Warnings: possible dark themes, psychologically dark-ish? (apathetic) Harry, no magic, virtual reality gaming AU
Pairing: TMR/HP (Tom Marvolo Riddle/Harry Potter)
Summary: Voldemort was just supposed to be the bored necromancer who had a slightly creepy obsession with the undead. Scarred was just supposed to be a berserker-but things never quite work out that way.
For one, he isn't a berserker. He's a bishop. For two, he isn't just anything-he's the renegade High Priest of Gryffindor. For three, well... let's just say Voldemort's slightly creepy obsession wasn't on the undead anymore.
Glitches were so inconvenient.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling; this story was also inspired by Legendary Moonlight Sculptor by Nam Hee Sung, a korean light novel about a virtual reality game called Royal Road and a main character who wants to conquer it all (for money). You can read it at:
(Vol 1-20): royalroadweed(period)blogspot(period)co(period)il(slash)2014(slash)11(slash)toc(period)html
(Vol 21+, WIP): jawztranslations(period)blogspot(period)com(slash)p(slash)legendary-moonlight-sculptor(period)html
Also, 1/2 Prince by Yu Wo inspired this story too! A Chinese VR-MMORPG light novel (adapted as a manga as well) about a girl who plays as a handsome male elven warrior. Read it now at princerevolution(period)org! The manhua can be read at mangahere or mangafox, or probably any of your favorite manga reading sites.
Third shout-out of inspiration to The Gamer by Sung San-young, a manhwa/web comic about a main character who gains the ability to live life as a game character. Read it at mangahere, or probably any of your favorite manga reading websites.
Harry sighed as he took in the sights of Little Hippogriff with new eyes. He'd been at this for at least an hour, and his eyes were getting tired. He idly rubbed them as he called for his stat window to open.
Mana Reader Beginner Level 3 (10%): Allows you to read the flow of mana in people, objects, and the environment.
Through careful observation, you can now recognize the mana flow of civilians and average villages.
At the beginner level, mana will be consumed per second for the duration you have your sight activated. However, certain events may trigger Mana Reader to be activated without your command.
Mana Reader, the skill he'd learned from Sirius Black! Harry hadn't seen any merit in it immediately, but certainly there would be something at the end of the road if it was a skill only taught to the noble and ancient house of Black. The first time he used the skill, he'd immediately been assaulted with the sight of swirling light, gently filling each and every person (as well as the whole village) in its glow. It was mana, he'd come to realize.
Mana, the soul. He could see it now, usually calm and smooth with little change. Occasionally when someone was distressed it would stagger, gaining an erratic pattern, but for every day nuisances, there wasn't much affect. Sometimes while observing it, his intelligence or wisdom would increase slightly.
At first it filled the bar very quickly as long as he sat and watched the flow, but immediately as he started to doze off, the experience gain stopped. Harry figured he couldn't just leave his sight on either to level it up—it was not only impossible due to his low mana pool, but there was no affect if he didn't pay attention and earnestly take in his surroundings.
Before Harry had stopped to take a rest from training, he'd been fighting wolves in the twilight and then under the lighting of the moon. Rabbits were far too simple, and the few wolves that were around in the day time were hunted by the other beginners, usually in groups.
He hadn't found a group of his own, of course (no one had invited him, and he hadn't felt the need to find one on his own accord), so he'd had to fight the wolves alone. While he couldn't take on more than one at once, it was still rather decent exp. He'd finally reached level eleven. Four more levels until job advancement.
Most RPGs had their job advancement at level 10—but Witches and Wizards set their bar at 15 to ensure all players had both combat and quest-based experience before they got their class skills. It wasn't too troublesome—experience gain was still fast at these lower levels, and probably better even in a party.
As his goal was a secret class, Harry knew it wouldn't be easy to get, but asking the warrior job instructor once he was an appropriate level couldn't hurt to see if he could get a hint or two. And if not the warrior instructor, then the martial arts instructor. Doing everything on your own was impossible in the game—you needed to talk to NPCs to get information. There was no other way around it, and considering that he didn't even have a party to ask—
Harry stood up from his seat at the fountain. It was time to start training again, and he'd seen several other players getting wolf hunting quests from an NPC not far from where he was.
