AN: Alright, so the votes are in, and congratulations to the fans of Enduring Soul, the reboot won the competition… And of course, I was also inspired to visit this idea again by ArcMeow's "Douluo Dalu: Clear Amber Hammer King", which I implore you guys to read.
Now, if any of my DxD readers are reading this, sorry, but the chapter will be delayed, as I'm kinda stumped on a few points, and I'm currently playing Fate/Grand Order, and HxH has also come back, so to put it bluntly, I'm super distracted, so I might just start doing my Akame ga Kill/DDS fic again, since that chapter is still underway.
Anyway, onto the story!
EDIT: I kind fucked up on a small spot
"Regular speech"
"This is a 'spirit skill' understand?"
'Thought'
"a Spirit Beast speaking"
[«Game Data»]
(Author Note)
Disclaimer: I don't own Gamer by Sung San-Young and Sang-ah or Douluo Dalu by Tang Jia San Shao (Light Novel) and Mu Fengchun (Manhwa). Please support the Official Releases
'Oh for FUCK'S SAKE! I'm a baby, AGAIN!' Were the thoughts a toddler previously known as Wang Shen, as he laid in a small crib, in the middle of a forest, left by whom he figured to be this body's birth mother, considering how she was constantly apologizing for "having to leave her baby boy in other hands" all the way here. Now, if she had left him at a proper orphanage, or hell, even at the doorsteps of a church or temple, he'd be perfectly fine with that shit.
But it seems like that bitch was intent on winning the Deadbeat mom of the year award, for she left the newly re-RE-incarnated Shen in the middle of a freaking Spirit Beast Forest.
'Seriously, what the fuck!' At least he still had his Mental Stats, his Level, and his Skills, although said skills had dropped down to half of what they were before his death, with his physical skills, like staff proficiency completely gone, while his other Skills had gotten their Skill Levels cut in half.
And thankfully, his «Inventory» still had the things he had stolen and made in the past life.
Oh, and speaking of his death, well, he was barbequed by his dear old grandfather, Wang Huojin, Level 56 Attack System Spirit King with the Tool Spirit: Demon Fire Lantern, and ooh boy, Shen could attest to how hot those fires were.
See, this little roasting took place a few years, maybe less after their first meeting, when Shen had finally reached Level 10 after fighting a few Zombies in his Illusion Barrier, which he entered during night-time. And well, his parents were busy, so dear old grandfather had volunteered to take him into the forest to get him his first Spirit Ring.
Now, Shen probably should have noticed that something was wrong with Huojin offering to help him when he constantly kept shooting venomous glares at the Water-attributed members of their family.
See, as it turns out, Huojin despised Hai, as he felt that his daughter should have married and procreated with a Fire-Attributed Spirit master, and while he might have tolerated Hai and Jiang, Hai because he managed to beat a Lightning-attributed Assault System Spirit Ancestor, and Jiang because he shared half his DNA with Huojin's precious daughter.
SO yeah, as you might imagine, the guy obsessed with keeping the family blood purely Fire-Attributed wasn't all that giddy when he heard that his third grandchild had a Death-Attribute Tool Spirit.
And when combined with the fact that the old man constantly seemed at least somewhat aware of Shen's "uniqueness", it really shouldn't have been that big of a surprise when the man shot fire at him once they got deep enough into the forest.
The Attack System Spirit King had called him a bastard son, claimed that Hai had let someone sully his daughter, and that he was going to find the person who did so, after he had wiped him from the face of the earth.
He didn't hit with his first attack, as Shen had swung himself to the trees with a quick Mana Rope, and from there, it turned into a game of Cat and Mouse. However, a good 10-15 minutes in, the old pyromaniac's shot had hit him straight in the head, and then he had woken up…wherever the hell his bitch of a new birth-mother had traveled from.
Shen was snapped out of his reminiscing by the sound of the grass shuffling. He called up his Mana, ready to retaliate or escape from whatever Spirit beast tried making him their next lunch. Sure, he was still in a baby's body, but he was slowly finishing weaving his Mana throughout his body, meant to move this body around like a possessed marionette.
