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- “Then why were you just standing there when we arrived-” His question was cut off by a woman who was shouting loudly.
- “You have to let me back there! My father was supposed to meet me-” She stopped when she spotted the tarp laid over what would be a corpse.
- “Just stand back.” An officer pushed her back.
- Members of the Sleeping Lion guild were roaming through the area in search of any other monsters and it would be dangerous to go in.
- “Wait…” I muttered as I looked at the distressed woman. She looked extremely familiar and if she was related to that old man that would make her…related to him.
- Was I still hallucinating? I’ve been assessed by a psychiatrist and went to see a therapist regularly and I even suspected that my delusions were made up. I was never able to prove they were real and I certainly wouldn’t investigate the background of corpses I looked at since it would get me fired.
- “You don’t understand...My father was going to meet me here! You have to tell me where he is!” She looked at me, sitting in the back of an ambulance with my arm placed in a sling, and my gaze unconsciously fell on the corpse.
- She suddenly burst out crying, collapsing onto the ground.
- "It can't be him! You have to let me see!"
- "Ma'am, it isn't safe, you have to stay back!"
- I felt sick myself, but I wanted to ask her some questions. Was she in college? Did she have siblings? An uncle? My selfish desire to confirm if my delusions were real took over and I slowly approached her.
- “Hey!” The Sleeping Lion guild member yelled but I ignored him. There was a more pressing issue at hand.
- The woman was a sobbing mess, burying her face into her hands, completely closed off and interrupting her now would be rude, I’d hate myself for doing so, but…
- “Your Father…” As soon as I said that, she looked up at me with a face covered in tears. I was briefly shocked because her face was an exact match for what I saw in my hallucination.
- “Was he a man in his sixties?” I asked, just as desperate as her for answers.
- She nodded, still crying.
- “And…” I swallowed nervously, “Are you his oldest daughter? The one in college?”
- She nodded once more, her breathing erratic.
- I became dizzy when she answered. It couldn’t be a coincidence at all there was no way it could be. All those times I saw glimpses of someone else’s memories it wasn’t made up but completely real.
- [WHEN CASPER LOOKS AT A CORPSE HE CAN KNOW THEIR BACKSTORY, FAMILY MEMBERS, THEIR RELATIONS, WHAT THEY'RE DOING, ETC]
- - CHAPTER 1
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- They were understandably relieved when he said that there was no signs of a calamity as a country destroying creature would spell the end of everyone. Even more so when you took into account that modern weapons weren't too effective against monsters.
- [MONSTERS ARE RESISTANT TO MODERN-DAY WEAPONS. WHETHER THAT MEANS MAGIC IS NEEDED TO HURT THEM OR IF GUNS AND STUFF JUST AREN'T STRONG ENOUGH ISN'T KNOWN YET]
- - CHAPTER 1
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- But, when I stared at the corpse, a flash of scenes ran through my mind and it felt as if they were burned into my retina. A short glimpse of memories played out like I was a spectator.
- “What was that?” I whispered as I continued staring. I almost wanted to jump in joy when I realized that my gift was still present though it had definitely been altered in some way after I gave up on the meds.
- “What’s the hold up, Clay?”
- “...Nothing!” I shouted back with a slight hint of joy that would surely seem misplaced in this environment.
- I cautiously reached out toward the body of man in his 20’s like me but he I didn’t see anything when I touched him. I focused on him with the desire to see his memories play out and it was like a switch flipped in my head. My gift activated and I could see his last moments.
- “If these monsters are pouring out it means the advance team is dead! We have to go back and inform everyone else!”
- I saw him fighting with dozens of humanoids made from mud while the other Gifted helped.
- “I don’t know how you Faithful Arrow guys do things but Sleeping Lion doesn’t leave its guildmates that easily. We’re holding on for another ten minutes, leave if you want!”
- The glimpse of the past stopped when I felt I understood enough and I was pulled back into reality. I was no longer forced to remain idle while the memories played out in front of me. And that realization of the control I seemed to have created a vivid sense of relief and joy.
- I’m glad my back was turned to everyone because I was smiling like a maniac. The sensation was much more than pausing a movie and returning to watch it later. The medicine I had been taking for most of my life turned out to basically be poison to my gift.
- I began working earnestly, loading up the carts while gaining insight into the situation.
- “You won’t get away with this! I swear!” An Eternal Sword guild member was carrying a member of the Red Owl Guild on his shoulder. His form was bloody and battered as he advanced slowly.
- The ones holding the center cavern were long since dead as well as the monsters they fought.
- “It’s too late to say that, now.” A Sleeping Lion guild member followed close behind the man at a leisurely pace. He toyed with the sword in his hand and watched them as if they prey.
- “Fuck you! You think just because your a big guild you can betray us?!” The man bearing the Eternal Sword insignia laughed, spitting out blood at the same time. “When they find out, do you think you can resist the pressure from all of the guilds?”
- “You really talk to much.” The Sleeping Lion guild member rushed toward his back and stabbed his sword into the injured man’s back, twisting it viciously before kicking him away. After watching the lifeless body hit the wall with a thump, he finished the woman wearing the Red Owl insignia and retreated back into a tunnel.
- “Ah!” I felt a little numbness throughout my body as the memory came to an end.
- [GOOD MEMORY KNOWLEDGE FROM DED BODIES (GRAMMAR PRETTY BAD HERE)]
- - CHAPTER 2
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
- With that in mind, I braced myself and chose Death Bringer. I say chose, but really I just kept repeating it inwardly.
- In response, the symbols on the page began to scramble around before a new set of words sat in front of me.
- You have chosen to study the path of a Death Bringer. The unique skills of the other paths have been sealed. Additional knowledge is still available within these pages, granted you can afford the cost.
- As someone with an affinity with death, you are now able to collect souls from corpses and remains and store them within your body. Focus your mind and you will be able to see the souls of the dead.