Wolf Hunt Quest
The local wolf population has been rapidly increasing, and the new influx has proved a danger to Little Hippogriff's chickens and sheep. Help investigate and decrease the population of the wolves for a reward.
Difficulty: E
0/5 Wolves
*This quest is repeatable
*Recommended to complete with a party
Harry completed the quest five times before he got a different dialogue from the NPC.
"You've done a lot of work to help us out," the old man said. "I thank you on behalf of the village."
Harry nodded and swiped away the reward message without even looking at it. 10 sickles and a decent nugget of experience, as usual. "Not a problem. Do you still need any more help?"
The old man gave him a tired smile. "If you could? For some reason, the population doesn't seem to be decreasing, no matter how many adventurers I send off…"
Harry frowned. That was new. It was rare a common quest would mention the others who had accepted it. "How many have you sent?"
"I can't recall—more than five, certainly. Some are like you, coming back time and time again, but most if not all I gave to groups. You see, I thought for sure that a group of adventurers could investigate and find out what was wrong…"
"But no one did?"
"No one has said anything," the NPC shrugged.
Harry discreetly checked his quest list, and there it was, clear as day—help investigate. Had it been that everyone had missed an integral part of this quest? "I'll be sure to check it out for you."
"Oh, would you? I could keep sending out adventurers to hunt these pesky wolves, but it really would be better if we could stop them… If it helps, most adventurers have been hunting them in the plains. I haven't heard anyone come from the forest yet. Maybe whatever's causing the increase in wolves is hidden there?"
Investigate the Forest Quest
According to the old man, the origin of the wolves' multiplication may be in the forest. Go investigate, and report your findings back to the old man.
Difficulty: E
*Wolf Hunt - Investigate the Forest - ? Chain
A few minutes into his search of the forest, Harry began to wonder if there was something he was missing. The forest was huge—searching it all would be inefficient. There had to be something he could use, or a landmark of sorts to start from. So he paused, sat on a bulging root, and thought.
…Maybe—
"Mana Reader!"
The skill Sirius Black gave him! Harry had no idea what the requirements were to take the old man's chain quest from an originally normal hunting request; it could've been five times, address what he said; five times, have high friendship with the villagers; anything! So it was also possible that he might've gotten the quest because of this skill, Mana Reader!
It was entirely possible that the reason the old man thought he could investigate the forest properly, thus pointing out a part of the original quest that no one noticed, was because Harry could read the mana of his surroundings, and find any abnormalities!
Harry turned his head from side to side, scanning his surroundings with his new sight. It was curious how every little thing had the glow to it—the trees, their leaves, the ground. As to probably not blind him, the glow was dim in these surroundings. The only violent glow he had ever seen came from people, be they NPCs or players.
A moving glow caught his attention in the distance. Harry squinted, and slowly began to approach. It didn't look like the mana of a person. When he was close to the tree it was coming from, the mana seemed to jerk, reeling back and then lunging at him with a frightening speed. Harry ducked, and the wolf flew right over his head. Had he not seen the mana, it was likely the surprise attack might've lead to his end!
There was a snarl behind him. Harry quickly spun around and reoriented himself for battle. With his Sight, he could see every little nuance of the wolf! How aggressively its mana churned, how the mana built up in its feet, and then—
Harry slashed with his dagger at the moment the wolf was right in front of him. It yowled in pain, dropped, and leaped back. By focusing on its mana flow, Harry could predict its motion, and using this, he easily landed a few more slashes before finally finishing it off with a cut to the neck.
Mana Reader has leveled up.
"Skills!"
Mana Reader Beginner Level 4 (0%): Allows you to read the flow of mana in people, objects, and the environment.
Through careful observation, you can now not only recognize the mana flow of civilians and monsters, but also use your understanding to predict movement.
At the beginner level, mana will be consumed per second for the duration you have your sight activated. However, certain events may trigger Mana Reader to be activated without your command.
Harry blinked, and then frantically rubbed his eyes, feeling the sleepy grime stuck in the corners. Mana Reader was turning out to be useful, but he was all out of mana already. It certainly wouldn't be able to help him until he had either higher regen or a higher max. Maybe he should put points in his MP when he leveled up? Wisdom would help with his regeneration rate…
Either way, he couldn't do anything now. Harry decided to rest up before continuing his search. Unless he could get some more mana, this quest would probably take him awhile.