Hell, he was reaching into his «Inventory» to draw out the few daggers, swords, spears, hell, any pointy object he had, ready to Gate of Babylon any beast that came at him. Sure, he knew that it wouldn't do anything to a real strong Spirit beast, but at least it'd slow it down, possibly take out an eye.
"Hmm, what's this? A crib?" However, before he could do anything, he heard a distinctly human voice, a woman's to be precise. However, Shen still didn't utter a word, since he knew that Spirit beasts that grew to be old enough could speak the human language, so he still kept his rendition of the Gate of Babylon open and ready to open fire.
Narrowing his eyes, he waited for the new arrival to reveal herself, and if he heard the footsteps correctly, her entourage of 5 humanoids. He wasn't sure if there were any human-shaped Spirit Beasts, but he'd rather look before he leapt.
"Principal, where's the intruder?" one of said entourage, a man with a gruff voice asked.
"Gone, fan out and look for her, I'll see what this is about." The woman, seemingly in charge said, walking forward as her entourage leapt away with a shout of "Yes Ma'am!" and the rustle of grass.
As Shen felt himself be picked up, he was greeted with a face he did recognize. A woman with red hair, blue eyes and a small amount of purple make-up on her face.
«Power Attack System»
Liu Erlong LV ?
EXP: ?/?
HP: ?
MP: ?
SP: ?
«Player's Level is too low to see further information»
'Well, that's about what I expected' Shen thought as he looked Erlong straight in the face, contemplating how he should do things this time around. Sure, he could do things like he did back with the Wang family, but he had the feeling that said course of action would end poorly. Right here he had a far more solid in to enter the Shrek Academy than he did as a Wang, and he was not about to let go of that in.
But regardless, right now he had to somehow convince Erlong to keep him around. 'Baby charms, don't fail me now'
Mustering up what little muscle control he had acquired, he moved his lips and vocal cords to pronounce a gurgle of sounds that resulted in "Mama?" coming out of his mouth, while he reached out to her, relinquishing the control he had gained over his fingers to maintain the image of a small, innocent, not to mention defenseless baby, that you should totally adopt, and not throw at the nearest orphanage.
Throwing in a small puppy-frown, and then bringing up the few tear-jerking emotions he had, mostly of Anime deaths from Iron-Blooded Orphans, Shen hoped that whatever maternal instincts he knew to be in Erlong would be triggered by his interpretative imitation of a baby seal.
Granted, a Spirit user would probably club a baby seal if it meant obtaining a Spirit Ring. Hell, he'd club a thousand baby seals, and then make a meat toboggan from their numerous corpses to sled through to the snow, if it meant he'd be safe for the rest of his life in this world. And even as the eyes of the horrified children asked "Why?", he wouldn't stop, no, he'd pick up the baby seal and slam it against another baby seal.
"No, please don't cry!" However, his plan was…only partially successful, as Erlong started rocking him back and forth wildly, thinking that Shen was about to cry, or that he was scared. Oh right, she hasn't been a mother-hen to something that registered to her as a small child, she had been, or would be a mother to Xiao Wu, who was just as wild, if not wilder than Erlong.
'Fuck, stop that, or I'm going to hurl!' Shen thought, keeping his mouth shut, not only to keep whatever food was in his belly to not come out, but to make it seem like the shaking Erlong gave him worked.
Thankfully, the shaking stopped as the people who came with Erlong returned.
"Principal, we found the intruder, or at least what was left of her." The gruff-voiced man from before said. Well, there went any chances of Shen finding out why he was left in the middle of a forest.
"I see…"
"'en! Sh'n!" Shen tried shouting with his small vocal cords. He had already grown used to that name, and he wasn't exactly keen on changing it.
