The moment I woke up I instantly knew something was wrong. Very wrong.
Not only was I feeling cold when it's supposed to be Summer, especially with how hot my house is, but I couldn't feel my very comfy bed anymore. Instead only hard, uncomfortably cold stone ground.
Not to speak of the stench lingering around.
I blinked several times, my eyesight slowly getting used to the poor lighting, my back and limbs stiff as I groaned and lifted my upper body off the ground. I looked around myself with my slightly unfocused vision, and the more I looked the more my stomach dropped.
I was inside a small cell, within a large, dimly lit room. There were two more cells besides mine, one on the right and one on the left. With the one on the left having someone that is most definitely not alive inside it. And probably the origin of the horrible stench.
What the fuck?! Where am i-
I feel a sudden sense of calm wash over me just as I was starting to panic, making me focus instantly. And before I can even begin to question what caused that sudden sense of calm, a large floating blue box appeared in front of my face.
[Name: Flora
Race: Nymph
Title: "Child of The Earth"
Job: Druid lv 1/100
Mage Skill Trees:
Destruction (1)
Restoration (1)
Enchanting (1)]
[New Skills Gained!
Gamer's Mind (Passive): Keeps the mind calm and grants quick rational thinking. Protects from any mind invasions other than simple telepathy.
Gamer's Body (Passive): Pain lasts only for five seconds. Protects from permanent or mutilating injuries. Gamer doesn't need to eat or sleep. Grants the power to grow stronger by levelling up.]
[New Druid Skills Learned!
Plant Manipulation: Grants the ability to control all plants however you want in a range of 2 meters around you. Range gains 1 meter for each Level.
Growth Manipulation: Grants the ability to control the growth of all living things to a certain extent in a range of 2 meters around you. Be they plants, humans or animals. Can't be used on oneself. Range gains 1 meter for each Level.
Wildlife Control: Grants the ability to control all non-hostile animals. If they have a strong will they can resist the control and may turn hostile.
Nature Healing: Grants the ability to sap vitality from plants to heal oneself or others within a range of 2 meters around you. Range gains 1 meter for each Level.
Geokinesis: Grants the ability to control the earth to a certain extent in a range of 2 meters around. Range gains 1 meter for each Level.]
[New Title gained!
Child of The Earth: Animals and plant life love you and won't be hostile unless you attack first. Extreme temperatures do not bother you in the slightest unless magically created.]
What the fuck is going on?
My eyes scan over the the messages over and over as my head works over time. I'm in Skyrim, somehow. I think I am at least, as I have the Destruction and Restoration magic. With the Gamer System to boot! Albeit it's quite different from how I remember it.
I scan over the room I was jailed in again and find it very, very familiar. This is Helgen. The torture chambers beneath Helgen to be more specific, where they hold the prisoners and the place used by the Dragonborn to make his/her escape from Alduin, whom is very likely wrecking the place right about now.
And just as I think about that the whole room shakes, making dust fall from the ceiling as the only guard here stops whatever he is doing to look up with a confused frown. Yep, Alduin is here alright. Meaning that the Dragonborn will be down here in a bit. Hopefully I can use my pathetic charms to appeal to his lustful side of the Dragonborn to get out of this cell.
Heh, as if my nerdy looks will actually be good in this place. How the fuck do I get out of here then?!
...
Guess I'll just beg while crying my eyes out...
Wait a second… I wave a hand over my eyes and blink several times. I'm not wearing my glasses, and yet I can see perfectly.
A lock of my hair waves in front of my face and I blink once more. It's not black, but a sort of ashen colour close to gold, or that's how it looks like with this poor light.
Wait, my race now is a Nymph, I'm not human anymore. Did my body change- oh dear lord, look at these puppies!
I have tits now! Glorious tits that don't even fit in my hands! Finally! Goodbye flat chest!
I got hips too! Heh, the Dragonborn won't be able to resist these charms now! Unless he turns out to be a she…
Still, at least these potato-sack rags cover everything, albeit they do show quite a bit of cleavage. And I'm… not against it?
Ah right, I am very likely a Wood Nymph, to match with my Druid Job. And Wood Nymphs almost never wear any clothing, so since I am one I don't think I'll mind being nude. Unlike my old self, who wore baggy clothing to avoid showing even the barest hints of skin. I am so glad I am a fantasy geek and know almost everything about fantasy species and the like.
"Ohy, what the fuck is going on up there?" I perk up as the large guard shouts. Making me turn towards the thin short man coming down from the upward slope that leads to the storage room.
"Hell if I know!" The thin man shouts just as the room shakes again, even harder this time. "Could be that fucker, Ulfric. Maybe he broke free somehow." The thin man shrugs without a care, and I can't help but marvel at how stupid this guy is. He isn't even on guard, and he doesn't even go check! What kind of useless guard are you supposed to be?!
I shake my head and focus on something more important. Magic. I need to know how it works if I want to fight my way out of this place.
But the thing that actually worries me a bit is that I can't see my HP, MP and status points. Just name, title, race, job and skills. And the Mage Skill Tree too of course. Minus the Skill Tree, I can just see the level.
"Menu." I mutter softly to not be heard by the guards, while trying my hardest to not squeal at how sexy my voice sounds.
[Status]
[Inventory]
[Skills]
[Group]
[Pets]
Very bland and simple. Still no numerical status. I don't even have the 'Observe' skill! Neither the 'ID: Create' skill!
I guess that I'll have to go in blind and kill whatever I can to level up huh…
The fact that I am not tied to my Druid class is a blessing. While I love it since I am a big 'Nature & Animals' girl, it doesn't really have that much fighting power at the beginning, and my range to control plants and the ground is far too small at this level. I'll be much better off once I hit level 10.
