Ashyn was separated into 4 land masses that were split apart by mountains seas or forests. Elves were to the south surrounded by , as expected, trees..many trees.
Dwarves to the north by the mountains and the werewolves to the east enclosed by the sea sharing the forest with the elves but at a great distance.
Often skirmishes happened but no war.
The dragons ruled the skies but were never seen. They had a pact with all races preventing conflict as they were known as the divine race each born with the talent:
'child of the world'{SSS}
Description: Mother is on your side. She looks after her children. Your thoughts move mana and treasures find you! Death eludes you as mother Ashyn weeps if one of you were to die.
+20 Luc
Skills: Master of energy {SSS}
( You can guess what that is)
Exceeding growth {A}: Fast growth till rank A
Exceeding regeneration {S}: Limbs grow back at a visible rate dependent on cost of mana.
A mother's embrace {A}: Protected by Ashyn until rank A
Yes, they were the creatures of perfection. It was unfair to all other races so they stayed out of conflicts of the 'lower' beings.
The humans resided in the west with the land the same size as Earth (500 million km^2) and luckily oceans surrounding the continent.
Leaving the inn, I stared out at the cyber city that lay beyond me: flying cars, floating screens, and hovering stalls.
A very futuristic Earth.
I took a hoverboard and made my way to the floating bullet train and took one to West Krony.
Arriving in half an hour with 6000 credits left I immediately made my way to the forest.
It was an empty town and it seemed quite rural and desolate. A few stares popped up here and there but I carried on unfazed.
There were not many around and visitors were scarce, the town existed in its own seperate ecosystem, quite backward compared to the rest of humanity.
An eerie silence greeted me as I went to seek my prize. Although it was a safe forest, I remained tense,
' I should have bought a weapon '
A decrepit tree stood in the distance seeming to bear a face and a ghastly mouth.
There was no mention of this when she got the item.
As I closed in on the grotesque face, a divine and soothing voice reached my ears. I activated Poker's Face and kept my calm. My instincts did not warn me of any danger so I stood still relaxed but ready to escape.
''Why are you in this world? What do you wish for? Your soul exists in disharmony and your thoughts are erratic. Young one answer me with honesty and perhaps, I can grant you something or obliterate you.''
My body yearned to be in the voice's embrace but I held back from answering.
'Was this Ashyn? Could I trust her?'
My thoughts were unreadable as I kept my poker face on. There was no escape.
"I wish for unfettered freedom, clear of the restrictions that bound me"
"I don't sense any falsehood and I see you do not wish to harm this world but that was not the answer I seek. I would like a verbal oath"The voice answered.
I clenched my jaw and I already knew the words that she was waiting for. Even through my Poker's Face, my eyes showed a faint glint of irritation. Bitterly I let out the despised words,
"I wish to save this world from death"
"...You know the future as well it seems yet I won't pry. Don't be rash and learn not to hate this world as there are many things for you to protect. The freedom you speak of does not only exist in one form. But as promised, I will bestow a gift for you and if fate abides by it we will meet again."
The soothing voice began to disappear and in front of the tree, a drop shining with a bright sheen of gold and silver took its place.
It held a certain majesty trying to make me kneel in its presence.
Maintaining Poker's Face and resisting the powerful suppression I watched the drop hover slowly towards me before it inserted itself within me.
Preparing for pain a soothing feeling washed across me.
I could feel a band slithering around my heart.
After embedding itself within me, a sudden burst of energy revitalized me as my accumulated mental fatigue vanished yet I couldn't stop the feeling of resentment at yet another shackle binding my freedom.
I gritted my teeth.
'This is all for the future ' I reminded myself, 'Strength is all that matters.'
Let's see what Ashyn 'gifted' me.
___________________________________
_ Ashyns Ichor {EX}_
Description: 'Learn to love my world '
Although it was forced upon you. She hears your pleas.
Once a hundred years, Ashyn's vitality can restore you from death as long as the soul is present.
The host has gained the right to use Astreal energy.
The world seems to listen to you.
All races part of this world will be amiable to you as they sense a feeling of familiarity.