Thankfully, he was heard. "Well, it seems like the little one can talk, to some extent." A thinner man spoke, and by his demeanor, he seemed to be the trickster type, like a monkey of some sort, and his smaller frame probably meant that he was either an Agility Attack System, or possibly a Control System Spirit master.
"Hmm… I think I'll name him Wen Shen." Erlong muttered as she began walking back towards her house, Hong Feng and Tan Bai escorting her as the rest of the group headed back to the academy.
"Principal Liu, are you certain that this is wise?" Hong Feng, a tall stick of a man with long black hair, a beard that fell to his chest, and sunken eyes asked as he walked behind Erlong, his dark purple and black robes flowing with each step.
"Oi Fe-Fe, just let it be. After all, the kiddo already lost his mother, so what's the harm in Er-Er taking him in?" responded a woman who seemed to be little over 25, dressed in a rather form-fitting purple dress that left her long legs bare.
Feng turned towards the woman with a venomous glare. "And that is exactly my point. The child's mother is dead, leaving us with a small child whose origins we do not. For all we know, he might be the child of a powerful clan, or perhaps even that of a Spirit Hall Elder." While his colleagues might not have much lost love for the Spirit Hall, this old man would prefer to not have his old relationships sullied by the recklessness of his co-workers and superiors.
"And if it comes to that, we will deal with it. Now stop arguing before you disturb the child." Erlong said with a tone that Feng had heard many a times, usually directed at Tai Wukong and Tan Bai whenever they got too deep in the bottle.
Throughout the exchange, Shen kept his mouth shut, observing the interactions happening around him. He'd probably need to watch out for the old man, if he was so scared of the Spirit Hall. Granted, they had more than a handful of Titled Douluos, so there was good reason to be afraid, but the way the old man talked made it seem like he was very much pro-Spirit Hall.
Shen's Current Skills:
Gamer's Mind |?|
Passive LV: MAX
Gamer's Body |?|
Passive LV: MAX
Observation |?|
Active/Passive LV: 7
EXP: 0/700
ID Create |?|
Active LV: 3
EXP: 0/300
ID Escape |?|
Active LV: 3
EXP: 0/300
Crafting |?|
Passive LV: 4
EXP: 0/400
Thievery |?|
Passive Skill LV: 2
EXP: 0/200
Theft |?|
Active Skill LV: 2
EXP: 0/200
Sense Danger: |?|
Passive Skill LV: 10
EXP: 999/1000
Detect Bloodlust |?|
Passive Skill LV: 10
EXP: 999/1000
Stealth |?|
Active Skill LV: 9
EXP: 120/900
Reinforcement |?|
Active Skill LV: 5
EXP: 120/500
Meditation |?|
Active Skill LV: 3
EXP: 12/300
Energy Blast |?|
Active Skill LV: 2
EXP: 20/200
Mana Barrier |?|
Active Skill LV 2
EXP: 50/100
Mana Flash |?|
Active Skill LV: 5
EXP: 45/500
Mana Rope |?|
Active Skill LV: 2
EXP: 0/200
[Timeskip 6 years forward…]
And so, Shen was more or less adopted by Erlong, although he still kept the name Wen Shen, to avoid being mistaken for actually being related to Erlong, or the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan. And to be frank, that was fine with him, as that would mean that he could act out with relative impurity, without having to worry about staining someone's honor.
And unlike in his previous life, this time, he focused more on the physical side of training, and after the «Baby body» debuff deactivated, his physical stats took off like a rocket…a fireworks rocket that is, each of his physical stats gaining 20 points, while his mental stats only went up by 7.
And thankfully, Erlong wasn't that bad of a mother, if not a little over-cautious and hesitant, but that was to be expected of first-time mothers, and at least she didn't leave him in the middle of a Spirit beast forest. Although, she did tend to make her food a bit too spicy, but Shen got used to them…after a year or two…or three.
But enough talking about the past, for today was the day when Shen would go through his awakening ceremony, but unlike last time, this time it happened in a small forest clearing, with Erlong, Hong Feng, who was there in case of any accidents and Tan Bai, who was there because she had nothing better to do.
