End of training

Three months ago, my training came to an end... It had been an arduous journey... But... I had still crossed the line between an ordinary faun and a Hunter. Yes, I feel better... Stronger... But this is only the first checkpoint in my journey...

Today is my birthday! My twelfth birthday! To think I've been in this world for twelve years...

And tomorrow, I'm enrolling in Signal Hunter School. My parents insisted on it. They said I should be looking for partners by now. Ozpin will keep his childhood group and his friends. And the social circle has to widen. My social circle is Alice, Diana and my parents. That's it. And Adam... * Sighs* About that later. First, I want to take another look at what I've achieved. Characteristics!

Level: 49.

True name: %O#SH%";:" :B%"; "A:

Name: Artorias Blood, Kel'Gos

Race: Faun / Illithiri (25%)

Age: 12 years.

Title: Beginning Hunter, the King is dead; long live the King! The high priestess of the Spider Queen, On a pale horse.

Health: 200

Stamina: 200

Mana: 1000

Power: 100 (100)

Vitality: 101 (100)

Speed: 109 (105)

Coordination: 112 (105)

Intelligence: 101 (100)

Wisdom: 104 (101)

Spirit: 126 (121)

89 points are the human limit, and 99 is the faun limit. Once you have overcome these characteristics, you become a hunter. A novice hunter. In the meantime, I'll tell you briefly what exciting things have happened in these four years...

-= Second year =-

It was fun... And painful.

First, Diane got my style level down to the thirtieth. Then we started going through Auric Drawing Manipulation... Uh-oh... That's where it got awful. My aura... It could be more malleable. I could strengthen, speed up, and even sharpen the threads, but to manipulate them freely with my atmosphere...

Diana said it was only a matter of time. In time, my aura would become more... Plastic. Ehhh... No, she assured me that being solid was good, but I didn't like those comparisons very much...

I didn't get discouraged but actively pounded all the information the priestess gave me into my head.

We also sparred with Alice every day. At first, she couldn't beat me, but when Diana let her use the gun... I was already winning half of the fights. No, we weren't afraid to fight with firearms - Aura protects the host body. At most, a big sore bruise was left from a missed shot. It was fun.

Over the year, the parents got used to Diana. Found lots of topics to talk about, something like "1,000 and 1 ways to kill Beowulf" or "How to clean blood off metal if it's already dried." They're weird...

That year I started studying scroll software and the structure of scrolls. I became curious about how they could view a user's Aura level. Also... I got a couple of new ideas for making money in this world... Hee hee hee...

But there was some bad news - the discrimination towards the fauns continued to grow. Yeah... Adam was right...

-= Third year of school =-

This year marked an awakening... Awakening of my ancient evil that had been asleep all these years. How nice it is sometimes that fauns evolve so much faster than humans. Yeah, Miko was right and being hard is good. *Ahem* What was I saying? Oh, yes, you'll pardon me, but being a man and seeing your faucet not working every morning... Unless you're a guy, you won't understand my feelings and tears of joy on that fateful morning...

The second significant achievement was the increased plasticity of my aura; I could finally try to transform my threads into something. Diana laughed all the time, inventing new names for my "Crooked Shields", "Square Swords", and other not-so-censorious Drow language utterances.

That year, after all, I cut off my finger. I'd been on my way to that success for years, and my stupidity brought me here. Good thing Diana was there, who quickly sewed it back on and forced me to put a heavy dose of aura into my finger. A week later, it was fully functional again, and another scar had been added to my body.

So, how did I achieve such success? Simple, my Genius decided to experiment with the aura. Why? Experimentation for experimentation's sake!

So, my Mad Genius decided I should find out what would happen to the conductive Aura thread if I put an Aura into it and made it resonate or moved it chaotically... A vibro-knife of this world came into being. Yes, all great things have been created before us! How was it made? Probably in the same way I did! Of course, during the experiments, I held the thread with two fingers of my right hand; through one finger, I filled the line with aura, and with the other finger, I tried to move the aura around the thread. Naturally, the aura of the cable plus the vibration squeezed my aura on my finger and cleanly sliced it off. It hurt. It hurt a lot, but I'm a man who almost didn't cry. (P.A.: he was in pain as the icy anger didn't kick in immediately).

We were still sparring with Alice. It was insanely interesting to fight with her! We were about equal in strength. But we went our separate ways. She focused more on speed and power, while I focused on speed and coordination. Then I discovered a new skill:

Trap Mastery (passive.)

Level: 45

I can smell a trap. Traps are my flirt. And it's a trap.

When setting a trap:

+35% to trap stealth.

+35% to trap's probability of effective triggering.

