Ash
The next day, during the cold morning, while everyone was getting ready to leave to go to the next Site of Power, Vermia approached Ash. The half-demon was finishing up her breakfast as the necromancer walked over to her. Kaori was next to Ash, who the hybrid noticed immediately looked away.
"Ash," Vermia said. "Regarding what we discussed, we could start now."
Satsuhiro was nearby, and Ash saw him raise a brow, but she nodded.
"Sure."
"Great, come."
Disregarding the looks everyone gave her, Ash walked with Vermia towards the hot springs area.
"How much Dark magic has our dear Satsuhiro taught you?" Vermia asked.
"Uh, not much. Perish, Decimating Touch, Dark Sphere."
"Hm. I see," she nodded. "Well, how about I show you a spell that's a little more... Special?"
"What do you mean?" Ash asked.
"Simple," Vermia leaned forwards conspiratorially. "I made this one."
"You made a spell?" Ash asked.
"Mhm." Vermia put her hands on her hips, smiling. It looked like she was fairly proud of this fact.
"Does this spell have to do with the whole necromancy thing?"
Hearing that, Vermia tilted her head.
"No, but..." She shrugged, "if you want me to teach you some of those kinds of spells, I can. You need just say the word. But, unless you ask me to, I will only teach you more conventional Dark magic." Vermia said.
"Uh, okay." Ash nodded.
"Wonderful. So, ready to start?"
"Sure."
And then, the room got even colder. Vermia closed her eyes and Ash saw magical black tendrils manifest on her arms, which began to pass to Ash. And, as had happened with the spells Satsuhiro had gifted her back when she first started, suddenly, the half-demon knew the spell that was being given.
"I call this spell Spirit Siphon. What it does is simple," Vermia explained, "if you have received any wounds, upon laying your hands on an enemy and casting this spell, your wound will be healed and Dark magic will damage the enemy."
"I... So, basically," Ash raised a brow, "if I get hurt, I can deal damage and heal myself at the same time?"
"Precisely."
"Oh, shit..." Ash looked away. "That does sound useful, I guess."
The spell's information floated above her.
Spell: Spirit Siphon
Upon using this spell while touching an enemy, it will heal the user's wounds while damaging the opponent. (Damage scales off of INT)
Mana Cost: 20
"So, how did you make a spell? How does anyone do that?"
"Through persistence and a lot of trial and error," Vermia answered, somewhat vaguely. Then, the door leading to the baths opened behind Ash and she turned to see Satsuhiro coming out. With his arms crossed, he looked at Ash, disregarding the necromancer entirely.
"We'll be heading out in a couple of minutes, wrap this up."
"Aw, how cold. Wouldn't you allow an old woman some time to get to know her student's friends?" Vermia asked but Satsuhiro walked back inside without a word.
"Old?" Ash asked. "You barely look 30."
"You flatter me, dear, but in actuality, I'm 45-years-old."
Ash's jaw just about went through the ground when she heard that.
"I just happen to have a very good skincare routine," Vermia shrugged. Then, she said, "it seems we will not get to speak too much. Best you go with the others. You need the training, don't you?"
"Yeah, thanks, by the way," Ash said. Vermia waved at her.
... Pretty useful spell she gave me, I should try it out in a fight and see what happens.
When she came back to the bathhouse's main room, Kaori quickly walked over to her.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"Yeah," Ash replied, slightly confused.
"She didn't, like, torture you or anything?" Kaori asked.
Ash chuckled and shook her head.
"No, why would she?" Ash asked.
"She's a necromancer!" Kaori replied in a whisper. "She can't be trusted!"
"Kaori," Ash rolled her eyes, "I don't want to look at her and just be like 'you know, you've done nothing wrong, but I can't treat you normally because you're a necromancer' or whatever. I don't know, I think that's pretty fucked up."
"Ash, trust me, I've heard so many stories of what these people do," Kaori was about to elaborate on that but Ash stopped her.