"Alright Shen, just stay calm, and listen to what I tell you." Erlong said as she stood behind Shen, who was standing on a small tarp that had a symbol that Shen faintly remembered as the same kind of circle where he got his first awakening done.
Shen nodded, letting his Spirit essence just float around, making no effort in trying to control it, as that would make the process easier.
"Spirit…" As Erlong pushed her hand forward, the circle lit up, an identical symbol lighting up above Shen. As the glow brightened, Shen could feel and see his Spirit essence leak out and covering his body, mostly focusing on his arms, legs and shoulder blades.
"AWAKEN!" Another copy of the circle lit up, this one rising from the tarp, and as his body passed through the circle, he could see yellow, featureless armor-like shoes similar to an eagle's talons covering his feet, three claws on the front, and one at the back, and to his surprise, he could control them pretty well.
And as the light passed through his arms, similar armor formed over his hands, and they fit like gloves, his nails lengthening into talons, and as the circle reached the top circle, he could feel an additional weight on his shoulder, like an extra pair of limbs, and judging by the sound, they were feathery wings.
[«Beast Spirit: Thunderbird» has been awakened!]
Well, at least now he had a clearer cultivation path than he did with the Lich dragon staff.
"Alright Shen, now lay your hand atop this orb." Erlong said, walking around to be face-to-face with Shen, and presented an orb to Shen, who nodded, and started chis hand touched the orb. He couldn't help but smirk a bit about the prospect of gaining the Rank 10 boost on top of his previous Rank 8 one.
'Ah, fuck, that stings!' Shen cursed, closing his eyes as the shine got painfully bright for his eyes.
'Innate Full Spirit Power!' Erlong thought in shock as the light stopped getting brighter, although the light had already covered the entire clearing, and she could see Feng squinting his eyes, while Bai was looking at Shen with a giddy expression on her face.
But still, to think that the small child they had found abandoned in that forest clearing had this kind of potential. Then again, Shen had been a rather odd child, never crying, save for when he was hungry, or in need of a new diaper, and even then, he learned to go to the potty rather quickly, a few weeks after he learned to walk. And then there was how when he looked at the world, his eyes glinted with not childish curiosity, but with the same kind of curiosity that the eyes of her beloved Xiaogang did.
Although Shen also had Flender's eye for treasure and tendency for not getting rid of something until it couldn't be fixed cheaply. To be honest, she was both happy about being remembered of those happy days, and confused by how he seemed to emulate them when she knew that her little Shen hadn't met either one of her old teammates, though she did use to tell some of their adventures to him as a bedtime story.
"Congratulations little Shen, your spirit is the Agility Attack System Beast Spirit: Thunderbird." Erlong said, a proud smile on her face.
[Perk: «Spirit Awakening Rank: 8» has been replaced with the Perk: «Innate Full Spirit Power»!]
However, before Shen could reply, he was scooped up by an overly enthusiastic Bai. "YAY! Little Hen-Hen has the same System as me! Don't worry, Big sis Bai will take good care of little brother!" The grown woman cheered, pressing Shen against her bosom, as Shen put up a minimal effort of trying to get out of her bear-hug, knowing from previous experiences that he wasn't getting out of her grip, and that she'd let him go before he lost consciousness.
Plus, Tan Bai was rather easy on the eyes, and that as he got older, the chances of getting close to these condensed clouds she called breasts were near zilch.
Feng sighed in disappointment at his colleague's antics. One would think that a Rank 59 Spirit King would have more tact than letting some young boy nestle in her chest. Even so, he was feeling conflicted on the orphan's Innate Full Spirit Power. On one hand, he was glad that such a treasure had landed right in the hands of their prestigious academy, as Innates were a rare treasure that wouldn't appear every century.
But, on the other hand, he was also concerned about how other groups would be trying to poach such a treasure from the academy, and while their academy was among the strongest, they still didn't have someone who could face off against a Spirit Douluo, let alone a Titled one and expect to come out victorious, not without very specific conditions being in place.
