He yawned, feeling sowhat tired. His body didn't ache—not when he was sleeping on a luxurious bed.
Even after a week, the room still felt unfamiliar. The bed was wide but low, the carpets were beautiful, and the interior design was cozy.
The chandelier hung low from tbe ceiling, giving off a soft light and casting deep shadows across the room.
Just the way he liked it.
He stretched, walking over to the wide curtains and slowly shifting them aside.
White clouds drifted past the window, vast and endless. In the distance, a reptilian creature soared through the sky. At least it wasn't a wyvern. He just wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.
His fingers brushed against the locket around his neck. A gift from his sister—an heirloom from their mother. She had made him promise to bring it back.
A thin smile tugged at his lips. It was Luna's way of telling him to co back safely.
"Not that she didn't chew out and give a billion lectures about being reckless…"
With how much she worried, one would think she was his mother instead of his little sister.
And she had good reason.
This was Damon's final sester evaluation—held outside the academy. Dangerous. Lethal. Death was a very real possibility, in fact it was common place.
That was why he was on an airship, traveling for over a week. The journey through the sky was mostly safe along charted airways with air patrols. But they had encountered a few airborne monsters, and for a ti, things had gotten dangerous.
"Wyverns had attacked the ship, followed by a pack of black death screeches and even an enraged roc."
However if Damon had to say then the most dangerous would be flying a few hundred kiloters past a dragon's nest.
Fortunately, the professors had handled it.
Still, he hated the idea of sleeping with his curtains open. What if sothing out there saw him while he slept?
The thought made him shudder from dread.
The world of Aetherus was just too dangerous, from monsters, to ancient horrors absolutely anything goes in this wretched world, a sha he was to weak to even flee from so of them.
During this week, he had been busy. More importantly, he had gained 90 attribute points, which he poured entirely into his HP. He didn't know why, but a nagging premonition told him he would need as much health as possible.
Beyond that, he had acquired two new skills—each worse than the last.
And when he said worse, he ant for himself, not necessarily his enemies. Both were dangerous, but they had the potential to be powerful weapons.
The first skill:
[Skill: Spirit Affinity]
[Description:]
"You are known to the spirits—whether as a friend or a foe is yet to be seen."
[Effect:]
The user possesses a natural connection to spiritual entities, allowing them to sense, communicate with, and attract spirits more easily. Friendly spirits may offer guidance, minor protection, or assistance in battle. However, unstable or malevolent spirits may also be drawn to the user, causing havoc or inflicting pain. Beware.
[Type:] Passive.
[Cooldown:] 0 seconds.
At first glance, Spirit Affinity should have been a good thing. But it also ant he could attract malevolent spirits. If he wasn't careful, one could possess him.
He couldn't help but think of Sylvia—she had the sa problem. However, she could also see spirits with her Spirit Sight.
That was Damon's new problem.
It turned out that being known to spirits didn't an he could see them. He needed a separate ability for that.
Worse, the skill was passive. He couldn't turn it off.
But even that wasn't nearly as terrifying as the next one.
[Skill: Ashborn]
[Description:]
"Born from the despair and hatred of the countless elves who perished in the Verdant Continent during the demon lord Ashcroft's conquest, Ashborn is a curse and a legacy—an unrelenting pyre fueled by sorrow and vengeance. It grants dominion over Ignath's soul flas, fire that sears with fury and freezes with grief, a reflection of the dark spirit's eternal lant."
[Effect:]
The user may summon and command soul-burning flas that consu both body and spirit, their heat reducing all to ashes while their cold paralyzes with despair. However, wielding such wrath cos at a cost—the user must endure tenfold the agony of being burned alive as the flas feed upon both mana and shadow energy. Only those who can bear suffering may claim their power.
[Type:] Active.
[Cooldown:] 0 seconds.
It was the most straightforward skill description the system had ever given him.
The power was insane. The price was worse.
When he first obtained it, he and Lilith decided to experint. Worst decision of his life.
He still shuddered from the mory.
Ashborn granted him control over the immolating flas, and while the cost in mana and shadow energy was high, it was a fair trade for such destructive power.
The real issue was the pain.
The sensation of burning alive—multiplied tenfold.
The mont he activated it, Damon nearly lost consciousness. His body and soul remained unhard, yet the sheer agony almost killed him from shock. Burning alive was already one of the worst ways to die, and he had experienced ten tis that.
When he activated it, reality shattered. Invisible flas licked at his bones, peeling away layers of his soul like molten razors. His nerves scread, his body convulsing as though his blood had turned to magma. He had felt pain before—but this? This was suffering incarnate.
When he woke up, drenched in cold sweat, the fear still lingered.
On the upside, the power was overwhelming. A terrible trump card.
Lilith warned him against using Ashborn again. Though the flas didn't physically burn him, the ntal shock alone could be fatal. Most people who burned to death didn't die from the fire itself—they died from the pain.
Damon sighed. The next thing he checked was his level-up requirents. For so reason, they were oddly specific.
[Level-up Requirents]
Red Cap Goblins consud [0/5]
He groaned.
"Great. Only the most violent species of goblins in the world."
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