- Souls of stronger beings have a higher value than normal souls.
- The strength of souls degrades over time.
- Souls gathered: 0
- Path Of The Death Bringer
- Bone Restructure (Unique): In order to become a Death Bringer, you will need to be broken and remade.
- Price: 15
- Novice Rune Inscription: Any weapon can be strengthened by a Death Bringer’s knowledge of runes.
- Price: 10
- Cost of Advancement: 25
- Penelope’s Dance (Unique): Learn the fighting style created by the first Death Bringer, a woman who roamed the battlefield with soft steps, gracing her enemies with death.
- Price: 25
- Bone Mending: Your bones are not indestructible but with this ability, you will learn to lose the fear of them being broken.
- Price: 10
- Wilma’s War Scythe (Unique): Recreate a weapon wielded by an otherworldly being who served under a powerful Entity. There is no need for metal, this weapon can be forged from bones.
- Price: 50
- To further explore this path more souls are needed.
- Current Amount: 0/250
- To abandon this path and select a new one, more souls are needed.
- Current: Amount: 0/500
- There have been many to explore every aspect of death, to purchase the fruit of their labor, you must have the required amount of souls.
- Cursed Blood: Should an enemy spill your blood, let them understand the price that comes with it.
- Price: 25
- Blood Arrow: Use your own blood or the blood of another to fire a poisonous projectile.
- Price: 25
- Corpse Puppet (Basic): Raise an unintelligent undead servant.
- Price: 30
- Cost of Advancement: 50
- Skeleton Soldier(Basic): Raise a skeletal warrior to defend you.
- Price: 30
- Cost of Advancement: 50
- Demon Pact: Enhance your body’s physical strength, increase your intelligence, or gain a fortune, by making a pact with a demon. When a pact is made, the demon will receive a portion of all of your souls for the duration of the pact. (Warning, not many demons can be trusted, show caution when dealing with them.)
- Cost: 40
- To further explore the knowledge within this book, more souls are needed.
- Current Amount: 0/250
- I continued turning pages, but they came up blank which I took as proof I needed to add more souls.
- [ALL OF CASPER'S ABILITIES, INCLUDING HIS COMBAT SKILL, COME FROM HIS POWERSET]
- - CHAPTER 4
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- I closed the book and placed it on my coffee table before standing up and heading into my bedroom. My destination? The closet where I stored the...well, the skeletons I’ve collected over the years. I rummaged through for a moment, moving around a few well-placed boxes before a wall of plastic containers of varying sizes was revealed. Each one held the skeletons of dozens of animals from mice to cats and small dogs inside of them. I know it was weird to have but as I’ve said, I was obsessed with death.
- I did as the book instructed, and calmed my mind before small white flames filled the space in front of me.
- “Jackpot,” I mumbled and the souls began to float toward me. They sunk into my chest and I felt a slightly warm feeling cover my body. I closed my eyes and enjoyed it for a while until it suddenly stopped. I opened my eyes and could no longer see any of the tiny white flames near the remains so I returned to my living room and grabbed the book.
- Souls gathered: 50
- The number was a bit disappointing if I were to be honest. I expected a few dozen animals net me a higher gain but it was greedy to ask for more after I already “received” the book for free.
- [COUPLE DOZEN SKELETONS FROM RANDOM SHITTY ANIMALS SOUL ABSORBING]
- - CHAPTER 4
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- While the guilds or any Gifted with a large amount of money to spend could purchase synthesized combat suit, I wasn’t either one of them. The combat suit was a skin-tight suit that provided extra protection to the body. Its durable nature was due to it being processed from the tendons and muscle tissue of monsters. Unless you were ripped off, the suits could even protect against bullets.
- [MONSTER TENDON AND MUSCLE TISSUE CAN BLOCK BULLETS]
- - CHAPTER 7
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- To make runes permanent, I had to choose a property, inscribe it, and add a corresponding number of souls to keep it. Temporary runes, as the name would imply, only lasted for a few hours, but they would cost nothing except a bit of blood. Another thing to note was, I could inscribe a max amount of three permanent runes with my current level of knowledge. As for temporary runes, I could only add two at a time and certain properties were only available as permanent runes.
- As I sliced open my thumb, I chose began writing the only temporary runes I had knowledge of which were “Sharpness” and “Weighted Edge.”
- My writing was a bit sloppy but the blood emitted a dim light before instantly drying. I ran my fingers across the runes and they didn’t smear, letting me know my attempt was a success.
- I lifted the halberd once more and felt a noticeable increase in weight. I gave the sharpness rune the benefit of the doubt since I didn’t want to break anything and I wasn’t willing to test it on myself.
- Without much else to do, I spent the rest of my day practicing Penelope’s Dance.
- [RUNE SMITHING ON WEAPONS]
- - CHAPTER 7
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------
- “Watch out!” Jameson called out from in front of us as the lizards slipped through.
- “Got it!” Grant stepped forward and began wielding the mace around, stopping the first wave of lizards in their tracks, but he was facing too many to completely stop them and one came my way.
- “Casper, hold that one and I'll be right there!” Grant shouted without looking back.
- I took a deep breath and stood a few steps in front of Sophia who was so deep in concentration, she didn’t react to anything.
- A lizard with a spear and wooden shield was my opponent and the Lizard Chief’s loud hissing seemed to give him some sort of encouragement. He thrust his spear toward me, but I twisted my body, tucking the halberd under my arm while performing a one-handed swing.
- The blade pressed against his skin and left a line of blood on his chest. I missed his neck but I focused on my next attack, rotating the halberd and performing a downward strike. The lizard raised his shield up but the sharpness and weighted edge runes helped split the wooden shield in half and caused the blade to dig into his skull.
- As his soul was absorbed into my body, I felt a sense of faint euphoria. Like a warm blanket was wrapped around my body, something like that.
