Waking up from the night prior, the first thing I do is spit out the few leaves that somehow got into my mouth.
Quickly scraping my tongue with my fingers, hoping to get the leaf taste out of my mouth, a burst of iron bombards my tongue.
Taking my hand out of my mouth, I take a look.
It's covered in a deep crimson blood.
"Oh fuck! Sapphire, what happened?!"
I can't look away from my hands, my red stained hands burning into my memories as the thought of doing something unforgivable floods my mind.
A sudden flash of memories, me running through the forest, chasing something, a sweet smell filling my nose.
The last memory, a rush of a sweet but metallic liquid filling my mouth.
As quickly as the memories came, they vanish just as quickly.
As I sit on the ground, my hands are trembling. I take in air rapidly, but it's not enough. I can't get enough air in my body, so I take more shallow breaths.
The world starts to spin around me.
Yo, you… called… hey, hey look at me, I'm right in front of you, ok, it's all right.
What floats in front of me is a see-through white blue fox with their eyes closed, attempting to lightly paw at my face, only for her paws to go right through, unable to physically touch me.
Try to follow my breaths ok, you'll be ok I promise.
Sapphire is motioning with her paws a deep
Breathe in, then out.
A minute passes
Another minute passes
My breaths are still shallow, and the world spins faster and faster.
Sorry in advance, ok… I have no idea if this will work.
Sapphire's eyes burst open.
Her pitch black eyes stare unmoving into my own, it feels like I can't hide anything, all of me is being seen, piercing into my soul.
My breath becomes stuck in my throat, I, I can't move my body.
Sapphire's shadow starts to grow rapidly, and the shadow's paws become bigger, sharper, like they're covered in armour.
The air temperature drops rapidly, if I were breathing, I would see my own breath.
I'm being hunted.
Sapphire closes her eyes.
Now please follow my instruction, a deep breath… in … out. The paw motions appear once more.
Five minutes pass
Finally, being able to calm down enough to ask questions.
"You know what I did right? You must have a way to track what I do or something in that state…right."
Sort of, I can see what was killed through the system, but unless you call me or give me access, I cannot see what's actually happening, and don't worry, the only thing you killed were a few deer and a magic bear.
"R-really."
"Yes, I promise… now can you please take a quick wash, and get covered up, I'll ping on the map where you left your stuff. Sapphire attempts to change the subject.
"Wait, what?"
I look down and see she's right, I have no clothes on.
I quickly cover up what I can, the best I can.
As Sapphire just sorta floats in front of me, a smug smile on her face.
Ohhh, you want me to go right? Ok, see you in a bit ye.
________
I finally get to where I stashed my stuff and get changed.
"Sapphire, can you still see with your eyes closed? It doesn't seem to hamper you at all."
Mmm, oh ye I can, I use mana sense, it's not that hard in my opinion, just takes a bit of mana control.
"So I can learn it?"
Ye, sure you can do it, essentially with all of that 0 mana you have.
"Really" I say, unamused.
Yes, you can learn it, just not yet. Also, are you gonna call your family?
"I'm about to ok."
I rang my mum's phone, she didn't even wait for the second chime to play before she picked it up.
"Are you ok Scott? You're not hurt are you?"
"Has he gained hairy palms, hair out his ears, any scars-" Faintly through the phone, my dad asked.
"Stop asking stupid questions, do you know where you are Scott?"
"Um, sort of, I know how to get back from here."
"We'll meet you at the train station."
"I'll see you there, have a safe trip."
"Will do, you too Scott."
The phone hangs up.
"Um, Sapphire, can I ask you something?"
You can ask, I might not answer though :3
"Um, is there a reason why I'm not feeling horrible?"
Maybe, I guess that because you actually survived your transformation, you became an adolescent werewolf, which would have given you a slight buff in stats, also meaning you have fully changed and are no longer human… or it could be that my bloodline actually awakened at the same time, not sure.
"What?"
Just check your stats.
"Ohhhh."
{status}
Name: Scott Grimes
Spirit bond: Sapphire Volpes
Bloodline - Wintervale Fox (low rank)
Class: werewolf adolescent
Level 5
Rank 20-
Magic -n/a
Aura 20-
Miasma - rank 19-
Moon essence 0/100
Shop - open
Moon shards 0
System Quests - none
World quest- kill the demon lord
Artefacts - ice pendant
Strength 3
Constitution 3
Agility 5
Mana 0
Mental strength 1
Stat points 0
Skills
Werewolf forms - Polemos(uncontrolled), Aenoxyon, Meros
heightened senses.
Fast fist style(early stage)
"How do I get more info on this stuff, Sapphire?"
Just mentally click on it.
{Polemos form (locked until conditions are met or adulthood is reached)
This state is the pinnacle of hatred and violence for a werewolf, only for ripping and tearing until nothing is standing, peace is not an option in this state.
