Shadow Author



Taking a single step forward my body was flung ahead at an unprecedented speed.

As if I had just teleported a great distance was covered and while I was still making sense of what just happened the corpse finally crashed down.

A wave of sand and dust shot out and blinded me but being that I was still breathing it meant that I managed to dodge the dead worm.

Although I was still unsure of how that was possible I calmed my raging heart as I waited for the sand to settle.

When I could see again I scanned the area and made note of the distance between myself and the corpse.

Being that there was a bit of a gap between us I realized just how great the new gift appeared to be.

Since it was a guarantee that I would die under the weight of the worm it meant I traveled far enough to reach safety and then some.

Quickly wanting to make sense of what exactly it was that allowed me to survive I pulled my watch and looked over the notifications.

[-800 SP]

[Flash Step: When taking a single step forward you will move at 3x your max speed. (Cost: 1 magic) (Cooldown: 10s)]

Looking over the gift I grew shocked at how simple yet useful it was.

Being able to move at such high speeds would most definitely come in handy especially when I had a tendency to get squashed by something.

Reeling in all the information about the power I learned that apparently there were some skills and gifts that required the user to expend magic or other attributes.

However, this was the first thing that something like that was required of me.

Although null stemmed from Aether there wasn't a set about that was needed to use the gift as it was quite flexible.

Since my ability had a cooldown of a day I wasn't too surprised by the cooldown on the gift.

It just meant I had to learn to manage my time efficiently while also making sure I had the magic to back it up.

Thankfully though because of the breathing skill and SP, I had stockpiled so I could constantly increase the number of points in magic.

Yet my time was cut short when trying to plan together the most effective way of using the new gift when many more earthquakes began happening.

Tens of more worms began appearing out of the sand near the first and while I was grateful that I wouldn't have to get swallowed again the number of worms shocked me.

When the ground stopped trembling I counted a total of fourteen other worms meaning that if I was to count the one I already killed there would be fifteen.

Looking down at the empty supply of Aether and winching at the pain in my legs I grew uncertain at the possibility of killing all of them.

Well, that was unless I went all out and revealed my true strength.

However, I didn't want to do that as that would reveal some of my capabilities to the shadows and when our inevitable fight began I wanted a few tricks up my sleeve.

It would be super easy to make use of Puppeteer and control the minds of the worms but if I did such a thing it would alert the shadows that there was something strange about me.

That was the last thing I wanted to happen thus I was left with two choices. Either risk my life to fight the monstrous worms or flee.

It wasn't a hard decision to make being that I wasn't in my prime condition.

Giving up on the worms I began moving in a way that I could manage to go around them without having to engage.

Fortunately, it seemed that the worms weren't highly intelligent because they continued to squirm about wiggling back and forth in the air.

If they were to ride on the sandy ground and come straight at me I would be in a lot of trouble but luckily that wasn't the case.

It took longer than I expected but a few hours later — mainly due to the detour — I arrived at the edge of the sand biome.

What stood before me was the place that I had been looking for the entire time… the swamp.

It was a murky, muddy terrain where most of the area was underwater except for a few small islands spread out.

Like all the other biomes the sand cut off perfectly from the dark water before me.

Eager to get out of the blazing sun and wash off the sand that was sticking to my body and beginning to cause rashes I immediately began to strip.

Tossing all my clothes into the spatial ring besides my underwear I pulled out the wetsuit I bought at the school's shop.

"Truly this will come in handy."

Yet before I put on the suit I jumped into the swampy waters to get rid of the accumulated sand.

Immediately the icy cold water felt refreshing after being in the hot heat for so long so I basked in it longer than I should have.

As I was thrashing about in the water I noticed some movement from one of the nearby islands.

Taking that as a cue I pulled myself up and crossed over the imaginary boundary to the sand region.

Now that I was washed and wet I quickly slipped into the wetsuit before preparing for the true mission.

Feeling the material snugly wrapped around my body while leaving enough space that my movement wasn't restricted a smile blossomed on my face.

'Maybe I should invest in a tracksuit, this tight feeling is perfect for not having to worry about ordinary clothes that stick out a bit further. Plus I imagine that I look really cool by having my muscles strained.'

Once again being grateful for my physique and appearance I deepened my smile before taking a running jump and entering the swampy water for the second time.

Unlike the first time, as soon as I made contact with the water I didn't experience a chilling feeling.

It felt like the ideal temperature as I knew the heating aspect of the suit was working overdrive to keep me from getting cold.

Getting accumulated with the dark water I swam back and forth for a few seconds to test my own stamina and abilities outside of land.

When I finally felt comfortable I began swimming in the direction of the closest island where I had previously seen some movement.