‘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
In the middle of a fight is when Shinra felt most certain. He wasn’t thinking so much as assessing and deciding in real time. It was happening faster than thought, and it was addictive.He looked at the wand, death in a slim package, bearing down on him.‘I just need to be somewhere else,’ he decided. His vision highlighted vectors for diving, rolling, and jumping to avoid an attack originating at the sword tip and covering an area of 2 metres around it. He couldn’t just avoid the attack though, he had to finish this one off before the other 4 combatants got their shit together.He jumped, hard, into a forward twisting flip, easily clearing the guard. Even in Daemon time, he could see the surprise on the man’s face as a powerful green blast made a crater in the f
Shinra’s vision filled with the measurements, vectors, grids and critical strike paths that he basically associated with life, but now knew was his combat vision.[Ready?][Status: Shinra][Health 3000][Shinra: Death Stalker - Assassin: Tier 2, LvL 5 ][Shinra: Night Squire - — : Tier 0 ][Experience Points: 77,500 | Skill Points: 0][Stats][ Tier 2: Strength | Speed | Dexterity ][ Tier 0: Intelligence | Wisdom | Charisma | Magic ][Skills Status:][Tier 1][ Active: Fade | Sprint ][ Passive: Silence | Knife Mastery | Assassin Kata | Archery | Wall Climbing][Tier 2][Passive: Deadly Aim | Deception | Visual Reflexes][Hidden Path][Passive Skills: Critical Strike | Daemon Prediction ][Shadow Path][Active: Shadow Strike* | Shadow Meld* | Shadow Heal* ][Passive: Vampire Vision ]“Who the hell are you?” Loren was saying, even as her wand came up. Shinra knew she might be able to handle this all on her own, she was exceptional.The chains hit her face and torso, knocking the wa
Shinra was leary of all magic, so he almost bolted from his place as soon as he saw the glowing sphere hanging in the air. Well, he did bolt, but luckily he heard Loren’s message from the hall. He was still trying to wrap his head around what she said, even as he stood in front of her door. ‘Naori was here?’Shinra loved his sister, he never had any doubts about his feelings towards her. She was the kindest, most capable, and brilliant person he had ever known. And, though he spent every moment since his parents died trying to take care of her, he knew she had taken care of him even more. Being in the city without her had been difficult, but, if he was honest, he worried about her less after sending her his wages. ‘My life has been pretty complicated this last little while,’ he thought. He knew he was making excuses. He did believe her life would actually be better without him. She was more resourceful than he ever was, and the other villagers liked her much more than him.‘So why
The room was Pitch Black, so Raisd wasn't sure if his eyes were open or not at first, so he blinked a few times. ‘Definitely open.’ The fact that he was lying in a bed instead of bleeding in a gutter was a good sign, but he wasn't sure of anything else. He slowly moved his hands down his chest and body, feeling for any bandages or gaping wounds.‘Huh, not only am I naked, I seem to be in one piece.’ Which was amazing in and of itself, because the seven finger Gremlin counter attack is enough to kill most mages. Clearly he was both lucky and, maybe, tougher than he thought.He tried to stand, but that is when he noticed the weight across his legs. Not able to see, he reached down and realized the weight was a pair of legs draped across him. His fingers traced their way up those legs until he found their intersection. It was warm there, and his fingers were tickled by the fine hairs they brushed up against. ‘God I hope this is Mimi,’ was all he thought before the
“I promise, it is usually cleaner here,” Loren said as she rushed around trying to stuff books and scrolls back onto the shelves while gathering up a precarious pile of dishes. She definitely didn’t care what the place looked like when Naori’s brother broke in. Funny how something so random could lead to Loren trying to clean her place. She looked over her shoulder to see Naori just standing still, eyes widened by the mess, no doubt. ‘I need to distract her maybe? Where am I going to put all of this stuff!’ Loren was not used to caring what anyone thought about her, her space, or anything she did, really. “Wow. Just…. Wow,” was all Naori said, eyes still wide.‘Oh god, she thinks it is worse than living on the streets, she’s never seen anyone live like this… dammit!’, but what Loren said out loud was, “I just need a few more minutes. Why don’t you sit down over … “ except she hadn’t cleared any of the seating surfaces yet.“This is the most amazing home I’ve ever seen! It is
