Born Anew Chapter 6 (Original chapter Chapter 92)
Two Weeks Later
Huh…this was a hard choice.
I was staring at the screen in front of me as I was sat at a table in the Drunken Goose. Thanks to Regent's insane questing schedule, my level had skyrocketed to Level 15 rather quickly and then Level 20 just an hour ago. A lot of the EXP I had received had been through the use of my natural Shadow Elf skills, so it was of little surprise that my Racial Class had Levelled up faster than my Job Class.
What had been a surprise was that the [Shadow Elf] Racial Class maxed out at Level 10. This meant that I can now add another Racial Class if I had one available, and I was seeing two of them right now.
[Please Select Your Next Racial Class!]
- Elder Shadow Elf (LV5 Max)
- Shadow Elf Rockseer (LV10 Max)
- Shadow Elf Shade Dweller (LV10 Max)
This was somewhat confusing for me, because while I hadn't heard anything about the first or third ones, the second one was simply two names for the same species jammed together…or so I thought. Curiously, I tapped all of the classes for some information on them.
- [Elder Shadow Elf]: A Shadow Elf whose blood has awoken, fully restoring the physical strength that the Shadow Elf Race lost when they fled underground millennia ago. The effect of daylight on their eyes is also weakened, but it is still painful. Also has a better connection to spells that are not Shadow, Illusion or Earth.
- [Shadow Elf Rockseer]: A Shadow Elf who has started to commune with the earth and rocks at a much deeper level, even taking on some of the characteristics of the rock, increasing their physical defence and offence in exchange for some loss in agility. They also gain the ability to mold rocks with a touch.
- [Shadow Elf Shade Dweller]: A Shadow Elf who has started to commune with the shadows on a deeper level. In exchange for a better ability to connect with the Shadow Plane and shadows in general, the visual weakness towards daylight is ramped up.
All in all, the choice, now that I could see what they did, was easy. Choosing the bottom two was basically customizing my Shadow Elf body along the lines of one of the two 'normal' Shadow Elf Specialties. While they were tempting, I was not convinced that they were the right choice. For one, losing the boosted agility, the main point of being an elven race in the first place, was a questionable choice, even with the improved defence. For another, beco0ming even MORE vulnerable to light was not my idea of a good idea. You're supposed to mitigate and eliminate weaknesses, not enhance them! What nincompoop came up with that idea anyway?
Having eliminated that pair, the only choice to take was the [Elder Shadow Elf] Race. It eliminated two weaknesses, and mitigated the overreliance on Shadow, Illusion and Earth Magic that seemed to be a weakness of Shadow Elven Mages.
[Warning!]
Ignoring the [Shadow Elf Rockseer] and [Shadow Elf Shade Dweller] now will lock you out of selecting them permanently.
Do you wish to proceed?
Y|N
I only hesitated for a moment before hitting 'Y' with one finger. Hopefully my gut feeling about this class would be proven right…
Congratulations! Your Racial Class has advanced! You are now a LV1 [Elder Shadow Elf]!
- Skill Improved! [Shadow Affinity IV] has become [Shadow Affinity V]!
- Skill improved! [Shadow Heal III] has become [Shadow Heal IV]!
- Skill Improved! [Shadow Aura II] has become [Shadow Aura III]!
- Skill Improved! [Shadow Walker III] has become [Shadow Walker IV]!
- Skill Improved! [Shadowborn III] has become [Shadowborn IV]!
- Skill Improved! [Darkvision III] has become [Darkvision IV]!
- Skill devolved! [Light Sensitive II] has become [Light Sensitive I]!
- Skill Improved! [Caveborn II] has become [Caveborn III]!
- Skill Improved! [Blessing of Yliaster II] has become [Blessing of Yliaster III]!
- Skill Gained! You have gained the [Elven Strengthening I] Skill!
- Skill Gained! You have gained the [Surface Magic Connection I] Skill!
