Lord Shadow-Chapter 36: Encounter

NAME LORD SHADOW GENDER MALE

LEVEL 39 CLASS SHADOW LORD

RACE NOVUS SAPIEN FAME 1000

CURRENCY

50574 GOLD

70379 SILVER

92756 COPPER

SKILL POINTS 15 PILLARS 08

PILLARS

APPRENTICE PILLAR OF STRENGTH

ARTISAN PILLAR OF AGILITY

APPRENTICE PILLAR OF STAMINA

APPRENTICE PILLARS OF ENDURANCE

PILLARS OF SPIRIT

PILLARS OF STEALTH

PILLAR OF DARKNESS

APPRENTICE PILLAR OF HEALTH

NORMAL SKILL

BODY FORTIFICATION[01]

PRECISION [01]

PERCEPTION [01]

DIVINE SENSE [05]

FEAR AURA [04]

EYE OF NIGHT [01]

MINOR TELEKINESIS [01]

WATER MANIPULATION [01]

BEAST TAMER [02]

HEAL [01]

SLASHING WIND [01]

ENERGY FIST [01]

INHERENT SKILL SKILL LEVEL

SHADOW TELEPORTATION 01

UNIQUE SKILL SKILL LEVEL

SCALE BODY TECHNIQUE –

RACE SKILLS

[LEVEL REPRESSION UNLOCKED]

[RACE SUPERIORITY UNLOCKED]

LIFE SKILLS

NOVICE SWIMMING

NOVICE UNDERWATER BREATHING

NOVICE DIVING

EQUIPPED ITEMS

BAG OF HOLDING

PILLS

PILL OF STRENGTH,

PILL OF EXPLOSION,

PILL OF EXPERIENCE

PILL OF HASTE.

RINGS

STORAGE RING

RING OF MINIMAL STRENGTH.

RING OF MINIMAL STRENGTH.

RING OF DARK SPIRIT.

RING OF SPEED

SHADOW LORD ITEMS

HOOD OF SHADOW LORD

VAMBRACES OF SHADOW LORD

CLOTHES OF SHADOW LORD

TROUSER OF SHADOW LORD

SHADOW LORD BOOTS

BLACK SASH

BLACK GLOVES

WEAPONS

HIDDEN BLADE OF SHADOW LORD

DARK SWORD OF SOULS

Azief is looking at his status windows.

He still has 15 skill points.

‘Hmm’ he said.

He still does not want to use it. It’s too important he mused. Shaking his head, he once again reaffirmed that skill points is too precious to just level up anything he wants without thinking too much.

This skill points must not be used haphazardly. He has other plans for this 15 skill points. Lord Shadow true form.

That is what he is saving these skill points for.

When he defeated the monster in the elementary school he will truly be a Chosen.

When that happens he will use this 15 skill points to complement his Shadow Lord class. Most of his skill right now does not complement very well with his class.

Even the unique skill is for a berserker or warrior. But that doenst eman the technique he has is not powerful.

But he knows that since there is class in the system, if you level up your own class skill, the potential for growth would be endless.

Since skill could evolve, Azief is sure that Lord Shadow skill could evolve to higher realm and that is what he is hoping.

He then looks at another table in his status window. Then he smiles .Looking at the currency table he could see his gold. Smiling and grinning like an idiot.

He is fucking rich!

He has 50574 gold, 70379 silver, 92756 copper. With 50 thousand gold he could buy 2 Pillar forming pills but he decided not to.

One hundred silver is equivalent to one gold and 100 silver is equivalent to one silver.

(Pillars cost 100 thousand gold but Pillar Forming pill cost half because the chance of failure exist. Explaining this so people will not be confused with the two since I mentioned in previous chapter that pillar is 100 thousand gold.)

So, right now he is browsing the Shop.

He then began buying life skills like mad. He began buying all life skill he could use or would use or anything that caught his fancy.

In the world right now, he is the only one who has the most life skills….and has gold to waste like there is no tomorrow.

After that he eats the pill of experience, pill of strength increasing his own pillar height but not by much.

He then began buying weapons for Sofia. A superior Grade bow and 100 Silver arrows. Then he began buying things in the miscellaneous section.

He buys a few books. Paradise Lost by John Milton, all Harry Potter collection, Percy Jackson collection and George RR Martin, A Song of Ice and Fire.

Thinking about it he really hoped that GRR Martin survive the Fall. Seriously, he really hoped that he survives.

