Chapter 22- From the Shadows into the Light

Garbhans' POV

Turning into the empty alleyway, from the busy streets, I pause momentarily to make sure I wasn't being followed.

The Queens Shadows were quite bothersome and popped up exactly when you didn't want them to.

Using Mana Sense didn't work, as they had the annoying perk to hide their presence in the shadows, but with age comes wisdom.

There's only a select number of Elves alive who knows the trick to seeing if the Queens Shadow were nearby, which was just simply watching any shadows to see if they moved abruptly.

The problem wasn't the Queen and her people though, they can be bought off with high tier potions and relics.

I didn't need Abin's people knowing what I was up to, as they would immediately report back to him compromising my hard earned position.

Seeing that I was indeed alone, I turn towards the wall knock slowly three times and chant, "The best curses are those disguised as blessings."

A door opens in the wall revealing a hallway that leads to a portal that I don't hesitate to go through.

Coming out the void I see a darkly lit room with only a long table surrounded by chairs. Sitting at the end facing me, was a man in a cloak, his hood covering his face as his hands were resting on his chin, arms propped on the table.

I give a bow, showing respect, waiting for his permission to speak. He gives a nod, to which I straightened back up and carefully say,

"For the past few months, Eric has shown potential unlike anything we've seen. Within days of unlocking magic, he can already silently cast, and apply multiple blessings and curses on targets without much strain on himself.

I've felt his blessings and they're more potent than some Elders in the Queens council can cast. You were correct in assuming he would be a powerful sage.

He recently has decided to pick the subclass Assassin according to your design as well. This ends my report."

From under his hood, I see a smile on his face, presumably because he's pleased his plan is proceeding well. His raspy voice echoes through my ears, I cringe at it's sound mentally, but maintain a neutral face.

"The pieces are slowly coming together on our end, but everything is on track towards our goal. Take caution, Elder Garbhan, as there are factors at play to hinder us, but so long as we follow his ideals, we can only succeed.

Watch over Eric, let him grow stronger, for without him, a replacement is neigh impossible to find."

"Yes sir Elder Ostrak, I will not fail you and continue with the plan."

"Oh Elder Garbhan, it's not me you'll fail, but Lord Kealen. Many fortunes to you."

Having said that he disappears in a puff of smoke, and I relax a little as his presence makes me nervous.

I've seen and felt many mana signatures in my 280 years but his was.... unnatural, a bit sinister even.

Alas, without him, the Kealenist would have been wiped out by the Queen and her supporters years prior, earning him the position he has now.

I leave the room, teleporting back to Wynleth, where I head to the inn where we're staying. 'Eric continue to grow stronger, you have no idea how many are counting on you'.

Eric's POV:

After relaxing on the beach for the whole day, I head back to the inn for dinner.

I was eager to try fish again as my stomach accepted it, and the guy was right on how delicious their dishes were.

I step back into the lobby to see Garbhan already sitting at a table, reading a book. I decide to strike up a conversation as I'm in a good mood and we have some time to kill while we wait on dinner.

"I've already tried the fish here and it's fantastic. Do you eat fish?"

Not looking away from his book he lets out a disgruntled, "Mhm."

I see that we have entirely different moods. I refrain from asking about his how his business went, mostly because I knew it was personal and it was unlikely he would answer.

"Nice tan." He mumbles. I look at my arm and realize I had forgotten I was going to tan, and how lucky I was that I didn't get sunburned.

"Oh yeah look at that, I was just relaxing on the beach all day."

"Well it's good that you're having fun, you deserve it from all that training you've done.

I don't even have to pressure you to train, you just do. Not many other people share the same mindset and opt for more easier ways that prove to be more dangerous. Keep up the good work."

As he finishes congratulating me, the female elf brings a tray and sets down big bowls of soup, bread, fruit juice for me and wine for Garbhan on the table.

Excited to try more fish dishes, I take a bite of the soup and think of gumbo, as I taste tomatoes, shrimp and various vegetables in one spoonful.

After eating, I go to my room to settle down, and hope to hurry to sleep so I can just wake up to the next day, but struggle as I think about all the possibilities my subclass will give me.

