Shade

Standing up, Ba'al stretched, noticing that the sun was nearly set. He had been forming his Mana Core for the last several hours.

'You have acquired the skill, "Unclassified: Mana Core (Black) (Bonus)"

'As this is the first time you have acquired a bonus skill, you will be granted some information. Bonus Skills- Skills that are intrinsically linked to the bearer. They are not limited by the soul and can only be granted directly by Akasha due to outstanding achievement or by bloodline. Outstanding Achievement can include learning how to perform said skill yourself.'

'Unclassified: Mana Core (Black)- A black Mana Core, the most basic foundation of a mage. Allows better storage of Mana and an easier use of magic. Mana+30 Magic+10

Looking at the message, Ba'al nodded his head. 'This is a good increase in strength. It will make it much easier to handle the zombies now.' Going to the only unblocked door, Ba'al waved John over. "I'll take first guard for tonight. Make sure you rest so that we can go find more food tomorrow. With over 30 people here, we will burn through food like its nothing."

"Alright, I'll tell Abby or Samantha to come here and change out with you in a few hours. I'll also make sure to get up early and try to form a Mana Core so that I can learn some magic." John patted Ba'al on the shoulder and walked off into the gymnasium.

Stepping outside, Ba'al looked around. To his left, the sun was just dipping out of sight, and to his right, was the University Towers building. There weren't any zombies in the immediate area as John, Samantha and Abby had taken them out while Ba'al was forming his Mana Core.

"I guess there isn't much to do right now. I might as well decipher more of the Magus Code since I'll never know when this information will come in handy." Ba'al muttered as he sat in the chair placed near the entrance to the Athletic Center.

A few hours later, the only thing lighting up the side street that Ba'al was guarding was the moon. The lights in the gymnasium were turned off to make it harder for creatures to see that there were people inside. Sifting through the information he had deciphered, Ba'al shook his head. 'All this means is that I will have more work to do. I need to make sure I'm strong enough to survive whatever is coming. I doubt something as powerful as Akasha would just grant these abilities without there being more to it. Nothing in life is free.'

Suddenly, Ba'al felt the temperature around him drop rapidly. Jumping to his feet, Ba'al turned in the direction of the University Towers. Across the street was a shadowy creature, and it was hard for Ba'al to make out what it looked like. 'Magic Sight!' Ba'al infused Mana into his eyes and focused on the creature. What he saw was a pitch black void in the shape of a man. It had darkened sockets where its eyes should be, and several blackened ribs jutting out from its midsection. It started moving forward, taking slow steps as though it was submerged in water. As it got closer Ba'al felt it get even colder, and he felt shivers going through his body. 'This was mentioned in the Magus Code! It's Terror Aura! For something to have such a powerful Terror Aura must mean it is a magic based undead. Normal undead like zombies and skeletons don't even emit a Fear Aura.'

Enhancing the rest of his body with Mana, Ba'al held up his left hand while wielding his knife in his right. "Flame Arrow!" A small flame appeared above his hand, condensing into the shape of an arrow. Shooting it at the shadowy creature, the darkness that made up its body lurched out and covered the flames, snuffing them out immediately. By now it had made it a quarter of the way to Ba'al, and he was starting to really feel the effects of the Terror Aura. "Light!" An orb of light appeared in Ba'al's hand, and he quickly launched it right at the shadow creature. Again, the darkness leapt up and swallowed the spell. "Lightning!" "Water!" "Wind!" One by one, the spells were all swallowed up. By now, Ba'al could barely move as the creature was within 20 feet of him. Suddenly the shadows leapt forward at him, and as he staggered out of the way, they clipped him. Spinning out of the way, Ba'al looked at creature. 'I guess it doesn't hit as hard as I-' Ba'al lost his train of thought as his blood coated the ground in front of him. 'It barely hit me, why did I take so much damage?' He realized what it was almost immediately. 'It drained my Mana!'

Backing away from the creature, Ba'al's mind was racing. 'What can I do against it? That one attack drained over half my Mana, and between the spells it has absorbed I'm running on dry! I need to try and lure it away from the gym, otherwise it will make mincemeat of the people who lack Mana!' "Darkness!" An orb of darkness shot out at the creature of darkness, although dark magic is slow, it has a ridiculous amount of destructive potential. Shifting to the side, the creature dodged the slow moving dark magic.

Panting, Ba'al watched as the creature dodged the darkness. 'That was the first time it has dodged. Is darkness effective against darkness? Why isn't this information included in the basic information about Magic!?' Turning, Ba'al began to make his way past the gymnasium, kiting the monster by staying just out of its range. Checking his Mana, Ba'al saw that he had about a quarter of it back.

'Only a quarter of it in over 10 minutes! It's ridiculous trying to recover Mana while in battle!' Ba'al had made it to the center greenway on Wilkes University's campus, yet he was still lacking in Mana. "Orb of Shadow!" A small orb of darkness appeared in front of Ba'al, about the size of a golf ball. Repeating this spell several times, Ba'al fired several of these small orbs of darkness while running around the monster. With so many attacks, even though they were slow, the creature couldn't dodge all of them. As it was hit it released an ear-piercing screech that shattered the glass on nearby windows. Covering his ears, Ba'al jumped back as the creature lashed out, easily clearing 40 feet as its shadows whipped past him. As the shadows went back to their places, the creature seemed to be breaking apart. "Used up all of your energy, huh?" Ba'al smirked as he felt the Terror Aura fading.

'You have killed a Lvl.18 Shade. You have levelled up!

'For killing a Lvl.18 Shade you have gained Mana+10 Magic+8 Perception+5

On the floor where the shade had just been was a dark orange orb, and 2 skill scrolls. Crushing the orange orb, Ba'al received a Jacket.

'Blackened leather jacket: Leather jacket that was toughened by scorching heats. Strength+6 Health+10 Will block low caliber bullets. Will reduce flame damage slightly (Low-tier Rare)

"This is amazing! This jacket alone easily makes this fight worth it. Let's see what the skill scrolls have." Ba'al was making his way back to the gymnasium as he checked out the skill scrolls.

'Unclassified: Frost Aura Lvl.2 (Passive)- Generate an Aura of icy winds that will slow down all who approach. Reduce Mana recovery by 5%

'Unclassified: Danger Sense Lvl.3 (Active)- Twice per day, gauge the danger that can be foreseen from a situation or individual. Rating will be given in a way that is easily understandable

Collapsing back into the chair he was sitting in before, Ba'al sighed, "Danger Sense is definitely useful, I'll learn it. But Frost Aura doesn't really suit me, it would be better off with someone who fights from a distance, like Samantha. Especially since I have yet to see her fight close ranged. Well, that can all be left till later."