As the man stood still in front of me, most likely waiting for my answer, I ran through everything I had read about nonhuman races.
'Not a demon. I don't think he's a transformed beast either, his features are plantlike. Not a dryad, they can't stray from their home forests. A faerie then, this is going to be difficult to deal with. Most faeries that leave their homes are the ancient ones, deadly and incredibly cleaver. I finally got access to the library, but I doubt it's wise to ignore the summons of a faerie lord'
"What might it be that your lord wants with me?"
the faerie's expression stayed neutral.
"He will tell you that himself. But do not worry human, we will not harm you"
'Good, the fae can't lie, it seems that this lord isn't hostile. I must either have something he wants, or have done something that intrigued him'
"Lead the way then"
At that, the faerie turned around and began walking off. He moved quickly, and I had to stay close so he wouldn't leave the short range of my sense. We left the inner city through the east gate and made our way to the nearby forest. The faerie stopped when we arrived at a shallow pond with extremely clear water, like glass. He kneeled down and placed a single spindly finger inside the pond. Small ripples spread across the water and soon began to intensify, after a few seconds it looked like the pond was boiling. Once the water calmed down, it no longer revealed the dirt underneath it. Instead, it looked like a screen connected to a camera a few feet above a grassy glade. The faerie stood up and turned to face me.
"Come"
He then stepped into the pond and vanished. I stood still for a moment and then followed him. The instant my foot broke the surface of the water, my vision faded to black. My stomach lurched as a feeling like falling at extreme speeds came over me. After a few moments my vision returned and I quickly turned my body to land in a crouch on the ground. I stood up and observed my surroundings. I was in the glade that was depicted in the pond. Tall trees rose around me, but not normal trees. Their trunks and leaves were all different colors, from green to orange to pink to silver. I then realized that the essence in the atmosphere was much denser than it had been in the forest outside Dragon's Perch. The sky above was bright, but held no sun. The faerie spoke up to get my attention.
"Follow me, human"
As we moved through the ethereal forest, I caught glimpses of many strange creatures. Squirrel-like animals with clear fur like glass. Tiny humanoids with glimmering wings. Snakes that dripped blood as they slithered through the grass. Eventually, we reached another clearing, though this one was much larger.
Many more faeries, as beautiful as they were strange, danced with grace to light music that seemed to come from every direction. In the center of the clearing, on a throne grown into its shape, sat a man with emerald-green skin and butterfly wings, gazing at the sky. I walked forward, for I knew this was the faerie Lord that had called upon me. I ignored the dancers as I approached the winged man. When I stood in front of him, he looked away from the sky and met my eyes with his.
The instant he did, an extreme pressure fell upon me, like I was standing under a waterfall. I couldn't tell how the pressure was being generated, but I didn't waver, steeling my self and glaring into the faerie Lord's amber eyes.
'This must be some sort of test. Almost all of the books I've read that discuss the fae agree on their extreme arrogance and general dislike for humans'
The strength of the pressure began to increase and my feet started to sink into the ground. When I was about to be pushed to my knees, the pressure finally receded and the faerie lord spoke.
"Truly interesting, not only did completely ignore the allure of the eternal dance, your body is far stronger than most human ascenders of your age. hmmm..."
He leaned forward and a sapling shot out of the ground, rapidly growing into the shape of a table that he leaned on. He was silent for a few seconds, so I tried to identify him, without success. After a few more seconds, he seemed to remember something and spoke up once more.
"Ah yes, there was a reason I called you here. The other day, an uncontrolled storm of essence was detected by my men. Normally, this would not require the attention of the fae. But this storm contained some very powerful, and very dangerous types of esscence. So I must ask you-"
Suddenly the color of his eyes darkened and I was once more assaulted with a powerful pressure. But this time, the pressure wasn't tangible. It seemed to weigh directly on my mind. I had faced a massive bear and run straight into an enemy army without experiencing the slightest bit of fear. But standing in front of this immobile faerie, I felt the urge to run. However, it wasn't exactly fear, more like a primal instinct that warned me that I was in danger.