- Skill Gained! You have gained the [Light Resistance (Eyes) I] Skill!
- Skill Gained! You have gained the [Greater Shadow Affinity I] Skill!
Whew. That's quite the harvest of skill upgrades and new skills. It made it worth the extra work to get as strong as I was right now. Regent had found a slew of dungeons that were not infested by the undead for a change. These ones had been infested with a subspecies of goblin instead, meaning that my spells would all work on them fully.
I had actually taken care of the last couple completely alone. Regent had called me out for showing off, but I was just trying out my skills against multiple opponents without backup. It had nothing to do with showing off.
Anyway, none of the loot was any good, again. Mostly a bunch of Low and Mid Class equipment that I had just sold. Mostly because it was all warrior-oriented stuff, with what few pieces of Magic Caster equipment being not as good as what I already had equipped. Typical. Then again, not unexpected from a bunch of goblins, really.
"You done?" Regent asked as he sat down in the chair opposite mine.
"Yeah. Just chose a new Racial Class." I answered. "You?"
"I chose mine a while back, remember?" the former Master-class Parahuman retorted. "I'm now not only a [Puppetry Mage], I'm also a [Sorcerer]. The new spells really kick ass; now I can at least attack people outright instead of just making them dance like idiots."
"You make them attack each other anyway." I pointed out reasonably.
"Nah; the spells I have just make their targets go nuts, doing one of a few random actions." Regent shook his head. "I'd have to get a Tier 5 spell at least before I could actually control them myself, and even then that would be just individual limbs rather than the entire body."
"How many spells do you actually have?" I asked curiously.
"Baker's Dozen." The reincarnated teen replied flippantly.
Huh. I had [Shadow Daggers], [Shadow Cloak], [Shadow Bolt], [Summon: Steed of Shadows], [Shadow Strangle], [Message], [Create Item], [Magic Arrow], [Burning Shadows], [Mass Shadow Binding], [Shadow Rope], [Lesser Shadow Vitality Drain] and the one I hadn't used yet, [Shadow Doppelganger].
"The same." I nodded. "Funny how that works out."
"It's not really surprising; neither of our initial classes are really meant for this place." Regent waved a hand dismissively. "Your Shadow magic is more oriented towards targeting the living, just like my magic is. Speaking of, catch."
I caught the scroll he threw at me. "And this is?"
"A tutelary scroll that has a Shadow Spell in it, [Shadow Wings]. A Tier 4 spell." Regent shrugged. "None of my guys have any affinity for Shadow magic, so that spell may as well go to someone who can use it properly. From what I hear, that spell lets the caster fly using shadowy wings, just like the name suggests, but only at night or in dark places like caverns."
I instantly learned it. In addition to what Regent had told me, it also upped my agility and speed in the air, which would explain why it was a tier above the standard [Fly] spell.
"Thanks."
"No problem. Now, let's go to that temple and exchange our apples." Regent said, standing up.
Leaving the city was as cold and chilling as ever. Seriously, this place made the Arctic Circle on Earth Bet seem mild by comparison! Still, at least the roads had magic on them that dissolved the snow that landed on their surfaces without leaving water to freeze. This meant that, despite the heavy snowfall, the way to the Temple of Týr and the Bifröst was clear and well-marked.
"These gods really have large temples." I remarked, looking up at the large building that was more than slightly large for a muscle-power civilization to build. It wasn't so much tall as it was large, meaning that while it was fairly tall, at least the same height as about the waist of the Statue of Liberty, it was the size of the entire complex of the temple that was impressive. There had to be an entire small city in there! It was bigger than four football stadiums lined up in a square!
Standing atop the centermost area of the temple was a shining golden statue of a man in Viking-style clothing. He had long, wild hair and clasped a scepter in one hand. His other was missing, covered by his sleeve. It made sense as Týr had lost one of his hands while binding the wolf Fenrir with Gleipnir, an unbreakable ribbon forged from six impossible ingredients.
