep], I should test that out.¡± Lucian took a step forward and activated [Quickstep]. As his foot left the ground he shot forward. It wasn¡¯t as jarring as the haphazard attempts that had let him acquire the skill in the first place. Similarly to his other skills, he kind of just knew how it worked. The step carried him forward a fair distance, stopping as his heel came down. ¡°It is one step after all, you just go further¡­ Importantly, the deceleration isn¡¯t bad.¡± He tried it one more time, but this time adjusted himself slightly. He used [Quickstep] and shot forward again, but only travelled half as far. Just as his instincts told him, the distance was variable. It was only the upper limit of the skill that was raised with his Agility. It did cost 20 Spirit, but Lucian felt the tests were necessary. Now he was even more confident than before. With that taken care of, he continued on his way towards the buildings. As Lucian trekked through the undergrowth of the jungle, it became even denser. Vines hung from branches, and flowers the color of sunsets bloomed at the roots of trees. Through the foliage Lucian caught sight of something moving and stopped in his tracks. It was barely noticeable, the same colors and patterns as the ground and leaves. Then he heard the telltale hiss of a snake as a massive serpent raised its head up above the greenery and flicked its tongue at him. It was massive, around 2 feet thick. Lucian has been to the Florida Everglades when he was younger. He had seen some of the pythons there, they were huge. This put them to shame. He couldn¡¯t see the rest of its body through the foliage and grasses. It felt dangerous¡­ And yet¡­ Lucian smiled and summoned his sword with [Manifest Weapon]. It didn¡¯t have the same oppressive feeling that the hawk did. His body didn¡¯t scream that this was certain death. In response to Lucian¡¯s unspoken declaration of challenge, the serpent opened its mouth and hissed loudly. It lacked the large fangs of a venomous snake - confirming to Lucian that it was a constrictor. Lucian moved forward and swung his sword sideways. The snake lunged, and Lucian felt his sword stop as the beast caught it in its mouth, clamping its jaw shut around the blade, ¡°Shit.¡± He quickly took one hand off of the blade and closed his fist, delivering two punches to the side of the snake¡¯s head. It refused to release the blade, instead bringing its tail into view, bringing its entire body closer to Lucian in an attempt to wrap him in it. Lucian jerked his blade hard. It didn¡¯t budge. Lucian decided that [Slash] probably wouldn¡¯t be enough either, and opted to try changing the shape of the blade before abandoning it. He pivoted, straddling the back of the snake¡¯s head while gripping the handle of his blade to dodge the tail as it swiped through the air where he was. Lucian willed the blade to change. He willed the blade to thin, and thin - as much as he could. ¡°Come on¡­!¡± Lucian forced his will on it.
Skill Level Up!
Manifest Weapon (Rank 1, Level 2) has leveled up to Manifest Weapon (Rank 1, Level 3). Your control over the weapon¡¯s shape and size has increased.
The blade rapidly thinned and changed shape, going from a longsword to a rapier. Lucian vaulted off of the top of the snake and pulled the sword with him as he moved - with less surface area for the teeth to clamp down, he was able to pull it out. He landed several feet away and quickly changed his weapon back into a longsword - he felt a slashing edge paired better with his skills than a piercing point. He changed it further as he dodged back out of the way of another tail swipe, making the blade longer and wider, ¡°It''s getting closer and closer to a greatsword.¡± He felt the weight change as he modified it, ¡°More weight more force¡­¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Lucian exhaled and took a breath in, bringing his sword to his side, ready to swing. ¡°Alright¡­ let''s do this!¡± The snake reared up again, and its eyes flashed with a blood red light. Lucian felt his heart start to beat faster and his Agility decrease slightly, ¡°Some kind of fear effect?¡± Lucian narrowed his eyes and stomped his foot against the ground. ¡°Lowering my Agility is a smart call. But¡­ if this works¡­ it won¡¯t matter much.¡± Even with his Agility lowered by a few points, [Quickstep] still could take him pretty far. Lucian took a step forward as the snake began to lunge. As soon as his heel touched the ground he activated [Quickstep]. He shot past the snake and came to a stop. The snake moved its head, but before it could reorient itself Lucian pushed off the ground with a second [Quickstep] as he swung his sword and activated a second skill - [Slash]. Lucian¡¯s sword cut through the air like a bullet, the force of the blow amplified by the speed of [Quickstep] and the power of [Slash]. The snake was caught mid turn as it tried, and failed, to track Lucian¡¯s movement. The edge of Lucian¡¯s sword bit into the scales along its body and slid through them before cleaving through its flesh. [Quickstep] carried Lucian a few feet past the snake as his sword completed the arc of its swing. Blood sprayed against the ground as the serpent¡¯s body was sliced in half, its head falling against the grasses with a thud.