[Later...]
"Alright little Hen-Hen, here we are, Star Dou Forest, the perfect place for you to get your first Spirit Ring." Bai said, taking in a deep breath.
Although, Shen wasn't the only one from Blue Tyrant academy to obtain a Spirit Ring, as handful of Rank 20 and 30 Spirit masters were with Hong Feng and four Spirit Elders. Shen could appreciate the logic in the action. After all, if you had others who needed a Spirit Ring, then why send two Spirit King to escort a single child, when just one would do? Better to let the one with an area-of-effect ability to take care of the larger number of kids, accompanied by a few more experienced students.
"Alright Fen-Fen, you take the kiddies, I'll look after Hen-Hen." Tan Bai said, confident in her capabilities of dealing with the Spirit beasts that laid on the outer regions of the forest.
"Big sis Bai, please stop using that name, it's embarrassing." Shen complained as he used his Beast Spirit to fly down from the wagon, and towards the grown woman. He was an eagle, and he would not be referred to as a mere hen. Hell, a rooster would've been fine, but to be referred to as a female bird was, well… embarrassing, especially when combined with the fact that he was still young enough that he could pass of as a tomboy-ish girl.
"Mou~u, my cute little brother's already growing into a rebel…" The [REDACTED]-year old Spirit King whined, shedding fake tears as she snatched Shen out of the air, furrowing his head into her chest, the majority of the Spirit masters turning their heads away from the somewhat shameful demeanor, that was more fit for a teenager rather than a grown woman.
Shen however simply waited for Tan Bai to let him go, his wings going slack, now that he didn't need to keep himself up in the air.
And after a minute or so, she let go of him. "«Split-tailed cat: Essence Armor, materialize»." she grinned, and as light formed around her, her hands became covered in armor that resembled the claws of a cat. And the same kind of transformation occurred to her feet, her feet and shoes forming into armored paws, and the cat ears that popped up from her head, and the two cat tails that grew from her butt.
"Alright Shenny, come along now, and try to keep up!" and with that, she leapt towards the forest, the speeds she was moving at forcing Shen to flap his newly-acquired wings as hard as he could to keep up with her… although saying that he kept up with her might've been a tad inaccurate, as there was always a couple of meters gap between them, but he could tell that Tan Bai wasn't even going at half her maximum speed, possibly going at the speeds that was more like a jog for her.
As they got deeper and deeper into the forest, the gap between them grew smaller and smaller, due to Bai actually slowing down. She'd have hell to pay if Shen got hurt because of her own recklessness. Granted, Erlong would still be pissed off if he got hurt, but she'd rather avoid the bigger brunt of her wrath.
'Hmm… no, not that one's a bit too young, and that one's too old, oh, that's just all wrong.' Tan Bai thought to herself as she took in the presences of the different Spirit beasts in their vicinity. It was a handy little thing she got from her third Spirit Ring, a Purple Spirit Ring from a 1400-Year-old Fork-tailed Ghost Cat. With it, she could sense the Spirit essence of the people around her.
Sure, it didn't let her get an exact reading of people's Rank or Spirit, but she could sniff out their attribute and other neat stuff, like their age, or in the case of Spirit beasts, what kind of Spirit Ring they'd spawn, and a small hint of their attribute. And well, if she was being honest, Shenny's Essence smelled weird, a bit too old for someone his age, not to mention the slight stench of rotting flesh that laid beneath the smell of eagles and smoke, which she did also smell from people with lightning-attributed Spirits.
And so, she was searching for a Spirit Beast that shared the stronger smell, and ignore the minor stench of death. But apparently, it was too much to ask for the Star Dou forest to have one of those for her precious little brother!
But then, she got a signal that felt about right, and so, she started moving more to right, Shen flapping his wings to prevent himself from slamming into a tree, shooting Mana from his feet to help in the braking. And after that, he continued following Bai's track, until he spotted her crouching before a large bush.
