Chapter 16: New Power and Miraculous Scroll

“Oh! I have new abilities!” (Hikaru)

Maybe because I am using Dark Spirit Abilities while I move, my Spirit Ability Proficiency is increasing swimmingly. It is going up slower than the time when I was using it inside the Barrier Stone, but it must be getting harder to raise as the Tier goes up.

[Dark Spirit Ability]

Tier 1 Ability

?View of Darkness [Dark Vision] Proficiency 66

?Transformation of Darkness [Shadow Runner] Proficiency 87

?Falsehood of Darkness [Shade Shift] Proficiency 0

?Deposition of Darkness [Shadow Bag] Proficiency 0

Tier 3 Ability

?Revelation of Darkness [Darkness Fog] Proficiency 66

Looks like I can now use Falsehood of Darkness and Deposition of Darkness.

“I don’t know what this..Shade Shift means though.. Shadow Bag.. Bag!” (Hikaru)

When I tap it, the explanation it showed me was the very definition of Shadow Bag. I can store things in my own shadow.

For me who was continuously walking while carrying things in both hands to the point arms were feeling numb, this is like a hand of salvation.

I open an entrance of darkness inside my own shadow.

I first tried putting in a random rock I picked up and it got sucked in.

I can somehow perceive what’s inside the Shadow Bag.

Looks like I can take out the things inside the shadow when I stick my hand into it.

I take out the rock, and then I put the 3 Spirit Stones, the rope, and the flowers into the Shadow Bag.

The carrying capacity is around 1 boston bag.

For me currently, that’s plenty enough.

“But what’s the Spirit Energy consumption of this..?” (Hikaru)

When I use too much Spirit Energy and it goes over the limit, I suddenly faint, so I have to be extra careful.

Shadow Bag must be the type that can be in permanent use. It wouldn’t make sense otherwise.

“..Hmm..” (Hikaru)

It is hard to tell..but I can feel like my Spirit Energy is continuously decreasing by very small amounts..

I don’t feel that straight sensation of a decreasing amount like Darkness Fog, but it is like every now and then it sucks out a bit..

“I don’t really get how to perceive Spirit Energy..” (Hikaru)

It is solely a ‘feeling’.

Just like how fatigue can’t be quantified, it is hard to quantify the decrease of Spirit Energy.

I am simply somehow feeling like it has decreased or restored.

Once I get to a city and ask someone with knowledge about this, I might be able to obtain a different way of telling.

Anyways, it seems like I will be able to utilize Shadow Bag permanently.

“I should try testing Shade Shift too. Even when I read the explanation, I didn’t understand it after all.” (Hikaru)

This was the explanation.

[A shadow clone will appear right by your side. It doesn’t have much effect in bright places.]

It is way too loose of an explanation. Well, I should think about how to use the ability myself, or maybe it is telling me to go to a city and get an explanation there..

“[Shade Shift]! Ooh..!” (Hikaru)

With just the description alone, it felt super plain. A clone of myself made out of shadow appeared.

I can’t touch it, and it looks like you can only see it, but it should be plenty enough to confuse the enemy.

It may be made of shadows, but it is not like it is completely black. It is like a dim version of myself, and feels as if it were a proper physical body.

It is plain obvious that it is a fake in a bright place, but it might be hard to tell who is the real one in the dark. The quality should increase as the Tier goes up.

“I have finally gotten something that can be used in battle. They have all been support types until now.” (Hikaru)

I don’t plan on fighting, but having the means to is relieving.

When I get more freedom with my Spirit Energy, I should raise the Proficiency of this one.

◇◆◆◆◇

Thanks to Shadow Bag, I now have both hands free, moreover, now I can throw in stuff that I find in the way, so the journey got a bit more fun.

I don’t know if it is the trait of this world or if it is because there has been no work done by people here, I could find a good amount of edible-looking things when I looked around.

Small fat animals, nuts, fruits, and mushrooms were growing wildly here.

I can’t go using Crystals to appraise each and every thing I find, so I would just collect them and put them inside my shadow.

I can eat them when I need to, and I might be able to sell them when I survive.

I grew a bit lax.

Because the levels of my Spirit Abilities were going up smoothly, and I didn’t meet any dangerous creatures.

There’s still more distance to cover, but I am sure I will manage somehow.

I got Shadow Bag and still have leeway in my points.

That’s why I didn’t notice my own condition.

Exhaustion and lack of sleep.

I didn’t feel a lack of Spirit Energy, but I didn’t notice the change in my body.

- “Haah haah.”

— “Haah haah haah.”

“?! Guoh! W-What?! Uwah!!” (Hikaru)

A big dog had bitten onto my arm.

A foul animal stench.

The dirty fangs dug onto my skin, and I could only feel a burning pain.

Why..when..?

I can’t understand how this happened.

Even when I tried to shake off the dog, it was swinging its head with astounding strength in opposition as if trying to tear off my arm.

“Guh! [Darkness Fog]!” (Hikaru)

I confirmed there were several other big dogs around..no, wolves, and I immediately cast the ability.

