‘Death Walker?’ He’d almost forgotten about the title the System had given him. He assumed it was related to nearly dying. Did it give him any special abilities, or buffs? So far, he hadn't noticed anything.Not that Shinra had time to think about a meaningless title, as a kick whistled towards his head. He didn’t dodge so much as fall backwards. The wind from its passage pressed against his face with a force he could feel. ‘That would have killed me. I’m a Zombie, I don’t have physical wards.’‘If the System is here, I can use my skills!’ The thought energised him, and he almost started to Fade out of sight, but stopped. Wintersbane was right there. Somehow Wintersbane tolerated him as a suspected murderer, but a Zombie wi
‘Critical Strike level 2…. Wasn’t the skill called Targeted Strike before?’ Shinra wondered. He would need to query the System later, there were a lot of new things he’d noticed since the System returned to him today.Hard to believe he’d almost died a few hours ago, and now he was about to die again.‘By a damned doll!’[Upgrade to Critical Strike 2 commencing. Rapid integration unlocked. Prepare, Death Walker.]Shinra wasn’t sure what ‘prepare’ meant. Skills and upgrades all seemed to affect him differently, but they always hurt. Fade 2 had knocked him unconscious. ‘At least if I pass out, Wintersbane might stop the fight without me …’ was as far as
Shinra was alone in his small room. He was stuffed from the meal he’d had with WIntersbane, but was glad to be home. Wintersbane and the Sheriff's office had pulled some strings to get him into the Officer’s Barracks, which was a fancy term for ‘crumbling, old, dormitory’. The room was much smaller than his hovel in the Zombie village, but it had everything he needed: a bed, small bookcase, night table, and a writing desk. The furniture was all old and used, but he didn’t mind. He even had a window! Though it looked out to the bricks of the next building, 4 stories up.‘I went from murder suspect to Deputy Sheriff pretty fast. I’m not in jail, but I’m still surrounded by law enforcement… and I sleep in a tiny room.’ He smiled. The irony wasn’t lost on him, but he also viewed it as an opportunity. ‘I can learn about the worst mages in the city doing this job, and the ones who get away with their crimes.’Not to mention, he might even learn the layouts of their homes, and their
“RRRargh”, the roar echoed across the cobblestoned chamber, shaking the crowd where they watched from the grandstands.The Demi-Orc rushed forward swinging a club larger than a man towards the knight in gleaming armour in the centre of the ring.Demi-Orcs sometimes appear in the wild, as they are able to cross breed with many magical creatures. This one was likely created in a magic lab though, as its shiny chitinous armour adorned with wicked barbs seemed too perfect for the gladiator hall in Tardel City. Even its head and face were mostly covered in the oily black shell, leaving only the mottled grey skin around the mouth exposed, hinting at its Orc heritage.The knight facing the armoured monster was a third its size, but stood calmly in armour that was so pretty it seemed ceremonial, a th
The streets of Tardel in the late evening gloom were filled with the types of mages you didn't notice during the daylight hours. Men and women in tattered robes, carrying all their belongings wrapped up in sacks, singing bawdy songs at the top of their lungs, and begging for change or asking for food. It was a reminder that even with overwhelming gifts, humans could all fall. Except for their robes and magical auras, they would be mistaken for the most wretched of Zombies.Tardel was a harsh Empire, and the Capital city was harsher yet, Shinra knew that it was a dangerous time to be out on the streets without magic. The veneer of civilization that mages pretended to have could drop away quickly in the anonymity of the darkened streets. As a Deputy 1st Class, Shinra shouldn’t be worried as he navigated the streets, but he’d left his badge, and any other identifying items, behin
Life in the Capital is not what Loren expected, by a long shot. In her country town, over a two week caravan trip away, she was considered a phenomenal talent. At the age of 6 she had consumed every book in the town’s modest library, and had started knocking on doors to ask if she could read from the townspeople’s personal collections!She started school the same year in a class with kids from 6 to 13, and it was clear that she knew more than all of them. Even the teacher knew less about magic than Loren, though she still had work to do on her penmanship and maths skills.By 10, she had re-arcaned the complicated weather, water, and growth weaves that governed the growing season of her town’s award winning grapes. The Emperor himself had a standing order for their wine.Her
“Woah!” was all the young man said. That is how it started for her. Loren was working on her personal vineyard, trying to create micro environments for each row of grapes. This would allow her to release several versions of her famous ice wine in the same year, instead of a 3 or 4 year cycle. The magic was more complex than she thought at first, and she had been working away at the problem for weeks now.“If only these weaves didn’t intersect here….” she mumbled, still oblivious to the man who was now beside her. He stared up in rapt attention, attuned enough to see the outlines of the spells she was constructing.“I need to check my notes,” she said, making a twisting motion with her one hand that corresponded to a complex series of knotting and tying off of the weaves she had bee
Shinra felt the weaves surrounding him at exactly the same time the voice came from the darkness.He was still in the dark room, surrounded by books scattered in every direction, as if a library had been hit by an earthquake.'Damn it, I was sure this window had no guards on it, how did they hear me?' He stopped moving. 'How did they see me? I must be invisible to normal eyes, and yet they restrained me in the dark…' He knew that he would have to talk his way out of this. At least, out of the restraints, so he could kill them and get on with his assassination.'No witnesses.' The restraining weaves were remarkable in a way, they didn't hurt at all, but he couldn't move his arms or legs at all.'Did I walk into a Sheriff's apartment? This is better than the weaves I've seen Wintersbane use on suspects!'"This is just a misunderstanding. I mean you no harm," Shinra said, adopting a calm voice in a deeper tone than he usually spoke in. He figured he should disguise his voice. 'Da