+10% to the likelihood of putting a Stupor effect on your victim.

Hee hee hee... I've been pumping it for a while, but it's a super-helpful skill with great synergy with threads.

So, in battles with Alice, I had to get more creative with both me and her. We used the environment to advantage each other and tried to provoke each other with words; over so much sparring between us, we learned to quickly learn each other's tactics and develop new ones... And it paid off:

Tactician (passive.)

Level: 39

The best strategic plan is only helpful if it can be executed tactically.

+29% to tactical thinking during combat operations.

Alice was becoming eerily adept at her style, but we were still holding at fifty-fifty. When Alice drew her sword from its sheath, the first attack became mega fast. I couldn't keep track of her anymore and had to rely on strings.

Diana gave me the initial types of defences and told me to figure out how to develop the reason into a more advanced version during sparring. Oddly enough, this yielded results in the types of defences I came up with, such as "Soft Defence" - a net that doesn't try to hold back a punch but "dampens" it by slowing it down; it would be particularly effective against a striking type weapon. "Divert" - as the name says, it's used to deflect attacks. Are you being attacked with a sword? Make the sword change its trajectory slightly while hitting the defence; let the sword 'slip'. Arthur's memory helped me a lot with this.

You're probably wondering, "But Art, that's all defence against humans, where's the defence against Grimms?" and I'll answer that these types of defences can be used against Grimms as well.

My leading roles in the team will have to be support and control. I'm an all-rounder. I will need to control the battlefield and assist my partners when needed. That's it. But that's no fun...

I needed more control over aura to make a proper weapon or vibe. So that year, I developed defence, battlefield control and Aura control. It was hard, but what's hard in training becomes easy in combat...

The girls and I spent all our free time together. Diana is a hundred times older than each of us... Or not each of us... Ehhh... But you couldn't tell that from her...

Of course, she only started living fully after meeting Alice and me. The main thing is that she's having fun. I had long ago turned a blind eye to my paranoia about Llos the Priestess. Llos, like Akasha, doesn't care about mortals right now...

Super-Soul... What a strange word, and... And what horror it brings to the universe. I miss Akasha very much, but I always try to send her messages, wishing her luck so she doesn't give up...

A super soul embodies a vast number of spirits into a single soul. Incarnated artificially.

The gods of that world decided to destroy all souls by fusing them into one and gaining control over it. *Stupid. I've been told about the legends of the past. They're no good. Now they're looking for where the Super-Soul disappeared to, but... It will continue to consume the Worlds with the Gods, accumulating power and gradually digesting them. It is... It is worse than death. Endless agony... of both Worlds and Gods. The Supersoul is insatiable in its hunger and will stop at nothing...

-= Fourth year of school =-

Our life has settled down. We trained, we studied, we had fun...

We just lived.

Finally, my aura became malleable enough to make thread weapons and more effective defences.

And... I got another favourite weapon - the whip.

Diana explained to me that whips are one of the most dangerous weapons of the Drow. A master whip fighter could crush any opponent except a heavily armoured one. But the Drow in their worlds uses enchanted whips or special alloys like mithril or adamantium - weapons made of these alloys cut through almost any armour. Wizards operate a heavy, eight-metre-long spiked whip. Enemies simply need more time to get close to the wizard.

A sturdy whip is not easy to create from threads. You have to weave the lines using a particular method, the "braid" method. First, you take eight threads and put one (ninth) between them, then take the eighth thread and put it between the rest ... Repeat until you have a "braided circle". Then this whole construction has to be connected to a thick bundle of yarns...

The result should be a strong rope, which will be challenging to tear. And that's just the entry-level - a regular whip...

Of course, it doesn't compare to Drow whips; they can extend up to eight metres with a master whip during an attack, as I pointed out earlier. When hidden, the Drow whip is simply a tiny handle. But when a particular button is pressed and then struck... I can't imagine how they fight at eight metres...

I've done brilliantly and taken over the world. I am now the Dark Lord, and the Grimms worship me!

Do you believe it? First, I spent two hours weaving a whip with an aura. I had to redo it three times. It was a complex, thankless job. The tenth minute activated icy anger, and the fifteenth minute activated rage.

It didn't help much, but... I got the job done. At the end of the whip, I had to weave a unique sharp construction of threads. And... And so began my training with the battle whip...

It was difficult. My whip was of beginner's level, child's level - three metres. It's clear that the whips have a much longer range, but it's unrealistic to deal with a whip that's longer than three meters... But the whip has a lot more damage. Much more harm than just a piece of string.

Diana showed me what, ideally, I should be able to achieve...

I felt like shit...