I'll use my Destruction and Restoration for now along with my Geokinesis. A sharp rock to the head will be one of my approaches towards any enemy for a while I guess. I'll go around giving concussions left and right if it will help keep myself safe, I swear to god.
Still, I can't see the skills related to the Destruction and Restoration classes. Do I perhaps need to use imagination?
I open my palm and face it upward and lowly mutter "Frostbite." To summon said spell. But nothing happens.
...
Pretty sure I can hear some crickets right now...
I take a deep breath and force down my embarrassment, trying not to think about my Dragon Ball days where I would scream the names of super-moves and create my own, and then use them on my family or classmates.
"Flames." My eyes widen as my hand lights up, small embers dancing around my hand as a few flames spurt out of my palm. I quickly turn it off by clenching my hand into a fist, sending a glance towards the two guards as the room shakes again. Good, they didn't see anything. I try it again, this time summoning said spell mentally instead, smiling when it works. I'd rather not go around screaming "Fireball!" Every single fucking time.
"Sparks." And again, my hand lights up, but this time with electric-blue sparks as a tingly feeling spreads through my hand. Okay, this is good to know. My affinities are Fire and Electricity apparently, but maybe I can learn Ice spells through grimoires.
I try casting Firebolt and Lightning Bolt too but neither of them worked so I gave up. I don't know if I will gain spells by levelling up the Skill Trees or by using Grimoires though, I hope either way works.
As the room shakes again I feel like I am running out of time to learn as much as possible, so I focus on my Geokinesis, which I bet is a weaker version of Geomancy.
I focus on the ground and notice quite a few pebbles around. I mentally reach out to those in my 2 meter radius and grin like a lunatic when I can easily lift ten of them up without problem or strain. I hold them up for a few seconds as I get a feel of Magic. It feels like a warm current running through your body when you use it, but the moment you drop using it the feeling fades and turns into a more gentle presence. I can roughly tell how much I have left, but I'll get used to it the more I use it probably.
I let the pebbles fall back on the ground before I look at my palm again, a faint golden glow with shimmering lights covering my hand. Good to know that I can cast Healing at least, I won't always have plants around to use to heal myself.
My own self-given Tutorial ends when I hear heavy footsteps approaching, making me gaze towards the upward slope in slight anticipation.
I swear Dragonborn, if you picked the Stormcloaks I'll fucking gut you. Speaking of them, shouldn't there be a few down here attacking the guards?
The two guards tense up too, but they soon relax when Hadvar comes into view. And oh my fucking god is that woman huge, and quite beautiful too, damn.
She is incredibly tall, like, more than seven feet, green skin and purple lips, bright sapphire blue eyes, large honkers, biceps that can kill people by just flexing, and stunning long bright white hair. Damn.
She spent a lot of time in creating her character huh...
And why the fuck do all girls always have bigger tits than me!? Why!? I finally have my own honkers but then this stunning orc comes up with these giant beasts!
I chomp angrily on my thumb while glaring at the ground before I perk up when I hear heavy footsteps approach the cell.
I look up just in time to see the orc woman just rip the jail cell door off it's hinges with a single fucking arm and toss it away like it's nothing, letting it loudly rattle on the ground.
What.
Dragonborn too OP, please nerf…
"Hey! What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" The thin guard snarls while sparks flash around both of his hands, Hadvar looks quite panicked but not saying anything, but the orc woman promptly ignores them and offers me one of her large hands as she smiles. "C'mon, let's get out of this shithole." You are forgiven for having bigger tits than me! You are an angel! A wonderful green skinned angel!
I eagerly grab her hands and get up on slightly numb naked feet before I get out of the cell and follow after her. I'm surprised at how well I can move in a body that is not my own… and why did I make that sound so wrong?
"We need to leave this place before it crashes on our heads, so stop complaining. The more hands we have, the better." The orc woman says with her deep voice as she stares down at the short thin guard, whom gulps nervously, clearly seeing no chance of winning with the size of his opponent. I don't blame him, one of her arms is almost as thick as one of my legs. Pretty sure that she could bitch slap someone into Sovengarde if they piss her off, especially if she uses her Berserk Rage.
I turn to glance at the corpse inside the other cell, but noticing that it's not wearing the Apprentice Mage Robes like in the game I just ignore it, especially since the corpse is rotting. Like hell I'd wear them then. Hopefully I'll be able to find some good stuff soon, I'd rather not be a one trick magician for too long.
"Let's not argue and start moving already, we don't have much time." Hadvar states before moving forward, the two other guards glancing at me and at the orc woman for a second before following after him.
"Thanks for pulling me out of that cell." I thank the giant woman after the two idiots are out of earshot, receiving a quick smile from her before she walks off to one of the several armour stands, taking a massive Iron Greatsword from them and a pair of daggers. Just seeing her hold that massive sword with a single hand is scary, just how strong is she?!
"Here." I perked up as she offered me one of the daggers, which while nodding thankfully. "Name's Aurash, what's yours?" The now named Aurash asks as we hurry up to catch with the other tree, walking down long smelly hall filled with cages and quite a few skeletons and decomposing corpses, the majority clad in Stormcloak robes. I do notice that some of the cells were open and empty though.
"Flora." I reply as I draw my eyes away from the multiple corpses, many showing signs of torture all over their almost naked bodies. God bless Gamer Mind or I'd be traumatized.