While in this state, anyone who is not mentally strong enough will pass out and forget about ever seeing them or become delusional and or delirious, so this was called delirium by werewolf hunters in the past.
Stat boost in this state varies depending on the moon and the age of the werewolf.}
"That first statement is a bit on the edgy side, don't you think?"
I guess, but it's not wrong, imagine the Van Helsing style werewolf, one of the best werewolves in my opinion.
"Ohh ye, is this what I turned into?"
Ye, a bit more lean than muscle, though.
{Aenoxyon form
This form is similar to a dire wolf, it's sturdy and fast, allowing for increased speed and endurance, but not as good at fighting as the polemos form.
Has slight resistance to silver and wolf bane, a mild healing factor, and further heightened senses
This form can also change into a second, more stealthy form, normally called the wolf or Lykos, which resembles a normal wolf or even a large dog, depending on the region.
Can communicate easily with werewolves or wolves, but cannot speak normal languages.
Both forms require moon essence to access.}
"Sooo, I can become big dog, and slightly smaller big dog, why would that be useful?"
Cute factor, there will be uses, you just need to find them.
"Can't you just tell me?"
Na, where's the fun in that?
{Meros form
This form is almost completely human. It allows the use of one aspect of the wolf at a time, with enough mastery, more aspects can be used at once. This form is heavily weak to silver and wolfbane, but can be used at any point after the first transformation has succeeded if the user has enough moon essences.}
"What does this even mean?"
Team wolf like stuff, but less corny, hopefully.
"Oh… great."
"Sapphire, what is the difference between a bloodline and a class?"
Bloodlines are more or less extra boosts that classes don't bring, or just additional skills and such.
What mine does, currently, provides you with a frost seed, which will improve your potential slowly over time, so you don't need to worry about bottlenecking in power.
I made it this way because I think that it's better to have high potential than high talent, as if you only have high talent, you will stop growing fast. If you have potential, as long as you are alive, you can grow ever stronger.
Interesting… wait so you made your own bloodline effects?!
Ye, if you become strong enough, you can make your bloodline special along with havingaspeciality, and some other stuff.
"Yours is?"
I don't feel like telling you, it will spoil it. So get strong enough and get the right resources, and find out yourself.
———-
"Scott!! You're really ok."
"Yes, Dad, I'm all good."
Both my parents hug me.
"Let's go home, you probably want a shower or a proper bed, right?"
"That'd be amazing, Mum."
"Definitely a bath, you smell like wet dog," my Dad said with a grimace.
"I do?! great."
We get into the car, and we set off back home. While on the journey home, I do my best to explain what happened, along with giving my parents all the information I know about my own situation.
We get home after around an hour of driving, and I enter the house first, only to be forced out as my sister body checks me out.
"You're ok." Tears can be seen in my sister's eyes.
"Yes, I'm ok, but you're heavy, can you get off?"
"I am not, but I do need to go to school... Mum, can I stay home for a bit longer?"
"Why are you heading to school? You want to be home with your brother, who just got out of the hospital. If the school has an issue with that, I'll give them an earful."
"O- Oh, right, ok... Thanks." A warm smile overcomes my sister's face.
"I'm going to go for a bath, then I'll be back down."
"See ya in a bit, then, bro."
Just before I get into the bath, Sapphire pops back up.
Yo, so just a reminder, you should probably have a look at the manual for Fast Fist after this bath.
Oh, right, I forgot about that. What info will it give me?
Give you, no, that's not how this works, man, you need to actually read, it's not an instant info dump, that's not a good thing if that happens.
What! Why?
So you actually learn it, if you initially get the info, all that info and skills it came with can be taken away. I've seen it happen before to other system users in the past; I'm making sure that doesn't happen to you.
"... oh... so any instant learned skill can be taken away?"
Yes, that's why you can't use the aura consciously only instinctively, but that's just because you're a werewolf, and it's not that good at the moment, so learn the human method first.
Ye, now just open your inven...tory... fuuuuck, how did I forget that, I have the stupid thing ready to go.
A snicker leaves my lips before I burst out laughing.
Ye, ye, rub it in, just have your bath, and call me when you're out. Sapphire seems unamused by my laughter.
------
So, how do I actually get this manual out?
Here you go.
{Sapphire has requested to access your inventory.}
{y/n}
I selected the yes option, and not long after, Sapphire Fox's form appeared in front of me with a small red book in her paws. The book has a picture of multiple fists in a moving action on the front of it.
Oh thanks.
No worries.
I go downstairs where the rest of my family is and sit on the couch.
Nice book, bro, what is it about?"
"This is my manual for my aura style Sapphire got me, I'm about to open it."