- [HALBERD SWINGS SPLITS A WOODEN SHIELD AND BURIED INTO A LIZARDMAN'S SKULL (THEIR BODIES CAN SORT OF DEFLECT BLADES), DODGES ITS ATTACKS WITH HIS MA]
- - CHAPTER 9
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Two lizard men rushed at me and I wondered if he was shocked to see my avoiding their attacks with soft steps. There was some difficulty in dealing with the unrestrained attacks, as a literal wall of fire surrounded us and increased the pressure, but I performed Penelope’s Dance like a dutiful student. The figurative wall I faced in my advancement was beginning to crumble as I used the halberd to slice a lizard’s arm off. I felt my steps becoming continuous and fluid and my attacks fell into the same rhythm soon after.
- I used the blunt end of the halberd to disrupt the spear thrust and rotated it in the same breath before swinging downward, cutting a lizard from its chest to waist in one vertical motion. Then, to finished off the one-armed lizard, I dug the spiked tip of the halberd into its skull and pulled it forward before freeing my weapon.
- I had to be careful of getting my halberd stuck in the dense muscle but the sharpness rune definitely helped me avoid it for the most part.
- I rushed forward while keeping the continuous rotation of the halberd going. The lizards were strong, but I learned they couldn’t predict the attack as I kept the halberd spinning. As I attacked another lizard, I transitioned into a one-handed horizontal swing, and nearly decapitated him, but as he died, my halberd became entangled in his muscle tissue covering his neck.
- [TAKING OUT SEVERAL LIZARDMEN WITH EASE WITH HIS MA]
- - CHAPTER 9
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
- I advanced quietly as it raised its tail, striking Jameson with it and knocking him away. As its tail lowered I rotated the halberd and chopped downward and cut its tail into two pieces. It let out a painful roar and swung the maul without looking. I tried to use the staff of the halberd to block the reflexive attack, and although a portion of the force was negated, my weapon snapped in half and I was knocked backward.
- My mind was clouded as my body flew through the air and crashed into a weakened hut, made from twigs and branches, that immediately collapsed onto me as if scorning my intrusion.
- “...Damn it.”
- ***
- “...You really took a beating there. My arm was fractured from that damned Lizard and you were hit in the chest with it. I really can’t believe you survived.”
- “Just barely,” I corrected him while emphasizing my injured state.
- I had to thank the Bone Restructure for my resilience. I didn’t want to think what state I would be in if I had ignored it and went for something else.
- [CUTS A GIANT LIZARD CHIEFTAN'S TAIL IN HALF AND TAKES A SWING THAT SNAPS HIS WEAPON AND SENDS HIM FLYING BACK, DESTROYING A HUT]
- - CHAPTER 9
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Switching my focus, my knowledge of runes expanded and found the symbols for, fire, ice, poison, and bleeding were present in my head. While the others were straightforward, bleeding seemed to be a curse of some sort which made me a little regretful for not picking Blood Arrow since it synthesized well.
- [MORE RUNE STUFFS]
- - CHAPTER 10
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------
- After a short trip, I stood in front of the ruin entrance with a pouch of bones tied to my belt. To create Wilma’s War Scythe I only needed bones to use as the material and I had more than a few to spare.
- [WAR SCYTHE IS CREATED WITH BONES - ANY ANIMAL WORKS]
- - CHAPTER 11
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
- A lump of clay approached me just as my weapon finished forming and I twisted the war scythe, transitioning into a diagonal slash and separated its body in half. I felt a warm sensation creep through my body and a burst energy that told me Soul Siphon was in use.
- I pushed off with increased speed and rushed toward the gathering enemies. I lowered my war scythe before twisting the blade and lifting it upward, splitting another clay soldier into two pieces.
- I had no time to rest as three more clay soldiers were advancing toward me. I used my feet to pivot while performing a wide swing, slicing through all three of my enemies. Their souls poured into me and my pace grew even faster, I lunged forward into the growing crowd of enemies and spun the war scythe fiercely.
- The difficulty of a Class-1 Ruin wasn’t anything to worry about for me and it almost tricked me into believing I was far stronger than I really was. I stopped when the number of clay soldiers dwindled by a huge amount and motionlessly watched as they shuffled toward me.
- [TAKES OUT MULTIPLE CLAY SOLDIERS - SOUL SIPHON WORKS ON CLAY PEOPLE AS WELL]
- - CHAPTER 11
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
- “I think I’ll save them for now.” I closed the book and let it reform into a ring before putting it back on my hand. When I thought to put away the war scythe, it crumbled into bone fragments that I collected into my pouch.
- [WAR SCYTHE BONES ARE REUSABLE]
- - CHAPTER 11
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
- The creature approached with a ferocious grin on its face and just as it was about to take further action a stop sign was swung toward it. Strangely enough, the stop sign seemed to hold an unexpected amount of power as it sliced a few centimeters into the creatures neck.
- Once again, the nervous gazes of the pedestrians were forced to a different point. The end of the stop sign was held by a young man in a grey sweatsuit. His eyes were narrowed into a fierce glare while his mouth curled into a faint, confident, grin.
- …
- I couldn’t help but smile after sneak attacking the Imp who seemed surprised at the stop sign lodged in his neck. I didn’t have time to show off so I hurriedly pulled the stop sign back and spun it before striking the Imp with the end of the pole which still had a piece of concrete attached to it.
- My current weapon was pulled out of the ground and hastily covered in two temporary runes, Sharpness and Weighted Edge. Although I could use other runes, a stop sign wasn’t a real weapon to begin with and I didn’t plan on using it for long. I twisted the sign once more and slammed it into the Imp to make sure it was dead.
