Darkness and Hellfire

Chapter 8 That’s New.

Isaac Wexler was sitting in a ritual circle while it occasionally sent a pulse of mana at him and recorded the results. While waiting for the ritual to finish he started playing with his mana. He was curious as to why he became invisible whenever he shrouded his body in shadow.

Something was happening when the shadows completely enveloped him. It was more than just a cloak of shadows making it harder to see him in the dark. It was as if once the circuit was completed he became a shadow. ‘Why? What is changing in that moment?’ He silently asked himself.

After a few minutes he felt it. It wasn’t that his shadow mana was doing something different. When the circuit completed the light and sound originating from him, either via reflection or otherwise, simply couldn’t escape anymore.

His shadows were always only perceived because of the lack of normal space wherever they resided. It wasn’t that he or anyone else could see shadows, it was that they could see the lack of normal space wherever they were. ‘Magic is freakin’ complicated.’ He thought to himself.

A moment after his epiphany Aria came to see the results of the ritual. “Alright, let’s see what Identify has to say about you.” She said and crouched down next to a specific part of the ritual and touched. Isaac could feel a faint pulse of mana come from her and the ritual responded.

An illusion of a sheet of paper appeared in front of them. “Huh. That’s new.” Aria said. “I’ve never seen anyone described as just a mage before. It’s always Cleric, Sorcerer, Druid, Warlock, Wizard, or Bard. We are all classified as mages but it’s just a general term.” She kept reading.

“Well can you turn it around so I can see it? Or like can I get up now?” Isaac said. Now that the ritual was over he was getting impatient. He wanted to know more about himself and his powers.

She just kept reading for a second then whispered: “Yeah you can stand up now…” her voice trailing off as she read. “What in the nine hells?! I’ve never heard of a Talents section?! That’s not even talking about your jacked stats. Your total is crazy high. Wait what?! Your level two?!”

Isaac walked around behind her and looked over her shoulder at his Status page:

Name: Isaac Wexler Race: Human Age: 20

Height: 5’10” Weight: 153 Eyes: Silver

Skin tone: Kaki Hair: Black Level: 2 (3)

Strength: 14 Dexterity: 16 Constitution: 16

Intelligence: 18 Wisdom: 18 Will Power: 16

Total: 60 + 38 Polarity: Split

Class: Mage - Dark Multiclass: N/A

Talents: Dark Mana Manipulation, Deflection

Skills: Stealth, Unarmed Combat, Polarity Sense.

Blessings: Zei (Eternal Youth: You will still die when your natural time comes, however you will always look as you do now.)

Curses: N/A

“Huh I’ll always look hot, good to know. Also what’s polarity and deflection supposed to mean?” Isaac asked Aria who was still muttering something to herself.

“Who are you?” She asked, turning to look at him over her shoulder.

“You first. You tell me what that stuff means and why you guys were out here and I’ll tell you what little I know.” Isaac replied.

She stared at him for a few seconds then took a deep breath. “We were out here looking for a member of the Cartographers Guild who never reported back. The two with a three in parentheses means that you will level up probably as soon as your body can recover completely, usually from a good night’s rest. Also I have no idea with the rest of it. Half of your Status page doesn’t exist for most people. Most humans’ stat total is sixty plus twenty six. Yours is sixty plus thirty eight. It’s honestly insane. Your turn.” She demanded.

“Alright. That wasn’t as helpful as I was hoping not gonna lie.” Isaac responded. “I found your missing guy’s body a bit back the way I came. He was eaten by these shadow-wolf things.” He continued. “This is a secret that you can’t tell another soul about alright. Swear it on your god or I disappear.”

She squinted at him, assessing him and weighing her options. “Alright we’ll split the bounty for finding the missing cartographer, I’ll swear on my god not to tell a soul, and you will help us get back to the outpost safely. Deal?”

Isaac thought about it for a second. It was honestly everything he could have hoped for. Hopefully they would have some more food or water with them. He was almost out. A few pieces of jerky and a quart of water didn’t go very far when you were fighting for your life every few hours.

“Deal.” He said. “Swear by your god and I’ll tell you everything you, as a mortal, are allowed to know. I know some things that I don’t think Zei would be happy if I told anyone about.”

“Alright. I swear by El’No to tell no other living or dead soul unless magically compelled against my will.” She stated and Isaac could feel a small pulse of divinity wash over them. “Well. Out with it. My curiosity is killing me.” She pushed.

“Alright. I died and Zei and Rei, the twin divinities of reincarnation, brought me back. In exchange for most of my memories they gave me an almost direct connection to black mana. I woke up a little while ago not very far from here and have been trying to find civilization ever since.” Isaac recounted in a greatly abridged version.

He was careful not to divulge anything about his original world or his Inventory skill. From what he could see they kept everything in backpacks and he didn’t want to accidentally show off another thing that nobody else had and make her even more curious.

“By El’No… I didn’t even know about gods of reincarnation for humans. Actually that makes sense. Who knows how many humans would kill themselves to get a second chance at life or power like you have. Alright I understand why no one can know this.” She stated and took a deep breath.

“Let’s get going. We have a long walk back. I’ll make sure Claus doesn’t tell anybody anything about you too.” She promised.

“Shit. I forgot he was even here. How can someone so massive be so quiet? Wait, he talks?” Isaac asked doubtfully.

“Haha yeah he can talk. He just only talks when he has to.” She walked over to Claus and the now supported scout they had been traveling with. The poor kid was rigged with unlit torches and rope, to disperse his weight and help keep any part of him from directly touching anything hard.

“Thanks… I really wish I knew what polarity meant.” Isaac said the second half mostly to himself. “Well time will tell I guess.”

“While we walk back I’ll teach you as much as I can about the rest of the world and why your magic is… strange…” She offered. Isaac gave her a rare real smile and offered his hand. She took it.

“Pleasure doing business with you Aria.” He said and she smiled back.

Shaking her head she replied: “Likewise Isaac.”