"What's going on up there?" I ask even though I already know about it, but I must be in character and act like I don't know shit until we get out of here, then I can exploit my knowledge of Skyrim to gain power and riches! I can't wait to collect all the Dragon Priest Masks once more!
"I was about to be executed when this giant, pitch black dragon just swooped in and started tearing the entire city apart. Let's not forget about how it summoned a storm that instead of raining thunder, rained fucking fireballs the size of a horse…" I whistle at that, noticing that she is quite good at hiding her emotions as I can barely read her. Anyone would be in great shock after this, so she must be good at suppressing her emotions. Still, I wonder how much changed from the game. I bet that the continent is massive now, and that there might be new locations and stuff. Good thing I have a good memory about a lot of things, not much lore-wise though.
"I give this place half an hour before it fully crumbles on our heads." I hum as we reach the guards and Hadvar, whom I had to admit looked quite young, in the twenties honestly, and quite scared. We walk silently through the lit up cave tunnel, my hands lighting up with Flames and Sparks as the echo of voices reached our ears.
How did the Stormcloaks even reach this place since the only way in is past the jail room I was in? Were they already imprisoned here and waiting to be executed? If so, how did they get out? Wait! There were jail cells that were open and empty!
My eyes narrow at the two guards beside Hadvar. No, the thin one came from above, and I woke up a few minutes before he came down. That must mean-
"Imperials!" One of the Stormcloaks within the large circular room shouts, causing the other seven of them to turn towards us instantly. I mentally take note of the two with bow and arrows before focusing and the other guard beside us.
And just as I thought, he raised his sword and turned towards the thin hooded guard, whom looked up in shock and horror at the incoming sword. I act instantly by throwing my right hand forward and causing arcs of lightning to burst out and hit the traitor in the chest, his armour getting scorched wherever the lightning touches while his body convulses.
His suffering doesn't last long though as Aurash tosses the hooded guard aside and slits the traitor's throat with her dagger before switching to her Greatsword and stomping towards the incoming Stormcloaks with heavy but powerful steps. I follow after her when the traitor drops down dead and Hadvar is close behind.
The first Stormcloaks raises his hammer to block the large swing from Aurash, but his knees buckle under the terrifying strength of the huge female orc. It didn't help that I rushed past him and used Sparks to make him convulse before using Flames on the very familiar looking pool of oil. It instantly caught on fire and swallowed four more Stormcloaks, the flames reaching up to their knees and sticking to their leather boots because they were walking on it.
Hadvar killed off the Stormcloak I had shocked while the four in the fire fell down from the pain of having their feet set on fire, only to suffer even more as the fire started burning their faces off. I glance up and notice that other than the two remaining archers, there is one more Stormcloak with two axes.
I dart forward once the fire went out a few seconds later, crouching down and slitting the throat of the closest Stormcloak while Hadvar and Aurash went towards those that didn't get burned. I hear the clicking of a few arrows hitting the stone walls and landing on the ground beside me as I kill off the second Stormcloak, while also trying to ignore the fact that I just killed two people and have their blood coating my hands.
I rush towards the third downed Stormcloak, not giving any of them time to recover from their burns as I slit his throat too, only for my right shoulder to recoil back once I stood back up as a sharp sting of pain erupts in my body. I glare hatefully at one of the archers as I rip the arrow out of my shoulder, biting my lower lip and casting Healing in my left hand and placing it over the wound.
One of the archers is taken down by Hadvar while the axes wielding guy is sent sprawling by a kick to the stomach from Aurash, whom rushes after him soon after.
My glare snaps towards the archer that hit me, a large rock beside me floats up and starts spinning with a single mental command. Without a sound or a word, I send it flying in his direction hard and fast. I watch with wide eyes as the rock smashes and drills into the left eye of the archer, making his head recoil back as he falls limply backward.
Good to know that there is a lot of force behind my Geokinesis.
I turn to finish off the last burned Stormcloak and send a frown towards the kneeling thin guard, whom didn't assist us at all. Apparently the betrayal hit him hard huh.
I stop my Healing to glance at my shoulder and smile. Other than some blood the wound is fully closed, showing the wonders of Restoration magic. If just a simple Healing is this good I wonder what stronger healing spells are capable off. Could they regrow limbs and organs?
The axes wielding Stormcloak is soon impaled by Aurash, killing off the last of them. I scan over her to see if she has any injuries, but seeing none I shut off my magic and release a sigh.
My hands shake a bit as I glance at the corpses, but I soon feel my body just relax and accept the fact that I killed five people. I shake my head to remove those thoughts and reunite with Hadvar and Aurash, with the former glancing towards the still kneeling guard before shaking his head and walking towards the bridge.
I turn towards Aurash, whom just stole a pair of Iron Boots and Iron Gauntlets from the guy she impaled and put them on, then switch her dagger for one of his axes. How is she even fitting inside those things?
"Ready to go?" I ask her as I clean my hands on my robe as the feeling of blood coating them is not that nice. Aurash flexes her hands a few times before she nods with a smile and grabs her Greatsword, then we walk off to join Hadvar whom has already pulled down the bridge.
Just like in the game, once we walk past it the whole place shakes hard and the bridge is buried beneath giant rocks. "That was close…" Hadvar states nervously before he shakes his head. I walk to the flowing water and clean my hands fully before following after them, the cave shaking several more times as we soon reach a large opening filled with webs and at least a dozen dog sized spiders and two human sized ones.
"Don't worry, they won't attack us." I state as I notice how they step to the side, all of them looking straight towards me. Aurash and Hadvar look at me curiously, but follow behind me as I walk past the spiders and into the next tunnel without a problem. This makes me happy, as even if I am not a big fan of spiders, I do not like killing them either, just like all the other animals. Unless they start crawling on me…
Oh right! There is a large bear up ahead.
