Shroud of Darkness

Tarabu's waiting to cheer and sing my praises when I make it back to the village. He invites me to dinner before I head off to Realm One, and since I'm ravenous (and he's not crying anymore), I agree.

Besides, I worked my ass off to try these legendary omelettes.

Dina owes me.

Though the moon and starlight is more than enough for my rad Nightvision, as we head to the treehouse where I'd delivered the eggs, Tarabu magicks a light to guide us.

"Nifty trick," I say.

"Would you like to learn to do it yourself?" he asks.

'DO BEARS SHIT IN THE WOODS?' I answer in my head.

"Why yes, that would be lovely," I answer aloud.

Tarabu smiles indulgently. "To activate magic skills, you must envision the skill in action and firmly believe saying or thinking the spell's incantation will activate the magic. Many struggle with the belief portion, especially in the beginning."

It's like when Luke can't raise the X-Wing out of the Dagobah swamp. I get it.

I close my eyes and visualize a bright glow emanating from my body. "Lux," I whisper.

The sudden brightness is visible even through my closed eyelids. I open my eyes to see a brilliant white light illuminating everything three meters in every direction.

*Happy chime!*

[You have acquired standard skill: Lux.]

[Lux: Become a walking glowstick! A standard skill, Lux is a healthy glow anyone can use to make this world a little less scary. It can attract monsters during Nightfall and while in dungeons, so use with caution.]

"Gee, Chief, you couldn't have taught me this before I had to trek through the dark woods filled with evil ghost babies?"

Chief Tarabu shakes his head. "It was a Quest of Daring. It was supposed to strike fear into your heart and teach you to overcome terror."

"That explains the excessive creep-factor, I guess. Is this also why you didn't give me any potions?"

Tarabu looks stricken for a second, then gets all shifty-eyed and starts sweating. "Uh...yeah. Yep. Mhmm. I definitely did not get swept up by emotions and forget your quest parting gift. I simply wanted you to experience fighting on the edge of life and death, and teach you to scavenge for your needs!"

I stare him down.

He makes a strangled sound, and coughs. "Oho! By the way! Completely unrelated, but as a congratulations for a job splendidly done, why don't you take this potion gift set I just so happened to find in my robe!"

I check out the notification to see he's handed me 5 small & 3 large vials each of the red health and green stamina potions. Shaking my head and sighing, I equip them all on Orion's Belt.

Then I notice there was a second notification I'd missed earlier.

[First Time's The Charm Bonus: You learned your first magic skill on your first try! +1 Intelligence]

Nice! I remember in the beta, magic was a tricky beast for many players, since it's not something you do in real life, obvs. Visualization is one of the most important skills in this game.

On a whim, I visualize a blue glow instead of the white. Immediately, a soft blue light surrounds me. Grinning, I transition the light to purple, then red, then gold, then straight-up rainbow.

Seeing Old Man Tarabu bathed in a rainbow miasma, I can't help it. I giggle.

'Hmm, what if...' I think, before the light disappears and a deep black shadow swallows everything in the same three-meter radius. Not even my Nightvision can discern anything in the darkness.

[You have created a new skill: Nox!]

[Nox: Drown the world in shadow. Nox is a permutation of the standard skill Lux; instead of light, create a shroud of darkness. Perception +15 required to see within Nox Shadow. Note: Player-Created Skill \\ D'Raven Erebus]

[Creator Bonus: +3 Intelligence, +1 Perception, +250 Reputation among Magic Practitioners]

Huh.

So that's what if.