The Academy

by Colin Daumen

  'Hmm, so regardless of what type of beast core I get, the shadow will be able to absorb the energy into our core and convert it into arcana. Interesting.'

  Even better, he realized he could meditate simultaneously with his shadow, which would yield him a much faster speed in levelling up. He wanted to test out how this would work, but it was already dawn. It was time to get ready for his second day in the beast range.

  ...

  The sun shone down through the woods, illuminating the camp. The trio was currently eating breakfast, Favian eating a healthy meal of fruits and muesli. Dunkel was eating some beef jerky, whilst Licht was eating a chicken leg along with an assortment of even more meat.

  'I'm eating loads, but look at how much she's eating,' Favian thought. He couldn't believe that Licht was having so much meat for breakfast. If he didn't know that the world worked differently here than it did on Earth, he would've been surprised that she hadn’t died of a heart attack yet.

  "Dunkel, I've got a question," Licht said.

  "Fire away mademoiselle," he replied.

  Licht pointed at his bow and quiver before asking, "Why do you carry a bow and quiver when you just conjure them out of magic anyways? It's been bothering me this whole time because of how impractical it is."

  Dunkel looked at his weaponry, a sentimental glint in his eyes. "Ah, well, my grandma gave me these before I started to study magic properly. I just keep them in case I ever run out of mana, and because I don't have the heart to just throw them away. Even if they were useless, any present from her I'd keep close to me."

  "What type of person is she?" Licht asked, interested in this woman who Dunkel had a massive soft spot for.

  Sadness washed over Dunkel as he looked for the way to answer the question. Finally, after a minute of silence, he said, "Grandma was kind. She'd always tell me these stories about the outside world every night, and about magic and other things. My father died when I was young, and my mother is always busy being the Queen of Drows, so I'd been raised by my Grandma ever since I could remember. Now that she's gone too, I just hold onto the things she taught me even more." Dunkel clutched the bow even harder than before, as tears dripped down onto his hands.

  The crying didn't last long, after which he wiped off his tears, and proceeded to ask a question himself. "Guys, don't you think it's weird that they want us to just survive for one month. I mean, there are loads of us who can survive for a month and come out unharmed. Something fishy is going on. I just can't put my finger on it."

  Chapter 28 - System?

  Favian started to ponder on the question asked by Dunkel. Logically speaking, Dunkel was right, there were numerous students who would be able to simply survive in whichever range they were sent to. Even more than 80% of the students should be able to at least stay alive for a whole month, and those who weren't able to kill off any beasts should still be fine hiding for the allotted time. He'd wondered why they were allowing everyone to bring in supplies such as fresh food and water when it was supposed to be a test. Surviving for a month became drastically easier by not needing to hunt or forage for water and meat.

  "Yea, I found it weird that Professor Mildred talked about the 'first month' when she explained how we signal for help. I'd think that the test isn't about survival at all," Licht said as she rubbed her chin in thought.

  "Maybe the test is to actually hunt the magical beasts in our area? I mean, that would make sense. Or maybe the test is to see which students cultivate the furthest in this month? I don't know, but I think that just sitting by idly and doing nothing will be a waste of our time anyways," Favian said.

  With that, their conversation ended, and the party decided to go hunting for different magical beasts. Like this, they spent the next ten days. Hunting, meditating and more hunting was their routine.

  Favian could basically claim to have completely mastered the use of his shadow, and had even found out that by casting a spell at the same time as his shadow, they could increase the strength of it in a multiplicative nature. Sadly, his only usable spells currently were Time Stop and Net of Shadows, thus, they didn't deal any direct damage. His Net of Shadows, however, was able to subdue creatures with raw strength equivalent to that of a Level 1 Mage. Of course, he couldn't subdue a Level 1 Mage with ease as they would have various protections, and the effects wouldn't last as long as they did on a mindless beast.