Between his usages of Mana Reader were long periods of rest. Harry found that his mana regeneration was only a measly 5 per 10 seconds, but couldn't actually resolve to only use the skill for the quest. Every time he killed a wolf with the skill on was valuable experience. Sometimes he would notice something different about the mana, and have to figure out what that was. His wisdom also raised a very slight amount, but any at all was useful, since warriors weren't prone to actively investing stat points into it.
Harry was slowly training up his ability to use Mana Reader! Skills and skill levels meant nothing if one didn't know how to use them! And Mana Reader, the skill that appeared useless at first, was slowly proving that it was actually a skill with very high potential! Harry had barely scrapped the surface at beginner level 4!
He was now level 14 from hunting wolves both with his Sight on and off. A respectable level raise from hunting in the forest, but he still didn't find out what the quest meant. The wolf population here was thin, which was one of the reasons why players didn't hunt here. Harry didn't understand why the old man wanted him to look around where the exact opposite of the problem was!
Should he go back and say he hadn't found anything? Maybe then the old man would tell him to search in the fields instead…
Harry frowned. But he said he'd report at least some news. Maybe he wasn't going about this right?
…He needed to find another wolf.
Harry found it very strange that all of the wolves in the forest were loners. He had never seen two wolves at once here, while in the fields there were loners as well as groups of two or three. And something was wrong about that. Monster AIs should follow similar patterns within their own species. Harry didn't think the programmers would make two different personalities of wolves for the field and the forest unless there was a reason, especially as according to the name they were the same type of wolf.
Once he found an unsuspecting wolf, Harry decided to follow it! He tried to be as quiet as possible, and keep his distance carefully out of the range of its senses. Each of his steps were too loud in his opinion, so with each one he tried to get quieter and quieter.
You have learned a new skill:
Prowl Beginner Level 1 (0%): Stalking silently with your inner predator, you have learned to adjust your whole body for the sole purpose of the hunt.
Passive: Stealth and speed increases with level of skill. (Stealth +2, Agility +2)
Active (Prowl Mode): Hides your killing intent; attacking will turn off Prowl mode. Cannot enter Prowl mode if in battle, or in plain sight. While Prowling, decreased chance of catching the attention of enemies depending on level difference. The first attack made will be more effective.
Huh. Useful. Berserkers weren't exactly known for their subtlety, so Harry probably wouldn't use it often, but the more skills the better! Besides, it helped now. And now he knew he could learn different classes' skills with some creativity.
Following the wolf, Harry was lead deeper and deeper into the forest. He didn't know how he was to eventually get back out, but he'd cross that bridge once he got to it. For all he knew he might be wasting his time, but Harry continued following because he had a hunch, and it was telling him to see it through.
In the world of Mortem, a player's instincts could get them far! Honed by game play where they live or die depending on how well they can handle situations, players learn and develop the more they play! You don't need prior experience to profit from this aspect of Witches and Wizards! It exists to even the playing field. Those with experience start out ahead, and those without it learn! This is the type of place Harry had landed himself into—and this was the type of place Scarred, the legendary Berserker, would be born!
Harry didn't know how far he went following that lone wolf, but eventually with his Sight on, he saw another concentration of mana up ahead. It was another wolf! But for some reason, it looked bigger than the wolves he was used to…
As he approached, he was finally able to see the wolf. And it was different. In fact, it was a whole other type! On top of its head in orange text read "Sentry Wolf". The monster Harry had been following approached it, and they seemed to communicate with some growls and grunts. It was a sight Harry had never seen before—communication between mobs at such an early level! It existed among the more intelligent species, like elves and goblins, but with low level wolves? Near unheard of!
When the normal wolf turned and went back the way it came, Harry stayed. His eyes were trained on the Sentry Wolf, and how its mana flowed. There was a difference in all creatures, as they had different purposes and behaviors. While the normal wolves had aggressive, rapidly cycling mana, the Sentry Wolf had a heavier, restrained flow. It was built defensively, with an inclination to stand its ground and intimidate its foes with its size.