Tan Bai motioned him to be silent, pointing at a forest clearing up ahead. Flying a bit upwards, Shen could see two yellow birds that reminded him of Chocobos, except that these birds had combs like a rooster, shaped like lightning bolts, the smaller one possessing only three bolts, while the bigger one, about 4 meters tall, had a mighty crown of the lightning strikes.
[Observation]
«Agility Attack System»
/305 Years old\
Chorok LV: 11
EXP: 23/1650
HP: 110/180
MP: 40
SP: 195/215
STR: 46
INT: 12
VIT: 35
WIS: 12
DEX: 45
AGI: 65
EXP Yield: 2200
Item Drops: 1 [Young} Chorok Corpse{Loot pack], 1 Spirit Ring{Yellow]
[Observation]
«Agility Attack System»
/1285 Years old\
Chorok LV: 21
EXP: 1235/3150
HP: 210
MP: 70
SP: 316
STR: 67
INT: 19
VIT: 65
WIS: 21
DEX: 55
AGI: 89
EXP Yield: 4200
Item Drops: 1 [Mature} Chorok Corpse{Loot pack], 1 Spirit Ring{Purple]
Alright, so his target would be the smaller one. As much as he would've liked to think himself to be a special little gem of a child, he wasn't going to risk things with the Spirit Rings.
"Alright Shenny, those are Choroks, a lightning bird, so they're a perfect match for your spirit." Bai explained, not that Shen needed it, as the Choroks' physical appearances were more than telling.
"I'll keep the big bird out of your hair, so you take the little one." Shen nodded, ready to attack.
However, as the duo prepared to attack, the older Chorok snapped its head towards where they were, and gave out an enormous screech, it's feathers standing tall, electricity sparking around its entire body, coiling around the yellow ostrich-like bird, before it kicked off the ground and charged towards them.
Tan Bai thinking on her feet, threw Shen out of the bushes, and over the charging Chorok into the clearing, as she side-stepped the Chorok, allowing it to harmlessly charge into the tree… well, harmlessly to people, as the Chorok's beak bore through the bark, and into the tree, the electricity surrounding the Chorok exploded outwards, and charred away more of the bark, putting the tree at a point where a good smack would cause it to tip over.
Flapping his wings to slow his descent, Shen formed an «Energy Blast» in his hand and shot it at the smaller Chorok that was quite nettled, judging by the ruffled collar of feathers, and the electricity sparking off of the chick.
However, the meter-tall bird quickly dashed away from the trajectory of the blast, running right at Shen's descending form, lightning covering the bird's tiny body, similarly to the older Chorok earlier, but it was far slower and it had less electricity around itself.
'Alright, if blasting it won't work, then how about this?' Shen thought to himself, forming a «Mana Rope», which he latched onto a tree and shot himself towards it by retracting the rope, blasting the charging Chorok chick, hitting it right in the sides [-45 HP. 65/180]. However, despite the electricity covering it, the Chorok still fell onto its side, struggling to get up, as its left leg was badly damaged, and even by looking at it, Shen could tell that the bird wouldn't be able to effectively run away.
Honestly, this was a lot easier than he originally thought. Then again, they weren't caught off-guard by the species of the beast they were hunting. Although, with his «Observation», that was unlikely to happen.
The Chorok chick flinched once more as it tried to stand up, falling back onto the ground. And so, it settled for glaring at Shen with all the hate it could muster. No doubt it was angry that it had effectively lost the battle by taking a single bad hit.
Well, it wasn't Shen's business to care about whether or not he hurt the Beast's feelings, as he jumped off from the tree branch he had roped himself to, and once he was above the Chorok's prone body, he channeled Mana to his talons, and let himself drop, intent on severing the Chorok chick's neck in one strike.
And in one last, defiant and rebellious move, the Chorok screeched, every single one of its feathers standing tall, like quills of a hedgehog, as electricity sparked violently around it.