"And I know that people have made up stories about what I've done," Ash countered. "People talk shit about things they don't get. That's how they are. Listen," she continued, "I'm not saying I'm giving Vermia my full trust from the start here, I'm just saying, I want to give her a chance. That's all."
They looked into each other's eyes for a brief moment before Kaori sighed. Then, she nodded.
"Fine, but be careful."
"I will."
And with that, the matter was settled...
For now.
---
As they walked out of Sapphire to go to the next Site of Power, the group saw various guards forming some barricades on the bridge that led to the city. This must be that defense the Lord was talking about. Ash thought as she saw wooden spikes, walls, and barrels being placed all around them. What are they even going to do with all of this?
She looked to the side and found that there was a frozen lake underneath the bridge, a line of dark blue stretching all around the city. As they walked past the obstacles, which of course, were not yet placed in such a way that they would not allow anyone to cross the bridge, Ash looked at the portal outside the city.
It was slightly bigger from when they'd arrived. A week and a half, at best. She reminded herself.
Satsuhiro was leading them, keeping his eyes on the map.
"It's not that far from here, just about an hour's walk southwest. We should be able to find it and come back before nightfall."
"Fuck, it's so cold..." Ash hugged herself a little.
"As advertised," Satsuhiro replied. "Now, keep your eyes peeled. This area is level 15 to 20, and it's packed with some of the toughest monsters in the world. Ice wraiths, frost orbs, snow trolls, and snow goblins. I'll step in if things get too messy, but be on your guard."
He then went on to give tips with regards to how to deal with these creatures and general information about them.
Snow goblins were almost exactly like regular goblins, but they were much tougher, as they lived in higher-level areas, and used Ice magic almost exclusively. Frost orbs were, apparently, giant balls of ice that attacked anyone who drew too close. The area around them, according to Satsuhiro, was so cold that most people chose to deal with them by way of magic.
Snow trolls were humanoid creatures who stood almost 4 meters tall and could overpower most other living beings through sheer strength alone, though, apparently, they could also use some minor Illusion magic. Finally, ice wraiths were like floating fish with razor-sharp teeth. On their own, they weren't too much of an issue, but the problem with them was that they travel in groups.
It didn't take long at all to come across their first enemy.
Ahead, beyond some snow-covered trees, there was what Ash could only see as a giant, furry man, hunched over, devouring the corpse of a horse, fresh blood spreading all around it. It had long claws that were currently ripping into the dead animal's flesh, and Ash could see two large tusks protruding from its mouth.
Ash checked its level.
Level 21
MP: 30/30
"Okay, a snow troll," Satsuhiro nodded. "Go ahead then. Whichever of you wants to go first."
"Let me," Ash told Kaori. I need to try that spell out.
"Hold on," Kaori said. Then, the blonde closed her eyes and for two seconds, Ash's skin glowed white. "I probably should have done this as soon as we left, but, there. Go ahead."
"Hm? Is this one of those spells you got from Lumina?"
"Yeah, I marked you. The longer the day goes, the higher my stats get."
"Gotcha," Ash nodded.
"Good luck," Kaori said with a smile.
Ash took a deep breath and transformed her Lust into a bow. No need to get up close and personal with that just yet, she figured. Might be able to take it out with one or two arrows. It's worth a try.
And then, she remembered something.
Wait, I still have my points, right?
She checked her status.
She hadn't allocated her points yet, from when she'd fought the Nightmares with Satsuhiro at the portal.
Level 17
MP: 80/80
---
Attribute Points: 8
STR: 12
DEX: 14
CON: 10
INT: 10
WIS: 8
L: 100
EXP: 0/200
Holy shit, right, I got 8 points from that. Ash looked up with awe for a moment before shaking her head.
Then, she thought about where she wanted to place them.
Most of those should go to my Strength, probably. But, on the other hand, now that I have a Dark magic teacher, I'll probably be using spells more often. So...
With that in consideration, she placed 6 points into her Strength, and 2 into her Wisdom, raising her mana cap and increasing the damage she dealt.