Harry was almost certain that he could find out more information through watching the flow of mana. He was too inexperienced to recognize everything, but he was slowly learning the tendencies and connecting them to behaviors—he was trying to read the story mana weaved, without even knowing the language it was written in! But he was managing, somehow.
He watched the Sentry Wolf for a few more minutes, recovering his mana slowly, but it did not move from its spot. It was alert, however, and the orange name told Harry that it was higher level than him, which meant he would need to be careful if he wanted to Prowl past. White names were the same level as he was, and the closer it moved to neon green, the lower the level it was compared to Harry's. The closer it moved to bright red, the higher the level it was.
If one wanted to know the exact level of a monster, they would need to use the Observe skill, which was gained through a class or careful observation of all the surroundings.
Harry decided there wouldn't be any gain to staying here any longer, and he wanted to test the strength of the Sentry Wolf. He slunk around to another tree so he wasn't in front of it, and then struck with his dagger.
A critical hit at the shoulder blade! It was the first attack out of Prowl mode.
The Sentry Wolf snarled, now alert to the enemy, and tried to get a bite onto his arm, but Harry dodged seeing the mana flow build at the neck and jaw, and he darted below and slashed at the hind legs. It continued much in this manner when Harry realized that the Sentry Wolf was slow and clunky with its bulkier build. Its attacks were strong if they landed, but as long as they didn't—
Harry grabbed a handful of snow from the ground and then threw it at his opponent's eyes.
Sentry Wolf has been blinded.
He took the opportunity to run around, leap onto the Sentry Wolf's back, and then land another critical hit by slashing at the neck. After a few more attacks it died, leaving behind a pile of leather and knuts with a healthy chunk of experience.
It hadn't been too difficult, but the few attacks that the Sentry Wolf had been able to land on him definitely hurt. If he had to fight more than one at a single time, it would certainly be back to the rebirth point for him. Harry moved to sit down a few ways away to recover a bit before continuing on. He needed his mana to recover again in order to check his surroundings—it was clear he was in a different section of the forest now. Just how big was it, really?
And what other monsters were here?
Undoubtedly, these periods of rest were an obstacle he'd need to get past later on, either by bringing potions with him or increasing his regeneration. In areas were monster populations were denser, it would become a problem if he needed to rest after every battle. There would be little to no safe spots, and hunting like this was inefficient anyway. He'd just have to deal with it for now, but on the next quest he went on, Harry would have to have some alternatives.
With Mana Reader on, Harry could see another concentration of mana off into the distance, though it was indeed a far way off. He squinted, trying to make out whether or not it was a monster, but couldn't say. He was still too far away. With that in mind, he turned on Prowl mode just in case and made his way further into the forest, his boots quiet in the snow.
The closer he got to the concentration, the more he wondered at how big it was. Because if he could see it at such a far distance away, then maybe—
Well, it definitely wasn't a monster. He knew that much. Going over what little information he had, Harry figured it might be some significant landmark. There were even places like that in the village—small places of no real significance that seemed to have a higher concentration of mana. One was the village square, at the fountain where he sat. The water was clean and available for drink, and Harry theorized that it was naturally connected to some source that could purify it. Whatever it was, it harmlessly generated a lot of mana.
In this case, whatever was up ahead might be the same.
With that theory, Harry continued on through the forest using his eyes as his guide. He did not keep Mana Reader active—that would drain too much mana, and he'd need the resource if he ran into another Sentry Wolf. Instead, Harry would walk for awhile, striking down the wolves he ran across—and if it was a Sentry, he'd activate his Sight and fight it.
Once he walked for awhile with his Sight off, he'd quickly turn it on again and check where the large mana pool was. Hopefully he'd be traveling the right way and could continue on—if not, Harry would redirect his path and make a mark on a tree nearby with his knife to serve as a reminder not to go backwards.
In this manner, he finally reached his destination at level 15.
You have encountered the "Tree of Ages" of Wolf Forest for the first time. Wisdom +10, Intelligence +10, Luck +5, Fame +50.
Mana Reader is automatically activated. No MP will be used while Mana Reader is active as long you are in the presence of the Tree of Ages.
You are in the presence of a "Tree of Ages". The spirit of Wolf Forest's Tree of Ages blesses you.