- [RIPS A STOP SIGN OUT OF THE GROUND WITH EASE AND USES IT AS A BLUDGEONING WEAPON - CAN ATTACH RUNES TO IT]
- - CHAPTER 12
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------
- “Thank you for your sacrifice,” I mumbled as I touched the corpse.
- Its skin began to boil, before falling off in the form of lumps of congealed fat, hair, skin, muscle, and blood, revealing a skeleton that rose to its feet with a soft clattering sound.
- “Take this.” I handed it the stop sign which it accepted without raising a fuss.
- After it received my present, I grabbed ahold of one its arms and pulled it from the skeletal body. I swung it downward and it abruptly elongated, taking the form of Wilma’s War Scythe. I paid no mind to the spectators and dipped my fingers into the lump of blood and flesh at my feet and began hastily writing my temporary runes, Bleeding and Sharpness. The runic letters began to glow for a few seconds before the blood dried.
- [RAISES THE DEAD, USES HIS SKELETON SERVANTS ARM BONES TO MAKE HIS WAR SCYTHE]
- - CHAPTER 12
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
- It left a perfect opening for me as I rushed forward, jumping from car roof to car roof before leaping off and making a wide-swing with my war scythe, beheading an Imp with surprising ease. As soon as my feet hit the ground, I used my momentum to turn my body and stabbed the tip of the war scythe into the chest of another Imp that cried out as copious amounts of blood began to pour from out from the small wound. I didn’t strike an artery or vein, it’s just the Bleeding Rune caused a good amount of damage with little effort.
- However, my effort wasn’t enough to kill it and it’s companions were already pouncing on me. Or rather, they were attempting to pounce on me. I simply sidestepped, pivoted, or twisted my body away, while sending a counterattack or two.
- I struck an Imp with the flat side of the war scythe blade before turning the sharp edge to it and lopping its arm off in the process. I rotated the war scythe and stabbed the end of the staff into its eye socket before pulling it back.
- With another one dead, I felt a surge of energy and began to move even faster. My battle wasn’t perfect and I received a few scratches and cuts but was able to ignore them. Though, the same didn’t apply to my opponents as one Imp bit into my arm and immediately began to regret it. It let out a hoarse cry as my blood began to sear its skin. I didn’t take time to gloat and instead split its head open with the blade of the war scythe before moving onto the last few targets who were attempting to escape.
- I breathed heavily as the fighting came to a stop and the effects of Soul Siphon began to wear off. The euphoric sensation that came from the fight had gone along with the burst of strength and speed and my wounds began to ache.
- [WRECKING A BUNCH OF IMPS - BLEED RUNE DOING DAMAGE, CASPER HAVING ACIDIC BLOOD, SOUL SIPHON DOING WORK, MUCH SKILL]
- - CHAPTER 12
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
- “I’m sorry, but I have to go, really.” I made a wry smile as I slipped through the crowd.
- I became doubly thankful for Penelope’s Dance as it helped me slip through them with ease. Just as I emerged from the crowd, I felt a spine-tingling sensation and turned my gaze to a different direction. It was there where I saw a slight image of what may have been a person.
- [SKILL HELPING HIM GLIDE THROUGH A PACKED GROUP OF PEOPLE]
- - CHAPTER 13
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
- I ignored the loud cries as they flew off and approached the metal doors that were locked with a chain. I grabbed it and began to violently pull at it before it snapped and the door creaked open and a gust of wind blew out.
- [BREAKS CHAINS WITH EASE]
- - CHAPTER 14
- ----------------------------------------------------------------
- It took me some time, but I had finally decided on my permanent runes: Sharpness, Weighted Edge, and Bleeding.
- They were the most useful and well-rounded as far as I could see. The benefits of sharpness and weighted edge were clear to see. Bleeding was also had the least drawbacks where fire, poison, and ice were too dependent on the nature of the creature attacking me. Since certain monsters were unaffected by elements they controlled, having the incorrect ones would leave me at a disadvantage. Bleeding was far better due to the fact that the most monsters I faced so far were living and bled.
- I had to use ten souls for each of them which left me at 620 souls. It wasn’t a very steep cost, so I didn’t mind.
- Two things I did discover was the fact that the permanent runes would appear on Wilma's War Scythe whenever I summoned it. They also could be removed for the same amount of souls used to engrave them.
- [ENGRAVINGS ARE REMOVABLE, APPEAR WHENEVER THE SCYTHE IS SUMMONED]
- - CHAPTER 17
- -------------------------------------------------------------------
- I heard a high-pitched bark as I impaled it on the tip of my war scythe, but I also suffered as I couldn’t stick the landing. I tumbled forward and released the war scythe while feeling an aching pain in my hand.
- I rolled a little and-
- “My wrist!”
- I was in disbelief as I looked at my dislocated wrist that hung limply before changing my subject of attention to the dog pinned to the ground by my war scythe. My bones were sturdy enough to withstand large impacts, but I guess I still ran the risk of dislocation. My wrist contorted strangely as it snapped back into place while transmitting the sensation of sharp pain through me. I knew that the sudden relocation of my wrist was due to my Bone Mending, which made me feel incredibly grateful. I could continue as if nothing happened, but I would still practice my wall jumping.
- [BONE MENDING HEALING A DISLOCATED WRIST IN SECONDS]
- - CHAPTER 18
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
- It soon faded and I was left gasping for air while wiping sweat from my face. A surge of new knowledge filled my head, most likely imparted by the artifact. First, I formed the intention and-
- A crow burst out from my chest along with the sensation of my senses being changed. One of my eyes remained the same, while the other showed an extremely wide-view, nearly 360 degrees of visible range. With another thought, both of my eyes showed whatever the crow could see. I had a hard time adjusting to the sudden shift and even felt a little motion sick so I recalled the crow.
- “Amazing!” I exclaimed as the crow was absorbed into my chest.