The wolf that was biting my arm faltered for a moment there, but it looks like it has no intention of letting go.

It seems like it worked in keeping the surrounding wolves away. They got away from the range of the Darkness Fog, and were wandering around the outside of the darkness, watching the situation.

My bitten arm is burning in pain right now.

It is a wolf.

A wolf as big as a bear that is covered in grey fur.

Looks like because I was tired or lacking sleep, I had lost consciousness.

That’s the only explanation I could come up with.

“Let go! You..!” (Hikaru)

I punch the wolf with my other arm, but it isn’t showing any effect at all.

The wolf is big and strong, so a punch from me must not even serve as an inconvenience for it.

On the contrary, the wolf was calm and was beginning to move in order to drag me out of the darkness.

“Haah! Haaah! Haaah! Damn it..!” (Hikaru)

I was starting to lose my calm from being suddenly attacked.

I have no weapons, no experience, no stamina.

If only I had a means to attack with my Dark Spirit Abilities, I would be able to attack at close range.

“R-Right! Barrier Stone..!” (Hikaru)

After being dragged for around 30 meters, I finally remembered this.

But that thing that I have been holding in my hand all the time..must have fallen somewhere -my hand was empty.

I can’t see it anywhere around either.

Even if I did, I am still being steadily dragged here.

“Guh..! Damn it..!” (Hikaru)

Even in a situation like this, I opened the Status Board.

I buy a new Barrier Stone for 1 point, and immediately break it.

The next instant, a thin film barrier was deployed with the stone as the central point.

“Guooooh..!”

The wolf was forcefully repelled to the outside of the barrier.

—Together with a big chunk of meat from my arm it was biting.

The bone of the upper part of my left arm was visible. No matter how you scratch it, this is in a state that can’t be used now.

I have lost all sensation from it for a while now.

Cold sweat gushes out from my whole body.

If I don’t treat it, it won’t end with just my arm.

In not that long..I will die.

Blood was spilling out endlessly, and each second my life was being drained.

“T-This is bad. Are you serious..? This is really bad..” (Hikaru)

I have to do something.

Fast.

I quickly slide through the item list in the Status Board.

Blood was gushing out from my arm matching the fast drumming of my heart, and it was dyeing the ground dark red.

My vision was narrowing at a blinding rate.

“Haah! Haah! Haah!” (Hikaru)

Drenched in abnormal amounts of sweat and blood, I finally find the item, and I tap it with my trembling finger.

[High Healing Scroll - 3 Points]

I have no time to read the description.

I finished buying the scroll with points, and it comes out from the Status Board.

I squeeze the last of my strength to take that in my hand and unseal it.

I was unsure about how to use it, but it seems like it is the type that activates the moment it is unsealed, the scroll burns away in a blue flame, and a gentle light enveloped my body.

“Oh..Ooh..” (Hikaru)

My arm, that had been gouged out till the bone, was slowly but surely being restored to how it was before. I was watching this with bated breath.

I was nervous wondering if it would heal or not.

It may be 3 points, but I thought it would be impossible to heal this deep of a wound. That was needless worry though.

Now that I think about it, this is a healing item in a world where monsters exist. It would be weird for it to not be dramatically useful towards external wounds.

In a few minutes, all returned to how it was.

Not only the pain, I can’t even feel the anemia from the blood loss.

What a fearsome effect.

“Hahahaha..what’s this. If it was this good, maybe a 2 points scroll would have been enough..” (Hikaru)

When I calm down and confirm the description of the scrolls: the Low Heal for 1 point said healing of cuts; the Mid Heal for 2 points said heal deep cuts; the High Heal for 3 points said healing of losses.

It is hard to tell if the Mid Heal would have healed this. Half of the meat in my arm was gone and its functions were completely dead.

Thinking about the possibility that using 2 points would not have worked, it was the right choice to go for the High Heal.

historical

“Haah.. But..this is bad.” (Hikaru)

The 3 points that I got from obtaining the shining plant have been burned instantly. Not only is there still a lot of distance left to get out of the forest, there’s those wolves..

The wolves are still wandering around outside the barrier while smelling the blood on the ground.

This is the first time I see an actual wolf. They have a big frame unlike that of dogs.

They may not have as much of an overwhelming monster impression like that giant monkey, but it is the same in the fact that I am no match against them.

Moreover, they move in packs, and there’s 8 from where I can see.

I have 5 points remaining.

I ended up using 4 points from the Barrier Stone and the High Heal Scroll.

“Hahaha.. What happens happens.” (Hikaru)

I still have to walk hundreds of kilometers more. Points are my livestocks. The very representation of my amount of lives. You could say 5 remaining points is a despairing number.

“..Let’s sleep.” (Hikaru)

My body must have learned that using a Barrier Stone is the time to rest my body. I was sleepy most likely because of the backlash of recovering my wounds at a fast rate, or simply because the scroll doesn’t bring back the stamina.

Whichever the case, I got no choice but to sleep.

There’s no doubt my lack of sleep was what created this situation after all.

I set the timer and lie down in place.

Praying that the wolves are gone by the time I am up.