He didn’t even get the chance to read the next book after Dance of Dragons. He also bought Domaine De La Romanee-Conti Romanee, an expensive wine that cost him 1000 gold.

It better be good. To be honest, he never drinks any alcohol and he never wanted to drink alcohol. And he is not about to start.

Then why buy it?

He has his reason. He bought this and a 30 year old Bordeaux.

By now all of his silver and copper is gone leaving only his gold. And he is still fricking rich. For now, he got so many life skills that it is almost ridiculous.

He also has poison maker skill and bought three most poisonous thing he could think of. He bought golden dart poison, cone snail sting and blue ringed octopus poison.

All deadly, each has its own purposes. The he checked his status windows again.

NAME LORD SHADOW GENDER MALE

LEVEL 39 CLASS SHADOW LORD

RACE NOVUS SAPIEN FAME 1000

CURRENCY

50574 GOLD

0 SILVER

0 COPPER

SKILL POINTS 15 PILLARS 08

PILLARS

APPRENTICE PILLAR OF STRENGTH

ARTISAN PILLAR OF AGILITY

APPRENTICE PILLAR OF STAMINA

APPRENTICE PILLARS OF ENDURANCE

PILLARS OF SPIRIT

PILLARS OF STEALTH

PILLAR OF DARKNESS

APPRENTICE PILLAR OF HEALTH

NORMAL SKILL

BODY FORTIFICATION[01]

PRECISION [01]

PERCEPTION [01]

DIVINE SENSE [05]

FEAR AURA [04]

EYE OF NIGHT [01]

MINOR TELEKINESIS [01]

WATER MANIPULATION [01]

BEAST TAMER [02]

HEAL [01]

SLASHING WIND [01]

ENERGY FIST [01]

INHERENT SKILL SKILL LEVEL

SHADOW TELEPORTATION 01

UNIQUE SKILL SKILL LEVEL

SCALE BODY TECHNIQUE –

RACE SKILLS

[LEVEL REPRESSION UNLOCKED]

[RACE SUPERIORITY UNLOCKED]

LIFE SKILLS

NOVICE SWIMMING

NOVICE UNDERWATER BREATHING

NOVICE DIVING

NOVICE HERBALISM

NOVICE COOKING

NOVICE THROWER

NOVICE DRAWING SWORD

NOVICE BLACKSMITHING

NOVICE SPEED READING

NOVICE ATHLETICS

NOVICE ROWING

NOVICE COFFEE MAKING

NOVICE RIDING

NOVICE CRAFTING

NOVICE SCULPTURING

NOVICE FARMING

NOVICE GUITAR PLAYING

NOVICE ARCHERY

NOVICE RIDING ARCHERY

NOVICE TRACKING

NOVICE WOUND TREATMENT

NOVICE BANDAGING

NOVICE FIRST AID TREATMENT

NOVICE PERSUASION

NOVICE BARGAINING

NOVICE TRADE

NOVICE RAFT BUILDING

NOVICE SHIP BUILDING

NOVICE HOUSE BUILDING

NOVICE TENT BUILDING

NOVICE POISON MAKER

NOVICE PILL MAKING

ITEMS

PARADISE LOST

GUITAR

A LARGE WOOD

AN MP3 PLAYER

BATTERY

2 KILOGRAM OF BEEF

HARRY POTTER COLLECTION

PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIAN

HOW TO SURVIVE IN AN APOCALYPTIC WORLD

SURVIVING THE WILDERNESS FOR DUMMIES

A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE COLLECTION

A 30 YEARS OLD BORDEAUX WINE

GOLDEN DART POISON

CONE SNAIL STING

BLUE RINGED OCTOPUS POISON

DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE-CONTI ROMANEE

EQUIPPED ITEMS

BAG OF HOLDING

BAG OF LARGE HOLDING

PILLS

PILL OF EXPLOSION,

PILL OF HASTE

RINGS

STORAGE RING

RING OF MINIMAL STRENGTH.

RING OF MINIMAL STRENGTH.

RING OF DARK SPIRIT.

RING OF SPEED

SHADOW LORD ITEMS

HOOD OF SHADOW LORD

VAMBRACES OF SHADOW LORD

CLOTHES OF SHADOW LORD

TROUSER OF SHADOW LORD

SHADOW LORD BOOTS

BLACK SASH

BLACK GLOVES

WEAPONS

HIDDEN BLADE OF SHADOW LORD

DARK SWORD OF SOULS

(I hope you all checked his skill so that you won’t feel lost when he does something so skillfully and you do not know how he does it. And you could see he also take coffee making skill.LS really likes his coffee.) f𝑟e𝒆𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗oѵ𝐞𝗹.c૦𝑚

He nodded. The rest of the gold will be for insurance. For now it is enough. Or to be honest, he doesn’t know what to do with the gold.