- Before getting too excited, I wanted to know what the other function of the artifact was, so I closed my eyes and-
- I felt a sense of weightlessness as a burst of black feathers filled the air. My field of view had expanded as I peered through what felt like twenty plus pairs of eyes. My other senses were also thrown into disarray as my mind was filled with confusion. I peered through a dozen pairs of eyes and saw crows through each. Before I could do anything else, I crashed into a cave wall and all the crows suddenly merged together.
- “Ouch.” I laughed as the familiar sensation of my body came back.
- [CAN SUMMON ONE CROW FOR SCOUTING PURPOSES AND TURN HIMSELF INTO A MURDER OF CROWS AT WILL]
- - CHAPTER 18
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------
- I sat atop my bed and breathed steadily. One of my eyes was closed while the other was likely staring ahead with an unblinking and unparalleled focus. I couldn’t be sure of it because I was currently peering through the eyes of a crow.
- Once I entered a state of concentration, the mental fatigue I received when using the crow was reduced. As of now, I estimated that a radius of 100 meters was my current limit. I had no doubts that training would expand that limit, but if I tried to push past it at my present level, my eye would be filled with stinging pain.
- There was an incredible sense of freedom that came with looking through the eyes of a bird in mid-flight. My aerial perspective revealed everything to me from a way I wouldn't have seen before. I wanted to use the ability longer, but I felt my mind getting tired so I directed the crow back to me. It entered through the window and flew into my chest, leaving a symbol of the crow’s silhouette on my skin as it did.
- [CROW SUMMON CURRENT RANGE 100 METRE]
- - CHAPTER 19
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------
- First, if I forcefully severed the connection between myself and the crow, I’d immediately feel a splitting pain in my head. Actually, anything like an impact, crash, or attack on the crow would have the same effects. It was the result of my mind not having time to adjust to the change. I wouldn’t receive any backlash if I just absorbed the crow into me normally.
- Secondly, when I shifted into a flock, any impact or crash would instantly undo the transformation. Now, when I was in the form of a flock there was no radius, but my senses would overload after more than a minute, forcing me out of the transformation. I found that out the hard way when I went plummeting into an alley and landed in a pile of trash.
- Other than practicing Penelope’s Dance, I constantly used the crow transformation so I could build experience with it and that’s exactly what happened. With a single thought, I could flip a mental switch and briefly change into a flock of crows.
- I was excited to test it in battle as it added another layer of mobility. Since my possessions would be brought along with me, I was eager to combine the crow transformation with an attack with the war scythe.
- The notion of being surrounded, shifting into a flock of crows to break my encirclement, and coming back around for a counter-attack was too enticing to ignore. It added an entirely different layer of complexity to my style of combat. Hit and run tactics might just be what I need to overcome the gap created by a strong opponent. Though, the fact of the matter was, I could only manage to use Crow-Shift, the name I had given it, three times without a break in between.
- I would have to be careful in my use of the ability if I chose to use it.
- [CROW SHIFT HAPPENS WITH A THOUGHT, IS USABLE IN COMBAT]
- - CHAPTER 19
- -----------------------------------------------------------------
- Now that I thought about it, I had two really great abilities. Bone Mending could heal fractures and breaks within a few days while Flesh Mending could stop bleeding within a few seconds and heal cuts and lacerations within hours. I could save money on potions, pills, and whatever else was used to heal.
- [PRETTY LOW-TIER HEALING FACTOR]
- - CHAPTER 20
- -----------------------------------------------------------------
- Once I made sure there was no one around me, a cloud of feathers burst into the air and I took flight as a flock. Although I felt as if I was one entity, my vision was that of twelve and there was nothing that could escape my notice. 360 degrees of vision that, when combined with 24 different eyes, became far too much for my mind to process.
- To my surprise, once I focused on just a few eyes, the overpowering visual range of my eyes was drastically reduced.
- ‘You learn something new every day!’ I thought to myself as I flew forward.
- Before exhaustion could set in, I dove toward a rooftop and turned back into a human without losing my speed. I leaped across a gap and onto another roof before and repeated a few times before I changed back and glided through the air.
- [CROW FORM HAS PERFECT 360 DEGREE VISION, PARKOURING ACROSS ROOFTOPS]
- - CHAPTER 20
- -------------------------------------------------------------
- After a few seconds of silence, a black crow flew out of my chest while leaving black feathers behind.
- I sent my second pair of eyes into the sky and began surveying the area around us. I immediately found three groups of ogres in three different directions. North, East, and West are where our enemies were.
- The northern group was the largest, with those Impish creatures skittering around the group of Ogres like vultures. In the center of the group, there was an Ogre wearing bones as armor which made me assume it was the Ogre Brute.
- The eastern group consisted of four Ogres that were currently engaged in other activities. They seemed to be enjoying themselves as they tossed stones at a tree.
- To western group was a trio of Ogres that were lazily sitting around a pond. Occasionally, they would splash around in hopes of finding a quick snack maybe?
- I recalled the crow familiar into my chest and opened my eye before blinking as my senses quickly readjusted.
- “There are three groups. The Brute’s to the north, a group of four to the east, and a group of three to the west.” I quickly listed out what I discovered.
- [SCOUTING OUT OGRES IN A FOREST]
- - CHAPTER 21
- -------------------------------------------------------------
- A murder of crows suddenly appeared in the air, disturbing three monstrous creatures of inhuman origin.
- “Hoo?” One of the Ogres reacted, not as if its life was threatened, but as if a source food appeared.
- “Bir-dee!” The Ogres stood up and clambered toward the descending flock of dark birds.
- They were in no rush as that sauntered forth and they began to move apart from each other. The closest Ogre reached out toward the flock in hopes of grabbing a snack, but the crows suddenly morphed together and a human shape appeared with an ivory weapon in hand.