As we approached the main door of the temple, which was as large as an eighteen wheeler, the pair of guards at the door barred the way with their weapons, a pair of massive halberds. And, judging from the sense of intimidation I'm getting off of them, they have to be way stronger than me, like twenty levels stronger at least.
"Halt! Who approaches the Temple of Týr, God of Law and Warfare?" one of them boomed. They were wearing identical golden armour that shone dully in the eternal twilight of Niflheim.
"Regent of the Regency Gang." My companion said.
"Rose, a lone Shadow Elf." I stated. "We seek entrance to the temple to present Lord Týr with offerings."
With a click, the two guards parted their weapons. "Enter then, but be warned; you are not permitted to strike a worshiper of Týr whilst within His Temple."
Uh-huh. And if some asshole didn't abuse that stipulation, I would be very surprised.
The doors, emblazoned with a large arrow-like rune pointing up that I vaguely recalled as being called Tiwaz, split apart to allow us entry, which we were eager for. It was damned cold, even with the heat-enchanted cloaks that were standard issue for anyone walking around outside of the only city on the floor that we were wearing.
Inside, we had to wait for the outer door to close before the inner door opened, kinda like an airlock. It was also a sensible precaution when dealing with the bone-chilling cold of Niflheim.
The main hall was lined with gold and had decorative murals on the wall depicting the God Týr in various heroic situations, including the time Fenrir bit off his hand. Others included him fighting a large wolf or dog that looked different to Fenrir, adjudicating in court and standing on the battlefield, sword in hand. At the far end of the hall was a larger than life statue of the God himself, cast from pure gold, and standing in front of it was a man wearing the robes of a priest. He had a sword sheathed at his side.
"I thought priests didn't use bladed weapons?" I murmured to Regent.
"Priests of Týr are the exception to the rule; a sword represents justice in some cases." Regent whispered back.
"Welcome, petitioners, to the Altar of Heroic Glory." The priest greeted us once we came within three meters of him. "Present your offerings and you shall be given the appropriate reward for them."
Almost in unison, Regent and I brought out our Apples of Idun and held them up. A gesture from the priest had the apples vanish and gold and silver bracelets with rainbow-coloured crystals in the center of them appear in our hands in their place.
"For offering an Apple of Idun apiece, you are each awarded a [World Pass] bracelet." The priest stated somewhat pompously. "Might I ask whether the two of you intent to travel to Midgard within the next few weeks?"
I looked at Regent for a moment before answering. "We were planning on heading there next week."
"Ah good." The Priest nodded. "As it so happens, I have a missive and package that needs delivering. I hereby offer you both a quest to deliver both to the Head Temple of Týr in Midgard. The reward is twenty gold each, half paid up front, with the rest upon safe delivery. Will you both accept?"
"Sounds interesting. I'm game." Regent opined.
"Sure." I shrugged. I had the sense that this was going to be less 'interesting' and more 'troubling', but considering I was the 'Chosen' of a usurped Goddess and had to keep an eye out for worshipers of the usurper in case they tried to kill me, I was technically already in trouble. "When do we pick up the missive and package?"
"The day before your departure." The Priest said, looking pleased. "I am on duty every day at this time, so simply come then."
"We will." I said with a bow of my head. "We shall see you in a few days then, Father."
"May Týr bless your battles, my child." The cleric said magnanimously, sketching the rune of Týr in the air with a bow of his head in return.
Once we left the temple and were about halfway back to Hvergelmir, Regent said, "That priest is scheming something."
"Oh?" I said, feigning obliviousness. "What makes you say that?"
"Oh come off it." The gang leader scoffed. "Every temple has a way of communicating and sending things to other temples of the same faith. Don't play dumb with me; you're way too sharp to not see that this guy's scheming something, even without knowing that."