For 12 hours, passively receive:
Cold Resistance +50%
Mana Recovery +50%
Health +500
Mana +500
Strength +20
Stamina +10
Fatigue Recovery Speed +2X
The Tree of Ages was unlike anything Harry had ever seen! Throughout the whole tree, a warm green glow lit the clearing. Spheres of the same glowing light gently rained down from the boughs, some floating in random, ditzy patterns while others lazily descended like feathers. Harry knew he was in the presence of something great.
Not to mention, a ridiculous boost in stats! Harry checked his stat window to see the total gain, and seeing some unused stat points, quickly invested them.
Name: Scarred ~ Level: 15 ~ Race: Human
Faction: Gryffindor ~ Class: None
Title: None ~ Fame: 55
Health: 500 (+500) ~ Mana: 100 (+500)
Strength: 52 (+20) ~ Stamina: 24 (+10)
Intellect: 24 ~ Wisdom: 25
Luck: 15 ~ Agility: 26 (+1)
Stealth: 2
Attack: 0 (+3) ~ Defense: 0 (+4)
Fullness: 80 ~ Fatigue: 40
Up until this point, Harry had been investing his points on a 3-1-1 basis, distributing the 5 points gained each level (starting at level two) in that manner. In total, 70 points were used so far—fourteen times, the points went into his stats as such: three points in strength, one point in stamina, and one point in agility. Harry had not invested any points in health, mana, luck, or wisdom!
This was because once he gained a class, the amount of health and mana he would receive upon leveling up would be dependent on the strength and intellect, respectively. Not to mention, since he was going to be a berserker, intellect, wisdom, and luck weren't as imperative as strength, stamina, and agility were.
While intelligence boosted the amount of mana one had as well as the power of spells, wisdom boosted the rate of mana recovery. Strength and stamina were similar for physical aspects—the former boosting the amount of health one had as well as the power of physical attacks, and the latter boosting the rate of health recovery (as well as slowing the rate of fatigue gain). Stamina also allowed for more weight to be carried, a precious resource at the higher levels where dungeons were longer and the amount of loot gained increased.
Luck boosted the rate of critical strikes, though that could also be consciously done by hitting vulnerable areas on monsters (such as the eyes, the neck, the back of the knees, etc.)—which Harry had been doing in most every battle. Luck also raised the chance of getting a good item drop from a monster, as well as the chance of incoming long range attacks missing. It also served as a sense—in higher level dungeons where there were traps, if one had high luck it was likely that said player could sense where the traps were.
Agility, while obviously increasing the speed one could move at, also increased evasiveness—the ability to dodge attacks. Most classes wanted to put some points in agility at the beginning, because movement (in any form) was simply vital. While tanky warriors with bulky armor would need it less, it was still a good idea to invest some points early on into agility.
Intelligence and wisdom were mostly for mages, stamina and strength for warriors, and for rogues and archers, luck was vital. The latter two also had another stat—dexterity, which also had multiple effects but most importantly boosted the power of long range attacks—that was obtained once they gained their class. Other classes had to get dexterity from some other means if they so desired it.
Attack and defense were two stats that could not be raised through stat points. One needed to gain them through action, skills, or equipment—most people simply used the latter, as gaining attack and defense through action was difficult and tedious. However, they were very important stats—attack boosting damage done to a monster more than strength did, and defense softening the blow more than a large health pool could tank.
Health was truly nothing without defense!
The attack and defense Harry had now was from his knife and newbie equips—a tunic, a pair of pants, some moccasins, and gloves. Later he would upgrade his equipment if possible, but for now his overarching goal was to become a berserker. Afterwards everything else could be decided.
Focusing back onto the Tree of Ages, Harry wondered exactly what it was. The system notices that had popped up like crazy had referred to it as "a"—so were there more of these trees out there? Where? Why were they so important?
Certainly, Harry mused as he stood in awe of the mana around him, these trees were incredible. The snow around the tree's base was melted—there was even some grass growing in little patches! Imagine, grass in the North! In a monster area!—and the tree itself stood at an enormous thirty meters! Most notably, that was about double the height of the pine trees that made up the forest, and the Tree of Ages itself was not an evergreen. Its trunk looked like a yew tree, yes, but its leaves looked more like a sycamore's with their star shape.
How strange.
Harry slowly made his way around the large tree, circling its base while walking on top of the bulging roots. Its trunk was large—at least three meters in diameter—and Harry gently traced the bark with his hands.