Foreign races feel 100% more hostility to you and will do anything to kill you.
You cannot do anything to harm the world.
The Ichor is bounded to your heart [unremovable]
Luc +25
Talent cap: B---> EX
Talent given: The Binded Saviour {EX}
Description: 'Oh, how he yearns for freedom yet he is constantly shackled by responsibilities'
You are immune to poison and curses.
Since you are bound no other force can force you into a contract nor control you.
Strings of fate may appear in your dreams.
Premonitions may happen if conditions are met
Skills:
Saviour's halo{SS}: Your presence can change tides in battle. Enemies fear and allies cheer. Morale boost up to 100%
Stat boosts up to 60%. Aura and Charisma dependant
Energy Lord{EX}: 'Your will is my command'
Energy heeds your beck and call and is only limited by your stats.
You are the Element's favourite so skill cost is reduced by 50%
Skill damage and arts increases by 50%
Vanity of the binded{???}
Your hate overflows. Emotions are ambiguous.
Apathy seems to be the correct way but emotions are equally as important.
You want a freedom that only seems to get further away.
State of mind is unstable
Your stats are half of what they are e.g at Str 1 it is actually 2 but shows as 1 in the status screen.
Stats are harder to train
You will never fail expectations?
No future of yours can be read your fate shifts depending on your every decision.
Eyes that pry will be cursed with instability.
You have a fleeting presence until you cause impact yet you always seem out of reach.
Deeper connection with space and time.
___________________________________
I was utterly shocked. Though my face remained passive my insides shook.
'Wasn't Astreals meant only for celestials? Was I a celestial now?'
'My stats also increased'
I clenched my fist and punched the closest tree. A deep thud sounded through the forest.
A mark was left in the tree with splinters sputtering around.
I stood there in excitement, grinning like a madman.
'What was wrong with me?'
'Why were my emotions so out of control?'
'Were these the results of an unstable mind?'
My teeth grinded as I forced myself to calm down. Anger flooded me but I quickly activated Poker's Gaze.
I had to level it up ASAP.
Even now I could still feel the restraints of Poker's gaze weakening against my anger and a mix of other things.
Wondering whether or not this was a blessing I opened up my status screen:
___________________________________
_Aeron Araxys _
Bloodline: Araxys (chained)
Description: A yearning for freedom
Rank cap: EX
Rank E
Str: 2 {E}
Agi: 3 {E}
Int: 1 {E-}
Luc: 26 {A-}
Dex: 2 {E}
Per: 5 {E+}
Cha: 10 {D+}
Charm: A+~S [growing]
(Luc 52 due to vanity and 1 from gambler's luck so it is A- rank)
Skills: All language,
Pain endurance {73%} passive
Poker's Gaze {B}, Gambler's Instinct {A} passive, Saviour's Halo{SS}, Energy Lord {EX} passive,
Vanity of the Binded{???}
Talent: Gambler's Luck{SSS}, Binded Saviour {EX}
Battle art: None
Fate points: 10003 (+10000 from Ichor and +3 from entering the forest)
Fate shop
[No skills can be purchased]
Ashyn : 4y 359d before C1
___________________________________
I was startled by the sudden growth in Fate points.
The ichor must have been important or given at a later time.
I opened up the fate shop and searched Skill Upgrade. Each skill had a different cost according to the part they played in fate. Pain endurance 'only' cost 100 per percentage but Poker's gaze coss a whole 5000 and Saviour's Halo cost 50000 to take to SSS rank.
I purchased Pain Endurance to 100% and upgraded Poker's Gaze to A rank.
Pain endurance 73%--->Painless physique: physical pain seems secondary to your problems
Poker's Gaze B---> {A}: An unreadable straight face shielding away emotions while keeping you unaffected by pressure. Enemies feel discomfort and pressure looking in your eyes. Friends feel safe. The effect depends on aura usage and efficiency.
Fate points: 10003--->2303
Pain endurance evolved to Painless Physique which was great and Poker's gaze seemed to be more advanced.
But my gaze lingered on my fate points thinking it would most probably be the last time I could get this much at once for a long time.
