Chapter 111: The Skinchanger
Under the R'hllor system, there were two selection boxes:
[Red Priest: Gains the ability to manipulate fire and perceive visions within flames. After reaching Master level, can sacrifice (immolate) a sufficiently valuable offering to obtain a desired outcome]
[Shadowbinder: Gains the ability of 'shadow magic,' requiring Red Priest proficiency or entry into the city of Asshai with mental attributes exceeding 20. Currently unavailable]
"As expected, there's no 'resurrection' spell," Ian pursed his lips, consistent with his initial theory when creating his character.
Wait—speaking of resurrection, Ian once again recalled the Braavosi saying: death is the only certainty, all else is sorcery.
What about R'hllor's resurrections? They reversed death itself! Could 'sorcery' truly reverse a 'certainty'?
Could the Lord of Light actually be a true god?
No—then Ian noticed the description in the [Shadowbinder] section: "or entry into the city of Asshai with mental attributes exceeding 20."
Entering Asshai was a prerequisite for the Asshai magic system, which seemed somewhat illogical to include within the R'hllor magic system.
Furthermore, it was quite intriguing that simply entering Asshai allowed one to bypass the prerequisite of "Red Priest Proficiency" and learn "Shadow Magic."
R'hllor's full titles were "Lord of Light, Heart of Holy Flame, God of Flame and Shadow," and Melisandre even proclaimed that "the night is dark and full of terrors, but the fire burns them all away. Shadows are servants of light."
The fact that "Shadow Magic," supposedly a manifestation of R'hllor's power, could be learned by bypassing the R'hllor magic system entirely was revealing.
R'hllor, the "God of Flame and Shadow," couldn't fully control Shadow Magic!
Ian found it hard to believe that someone who couldn't even fully master the powers attributed to their own divine authority could be a true god.
As for resurrection abilities... who could say?
Without more information, Ian couldn't make further judgments. He could only temporarily set aside these thoughts and continue examining his options.
The fact that Rhoynish water magic was also unavailable due to bloodline restrictions was unfortunate for Ian, as it would be an invaluable asset in late-game combat.
When the Rhoynar fought the Valyrians, they'd used water magic to bring down dragons, which had enraged the Valyrians so thoroughly that three hundred dragons from the Valyrian Freehold had swarmed forth to destroy the Rhoynar kingdom.
However, even in defeat, their leader Garin the Great had used forbidden water magic to awaken the Mother Rhoyne itself, drowning the Valyrian invading army in Chroyane and causing countless dragonlords to perish there (Chroyane had since been shrouded in grey mist, becoming a haven for Greyscale victims, known as the Sorrows).
The next option was the [Many-Faced God System].
This was undoubtedly the Faceless Men's magic that altered their appearance completely—when they became another person, their height, build, and voice all changed as well.
This made Ian consider: if a player learned this skill and trained until they reached Master level in the Faceless Men's abilities, couldn't they assassinate a powerful player and replace them, directly seizing their power and position?
Ian was momentarily tempted, even considering joining the House of Black and White in Braavos.
However, he quickly dismissed the notion, as joining the Faceless Men essentially meant losing the opportunity to continue earning points through various quests and achievements.
Without attribute bonuses, becoming a powerful Faceless Man through training alone was practically impossible.
Even Arya, a prodigy spotted by Jaqen H'ghar, had only barely surpassed beginner level after more than a year in the House of Black and White (according to the books).
Unless he first accumulated the necessary attribute and skill points outside the House of Black and White, joining would likely allow him to reach peak Faceless Man abilities faster with the system's assistance.
But even then, becoming a Faceless Man might not be the optimal choice, as their greatest strength lay in disguise and deception.
If they encountered a player who'd maxed out greensight or fire prophecy abilities, disguises might prove ineffective.
The last two options were unavailable to him.
Ian wasn't familiar with the Valyrian sorcery system, as Valyrian dragonlords had preferred simpler, more devastating attacks—dragonfire—and records of their sorcery were exceedingly rare.
As for Asshai's shadow magic system, Ian estimated it encompassed all the remaining mystical traditions of the known world:
Warlocks, alchemists, moonsingers, shadowbinders, necromancers, aeromancers, bloodmages, torturers, warrior-priests, poisoners, maegi, ghost-walkers, and even the magic systems devoted to the "Black Goat of Qohor," the "Pale Child," and the "Lion of Night."
Scrolling back to the top, Ian decided to stick with his initial choice—the skinchanger.
While at first glance the Red Priest's abilities seemed no less powerful than the skinchanger's, their requirements for mastery were vastly different.
Skinchanging magic could be successfully practiced by any wildling with the gift, but what about a fire priest?
Take Melisandre, one of R'hllor's most powerful servants, for example. She'd misinterpreted prophecies she saw in the flames—how could Ian possibly interpret them correctly?
Even imbuing the Dothraki Arakh with flame required a casting time of over ten seconds (as shown in the show). Ian found it hard to believe he could skillfully use fire magic to kill enemies in combat.
Moreover, fire magic had been practically nonexistent before the dragons' return.
With this reasoning, Ian selected the Skinchanger option.
[Player acquires skill: Skinchanger Basic]
The updated character sheet displayed as follows:
[Ian: Strength 32, Agility 27, Mental 7
Skills: Etiquette Basic, Common Tongue Literacy Basic, Swordsmanship Advanced, Riding Advanced, Lance Intermediate, Skinchanger Basic
Attribute Points: 0
Skill Points: 6
Points: 31
Item: Basic Skill Selection Scroll]
Ian then prepared to directly upgrade his Skinchanger skill to Advanced, but after clicking the upgrade button, the system displayed the following message:
[Unable to upgrade. Magic skill level (calculated from base level of 1) cannot exceed one-fifth of Mental attribute]
"So if I want to develop magical abilities, I need to acquire substantial free attribute points first?" Ian grimaced.
Although he'd obtained numerous random attributes by eliminating players at the start of the game, free attribute points were exceedingly difficult to come by.
So far, Ian had only obtained free attribute points through Main Quest 1, Bounty Quest 1, and the optional quest [The Death of the Blackbird].
The current Main Quest 2 and the completed Bounty Quest 2 (Oldtown) hadn't offered attribute points as rewards. The only method Ian could envision for gaining attributes was completing optional quests.
However, the optional quests provided by this system were highly unreliable—if the quest-giver lied or withheld information, it was entirely possible that all effort would be wasted.
(End of Chapter)
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