[Magical brightness detected, abilities impacted] Shinra didn’t want to see the pop up from the system, but it didn’t surprise him. Just seeing how insubstantial his Shadow Strike was, he knew he was in trouble. ‘This is not a good match up for me. So much for taking them down one at a time,’ he thought. This showed a glaring weakness of Shadow Strike, because light and fire based armour wasn’t uncommon. They usually dealt damage to their assailants, and, apparently, nullified the effect of his Shadow Blades. ‘What kind of Assassin lights himself up like an Angel though?’ The shining scimitar sliced towards him, and he bent over backwards, falling back into the bed. He rolled out onto the far side. ‘Shit. The sword is stronger too.’ As it sliced over his chest, he felt the light and heat impact him. ‘Do I have any skills that will help?’ Truthfully, he was so excited about Shadow Strike, that he hadn’t considered anything else. His Vampire vision had faded before the bright
Shinra should have been fading fast, but now that the rush of battle had passed, he was feeling ok. He had gathered up the sheets from the bed and used them to rebandage himself. Basically he wadded some up against the wound, and then wrapped it tightly in place. He refused to look at the hole in his body, and knew he needed magical help. Perhaps adrenaline was still keeping him going? ‘What did you mean by Upgrade, System?’ [Quest Update: Assassin Guild Destruction] [Assassins killed: 23] [Assassins killed by Shinra: 15 [Assassins remaining in Akasooki: 14 (estimated)] [Hours Remaining: 36.5] [Experience Awarded: [Assassin Assassination: Captain Class x 3 | Lieutenant Class x 2] [Points Awarded: Captains: 2250 Lieutenants: 3000 Discovered Safe House: 1000 Infiltrated Base Undetected : 2000 Eliminated one cell without raising an alarm: 1000 Perfect Assassination x 1: 5000 Assassination without battle x 2: 5000 Assassination with battle x2: - 1000 Injured during A
[Rebooting][3…][2…][1…]Shinra sat up straight and braced for excruciating pain. His hands were already pressed against his temples to try and hold off the headache when he realised that, not only did his head not hurt, but he could move both arms.‘What the hell…’ he thought, and then pulled aside his makeshift bandage. Only smooth skin was visible beneath. Not even a scar. He looked around, and he was still in the blood soaked room he’d battled the Assassin in. ‘I guess a cleared base is as safe as anywhere to pass out,’ he thought. Was there less blood than he remembered? ‘That huge puddle must have leaked between the floorboards,’ he thought.“I’m alive… I’m alive! System? Am I ok?” He didn’t feel terrible before the upgrade, but he knew that was probably due to blood loss. Now he felt… better than ever? He jumped up from the floor, and he almost hit the ceiling before he landed silently on his feet. ‘Holy $hit!’ Even before, as his strength and speed stats had ste
“The secret to magical combat is…” the fat young man said, his mouth splitting wide in a grin. He looked like a roasted ham, glistening with fat and oils. His audience was a group of 3 well dressed ladies, and, somehow, they seemed very interested in what he had to say. “Being more powerful than everyone else!” He threw his head back in a laugh, then downed his drink. He made a rude motion to a passing waiter for another.The girls all tittered behind their gloved hands, looking both elegant and childish in the same instant.‘I guess he is someone important?’ Raisd hated the politics and intrigue of the palace, and couldn’t stand all the people constantly flouting their importance. He knew it was because he himself was so important, and he didn’t want to be. ‘The Emperor has let me hide in the background these last few years, but that is about to change. The second in line is going to get a burst of attention.’ He almost laughed at the thought. The Emperor’s successor changed
Shinra had always been a curious boy. Ever since he could remember, he was always asking questions of his parents, the village elders, anyone who came by, even the village priest. That is until his Father told him why the priest wasn’t looking out for him. His Father didn’t believe in a religion that said Zombies were outside of the circle of God’s love, and that is why they were bereft of magic. “That is just the bull$hit they are selling so even Zombies will listen to the priests.”“But why, Father? If we already don’t have magic, how much more can God punish us?” Shinra had asked.“You see Son, you’re talking as if the priest is right, and we are being punished. That is how they want us to think. So when they tell us to do something for the church, we will. And if we listen well, maybe we will have magic in the next life. That is all garbage.” His Father told him this while working in the back garden, planting the vegetables they would later store for the winter.“So it is
Shinra felt more powerful than ever. Creating Shadow Meld seemed to free something in his mind. Or his soul, he wasn’t sure which. ‘I wonder if this is how mages feel when they wield magic. Do they feel it on their skin? Alive with possibility?’ He could sense shadows in a way he couldn’t before. He was a part of them now, and it was closer to magic than any Zombie should be able to do. ‘Am I really a zombie if I have the system? I’ve changed so much…’Honestly, he had barely been a teenager when he acquired the System, but his sister might not recognize him now. His body was covered in muscles, well defined and lean like a boxer. He had grown taller too, and his face had the angular look of someone much older. His eyes had a depth to them that was new. He’d already understood loss and pain, but facing death and danger had forced him to mature in unexpected ways, and his eyes betrayed a hard fought wisdom.In the last 2 hours, he had gone from a young man who had dealt out
“Being a noble is really going to interfere with my work! How can I do Military Intelligence when every noble within a day’s travel was here tonight?” Raisd was doing his best not to shout at the Emperor, but he was feeling stressed.His anonymity was very important for the Military, and for the Sheriff’s too. At least he wore a helmet in the Arena, so Dsiar could probably still compete…“Think of it this way. You have been promoted into greater responsibility, Raisd,” the Emperor said. His eyes twinkled as he looked at his great great grandson over the rim of his wine glass. The Emperor had been in a great mood all day, and Raisd assumed it was because he liked seeing him so uncomfortable.“Emperor. I don’t want to be embroiled in politics, I want to be contributing to the Empire. In the Military I found threats to our stability and peace. With the Sheriffs, I protected the people of the Capital. As a Noble, I’ll just be attending parties and arguing about legislation in the
‘7 more left, probably.’ The Manor house was really big, and easy to infiltrate. The guild felt safe here, clearly, and didn’t have locks or sentries on the doors. It was too easy to slip in through the window of the receiving room and fade into the background, waiting for a target.He had acquired all new weapons, armour and gear from the 8 corpses in the town houses. He was surprised to find that almost all of them had blades that were clearly designed for throwing. Several had leather belts of knives that made it easy to pull a knife from under a jacket, or from the hip. ‘I guess killing from far away is part of the trade,’ he had thought.He’d found a tight fitting vest that looked like cloth but was cut proof, a pair of boots that felt like something a noble would wear, and a light jacket with a clever setup to hide a short sword. Everything seemed spelled for defence, and now he knew that, someday, he’d be able to understand the weaves, maybe.He picked up two high qualit