- “Ooh?” The Ogre managed to mutter before his throat was slit open and a torrent of blood came gushing out. It collapsed weakly while grasping at its throat that poured with blood.
- “One down!” I shouted before I touched the ground and rolled.
- [INSTANT STAB OUT OF CROW FORM]
- - CHAPTER 22
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
- I spun my war scythe around before planting it in the loose soil and leaning my weight onto it.
- “You’re a weird one, Casper.” Emma inspected my face closely.
- “Talented too! I’m surprised you’ve only recently become a Gifted. There are people who spend years training to fight like that. Hell, even I couldn’t think of doing what you just did.” Grant added before grunting as he stabbed a large syringe into the eye of an Ogre.
- [HAS MORE SKILL THAN PEOPLE WHO HAVE TRAINED FOR YEARS]
- - CHAPTER 22
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
- I flew until my transformation gave out and then fell into a sprint while keeping the momentum from the flight. As I closed on my first enemy, I raised my hand and fired off a Blood Arrow. I could feel something emerge from my palm before it shot out like a bullet, hitting the unknown enemy. It let out a screech as it fell out, Blood Arrow was already a poisonous projectile, but the effects of Cursed Blood were triggered with a single thought.
- Its friends, whatever they were, slowed down while others pressed ahead.
- [BLOOD ARROW MIX OF POISON AND ACID CUS OF CURSED BLOOD]
- - CHAPTER 24
- -----------------------------------------------------------------
- As three more insect-like humanoids approached, I twisted the branch and stomped down as hard as I could. As my first enemy died, I converted it into a skeleton soldier with a single thought before rolling out of the way as a pair of long legs were swung toward me.
- [CAN REANIMATE WITH A THOUGHT]
- - CHAPTER 24
- ----------------------------------------------------------------
- I felt the weight on the front of my war scythe and knew I had struck one. I exerted all of my strength and lifted it into the air before flinging it to one of its companions. I could see them slam into each other so I focused on the next enemy.
- [YEETS A HUMAN-SPIDER HYBRID]
- - CHAPTER 24
- ----------------------------------------------------------------
- Without their “weapons” they became easier targets. I swung the war scythe with one hand, opening the abdomen of one while my other hand fired off a Blood Arrow. Accuracy didn’t matter at such a close range and once the curse activated, the creature’s began clawing at its melting face.
- [BLOOD ARROW INSTANTLY MELTS THE FACE OF THE THING IT HITS]
- - CHAPTER 24
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
- I could feel warm liquid slowly pouring out of my eyes and I knew it wasn't tears trailing down my cheeks. I had pushed past the limits of my new ability and suffered as a result. For a moment, I could barely see two feet in front of me, but Flesh Mending quickly repaired whatever was wrong. Maybe I damaged optic nerves to a dangerous extent?
- [HEALS OPTIC NERVE INJURY IN SECONDS]
- - CHAPTER 35
- -------------------------------------------------------------
- I activated Spirit Sight and felt a numbing sensation in my eyes followed by a shift in the scenery. Everything became covered in a layer of dark grey, but white outlines of unknown beings could be seen moving far off in the distance.
- “That’s probably not good.”
- [CAN USE SPIRIT SIGHT TO SEE THE ENERGY OF LIVING THINGS]
- - CHAPTER 25
- ---------------------------------------------------------------
- “I see something… I think.” Sophia strained her eyes to peer through the deep red fog that seemed to permeate every corner of this place.
- “I’ll check.” I used my Spirit Sight and the outlines of eight creatures that weren’t husks but definitely weren’t big enough to be classified as Dark Arachnids.
- “There’s something,” I confirmed Sophia suspicion, but she and Jameson seemed to focus on the change of my eyes.
- “Not now.” I reminded them to focus on the developing situation than another part of my “gift.”
- “You’re right… What did you see?”
- “Spiderlings I think. They weren’t Husks, that’s for sure.”
- The Corpse Servants served their purpose as bait and the Spiderlings emerged. A gaunt, sunken torso sat atop spider parts. They were much larger than humans, that’s for sure.
- [SPIRIT SIGHT DETECTING ENERGY SIGNATURES]
- - CHAPTER 26
- ---------------------------------------------------------------
- Some of them came slowly crawling out of the forest while others descended from the treetops. They surrounded my Corpse Servants and began to weave their webs, but before they could entomb their potential prey the corpses rushed forward. They knew their purpose and each sought a different spider. As soon as the corpses latched onto their targets, I made them explode with one thought. The stench of blood filled the air as bone fragment flew out like shrapnel, cutting into the Spiderlings and causing them to hiss in pain.
- [CASPER'S NECROMANCY ZOMBIES ARE WALKING BOMBS]
- - CHAPTER 26
- ----------------------------------------------------------------
- When I came a halt a Spiderling was standing over me and stabbed one of its legs downward, piercing my shoulder through the synthesized combat suit.
- [EVEN SPIDERLING'S STABBERS HAVE MORE PENETRATION THAN BULLETS]
- - CHAPTER 26
- --------------------------------------------------------------------
- When I came a halt a Spiderling was standing over me and stabbed one of its legs downward, piercing my shoulder through the synthesized combat suit.
- “Casper!” Jameson’s voice managed to reach my ears.
- “Aah!” I let out a cry before gritting my teeth and thrusting my war scythe upward with my free hand. I hit a hardened portion of its body and barely pierced through so I repeated the stabbing motion until blood began spilling onto me. The Spiderling recoiled from the pain and I quickly shifted into a flock of crows and headed toward its backside where I reformed. I pushed my war scythe through its abdomen with all my weight and held on as it thrashed around.
- The War Scythe was dug deep into its body so I planted my feet and pulled it toward. It abdomen slowly tore open revealing its insides to me.
