"Where am I?"
The dim blue light shined on his sweaty forehead, exposing the state his body was in.
"The pain looks like it subsided on its own, but I don't think I could have survived another night being chased by those damn elves..."
"I see you woke up. You owe me a few hours of good work. Feeding you and taking care of your wound wasn't easy you know, especially when I don't really know how to do it."
The dwarf moved his right hand to his ribcage, seeing that it was just a hasty cut and nothing more but he did lose quite some blood. To his surprise, his wound was wrapped by a shirt sleeve that fixated a weird plant across the wound.
"Yeah, that plant is actually something I discovered by accident today. It can close wounds in half an hour, don't ask me how I found it out." Fang said shyly, not sure how to behave.
"I'm sorry I wasted your time but there are important matters at hand now." He said as grief possessed his coarse and dry voice.
"It looked like you were cut, I can't mistake it for anything other than a weapon. If you want to stay here I want to know who's after you, or what."
"I do not remember my past life but in this world, I go by Isgram the smith. You are correct, I am being chased.
I already did my research on you.
We are people who were chosen by the gods to live a new life in another world. The reason we are being chased is our potential. I can see it doesn't surprise you one bit though?"
"My god told me I am worthy since I'm curious, so he sent me here to get strong and pursue knowledge. I actually had fun discovering things, but surviving is hard. really hard."
"Tell me about it, I have been on the run for almost 5 days now. I can't stand those shitty elves."
"Wait, you met other elves?! And why are they chasing you?"
"is it possible your brain is on vacation? I just told you we're the chosen ones. They fear our power, they fear our knowledge, they fear our relationship with the gods."
Isgram said in pain as he tried to straighten to a sitting position. He didn't look older than 19, but he was a dwarf thus he looked like a human middle-aged man.
"don't make sudden movements, it just closes wounds, nothing more. Wait, how did you find me again?"
"I traveled to eldranor, the kingdom of the elves to find information about otherworldly beings. Apparently, not only dwarves aren't welcome there but chosen ones are also hunted by them to minimize the risk of one of us turning against them.
When I ran from them in the town gates, I managed to slip into the city and hide there. I slept in the sewers for a whole week, living on monsters I hunted at night in the sewers and by stealing food. I managed to find myself this cloak and robes so I could wander in the city without being noticed but it soon fell apart.
I managed to sneak into the royal court, and there I kidnapped one of the court officials. He told me that there is a new chosen one around."
"Me."
Isgram nodded and sighed.
"I thought that by finding you I might be able to get answers but it seems you're just as confused as I am."
"Which god chose you?"
"Take a Guess, kid."
He conjured a little fire in the shape of a ball, a fiery and hot signature of the god of fire probably.
"I was chosen by Solomon, for I am an impulsive man who never quits. Or that at least what he said." Isgram closed his palm and with it, the fire died.
"You're a fire mage then. Nice to meet you, I wish I could have shown you my magic but unfortunately, I haven't reached INT level 10."
The dwarf was a bit stunned but he understood very quickly.
"you didn't upgrade or acquire new knowledge, right?"
"I did discover some things but not as much as I'd like. How to survive properly is my main problem."
"I think I can help with that." He said it with pain, his hand reaching forward. He grabbed Fang's hand, closed his eyes, and chanted:
"yeda hahadam, Yeda haelim."
A purple light encircled his hand and a message appeared:
{INT+ 13}
{class unlocked}
{Mage class achieved}
{Necromancer class achieved}
To Fang's shock, it seemed like he had become much more powerful in a mere second.
"How and what the fuck did you do right now???"
"A trick used by tutors of royal houses. I had the privilege to work for such a tutor in a dwarven village. That was until he found out I'm Solomon's chosen one..."
Isgram's eyes closed from both mental and physical pain.
"Does that mean I can use magic now?"
"I think most can use magic when they reach INT level 10 so I don't see why not."
'open status'
{Name: Fang
class: Mage level 1, necromancer level 1.
Race: elf
age: 16
level: 1
HP: 30
MP:120
STR:4
INT:20
AGI:3
WIS:5
VIT:2
LUC:2
Passive abilities:
Passive MP regeneration level 1
resistance to magic level 1.
swift feet level 1.
butchering level 1.
swordsmanship level 1.