There is many other skills but he doesn’t want to buy haphazardly.

With this many life skill, he doesn’t think that he would be in any disadvantage so for now, not knowing what to do, it is better to do nothing.

Trying to think to hard may complicate a situation.

If he has any ideas later what to with his gold he will do it. For now, he will focus on other stuff.

Then from afar he could hear Sofia screams of excitement.

By now she must have cleared the apes right? he mused. So he got up from his seat and he rushed to Sofia position.

When he evolved his speed has gone to a new level. 100 meters in 12 seconds. That is the world record.

He could move 100 meters in 4 seconds. That is barely human anymore. If he evolves once more, one could only imagine his speed.

He then arrived at Sofia positions. He could see the land was riddled by bullets and Sofia is collecting her loots.

Most of the ape has holes in their body. Badge is gathering the ape meat to one place. Then when he finishes piling up all the meat, Sofia store sit all on her bag of holding.

You’re done? He asked.

She nodded.

‘Let’s go then.’ He said.

‘You finished checking?’ she asked. She notices that Azief checks his windows before which means he bought something on the World Shop.

She wanted to buy stuff too but she needs to level up to level 30 before the World Shop si open for her.

Of course she could always ask him to buy stuff for her but the stuff she wanted to buy is not the stuff she wanted him to see or buy for her.

A few days from now, it will be that kind of month for her, so she is desperately wanted to buy wings so she would not be too moody or crazy.

Though maybe the potions will help her with the cramp or maybe the evolution will eliminate entirely her period.

Maybe if she evolved she doesn’t have to deal with things like that. Of course this kind of train of thought did not occur for Azief.

His priority is survival and Sofia initially thought the same things too. But since they are getting stronger and getting time to take a breath, they both began to cling to signs of normalcy.

After all if it was before, would Azief bought the skill coffee making? Or coffee packets? Worrying about spices and cooking?

No. But now when they could cling to what seems normal, they desperately wanted to maintain that.

So she asked.

‘What did you buy?’

‘Some skills’ he said nonchalantly as he walked forward. Sofia follows him from behind, Badge following her.

‘What skills?’ she is curios what kind of skill he bought

‘Why do you have so many questions?’ He asked. They are nearing the field.

‘Can’t I ask a few questions?’

‘Not now. We are already behind schedule here.’

‘Hmph’ she chuckles.

‘Schedules? What schedules? What are your plans?’

‘Can’t you just follow me? Trust me’ He said as he move closer to the field. The huge tree provides shades as the evening began to sets in.

Sofia stopped her feet, standing, glaring at the his back and he notices. So he stopped too and he looked back, looking at the annoyed expression on Sofia face

‘What?’ he asked. Then sighing Sofia said

‘You and me. Against the world’ she said.

‘Yes’ he replies, looking straight at her face.

‘That means we’re equal right?’ She asked.

‘Yes’ he said, though he is feeling a little bit strange hearing her question. The evening wind is cooling and now that the world changes it also brings you a feeling of calmness.

The wind fluttered his black robe but his face like always is covered by the shadow of his hood.

Sofia doesn’t like that. She could see her face, her expression but she could not see his. Not the same way he could see hers.

Sometimes she could feel like he is seeing through her, peering right through her soul. Combined that with his black attires, sometimes he emitted an aura of unapproachability

His face, his expression always eludes her. She doesn’t know if he is angry, smiling or happy.

While it helps fostering fear in the heart of his enemies, it also makes it harder for people to be close to him.

Sofia doesn’t like that at all.

‘What are you trying to say, Sofia?’

‘Trust is not a one way street. I’m not your baggage, Azief. I’m not some kind of damsel in distress. Not anymore. I have enough strength to protect myself now.’

‘Do you want to leave me?’ Azief said calmly as he approached her. He doesn’t even know what he did wrong.

Woman are really unpredictable. Just a few hours ago they were teasing each other, now suddenly the atmosphere turn hostile.

‘No, I’m not leaving you. And I know, you’re not going to leave me.’ She truly believed this. If Azief could even stake his life for her, then that’s surely means he appreciates whatever they have right now.

‘So, what is the problem?’

