From Player To Npc

Chapter 166: Training the Shadow

Through their training, Shingi came to a few conclusions. Dark Shadow learned its Skills fast enough that Shingi knew that his INT was over 15 but less than 20. His Scholar Master Profession also affected him because of their bond.

He also noticed something more about the body of Dark Shadow, something that Syra noticed before him. A thin layer of Spirit Mana surrounded its body, and also most of his feathers made by Spirt Mana, mixed somehow with Dark Mana.

Shingi couldn't understand why the Dark Mana mixed in it, but it could be because of the way the egg got created. That egg wasn't naturally made, as somebody sacrificed all those eggs for it.

Shingi wondered if that meant that it could at least use Dark Mana better than normal, as it couldn't create any from its Mana Pool. He tested this theory, which seemed to be why it could hide that well in the Darkness. It worked a little better than his CAMOUFLAGE but not as good as his INVISIBILITY.

That was without it knowing the STEALTH Skill, which was in Shingi's plans to teach to his new 'pet.' He tested how fast or strong it was and found out that its AGI was also quite high, while his STR seemed to focus more on its feet. Its wings were quite weak, but with its toenails, it could slash rocks and possibly metals. But Shingi couldn't test this theory.

Its END wasn't as high as the rest, as it got tired quite fast, meaning that it was using its SP at a fast rate. Even if its SP seemed to be quite high, possibly because of its Race, its END was low, meaning its consumption was high. Still, Dark Shadow was also not very familiar with the limits of his body, so its situation could change it.

Shingi tried to communicate with it, and it was just one-way communication for now. Dark Shadow understood him, at least to a degree, as showed signs of confusion on some complicated tips on using the Skills that Shingi gave him. But other than some bird noises, close to what a raven would do, with a little deeper voice, no other sign of Dark Shadow trying to communicate with Shingi.

He taught it the STEALTH Skill, but it just reached it at Base Rank. It seemed like the Skills that Shingi already had unlocked were easier for Dark Shadow to learn and reach the same Rank as him other than the help his profession offered.

Shingi also taught him the VISUALIZATION Skill, as it seemed a great tool to help use Spirit Mana since it was one of its Elements. But it reached the Master Rank in a little less than an hour and didn't seem to make more progress on it. It seemed not everyone could pass Grandmaster Rank. At least Dark Shadow couldn't yet. Shingi was certain that at some point would reach it; he just needed to become more familiar with his limits.

Their training lasted a couple of hours, but Dark Shadow learned so much in such a short time. It would take months, maybe even years, for others to do the same, and only if they were truly talented.

Shing brought out Sinhunter, scaring Dark Shadow for a moment since it didn't expect a pointy piece of metal to appear out of nowhere at the hand of someone he didn't really know, even though his instincts told him he could trust Shingi.

"'You really seem to start to add weird individuals to your group.'" [Sinhunter]

"'Do you think you can communicate with it like with the Spirit Child? Maybe teach it a few things?'" [Shingi]

"'I can try.'" [Sinhunter]

He held Sinhunter by the blade and brought the handle in front of Dark Shadow.

"Can you touch the sword?" [Shingi]

Dark Shadow was a little reluctant, but in the end, pursued what Shingi told him to do. Some minutes passed that there was silence, but Shingi could feel some exchange between them through their Spirit Mana. Sinhunter could produce some itself, as its Spirit Tree was almost ready, but it was still far from finished. Shingi needed to help it with that but needed to gather a few things first.

"'This one at least is more open to speaking than the last one.'" [Sinhunter]

"'So you could communicate with it. Did you learn anything? Do you think you can make it also speak the same way we speak with each other?'" [Shingi]

"'The way I speak is unique for me and others like me; it isn't something taught. Also, I learned that its mentality is quite low. He may be even more simple-minded than I used to be when we first met. But he is a fast learner as his speech was quite slow, and kept getting faster as time passed.'" [Sinhunter]

Even if Dark Shadow's INT was quite high, that didn't mean it could use it. Still, it needed the experience to do so, but his high INT allowed it to learn faster than normal.

