The Fool's Freedom

“So much for doing good… Aah! I’m turning into a cliche villain.” Alan lamented as he checked his changed skills.

Most of the skills were not progressing in rarity or maybe power… well in power certainly since the very foundation of his magic had undergone a transformative process. Still, this was a lot of change. A flabbergasting amount. Like renovating the whole interior, only the interior was a menagerie of deathly skills.

Synaptic Failure (Rare) has become Spirit Devour (Rare)

Spirit Devour (Rare)

Cut off the instincts. Blank the mind. Disconnect the body. Suppress your enemy's very ability to function as a whole.

Send a blast of dark psychic energy into the target’s mind to wreak havoc.

Extremely effective against non-physical entities.

There’s a chance to resist.

Eye contact is needed to use the skill.

A very similar skill, and yet… that name. Alan grinned as he read it. The ‘spirit’ itself could be many things, not the least of which those mentioned in the skill’s description. It seemed like a successor for the [Synaptic Failure] more suitable against the stranger types of beings.

Alan didn’t mind that. Not at all. Stronger enemies easily shrugged off [Synaptic Failure], barely giving him time to react. This, however, was an ace in his sleeve against the unconventional things he might meet.

I should test it on Odu. Ha!

Void Step (Rare) has become Dark Step (Rare)

Dark Step (Rare)

What is distance to a shadow but a moment in time?

Using shadows created by your skills as anchors allows you to disregard the activation delay of the skill.

So a [Void Step], but with the added bonus of being faster if he used his [Shadow Creation] constructs or perhaps even the dark servants as gates or something.

Alan wasn’t sure this change was that big, so he wasn’t worried about getting used to the skill again.

Sacrificial Attack (Epic) has turned into Pilfered Life Ignition (Epic)

Pilfered Life Ignition (Epic)

Why forfeit your vitality, when you can steal and ignite that of another? Consume their essence, and turn it into energy to supplement every one of your acts. Use the life force of others as a source of destruction.

This skill only works by being fueled with the life of another.

Burn the stolen vitality and strengthen your attacks.

Well, shit. Now this was pure evil. Sure, consuming darkness and all was good, but taking someone’s life and using it as a goddamn battery? Not that Alan hadn’t been doing exactly that for a while now, but put in words it sounded… kind of wrong. Hopefully, this skill would be a last resort kind of thing. He was excited about how the skill would react with his new mana, but draining anything more from Cole to test it out was beyond cruel.

At least Alan was sure there were enough bastards out there whose lives he wouldn’t feel bad for taking. It was important to remember not to get to know them too much first since redeeming qualities were bound to get in the way of villainy.

The skill was technically the same, just repackaged.

Warlock’s Body Mastery (Rare) has turned into Internal Mana Boost (Epic)

Internal Mana Boost (Epic)

A body permeated with mana, and life supported by mana. You’ve grown to know your inner workings beyond mere guessing, and you’ve changed into a being of mana itself. And so, it fuels you.

Use mana to aid each internal process, including healing, digestion, or strengthening your muscles.

Overloading might cause damage.

Now that was awesome! [Warlock’s Body Mastery’s] effects had long grown unable to support him. This skill had actually changed in rarity and gone a step up, and while it was as broad as the previous one, it was more scalable. Alan had long guessed that [Warlock’s Body Mastery] was probably somewhat dependent on the patron he was to choose since the name of the class was in the title.

It had performed significantly worse than most of his (Rare) skills that have continued on with him and scaled with his attributes.

Lastly, he focused on his newest addition, which had lasted only a short time— [Void Pierce]. A skill he was quite happy to get, but he had also grown displeased with. Experiments with [Mana Zap] had given many results due to the simplistic nature of the skill and the doors it opened. It was very powerful but showed a fundamental lack of ability to harm stronger enemies and the delay made it difficult to utilize.

Perhaps it had something to do with the element of the void, which consumed its lesser when it was overpowering, but existed in a vacuum when surrounded by stable elemental mana. It had been good for intimidation, and Alan was sure there would be nothing left of any human he used it on. However, it had also failed to help him all that much without being paired with [Sacrificial Attack].

