I woke with a start, but quickly calmed down as I realized I was still in the stone staircase with Rufi snoozing quietly on my lap. I looked at my hands, realizing I was still in my living form. This is the first time I've slept since I became undead…I was sure it'd been at least a few days by now, but in a dungeon without sunlight without even a sleep cycle to go by, there was no way for me to be sure. Actually, speaking of which I have no idea how long I was under when Moira was operating on me, that could have been a few minutes or a few days for all I know…
I shook off thoughts of the time, and gradually stood up, displacing Rufi carefully to not interrupt her sleep too badly. She mewled and opened her eyes, but quickly settled in her new spot and went back to sleep. Right. I said, holding out my hand. I had gotten two new magics the day before, and it was time to test them out a bit before I headed into any new combat.
I focused on the ice magic I had summoned yesterday. Ever since I had learned about skill seeds and the system's guidance, I had been trying to be a little more aware of just what portion the power I summoned was my doing, and how much of it was the system's guidance. I felt the energy softly flowing through my body and concentrated its flow just a little on my hand. I felt the mana gathering, seeking a form to latch onto. I thought about ice gathering and spreading in my palm, a chill developed in my palm, then I felt my thoughts hitch, the mana altered its course as if flowing into a prefigured channel, and a perfect ice crystal formed, floating above my hand.
Ice Magic lvl. 1… I thought looking at the crystal with a hint of disappointment. We hadn't been taught anything about the magic in this world as the skill activation sequence had been pretty self-explanatory, but feeling the flow of it like I had just done, I wondered if there wasn't more to magic then the system was capable of representing. Almost all of the magic spells instilled in the skill system were essentially combat-oriented: Create crystals to blast at the enemy, heal an ally, create homing arrows of dark energy, etc. etc. But the feeling I had gotten trying to form ice without the system was something far more…flexible then the system seemed to allow for. I wonder if there's a way for me to turn skills off…
Rooowl. I looked down at my stomach. Was that me?? I put my hand on my stomach and felt some mild discomfort there. I thought about it for a moment then realized, my eyes widening. I'm hungry! I'd been a skeleton long enough by this point that I'd nearly forgotten about hunger.
"Uh.. Uhhh…." I looked around at the empty stone chamber, patting my pockets. "I don't have any food." I scratched my head. "I guess I can just turn back to a skeleton, but I should probably do something about this so I can swap back if I need to."
I let the flesh drain off my bones, watching as the black underneath slowly revealed itself. "Alright," I croaked, suddenly remembering I didn't have vocal chords again. What do I have to do before I enter the next floor. I looked around again as if that would help me. Rufi had gotten up and was stretching with a wide yawn. Ok, I need a new weapon, I could train my magic a little more, but the foes at the beginning of the levels usually aren't too bad, so maybe I could just practice on them… Right. I straightened, making my decision.
I've dawdled here long enough, I focused my energy on making a new weapon. The system process for this skill seemed to be more hands-off than the process for the magic skills. Maybe because it was more of an out-of-combat skill, or maybe to allow for greater variation in the weapon that was created, I didn't know. But whatever the case was, I enjoyed taking a few minutes to slowly shape the energy, refining and molding the forming magic like I was some kind of magic blacksmith.
I'd never learned much about smithing either in my old world or in this one, but I did my best to balance the weight, refining the edge and the material, so that the end product, while still nothing extraordinary, at least seemed a bit deadlier than my first attempt had. "Right." I croaked, swinging the sword a few times, to test it out. "Come on Rufi, let's do this thing." Rufi chirped and flew to my shoulder.
I descended the rest of the staircase, a muted feeling of nervousness and excitement building in my absent stomach. I approached the light at the end of the stairway, wondering what would lay beyond. A warm, humid breeze drifted up the way, and I heard the twittering of birds and a loud buzz of insects. I reached the bottom of the staircase and looked out of the stone archway.
A dense jungle opened up before me, painfully vibrant and filled with the buzz and rush of life. Birds darted through the canopy. Steam rose like mist from large leafy branches which basked in a golden sun-like light. Bird calls sounded all throughout the canopy in all lengths and pitches, blending with the constant hum of insects, and the croaking chorus of frogs.
I looked around overwhelmed. Animals, insects, birds, plants, and trees as far as the eye could see, but where exactly were the monsters? Could anything be a monster in this place, thriving with life, or were there larger dangers waiting in the dense foliage for the right moment to strike?
I pondered the question for a moment, struggling to soak in all the sights before me, before my question was answered for me. Out of the brush to one side an intense, high-pitched buzzing cut through the chorus of noise. I turned to see large centipede-like creatures with long, segmented bodies and bright red pincers flying out from the canopy. Their bright red eyes fixed on me as soon as they saw me, and their buzzing turned even more fever-pitched as they darted towards me in a swarm, ready to attack.
I held out my sword to the side as a grin crossed my non-existent face. "Time to fight."