[Skill – Identification learned]
[Identification – Provides basic information about target within sight]
[Luminite Gladius
Sharpness - 35%
Strength – 40
Durability – 20%]
'Nice, finally got the [Identification] skill after all the searching I've done'
Seth gave the sword a swirl and held it up to the light for a better look, as the rays passed the metal it shone with a vague blue glow that highlighted its state, there was minor chips all along the blade and deep scratches everywhere, the handle leather was incredibly worn and coming apart.
'I guess I can't expect much from an old blade- the stats reflect that, but its Luminite which is a surprise, this stuff is good and a fairly high rank material, similar but slightly stronger than steel and it can be used to channel mana more efficiently making it great for use with [Reinforcement]'
"Either way it's the best I have now since that thing is beyond busted"
He glanced next to the corpse; his previous club was broken into pieces after being overused in the last fight.
'I should also consider it lucky that the blade is in such a bad shape, if it were at its best, I wouldn't have escaped with minor or slightly deep nicks I'd lose a limb each time I was slashed at!'
The three stats that represent a weapon were fairly simple, Sharpness represented how well the blades edge has been maintained thus affecting its ability to cut, Strength represented the hardness of the materials that it composed of, if two blades clashed the one with lesser strength would be damaged; Lastly Durability takes in mind the blade as a whole, it would likely be near unusable under 10 percent and at 0 it would have literally fallen apart.
Of course this isn't all there is to weapons, shape, weight and uniformity in its forging all hold importance but those are judged by eye or experience rather than the [Identification] skill, not only that just because a weapon has low durability, strength or sharpness doesn't make it useless, appearances were deceiving and this isn't a game in the end, being struck in the brain by a barely dull sword can kill you on the spot while having a finger lopped off by the greatest sword in the world will only give you a slight inconvenience.
'A sheathe would have been nice as well but god knows where this sack of bones lost it, anyway I better start moving again; I just hope that I don't fight anything else as tough as this anytime soon'
Just as he was about to set off a thought struck his mind.
'Oh right, I better make use of the stat points I'd gotten from my level ups, let's see what level I am now-'
[ Name – Seth
Race – Undead [Skeleton (Human)]
Level – 9 (10 points)
Health – 100% Mana – 100%
Current Status - Normal
Titles: None
Stats:
Strength – 11 Perception - 5
Intelligence – 10 Vitality - 11
Agility – 11 Stamina - 20
Dexterity – 5 Mana – 52 ]
"9?! Jesus Christ what level was that solider skeleton? That fat ass got me up to 4 and it's meant to get harder to level as you go up, yet I still went up 5, I was really lucky"
'Looking back on the fight, my first action was my biggest mistake; I might as well dump them into Intelligence to help my though process, so I don't do anything that stupid again'
[Intelligence – 10 > 20]
"Done and done!"
'Wait, there's something I'm forgetting isn't there… Mana core!'
He was already thanking his increase of intelligence for not missing out on such a good opportunity, he quickly dismantled the remains pulling out a small black blob about the size of a 50 pence piece, smaller than the pigs yet it felt like it contained a lot more mana.
'Black, as expected of an undead, I wonder if [Identification] will show me anything good'
[Black Essence Core – Dormant]
"Well thanks very fucking much that's very helpful"
'Sigh, the skill was never one for details, but I guess it would be broken if it was'
He stared at the core in his hand for a moment
'This isn't cannibalism, right? I mean all monsters do it and I'm not exactly human anymore… aaaaagh whatever, benefits before ethics right now!'
Once again, he lobbed the core into his mouth before it dissolved and coated his bones.
He felt a similar surge of strength pas through his spine and towards his core before messaged sounded in his head.
[Mana Core Consumed]
[Calculating…]
[Mana distributed, Mana and Health recovered]
[Stat increase:
Strength +2
Agility +3
Dexterity +4
Perception +4
Stamina +3]
"Holy motherlode of stats!"
[Essence activated – reading records]
'I'm sorry wha-'
Before he could get another thought in his vision turned black, however it wasn't through becoming unconscious it felt like he was in a different place all of a sudden.
It wasn't long before light returned to 'his' view and 'he' was staring out into the distance past some castle walls, bells of warning sounded in his surroundings as 'he' watched over the capital, fires burning everywhere, screams emerging left and right as many wept for the dead, however 'he' knew it wasn't over, but 'he' couldn't do a single thing.
"In the end… We couldn't protect anything"
'He' mumbled to himself, a voice different from Seth's
"We thought they were mere lunatics raving mad stories; however, they weren't that they were much worse"
'He' spoke to himself as to understand how 'he' got here in the first place.
"We let them do what they want because of our arrogance and now it's come to this- "
His eyes returned to the distance, his spine felt a chill run through it as goosebumps rose through his skin; There, just on the outside of the walls the shadows shifted, they entwined together to form almost visceral images as they built on their foundations, it grew and grew until it towered over the capital like a sentinel, no, a reaper announcing their end.
It wasn't just its size and appearance that strook fear into everyone that witnessed it, it was the fact that it wasn't even in its complete form, what stood tall was merely an arm forged from the shadows topped with seemingly razor-sharp claws that emitted a pressure that no mortal could withstand.
'He' could barely breathe as that pressure descended on to the city.
'If humans can survive this, that monstrosity, that calamity, that world ending creature; It will without a doubt be a miracle worthy of gods'
As he finished his though the claw descended at an almighty speed before 'his' vision and conscious went black.
...…
All of a sudden, he was back in the ravine having just eaten the core, but he couldn't help but panic as if he had just died once more.
"What the fuck was that?!"
'That wasn't me, I definitely don't remember such a scene! I just ate the mana core so… was it the soldiers? Was this normal? Then why didn't I get any memories of the pig?'
His mind spun as fast as it could to try reason what just happened out.
'No! The identification called it an 'Essence Core' not a 'Mana Core', maybe its different for the undead since their core houses their consciousness, maybe the memories that are relevant to their grudge or regrets?'
"God, that's freaky"
'Aside from that, what in gods name was that shadow?! Looking at the memory that place was the capital I know but it looked a bit different, other than the fact that it was a burning hellfire'
He couldn't help but reaffirm his thought from fighting the soldier earlier.
"The capital fell"
It was a tonne of bricks hitting the head of someone who thought he may have only been walking through the capital the other month or so.
The last moments of the memory flashed in his head, the chilling feeling of the claw lashing out like a scythe almost wanted him to forget it forever, but he had to connect it to something else, but it was really just as scary a thought.
'If that was the capital, and the solider died then and there then this place…'
"Is what remains of it… n-n-no fucking way seriously? Did that fucking monster cause this ravine? Isn't that basically a god's power?! What the hell happened whilst I was dead?!"
Everything was spinning out of control for him, he had assumed at least it couldn't have been that long since he died but now, he's seriously thinking otherwise, this place looked like it had aged for a ridiculous amount of time and it was clearly the crushed remains of his previous home, did that mean it had been decades? Centuries? What if millennia had passed?!
It took many minutes for him to calm down, his lack of a beating heart or sweating skin put a damper on his panic, but he was slightly thankful for that.
"Either way - "
' – Stressing myself out in a panic here will do no good, I better see for myself the state of the world'
Having an only slightly clearer picture of the surface and his surroundings, he headed further in to the ravine in hopes of finding a way out.