The priestess masterfully, in a matter of seconds, assembled a whip from the threads... A different kind of whip. More sophisticated. And more dangerous. The whip obeyed her commands, lengthening or shrinking. She could gather and disassemble the whip as the attack progressed, whenever the situation demanded it...

Something was mesmerising about it... Predatory grace...

There were a couple of problems. First, I needed Levi's capabilities. She couldn't yet create more than twenty sprouts; with Levi's threads, it would go faster... During my training, I used the lines I got from Diana. A special alloy of some kind of metal and ashes. They conduct aura perfectly, as my finger had proved brilliantly in its time. But that was a problem for the future; I would take care of Levi as soon as I got in.

The next major problem was the ranged guns. I physically couldn't use pistols and strings at the same time. I needed my hands accessible, and something had to be done about it...

Threads are melee and medium combat weapons. Of course, masters, trained for centuries, can reach unimaginable heights and fight at long range and (oh my God!) ultra-long range. Perhaps I can't even imagine it...

So, long-range weapons... I had yet to learn how to solve this problem. Sure, a gun would need to be built into Levi, but then again, what kind? And something needs to be done with the other arm as well... Another incentive to go to Signal, ehhh. What's the motivation? Master Constructors often take apprentices from Signal. So I'll get a chance to go to a teacher like that.

Alice has become very difficult to fight with. She's constantly showering me with slashing waves and weapons surrounded by Aura (Diana has allowed us to infuse weapons with aura during sparring), often cutting threads. But I'm still holding on. With the whip, I don't even try to fight her. Of course, threads and whip have similar movement patterns, but... It's early days yet.

It's also worth noting that I figured out the scroll software. It was simple, a fairly easy-to-use language, and used everywhere. Everywhere. For programming any kind of machinery! But... It's brilliant in its simplicity. It's called Main. And... It's made up of all the words of the English language. Yes, it's enormous. The codes of some programmes can reach up to a couple of kilometres. This language is a programmer's nightmare from my memory.

I wondered 'how'? How do they write programmes, and on what media? What about response speed? With such massive programmes, one action must take a couple of hours to process! The answer, as always, is simple. "Electric ash storage media" or, in other words, "EPNs". Virtually infinite memory capacity, with signal processing speeds in the nanosecond range. It's a strange world. It would seem: you have robots, flying ships... Even a GREAT Flying Building, where tournaments are held every two years!

Yes, there is such a building; it's really huge and can hold a vast number of people. Attention, question:

Why not build a spaceship and fly away from this planet?

I have yet to find an answer. To my question, my parents said that people had already tried to do something similar. All we know is that it ended in failure...

So, my plan is to make money...

I decided to create a game from memory. Ah, yes, the fun... There are some here, and you can buy them. There's even a unique marketplace for selling them. So I decided to make some money...

I still don't remember names and faces, but I remember a game about a plumber. At first, I wanted to bring it to this world... But I thought, that's what robots do here, so I just need to be understood... Hee hee hee...

I decided to create a game called Flappy Bird, ah-ha-ha-ha, I'm evil-oh. Why did I choose it? Because it's straightforward to make, especially with the "Main" programming language. Also... It's addictive.

Which is what I actually did. We take a picture of Nevermore, a black Grimm that looks like a raven... Now we take two images of a spear from the public domain and a view of the sky and the ground from there... Directly we modify everything in a free program, like Photoshop...

And all that's left is the code, which is easy to create with this language...

That's it; the game is ready. Hoo-hoo-hoo, just add a few touches - achievements, catchy music style, "eight bits", and ... Donate! Ah-ha-ha-ha... I am the darkest evil... So... Set the game's price at... 10 Ⱡ (10 Lien). From the donation, I have added a feature... Resurrection after death. It will cost 1 Ⱡ, a ridiculous amount... Oops, I did not tell you what the prices are here...

Remnant uses linen (Ⱡ) everywhere. One line is roughly equal to one dollar. So the amount per game is average. Flaxes are plastic cards. They come in different colours with different symbols on them. The amount of money changes depending on the colour and logo on the card. But more often, they use the credit function of banks, which can easily be accessed with a scroll (when you buy a scroll, they register it to the user's passport details, so it's easy with that).

This game is oh-so addictive, and I'll be adding a bunch of new features in the future... Yes, I have no doubt it will "take off"; the gaming industry here is not very developed. Yes, there are races and action games, but they're all one-off or sit-down games with a friend (scrolls can be used as controllers).

So... One final touch... we write, "A Flappy Grimm game created by Dip'Ist...". Dip'Ist is Drow for "Lies are endless". Aha! Dip'Ist! Heh-heh-heh-heh. Well, the world... The darkest evil has come to you from the world outside...