"Nice to see you appraise my intelligence that highly." I said dryly. "Yeah, he's up to something alright. I'll bet you coppers to gold that the package is something illegal or dangerous or both, while the 'missive' tells whoever is receiving it to have both of us 'disappear' a short time after we deliver it."
"Or else telling the priest we deliver it to that we should be arrested and put to death." Regent agreed. "The religious types are split into three categories when it comes to things like this: the underhanded category, which hires thugs to do their dirty work; the smug category, which uses their positions at churchmen to do their dirty work; and the openly corrupt category, which uses both and reign as tin gods in whatever mud pit village that they are assigned to. I'd bet on one of the first two if we're talking about the m central temple of a religion."
"Cynical much?" I smirked. "You haven't changed. So then…what do we do about it?"
I couldn't see his expression thanks to his ever-present mask, but I could imagine his smirk. "Simple dork; we go in, deliver the package and get the heck out of dodge as fast as we can. If necessary, we get a teleportation scroll or two. Worst come to worst, we'll fight our way out."
"Whatever happened to the Regent who didn't do anything if there wasn't a payday in it for him?" I teased as the city walls came into sight.
"He got reborn." Regent replied. "Without the stupid scars of torture in his mind. Now let's get back so I can track down some of my boys and girls to come with us."
"You plan on taking some of the Regency with you?" I was unsurprised. Regent was always careful when it was his own hide he was guarding.
"Yep. You going to take that fairy girl with you?" the former Parahuman asked.
"I did promise her." I shrugged. "She'll probably only come with us as far as Midgard, but I get the feeling she's more powerful than she looks. If she sticks with us, it could be useful."
"Never seen a fairy fight before, but meh. Do as you want." Regent shrugged.
"Thank you so much for your permission, oh great Regent." I drawled sarcastically.
"You're very welcome, dork." Regent puffed himself up in faux-pride.
We both laughed after a moment. I'd missed this, since I betrayed the Undersiders for the second time. I just hoped that the others were alright wherever they were. Lisa, Aisha, Rachel and Brian were hopefully alright by this point and I wouldn't have to see them in Yggdrasil anytime soon.
A Few Days Later
Streets of Hvergelmir
"A shrine to Yliaster?" I looked at Karen with surprise. "I would have thought that they were all destroyed."
"The Realm Lord doesn't take kindly to the internal warfare of the temples in his city, so he let it be known quite some time ago that anyone who attempted to start a fight to do with divine warfare inside the city would find that religion of theirs banned from Hvergelmir." The fairy replied. I'd told her about my connection with Yliaster as soon as she'd finished dancing around in joy at the sight of my [World Pass] a few days ago. "So, after the first three idiots got the open worship of their gods banned from the city, no one is willing to push him. Especially not that new guy Myriad. I can lead you there if you want."
"Sure." I nodded. "What's the difference between a temple and a shrine, aside from the size?"
"Hm? Oh, the difference is that the range of services that you can get are much smaller at a shrine compared to a temple." Karen answered as she led me through the streets. "You can only communicate with your god or goddess once a month and the quests are rarely that good at a shrine. At a temple you can do all that, and get your weapons and armour blessed, receive special quests and teleport to any other temple of that faith in the Realm you are in, for a proper offering of course."
"I do need to speak to Yliaster." I said with a growl. "We need to discuss sending people into danger without a proper damned warning!"
"Try not to make her angry with you." Karen warned me. "Having your patron deity angry at you is never a good situation."
"I'll do my best." I grimaced. I hated it, but she had a point. Besides, this isn't entirely bad situation, so far anyway. I wouldn't have met Regent and Karen if it wasn't for being 'bounced' off the Temple of Yliaster's anti-teleportation shield, so every cloud has a silver lining.
When we got to it, the Shrine of Yliaster was very well hidden. Down a small cul-de-sac and through an alley, there was a small building about the size of a modest bungalow. Built from what looked like a stone similar to obsidian except tinted blue. It seemed to exude a calm shadow that denied neither light nor darkness.