"-do you intend to upset the balance?"
I barely prevented myself from stumbling backward and responded to the faerie Lord.
"What balance?"
And then the pressure was gone and the Lord's eyes had brightened.
"Hmm, It seems that I was mistaken. Malic, lead him back."
I didn't bother trying to ask the Lord any questions as he dismissed me with a wave of his hand and once more followed the green-eyed faerie.
'I definitely need to gather more information. The first technique that faerie lord used was physical, something I know how to deal with, but I have no idea how he directly affected my mind. I have no doubt that he could have made me blackout if he wanted to. And then there is the matter of this 'balance'. My guess is that its something to do with the amounts of essence in certain areas. But then again, It could be something political, like a peace treaty. I should put it aside for now, the attack on my mind is more important. But I really need to be more careful. The faerie told me that they wouldn't harm me, but the Lord clearly would have if I had given him a different answer, I should get a more concrete oath the next time I deal with the fae'
As the green-eyed faerie led me back through the strange forest, I contemplated the mind attack. After a few minutes, I came to a conclusion.
'[Theory of the Soul] talked of a connection between mind and soul. I've never found what [Spirit] referred to, but it increased whenever I went through an experience that tested the limits of my ability. And I couldn't detect even the slightest movement of essence when my mind was attacked. Considering all of this, I'm guessing that there is some other type of energy that I don't know how to control which involves the mind and soul. If I'm right, I really need to get to the library'
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The faerie transferred me back to the forest outside the capital and then disappeared back into the pond, the entranceway disappearing along with him. I quickly made my way into the inner city and approached the library. The guards recognized me and stepped aside to let me enter.
The Royal Libray was truly a haven. Rows and rows of books, filling massive selves that crowded the large room. In front of me stood a grand spiral staircase that led up into the upper levels. I spent the next four hours scouring the nine levels I had access to for anything that talked about the mind and soul. But besides some religious texts and various theory books, I couldn't find anything.
'I should have expected this, it must be information above the grasp of a small human kingdom. Then again, It is possible that I'm wrong about this, but that's unlikely. I'll need to head to the great kingdoms sooner than I previously thought... Two weeks in this library and then I leave, I'm extremely vulnerable to more of these mind attacks'
With a time limit set, I got to reading. I spent every day in the library, reading as quickly as I could, and then returned to the castle to sleep. Every morning, I ran into a number of servants on the street that had been sent by nobles to recruit me. I ignored them all. One morning a young knight challenged me to a duel, and not wanting to deal with any more of his type, I sent him flying into the castle wall. In the end, I got through 30 books of various lengths, many of which provided skills I kept.
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[Frost Resistance]
Rank C
Your body is used to low temperatures and is thus resistant to ice essence.
[Wind Resistance]
Rank C
Your body has been tempered by a tempest and is thus resistant to air essence
[Higher Sword Mastery]
Rank B
You are attuned with the way of the sword and can wield one with practiced, deadly, ease.
[Lightning Field]
Rank B
Cover your body in a weave of electric essence.
[Flow Control]
Rank B
Using swift movements and precise air essence control, gather and release powerful shockwaves from your body.
[Greater Longbow Mastery]
Rank A
Your mastery of a bow is highly refined and nothing within your range can escape your arrows. Difficult angles do nothing to hinder your skill, you can fire accurately from any position.
[Conjure Steel Longbow]
Rank A
Condense metal essence into a flexible steel bow with a bowstring made of thin steel fibers woven together.
[Iron Rain]
Rank A
Condense crude spears of metal essence in the air and rain them down on your command.
[Greater Throwing Mastery]
Rank A
Years of practice let you throw almost anything with extreme precision.
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I got [Greater Throwing Mastery] and [Higher Sword Mastery] each from a single book, which was quite lucky, I'd found that mastery skills were hard to get at high levels from a single text. They both allowed me more options in combat, especially [Greater Throwing Mastery].