- Without thinking much of it, I dug my hand into its organs and felt a burst of vitality enter my body as Sanguine Palm began to draw in its blood. The ache from my wound had lessened but I couldn’t continue to draw blood as more Spiderlings approached. I jumped backward and shifted back into the form of the flock but more silk strings flew toward me, hitting one of the crows and stopping my transformation short.
- [HEALING FACTOR THROUGH ABSORBING THE BLOOD OF OTHERS]
- - CHAPTER 26
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
- As I rolled to the side, the two Spiderlings I killed rose up and headed toward one of their ex-comrades, before exploding into a blood and organs. A blood arrow emerged from my palm and struck one of the last two Spiders on its human-like chest causing it to let out a shriek. While it writhed around in pain, I rushed toward its friend, performing a series of swings.
- Soul Siphon gave me a huge increase in energy and I was able to spin the war scythe so fast it became a blur in my eyes, but that didn't mean I couldn't control it. I meticulously cut away at the Spiderling until it lost all mobility and with its legs gone, it was nearly eye to eye with me. I beheaded the vaguely human head sitting on its shoulders and kicked off from its body before finishing the last Spiderling off with three power swings.
- [AS SOON AS HE KILLS SOMETHING IT CAN RISE UP AS A BOMB ZOMBIE WITH A THOUGHT; BLUR SPEED SWINGING]
- - CHAPTER 26
- --------------------------------------------------------------------
- By the end of the fight, I was filled with gashes and lacerations. My lungs burned as I drew in air and the war scythe felt like it weighed a ton. My brain felt like it had been filled with nails and my body became stiff.
- “...Shit.” I coughed out a bit of blood before dropping my war scythe and plunging both of my palms into the wounds of the Spiderling.
- Sanguine Palm served as a cure-all for me, relieving the pain and speeding up both my Flesh Mending and Bone Mending. The bleeding of my wounds stopped, but the mental fatigue I built up wasn’t going anywhere.
- “Casper!” Jameson rushed over to me with Sophia in tow.
- “Give me a sec,” I mumbled with closed eyes.
- I could feel the blood draining out of the Spiderlings corpse and crawled over to the next one before I pulled out every pinch of vitality that I could gather from it.
- “Do... Do you need medicine?” Sophia asked, ready to offer her own supply of pills and salves to me.
- “No, I’ll be fine.” When I opened my eyes, the Spiderling had grown noticeably more withered and dried up.
- I examined my body, wiping the blood off, and found my wounds had sealed themselves shut and begun the process of healing completely.
- “Almost as good as new,” I said aloud in a bid to convince myself that statement was true.
- After the soreness was gone, a whole new type of hurt emerged from my ruined combat suit. I saved up a lot to buy it and looking at it now made me want to shed a tear.
- [SANGUINE PALM HEALING]
- - CHAPTER 26
- ---------------------------------------------------------------
- “He's doing something!” One man shouted, glancing at the security console.
- The men watched as the intruder in black lowered his posture and took up a strange position. Pulling one of his arms back while the other remained outstretched as if he held something within it.
- “Is he- Is he doing yoga?” One man uttered a taunt before a dim blue light shot pierced through his torso and knocked him onto his back. He let out a terrible scream as his skin quickly withered up as if someone drained all the water from his body.
- Following up, Casper rushed up the stairs like a blur, stabbing his scarlet blades into the man who stood closest to the entrance.
- [CASPER FIRING HIS SOUL BOW (IT'S INVISIBLE TO OTHER PEOPLE) AND MOVING AT BLUR SPEED]
- - CHAPTER 34
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
- Regaining my senses, I checked the stairs, my eyes flickering as I activated my spirit vision. I could see the men waiting for me in ambush since there was only one way out of this basement.
- [SPOTS PEOPLE WITH SPIRIT SENSING]
- - CHAPTER 34
- -----------------------------------------------------------------
- Yeah, nothing that’s built on an unstable foundation will last for long. With that in mind, I turned the book back into its ring form and stretched out on my bed. I was a bit curious so I decided to use Spirit Sight on a whim.
- My vision immediately shifted into a backdrop of cloudy grey, but everything that was living held a white outline.
- “Huh?!” I sat up as I stared in the direction of my next door neighbors, clearly making them out through the wall.
- I wasn’t performing any voyeuristic acts, nope- well, technically...- Anyway, that’s not important. It’s not like I could see any distinguishable features, just silhouettes and shapes. For some reason, my dear old neighbors seemed to be glowing brighter than anyone else in my building. Whether it was life force or the strength of their souls, they stood out noticeably more.
- “Wait a...- Hold on!” Something in my own apartment caught my own attention. My vision returned to normal as I climbed to my feet and ran toward my fridge.
- I flung open the door and grabbed the fruit basket. It was the item that stood out when I used my Spirit Sight and I didn’t need to guess why.
- I dumped all of the fruit onto the counter and inspected the basket closely. At a glance, it seemed to be a plain wicker fruit basket. Looking closer, the way it was woven did appear to be deliberately intricate. I flipped it to examine the underside and was filled with shock. A very small set of runes were carved into parts of the basket. They were less advanced than the runes I was familiar with, making them far harder to decipher.
- [SPIRIT SIGHT MAKES PEOPLE WITH HIGH ENERGY NOTICEABLY BRIGHTER THAN NORMAL PEOPLE AND CAN DETECT MAGICAL OBJECTS AND ITEMS]
- - CHAPTER 30
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
- CHAPTERS 27-30 FIGHTING A BUNCH OF SPIDERLINGS, FIGHTING THROUGH SERIOUS INJURIES, DON'T THINK THERE'S MUCH ELSE IN THOSE CHAPTERS.
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- After some pleasantries, he climbed into a dark sedan before being greeted by his driver.
- “Did you enjoy your evening, Sir?” The driver asked in a routine manner.
- “I did, very much so,” Henry replied with a blissful smile.
- “And will you be returning home this evening?”