"What does that carving around the door mean?" I asked Karen.
"It's Lady Yliaster's name and a few of her titles." The fairy answered after glancing at them. "The Silent Lady of the Shadows, the Quiet Shadow, the Lurking Shadow, and the Untainted Shadow…the last one mentioned here is the most common epithet attributed to her though…the Ever-present and All-Knowing Lady of Twilight."
"She might want to rethink that last one if she let herself get usurped." I muttered quietly.
The door of the shrine was open, and the entire building had an air of neglect that bespoke of it being abandoned for quite some time. Evidently the last priest or priestess who had been here had either fled in fear of his/her life or abandoned it to go to Myriad. And I didn't know which of those the worst option was.
At the very back of the shrine was a modest altar. If this was anything to go by, Yliaster and her clergy were not into ostentatiousness or frivolities. It was capped by a statuette of Yliaster, wreathed in an aura of shadows and bearing a staff and dagger, one in each hand.
The only sign that the stone carving might have been expensive was the exquisite workmanship that had been put into it. The statuette was very well carved and looked almost lifelike. I half-expected the mini-Yliaster to start talking to me.
"So how do I talk to her?" I asked Karen.
"Put a coin at the base of the statue; the higher the value, the longer you'll be able to talk." Karen directed. "Then you have to pray and wait for her to respond. As she has almost no followers left, she'll probably respond to you immediately. I'll wait outside while you talk to her."
With that, the fairy tugged the outer door shut, leaving me alone in the twilight.
"Loads of help there." I sighed and pulled a gold coin out of my Item Box, laying it at Yliaster's robed and sandaled feet. Placing my hands together, I bowed my head and whispered, "Yliaster. Um…if I am your Chosen, please speak to me. We need to talk."
{Certainly, Taylor.} A voice said in my head. {You only had to ask.}
Forcing down my instinctual flinch at my mind being spoken into, I said. "Yliaster. Do tell: why is it that you neglected to tell me that you were usurped here on Yggdrasil?"
{Because I did not know.} The Dimensional Supervisor admitted. {I have neglected my Yggdrasilian persona for some time, letting my priesthood and miracle system function without me while I dealt with the dimensional anomalies caused by Zion and Eve's presence in my sector. In that short amount of times, a mere forty years, Myriad arose and usurped my place, and I did not know before I sent you to Yggdrasil. It is indeed my own fault that you have once more been sent into a situation where you are in deadly danger and for that, you have my abject apologies.}
"'Sorry' doesn't really cut it in this situation." I bit out harshly. "I don't know if you've noticed, but this is probably the only remaining Shrine of yours left in Yggdrasil's Nine Realms, and you only have your hidden temple left otherwise. I have no idea where it is, just so you know."
{The temple…I cannot tell you where it is, for fear of Myriad overhearing me.} The usurped Goddess admitted. {You do not need to find it in order to recover my status as the Deity of the Shadows, however. Myriad has a time limit to destroy all of my Temples and Shrines, a time limit with only a year left to go. Once that time has expired, he will lose his godhead and fall back down to being a demigod, with most of his Classes gone. I will then be restored as the Goddess of Shadows in truth and in fact.}
"That's all very good and all, but the word around here is that someone from the 'good' or 'bad' gods alliance is helping him." I pointed out, eying the gold piece. It was being consumed, slowly but surely. I estimated I had about five minutes left. "Do you have any idea how hard it'll be to keep an eye on the follower of every single possible god who comes near me? I'm going to be talking flak from both sides of the fence here! It's only going to be a matter of time before someone finds out about our connection and tries to kill me for it! I'm guessing that a Chosen of a God is important?"
{Very.} Yliaster replied grimly. {A God or Goddess very rarely selects a mortal to be a Chosen because if they are killed too soon, the power of that deity is severely reduced. If they live long enough though, the power of that deity is increased by the legends and acclaim of their Chosen. I chose you because even without any of this nonsense with Myriad happening, you would have carved out quite the legend with the lifespan as a Shadow Elf. With Myriad here, I am sorry to say that things will be difficult for you.