Skill Level Up!
Quickstep (Rank 1, Level 1) has leveled up to Quickstep (Rank 1, Level 2). Its Spirit cost has decreased from 10 Spirit to 9 Spirit.
Lucian laughed, ¡°That was fucking sick.¡± He swung his sword around a few times before dismissing it. ¡°It cost a lot of Spirit but¡­ that is an excellent trump card. I wasn¡¯t sure if it would even work properly. I¡¯m glad it did.¡± As he looked back at the body of the beast, he felt the familiar feeling of a level up as the body stopped moving.
Level Up!
You have leveled up from Spellblade Level 10 to Spellblade Level 12! Your Strength has increased to 47 (+1 per level). Your Agility has increased to 47 (+1 per level). Your Intelligence has increased to 50 (+2 per level). Your Clarity has increased to 29 (+1 per level). As a result of other stat increases, your maximum Spirit has increased to 66. You have gained 6 free points (+3 per level).
Lucian distributed his free points. He put 4 into Strength bringing it to 51 and he put 2 into Clarity bringing it to 31, ¡°I barely noticed it. If I hadn''t, that probably wouldn¡¯t have gone so well.¡± The changes brought his Spirit to 68. The fight has cost him 37 Spirit. ¡°I really hope I can figure out how to increase my regeneration soon, with my Spirit getting higher and higher every level the downtime gets higher too.¡± He smiled, ¡°All that aside, 2 levels and 2 skill level ups is nothing to scoff at.¡± Satisfied with the results of the fight, and his performance, Lucian walked away - continuing to blaze a trail through the jungle. It wasn¡¯t like the buildings were going anywhere, probably, but he didn¡¯t want to daddle. ¡°Especially since that horrible bird might decide it wants to try again¡­¡± Lucian shivered at the thought and picked up his pace. After another half hour, Lucian caught sight of the side of one of the buildings through the trees. The area around them was fairly sparse of trees, though the grasses and flowers were flourishing. ¡°I wonder why no trees came up here¡­¡± Lucian mused to himself as he approached. The largest building looked to be some kind of residential building. Beside it sat a small convenience store with what was probably more living space above it. Beside that, another shop. The sign mounted on the wall revealed it to be a pizza place of some sort. Lucian approached the shops. The windows were shattered. Lucian cautiously entered, ¡°Hello?¡± He called out into the dark shop. The only response was silence. After a few moments, he continued into the store. Obviously, there was no power. But it hadn¡¯t been long enough for the drinks in the coolers to go bad. He opened one of the glass doors and pulled out a bottle of water, cracking it open and downing it quickly, ¡°Haa¡­ That''s better.¡± He grabbed a few more bottles and put them in his backpack. After quenching his thirst and pocketing some water for later, he exited the store and began to walk around the buildings. As he turned the corner around the outside, his eyes were drawn down. Where there might have been another building before, there was a giant square hole in the ground lined with aged looking bricks of light gray stone. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Lucian approached the edge of the pit and looked down. Around its inner edge there was a staircase that led downwards. An ominous feeling emanated from the dark depths. Lucian had found a dungeon.