The first thing Fang felt was cold earth.
Fang blinked awake.
He felt stronger, sharper, and a tad... Lighter?
Pushing himself up from the forest floor, he caught sight of his reflection in a puddle of mud and water and froze. "Is that... me?" he whispered.
Staring back at him was a young man, around 1.86 meters. His once terrible skin was now pale.
His ears stretched to elegant points, and his golden eyes shined like the sun.
Fang ran a hand through his tangled hair, feeling the greasy strands.
Asu loomed over him, arms crossed, his face a warm collection of electricity. "How do you feel?"
"Different," Fang replied, his voice deeper than he remembered. "Stronger.
It feels like I don't fit in my own skin."
Asu nodded, seemingly uninterested in his answer. "It'll pass. Your body is adapting."
Fang hesitated, still staring at his reflection.
"How did we get here?"
"A simple spell. Nothing worth explaining," Asu muttered, glancing toward the bushes, his expression tightening.
Fang followed his gaze. "Is something there?"
"Nothing to worry about." Asu forced a half-smile, though his eyes stayed locked on the undergrowth. "We don't have time for distractions."
Fang swallowed his curiosity and nodded. "What now?"
"You need to survive. Either Learn to hunt or grow your own food. Strength comes before knowledge, and you are far from strong."
Fang tilted his head and scratched his cheek. "Shouldn't I learn magic then?"
Asu kept his eyes on the undergrowth, and answered Fang's question monotonously.
"Normally, I would be against it but maybe it would be beneficial."
Asu conjured a lightning bolt that scorched the ground, writing symbols and shapes.
Twelve symbols forming a perfect ring.
"Magic in this world follows the natures of the twelve gods,"
Asu explained. "Each god's blessing makes your magic work as intended."
Fang tilted his head. "Why allow mortals to use it?"
Asu sighed, as if the very essence of the question pained him.
"It is a story for another time."
"Your power comes from your nature and the mana you can circulate. In theory, your potential is limitless, but your lifespan is not. As an elf, though, you have time on your side. You're lucky that the elves are my creation."
"An elf?" Fang asked, confused.
Asu sighed. "Pointed ears. Immortal youth. Nature affinity. Surely you've read about them."
Fang shook his head. "Never heard of them."
Asu huffed in annoyance. "Listen, Elves can live over a century and beyond as the mana they possess increases.
They can and will live far longer than the fragile humans.
You'll fit in better here, but don't expect a warm welcome. You're a chosen one. In the eyes of the kingdom, you're a natural disaster.'
Fang furrowed his brow, asking loudly: "Do they realise Im only 13?"
"Chosen ones hold power destined to change the world, it doesn't always benefit the kingdoms. They are fearful, and they should be."
Fang clenched his fists. "I don't feel powerful."
"Not yet. That's the problem," Asu muttered.
"Your survival depends on mastering your nature. Now, concentrate. try to feel your mana, try to bring it to your palms."
Fang did as instructed, closing his eyes and focusing inward.
It took him a couple of minutes, but her felt a certain power inside of him, akin to the feeling of a good morning stretch.
A chill crept over his hands, and when he opened his eyes, ice layers coated his palms.
"Frost," Asu remarked. "You have Jin's blessing, frost magic."
Then his eyes widened, noticing a faint purple aura enveloping the ice. Asu's expression darkened.
"No... Osborne too? You're a dual-natured boy, what a talent.
But Frost and death? how unfortunate."
Fang swallowed hard. "Death… Death magic?"
"why is it unfortunate?"
Asu grimaced.
"While my brother and I don't get along well, the reason for my concern is the fact you're dual natured."
Fang looked at Asu with innocent eyes, and wondered out loud.
"Why is it a concern, is it dangerous?"
"Very Dangerous. If your powers conflict, your mana system will collapse. Dual natures are something only experienced mages can handle.
We must seal one of your powers."
Fang glanced at his hands, fear clawing at his chest. "Which one? I think that frost will be useful for combat, but Death magic sounds very dangerous if I can learn it."
Asu hesitated. "Frost would be safer, but necromancy will fit you better.
Having the Power to combat the force of life itself is scary enough to scare unwanted visitors.
But, it's your decision."
Taking a deep breath, Fang whispered, "Seal frost. I'll need power to survive, but a good deterrent will be more useful till I get stronger."
Asu nodded. "Wise. Prepare yourself."
A chill settled in the air as Asu formed a new circle.
Half a kilometer away, a pair of elves crouched in the underbrush, eyes wide as they watched the ritual unfold.
"We must report this to Hoshimura," one whispered.
The other nodded.
"Send for the royal hunters. We'll keep watch until they arrive."
Fang felt his entire body grow numb as the frost energy was pulled from his veins and sealed away. He gasped for air, but slowly the cold faded, replaced by a simmering heat that spread through his core.
Asu placed his hand on Fang's shoulder, and felt his power affinities.
Seeing his frost nature sealed correctly, he smiled.
"You chose strength over safety," Asu said quietly. "Remember that choice. It will define you."
Fang nodded, determination in his gaze. "I hope I won't regret it."
Asu smirked faintly. "Good. Now, survive. Learn to wield death when you have free time, in the meantime get to a safe place."
Fang furrowed his brows, glancing at his hands. "But how? I don't even know where to start, especially with magic."
"Feel your mana.
Focus and meditate on it as much as possible.
Your mana levels are measured, and you can view them on command by saying "show mana."
Fang was confused. "Show mana?".
Before he had time to react, he fell backwards when a weird number appeared before him.
{Mana: 99/140}
"Good, this is your current mana level. Quite standard for an elf.