{That being said, you need not worry overmuch about the majority of the followers of other gods.} Yliaster continued. {There is a tacit agreement between the Gods of Yggdrasil that only a Chosen may kill a Chosen once their status is known, and there are only a dozen Chosen, including yourself, in the Nine Realms at the moment. Most of them are either in Asgard or Vanaheimr, with about four scattered throughout the other Realms. Be careful should you go to Midgard, as there is definitely one there.}
"Great. And which gods do you think might have helped Myriad?" I grumbled.
{Loki is always a strong contender for stirring up trouble; he is the God of Chaos and Mischief, after all.} The Goddess mused. {He's just about the only one of the Æsir or Vanir who might do such a thing. That leaves the gods who reside in other realms. Several of the Olympians, a few from Ra's lot…about a couple of dozen all told. I'll leave a list when our session ends. Out of curiosity, what Level are you right now?}
"Level 20." I answered with a little pride. "Not bad, considering Niflheim isn't conductive to my Job Class."
{True enough. That's still enough for me to leave you with a gift for your hard effort, although I'm limited in what I can give you by the fact that it's only a Shrine.} Yliaster said apologetically. {I take you plan to go to Midgard soon?}
"Yes. Sometime in the next few days." I confirmed.
{Good. As it so happens this isn't the only Shrine I have left; there's still one other in Midgard, in the Holy City of the Gods, at the foot of Mount Olympus.} The Shadow Goddess informed me. {The destruction of Shrines and Temples there is forbidden on pain of the god responsible for issuing the orders being Quelled.}
"Quelled?" I blinked. "What's that?"
{It is when a God or Goddess is overwhelmed and sealed by the overwhelming force of the combined powers of at least ten other deities of similar or greater power.} Yliaster explained. {In order to punish a God, you must overwhelm them, or the result will be a stalemate. The power of the seal depends on the crime of the god, but it will typically last for a decade at least. The reason Myriad got away with it was because he destroyed my Temple there himself before he ascended to godhood. My Shrines, as you may have noticed, are hidden however, and he could not find the one in the Holy City before he ascended. Now he cannot risk any of his followers destroying it due to his widespread destruction of my other Shrines. No other god would believe that he didn't order it done if it were destroyed because of his actions.}
"So his actions are backfiring on him? Good." I huffed. "What're you planning on doing to Myriad once he loses his godhead?"
{Nothing if he swears a blood oath to never seek out any way of attaining apotheosis ever again so long as he lives.} Yliaster answered with a mental feeling equivalent to a shrug. {If he refuses, I'll petition my good friend Hades to cast him into Tartarus. He will never survive there.}
Ruthless, but necessary.
"We're almost out of time." I said, looking at the coin; there was only a thin sliver left.
{Oh. Yes, you're right. Listen, beware the worshipers of Loki at all costs; even if he isn't responsible for helping and guiding Myriad, he still dislikes me enough to hinder me on the principal of the matter.} The goddess said hurriedly. {Odin isn't exactly fond of me either, but if you leave him and his worshipers alone, he'll ignore your existence. Make sure you come to the Shrine in Midgard and tell me what you've been up to as well!}
With that, the coin vanished, and a scroll landed in its place. I picked it up to see what it was.
"[Job Class Tutelary Scroll: Shadow Maverick]…?" I muttered with a raised an eyebrow. "Interesting…"
OK, so for everyone who HASN'T read the AN at the top of my latest chapter of Issei: The Gamer's Gear, I am taking some time off to write some more, and my schedule restarts on August the 15th. This is for two reasons: One, I am expecting my PC to break down, as it has for the past four years in a row. And Two, I have a friend coming over with whom I am going to share my PC with.
Out of interest, do you all think I should start a new asylum when this one reaches 100 chapters?