The office was surprisingly orderly for an assassin, Shinra thought. Tastefully arranged sofas, end tables with a high polish, and a full bookcase. He went straight to the desk though, to see if he could find what the assassin guild leader was talking about.‘Would it just be on top? Is that too easy?’ Shinra looked, but the few pieces of parchment on top of the desk were innocuous bills and tally of equipment. He opened the top drawer and only saw quills and inkstones. The larger drawer underneath was locked.“Why don’t I have lockpicking skills? I can do everything else…” He flexed his newly healed hand, still amazed at how whole and pain free they were, after the devastating burns he’d suffered. “Well, I’m strong enough to just rip it open,” he said, then gripped it tightly and pulled with all his strength.He felt the small release of power, ‘shit,’ he thought and then flung the drawer behind him as hard as he could. It was the right move, as the entire desk exploded in a sho
“Filthy blood slut," was all the lesser Earl of Clodven had said. It wasn't a nice thing to say about anyone, and Raisd had heard much worse. This time though, it was directed at his betrothed.To his credit, Raisd showed enormous restraint by only breaking the man's nose. The young lesser Earl and his friends didn't agree, and so now Raisd was in an honour bout.“The first to ten wins the bout,” one of the hangers-on was intoning, "and may request an honour payment." “I think I'll ask for one of Its fangs," the arrogant noble said.Raisd paid him no mind. ‘Foppish, useless nobles think life is a silly game. This bout is probably the highlight of his week’. He knew the type well. The lesser Earl’s father, or grandfather, had been useful to the Empire once upon a time, but then they produced entitled, talentless wastes of flesh like this. The patriarch of the family has probably all but disowned him.‘If I'd punched Shinra, he probably would have punched back and we'd be having a
Raisd was having a weird night. Actually, everyday had been weird since his betrothal. He couldn't get over the fact that suddenly people knew he was an active part of the imperial family. Well, maybe vampires didn't count as people, but they knew. If that was all that had changed, he could deal. After all he had been in military intelligence, and had infiltrated many places as part of his work, including the deputies office. Unfortunately he was quickly apprised of how different human and vampire customs were. Which was why he was lying in bed with General Mimi right now. Uncomfortably. Wrapped up in his own blanket and wearing a full set of clothes. He wasn't 100% certain, but he was pretty sure that she was naked under the thin sheet she had draped over herself. He made sure all the lights were off though and just laid there staring up at the ceiling in the dark. It had been like this for a few days now, ever since the rest of the vampire delegation went back to their capital
Shinra was surprised. ‘Shadow Heal isn’t one of the skills in the list. Does this mean they are all low level skills? Or are there a tonne of skills that the System just doesn’t show me?’Either way, this wasn’t what he was expecting. ‘Healing is high level magic… what does Shadow Healing mean? Am I a mage now?...’ He knew he wasn’t though. He looked around and did not see the primal flow of mana in the world. He was a zombie. One with interesting skills, but a zombie all the same.“Unless a Ninja is a different class of being?” The head Assassin said Ninja enough that it did make Shinra wonder. Not that he had time for that mystery right now. [Skills Status:][Skill Points: 20][Tier 1][ Active: Fade | Sprint ][ Passive: Silence | Knife Mastery | Assassin Kata | Archery | Wall Climbing][Tier 2][Passive: Deadly Aim][Hidden Path][Passive Skills: Critical Strike | Daemon Prediction ][Shadow Path][Active: Shadow Strike* | Shadow Meld* | Shadow Heal* ][Passive: Vampire