Born Anew Chapter 2 (Original chapter Chapter 92)
"Now where am I?" I muttered. Looking around, I found myself in a room not too dissimilar to the one I had just left, except for the fact that it had various paintings floating around the room, featuring various robes, staves, daggers and the like.
OK, so I had to choose one set of equipment here to be my starting equipment? Fair enough. I was about to step forward when a screen appeared in front of me.
[Welcome to the Advanced Tutorial Space!]
As you have determined, in this particular room, you have to select one set of equipment as starter gear. As you have been transmigrated by Lady Yliaster, we are obliged and proud to offer you a set of equipment especially designed for a [Shadow Mage] who has Lady Yliaster's blessing. As you are also a Shadow Elf, it will be even more effective!
Additionally, the staff and dagger that you receive in this equipment set are 'scaling' pieces of equipment. This means that as you become stronger, so shall they, although the dagger stops evolving at your Total Level of 40.
Do you wish to view the [Shadow Garb of Yliaster]?
"Yes!" I said, somewhat excitedly. If this stuff was designed with Yliaster's blessing in mind, it could be that they had some kinda super-awesome effect!
A silver-framed painting floated towards me. The equipment on it flashed and then it was filled with a figure that looked just like my new body. There was a full-body robe, a half-face mask that covered the lower portion of the face; armguards that included fingerless gloves, boots that looked very form fitting and a hooded cape. All of it was midnight black with silver trim, as well as possessing a silver symbol embossed into certain areas such as the back of the gloves, the chest of the robes and the back of the cape.
The weapons the figure was wielding were then next thing to catch my attention.
The staff was made of a dark brown wood, with metal wound around it in intricate knots and lattices, making it look as if the wood was being imprisoned by the metal. At either end was a pair of hoops that had a single ball of metal floating in them.
The dagger was about eight inches long, including the hilt, and was slightly curved, showing that most damage it dealt was with slashing. It was a silvery colour and had its hilt wrapped in red leather.
All in all, it looked really cool.
I reached out and touched it, causing a screen to pop up displaying a list.
[Shadow Garb of Yliaster]
- Shadow Robe of Yliaster (High)
- Shadow Mask of Yliaster (High)
- Shadow Bracers of Yliaster (High)
- Shadow Boots of Yliaster (High)
- Shadow Cowl of Yliaster (High)
- Black Staff of Yliaster's Shadow (High, Scalable)
- Silver Athame of Yliaster (High, Scalable)
Very unimaginative naming sense other than the weapons. What does the 'High' after all of the equipment mean, I wonder…? I found out after touching one of them, causing another mini-window to pop up.
[Equipment Levels]
All equipment in Yggdrasil is rated depending on several factors; the purity and rarity of the materials used to make it, the effects of the tools/equipment used to make it, the skill of the craftsman who made it and so on.
There are eleven classes of equipment. In order from lowest to highest, with an example of why that might be, they are:
- Low (Made by an unskilled artisan)
- Medium (Made by an average artisan)
- High (Made by a skilled artisan)
- Top Class (Made by the very best a highly skilled artisan can accomplish with the highest grade of regular materials and no special tools or equipment)
- Legacy (Made by the best efforts of a highly skilled artisan with magical tools and magical ingredients)
- Relic (Made by the efforts of a supremely skilled artisan with powerful magical tools and modestly powerful magical ingredients)
- Legendary (Made by the efforts of a supremely skilled artisan with the best magical tools available and high-quality magical ingredients)
- Divine/Guild (Made by the efforts of a legendary artisan who uses divine-wrought equipment and the highest-grade of magical ingredients)
- World Champion (Made at the behest of one of the Gods for their champion by a demigod using divine tools and equipment and divine materials)
- World (Created by the death of a world by a God)
- (Artefact) (Created by the will of the nine remaining worlds of Yggdrasil, the general power of an artefact-class item is generally between Low and High class items, but some have even been Relic Class)
Generally speaking, most Starter Equipment is randomly chosen between Low and High level equipment, but Lady Yliaster's Starter Equipment is all solidly High-Class Equipment.
Wow. OK, I was so taking this stuff. "I accept the [Shadow Garb of Yliaster] as my Starting Equipment."
I received a pop-up telling me that it had been deposited into my inventory, or 'Item Box' as it was called.
[Item Boxes and You]
By the blessing of ALL of the Gods, every person who choses at least one Combat Job Class in Yggdrasil is granted a personal Item Box. No one other than you can access your Box unless some pretty rare Job Classes ([Master Thief], [Dimension Mage]) are used or some very rare items ([Hand of the Thief]) are used.