"'Do you think you can teach it a few things then? You probably can be a better teacher with your way of communication. Maybe teach it about what the Spirit Child shared with you.'" [Shingi]

"'You certain about sharing that knowledge? He seems to like you, for now at least. But this feeling can change at any point.'" [Sinhunter]

"'Just do it. I am sure it will learn them one way or another, but we need to speed things up. If you notice any weird conversation with it, let me know.'" [Shingi]

He let got his sword with Dark Shadow since to communicate with each other, Dark Shadow should touch the blade, but it did not limit Shingi because of the bond he had with Sinhunter. Still, he couldn't move too far away, or their telepathic bond would work, but he could move around their camp no problem without that happening.

"That sword of yours seems quite weird. It emits some Spirit Element by itself. Is that part of a Rune? Don't recognize the writing on it." [Syra]

"It is a long story, but I guess I have some time." [Shingi]

Shingi decided to take some long, well-earned rest and have a decent meal, as most times, they didn't even cook any of the meat they had prepared.

Shingi shared with Syra a brief description of what a growth-type weapon was, but compared to how much he learned from Beliss, it was just the tip of the iceberg.

"How interesting. So it isn't an actual Spirit in it but something created by the Rune?" [Syra]

"That is one way to explain it. But this isn't a rune, but something more ancient. I am not sure what it is called, but its logic seems to be a combination of all the Elements. I think it possible that includes the Spirit Element too, but not sure how Varic could make it if that is the case." [Shingi]

Making a rune didn't just involve carving the right design but had to feed it with some Element. The more combinations used in a Rune, the harder it was to produce it. They could also create runes with combinations of different Elements, making the possibilities almost endless.

Varic couldn't use any mana himself, and he wasn't an official RUNEMASTER, but some tools could pass these restrictions. Unfortunately, these worked like the Artifacts, meaning when Varic 'died,' they disappeared. But still, he had to use Mana Gems as sources of the Element, meaning he could have a Spirit Mana Gem, as that was impossible to make.

'Could it be that he used just enough to succeed back then?' [Shingi]

Shingi understood people weren't completely unable to use the Spirit Element since there were things like VISUALIZATION, which seemed to be Spirit-Based even if it wasn't a spell. It seemed people were just limited to how much they could do, and possibly Varic either passed that limit during his crafting or had used could use just enough with his Skills. Shingi had to do some tests in the future if he could make another place to craft things.

"Syra, do you remember the burn mark's design to draw it and study it? I have some memory of it to help." [Shingi]

"I could do it? Why do you want to help her? If Mikhail is as bad as you guys make him appear to be, she probably won't have a good time currently. He kinda reminds me of a person I knew. He is quite old too, but not thousands of years old, although he looks like it." [Syra]

"Well, we will try to help her if we can, but the real reason is I need it to be done for Annoue. She also has the same, or at least a similar, burn mark. We need to find a way to deal with it, especially if we meet more of his people. If it is used to monitor them, then freeing them from it might get them at our side, or at least weakening his forces." [Shingi]

Mikhail was strong enough by himself, so Shingi would be happy if he had no people backing him up.

"I will work on it. I will try to keep it a secret when he monitors us." [Syra]

Shingi nodded on that but then noticed something that confused him.

"Wait a minute. Can you tell if he monitors us?" [Shingi]

"Yea, can't you? Those glowing eyes appear now and then, but I thought you just ignored them." [Syra]

"Are those eyes here now?" [Shingi]

"No. They were though during your talk with that woman." [Syra]

Shingi had noticed nothing like that, so either he couldn't detect them, or he wasn't careful enough. But he was confident that the case was that Syra could see them because she was a spirit.

"Just send us a message next time they appear." [Shingi]

Syra agreed, even if she still was getting used to using the chat. She was certain that it would be pretty useful to have something like that back home.

At least now they had an extra advantage against Mikhail's trying to monitor them.