A black box that looked like it was made from magma as it had cracks in that shone red from underneath, appeared in my hand. The artifact appeared at my feet. I opened the window for the object on the floor.
LEFT GAUNTLET OF THE DEMON LORD
+40 STR
+50 AGI
+10 CON
GAIN SKILL - LORD FLAME
MANA STORED - 0/900,000
"This is gunna be good." I placed the slender gauntlet that was made of a black wood over my left hand and forearm, a soft orange glow emanated from between the wooden fibres. I then held the molten box in front of me, opening it up.
MACE OF SMITING
WHILE WIELDING THIS MACE YOUR DIVINE SPELLS GAIN MORE EFFECTIVENESS
+50% DIVINE MAGIC POWER
MANA STORED - 0/58,000
The mace, contrary to its name was a black, twisted thing that was meant obviously for a dark priest. One thing that had surprised me though, was the size of the box compared to the size of the item within, the two didn't match at all.
"Well, this isn't an item for me. Maybe I can sell it in the next town I get to." I muttered to myself as I placed the mace in storage. I then opened my stat screen and searched for my highest skill level.
MANA ABSORPTION - LVL 82
YOU CAN ABSORB THE RESIDUAL MANA IN THE AIR TO INCREASE YOUR PHYSICAL CAPABILITIES. THIS BUFF LASTS UNTILL YOU RELEASE THE MANA OR LOSE CONCENTRATION ON IT.
MANA COST - 25
The level had been significantly raised due to my heavy use of the skill, even now I had it slightly going. I looked at the 20 skill points I had and put 18 into my job, raising my level up to 88. I was immediately greeted by two notifications
SKILL - MANA ABSORPTION HAS REACHED MAXIMUM LEVEL
GAINED SECONDARY SKILL - MANA LEACH
"So maxing out a skill gives me a secondary skill that's related? This could be good." I opened the skill description of mana leach.
MANA LEACH - LVL 1
WHEN MAKING PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH ANOTHER BEING THAT HAS MP YOU MAY TAKE AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO THE MP SPENT ON THIS SKILL. MAX MP LEACHED IS INCREASED PER LEVEL OF THIS SKILL.
MANA COST - 1000
"Sounds good to me." I grinned. I also caught sight of the change in description of my mana absorption skill as well.
MANA ABSORPTION - LVL MAX
YOU CAN ABSORB THE RESIDUAL MANA IN THE AIR TO INCREASE YOUR PHYSICAL CAPABILITIES. THIS BUFF LASTS INDEFINITELY AND YOU MAY CHOOSE TO HAVE THE MANA YOU HAVE ABSORBED TAKE EFFECT IN A PHYSICAL OR VISUAL MANNER, NEITHER OR BOTH.
MANA COST - 25
So I absorbed all of the mana I could, noticing the intense glow showing through my clothes now and seeing the wisps of pure mana curl out of and into my skin like small solar flares. I then turned off the visual side of it and most of the physical side so I was still enhanced but didn't show it. I then reviewed my stat window, placing my last two skill points into my job again.
SKILL - MANA WEAVING HAS REACHED MAXIMUM LEVEL
GAINED SECONDARY SKILL - ENCHANTMENT MANIPULATION
ENCHANTMENT MANIPULATION - LVL 1
YOU CAN CREATE AND MANIPULATE ENCHANTEMENTS BY PUMPING MANA INTO AN OBJECT WITH A SPECIFIC GOAL IN MIND, EFFECTS OF ENCHANTEMENTS AND STRENGTH OF THEM INCREASE WITH EACH LEVEL OF THIS SKILL.
MANA COST - 25000
I grinned at the acquisition of another secondary skill and started to decide where to put my 228 ability points when a voice called out to me and I flinched instinctively.
"Mage!" Shouted a noble sounding male voice.
I turned to see an elven man, I still wasn't used to the ears and a collection of text book adventurers around him, a female wizard with a tall wide brimmed hat and numerous others. They were all on edge.