  Spirit beasts on this continent had much stronger raw power than the sentient beings (Humans, Elves etc.) and only gained sentience once they reached a particularly high cultivation level. This would take hundreds of years longer than it did for the sentients, which was the downside that they innately had. Compared to Humans or Elves they were much stronger starting off, but they took a lot longer to progress through the different ranks. Their ranks were the same as that of any cultivator, which spanned from levels 1 to 9. An interesting thing with these beasts, however, was that they would automatically learn their skills upon reaching a certain threshold. Thus, they needn't agonize themselves over hours spent perfecting a spell or skill.

  The party had yet to come into contact with a beast that was out of their level. Except for the mammoth that they'd run away from previously, everything else was sailing smoothly. Favian would scout out for the party, which resulted in this comfortable setting for the trio. His shadow couldn't be attacked physically, and spiritual attacks were necessary to harm it. This meant that even fire or wind magic were useless, and only attacks related to dark or light magic could affect it. However, these attacks were extremely dangerous to the shadow.

  Favian absorbed as many beast cores as possible, which was sped up by his shadow which also absorbed some of the cores. He'd been able to find various beast cores with a light magic attribute in the desert, and only a few that contained a dark energy attribute. These were precious to him, as his absorption speed of those two were pretty high, allowing him to cultivate efficiently.

  'Huh, what's this slimy wall I've hit on?' Favian asked himself as he sat meditating in his tent. It was currently nighttime, and the moon seemed absent from the area. The whole forest was covered in darkness, and no light illuminated the place.

  The wall Favian hit on felt sticky, and each time he poured energy into it, it seemed to open up a gap, before closing again when his energy ran out. His heart was beating fast as he realized that breaking this barrier should make him a Level 1 Mage. He tried for hours to break through, however, it seemed that his mana pool was insufficient.

  'If you need more mana, then what about this?' Favian thought. This was the first time that he'd brought his shadow back into his body, along with his second arcane core, as the protection and utility it provided seemed too good to just recall.

  The feeling of himself being whole again washed over Favian, and a strange surge of energy awakened within him. The second arcane core released large tendrils of black energy into his body, before attacking the sticky wall.

  'What is this?' Favian questioned, but didn't waste any time in putting his first arcane core into the fray. Mimicking the actions of the second core, Favian released purple tendrils of energy at the barrier.

  Favian had thought that the tendrils of energy would forcibly break through the barrier, but instead, it sapped away the power from the barrier, forcing it to become more solid, like glass. 'NOW!' Favian shouted in his mind.

  Favian pushed all of his body's energy, including all of his mana, to the extreme in an attempt to break the barrier. He conjured two daggers in his hands, one black and one purple, and smashed them against the glass wall. With a crash, the wall shattered in half, and Favian fell through it.

  A wave of world energy surged into Favian, nourishing his body and mind, and strengthening his arcane cores. His eyes now became a deep purple, and his hair started to glow purple. His cores now felt not only stronger, but like they were pumping out much more arcana into his body to turn into mana.

  [DING! Host upgraded to Level 1 Mage. Congratulations!


  Favian Umbra (Level 1 Shadow Mage)

  Stats: Str:3.0, Con:3.5, Agility:4.2, Intelligence:10, Arcana: 10, Mana pool 10,000.

  The host has unlocked a new passive ability:

  Perception Level 1 - Host ability to view the world clearly without the use of sight. This passively allows the host to interact with surroundings using only arcana.

  The host is required to choose a subclass, would the host like to see the list of subclasses now?] Elon loyally spoke.

  Favian could not have been more ecstatic at the sound of the system he thought he'd completely lost. His emotions were running high, however, he still had questions to ask.

  'System, what happened to you? Why did you only appear now?'

  [DING! System was forced to undergo an evolution by the massive energy surge created by the lightning current host received whilst battling at the Colosseum. The system would have finished evolution after 6 months, but the excess energy the host received by levelling up right now boosted this process to completion.]