As the rays of the morning sunshine through my window on my face, I hurriedly hop out of bed like its Christmas morning.

I debate whether I should wear my armor to the Crystal to sell the Assassin bit more but decide not to as I'll have to take it off after I'm done anyway. Throwing on a green T-shirt and brown jeans, I rush down the stairs seeing that Garbhan hasn't come down yet.

I decide to only get the crepes to eat for breakfast because I want to try the vendor food today. As I finish Garbhan comes down and grabs a piece of bread for himself as we leave and head towards the building where the Crystal is.

Entering the building, Garbhan hands the Crystal Holders our papers and I stand in line, which isn't that long because we got there early. After only 20 minutes, I can finally place my hand on the Crystal and see the familiar rush of blue in my mind.

[Would you like to awaken a subclass? Yes/No?]

Confirming that I do, I once again see all the text for each class but ignore them all as I scroll to Assassin and confirm before moving on.

[Upgrade the following?

•Blessing of the Elk Tier 2 -> Blessing of the Hare Tier 3

•Blessing of Stone Armor Tier 2 -> Blessing of Iron Body Tier 3

•Blessing of Health Increase Tier 1 -> Blessing of Invigoration Tier 2

•Curse of the Tortoise Tier 2 -> Curse of the Snail Tier 3

•Curse of Defense Reduction Tier 2 -> Curse of Diminishing Tier 3

•Curse of Health Reduction Tier 1 -> Curse of Abatement Tier 2

•Mana Glimpse Tier 2 ->Mana Heeding Tier 3

•Mana Regeneration Tier 1 -> Mana Refresh Tier 2

•Mana Manager Tier 2-> Mana Discipline Tier 3

• Mana Leech Tier 1-> Mana Sponge Tier 2]

Confirming for the upgrades I move to the next menu.

[Due to the subclass Assassin, the following changes have been made:

Weapons Mastery Tier 1 and Staff Mastery Tier 1 will be combined to Dagger Mastery Tier 2]

I'm then taken to the perk menu and see that I have way more perks than before. Checking the important perks before the stat boosting ones, I chose the more fitting ones.

[In the Zone- When in fights, forget about all useless emotions and focus more on winning your fights.

Way of the Shadows- Your mana signature is undetectable when standing in the shadows.

Cursed Blade- With each strike of your weapons you can apply a random curse for 25 seconds for extra mana.

One With the Shadows- Your Assassin spells cost no mana when in the dark or shadows.

Ultimate- When there are 5 or more different curses activate anywhere, using both weapons, you slash a target dealing 150% of their health.

8x Health Increase- Increase your health by 10

4x Mana Increase- Increase you mana by 10]

The Ultimate cost me 3 extra skill points but if I was going to fight bosses in dungeons, it was totally worth it.

I decided to prioritize health, since I had my skills to boost my mana, and I had high mana regeneration with a low mana cost.

Along with Mana Leech, I didn't need to use my own mana anyway. Finished with the perks I move to the menu where I usually get notifications and surprises.

[Unlocked Skills:

•Stealth Tier 1 You are naturally harder to detect when sneaking.

•Magic Divert Tier 1- Instilling mana in your blades, you can spend mana to deflect a magic spell projectile. Does not affect curses, blessings, or AOE spells.

Unlocked Spells:

•Invisibility Tier 1- You become invisible, and your movements muffled. Attacking, holding an object different from those when spell is cast or talking ends the spell.

• Shadow You Tier 1- Using the nearby shadows, create a clone that does your bidding. Clone has only 10% of your stats and cannot copy equipment when cast. Clone lasts for 2 minutes or when health reaches 0. Maximum clone(s):1

•Blessing of Magic Protection Tier 1 - Increases a targets resistance to a spells effects by 3%. Does not affect non targeting or damage radius from AOE spells

•Curse of Paralysis Tier 1 - Target has a 12% chance at being paralyzed for 5 seconds. Repeatedly casting on the same target lowers the chance.

•Curse of Ridicule Tier 1- Targets who fail to resist lose focus and wander aimlessly for 10 seconds.]

Coming out of the Crystal I hear the female voice broadcast that I have chosen the class Assassin, but I ignore it as I can't contain my smile at all the new spells and skills I've gained.