Shen simply scoffed at the paltry showcase, pumping more Mana to lengthen the «Energy Blades» around his talons, extending them to 50cm in length, and with the additional 5 cm, the blades were more than long enough to fork the bird's neck between them.
And with a flick of his tow muscles, his claws closed, decapitating the Chorok, as if he had merely cut a bit of thread with finely sharpened scissors [-180 HP. -115/180. DEAD!].
And with a wet splat, the Chorok's corpse hit the ground, and aside from the occasional twitch of the legs, it laid there, dead and motionless. And as Shen landed, he flicked the blood off his talons.
"Well, that was easy…" he muttered, watching with interest as small balls of light rose from the corpse, coalescing above it to form a yellow ring, that gently floated there.
[Observation]
Yellow Spirit Ring {305-Year-old]
A Spirit Ring that came from a 305-year-old Chorok. Consumable item.
Effect upon consumption: Level cap upgraded to «Level: 20», +? Stat boosts, +? Skill{x1].
As Shen's Essence Armor covered hands grasped the Yellow Spirit Ring, he felt a surge of power rushing through him. It carried an intense sense of euphoria, it felt like he could do ANYTHING he wanted, and nobody would be able to stop him!
Going on pure intuition, he opened his jaw as wide as he possibly could, and started taking a deep breath, the spirit ring in his hands breaking apart, the bits floating into his maw, and then dissipated as they went down his throat, and he could feel his own power increasing as more and more pieces flew in.
Honestly, if this was an indication of what people without «Gamer's Mind» felt like when absorbing a Spirit Ring, then no wonder some people went on hunting sprees. It was like a drug, the feeling of euphoria outclassing anything that you could achieve artificially.
[Player has obtained 2200{+1100] EXP.]
[Player has reached Level 13!]
Current EXP: 999/1300
STR: 22-»25
DEX: 23-»29
AGI: 22-»34
Lightning Affinity: 25-»44
[Spirit Ring Skill «Volt Dash» has been learned!]
Alright, so that's a rather pathetic stat boost. But, who knows, maybe his stats would rise up on each subsequent Level up, at least until he got another ring.
Right now, he should store the corpse into his «Inventory», since hey, free crafting material and food. However, as he reached for the corpse, he noticed that his armor had gotten new additions, two lightning bolt-shaped carvings on both sides, and the gauntlets and greaves had grown halfway up his forearms and calves.
Ignoring this new development for now, he stored the corpse into his «Inventory», and just in time too, as Tan Bai threw the thoroughly beaten, but still alive body of the Chorok.
"Good job Shenny, you managed to take care of the chick." Bai gave him a thumbs-up as she spotted the decapitated head laying on the ground.
Shen nodded, dismissing his transformation. Now that the fight was over, it wasn't necessary to keep it active, it'd be only a waste of energy.
"Alright, no we'll regroup with Fen-Fen and the kids." Bai said, picking Shen onto her back before dashing off into the forest.
AN: Alright, so how was the chapter? I took a lesson from my previous failure with Enduring Soul, and so, I pretty much glossed over the unimportant stuff. Plus, to be honest, I don't believe that a Reincarnation SI's or OC's childhood is all that important, well, except if they're born in a place and time where they can interact with really important characters, like Naruto for example, but since that's quite not the case with Shen, I simply skipped over it.
Also, yeah, Essence Armor=Real Guard, but I decided to change the name, since to be honest, "Real Guard" or "True Guard" sounds pretty dumb.
And as for which version I'm following (Light Novel or Manhwa), well, I'll be cherry-picking from both versions, since while I might be a lot more familiar with the Manhwa, and the character designs have imbedded themselves into my subconsciousness, I do agree that on some occasions, the Manhwa drops the ball, HARD.
So yeah, if you're a fan of the Light Novel, don't worry, this won't be strictly Manhwa-based. I just liked the RG from it, and no, Tool Spirit users won't get EA, since it kind of makes Beast Spirits redundant.