  Favian was shocked at this situation. It was almost comical; his precious game system was forced into a premature evolution? He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at his luck.

  'Why did you have to wipe away my memories on all of the books you scanned? Couldn't you just upgrade with the knowledge still intact?' he asked.

  [DING! To answer the host's question, the upgrade and evolution of the system requires 100% of the system's attention, therefore all facilities are halted until its completion.] Elon replied mechanically.

  'So the system isn't completely overpowered then I guess. I have at least a set period of vulnerability every time the system upgrades, so I need to be a lot less reliant on it, in case another event such as this happens again.'

  [DING! Would the host like to see the contents of the system's evolution?]

  'Yes.'

  [DING! Object scanning 2 acquired - Host can now scan the power levels of individuals above the host's strength rating, up to a certain limit. The stronger an opponent is, the more unknown values will be projected. Objects can be scanned from further away, not requiring the host's touch to perform analysis.

  Arcana knowledge 2 acquired - Host can now absorb intermediate arcane particles from his surroundings.

  Arcane Core Shop acquired - Host is limited to the purchase of a maximum 1 additional arcane core. Experience required 100,000.

  Analyzing host memories... Performing synthesis... Experience gained...

  Host experience 20,000. The host can purchase 'Item Shop' now. Would the host like information on it?]

  'Hold on, so I can absorb intermediate arcane particles now? My cultivation speed should skyrocket now that I can directly absorb shadow energy. And another arcane core would probably be amazing, but I'm far from having enough experience to buy it. I guess I'll do this,' Favian thought.

  Favian decided to purchase the item shop, which Elon explained would allow him to purchase weapons, armor, potions, and other miscellaneous items via the usage of combat tokens. Combat tokens could only be received by killing beasts and those significantly weaker than him wouldn't net him many tokens. Also, he had to contribute more than 50% of the damage dealt to a beast in order to get these tokens.

  Chapter 29 - Upgrades Galore

  At the moment, he'd been able to gather only 15 tokens. The choices in the item shop were pretty limited, which Elon explained was due to the host's low level, which hid most of the items. Before deciding to buy anything, Favian wanted to first figure out which subclass he wished to pursue.

  "System, bring up the information on my available subclasses," Favian said.

  [DING! Available subclasses are as follows:

  Arcane Knight - Grants huge increase in vital stats, and allows the user to utilize arcana to bolster their body. You will be granted various spells related to the increase of defensive capability. Favored weapons: Sword and shield.

  Host compatibility with Arcane Knight is at 4/10

  Eldritch Archer - Grants medium increase in vital stats, intelligence, and arcana. The user will gain secondary stat 'dexterity', this increases the user's fast-twitch muscle memory coordination (not to be confused with agility, which determines the ability to move quickly) in relation to using arcana. You will be granted various spells related to archery.

  Favored weapons: Eldritch Longbow

  Host compatibility with Eldritch Archer is at 7/10.

  Void Assassin - Grants medium increase in vital stats, intelligence, and arcana. The user will gain the passive ability 'Stealth', which allows the host to remain unseen from both visual and spiritual vision. You will be granted various spells related to stealth and shadows.

  Favored weapons: Daggers.

  Host compatibility with Void Assassin is at 10/10 (recommended).

  Saint - Grants huge increase to intelligence and arcana. The user will gain secondary stat 'wisdom', which improves the host's healing capabilities. You will be granted various spells related to healing and buffing.

  Favored weapons: Mace and shield

  Host compatibility with Saint is at 8/10

  Druid - Grants huge increase to intelligence and arcana. The user will gain passive ability 'Summoned creatures' and 'Transformation', which allow the user to turn into a number of different beasts, and learn means of communicating with beasts. You will be granted various spells for summoning and transforming.

  Favored weapons: Staff

  Host compatibility with Druid is at 6/10.]

