Chapter 730: Chapter 730
Looking at my character-sheet, as ridiculous as the idea to reduce my entire existence into a few numbers, I could only shake my head. The numbers looked very much like those I had gained at the beginning of the Beta, maybe one or two points off, but it had been a while. My name was there, but what “Emerging Firn-Elf” meant, I had no idea. But the familiar image was yet another indication that whatever happened to reality around me was linked to Road to Purgatory, but whether the “game” had been a link to another world or some sort of divine illusion, I had no idea. Either way, reality around me was no game and I highly doubted there would be a respawn. So, survival was my first priority, with gaining power to ensure my continued survival and freedom as a linked secondary objective. A world quest, so to speak.
Focusing again, I opened up the other notifications I had received, curious about what had come with the “Legacy of Morgana” that I had received.
For a moment, I could only stare at the long list of blue boxes, not fully taking them in. There were many of them, almost all familiar, though some not. Sun Cursed, Moon Blessed, Dragon Touched, Raven’s Shadow and Emerging Race, those were new. Guessing where most of them came from was quite easy.
Sun Cursed was trivial. As Morgana, I had shattered the Soul Prison and unleashed the Nidhögg, a being that had been sealed by Sunna, the Goddess of the Sun and at the end, Morgana had been burned away by the light of the sun, likely in a clash between the Nidhögg and the Goddess, or some sort of divine agent. Either way, that Sunna might have a bone to pick with me was to be expected and having a Curse as part of Morgana’s legacy was something I would have to bear.
Raven’s Shadow was even more obvious than Sun Cursed. Morgana and Lenore had spent almost two years closely bonded, even merging together as one at times. Even without the trait, I knew the contact had changed me, this only made it more obvious. Though I was curious whether I would be able to use the Universal Understanding or her magic sight, either would be an incredible boon, depending on what was coming for me.
Moon Blessed was a little less straightforward, but what I remembered of Hecate indicated that she was less concerned with the world, but interested in Magic. Giving a Mortal who managed to unleash magic on the level I had managed with the help of the Nexus her blessing wasn’t too surprising. Especially as there had been that title, oh, so long ago, that had indicated that the Goddess of Magic had taken note of me. This might be an outcropping of it, but I wasn’t certain. It might also be simply some sort of investment, trying to claim me, as I was confident that I would be one of the strongest spellcasters, eventually. Or I would be dead, but that was always a risk.
Lastly, Dragon Touched. It undoubtedly came from Nidhögg and I remembered his last words to me, promising his ‘Little Sister’, as he had called me for some reason, that I would receive my reward in the next world. I hadn’t thought much about it and only now, with the good, old hindsight goggles, I was able to make a bit of sense of it. There were still a lot of missing details, for example why the Ancient Dragon had called me sister, but I would take the trait, not that I had a choice about it.
Two of my foundational Special Abilities, simply for being who I was. I was confident that they would serve me well.
You gain the Special Abilities: [Rune Meditation], [Rune Comprehension]
You gain the Traits: [Rune Affinity: Ice], [Rune Affinity: Darkness], [Rune Affinity: Blood]
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Seeing the Natural Mage Trait, I began to wonder. Where did it come from? In Road to Purgatory, I had gained it via those odd, floating runes, but in reality? Was it simply an accident of birth, or was there something else going on? Either way, it was an incredibly powerful trait, allowing me to easily step onto the Arcane Path once again, following the footsteps of Morgana.
You don't hesitate to do what you have to do to reach your goals.
Your allies are less likely to trust you to guard their back.
The Ruthless Trait, maybe one of my most defining ones. By now, I had a bit of an idea of what it signified, the stark contrast between the treatment of those I considered “Mine” and the “Others”. For those closest to me, I was willing to destroy the world, while those further from my heart, could easily be sacrificed. Even now, I had no idea what had actually happened to Adra and Rai, after the battle that had cost Sigmir’s life. Their situation had simply ceased to be of interest to me, in the pursuit of my Vengeance for Sigmir’s death.
You gain Attributes: +2 Intelligence, +1 Intuition, -1 Charisma, +1 Agility, -1 Endurance, -1 Strength.
You gain traits: [Frost-Resistance], [Lowlight Vision], [Denizen of the Dark], [Denizen of the Eternal Ice], [Heat-Sensitive],[Glare Sensitivity]
Looking at the Notification that my race had changed, I was a little stunned, my hands automatically going up to my ears. They were still human, for now, but only thanks to the Emerging Race Trait. It was giving me a thirty-day grace period, for which I was grateful. Maybe my ability to speak my language would be gone at the end of it, replaced by the ancient Jotun dialect Firn Elves were speaking. What would that even do to me, changing the very foundation of my mental processes? Would I even notice if my thoughts were no longer in the familiar language, or would I only realise it when speaking to somebody else?
Even as a shudder went through me at the idea, I realised, it could be much worse. How would someone who had picked a Centaur feel? Maybe happy because they would grow a horse… Well, unless they were female. But what about a female who had decided to play a male character, just to see how it felt? Or the other way around? Luckily, Morgana had been physically almost identical to me, with only minor alterations that wouldn’t throw me off too much.