I received [Conjure Steel Longbow] from an interesting story about a boy who was banned from using weapons and exiled by his country after attacking a soldier who killed his sister. Walking through the wastelands on the edges of civilization, he stumbled into an old tomb. The tomb was a resting place for the last great bowmaster. Through the carvings on the wall, he discovered that the bowmasters were a group of people who handed down the ancient art of using the longbow. They were incredibly powerful but lived in secrecy; at least until a powerful kingdom decided that they were a threat and wiped them out with the full might of its army. The boy realized that the kingdom in the story was his own. Wanting revenge on the corrupt kingdom for his sister and what they had done to the peaceful bowmasters, he spent years learning how to craft and use bows from the information left in the tomb. After going through the dangerous final trials of the bowmasters, he returned to his home kingdom. He killed the solider that he had attacked all those years ago before breaking into the great castle and killing the king and his corrupt officials. He Left the kingdom injured and empty after succeeding in his revenge. He eventually found solace in teaching the ways of the bow to orphaned children that he picked up on his travels.
The two other conjuring skills that I had previously acquired were very powerful for their level, and this one didn't disappoint. The longbow was huge, and I could just barely fully draw it. Seeing the potential in the skill, I found a few high ranking longbow manuals and acquired [Greater Longbow Mastery]. The combination of the insane draw weight of the bow and [Uncanny Eyesight] allowed me to deliver devastating attacks from around 2000 feet(610m) away. The only big limitation it had was the number of arrows I could carry, but that problem was solved by the skill I received from the last book I read.
It was a book on astronomy. It talked of the many constellations and formations of stars and how to find your way using them. I had a copy of it made and placed it in my [Knowledge Emporium], as the information would be very useful if I ever got lost without a map. The book's skill reminded me that I was just scraping the surface of the power of essence.
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[Create Dead Subspace]
Rank S
Manipulate space essence to form a subspace that can't sustain life. A large amount of essence is required to form the subspace; but after it is created, it will take only a small sliver of essence to open an entrance to it. More essence can be expended to increases the size of the subspace but it will cost exponentially more the large it gets.
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After being stunned for the second time since I entered this new world, I rushed back to my room in the castle to use the skill. I stood in the center of the large room after letting my essence fully regenerate and cast the spell.
I fell to my knees as my essence began flowing out of my body like water from a broken tap. In the air in front of me, a 10 by 10 by 10 ft(3m) cube made of purple-black runes appeared. The runes flashed a few times before expanding, forming a solid cube, and disappearing. I thought the process was over, but then I felt a searing pain in my left arm and looked to see that a purple-black rune that looked like a square full of swirls with curved lines on every corner that came together to make a spiral had appeared on my wrist.
'Runes again, there must be something special about them. Another thing to add to my list of unknowns'
I was exhausted, with almost all my essence used up, but I wanted to try opening the subspace.
I stood up and once once more activated the skill, but this time I did it with the intention to open an entrance to the subspace. The rune on my arm warmed and a larger rune of the same shape appeared before me. However, inside of swirls, the inside of the square was a black void. I reached forward, and the instant my hand entered the void, an image of an empty space the size of the original cube appeared. I pulled my hand back, and the image disappeared. I then threw a coin into the void and once more reached my hand into it. The image reappeared in my mind, the only change being the existence of a single coin.
'This is an immensely useful skill, I'd expected it to be SS rank. No, wait, if I think about it, skills of the same rank have varying power, [Create Dead Subspace] must just be at the peak of S rank. Using it as a metric, I can place [Sky Steps] and [Sacrifice] at the lower end of S rank. It does make sense that S rank would have a large range between its best and worse skills; There is a large gap between A and S rank, even the weakest S rank skill I have is incredibly powerful. I should try and figure out how the system dictates the ranks of skill... I'm getting distracted, I need to prepare to leave tomorrow. My vulnerability to mind attacks is too great a weakness'
I closed the entrance to the subspace and decided to go to sleep to recuperate from forming the subspace and gather my supplies the next morning. I threw my tired body onto the soft bed and entered my half-sleep state.