- “I will, yes–” Henry’s words were cut short as a staggering pain filled his chest. An intangible blue arrow emerged from his chest before flying forward and disappearing.
- The veins in Henry’s neck bulged as his organ seemed to be frozen. While he roared in agony, his confused driver attempted to pull over.
- “NO! Keep driving!” Henry shouted, clutching at his chest.
- Not even a minute later, another arrow zipped through the car and pierced Henry once more.
- “Sir, It’s mandatory that we pull over and call for medical attention-” The driver slowed to a crawl but Henry didn’t allow him to stop.
- The injured man forced his hands around the driver's neck in a frenzy. Half of him thought the driver was in on the assassination attempt and the other half was desperate to survive, so he threw all reason out of the window.
- Henry pushed the man’s lifeless body aside and climbed into the driver’s seat. He thought about gunning it, when a figure dressed in black appeared on the road.
- Hardly able to think because of the unending pain, Henry stepped on the accelerator but the mysterious figure in the street burst into a group of crows which quickly dispersed.
- The sedan swiveled out of control and collided with a street pole before coming to a complete stop. Casper landed a few meters away from the scene of the crash and summoned both scarlet blades before moving forward.
- [CASPER SPECTRAL BOW ASSASSINATION - GIFTED'S ARE MORE RESISTANT TO THE BOW ATTACKS THAN NORMAL ENEMIES]
- - CHAPTER 38
- --------------------------------------------------------------
- Breathless Walk: Move as the spirits of the dead do, silent and unseen. Pass through any solid object that is not affected by magic or living. While in this state, you can not harm others. Beings with strengthened perception or eyesight may discover you if you are not careful. If discovered by the living, you will be forcefully removed from this state. In addition, the moment you breathe is when this technique will end.
- [NEW POTENTIAL ABILITIES, INCLUDING GHOST FORM MOVEMENT]
- - CHAPTER 39
- ------------------------------------------------------------
- I stopped just short of a smaller tunnel that would likely lead to the imp nest and began to manipulate the sanguina.
- First up, armor. The problem with purchasing armor was that it was expensive and had costly upkeep and unless I shelled out millions of dollars, I doubt I would find something that could survive an encounter class-4 ruin.
- I needed to find out if I could solve this by manipulating my blood. Since I could create scarlet blades formed from crystallized blood, then it stood to reason I could pull off something similar while using the art of sanguina.
- Picturing the black combat suit Alexandra gave me, I tried to replicate as droplets dark red blood emerged from my pores. I felt an incredible strain as my blood began to move under my command.
- The closest thing I could compare it to would probably be lifting weights with just my brain. Even though I wasn’t making any physical effort, a strange pressure seemed to weigh down on me.
- I think maybe ten minutes passed before I had created something of note. Underneath my clothes, a layer of blood-covered my skin, extending all the way up to the top of my head. The major flaw was a series of exposed areas that were a failure on my part. Slips of concentration left some areas of my body exposed.
- Another problem was the rigid feel of the blood as well as my joints being more exposed since I could seem to create a flexible enough layer that would allow movement.
- Still, I was happy with my first attempt since it proved that I could protect myself without shelling out thousands of dollars toward armor. If I improved the blood armor, there was no doubt it would create a better defense.
- [CAN FORM BLOOD ARMOUR - FIRST TIME USING IT SO IT'S NOT THE BEST]
- - CHAPTER 41
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
- I headed deeper into the cavern where the high-pitched noises of the imps were the loudest. It didn’t take me long to come across the skittering creature with bright orange fur which jumped in surprise after seeing me.
- It let out a cry of alarm which echoed through the caves, no doubt bringing more of them toward the area.
- I raised my palms and released a torrent of bloody darts which completely ripped the imp apart.
- “So that works.” My first attack was crude and a bit wasteful.
- In theory, I could produce maybe five to ten times the blood of a normal person in order to fuel the Art of Sanguina, but it required me to shift my attention and was extremely draining after a while.
- I noted that I would need to explore options to extend my endurance while using the arts before my eyes fell on a group of imps that attempted to encircle me.
- [BLOOD DARTS, CURRENTLY CAN USE 10 TIMES THE AMOUNT OF BLOOD IN A NORMAL HUMAN]
- - CHAPTER 41
- ----------------------------------------------------------------
- I smiled contentedly as I used my sanguina. The difference became clear straight away.
- Not only did the drawing the blood out feel lighter, but I felt as if my level of control advance. I formed a clump of blood into a sphere which floated above my palm and then manipulated it into other shapes.
- I was hardly close to ‘unlocking the secrets of my lifeblood,’ but the fact that I could achieve basic manipulation meant the beginning stages were now easier. As a testament to that, I directed the blood to its armor form and it transitioned smoothly. The pressure and strain I felt before were gone and it didn’t feel as stiff as it covered my body.
- In fact, the blood stuck to my skin so tightly that it almost felt as if wasn’t there. In addition, I managed to make it dense enough that it didn’t stain my clothes.
- I checked the mirror and felt strange seeing how the blood-covered my face. It sort of looked like I painted my face red since it followed the shape of my facial features. I made some minor alterations and ended up with a smoother mask-like covering rather than a 1 to 1 recreation of my actual face.
- Satisfied, I absorbed the blood back into my body. My first significant step into the art of sanguina made me feel giddy, so I chose to celebrate with a drink.
- [BLOOD ARMOUR IS NOW SOLID AND EASY TO MOVE IN WITH NO GAPS]
- - CHAPTER 42
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Bind: Bring forth any incorporeal foes and chain them to the material world for a period of time, making them vulnerable to physical attacks. If used against living creatures, the effectiveness is halved. The strength of this ability is connected to your understanding of death.
- [CAN MAKE INTANGIBLE PEOPLE TANGIBLE]
- - CHAPTER 43
- --------------------------------------------------------------------
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