‘Your plans. You said to trust you. Why didn’t you trust me with your plan? Always one part of the story, not all. I felt that I’m left out. Like I’m some kind of girl you need to protect. And I don’t like that.’

‘I will explain la-‘He was about to say but she cut his word short

‘I will explain later. I will tell you later. Next time. These are the words you said when it really means you will not tell me about it. You didn’t tell me that you decided to fight with the Imperator. You almost lose your life back then. What do you think I would feel if you die there? When we met for the first time, and I join you, you did not inform me of anything you wanted to do. Always, one part of the story’ she said calmly.

There is no anger in her voice. She just wanted him to understand. She wanted for him to look at her as equals.

Of course level wise they are not equals. Even their power is vastly different. But she wanted to say to him, she is not his burden.

She is his partner. He could rely on her. She got his back. This is what she is trying to convey.

Azief on the other hand began understanding what she is trying to convey to him and he thinks hard what to say and react. He didn’t think that bothers her so much.

Looking at her, he asked

‘So….that bothers you?’

‘It does’ she said. Azief smiles a little.

‘I never think of you as a burden’ He began saying

‘I think of you as a friend. The reason why I didn’t tell you my whole plan, is because most of the time, I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. Most of the time, I just go with the flow, trying to make the best of the situations.’ He confesses.

He is not some master strategist or some genius. He is just a normal person before the fall with little money an unimportant person in the world.

But when he level up, forced by the circumstances at hand, he thrives. He perseveres. He endures.

And with that confidence he charges forward. When he was with Sofia, Sofia was a rookie, so weak at the time.

Most of the time then, he pretends like he has a plan…not to make her admire him or to woo her or something like that, but to make her calm.

Nobody likes following a person who is always in fear of something and a person who has no plans at all.

All he got then was his confidence. His confidence calms her during their brief meeting in Temerloh at the time.

And that creates the illusion that he always have a plan when most of the time he doesn’t have any clue on what he is doing.

Hearing this Sofia then asked, stuttering.

‘But…you…you always seem to have a plan?’ She said puzzled.

When she was following him, she always admired the fact that he is always calm and collected, always having a plan, a next move.

He smiles bitterly and said

‘I’m flattered really but I’m not that awesome. Most of the time, I just think of my move on the spot. Sometimes, I’m uncertain of what path we really should go on. I persuade you to come with me. To join me. And in a way when you were attacked by the Imperator, I …felt responsible. If you die, it will be my fault. That is what I think when I saw the beast emerges from the river. And before I knew it, I was there on the back of a gigantic crocodile. I didn’t even regret delaying that monster.’ He said

Sofia still couldn’t see his face….but she could hear the trembling in his voice.

‘Sofia…’and he comes closer, and he looks at her and for a few seconds there is only the silence and the wind rustling and Sofia could swear she could see a smirk on the edge of his lips.

‘Sofia, you are a strong woman. You know how I know? I see it every day. I see it in the way you act. Not many people would dive into that river and save me. Your mother’ and hearing the word mother make Sofia expression turned hard but Azief continues

‘You lost your mother….yet you endure. You persevere. You endure. You did not let despair consume you. And that takes strength. And I’m sorry. If you feel like I’m treating you like you’re my burden, then…I’m sorry. Next time, I’ll consult you.’ And he smiles a bit and he said

‘You and me against the world, huh? I didn’t think you remember.’

Sofia looked at him and she looks satisfied. As long as he understand, she mused

‘Fine, I said my piece’ she said and it’s like there is a huge burden lifted off her shoulder. Seeing this, Azief realizes that she must be thinking about this a lot.

‘Can we move now?’ he ask smiling.

‘Lead the way’ she said and they began walking again through the forest leisurely.

And they continues their journey again, lightheartedly. Both of them has told each other what they wanted and knowing each other stance, each other desires, they began understanding each other and knowing this, they feel a little bit closer.

***

Not far from them, a woman and a guy is observing the duo with watchful eyes. Their gaze is very penetrating.

‘What should we do?’ The man said.

‘Maybe it’s better to join them’ the woman said.

‘That man is powerful….but the General is terrifying’ the man said. They looked before as the man kills ape like the ape was ant, steeping on it as he pleases.

But they also sees what happens to those who defied the General. For a few days they maintained a look out for other people near the area.

‘The General is in KL. We must keep the mission objective’ the man said. The woman look at the duo with killing intent but she also doesn’t know what she should do.

‘I know. We need to be careful’ she said and once again they disappear into the shadow.

***