"Wuld Nah Kest!" I shouted, blurring through the scenery at incredulous speeds. The shout, Whirlwind Sprint, was much better than you would give credit for based on the game. Not only was it much more maneuverable in regards to three dimensional movement than Bethesda would have suggested, it also had a much more impressive range.
While certainly not perfect, the shout whipped me through the world at a speed that was useful enough that I just kept shouting every time my throat was feeling normal enough to do so, and it showed in my first few natural levels in a skill as I finally approached the ruins that held Volsung.
Skill: Whirlwind Sprint Lv. 12
A shout that imbues you with a burst of speed in the direction you'd like to go. Like all shouts, mastery and strength will scale based on your level of understanding of the words of power.
Cooldown reduced by 6%, before other effects.
That suggested the cooldown would be half at level 100, and theoretically only 10% with my other effects, unless they were multiplicative.
With some simple math, a roughly 4 second cooldown, or around 8 seconds if it was multiplicative. A 4 second cooldown was pretty good for this shout, although if I could make it free, it'd be even better.
"... Would I want to try mantling?" I considered aloud. Realistically, knowing the process was the most difficult part.
(1) New message
Administrator: Mantling is incompatible with the Gamer system, and is strongly discouraged. If you engage in Mantling, the Gamer system will be removed from you. If you'd like to disengage the possibility of accidentally or intentionally Mantling a god/gods, compensation will be offered.
"Sure, I'll turn it off. I was mostly considering it in terms of being able to use the Thu'um more often."
(2) New message
Administrator: Acknowledged. Mantling disabled. Random reward offered.
Perk added
Perk: Elemental Affinity
You have discovered your Elemental nature! The fury of Nature flows through you. Fire, Ice, Snow, they're the sort of things you just have a knack for!
Extra effects, higher power, and lowered costs to fire, ???, and ??? spells.
Skill updated
Fire Breath: Lv. 100
Due to your fire affinity, the Fire Breath dragon shout deals immense damage in a custom radius, with a 99% reduced cooldown.
Minimum cooldown of 1 second, increased if used above a certain threshold.
"Well, that's actually pretty nice." I noted.
I stopped and took account of my surroundings. Acoording to my map, I should be near the ruins, and by looking around, I recalled the location with ease. It was one of the easier locations to get the boss battle and word wall, as they were just at the top of a mountain. In the game, it was broken physics that made it so easy to climb, but in real life, it was actually easier, if not more physically demanding.
"Tiid Klo Ul!" I shouted. Slowed time should mean that gravity is acting less on me, due to the way gravity works, although it was impossible to be sure if it worked the same in this world, given the strange formation.
I leapt with all my strength up the mountain, and while making Olympians jealous, I was not jumping with any sort of Hulk-like power or anything. I was, however, clearing the mountain with multiple jumps fairly easily, and I smiled as I got to the top.
Waiting for the shout to cool down, which sadly didn't seem any more discounted than it had been, so presumably not within my elemental affinity, I collected my breath and unsheathed my sword.
'Conjure Flaming Familiar' I cast, and my dragon whelp appeared once more.
"Volsung!" I shouted, and the coffin exploded as the Priest floated into the air.
Unlike before, I leapt forward without a word, and went for a debilitating stab to its' midsection. With the blade scraping against his spine, I shouted.
"Yol Toor Shul!"
The fire blasted the Dragon Priest into a smear of ash on the wall, leaving behind its' mask just like before.
"A little anticlimactic. I thought some of these would be stronger. That last one certainly was." I muttered to myself as I collected the Volsung mask.
"I suppose it makes sense, from a logical standpoint. I'm a Dragonborn, and these draugr probably only have any ability to use shouts out of a dying memory from intensive study before they died." I mused, pinpointing the next Dragon Priest and using as much haste as I could bear to get to it.
The next dungeon wasn't too far away, and I used my sword and some faster than normal movement to kill off the draugr waiting outside. Like before, distant memories of endless gameplay reminded me of the quest that this dungeon had, and I decided I didn't care to do it.
The dungeon itself was fairly open and tedious, but it had the goal right at the beginning. Find the keys to the magical lock. It would be simple, if tedious, but I had the magical gift of a crowbar.
The crowbar, perhaps enchanted or gifted with an ability to work despite ancient seals, or perhaps the lock was weak against simple force from a society that had never invented any complicated tools in favor of magical means, broke the coffin open easily. The old stone lid actually cracked from the force I exerted, which allowed Otar to be freed.
Unlike the other priests in many ways, Otar the Mad also changed the playbook by not saying a word as he attacked, only to be swiftly corralled with a Fire Breath.
The following kick empowered by a Whirlwind Sprint was both a successful finishing move, and a reminder to me that my throat did not appreciate shouting in succession, even if it was possible.
The ruins grew quiet except for a rough cough that spewed a hint of blood against the stone. Luckily, the Gamer's body soon topped off my health, and my throat was back in perfect condition. I would be more worried about the blood if it weren't for how obvious it seemed for the Thu'um to have some kind of drawback when used by humans.
I collected Otar's mask, and ventured outside. The next mask on my list was much further away, and I was getting weary of travelling alone with only the echoes of my voice to accompany me.
If only I had a good place to go. An Inn would do well enough.