Level 17
MP: 100/100
STR: 18
DEX: 14
CON: 10
INT: 10
WIS: 10
L: 100
EXP: 0/200
Nodding to herself, she got ready.
Satsuhiro and Kaori both took a step back. Ash set up the golden arrow that appeared out of thin air and pulled it back on her bow, letting it loose. It soared through the air, striking the creature's back, and Ash saw that the impact pushed the monster forward slightly.
Oh, shit. She thought. That felt like a pretty strong...
However, then, a low growl came from the level 21 snow troll. It turned slowly, four large blue eyes all focusing on Ash as its growl intensified.
Then, it fully turned towards her, stretched up, and roared. Ash could see that standing with its back straight, it had to be the tallest thing she'd seen, surpassing even a Nightmare in height.
Its roar then took a piercing tone, high pitched in such a way that made Ash fall to her knees, dropping her bow and covering her ears.
She felt chills go up her back as she trembled.
What... the fuck!?
"What's going on!?" Kaori asked from afar.
"That would be the Fear spell," Satsuhiro explained. "Kasumi uses something similar often."
Right. Illusion magic. Ash remembered. Snap out of it!
Gritting her teeth, Ash watched the creature start running towards her. She grabbed her bow, transformed it into a sword, and saw the snow troll leap into the air, arms raised and hands clenched into fists as it went to crush her from above.
Ash rolled forwards, the creature landed behind her.
"Corruption spread, corruption launch!"
A black sphere came from her free hand and struck the troll's back. It turned quickly and roared a second time. Again, Ash felt her very being recoil, but she didn't drop her sword this time.
You piece of... The creature growled, and Ash gave her own snarl to match it. The troll began running towards her and Ash waited. Same thing. Just move out of the way and-
She failed to do so.
The creature charged towards her, faster than Ash had anticipated, and tackled her, sending her flying towards a tree behind her. The wind was knocked out of her lungs and Ash fell to the ground, feeling her back aching.
The creature gave a more victorious sounding roar this time as Ash struggled to get up. Holy fucking shit, she thought as she felt like her back was on fire. That thing hits hard.
Then, the troll advanced again.
Ash transformed her sword into a bow again, and before the creature could reach her, she launched one arrow into its shoulder.
She hadn't expected the shot to kill the monster and, of course, it didn't. However, what it did do, was stop it momentarily. Another arrow appeared and Ash let a second shot loose, catching the troll on its other arm.
Then, a third and a fourth, both of these projectiles stabbed into its abdomen. Finally, she decided that it was hurt enough. Ash narrowed her eyes.
Good a time as any to try it, she thought. Then, with an absurd amount of pain in her back, she ran forwards and placed her hand on its chest. For a second, she remarked in her mind that it felt like touching stone, but she shook her head and said the incantation that she'd memorized when Vermia gifted her the spell:
"Lesser being, give me your life."
And then, Ash saw black lightning surge from the creature's body and move into her own.
She gasped. The pain that had been on her back instantly switched into the soothing sensation she usually got from Light magic, only much stronger. At the same time, Ash switched her bow into a sword, ready to end the fight.
But, the creature wasn't about to just stand there and be killed. It kicked her away, sending her back to the same tree, cracking it.
This time however, Ash's thoughts weren't on the pain from the blow, but all she could think about was how much she wanted to feel that sensation again. She shook her head, trying to focus on the fight as the creature ran up.
It raised its arms up, about to slam her. Ash did what she thought was the last thing the monster would expect.
She ran up to it. It stopped running, about to do some other attack, but by now, Ash was already where she wanted to be. With her sword, she reached up and stabbed straight through its head.
It died instantly.
EXP Gained: 250
EXP: 200/200
Level Up!
Ash's thoughts weren't on the fact that she won the fight, or Kaori's cheers at the side, or Satsuhiro's glare which was blatantly aimed at her, no.
Instead, she thought:
I need to try that again.
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