Void Pierce (Rare) has become Consuming Dark (Rare)

Consuming Dark (Rare)

Darkness that eats away, pulling at existence until there’s nothing left.

Create an orb of consuming darkness that devours everything it touches.

The orb shrinks, increasing its pull, until it disappears.

Was that… was that a mini black hole? It certainly sounded almost like a mini dark hole. Perhaps trying to weave the element of space into the mix would be a good idea in the future… For now, he was content with what he got.

Alan was excited to try it, but his tower was already in ruins, so perhaps a walk was in order. He had to see how much time had passed. Surely it was not more than a few days? A week at most? His mana was halfway recovered already, and it was double what he had before. Truly a marvel.

He checked his new status, noting that two attributes had gone over a thousand after all the bonuses. Wasn’t that some sort of achievement? Oh well.

INFORMATION:

Name:

Alan Morgan

Race:

Shadowless

Bloodline:

Devouring Shadow Dragon | Progress: 10%

Class:

Shepherd of the Broken (Unique)

Level:

Tier 2 – 121

Insight:

Flow; Emptiness

Titles:

First Pathfinder; Progenitor; Scion; Inheritor; Reckless Madman; Slayer; Dweller of the Spirit World; Enlightened; Mercenary(F)

ATTRIBUTES:

0

Strength

228 |(OBOM + 208) +5 [15 base

Dexterity

229 |(OBOM + 209) + 5 [15 base

Vitality

0

Will

902 |(+208.2 from %) [694 base]

Mind

1041 |(RM +100) (+244 from %) [697 base]

Magic

1161 |(DB +200; BMB +200) (+69.2 from %) [692 base]

TRAITS:

One Mind, One Body; Empty Vitality; Shadowspeech; Broken One’s Will; Shadow Mind; Oathbound; Shepherd’s Shroud; Dragon Bones I; Basic Mana Body

SKILLS:

Combat:

Spirit Devour; Shadow Creation; Pilfered Life Ignition; Consuming Dark; Chains of the Dark Servants; Severing Mana;

Curses:

Curse: Stolen Life; Curse of Buried Shadows;

Rituals:

Enchanted Bones; Infused Flesh; Organ Refinement;

Utility:

Internal Mana Boost; Will of the Dead; Dark Step;

BODY ENHANCEMENTS:

Shadow Space

Maybe he could make a door on the floor and jump down? Try his new abilities. With a thought the tower slowly created a slit that elongated and became a large window he could jump out of. Alan sighed. The wonder of the System never ceased.

His mind shook as he saw a dome of pale gold light shining under the day’s light. Were they under attack?

Has it been that long?

Alan almost rushed off, but a slight breeze made him remember he was naked.

Wops.

***

The barrier was about to shatter.

Rust didn’t like doing this all that much, but he was no longer bothered by cruelty. He had seen the strange creatures roaming the distant wastes. Their Sanctuaries were like golden cities, rising day by day. Their warriors killed as easily as breathing, even creatures much higher level.

His own Sanctuary had been destroyed by one of them. A creature that claimed to be a general serving an Empire. Rust was the sole survivor. He had to learn to live on his own in the wilderness, cross dangerous landscapes no one had before, and endure what none of the fools in the Sanctuary before him could imagine.

They had lived holed up in this place, using barriers and building walls, having shrunk their Sanctuary to a third of what it could be. And somehow still having a wealth of points. How did that even happen?

Rust had left Sanctuary management to others since he didn’t care for it, but maybe they were stealing off of him? As far as he knew that Tower that hadn’t been there last time was more expensive than the combined wealth of the Sanctuaries they were trying to merge.

Rich fools, then? Or lucky? The golden arc on the other side also struck him as strange. It was something System created. Perhaps a private Dungeon?

It made his blood boil. They didn’t know what it was to crawl out of a land of death and blood. To murder, kill, and grow constantly.