Each basic Item Box can hold any number of items of any size that weigh a combined total of 500kg. There are a number of Quests that you can complete in order to increase the weight threshold of your Item Box. See the temple of your patron deity for details.
Five HUNDRED kilograms?! That was a lot to just give out willy-nilly. Then again, a lot of people would mostly go the warrior route and thus be limited by their heavy equipment, so that seemed fair. The magic using professions must really take advantage…oh good. Another cheat for me to use.
Following the instructions, I opened my [Console] and opened my equipment section. The clothes and stuff I was wearing right now were absolutely normal stuff made out of cotton or tanned leather. Good, serviceable stuff, but not for combat. More like for a light walk around the town.
My new combat gear though…
[Shadow Robe of Yliaster] (High-Class Item)
Blessed by the Goddess Yliaster, this robe grants a minor enhancement to [Shadow] magic/skills and reduces damage taken from both [Shadow] and [Light] Magic/Skills.
Physical Defence: +15
Magical Defence: +25
- Grants +5 to the effectiveness of all [Shadow] magic and skills.
- Reduces any and all damage taken from both [Shadow] and [Light] Magic/Skills by 5%.
[Shadow Mask of Yliaster] (High-Class Item)
Blessed by the Goddess Yliaster, this facemask grants the wearer with increased stealth capabilities. It is also said to be especially for Shadow Elves.
Physical Defence: +5
Magical Defence: +5
- Increases the effect of all stealth related skills by 5%.
- If worn by a Shadow Elf, all Shadow Elf Racial Skills are increased by 5%.
[Shadow Bracers of Yliaster] (High-Class Item)
Blessed by the Goddess Yliaster, these Bracers shroud the wearer's arms in shadow, making it difficult to read their movements.
Physical Defence: +10
Magical Defence: +15
- Shadow Shroud: reduces the effectiveness of any enemy skill to increase chances to block wearer's physical attack by 5%. Increases chance of wearer's physical attacks striking the enemy by 5%.
[Shadow Boots of Yliaster] (High-Class Item)
Blessed by the Goddess Yliaster, these boots allow the wearer to step as silently as a moonless night, even when out of the shadows. Shadow Elf Only.
Physical Defence: +15
Magical Defence: +10
- Shadow Step: Increases the effectiveness of the Shadow Elf Racial Skill [Shadow Walker] by 10% and also allows it to be used away from caves, twilight and the shadows.
[Shadow Cowl of Yliaster] (High Class Item)
Blessed by the Goddess Yliaster, this hooded cape shrouds the wearer in shadows, making ranged non-magical attacks less accurate. There is also a chance to negate ranged non-magical attacks.
Physical Defence: +5
Magical Defence: +20
- Shadow Shroud: Reduces the accuracy of all non-magical attacks attempting to strike the wearer by 10%.
- Shadow Void: 5% chance to become insubstantial when struck by a non-magical attack.
[Black Staff of Yliaster's Shadow] (High-Class Item) {Scaling}
Said to contain a small fraction of Yliaster's own shadow in the two metal orbs hovering on either end of it, this type of staff has been the weapon for all Magic Caster champions of Yliaster down through the ages.
Physical Attack: +30 (Blunt)
Magical Attack: +40
- Increases all damage dealt via [Shadow Magic] by 10%.
- Once per day can cast any Tier 5 or lower Shadow Spell for free.
- Reduces the MP cost of all Shadow Spells of Tier 3 or lower by 5.
- Gains additional or improved abilities as the owner becomes stronger.
[Silver Athame of Yliaster] (High Class Item) {Limited Scaling}
Even in shadow, there is light. Containing a shard of shadow light, a type of light that is anathema to beings of true Light, it is the best weapon to use against them, as well as those of Darkness, as shadow light is still light of a sort.
Physical Attack: +15 (Slashing, Piercing)
Magical Attack: +25
- Deals increased damage to beings of both [Light] and [Darkness] by 10%.
- Shadow Light Magic Burst: Randomly casts a spell from the Shadow Light Magic List that is Tier 3 or under, once per day.
- Gains additional or improved abilities as the user becomes stronger, capped at Total Level 40.
…yeah, let's just say that it's badass. Equipping it all was such a rush! It beat any kind of sugar rush I'd had as a kid back on Earth Bet (not that I'd had many; Mom and Dad had always kept me as far away from things with too much sugar in them as they could aside from special treats).
[Proceed through the door for the next part of the tutorial]
Grasping my new staff in my hand, I walked almost soundlessly to the wooden door that had appeared on one side of the room. The Athame (a type of ritual dagger) was sheathed at my waist, so I could draw it whenever I needed it, although I had to wonder if I still got the weapon's attack bonuses if it wasn't drawn?