Each time you use your spells and meditate, your mana rises and your powers too.
Now, I might not have any knowledge on death mana, but I can impart some knowledge on extracting pure nature mana."
Asu put his hand on Fang's forehead, and a light shone from his fingers.
Fang closed his eyes, and he felt like a new person when it was over.
"What was that? I feel like I can connect this mana to reality, I can't describe it…"
Asu smiled cockily, and looked at Fang from above.
"I gifted you knowledge. This is the most basic form of magic, which is nature manipulation.
With this new knowledge, you gained access to the most basic spell in the death school of magic."
Fang's eyes sparkled, and the new power was coursing through his veins.
"learn to shape them into tendrils, as their main effect would be weakening the soul and life energy of the target.
For now, Practice on small things.
birds, beasts, or insects. But don't you dare claim a man's soul, as it is very VERY dangerous and highly technical.
Don't try it untill you're certain you can control it."
A shiver crawled up Fang's spine. "And if I can't control it?"
Asu's gaze hardened. "Then you'll become crazed. You'll lose your mind, your body will feel the loss of mana and will seek more until there isn't any."
While Fang looked mortified, Asu smiled.
"So don't."
With that, Asu vanished in a burst of lightning, leaving Fang to process the weight of his powers and the dangerous future ahead.
Fang took a shaky breath, the echoes of Asu's warning still ringing in his ears. Control myself... or be consumed. He stared at his hands, where faint wisps of dark energy curled from his fingertips before dissipating like smoke.
"Death magic..." he whispered. The idea of raising corpses sent a chill down his spine, but there was no backing out now. He needed strength, and this was the path he'd chosen.
His stomach growled, reminding him that power meant nothing if he starved to death first. Sighing, he looked around the forest, trying to focus on something less terrifying than necromancy.
Birds chirped overhead, oblivious to the turmoil in his mind, and the rustling leaves were loud enough to snap him out of it.
Truly a heck of a day he was having.
"Alright... hunting," he muttered. Asu's vague advice echoed in his thoughts. Learn to hunt. Grow your own food.
Easier said than done.
He searched the ground for anything that could serve as a weapon.
A sharp Rock, maybe a big spiky Branch.
but his mind kept wandering back to his newfound powers. Maybe he could use magic to kill something small...
Hesitating, he knelt down and pressed his palm against the earth.
"Focus," he whispered.
His hand grew cold, and shadows pooled beneath his fingers, forming ropes of death, but they fizzled out in a moment.
Fang tried it again and again, but nothing worked.
He took a moment to breath as he felt a little light headed.
As he rested, A faint sound caught his attention.
A rabbit, cautiously sniffing the air only 20 meters from him in a bush.
Fang tried once more and willed the shadows to ambush the rabbit from all sides.
as the tendrils reached the rabbit, they suddenly dissipated and Fang felt a light headache.
"What was that? By the gods, I need to lie down."
He sat down, his back against a large rock.
His mind was drowning, and he took a small nap.
After a long hour, he heard the birds chirping above him, but what really surprised him was a rabbit hopping in front of him.
The rabbit hopped away as Fang steadied his breath.
"I need to eat, and I need to eat now."
Since the rabbit stopped hopping in plain sight, Fang mustered all of his mana into his right hand and shot a single tendril of purple smoke at his new prey.
'Maybe if I try to use only one tendril at a time, it will work better?'
The tendril slithered quickly and latched onto its leg, holding it in place with almost no resistance.
Breathing heavily, Fang felt his mana draining the Rabbit's life force. He wanted to feel pity, but he couldn't.
Survival outweighed pity.
He squeezed his hand into a fist, and the tendril crawled all over its body, tightening, crushing the rabbit's neck with a faint squeal. The lifeless body dropped to the ground, and the shadows dispersed, leaving Fang alone with the corpse.
"This is food. Nothing more."
So Fang picked the rabbit and thought on how to butcher it.
But remembered he knows nothing of the sort.
"Now what? I don't have a knife or anything like that, much less the knowledge to light a fire."
He muttered under his breath, cursing his lack of foresight.
"Fire... right." He glanced around, spotting a pile of dry leaves and some twigs. He knew that rubbing sticks together made fire.
at least in theory. With a sigh, he gathered a few sticks, exposing the dry wood underneath. He made a small pile, arranging the leaves as a small hill.
After a few frustrating minutes of clumsily rubbing sticks together, he stopped, glaring at the pile. Nothing but splinters and sore hands. "Damn it... this isn't working."
He looked at his hands, remembering the faint wisps of death energy earlier. Could he use that? He wasn't sure how it would work, but it wasn't like he had other options.
Fang focused, summoning the same feeling he had when casting his only spell.
Darkness pooled around his fingers, but he hesitated.
He grabbed two sturdy sticks and held them in place with his right hand.
Concentrating, he formed two thin tendrils from his fingertips, almost like spectral fingers. With a determined breath, he wrapped the tendrils around the sticks and began to rub them together rapidly.
At first, the movement was clumsy and uneven. The tendrils wavered as if uncertain, but Fang gritted his teeth and forced more mana into them. The speed increased, and the friction built up until thin tendrils of smoke curled up from the leaves. His tendrils moved faster and faster, the sticks heating up until a faint glow appeared between them.
Suddenly, a tiny flame sparked to life. Fang quickly blew on it, nurturing the fragile ember until it caught on the dry leaves.
The smell of ash and smoke reminded him of his demise, but this smell now rewards him with food.
A grin broke through his usual stoic expression as the fire finally took hold.
"Incredible," he muttered triumphantly.