Active abilities:
Soul hunt level 1: conjures a ball of diseases that can infect open wounds and poison the blood of the target. The more mana invested in the spell, the stronger and faster the spell will hit. Must come in contact with the person's body.
Mana cost: 50 MP minimum.
Scout Ghost Summon level 1: Raises the ghost of an invisible scout from the kingdom of the dead.
The presence of the ghostly scout is felt by only those with experience in necromancy spells.
The more mana used, the longer the ghost can travel while staying connected to the user's mind.
Mana cost: 5 MP per meter.
Magic transfer: transfers MP between creatures.
Meditation level 1: Raises intelligence and restores MP: 10 MP per hour.
Double slash: One move, Two hits. 5 MP}
"Wow, there's a whole bunch of new skills! I can't wait to try them." Fang's excited determination was showing in his eyes. The number of possibilities...
"I see you weren't joking, you are really quite an inquiring man. I suggest you go experiment a bit, I feel too weak to talk."
Barely hearing anything Fang muttered
"Sure sure, I will let you rest."
He didn't lift his eyes from his hands, wondering how capable he must be now. He took his katana while Exiting the cave. Fang went out to scavenge for some mushrooms and maybe more of those healing plants but the true purpose of his trip was to test his powers and there was only one place he knew.
An hour of carrying big mushrooms, some branches, and a few sharp stones. That's all it took.
{STR +1}
"another level up! I think I'm starting to get used to being stronger from simple jobs." He said with a smile. "It's time to go drop off the rest of the stuff and start my experiment."
After making sure Isgram was well and awake, Fang started traveling towards the edge of the forest.
He threw the corpse of the second pig there, so he knew that should deter any normal person from coming near.
The mark was a shrine Fang built, hopefully scaring other big animals or at least making sure his prey wouldn't be disturbed by others.
"This is it. Showtime."
licking his dry lips nervously, and his teeth chattering coldly Fang tried to sense the mana in his body. Unlike that time with asu, it was pretty easy.
"It feels so natural, so... free! Let's see what I can do."
Fang directed his right hand at the ground, palm open, and closed his eyes. He focused on the spell he needed:
"Ghost scout." His whisper was nothing less than terrifying. It took only a moment. Then it happened. Two crimson-black flames rose from the ground, and the winds have been suddenly blowing colder.
{50 MP invested in the spell. Scout ghost is limited to 10 meters of distance from the user. The spell will break if the distance is crossed.}
Fang looked at the ghost in front of him.
It had the body structure of a man, but it was just purple smoke in the shape of a man.
Fang was quite tall, and he was almost as tall as Fang.
'I created that? Damn, this is going to be so much fun... I need to watch out though, While the status screen said I should train and exhaust my mana to increase it...
I am still scared.'
"Scout. Stay 10 meters before me at all times."
The ghost moved with haste, positioning itself 10 meters before Fang.
'I can see two perspectives at the same time, this is so bizarre yet not as disorienting as I imagined it to be.'
"Good. Let's wrap things up for today." A smile spread on his face, joyful and celebratory from his first success on the path of becoming a necromancer.
The walk back to the camp was uneventful, but then he heard it.
shouts. someone is quarreling somewhere near the cave. Holding his katana tight Fang sneaked closer to the source.
it turns out that two short elves were talking in the forest but he was too far to hear the contents of the conversation.
"They might be after isgram or worse... me."
Fang followed them carefully, his steps avoiding branches and dry leaves.
The pair began marching towards the cave, readying their weapons. one wielded a bow, the other a short sword, and a shield.
"I need to kill them before they take out isgram... I can maybe ambush one with the soul hunt spell but I will have to engage in close combat with the second one."
Fang has gathered some mana as he kneeled on the ground, 30 meters from them.
He aimed his left hand at the archer that stayed behind, while the swordsman was approaching the cave quietly with his weapon drawn.
'soul hunt'
{Soul hunt activated, 50 MP consumed. Nausea, headaches, and heightened fever will be inflicted on the target.}
{INT +1}
Fang shot the small purple orb towards the archer and at the same time started shuffling towards him quietly.
The orb moved slower than Fang imagined, but the 30-meter distance was closed in 3 seconds by the orb.