The talent name 'binded' irked me as well.
'The bind around my heart would most likely kill me if I tried to harm this world' I concluded.
I was sure my fate point expenditure was a healthy investment, helping me in the long run.
The stats were good for keeping my abilities under-wraps until I was strong enough to fight off any adversities and guilds.
Eyes couldn't pry but experts and high ranks would still see the mana I breathed in and out but it was fine as long as I kept it to a minimum.
The same thing applied to aura but I was unsure about Astreals as it wasn't mentioned much in the novel.
I activated Poker's Gaze and it was a whole new world. My thoughts were deafened and my emotions turned into wisps that I could barely feel.
I could process information at a much faster rate and the area around me seemed more alive, smelling and hearing things that I hadn't noticed before.
It was exhilarating.
The mana consumption was too great and I turned it off immediately. I was using an A-rank skill at E rank which wasn't a surprise. The jump in consumption was enormous between each rank and the only reason I could use it for so long in front of Ashyn was due to my pain tolerance as I held it in when speaking in a calm voice.
She had probably noticed before giving me the Ichor.
The Ichor healed me but I would be puking blood if I hadn't received it nor would I have been alive...
I would only use these skills in times of need but Vanity of the Binded seemed more like a talent or passive rather than a skill as it had no description of any attack or defensive capabilities.
Yet there was no note of it being a passive like Gambler's Instinct or Energy Lord.
Perhaps it may be due to my clear overall lack of strength.
I had tried to activate it with no response and I couldn't feel the space and time it mentioned I could feel.
Quickly dismissing the thoughts as secondary I returned to reality.
In the hole of the ancient tree lay a rosy-red shimmering sap that would have taken my rank cap to SS but it was now useless.
'If I take it will I gain fate points?'
I needed money as well as I thought about my 6000 credits...
Storing the item called 'Dragon essence', I stared at my fate points increase to 3053 a 750 increase.
Many items in the the Fate shop could help me but I didn't want to be too rash with my spending keeping my urges to start a spending spree on hold.
There was just one last thing to be done before the academy started.
Since I couldn't maintain Poker's Gaze I could still feel my emotions spiking so I decided to visit a place where the mc would visit much later to calm his raging emotions from the loss of his family members.
I glanced at my watch. It was 11:22 pm
Unwillingly I went back to West Kony and stayed the night at an old inn.
A painful sting struck me as I watched 300 credits get deducted from my card.
I had never seen such low amounts in my bank account reminiscing about the billions I couldn't spend in my past life.
This reminded me as well of the fact I didn't know what class I would be choosing.
Entering the academy meant I had to select a class to excel and tread in. You could learn other classes but you would excel at the one you had chosen.
I was unsure which I would choose.
No classes were looked at or frowned upon as each had its capabilities and weaknesses.
When you chose a class that would be your route and a battle art in that path would be given or bought giving abilities you would have to unlock and train to increase proficiency.
That was the difference between abilities and skills.
The main reason I was unsure was because I quite literally had excelled in everything in my past life archers, kendo, fencing, shooting or even cooking if I wanted to be an alchemist.
I wanted a class that could give me a bit of everything: power, range, speed.
My thoughts accelerated as I turned on Poker's Gaze hoping I could analyse the perfect weapon for me.
I went even as far as considering chakrams or even maces.
Turning off Poker's Gaze, my eyes were bloodshot and blood trailed down my cheek slowly.
Yet my stupid grin wouldn't fade.
I had it.
My class would be a new type of dual-wield swordman.
A traditional Japanese style of dual wield both rare and unorthodox but was promoted by the great samurai: Miyamoto Musahi.
It was common to wield a katana with two hands but it was inflexible in my opinion.
I would follow the way of the Daishō
One katana and one wakizashi.(shortened katana for close combat)
That would be my style.
I had both close and long-range, focused, and sweep attacks.
It was a strange style unused by anyone I knew, so no techniques could bind me.
No teachers could chain me as their disciple or chosen.
Simply put, it was liberation.
Abit of info if confused abt stuff in my thoughts section
Lemme know if anything more is needed