"Never thought I'd see spiders that big…" Hadvar states with a full body shiver, glancing over his shoulder and behind us several times to make sure the Frostbite Spiders were not following us. They weren't, but they were looking in our direction.
"Should we worry about that bear?" Aurash asks me once the bear comes into view as she lifts an amused white brow, but I reply with a simple smile and shake of the head.
I try to not show too much giddiness as I approach the bear, making it perk up and turn towards me. A seemingly happy expression appears on his face before it stands on all fours, showing just how massive he is, but I ignore it and start petting his head and neck. I somehow instantly know that it's a he, not a she, just by looking at him.
"God, you're so handsome!" I almost squeal, scratching him below his ears and making him release happy growls and noises, my smile threatening to split my face. I ignore the snorts coming from Aurash and the chuckles from Hadvar as I give the big boy all of my attention. This is something that I could never do back in my original world! Actually, was there anyone that could calmly pet a damn bear like it's a puppy? Other than Russians of course, those guys can somehow become best pals with bear.
"Come on, let us go Fluffy!" Aurash and Hadvar choke on air as I stand up and start walking with a very excited large brown bear walking right beside me. And yes, I'm calling him Fluffy.
Knowing not to mess with someone with a literal fucking pet bear at her side, Aurash and Hadvar follow behind me and we soon reach the exit of the long cave. An even bigger smile blooms on my face as I finally feel like I am close to nature while the fresh hair brushes across my face.
I don't get to enjoy the feeling for too long as an immense roar that causes the air itself to shake rang out. We all crouch down beside the rock as Fluffy growls softly, but I pat his head to keep him calm as we look- oh my fucking god…
That's Alduin?! He's a fucking mountain! What?! He wasn't that huge in the game! But now just one of his claws is as massive as Game Alduin!
I sure as hell ain't fighting that thing…
Alduin releases another terrifying roar before flapping his giant wings and releasing a fucking sonic-boom while disappearing from sight, becoming a dot in the distance. Yeah, ain't getting close to that thing.
"How the hell did you get away from that thing?" I find myself asking as I turn towards a very pale Hadvar and a visibly nervous Aurash. Can the small in-game Helgen even hold something that massive? Or are cities much bigger too now?
"It's because it didn't do much, it just toyed with everyone." Aurash answers me with a frown. "It just landed in the city, and stood in the same place. Sometimes it released a Shout, other times it swung it's tail. But other than that? Nothing." So instead of destroying the place Alduin wanted to give them despair? Or was he just bored and used Helgen to entertain himself?
Everything is already diverging from the game and I am not fucking liking it!
But what can I do? I need to grow stronger so that even a normal unharmed draugr can't kill me. But how do I do that? I can't go around killing animals for a few level ups, I sure as hell won't fucking do that. I know it's stupid but I don't care.
I can't go around grabbing the OP Masks and Daedric Artifacts until I at least hit Level 50, maybe. I don't know if the Druid job will grow powerful in later levels or it's just fully focused on support and I will need to fully rely on my Destruction Skill Tree.
I know what comes next but if I follow the 'Main Questline' I'll definitely die against the first dragon because I doubt I can put up a fight against the fucker.
I also need to see if I can learn spells from grimoires, if so then I just need to rack up some money to buy them… or just directly steal them by using the animals around me.
Second, I'll stick by the Dragonborn side… hopefully she won't shout me off the mountain like I have done with all my followers. She is strong, and will only get stronger as she kills dragons, besides I think she is a nice person.
Then, we might as well get the treasure chest beside Riverwood and go to Bleak Falls Barrow to grow stronger and get the Dragonstone in advance, and because there may be a few good weapons there to grab, maybe some enchanted things for me to use to grow my Enchanting Skill Tree.
"We should hurry up and go to Riverwood." Hadvar spoke up, still a bit shaky from the recent events. "My uncle lives there, so we have a place to rest." He states, but I end up frowning. I've never been a city or village person, I always wanted to be secluded, close to nature. And now this compulsion is very likely ten times stronger because of my race, as just the thought of resting inside a city revolts me.
Aurash nods and we all stand and start walking down the nearby stone path, Fluffy walking beside me happily as I kept constantly patting him. Bear's fur is soft and rough at the same time, it's so nice!
Still, this is all so sudden. Barely an hour ago I was within my house taking a nap, then I wake up in a jail cell within Skyrim. Then I find out I have some sort of Gamer Powers, that my body and race changed, and that I can use magic and killed five people with it.
I'm in a world with rapist Daedric Princes, honest to god dragons, undead, vampires that want to cover the sun, power hungry people and who knows how much else has changed. And since I lack the Skill 'Observe' I need to be cautious about everything. I know that one of the Daedric Princes is disguised as a normal human, Sanguine if I remember right.
I have to come up with so many contingency plans! Might as well try and get on the good side with some Gods so that they might help me if some Daedric Prince tries some shit with me… maybe. I can't trust gods, you never know what the fuck they might do.
My main goal is to just survive for now and enjoy whatever I can while doing it. I don't know if once Alduin is dead I can travel to other worlds or I will be stuck here, but that's a problem for the future. For now, I'll just grow strong and try and use whatever bits of knowledge of this place to slowly work out a plan for the future.
But the most important thing is to know how much changed about Skyrim!
Wait, I have Hadvar here!