  "Woah that's a lot of information," Favian spoke out loud. He was surprised at how detailed the information on all of these subclasses were. The choice he had to make seemed hard at first, because of the bombardment of information the system gave him, however, after a bit of contemplation, Favian was easily able to choose which class resonated the most with him.

  'I really don't like the thought of having to be the beefy tank receiving all the damage in the party. It sucks away my agency in being able to kill enough beasts on my own, without the help of a party. And I think I'm going to need a lot of beast kills so that I can access the good stuff from the item shop. This also strikes out the saint class, since it's only good for utility and healing. The druid class might be good for offence, but I'm not sure what weaknesses all of the transformations will have, and I don't particularly like the thought of having to transform into beasts.'

  Favian sighed, before finally making his decision. 'System, choose subclass Void Assassin.' His choice had been between an archer and an assassin, which both seemed practical for his current skillset. However, what swayed him towards the Void Assassin was the compatibility rating of 10/10. The system clearly knew something which he didn't, and since his train of thought had come to those two as the last candidates, he decided to just go with what the system thought was most effective. It even stated he would gain spells related to shadows, which probably was the reason for the highest rating it had.

  [Ding! Processing subclass acquirement... Success. Host now possesses the subclass 'Void Assassin'. Spells learned: Decoy, Assassinate, Chaotic Pursuit, Silent Casting (Passive), Dagger Mastery (Passive) and Stealth (Passive).

  Decoy (Level 1), 50 mana - Allows host to transmit an image of himself into the mind of an opponent, temporarily confusing and stunning the enemy. Ineffective against higher power levels.

  Stealth (Passive) - Allows the host to remain hidden from physical and magical vision types. Effectiveness decreases with enemy strength above the host's level.

  Assassinate (Passive) - Host able to immediately target weak spots, if target possesses any. Hitting these spots will deal critical damage.

  Chaotic Pursuit (Level 1) 1000 mana - Host unleashes a flurry of dagger strikes at an enemy, shifting in and out of the shadow plane as he does this.

  Silent Casting (Permanent) - Host never needs to cast spells via an incantation. All spells are cast without noise.

  Dagger Mastery (Permanent) - Host is now familiar with optimal usage of any weapon tha
t fits into the dagger category.]

  The information from his new abilities cascaded into Favian's mind, his understanding of how to cast these spells immediately increasing. Silent casting could be seen as an overpowered ability, as it meant he could cast any and every spell without the need for an incantation. Many mages would need up to a minute to be able to cast a spell, and the chant they used made it clear to their opponents which spell was being cast, allowing them to use their countermeasures. For Favian's enemies, however, there would be no such countermeasures.

  His stats now stood at 'Strength 5.0, Constitution 5.5, Agility 8.0, Intelligence 13 and Arcana 12.' The increase in stats he'd gained ever since becoming a Level 1 Mage was insane. 'No wonder there's such a huge difference between an initiate and a true magician's power,' he thought.

  Favian's torso was now well built and defined. The muscles he'd previously lacked rippled across his body like the waves of the ocean. He could feel that his control over his body had increased by a huge margin, and the speed at which his thoughts were processed was a lot quicker as well. He could probably complete 10 sudoku puzzles at once in the span of less than a minute.

  Favian then proceeded to buy a set of daggers, which had cost all of his Battle Tokens. However, he thought it was completely worth it, as a dagger made out of regular materials, such as the ones he'd bought at the academy, wouldn't pose much of a threat to strong magical beasts. The daggers he had now were of a dark appearance and aptly named 'Stygian Daggers'. They were completely black and void of any color, whilst the surface glinted with shadowy wisps of energy.

  The warm rays of the sun had risen above the clouds by now, and Favian realized he'd spent the whole night sorting through his newfound powers. The first thing he did before leaving his tent to convene with his party was to summon his shadow-self again. He would try to have it's uptime at 100% as long as he was in the beast range. He'd only hide it when he needed to, namely, once he reached the academy. He didn't want anybody examining his strange power and figuring out how it worked.