Strangely enough, whenever I entered a shadow, the liver trim and symbols on my costume…er, outfit vanished. I suspected that it was a part of the whole 'Shadow Elf Stealth in the shadows' thing.
The room I entered had several target dummies scattered all over the place. I was obviously supposed to train in using my weapons here. Why were the targets so scattered though?
[Training your Class Levels]
Unlike in most RPG games you may have played before, the levelling system in Yggdrasil works slightly differently. Each of your classes level up differently. Your JOB Classes level up as you use their skills. In your case, using Shadow Spells and attacking with your dagger and staff will level that part of you up. On the other hand, defeating monsters and members of other races will level up your RACIAL Classes, making your Shadow Elf abilities stronger. Of course the Job Class that you use a skill from gets some EXP as well when it defeats an enemy.
In this room, there are various target dummies. Practice your weapons skills first. Be warned that any experience you may have from your previous world with these weapons is locked until you reach a higher level. On the bright side, you will automatically know how to use the weapons at a basic level as soon as you draw them and decide to use them.
Good to know. I had been OK with knives back on Earth Bet, but they hadn't been my go-to weapons unless close combat was forced on me by a dangerous Cape. I wasn't afraid to get up close and personal, but when dealing with an enemy that could break me in half with their little finger, using a swarm was the way to go.
Such as with Alexandria.
Shaking myself out of my tangent, I decided to start with my staff, a weapon I had no experience with on Earth Bet. Walking over to the nearest dummy, I assumed a stance and thought, attack.
Immediately, I smacked the side of the vaguely humanoid dummy right where the kidneys would be on a human with my staff. The thunk of impact was very satisfying for some reason. Over the next few minutes, I experimented with my primary weapon to find out precisely what I could and could not do with it. Basic swipes and jabs were just about the limit of my abilities with it, although I guessed I could also block with it.
Switching over to my Athame, I found that it was much the same with it. Slashing and stabbing, the basics of the basics. After I became comfortable with using my knife, a pop up appeared.
[Magic]
Now that you are suitably comfortable with physical attacks, you should now move on to magic.
Unlike with RPG games, you ARE your 'character' this time, so using magic by opening a menu doesn't work. Well…you CAN do it; it just doesn't work well in combat.
Reach out and feel for your new power. You should be able to get a grasp of how much MP you have left and what spells you have at your command. Invoke your spells out loud by focusing on your target and linking the spell you wish to cast to your MP mentally.
OK…that's a bit more metaphysical than I expected, but whatever. Choosing a target dummy about five meters away, I raised my staff and pointed at it, focusing on the spell I wanted to cast.
"[Shadow Bolt]!" I stated as I mentally pushed the name of my spell into my MP.
MP: 170/200
A large arrow of shadows emerged from the tip of my staff and shot towards the dummy, engulfing it for a moment. When the spell ended, I could see a slight coating of frost on the dummy. It looked cool, but with my limited pool of MP, I was better off saving it for decisive blows.
Raising my hand this time, I said, "[Shadow Daggers]!"
MP: 160/200
Shooting from my hand, a bunch of small bolts of shadows, each about the same length as a butter knife, slammed into the dummy. Yup. With the reduced MP cost and upped damage thanks to my equipment, this was going to be my go-to spell until my MP Pool became larger.
Again using my hand, I cast my last offensive spell. "[Shadow Strangle]!"
MP: 145/200
The shadow of the dummy twisted up and wrapped around the neck of the dummy in a trice. I honestly didn't think anybody could react in time to stop it, especially as it looked as if the shadow noose was insubstantial until it was wrapped around the target's neck. Scary!
The last two spells were what I'd call supplementary, not being able to directly interfere in combat offensively or defensively. When I cast [Shadow Cloak] on a dummy, it was like a giant flame of shadows erupted around it, albeit one that caused no damage whatsoever. There was, fortunately enough, a dummy with legs so I could try out [Summon: Steed of Shadows]. The horse, when it came, was gorgeous and made any picture of Black Beauty look pathetic by comparison. It galloped on mid-air to carry the dummy over to the other side of the room before sinking back into the shadows.
I was going to have to look into getting one of those as more than just a temporary spell summon.
[Well Done!]
You have successfully used all of your spells! MP fully restored!
Please proceed to the next room for live combat training.
Live combat training? That sounds ominous. It was nice that my MP is back up to max though.