{System quest. Open and read the first page of the Fast Fist manual, Unlock Inventory.}
Why are you giving me the inventory through a quest, Sapphire?
Sadly, I can't make alterations to the system easily at the moment, so I need to do it through quest rewards.
Why?
...
It's how this system functions. I didn't think it through very well.
I can see that
Get back to the manual, please.
Ok.
I open the first page and lay it on the table in front of me, so my sister can see it as well.
fast fist intro
This style was made to overwhelm your opponent with high-speed attacks by augmenting your arms with an aura for more speed. All you need to do to activate this style is to fill your arms with aura and then throw them out in the patterns demonstrated later in this manual.
This will allow you to throw many punches in quick succession and overwhelm your opponent.
A diagram of a person throwing multiple punches is drawn underneath this text, taking up the rest of the page.
{System quest completed, Inventory added.}
"Bro, what's with the useless picture at the bottom? This gives you no information at all."
"Ye, let's flip the page and see what it has next, maybe there is more info there."
My sister flips the page.
Fast Fist 3 rapid flicker jabs
This is for distance testing and for very light but annoying hits to an area. This is an opening move that will allow you to use the other moves within the manual in a speed blitting combo.
There are multiple diagrams within this section, depicting how to throw the 3 jabs, how to rotate, basic footwork, potential area to hit, and where to put your aura.
The aura location seems to be the entire arm, like you are trying to overflow your arm with energy.
Me and my sister do the motions repeatedly, but nothing happens. no fatigue, no surge of energy, no glow.
What are you doing? You're just throwing random punches into the air, you need to move your aura. Come on.
And how do I do that, Sapphire?
Just move it, it's not hard, man.
That doesn't make sense. Move it how?
You just do, you move it with your head.
From where?
From the mass of warm energy in your body, it's not that hard.
"What energy Sapphire? I don't feel anything?!"
What do you mean you don't feel it? It's right there.
"I . Don't. Feel. It."
"You good, bro?"
...
"Apparently not, Sapphire doesn't know how to teach, or she's one of those stupid talent people who can just do stuff without knowing how... oh come on, after you talking about how potential is better than talent, you have a stupid amount of don't you."
Not for aura, aura didn't exist when I was walking around, it's a this world thing, so no, I'm not, for ice magic, then you'd be right, I don't get how you can't feel your own aura, but I can.
"This is frustrating."
Ye no shit... one second, go into the store, you should be able to find stuff for it.
{Store}
{coins 410}
{Items}
{Consumables}
{Armour}
{Wreapons}
{Blueprints}
{Manuals}
Why do I have so much money?
It was a gift from me, and you got a bit from killing the magic bear.
Oh nice.
Go into the manuals, you'll see aura training.
{manuals}
Aura styles
Aura training
Magic training
Mana training
{aura training}
Basic Aura Training Cost 10 coins
Beginning aura training Cost 20 coins
Intermediate aura training Cost 30 coins
Expert aura training Cost 60 coins
Master aura training Cost 100 coins
Aura control device basic Cost 50 coins
Aura control device beginning Cost 100 coins
Aura control device Intermediate Cost 250 coins
Aura control device expert Cost 500 coins
Aura control device master Cost 750 coins
{Bought basic aura training}
What's with the price differences?
The manuals and books of info will be very cheap because you need to read them yourself, it's not instantly given to you. The training gear allows for more precise control, allowing for less waste if you train with it. For now, just stick with the basic aura manual, no point in getting the control if you can't even use it.
A blue book appears in front of me, and it has a picture of a person meditating with some sort of core in their stomach.
"Scott, a letter for you has come through. It's from Dragon Academy."
"Oh, thanks Dad, let's have a look then."
The letter has formal, fancy writing and states that I will be going to the academy starting tomorrow, as I have a recommendation from the Buru. I can live at the academy for free and have my first year there free. I can continue to be there for free if I am within the top 10 students in my year.
The letter also has a QR code to an app for use by Academy students only. This app would show our rank, aura rank, magic school, and mana rank, but at the moment, they're blank. It does show that I have a spirit beast.
The rest is currently locked, but it seems it would show my classes, my after-class activities, and a map of the Academy.
"I'm going tomorrow, that's way too soon!"
"That was surprisingly fast, maybe it's because you have a spirit beast," my Mum said.
"Looks like we have only today left together. You can read those books whenever you're at the academy, Scott. Let's hang out as a family before you leave.
"That's a good idea, Dad, let's do that.
***************************
Word count 2914
Hello, I hope this chapter was ok. Hopefully, I can do the academic stuff decently. I wonder what horrible protagonist situations Scott will get into at the academy.
Should I continue doing a basic description of what certain pages have inside them, or should I skim over them and just state the name of whatever the title would be for said page in the manuals?
I hope you all have a great day/ night. I'll see you in the next chapter :D