He blinked. It was warm—no wonder the buff gave him cold resistance! Harry knelt down and touched the roots, feeling that they too were warm. Mana flowed smooth and calm throughout the entire tree, so soft and so abundant that he could literally feel it with his body.
Harry squinted, managing to make out little splotches of mana that were… different. The difference was barely visible—as if they were fading—and only on the surface, but something about them was familiar. He continued to stare at it, trying to rummage through his mind of what the splotches reminded him of, until he finally figured out.
Animal footprints.
More specifically, a wolf's.
Harry froze, looking around. He had been so accustomed to the wolf's lone nature in the forest that he didn't account for his own position! His guard had been lax! A quick survey of the area showed him that he was safe, but Harry promised himself he wouldn't be so relaxed in a monster area again. That was dangerous. He didn't want to get killed and have to wait twenty four hours in real life before making the trek back here.
Now that he knew what the splotches were, Harry looked around the ground and roots for similar markings, and there were a lot of them. Fading, clear—old and new, they were definitely paw marks! As Harry looked around some more, he found smaller footprints, like a rabbit's, and even some claw marks of a little bird.
Harry frowned. Most of them were wolves though—and those of other animals were almost completely faded. Why? Did this have something to do with the recent growth in wolf population?
Mana Reader has gained a significant amount of proficiency.
Mana Reader has leveled up.
"Skills!"
Mana Reader Beginner Level 5 (64%): Allows you to read the flow of mana in people, objects, and the environment.
Through careful observation, you can now not only recognize the mana flow of civilians and monsters, but also use your understanding to predict movement.
You can now read the traces of mana left in the environment and observe them to learn more details. At higher proficiency, more information can be gained.
At the beginner level, mana will be consumed per second for the duration you have your sight activated. However, certain events may trigger Mana Reader to be activated without your command.
"Uh—wow," he couldn't help but say once he saw the percentage. This trip was turning out to be incredibly profitable—a level up and 64% more for Mana Reader, and an additional effect? Harry wondered if visiting other Trees of Ages would give him similar experiences. If so, tracking them down and visiting would be well worth the effort.
The additional effect was something to be noted, though. Observing the traces of mana? That sounded interesting. And useful. Definitely useful.
Harry dismissed his skill window and looked back to the markings, now noticing transparent white text over all of them. Those closest to him were more legible, and those farthest away were little more than blurs. The more he focused on a particular spot, the clearer the words in the spot were.
"Wolf's trace," read one. "Hare's trace," read another. "[Unknown species] Bird's trace," was yet another. All of them floated above the respective splotch of mana that Harry had previously noticed.
The skill also said he could observe to learn more details, but all he saw was the name. Well, calling out names was the norm to activate skills—but his Mana Reader was already in effect because of the Tree of Ages. What to do…
Harry felt embarrassed shouting random things, but it wasn't like anyone was around, so…?
"O-Observe!" he called. Nothing happened.
You do not have that skill.
"Thanks, system," Harry muttered sarcastically. "It's not like I didn't know that already. Maybe… Details?"
"Read?"
More silence.
"Learn!"
You do not have a skill book to learn.
Harry groaned. Maybe the description was lying to him. Wait—that was it—!
"Description!" he shouted, feeling rather confident and smart.
New User Tip: Skill words are commonly verbs. Please try "Observe" instead.
"I already did that you stupid system! Ugh!"
Harry stomped his foot and let out an angry sigh. The feeling of something solid meeting the force of his foot was satisfying, but afterward definitely felt childish and, if anything, made him feel even more embarrassed. "I just want to Mana Read this thing!"
The sound of a single bell ringing rang throughout the clearing.
Mana Reader sub-active command activated, but cannot be used. To use, focus on object and call activation sequence through voice command. New User Tip: to show all activation sequences, go to "Menu" and "Options".
"…There was a—" Harry snarled and felt the urge to punch something extremely hard. "I read the manual! There was nothing about that in there! God damn it—"
"Menu! Options!"
When Harry viewed the transparent screen in front of him, there was indeed a "Show all activation sequences" option. And, of course, the default was on "no". Quickly he pressed "yes" instead, and opened up his skill window to see if there was any difference.
