The First Battle!

Silent Desert.

This is a region of the Nether Realm which is known for both it's constant sand storms and its ghostly inhabitants. It is believed by the many beings of the realm that the grey almost ethereal like sand is the ash left behind after the last great war, where the armies of the Gods defeated and burned the rebellious Dark inhabitants of the Nether. There is little evidence to prove this as the great war happened eons ago, however there is no other explanation for the constant spawning of ghosts in the area other than deceased souls with resentment being reborn. Due to the endless expanse of grey ash, it is said that it is the very outskirts of the realm itself and that no one, dead or otherwise, has managed to cross the region.

While desolate however, many higher ranked demons such as Succubi or Incubi which feed on either sources of Mana or the life essence of Gods Favored, Humans, Elves and the like, visit this desolate land to feed on the easy source of mana available, recently born ghosts. When a soul forms into a newly created Ghost, they have little to no intelligence and are therefore often hunted and killed before ever having the chance to grow. This is why the region was named the Silent Desert, because nothing manages to survive in it long enough to make a sound.

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Within the northern area of the Silent Desert, a Minor Ghost is just beginning to learn how to move, its status as a newborn made obvious by spherical orb like body with wave like mana fluctuations coming off of it every now and again. The colour of a member of the Spirit race is largely determined by their most prominent attribute, this little Ghost is a light shade of blue, almost white in colour, signalling its high affinity for the Soul element.

*Plonk* Suddenly the little Ghost senses something small and round like a pebble land near it. "Glub... Glub... Glub..." taking a closer look at it it's plain to see that it is indeed a pebble. Confused as to why a pebble would suddenly appear nearby without any reason, the little Ghost stares intently at it, almost as if trying to see if it will move again.

"Alright, the distraction worked! Time to see if 'Drain' is any good, if not I will have to rethink my strategy, I've just gotten my second chance at life and i'm not going to waste it by taking risks." I keep trying to activate 'Drain' but nothing happens, it seems that it might have a range requirement or some other condition that I'm not fulfilling. Inching closer and closer to the unsuspecting foe I keep trying to activate the spell, every foot or so closer I try again until suddenly... Success! It seems the range of 'Drain' at the moment is only 1 meter, not much but it's better than melee considering I don't know what the enemy is capable of.

An almost invisible greyish line of mana is drawn out of me, it kind of makes me think of it as a line of thread that's covered in a slow burning grey fire, with one end tied to me and the other attached to the pale blue coloured Ghost. Suddenly as if by some instinct, I start to pull through the line of burning thread using 'Mana Manipulation', it is almost reminiscent of sucking through a straw. I don't know how to explain how I'm currently feeling but this situation feels like my Mana is draining through use of the spell yet it is also refilling at the same time, I assume through absorbing the enemy's Mana.

The size of the Ghost is currently decreasing at a visible rate, I guess that thing Ezra said about us being made up of almost entirely Mana was true, although I don't expect it to continue being this easy... ah crap, talk about jinxing it, it's noticed me, it has suddenly turned around and is moving closer to me, albeit slowly, I try to match it's speed and move back but I notice that my control over 'Drain' is slipping, it looks like my control over my Mana isn't proficient enough to multitask yet, I'll have to stand my ground. At this point the Ghost is getting closer and closer, I don't know what it's planning but I feel the threat of death from it, does it also have a close range spell? Or maybe it's planning to start a melee brawl? Either way I don't want to find out, I try to increase the power of 'Drain' to end this but it's starting to take its toll on me, my body is shaking violently and almost feels as if I will shatter if I keep going.

It hurts... I can feel my consciousness slipping, my Mana feels low and I'm literally falling apart, pieces of my body are floating off of me and disappearing, I can't keep going anymore... I can't even see that Ghost now, just darkness, at best some blurs, the only feeling still left in my body is the supply of Mana coming in from 'Drain', which isn't good as it means that guy is still alive.

My senses are becoming duller, I can't feel anything, it's almost as if I'm floating in the Void again... Wait, what's that? I can see a boy up ahead, he's crying? He's shouting something, screaming at the top of his lungs, I can't hear him, but he feels so familiar, that black wavy hair and those piercing blue eyes, I know him, how do I know him? I move closer to try and hear what he's saying, its vague at first but eventually I can kind of make it out.

..op, pl...e st.p... plea.. stop.. please stop! I can't... it hurts... it hurts so much! Why! Why are you doing this to me? Why are you hurting me so much! Stop, I beg you! No, please, I don't want to die, don't kill me, please I don't want to die, I don't want to die, please don't kill me, please Mum!

*DING* Level 1 Minor Ghost Killed, Experience +20

What...? Who is that? Ezra? Wait I remember, I was fighting another Ghost, +20 Exp? I must've won, but what the hell was that? That boy, I recognized him, but I don't know where from... He was in so much pain, I could feel the pain so clearly it was almost suffocating.

*DING* Main Quest Complete, Killed a Minor Ghost, Level +1, +1000 SP

*DING* Sub Quest Complete, Used 'Drain' on an enemy, Skill Menu Acquired

Haaaah, I should just push that image aside for now, it's not getting me anywhere and it just hurts to think about. I feel that if I were human, I'd be covered in sweat and wouldn't be able to stop the tears... Ugh this is depressing. "Ezra show me my status and the new skill menu, also exclude the Name, Race and Age until there are changes."

*DING* Showing Status to Host

- Level 2 - Experience (20/100) (+20)

- Health (HP): 4/30 (+10)

- Mana (MP): 0/150 (+10)

- Strength (STR): 2 (+1)

- Endurance (END): 3 (+1)

- Agility (AGI): 5 (+1)

- Intelligence (INT): 15 (+1)

- Wisdom (WIS): 19 (+1) - Mana Regen (Per Minute): 1.9

- System Points (SP): 1100 (+1000)

*DING* Showing Skill Menu to Host

Mana:

- Mana Manipulation (Basic - 26%)

Allows the usage and control of Mana and spells.

Death:

- Drain (Basic - 14%)

Drains the Energy source of an enemy and converts it into Mana, current range 1m.

Soul:

- Telekinesis - (Basic - 6%)

Uses Mana and the mind to control inanimate objects, current range 5m.

Ouch, no wonder I was in so much pain, my Mana is empty and my HP is dangerously low, besides that the overall increase is stats is looking good if I say so myself. With the added Mana and END the next fight should be easier to manage, and I shouldn't get pushed so close to the edge. With the skill menu I can now see details about my skills, I wish I had it sooner but at least I have it now.

"Ezra why is my HP so low, I don't remember being damaged by that Minor Ghost, also how is HP regeneration calculated and please explain how I still only need 100 Exp to level despite now being level 2? In games I played in my last life I remember the Exp you had to earn increased exponentially."

*DING* "You over drafted your life force to continue using 'Drain' as you ran out of Mana, the system doesn't recommend host attempts to replicate that feat as the chance of escaping death is around 10%. Host was lucky this time however you might not be so next time. Also HP Regen is calculated using ENDx10 every hour, currently that is 30HP per hour or 1HP every 2 minutes.

In regard to the Exp required to Level Up, it is always at 100, however the higher level you are the less you get from weaker enemies, for example you gained 20xp for a level 1 Minor Ghost at level 1, but will gain 10xp at level 2 and 5xp at level 3 and so on. To get stronger quicker the system recommends host to fight enemies no lower than 3 levels below your own, unless it is of a higher species rank, for which you will gain bonus EXP, caution is advised in these cases though."