"Come with us peacefully, mage, and you will come to no harm." The man said, hand on sword.
"Errm, hi?" I said, waving my hand. "Why?"
"We have been ordered by King Hungwoo to take you to the capital." The man in golden armour explained, his entire group still about 15m away from me.
'King Hungwoo? What is he? Korean?'
"I don't think I'll be going with you then, it smells fishy to me." I said, they were all being very hostile so I guessed I wasn't being invited round for dinner.
"Then we've no choice." The elf said, drawing his sword, it was a long sword with a black metal blade and gold pommel and guard. Mana started to gather round the blade and I recognized that it was about be set on fire in a rather powerful way, a high level individual skill. I let it complete but stopped the freezing spell that the female wizard was about to cast.
"Raaah!" The leader in gold shouted as he charged forwards, blade aflame. The rest of his party charged as well. I focused a little, their movements slowed visably and I noticed the female wizard at the back was stood still, unable to get her spells to work.
I stamped on the ground, creating a wall of metal in the way of the assault and leapt over the wall. My attackers filtered round the wall to find the other side empty. I landed behind the female mage, grabbing her in a choke hold. She tried casting another spell but I was too fast and activated my new skill while freezing her mana in place.
SKILL LEVELED UP - MANA LEACH LVL 4
I used the skill numerous times in quick succession, draining her completely of her mana reserves.
SKILL LEVELED UP - MANA LEACH LVL 5
SKILL LEVELED UP - MANA LEACH LVL 6
SKILL LEVELED UP - MANA LEACH LVL 7
As her allies turned round, noticing that I had their ally held hostage I whispered into her ear and activated my racial skill for the first time.
"Tell your friends to stand down." My voice came out in a double toned rhythm and she relaxed in my arms.
"Stand down." She said in almost a soothing manner.
Her allies stopped dead.
"Let go of her you fiend!" A large, muscled man shouted.
"Hey, I'm not the one who started this." I said, keeping a tight hold on the mage.
"Just let her go and come with us." One of them said.
"Only going to let you have one." I flung the mage forwards towards her group, non-lethally, giving my body the full benefit of the mana I had stored. Time ground to a halt as the mage was frozen mid air. I looked to the sky and flew upwards. Even at this speed, the flight felt extremely fast as the ground sped away from me. I soared above the clouds, only then did I let time come back to its original flow by lessening the effects of the mana. It was my first time flying above the clouds, I suspected that I'd be freezing cold this high up but thanks to my mana absorption skill I couldn't have felt more comfortable.
Scanning the sky for a mana stream I noticed one going upwards towards a large cloud.
"Please be what I think it is." I grinned, rocketing off to the cloud.
--
Helena
A wall of metal materialised from thin air in front of the unknown mage. Helena didn't follow the charge initially as she was trying to see why her spell casting didn't work.
A figure in a black cloak gracefully arced over the wall, Helena didn't have time to turn around before she was struggling in a hold. She barely managed to squeak under the immense pressure that the mage was applying. His strength score must've been well above three hundred because his grip felt like she was being strangled by a statue.
The party had turned round and looked like they were about to pounce on the mage when he whispered something in her ear that she just couldn't ignore.
"Stand down." She found herself saying as the Mage's grip loosened.
The conversation carried on for a few seconds before she was violently flung forwards and out of her stupor. Twisting in the air just in time to see the figure vanish and the loose dirt beneath where his feet were, shoot upwards in a spout.
"Where did that bastard go?!" Shouted Brim, the barbarian of the party.
"Are you alright?" Asked the worried Makyila, the shrine maiden as she began healing Helena of her light wound.
"Yeah.." wheezed Helena. "He's strong."
"And fast." Rn'd looked towards the sky. "What the scout said about him flying wasn't wrong, you can see where he's torn the clouds from his speed.
Indeed, even then, you could see the clouds tearing apart.