The door was the same as the previous one, but when I stepped through it this time, I found myself in a cave with rock pillars dispersed somewhat evenly across the whole room. I couldn't see the other end of the room, even with my [Darkvision] skill. Well it was only [Darkvision I], so it was understandable…
[Hunt the Monsters]
In this room, the very last portion of the Advanced Tutorial, you are to hunt down and slay ten monsters that have been released into it. All of them are Hobgoblins, a strong type of goblin that is still well within your capabilities to kill. Once they are defeated, you will have a boss encounter and face their leader. Win in order to earn fabulous prizes!
Oh joy. A teammate back when I had been a member of the Philadelphia Wards had been a big D&D fan and used to talk nineteen to the dozen about the various monsters, with hobgoblins being a favourite, along with bugbears.
"In for a penny…" I muttered and readied my staff before entering the maze of stone pillars. This activated my [Shadow Walker] skill automatically and I faded into the shadows. That might not be enough though, as I vaguely remembered that some version of goblinoids also had some version of [Darkvision], although I couldn't remember if Hobgoblins were one of them.
I froze when I heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Then, out of the edge of where my [Darkvision] cut out, a Hobgoblin appeared. It was about four feet tall, wore a filthy loincloth and had a crude-looking bronze sword grasped in one hand. It also smelled like a sewer. This sucked because I apparently had a rather sensitive sense of smell.
"[Shadow Strangle]" I muttered, waving my hand at the goblin as it shuffled down the corridor of stone pillars. Just like in the practice, the Hobgoblin's neck was surrounded by its shadow before it could do anything about it and then it was choking as the shadow became corporeal and tightened.
"[Shadow Daggers]!"
The flurry of shadow bolts slammed into the Hobgoblin, three in its chest, one in its shoulder and on in its neck. All of that, thanks to the +5 Damage ability of my robe and the +10% Damage ability of my staff, meant that my two spells were enough to kill the beast, which collapsed to the ground and then dissolved into particles of light, leaving behind…a pile of coins and a filled vial?
[Woot: Wonderful Loot!]
Defeating enemies not only earns you experience points for your Racial and Job Classes; doing so also lets you earn money and items. Generally speaking, the rarer and more powerful the monster, the rarer and better the items it drops are. This Hobgoblin, just for example, dropped ten silver pieces and a [Lesser Health Potion] vial. Not exactly fantastic, but something's better than nothing, right?
Indeed it was, especially since the only healing ability I seemed to have was that [Shadow Heal] skill, which was a slow regen skill.
Picking up the coins and vial, I then placed them into my Item Box (thank you convenient tutorial pop-up) started searching out the other Hobgoblins. I took down the next one simply with two [Shadow Daggers] to the face, and decided to save my MP by keeping on doing that. The loot I got rapidly grew with every kill; by the time the last Hobgoblin died, I had seventy silver pieces, twenty copper, five [Lesser Health Potions], three [Lesser MP Potions] and a [Lesser Ring of Agility].
[About Rings and other Accessories]
Sometimes regular equipment is not enough to defeat your foes. When that happens, use your Accessory slots! These are areas on your body that are not equipment slots and can have magical items equipped to give you stat boosts and other magical effects.
Sadly, there is a limit, imposed by the gods, that only a very few can be equipped at a time.
- Rings: One Magic Ring per hand. You can wear as many ordinary, non-magical rings as you want, although if they aren't magical, why would you bother?
- Necklaces: One Necklace.
- Belt: Yes, a belt counts as an accessory. One Belt. Some come with slots for magical equipment and pouches.
- Circlet: One Circlet. You cannot wear a helmet if you wear a circlet and vice-versa.
That was useful. The ring only added three points to my Agility stat, which wasn't a surprise considering it was a Low-Rank Magic Ring, but hey, any enhancement where there was none, right?
A rumbling sound around me put me on edge. I saw that the rock pillars were retracting into the ground, so I backed up and got out of them before whatever happened took me by surprise. A good thing too, as once the pillars were all down, a larger version of a hobgoblin landed in the middle, close to where I had been when the pillars started to retract.
Unlike the cannon fodder, this Hobgoblin wasn't running around in his skivvies. It wore a solid set of copper armour, including a pot helmet, and carried a short sword and shield in its hands. It was still barefoot though.
The Boss Hobgoblin, as I had dubbed it in my mind, snarled and looked around, spotting me instantly. Looks like it has some sort of shadow-sight, unlike its minions.
"[Shadow Strangle]!" I shouted, deciding that whispering was pointless if he could pierce my stealth. The spell worked as before, but unlike with the minions, the Boss was not distracted by the strangulation spell. Props for having tough neck muscles, anyway.
I fired a couple of [Shadow Daggers] at it, but most bounced off the armour, making my eyes narrow at it. Some sort of magic resistance effect, perhaps? Let's see how it deals with something with a bit more oomph to it.