Add to the marketplace.

-= Last year of training =-

In my last year, I honed all my skills. I worked at three hundred per cent because I thought that Diana would leave after graduation; the world I showed her, she said I didn't owe her anything else... But *sigh* I didn't want her to leave.

I knew she'd leave, so I gave it my all...

This year I reached and surpassed the 99-point limit. For each characteristic I overcame, I was given an ability; let's start with strength and down in order:

Hunter's power (passive).

Off-level.

You have overcome a wall. The wall that separates you from the hunter. And... It affects your power...

Health +25.

+15% to damage done.

Warning! Your muscles and bones have been rearranged by the aura to contain your power, which has boosted your health. You can now jump from great heights without taking damage and tearing your muscles or ligaments...(click here for the complete list) or breaking bones when using a hundred per cent strength.

Hunter's survivability (passive).

Extra-level.

You've broken through a wall. The wall that separates you from the hunter. And... It affects your survivability...

Stamina +25.

Aura has radically altered your immune system, so most poisons and diseases don't affect you. Your resistance to all types has increased slightly. Your regeneration speed has improved, and normal scratches can heal in minutes.

Note: This does not mean you can regenerate a limb.

Hunter Speed (passive).

Extra-Level.

You've broken through a wall. The wall that separates you from the hunter. And... It affects your speed.

Speed +15%.

The speed of all your actions (including reaction time) has been increased due to the aura's effects.

Hunter coordination (passive).

Off-level.

You've broken through a wall. A wall separates you from the hunter. And... It affects your coordination...

Your physical space success rate is +15%.

You can easily do up to two completely different actions at once.

You can slightly control your muscles.

Hunter Intelligence (passive).

Extra-level.

You've broken through a wall. A wall separates you from the hunter. And... It has affected your intelligence...

Memory speed +15%.

Information processing rate +15%.

Your energy channels have changed under the aura's influence and now pass through all types of energies more easily.

Hunter's wisdom (passive).

ExtraLevel.

You have broken through the wall. The wall that separates you from the hunter. And... It affected your wisdom...

Your speed of information awareness is +15%.

You're quicker to make logical decisions and find new chains of action that can lead you to complete the task.

Each "punched wall" of characteristics brought unimaginable pain and shut down my consciousness for a couple of hours... But they are instrumental. I felt the "purity" of my thoughts; it was much easier to control the threads...

And most importantly, I... I felt it was the beginning of my journey... The Hunter's Way...

Over the past year, I've developed my skills quite nicely as well:

Demonic Silkworm Style (Rare) (Passive.)

Level: 75

I'm going to slice you all up, ladies and gentlemen!

Effectiveness of thread manipulation +75%.

Thread damage +65%.

Thread speed +65%.

Auric thread manipulation efficiency +45%.

Transformation:

Shields: +61% efficiency.

Whip: +55% effectiveness.

Claws: +32% effectiveness.

Sword: +11% efficiency.

Bow: +6% effectiveness.

Warning. Thread speed and damage depend on many factors, such as length, weight, material and others (click here to see the complete list), so they can vary.

By the end of the training, I assembled the whip in one minute and twenty-two seconds. But in actual combat, that's unacceptably long... Diana assured me that it was almost excellent for five years of training. Drow spends decades learning the skill of the whip...

And... I managed to...

Hunter's aura (o.w.) (active/passive): 80 mpg/min.

Level: 2

The life force of all creatures.

...

In the past, we were born of dust.

But the world was ruled by darkness.

We learned to use the light of our souls to fight the darkness.

This power allowed us to transcend the limits.

This power allowed us to push back the darkness.

This power allowed us to protect our hearts.

This power allowed us to go forward...

Passive enhancement:

Strength +30%.

Vitality +30%.

Speed +30%.

Coordination +30%.

Intelligence +30%.

Wisdom +30%.

Health regeneration +10% per hour.

Extra when activated:

Strength +50%.

Vitality +50%.

Speed +50%.

Coordination +50%.

Intelligence +50%.

Wisdom +50%.

Health regeneration +15% per hour.

Warning. Protects the user in passive mode and reduces mana when taking damage. This ability uses mana to work!

Yes! I did it - I did get at least some of my skills up to level one hundred, after all. The first was an aura. It gave me the jump I needed to break the barrier...

Do I feel stronger? I certainly do... but... I'm still weak. The hunters trained at the Academy are still stronger than me...

-= Three months ago. The last day of training =-

- Brother... You have learned much in all this time... Now all that remains is to test you. The test will be conducted in the old way. Survival...

- What is survival?

- Survival in a Grimm-infested forest...

I felt a prick in my neck, and my consciousness drifted away...