"Hey, Imperial." I call out to him, making sure to not use his name since he never told it to me to not draw suspicion. "I'm new to Skyrim so can you give me a rundown of what it has to offer?" My best way to survive is to gather information about anything, and as long something is important then almost everyone will know it and say it once asked. I faintly notice Aurash perk up at my question, which makes me remember that the Dragonborn is caught at the borders while trying to enter Skyrim.
"There is quite a bit Skyrim has to offer, both good and bad things." Hadvar hums, scratching at his chin in thought for a bit before speaking again, and I also take note of the not so subtle glances he throws my way. "Every big city has a Guild, a place where many people gather to easily gain Septims by doing Quests. Many Quests are very dangerous, but the rewards are tempting enough to make many go for them. Each guild has a Waystone inside them, allowing for quick travel between each big city as long as you have visited them once." Great, he just started speaking and there is already a massive change. Guilds and Quests mean 'Easy Money!', but they also mean 'Greedy fuckers that follow you in the dark to steal said money and maybe rape you too while they are at it!'. More things to worry about.
"Then there are also a lot of crypts, which might or might not have dozens of Draugrs or vampires inside. The crypts date all the way back from the age when Dragons controlled the continent so they often remain unexplored as people are too afraid to deal with Draugrs armed with ancient weapons, or vampires using said ancient weapons. Especially vampires. Just being hit by one of their blood-sucking spells may make you turn into one of them unless you know Restoration magic. But since crypts are known for having a lot of ancient relics, many ignore the risks to just put their hands onto them. Most of said raiders though are bandits, or mercenaries for the Thalmors." I faintly notice Aurash clench her fist at the mention of 'ancient weapons'. Well, Orcs are the best when it comes to forging, second only to the Dwemer. But Dwemer mostly built machines and automatons to do the job for them, and now they are gone too. I wonder what actually happened to them.
But this at least tells me that Aurash is the two handed, heavy armour and forging type, which is actually quite good. I used to be a heavy armour, enchanting and forging type mage, but my current distaste of clothing will make me have to wear light armour, or whatever else I can find that I can stand putting on. Which means that I must learn how to Enchant things as fast as possible so to make anything I wear more protective.
Maybe I could use my Restoration to make money too? Healing people, guards and soldiers to make money, then use some of the profits to buy equipment and Enchant it. Then maybe sell it again to make even more. Or sell the 'Failed' products.
Oh well, all these plans are for when I reach Whiterun.
"And then there are the Daedric Dungeons, which are said to hold Daedric Artifacts in their depths." What?
No, no, no, no! You can't fucking do this! With this all my foreknowledge of said Daedric Artifacts and the missions to acquire them just went down the drain! Fuck!
A sudden wave of calm washes over me thanks to Gamer's Mind, and I take a slow calming breath. It's okay, this actually helps me a lot. If I just went around somehow knowing how to find and have Daedric Artifacts it would have bit me in the ass later on most definitely. But now? If the Dungeons do truly hold a Daedric Artifact inside them, then it won't draw suspicion.
It might be extremely hard to clear one though, as I don't know what to expect inside them, but if the monsters inside them appear once more after some time then I can just use them to grow stronger and maybe farm equipment.
Yeah, this is definitely more beneficial.
"And no, those claims are not fake. There is a Daedric Dungeon in Whiterun and it has been conquered a couple of decades ago. Out of it they bought out the Ebony Blade, a cursed weapon that has been sealed since then. Whoever wields it ends up turning on their loved ones and killing them to grow stronger by betraying them." And that's why the Ebony Blade is my most hated Daedric Artifact that I never wielded after finding out what it does. Not like it would have become that powerful either way, it was just a collectible Daedric Trash Item.
Oh right, since I'll have to level up my Enchanting Skills, I most definitely have to put my hands on the Azura Star, whichever of the two. If Souls are still needed to Enchant that is. I'm starting to think that my knowledge of this world is pretty fucking useless. Still, I hope that most of the Daedric Dungeons have already been discovered, that will help me save time.
"Now that kinda sounds exciting… If only I still had my equipment." Aurash speaks up, and turns a vicious glare towards Hadvar at the end of her sentence, causing the poor guy to pale and gulp loudly as he raises his hands in surrender. Was Aurash an adventurer of sorts? If so, I understand her anger. Loosing all your things because of a bunch of idiots is definitely not nice.
"A-anyway…" Hadvar coughed into his fist, turning to gaze down the path to avoid looking at the mad giant orc woman. "What are your plans for the future now? I won't ask the two of you to join the Imperials, and I hope you won't join the Stormcloaks. Joining either side is more trouble than it's worth." He sighed out at the end, and I couldn't help but feel pity for him. I can't come to imagine what he has seen or done during his time as an Imperial. While I hate Stormcloaks, I hate the Imperials too because they too aren't without fault, especially since they are tied with those prideful shits of the Thalmor. Ugly Simpsons looking motherfuckers.
"I'll definitely won't join either side." I spoke up, glancing down the road and smiling when I saw three very familiar looking stones. "But in the future things will definitely escalate, and people may be forced to take a side, me included." I plan on having my 'base' in Whiterun, which is where the small house you can have in the game is. I always preferred that small house to all the other ones for some reason. And one could say that Whiterun is right in the middle of the storm, so I can stay there, grow as strong as possible by using the Daedric Dungeon there if it still works, and know when shit is about to hit the fan on the continent and make contingency plans against it.