…There was.
For his skill Mana Reader, it now looked like:
Mana Reader Beginner Level 5 (64%): Allows you to read the flow of mana in people, objects, and the environment.
Through careful observation, you can now not only recognize the mana flow of civilians and monsters, but also use your understanding to predict movement.
You can now read the traces of mana left in the environment and observe them to learn more details. At higher proficiency, more information can be gained.
At the beginner level, mana will be consumed per second for the duration you have your sight activated. However, certain events may trigger Mana Reader to be activated without your command.
[Activate: "Mana Reader"; Sub-active: "Mana Read"]
"No should definitely not be the default for that setting," Harry grumbled. He began to check through his other skills in the list.
Hippogriff Riding Beginner Level 3 (12%): You are now able to ride a hippogriff in flight without falling off. Because this skill is at beginner level, you still experience discomfort and tire. Also, the hippogriff you are riding will obey you only depending on your intimacy with it.
The more the skill level increases, the more likely your hippogriff will obey you and the less discomfort you will feel.
[Activate: No voice command; mount hippogriff. At intermediate level, able to summon hippogriff from anywhere with voice command.]
Harry made a mental note to go back to Hagrid's stables and ask if he could ride Buckbeak some more. Summoning something from anywhere sounded useful.
Prowl Beginner Level 2 (35%): Stalking silently with your inner predator, you have learned to adjust your whole body for the sole purpose of the hunt.
Passive: Stealth and speed increases with level of skill. (Stealth +4, Agility +4)
Active (Prowl Mode): Hides your killing intent; attacking will turn off Prowl mode. Cannot enter Prowl mode if in battle, or in plain sight. While Prowling, decreased chance of catching the attention of enemies depending on level difference. The first attack made will be more effective.
[Activate: "Prowl" (note: unlike other voice commands, monsters will not notice usage of Prowl)]
Alright—good to know. Harry made another mental note not to turn this option off. It was mostly common sense, but he didn't want another debacle like the whole Mana Reader versus Mana Read business. Now that that tangent was over with…
"Mana Read!"
Wolf's Trace
An old footprint made by a wolf. Because a long time has passed, the physical print has faded but the mana trace has yet to disappear. Normal eyes cannot see it. Only someone who can see mana can notice it.
Durability: 4/10
Harry wondered if using "Mana Read" cost any mana. Of course it wouldn't when he was near the Tree of Ages, but probably outside the area? Since Mana Reader might need to be activated at the same time…
Hm. Guess it was best to milk his no-mana cost for as much as he could. Mana Read did give skill EXP…
"Mana Read!"
Hare's Trace
A very old footprint made by a hare. Because a long time has passed, the physical print has faded but the mana trace has yet to disappear. Normal eyes cannot see it. Only someone who can see mana can notice it.
Durability: 1/10
"Mana Read!"
[Unknown Species] Bird's Trace
A very old footprint made by a bird of an unknown species. Judging from the size of the claw, it was not a bird of prey. If you saw the species, you could probably recognize the print because the mana flow would be similar.
Because a long time has passed, the physical print has faded but the mana trace has yet to disappear. Normal eyes cannot see it. Only someone who can see mana can notice it.
Durability: 1/10
"Mana Read!"
…
It continued on in that vein for awhile, rather boring grinding but at least Mana Reader's skill proficiency went up. Harry didn't know how many footprints he went through until he finally got a new message.
Wolf's Trace
A very old footprint made by a wolf's mana. Compared to the other wolf traces you've seen, this one looks smaller.
…Refreshing…
Wolf Pup's Trace
A very old footprint made by a wolf pup's mana. It was made when the wolf pup was still learning to walk. Not far away you can probably find traces of its mother. This wolf pup has probably already grown into an adolescent wolf by now, learning how to guard its pack's territory.
Durability: 2/10
Harry took in the information, blinked, and then ran to one of the other traces he'd observed before. "Mana Read!" he called, wanting to compare the old with the new information.
[Unknown Species] Bird's Trace
A very old footprint made by a bird's mana. You do not recognize the species. Though the mana left is weak, you can still observe its flow. It looks like the bird was preparing for a frantic flight when it made this mark. It was probably being attacked.