It had all paid off in the end, of course. His powerful class was a testament to that.

And now he was no longer alone. He had an army. Devout followers.

The marks of rust in their blood guaranteed their devotion. He was sure some of them had sensed them, but that didn’t matter. It would take but a thought to force the iron in their blood to expand and rust and kill them. It was a gruesome way to go.

The Immortal was almost done with the barrier. His companion had seemingly endless vitality and stamina, and his life force was so strong that Rust doubted even his poison would work on him. At least he was one of the most loyal ones and the most powerful after him.

And still… he was no friend. There was no place for friendship in this new world.

There was movement and he saw people climb up the high outer wall. They were preparing to fight them.

How ridiculous. The second tier made his existence untouchable by those lower than him. It was a change of life itself, and Rust had been reborn through it.

He had mourned his fellow humans before, feeling sad for their fate, for the fate of the world, and for all the deaths he had caused. Now? Only those capable of passing that change were worth noting.

That’s why he was confident. Despite all their riches, and all the strangeness, the Sanctuary before him was weak. There were a few close to tier two, but it was more than the levels that were needed to take that step.

Immortal kept hitting, while everyone else watched. It took longer, but his small army was of the first tier and unable to use their abilities for too long. No matter. This was to strike fear and make the subjugation easier.

Rust wasn’t planning to kill them. Perhaps the leader and those closest to her. He didn’t like the look of the bald giant on the wall. A pathetic fledgling in the seventies or so. Yet, he dared look so fearsome?

He would die. The leader, Rosalyn, was it? She was pretty. Maybe…

No. An example was needed.

“Say, can you stop hitting that?” a voice asked.

It echoed from the trees, the grass, and the shadows in between. Mana itself vibrated.

Rust summoned his armor and swords rose floating around him. How? Had someone snuck on them? Was it the aliens?

Immortal was not moving any longer.

There was a man next to him, dressed in a simple shirt and baggy trousers. He was pale, decently built but on the thinner side. No. It was not paleness, but something else. His skin seemed to accept only darkness and light, and all else was chased away.

Faint whisps of shadows would bleed out of the smooth skin, and disappear in the next moment. What the fuck was this? Was he even human?

“What’s your name?” the strange man asked.

Fuck. Rust wanted to scream as his friend defied all logic and answered simply. This was all wrong!

“Immortal.”

The man laughed.

“Your lifeforce is truly a massive thing, but Immortal? Come on, man. Say, you’re attacking us, aren’t you?”

Rust paled.

“DODGE!” he screamed and rushed forward. All he saw was a wink and the man’s touch upon Immortal’s bare shoulder. A friendly tap.

A sword of rusting metal shot out from the ground, but the man was no longer there.

“He’s behind!” Hunter, the second tier two in their camp yelled. He had great senses.

Rust turned.

There, in the middle of their small army sat a man. His chair—a chair?!—was of swirling shadows, and his look was one of curiosity and boredom.

“I’m trying to turn a new page, you know? Helping humans, rather than slaughtering them. I think it will lead to something new for me. Another path. Do you think there’s a chance…” he seemed to struggle with the words as if the thought they might come true disappointed him a lot. “… for you to surrender peacefully?”

Rust scowled. He looked toward the confused Immortal, but his companion seemed fine. Mind games, then. To think he had believed the foolish bastard before him.

There was not an ounce of aura seeping out of him. Was he even tier two, or just another pretender? It was a strange and fast class, but nothing scary.

“Your lies will not blind my eyes. Because of you, many more will die once we conquer this place. However, you won’t be around to see it,” Rust said. “Get him.”

The man seemed relieved, which once again disturbed Rust. Hunter signaled the rangers and drew his bow.

“Thanks, man. I’ll try not to overdo it, I promise.”

A fist-sized ball of darkness appeared briefly amid the casters preparing to obliterate the fool, and there was screaming and blood as it tore apart the flesh of those close to it, before swallowing the pieces.

At least two had died, and one had been left maimed and in agony.

“Shit,” the man cursed. “Sorry.”