"[Shadow Bolt]!" I shouted, pointing my staff at it. The most powerful offensive spell I had at my disposal lashed out and struck the Hobgoblin like a spear, sending it staggering back as the shadows wrapped around it and left the chill of the Plain of Shadows on it.
Abandoning my spells, I charged forwards as soon as the [Shadow Bolt] had ended. Yes, mages were squishy, but in this particular battle, it looked as if my weakest and least expensive spell was somehow being blocked, and I had no idea what would happen to my mind if my MP was totally drained. I would try to cut this guy down to size up close and personal while saving my MP for a finishing blow.
The sluggishness of [Shadow Bolt's] chilling effect seemed to wear off after I crossed three-quarters of the way to him. All praise the AGI+3 Ring! The Hobgoblin didn't look happy at being strangled, blasted with solidified shadows and frozen, all in the space of a minute, not that I could blame it, but hey, it was in the way!
With a screeching howl, it started to counter-charge me, the short sword drawn back and practically screaming the little monster's intent to perform a powerful vertical cut as soon as it came within range of me.
Well good luck. I had no intentions of allowing it to do that. As soon as it came within my striking range, I sent out a quick jab at its head that left it reeling on impact. I followed up with a couple more jabs, and then a horizontal swipe across its face that sent it staggering back, clutching its now very broken nose.
Not one to be daunted by serious damage, the Hobgoblin Boss roared in fury and tried to impale me with its sword. Dodging to one side, I jabbed it in the gut, denting the armour before hissing in surprise and slight pain as the shield clipped me on the hip.
OW! Could shields even be used like that?!
Irritated that I let myself get hit, I started a relentless beat-down of the Hobgoblin Boss, culminating in me blasting its head off with [Shadow Bolt]. As the headless corpse of the goblinoid fell to the ground, I leaned on my staff, drained, before reaching into my Item Box and drawing out a [Lesser Health Potion], chugging it. The stuff tasted a bit like raspberry cordial.
The body of the Boss dissolved, leaving five golden coins, a necklace and a tiara-like object. There was also a scroll wrapped in a red ribbon.
[Combat Report]
Minions Slain: Hobgoblin Savages X10
Boss Slain: Hobgoblin Savage Pack Leader X1
Boss Loot: Gold Pieces X5, [Necklace of Warding], [Diadem of Insight], [Tutelary Scroll: Message]
Congratulations! Your Racial Class Level has gone up by 1! You are now a Level 2 Shadow Elf!
Skill: [Darkvision 1] is now [Darkvision II]!
Skill: [Shadow Walker I] is now [Shadow Walker II]!
Congratulations! Your Job Class Level has gone up by 1! You are now a Level 2 [Shadow Mage]!
Skill: [Shadow Aura I] is now [Shadow Aura II]!
Skill: [Shadow Heal I] is now [Shadow Heal II]!
Skill: [Staff Mastery (Channeling) I] is now [Staff Mastery (Channeling) II]!
Skill: [Staff Mastery (Close Combat) I] is now [Staff Mastery (Close Combat) II]!
Skill Learned: [Stave Swipe]!
Skill Learned: [Stave Rush]!
Whoa…I literally FELT the rush of leveling up go through me there. Whoo!
Shaking my head as I recovered, I noticed another window pop up.
[Magic Items]
As you saw there, the Hobgoblin Savage Pack Leader was able to negate your [Shadow Daggers] spell. This is because of the armour it was wearing that negated the effect of any spell that caused 20 or less damage to it, not counting Damage Over Time spells such as [Shadow Strangle]. There are numerous different magic items and creatures with similar effects, with the most famous being the Skeletal Dragon, which can negate all magic of the Sixth Tier or below, making it a nightmare for any Magic Caster to fight. This is why it is to your advantage to learn as many spells of various ranks as is possible.
Yikes. I'd better find out how to learn spells…
[End of Tutorial]
Congratulations! You have successfully completed the Advanced Tutorial! As this counts as your first quest, so to speak, you are granted the following rewards:
- 20 Silver Pieces
- [Tutelary Scroll: Create Item]
- [Lesser Ring of Magic Destruction]
- New Quest! See the 'Quest' section of your Console for details.
You will now be warped to the Temple of Yliaster. Good luck, Chosen of Yliaster.
"Wait, what's that about-?" I started to say, before I was surrounded in light.
Doing this is harder than I'd thought. So little information about the game Yggdrasil's mechanics, aside from how items and magic work, along with a few other things, is given that it's literally me pulling ideas out of my head to plug the gaps.