These were all the Traits of a Firn Elf. I wasn’t sure if they would instantly activate or if they would slowly come into effect, over those thirty days. Given that my night-vision wasn’t at the level it had been on Mundus, I was guessing it would take some time. But I couldn’t know for sure.
The notification that I had gained my class brought a grin to my face. It was the most barebones class for Spellcasters, giving me little outright, just the tools to explore my own magic. It might just be perfect for this changed world, given that I doubted there would be any convenient, magical library just popping up. Maybe the Gods could help, but I had a feeling their help would be focused on the various Clerics and similar folks out there.
You are able to learn skills 25% faster without a teacher
You are able to learn Special Abilities easier by discovering them yourself.
When learning from a teacher, skills train 25% slower.
You are unable to learn Special Abilities from a teacher.
You belong to no Country or Creed.
Maximum starting reputation with any large faction is Neutral.
You were quite literally raised by wolves. You don't belong to any family, tribe or community.
You have no starting faction.
You walk the world alone, or with only your closest companions by your side.
When in a group with unmarked people, you gain 10% less experience.
When alone or in a group with those you have marked, you gain 10% more experience.
The number of people you can mark depends on your level. Current number of marks: 0
After using a mark, you regain it during the full moon.
And that left me with the various traits I had taken when creating Morgana. Back then, I had been trying to get as much power as possible, taking a lot of negative social traits to buy off the positive ones. It had felt like a good idea, I hadn’t been in a good place back then, angry about having been forced to leave the team I had founded and not wanting to have anything to do with other players. Seeing a trait like Lone Traveller had only strengthened that idea, to work with the Natives as opposed to other Travellers. And it had worked, too, giving me some incredibly strong traits without too many problems, some of them mitigated by luck, like my starting location, others by virtue of class choice, the Sorcerer not really needing someone to teach them.
But now, all those choices were coming back to haunt me. I had no idea how some of the traits would manifest in this world, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out. Child of the Wild, for example, might just not do anything, as my parents had left this world years ago, so did a trait that said I had no family matter? There were a few distant relatives who I hadn’t talked to in years who might no longer recognise me as family, as opposed to not recognising me at all, due to not knowing me, but other than that? I just didn’t know.
Similarly, what did it mean to belong to a creed or country, given that it didn’t look like countries would be able to endure the situation I had been seeing all around me? So far, I had not lost my ability to speak English, but maybe in the future? That was not a cheery thought. Or maybe I was jumping ahead too far, assuming too much from limited information?
Lone Traveller? I didn't even know how the marking would work, but I had a feeling it wouldn't be something I could do casually. There was something about marking other people that felt... wrong to me. Though, I did wonder what the system meant with "people". Would someone like Lenore count? I had no idea and no way to find out.
I just didn’t know and finding out would be difficult. This was suddenly a dangerous world and for me, the danger didn’t just come from the monsters, my fellow humans might be just as dangerous to me. As I considered that thought, I had to stifle a sobbing laugh, they were no longer fellow humans, I was now a Firn Elf and within a month, I wouldn’t even look human any longer.
This skill allows you to manipulate Darkness and bend it to your will. What you can do with it only depends on your imagination, your will and your power.
You increased your skill: Darkness Magic [2/100]
Notifications for the skills I had used, nothing special about them. It made me wonder how fast they would grow, given that I could remember using them, in a world far, far away. If that had even been a world, and not some sort of illusion, dream or some other divine construct. Could I even know for sure, without some sort of outside confirmation? Could I ever know that what was around me was real? Could I even know if I was real, or if Morgana and Mundus had been the reality, a reality I had destroyed? Or she had destroyed?
Shaking off these weird thoughts, I focused on the present and on things that might be important. The description of Firn-Elf, now that I looked at it again, was one such thing. It declared me a member of a race created on a different world. Not within a divine Illusion, or something like that, indicating that Mundus had been real. As real as the system, so for now, I would work under the assumption that it was real. Just as real as I was, as the world around me was.
And if Mundus was real, Sigmir hadn’t been some sort of artificial intelligence or one process within countless in one. She had been a real, organic being, with a Soul, memories and everything that made a person into one.
I had to bite my hand again, to stifle the shout of glee. If Sigmir had been a real person, I would be able to meet her again!
There were countless myths that spoke of people being revived if someone was willing to pay the price. Even Kallista, the dryad in Neyto who had considered Adra her partner reborn, waiting for her to regain her memories, came to mind. But she had been a fool, letting the love of her life continue travelling in an attempt to let her come back on her own. To love someone is to set her free, was it? I most certainly wouldn’t just wait for Sigmir, I would be more proactive.
But that meant I needed Power. With a capital P and a whole lot of ower behind it, enough power to pierce the veil between worlds, enough power to find and take hold of her soul. And enough power to make a body for her, here, in this world of mine.
Surviving and gaining power. It came all down to that.