Hadvar hummed at my words, then his attention fell on the Standing Stones and a smile spread across his face. "Another famous thing in Skyrim are these stones called 'Standing Stones'. We don't know how or why, but these stones grant blessings to certain individuals, it's mostly a one-in-a-thousand chance though." I faintly hear him grumble about being unlucky at the end before I focus on the stones. I always thought that anyone could just come, touch them, and have one of the blessings, but knowing that not everyone can receive it kinda makes me afraid. What if I don't gain it? Wait, will it help me level up faster since my job is a magic based one?
I shake my head and approach the Mage Stone before placing my hand against it, and i instantly feel a warm current rush through my hand and soon my whole body as the stone lights up and shoots a ray of light into the sky.
[Blessing of the 'Mage Stone' acquired!]
[Effect: Magic is twice as effective and costs half as much.]
Oh my god… This is a hundred times better than the Mage Stone I knew! I instantly feel the difference as I turn to some blades of grass at least five meters away from me. With a thought, I command them to grow longer and thicker, and I smile when they actually do so almost instantly. The range in which I could use my magic has now doubled, but it feels larger than usual.
My original range was of three meters, two starting meters from the skill and the additional one thanks to my starting level. Which means that it should be six meters now since it has doubled, but it's definitely bigger.
Did I level up? I don't think so though, I didn't get the usual notification…
[Name: Flora
Race: Nymph
Title: "Child of The Earth"
Job: Druid lv 3/100
Mage Skill Trees:
Destruction (2)
Restoration (1)
Enchanting (1)]
Huh… I actually did level up. Twice even. I should get used to this System not being the one I am used to. No numerical status and no notification when you level up.
I'm level three now so that means that my range for magic is… ten meters. That's actually very welcome, the bigger the range the better. And the best thing is that I can actually focus on multiple things at a time without a problem, but I don't know if it's thanks to Gamer's Mind or what.
I turn to the side just in time to see Aurash press her hand against the Warrior Stone and cause it to light up, leaving the poor Hadvar gaping before he turns away grumbling. I do wonder what the Warrior Stone's blessing does though.
Glancing down the road I can see Riverwood in the distance, which is most definitely much bigger than the game. And looking to the side I can see the stone arcs of Bleak Falls Barrow on top of the small mountain that honestly looks just as tall as it was in the game.
"Let's be quiet now, there is a mine filled with bandits on the road." Hadvar speaks up just as we start walking again, with me giving Fluffy some more pats because he is a good boy. I glance towards the trees on the right side of the road and hum softly. The bandits might be a good source of experience too, and I won't feel too bad killing them as they are evil. Besides, I need to get used to it. I've already killed once, I can do it again.
"Say, is there a bounty on the bandits?" I ask as I turn towards Hadvar while patting Fluffy. With him it will be much easier to clear the mine, and I can heal him in case he gets hurt. Besides, they do not know I am coming after them so I have the element of surprise.
"There is, 500 Septims to be exact, quite the hefty sum." He stops and gives me a worried look "You aren't planning on going and clearing it alone are you?" I just shrug and pat Fluffy beside me as he releases a growl towards Hadvar. And I should really look into finding bras, because my breasts jiggle and bounce far too much.
"I'll go with her." Aurash speaks up, surprising me quite a bit. "I have a feeling me and her will stick together for quite a bit so the money will be needed, especially since we have nothing now." Oh no, I am the Dragonborn's sidekick! Guess my long painful days of being Shouted off mountains and the likes start now…
Hadvar looks between us worriedly before sighing and shaking his head, "Just be careful you two. I'll have the chief prepare the money for when you return." I nodded gratefully at him before turning to the small, almost invisible path that leads towards the mine.
"Going in quiet or loud?" My orc companion asks as we slowly walk down the path. In the game you would instantly reach the mine when you walk towards it, and end up fighting the guard standing in front of the entrance before going in. Now, I won't rely on my knowledge of the game other than the layout of the mine.
"Let's go in quiet.." I whisper and crouch down when the entrance of the mine comes into view, taking cover behind a tree. I frown when I see not one, but two guards. They didn't notice us yet luckily as they seem to be talking to each other, not even looking at their surroundings. I might be able to take them both out if I can sneak closer and make them enter my range.
"Wait here…" I tell Aurash before I crouch down and crawl my way forward with the cover of plants, and grin when I can tell that the guards are in my range. I lick my lips and focus on the ground and the plants around me. Grass sprouts around me and soon grow into vines as thick as one of my arms. I rip one of the thinner vines out of the ground and wrap it around my right arm, planning on using it like a whip for defence. The good thing is that I can still control it and make it grow large sharp thorns, meaning that there is no way I can miss if I can control it.
But now, let's take care of those bandits. Two of the large vines beside me rush forward with a single thought, sprouting huge thorns as I wrap them around the bandits legs, painfully making them sink into their flesh before I mentally pull said vines back towards me.
The two guards barely manage to react as the large vines wrap themselves around their legs and pull them on the ground roughly, cutting off their scream of pain from the thorns piercing into their legs. My hands light up with sparks as I rush out of cover while pulling the large vines towards me, placing my hands on the heads of the two bandits and electrocuting their brains before they could react or scream more.
I pull out my dagger from the rope tied around my waists of my potato-sack robes and slice their throats open just in case, standing back up as Aurash and Fluffy rush into the clearing. I will the vines to pull the corpses into the cover of the grass, leaving them to be eaten by wolves, before walking towards the entrance to the mine.
"I'll go first." Aurash states, slowly opening the doors and glancing inside before walking in, with me following behind her, followed by Fluffy. I really have to let him go later, I don't want to put him into danger and pull him away from his home.
I shake my head of those thoughts and have Aurash stop as we walk down, pointing the wire trap out. We sidestep it without a problem and soon reach the first open area with the small pond and the bridge.