Durability: 1/10
Harry winced. Well, there were a lot of wolf traces here… Maybe the bird was attacked by one of the wolves? Harry recounted all the times that he had accidentally taken aggro of a couple of the monsters at once. Poor bird…
By recognizing the bird's plight and sympathizing, you have successfully put the mana to rest.
What a strange message. Wait—this wasn't a funeral! The bird escaped, didn't it?! Harry twitched. The game's system was terrible! Whoever programmed it was probably some sociopath with a twisted humor.
The second he swiped away the window, the splotch on the ground disappeared.
You have absorbed the mana of [Unknown Species] Bird's Trace!
Intelligence +1
Wisdom +1
Maximum Mana +5
Because the mana of [Unknown Species] Bird was compatible with yours, Agility +1.
Mana Reader has gained a significant amount of proficiency.
Mana Reader has leveled up.
Harry sighed as the ache in his head grew more prominent. Maybe it was time to take a break…
"Ugh… Skills!"
Mana Reader Beginner Level 6 (13%): Allows you to read the flow of mana in people, objects, and the environment.
Through careful observation, you can now not only recognize the mana flow of civilians and monsters, but also use your understanding to predict movement.
You can now read the traces of mana left in the environment and observe them to learn more details. At higher proficiency, more information can be gained.
1% chance to absorb the mana of your surroundings in very small amounts. +20% if you are able to put the mana to rest. If the mana is compatible with your own, a reward is given. If it is incompatible, the consequences are dire…
At the beginner level, mana will be consumed per second for the duration you have your sight activated. However, certain events may trigger Mana Reader to be activated without your command.
[Activate: "Mana Reader"; Sub-active: "Mana Read"]
Harry read the additional effect with a sense of foreboding. It is said it takes high risk to gain high rewards, and nothing comes for free! That was a saying Harry believed in wholeheartedly. As he continued to further explore the potential of Mana Reader, Harry began to realize that it wasn't as passive as he first thought!
His first impression of the skill was like a type of buff, and a way to gain stat points that he would not normally raise. Now, Mana Reader was a gate! And Harry was blind—it was his choice whether or not he wished to open it, without knowing what was on the other side!
Whether it was fantastical beasts…
All the riches he could ever imagine…
Creatures from the depths of his nightmares…
Or curses originating from the blackest, wickedest pits of Hell!
Harry knew none of it. He could see none of it—for all he knew, there could be both lying in wait for him on the other side of the gate! It could be where all of his dreams were, waiting for him to grasp them, and it could be where all of his nightmares lied, waiting to devour him and never let go! Mana Reader, the skill taught to him by Sirius Black…
A Black Arts indeed. Only Slytherins would make such an ominous high-risk, high-reward skill, and indeed take the risk for the reward! They would know what the risk was, they would know what the reward was, and they were able to weigh both on a balance beam and decide whether or not to proceed. Harry… Harry could not.
But Harry was a Gryffindor now.
And for lions, the risk is always worth the reward.
Name: Scarred ~ Level: 15 ~ Race: Human
Faction: Gryffindor ~ Class: None
Title: None ~ Fame: 55
Health: 500 (+500) ~ Mana: 105 (+500)
Strength: 52 (+20) ~ Stamina: 24 (+10)
Intellect: 25 ~ Wisdom: 26
Luck: 15 ~ Agility: 29 (+1)
Stealth: 4
Attack: 0 (+3) ~ Defense: 0 (+4)
Fullness: 57 ~ Fatigue: 15
...
Was he still on the path to becoming a berserker?
Haha so okay I kind of lied. I won't be switching every other chapter between Tom and Harry (that comes later) since I really wanna finish their job advancements in, y'know, a full installment. Unfortunately that didn't happen in this chapter, but I felt like it would be a good place to stop here 'cause I didn't want to overload you guys with info.
...And because I had most of this chapter written out aside from the stat calculations...
If you have any questions, please ask! I'll answer via PM, so please don't review/comment as a Guest or have your PMs blocked. You can also ask me via PM as well, I don't mind-I'll probably get back to you faster if it's via PM.
This story is also on Ao3 (aka Archive of Our Own), so if you prefer the commenting system over there, it's under the same name. Equilibrium by RenderedReversed.
Thanks for your support c:
Sincerely,
R.R.