"Fuck me, what the hell is this feeling!"
The archer almost shouted, he felt his head splitting in two and his intestines started to ache violently.
He dropped his bow and by the time the swordsman elf turned his head towards his ally, Fang stabbed the archer in the back.
The rusty sword was lodged deep into the archer, almost exiting through the front of the man.
"Bastard! I will kill you!!!"
The remaining elf rushed toward Fang which now felt like shitting his pants.
Fang readied his katana holding it in both hands horizontally, almost trembling in fear.
Eyes focused, fang glared the man down.
Clang
the heavy sword descended on Fang's katana, almost knocking it out of Fang's hands.
Fang took a few steps back and tried to distance himself from the elf but he couldn't escape his sword's reach.
Slash
the next attack slashed Fang's arm, leaving a deep cut.
"YOU'RE DEAD!"
Feeling the bleeding arm, fang tried to go on the offensive and just stabbed towards the man.
'why does he block all of my attacks!? I am going to die, Fuck, not again!"
Just when Fang was about to fall backward and lose his grip, he heard a loud whizzing noise coming towards him.
Suddenly, the man caught on fire.
His entire robe was ablaze in a moment and he fell on the ground trying to roll and put it out.
But then another small fire arrow struck the elven warrior in the stomach, this time setting him on fire from the inside.
The smell of burnt meat pungent and dominant hit Fang's nose, giving him his own headache.
He looked up towards the cave and saw a small man leaning against the cave's entrance with his right hand, and pointing his left towards the elven warrior.
He heaved heavily, starting to slowly collapse into a sitting position.
"Welcome back, how was the experiment."
Fang gave Isgram a smirk.
"let's say it was considered a success..."
Isgram thought it was a weird response considering the corpses of the elves front of them but he knew that the awakening of an element changes one's soul tremendously.
"I will start cooking, you tell me what happened."
Isgram looked at him suspiciously. he couldn't help but wonder what happened.
Entering the cave, fang lifted isgram towards the furnace and sat him against the wall.
Isgram chopped some mushrooms and added them to the pig skewers.
Seeing isgram busy, fang started to explain.
"They were approaching the cave a few minutes ago. I have a scout summon for now though he is not that useful right now.
I saw them preparing to enter the cave so I used an offensive spell on the archer, a spell that induces sickness and diseases.
He was overwhelmed and taken by surprise as I stabbed him in the back.
Then that maniac tried to cut me to cubes but you came in clutch."
Isgram remembered how easily he was cut by the elvish metal, so he watched Fang's arm with remorse.
"I made a cream from the flowers you used on me. Try it, it should be more concentrated that way, it's like a dry paste."
Fang started bandaging his arm with the blue paste, instantly feeling the chilly Colling effect.
"I think I made a good decision looking for you. now do you want mushroom and meat stew or not?"
Fang nodded warmly, slightly smirking.
"I wouldn't mind some food, it's been a long day."
"I will start right away. Firebolt." Isgram whispered peacefully.
"It's a really useful element, you know? I struggled to find stones that can light a fire."
"I think we'll have a good partnership then. well, as long as you're looking to have some actual minions under you soon."
Isgram knows that no kingdom will host a chosen one just like that.
Fang was his best bet.
"I would gladly start my squad.
who knows, it might become an army. I think a new skill should have opened by now for me though."
Fang noticed the cave changed a bit. there were dark metal pots hanging on the wall, now filled with little hangers and a shelf.
there was a new flat platform that actually looked the closest thing to a bed now.
Fang sat near the furnace warming up. He looked around with a sharp gaze.
"I see you worked on the place a bit... You're not one that lays down to rest, aren't you?"
"If you want to live like a king, you should start thinking like a king."
"I am no king, Isgram."
"with what I've seen today, you're not that bad. You're definitely not in the same league as the other elves, but dealing with small fries like these two will be a piece of cake. once I'll heal I'll be able to train with you as well."
"I'll look forward to that."
Before sitting to eat, fang took the elves' bodies and threw them into a small pit he dug with a crude shovel isgram made from stone.
He covered them with ashes from the furnace and some hard soil.
Returning to the cave, the embers cracked, leaving the cold night out and the warm smell of mushrooms and meat in.