There were five bandits, three of them sleeping, one sitting by the fire, his back to us, and another sitting on a chair in the open room with the level. I slowly walk on the bridge, then swing my vine whip towards the bandit by the fire. He was within my range so I could easily control the trajectory of my vine, making it wrap around his neck tightly and sprout large sharp thorns. There was a faint choking sound before he slumped, making me turn towards Aurash and point towards the other guard in the open room. It will be easy for her to kill him since his back was going to be facing the entrance towards the room.
I turn to the last three sleeping bandits and walk down to the small patch of earth, then to the fire where a pot was laying. It actually smells good, whatever it is that's cooking inside.
I grab one of the cups that are laying beside the fire, clean it in water, wrap vines around the throats of the three bandits and sprout thorns all over them, then open the pot and look at the boiling soup inside.
I glance at the additional three corpses before shrugging, filling two cups with the delicious smelling soup with veggies and probably some meat before walking back and seeing Aurash join me with a raised brow and a smile. I just offer her one of the cups. "I'm a bit hungry." I lie and she snorts, taking the cup from me and downing it's contents without a care of how hot it was. She licks her lips and nods clearly liking it, while i just blow on it to cool it down. I don't need to eat and i don't know if i can feel hunger, but i sure as hell am still going to be my usual gluttonous self.
"There's a lever that will likely pull down the bridge, but that's going to make noise." I nod and take a sip from the cup, before drinking some more at how good it tastes. I'll definitely come back for the whole pot later, this is so good!
I gaze at the bridge, but I can't see between the cracks of the wood and spy how many bandits are waiting for us on the other side and will be alerted by the bridge being pulled down. Besides, these are real people, not NPC that don't know how to look left and right. They can easily look at the room with the lever and may be smart enough to understand if something is a trap or not.
"I can use the wood of the bridge to sprout plants and roots in case there are too many of them." I hummed, finishing off the last bits of tasty warm soup and licking my lips. Yep, definitely coming back from more. "I'll pull the lever and attack them from the room. You and Fluffy can charge in once they are distracted." Aurash and Fluffy nod their heads, to which we both turn to look at said large bear that definitely just fucking nodded, whom immediately starts panting happily under my gaze. He is a good boy. It's going to hurt when I let him go.
I shake my head with a smile and walk down the tunnel that collapsed, using my Geokinesis to gather a couple of rather large rocks before going to the lever room, pulling said lever and hiding beside the pillar right next to it as the bridge comes down slowly and loudly. A couple of seconds go by, and I perk up when I can faintly hear a few voices speaking and approaching as while lifting up one of the large rocks I gathered.
"Why the fuck did you pull down the bridge?!" One of the bandits shouted by the other end of the bridge, only to get no answer. I really hope they aren't cowards and walk across the bridge or else this is going to be hard.
"This gotta be another one of their fucking pranks…" Another bandits speaks up, and I smile at that. If they are used to these guys pulling pranks then… I grin when I hear heavy footsteps on wood, four pairs in total. I lift the rock further up and focus on the wood, causing it to start sprouting branches from below, away from their view.
Soon, they appeared in my field of view, with two of them looking in my directions. I didn't waste time to throw the large rock I had lifted up towards one of those that weren't looking towards me, as he wouldn't expect it.
Those that saw me sent a warning shout as they threw themselves to the side, but it was too late. My projectile flew true and smashed against the head of one of the bandit's, making him drop like a fly.
The one at the front, the other one that wasn't looking at me, and the only female in the group, pulled her bow off her back and started drawing back an arrow, only for a certain brown bear to jump on her back and wrap his sharp teeth around her throat. I actually forgot about how terrifying bears actually are…
Another rock flew off when their attention was taken by the sudden appearance of Fluffy, hitting a bandit right in the cheek hard enough to send his head rocketing to the side. It was followed by roots rising up from below the bridge and wrapping around their legs, then I yanked them hard and on their backs, where Aurash and Fluffy finished them off.
All in all, it went amazing. Fast and deadly, constant element of surprise. First me, then Fluffy, then another rock, then the roots and then death. Am I some kind of brilliant strategist or is Gamer Mind just that amazing?
"Well, that went off without a hitch." I hummed, before joining Aurash and Fluffy on the bridge before we walked across it. The tunnel on the other hand was similar to the game, it was dimly lit, and it had that open window facing the storage room with a familiar looking chest.
I crouched down to stare in the direction of the closed gate and narrowed my eyes when I saw a bandit sitting on a chair right in front of it, book and what must be bread in hand.
I grin as I easily enter through said window, making sure to not touch anything while doing so, then slowly tip toe my way behind the guard. Once behind him, I pushed my arms through the bars and placed my hands on either side of his hands, activated Sparks, and fried his brain, making him go limp in under two seconds.
"You'd make a terrifying thief and assassin." Aurash joked softly as she came into view, slitting the man throat for good measure before pulling the keys off his lap. Though her words aren't wrong. In the game, if a mage learned Silent Casting together with Invisibility, and had a maxed Stealth Skill Tree, then they would be next to impossible to detect, especially if they put stealth based enchantments on their equipment. Or wore the Ebony Mail.
"I'll do that if I ever get bored of magic then!" I joke before turning to the chest as she quietly opens the gate with the key while Fluffy guards us. I open the heavy top of the large chest and whistle as I gaze at the very large bag filled with Septims, possibly a couple of hundreds. "These guys are quite rich." I state as I turn to Aurash, whom peeks into the chest and gapes at what she sees.
