ALL NOVEL 14: The Shadow
A strong drowsiness washed over Tom, his eyes unfocused as gazed upon the sky with confused, jumbled emotions.
He’d won. The danger had been averted.
Who’d think that an ordinary convenience store worker from Earth would be capable of taking down such a monster when pushed to, or rather beyond, his limits.
That warranted a little rest, right? A quick, short nap.
The barrage of notifications he’d been hit with after slaying the [Elfinbeast] were tempting, but not as tempting as sleep. He was battered, bruised, exhausted beyond all manner of comprehension and…
Shit!
Tom’s eyes snapped open. He was bleeding, the [Elfinclaw] had bit deeply into his flesh and now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off, Tom could feel the burning sensation in his right arm again.
Tom screamed, partly out of pain, though his main intention was to snap himself out of the stupor that was muddling his thoughts.
Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!
He couldn’t die now. Not after confronting a foe that was beyond anything his worst nightmare could throw at him.
He slowly angled his gaze to his right arm, wincing at the site of multiple puncture wounds that had bit deeply into his flesh. A pool of blood had already dyed a small patch of grass red, only emphasizing the need for urgency in his mind.
Tom didn’t feel too good.
His left hand pressed against the ground, channelling what little strength he could spare to get him back to a sitting position. The movement only made the pain worse, tears beginning to flow from his eyes.
Come the fuck on.
Grunting, Tom got back onto his feet with his left hand serving as the support. Right now, he didn’t particularly care where his other cards had gone to. Stumbling forward, he took three steps in quick succession, the pain intensifying. But finally, he found salvation in the form of a light brown card resting upon the grass, a meter away from him.
Collapsing to his knees, Tom used the downward momentum to thrust his right hand outwards, safely palming [Earth’s Vitality].
He let out a triumphant cry filled with joy as an earthen halo enveloped him, immediately beginning to soothe his pain and push back his lethargy.
His thoughts began to flow again and Tom began prioritizing his next actions in his mind.
Seeing the puncture wounds on his right arm slowly reknitting themselves brought more relief to him than he could’ve imagined— he wouldn’t be losing his arms today, from the looks of things.
Still not trusting his legs not to let him down, Tom crawled back to the [Elfinclaw’s] carcass, retrieving his dagger and two cards on his way back. Letting out an exhausted sigh, Tom sat down with his back against the [Elfinclaw’s] charred fur.
If any more beasts stumbled upon the sight, he hoped that a blood drenched human wearing a torn shirt that had bite marks upon it leaning against his kill woulld make an intimidating enough sight to frighten them off.
If not, well, Tom still had his [Water Propulsion] card in his hand and [The Flame] card placed to his side.
Five minutes had passed, yet Tom estimated that his wounds were only healed half way through.
[Soul Power- 19/32]
Tom had been wondering for a while now, but this encounter had com vinced him. He had way too much Soul Power for someone with a Level 1 Soul Card. Despite his fight with the [Eflinclaw], a creature with far superior physical strength and a higher levelled Soul Card, Tom still over half of his [SP] remaining.
Did that have something to do with the rarity of his card?
Possibly. Though Tom couldn’t say with absolute certainty.
That reminded Tom, considering the coast seemed to be clear for the moment, to check his notifications. He still had to [Loot] the creature, after all.
[The Fool approves and acknowledges your actions. The skill [Shroud] is now complete.]
Tom was flabbergasted at the first system notification that hit him, truly having come off the left field.
The Fool approved his actions? Wasn’t he supposed to be the fool? The hell was that supposed to mean.
And as for Shroud, was his Soul Card holding back on him? Was it…even allowed to do that?
Tom hurriedly opened the [Soul Card] section in his [Player Statistics] section.
[Soul Card: The Fool.
Rank: Ephemeral [Legendary Unique]
Level: 1 [150/5000]
Ability:
Shroud, Level 1
Passive Shroud:
Makes the wielder invulnerable to all detection/scrying/location cards. Displays a False [Player Statistics] screen to anyone with an [Identification] type card.
Active Shroud, Maya
Deceive oneself to deceive the world. ]
What the fuck.
In that moment, Tom wanted to punch someone. He’d punch the jester drawn on [The Fool] card if it wasn’t a mirror replica of his own likeness.
More puzzles.
Wasn’t that just great.
On the upside, atleast he knew what Passive Shroud did. The skill sounded quite invaluably useful in all honesty, if it came with a damn guide that explained how to control it.
Tom decided to shift his mind to the next notification, lest he lose track of time.
[You have successfully slayed a Level 3 Elfinclaw. Your Deck Card [The Flame] has received 1165 experience. Your Deck Card [Earth’s Vitality] has received 1165 experience. Soul Experience has been distributed in a ratio of 1;1 between [The Flame] and [Earth’s Vitality] as per your stipulations.]
[Please physically touch the cards to commence experience collection.]
Tom did as he was told, and he felt an intangible wisp of energy flow into the cards from the carcass of the [Elfinclaw]. Both cards begun to glow brightly, before subsiding, indicating that both cards had levelled up.
That was good, it would make the healing process go faster.
“Loot,” Tom muttered, his back already pressing against the [Elfinclaw’s] carcass. That seemed to suffice.
[You have received a Level 1 [The Shadow] card. As per your stipulations, [The Shadow] card will be added to your deck cards. Doing so will deduct temporarily 1 Soul Power for the duration you have the [Common] cards added to your deck. Would you like to proceed?]
Tom glanced at his wounds, as another three minutes had passed. They had already scabbed up by this point, the bleeding staunched. If he continued, perhaps his skin would go back to pristine condition, but his arm functioned perfectly, and moreover the pain was gone.
[Soul Power- 16/32]
“Do it,” Tom replied.
[Soul Card: The Shadow
Rank: Common
Level: 1 [0/100]
Ability:
Shadow Cloak [Level 1]: Coalesces shadows around the wielder that muffles footsteps and reduces visibility, especially effective in low-light environments. Once inside the Shadow Cloak, allows the wielder to see perfectly in the darkness. Each Shadow Cloak costs 1SP to form and lasts for 1 hour.]
[Soul Power: 16/31 (35 MAX)]
A grin formed on Tom’s face, as he realized that [The Shadow] card might be his most useful find yet.