Iga was a mage, but, like most mages, his power and talent were not awe-inspiring. Nothing like the emperor and his family, who could level an army or defeat a murder of dragons with just their weave craft. No, Iga was powerful because he knew the value of information. He collected the dark and dirty secrets of anyone who is important in the empire, and use them to further his own agenda or his clients. He wasn't afraid to use blackmail and murder to position his clients for success. That is why he became a powerful tool for certain nobles in the empire, and his wealth and influence had grown.His guild was small, but it had been respected and feared in the parts of the empire that mattered the most. 'And this fairy tale monster has dismantled it all on its own, a Ninja. 'He watched the young man standing over Elihar's body, blood dripping down his face. He hadn't used a whiff of magic, not even a bit, and yet he had seen him teleport behind them, and just now had sliced through Elih
Naori's life had turned upside down in the space of a day.Not only was her brother alive, which she has suspected, but he was a deputy not a convict. He was friends with a rich country witch, and the man who had arrested him had become his mentor somehow. 'I knew Shinra was an amazing brother, but no one else had seen how great he was before. 'The realisation had brought tears to her eyes in Wintersbane's office, and it had flustered the older man. All of these revelations had caused a problem for her though, she had expected to come and visit her brother in jail and make sure he was okay. Then she would have to go back to the village. Now though, her brother was off having fun somewhere on his day off from work and she didn't know when he would be back."I might be speaking out of turn here, but why would you even go back to the village?" Loren asked.Loren had become Naori's unofficial guide. Not only through the city, but through Shinra's life. The University student was fierce
Shinra had not seen much magic in his life. He could maybe remember a handful of times he’d witnessed magic more impressive than cosmetic changes for the nobility, or for transportation in the city. He could recall an illusionary dragon display for some festival once… but, up until he received the System, no one had weaved spells directly at him.Which was why, even though he was about to be hit by a proper war level fireball, he was a little awed by the sight. The guild master had only made one sign, that Shinra noticed, and a pulsing blue sphere of energy coalesced out of the air. He saw wisps and strands of power coming from the man himself, but also out of the air and ground, until the sphere was the size of two fists and floating in front of him. Except for the pulsing, it could have been made of glass or some rare jewel.“Natus Sol,” Iga said, and the sphere shot towards Shinra, and transformed. It expanded to the size of a large barrel as it shot forward, in destructive sp
The system gave him a clue, the whisper of hope, and Shinra took it. His desire for more power, more reach even, in this tense situation was palpable. Maybe because he didn’t have time to think, or maybe because he was holding his short sword in one hand and his shadow blade in the other, but his need crystallised into one idea.‘Shadow Katana,’ he thought, and his shadow wakizashi unformed and slid over the dragon short sword. The shadow was so dark, it was almost bright as it covered the sharp blade. First it moulded tightly around the blade, then the short sword burst into an exceptionally long black katana in his hand.There was no time to think, as he gripped the new blade with two hands and swung down at the huge fireball upon him. The outer flames whipped around it, unaffected. When it reached the bright orange sphere within, it parted it like a wisp of silk. The blade touched an inner space that was a pale yellow, and it cut through with the light resistance of an apple.
"I won. Holy shit I did it!"Shinra fell to the ground in the courtyard, surrounded by bodies and blood but untroubled, finally.He knew that this quest was going to be tough, as Tim wouldn't have made a penalty for non-completion. Wondered how bad that penalty would have been? After all if the system could make him stronger, it could also make it weaker right? He couldn't imagine losing any of the power and advantages he had gained. Or what if the system made him go blind as a punishment? Shinra shuddered.His adrenaline had been high, but he was starting to feel his injuries now. He had been hit hard by that stone shard spell, and he was glad he didn't have a mirror to see how burnt up the rest of his body was. If it was anything like his hands, then he was going to need to spend a lot of money with a healer.Money he didn't have. Couldn't go to the staff healer the sheriff's either, because they would note it and that there would be some uncomfortable questions about what he got up
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
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
“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