"They might have been part of a bigger bandit group, stole the money after a big hit and ran away, or something like that." She mused, lifting the large bag out of the chest, weighing it in her hands before it just… disappeared? What? "You have a pocket dimension?" I found myself asking before my brain could catch up, causing her to give me a grin before she pockets the hanging weapons and some bags filled with vegetables and meat.
"It took me months to learn this spell but it was worth it, especially since it's very useful." She states with no small amount of pride before she scowls and wrinkles her nose, "I had to have all my possessions checked and certified to prove that I didn't steal them before crossing the border, a process that takes days, but while I was waiting for that to be done those Imperials just came in and said I was a Stormcloak. Must've been dropped on their heads when they were kids, several times." I couldn't help but snort at her grumbling, but at least this helps me a lot. Why? Because now I won't need to hide or be secretive about my own inventory since some people have pocket dimensions. What worries me though is the attention my Druid magic might bring. I can cast without the use of hands, just mentally command nature itself to do my bidding, and if nothing changed about Skyrim magic system other than some additional spells and whatnot, then some greedy fucks might want to know how I can pull this off. Especially those shits of the Thalmors.
After a few minutes, Aurash was finally done grabbing anything that might be useful or of interest. We exited the storage room and proceeded forward, and we soon reached the last and biggest room of the mine. I was surprised to see only three bandits in total, two by the forge and the archer on the bridge, but this is good for us.
The archer on the bridge was facing away from us, strolling back and forth towards the secondary exit, clearly patrolling it in case anyone finds it and comes in. There was the loud sound of a hammer banging on metal, courtesy of one of the bandits by the forge, while the other one was knelt before a tanning rack and cutting leather strips. Wonder if he wants to spam craft daggers to level the Smithing skill.
The good thing is that they were both close enough for me to kill them with my vine whip. But the archer might be troublesome.
"I'll take out the archer…" Aurash whispers from beside me as she walks forward, bow and arrow in hand. Where did she get- Oh! The woman on the bridge from before.
I watch as she sticks to the shadows by the small bridge on the left wall of the cave, slowly walking so she doesn't make a noise. I approach the balcony above the two bandits by the forge, ready to kill them the moment she attacks.
She leans her head into the room beside the bridge to check if there is anyone there before turning towards the archer and pulling her arrows, and I instantly swing my whip.
The hammering stops instantly as a bandit with a throat tore open falls on the ground. The other one turns around at the sound of choking, only to see a bloodied whip with sharp hooked thorns swing his way, making him join his companion the next second as they both clutch their throats while rolling on the ground.
I tear my gaze away from the horrifying sight to see Aurash finishing off the Archer with a third arrow, striking him right on the heart, fully putting an end to these bandits control over the mine.
"You should grab anything that is useful before we leave!" I called after her, receiving a large thumbs up in response as she goes to grab the archer's arrows and recover those she shot into him.
While she does that I turn around and walk back to the first room, where a pot full of delicious warm food awaits!
I ignore the corpses and pull out the cup I used before, which I had sent into my inventory before the ambush, and fill it up again. Then I just throw the whole pot in my inventory, unbothered by how hot it is.
I fill two more cups after finishing mine, one for Fluffy and one of Aurash, and I cool down the one meant for Fluffy as I walk back to join my orc companion.
"I bought food!" I call out and receive a snort as an answer, making me peek down at the forge where Aurash was, gathering everything in sight. I use my vine to lower the cup meant for her down, watching as she downs it in one go once more before putting down the one meant for Fluffy.
"Found anything good?" I asked as I leaned over the wooden railings, tapping my naked foot as I watched her throw a few pelts into her pocket dimension before patting her hands clean. "They had a couple of gems lying on the table in the room by the bridge, and even more in a hidden room close by. Not the best quality, but will still fetch more than their bounty." I whistle at that. These guys had quite a bit of money, maybe in the thousands. I may not know the price of pretty much everything here, but they could have definitely lived a nice life for some time. Too bad we had to come in and ruin that.
I smile as Fluffy rubs his head against my arm, making me start petting his head once more as Aurash comes back up from the forge and nods towards the bridge. "There is another exit that way, should be close to Riverwood." I nod my head and follow after her towards the exit, throwing one last glance towards the corpses at the forge before shaking my head. I feel disgusted with myself for taking a life in such a brutal and painful way, but I will justify my actions by using karma. They must have done the same thing to other people, maybe even worse to women, so they deserve it. I shake my head of those thoughts and decide to open my Status to see how many levels I gained.
[Name: Flora
Race: Nymph
Title: "Child of The Earth"
Job: Druid lv 5/100
Mage Skill Trees:
Destruction (3)
Restoration (1)
Enchanting (1)]
Gained two levels in my Job and one in the Destruction Skill, that's good. It's a good thing that levelling up Skills is still the same way. Constant use of them. It will help me power level my Restoration Skill.
The light from the sun forces me to blink a few times, drawing my gaze away from the Status Screen. The smell and closeness to nature bringing a smile on my face. Which was quickly broken by a loud, childish-like screech.
I blink and gaze towards my right, where a group of five skinny, dark red child-like creatures with bald heads and sharp ears were pointing at us. They were barely the size of a chair, and had wooden clubs in their clawed hands.
What the fuck are these things?
"Get 'em!" One of those ugly creatures shouted as they charged forward with their annoying and ugly battle cry. And god bless the loincloths that were wrapped around their waists, saving me from being scarred for life.
"Tch, goblins. Annoying fuckers." I hear Aurash grumble as she pulls out her giant sword, ready to meet the charge while I was still shocked.
Goblins? What?
Is this even Skyrim?!