And as for how the EA works, well, while I don't have anything concrete, as you might be able to see from the distinct lack of a Stat sheet for Shen, I do have planned out where the armor will appear for each system of spirits.
«Essence Armor locations»
Power Attack: Upper body and arms
Agility Attack: fore-arms and legs
-Speed: Legs
Defense: Torso and fore-arms
Control: Depends on the spirit
And speaking of Spirits, don't worry, I have properly planned out the next three Rings for Shen, so yeah, we're good for a long while. But, don't take that as me discouraging you guys from coming up with Spirit beasts for Shen to fight, or Spirit Bones, but just saying, I might not use them.
Oh, and while we're on the subject of Spirit beasts, as some of you may have noticed, if you're at the Level cap, you gain EXP only from absorbing the Spirit Ring. And if you happen to defeat a Spirit beast when you're not at the Level cap, you gain only half EXP, and no Spirit Ring.
Anyway, about Shen's Beast Spirit, some of you more knowledgeable folks might call BS on him being able to fly without any rings, well, I do have an explanation, and a correction for that.
First off: He can't fly for long, only about 4-5 minutes, with an extra time of 2 minutes if he pushes it.
Secondly, the only person with a Bird-type Beast Spirit who needed a Spirit Ring to fly is Ma Hongjun/Fatty, and no, it's not because he's fat, although that might have added to the problem, it's because A: he didn't have proper wings, and B: because his Beast Spirit is "impure", thus it was incapable of flight.
And here's Shen's Stat sheet:
«Agility Attack System»
Wen Shen LV: 10-»13
EXP: 999/1000-»999/1300
HP: 100-»140-»170
MP: 210-»230
SP: 114-»208-»229
STR: 2-»22-»25
INT: 55-»62
VIT: 2-»22
WIS: 50-»57
DEX: 3-»23-»29
AGI: 2-»22-»34
LCK: 11
Stat Points: 30-»39
Lightning affinity: 25-»44
Perks/Buffs/Debuffs:
Perk: Bookworm: Knowledge is Power, so why not spend a little extra time acquiring more? {+10 EXP for every book/scroll/informational text you've read. +20 EXP to all skills when learned]
Perk: Innate Full Spirit Power: HIS POWER LEVEL IS MAXIMUM! {+50% boost to all EXP.]
[Perks that Shen had until the first time skip]
Perk/Buff: Spirit Awakening Rank 8 {This perk will disappear once you reach LV 30.} {+40% boost to all EXP gained while this perk is active.]
Debuff: Baby body: Waa waa, I'm a baby! {Perk will disappear as time passes.} {«STR, VIT, DEX, AGI» cannot rise above 5. Pre-existing skills can't gain EXP.]
So yeah, I have added in the Luck stat, but that's mostly cosmetic stuff, only affecting random loot drops and such. And no, you can't invest Stat Points into that, you can only boost that by certain methods, not to mention that you need to unlock a special Instant Dungeon to get access to said methods.
Oh, and while we're on the subject of IDs, no, the common monsters in IDs don't spawn Spirit Rings, only Dungeon Bosses, like «Legion Zombie» do that, and even then, those Rings will only be at the minimum age-range of their color, and the color will depend on the rarity and power of said Dungeon Boss, so it's honestly much easier to just go for a real Spirit beast, although you still get EXP and Loot for defeating Dungeon Bosses.
Also, about his Lightning affinity? Yeah, that's a little add-on I did to limit the amount of Skills he can make. See, right now, the only combat skills he can make are either Lightning-attributed, or simply pure magical strength, and no, he can't get new affinities easily.
And now, for the Question of the chapter, and it's a two-fer, one for this story, and another one for Quincy DxD:
1: Which Douluo Dalu girl do you think Shen will end up with? And just going to put this here, no, it won't be Xiao Wu, she's going with Tang San, no questions about it.
2: What should be Q-Edward's familiar? And remember, the familiar will be an artificial one, so something like a golem, or an elemental would be a good basis to work off of.