Law of Shadows

New Spell

Sam’s hands trembled as he held onto the spell scroll. He couldn’t tell if it was rage or joy...or just self-loathing. He hated that he was such a failure.

That he would never amount to anything.

" This is too much. . . . " His face was pale as he tried to push the scroll back, but his father just smiled and shook his head, refusing to accept it.

A lesser man might have become angry with him for rejecting a very expensive gift, but his father understood. He’d felt the same bitterness once.

" It will be fine, Sam, " his father said proudly, as he patted him on the shoulder. " Read that scroll and then let’s eat this wonderful cake your mother prepared! "

A burst of warmth spread through Sam’s chest as he let out a sigh, finally accepting what he couldn’t change.

He might be a failure, but at least he had his family.

The spell scroll crumbled to dust in his hands. The sigils on it flared into brilliance, forming a pattern in the air that sank into Sam’s forehead.

Congratulations! You have learned Aura Bolt!

A chime of experience flashed as a wave of power flowed into him. It was something he’d never felt before and amazement filled his mind. The ability to gain experience required a class, and that only happened when you turned eighteen.

It was only a small spell, but it had given him ten experience points just for learning it.

That announcement was followed immediately by another.

Congratulations! You have reached Level 1!

Your Status is now available to you.

A new notification popped up in front of him, drawing his attention towards a flashing icon that looked like a scroll.

Sam Winston

General Level: 1

Experience to Next: 15.

Class: Law of Shadows Level 0.

Sub-Class: None

Profession: None.

Race: Human

STR: 8

CON: 10

AGI: 9

WIS: 8

INT: 10

AUR: 10

CHA: 10

Spells: Aura Bolt.

Skills: None.

As soon as that screen appeared, another notification popped up.

Your life before receiving a class has been evaluated by the World Law. You have gained a Profession. Scholar, Level 1.

That was expected, as was its level. Professions couldn't be higher than your level. His family had always been well educated, and his father had made sure that their history as researchers had not gone to waste on him.

You Have Also Gained a Trait.

Defiant.

For just a moment, Sam’s hope shot upwards, as his eyes widened. It wasn’t everyone who could get a trait as soon as they got their class! Then he read the description.

Your desire to rebel against the World Law has marked you. This trait results in town guards, magistrates, and officials of Law regarding you with disdain. This trait grants you CHA - 2.

CHA: 8.

" Damn you! " Sam howled towards the sky as he read the trait. His hands clenched into fists. 

" Haha, it’s all right, son. " His father patted him on the back. "The old Defiant trait got you, eh? Don’t worry so much...no one out here cares about that. We’re too far from the cities for it to matter. Your grandfather had that trait too, and so do I. It comes with the territory."

" What? " Sam turned towards his father, his mouth dropping open in surprise. " You. . . "

" Don’t look so surprised, lad. We’ve been struggling with this class for a long time. Do you think I always accepted it so easily? No! " His father laughed as he patted him on the back again.

Before long, the birthday cake was finished and his father had taken him away for a father-son discussion, sharing more about the struggles of the Law of Shadows class.

" Your grandfather and I have always been trying to overcome the barrier of this class. Your grandfather actually created that spell hoping it would help us gain experience. He had two copies of it and they were the culmination of his life’s work. He used the first one himself, but it never helped him much. Perhaps he was too old by then. "

His father shook his head. " I have been saving that one as a way of easing the blow for you. I know how hard it is to suffer with a broken class. "

" He made this spell? " Sam’s eyes widened as he looked at his father for answers. This was something he’d never heard about.

" Yes, his profession was Arcane Scribe. It was his gift. " His father nodded in agreement. " Unfortunately, the materials to make spell scrolls are extremely expensive and finding a pattern for an unclassed spell like this one is even harder. Making those two scrolls was all he could do. "

His father grinned, his belly shaking as he patted Sam on the shoulder again. The two of them were sitting on some flat rocks a little way from the house.

" He always claimed that he based the spell on everything he could figure out about the class, but he never had any luck in making it work. I’ve been studying the same thing, but I never found a way to use the spell to unlock the class and gain experience in it. So, instead of wasting it on myself, I saved it for you. Maybe you’ll have better luck. "

" What do you mean?" Sam frowned. "How can the spell help gain class experience? "

" You know how classes work, right? I gave you a good education in that. " His father’s answer was a question that turned the subject back to him, as it often was. He wanted him to think it through.

" Class experience comes from class quests, sub-professions, and nearly anything that levels one of the class abilities...but our class doesn’t have an ability, because we’ve never been able to unlock it. That’s one of the reasons it’s broken. A class should have a clear path of progression, with abilities starting at the first level, but ours doesn’t. "

" Correct. " His father grinned. " So, what do you think your grandfather planned? "

Ideas raced through Sam’s mind as he tried to put the parts together.

" If we’re able to gain regular experience...we can still hunt beasts, get professions, and so on, but ...how do we break past the Level 10 barrier? We need to accomplish a class quest for that. "

" Correct again. " His father smiled in approval. " So, what’s the name and description of the class? "

" Law of Shadows. . . " Sam mumbled, as he accessed the class description that he already knew by heart. He hadn’t even bothered to look at it until now.

The Lawyer o Shadows is an ancient enchanter and smith who uses aura and essences from the elements, including rare ones like the sunset, aurora, or ocean light, to imbue items with rare and inexplicable properties. This class allows the user to become attuned to concepts beyond mortality. Seek out a battlefield and learn how to reclaim the artifacts of the past.

Then, for the first time, he saw something underneath the description.

Initial Class Quest (Unique to Battlefield Reclaimer): Reclaim an Aura.

Required to Unlock Class Abilities and Gain Class Experience.

Normally, a quest would have a description along with it, but this one didn’t. It was as if the system thought it was self-explanatory. That sort of thing was why it was a broken class.

" What...? " He wondered as he looked at the quest.

He was a smart fellow, and the connection between " Reclaim an Aura " and the Aura Bolt spell his father had given him was obvious. He just wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with it or how he could possibly "reclaim" an aura.

It was part of the title of the class, sure, but...what did that even mean?

Apparently, his grandfather had never managed to pass this step, and he’d known far more about Aura than Sam did. He’d even been able to create a spell based on it.

" Now you see, " his father laughed. " That’s the key we’ve all been chasing. Since you’re an adult now, I won’t hold back from swearing a bit. Feel free to ask me, ‘What the hell does that mean?’ And I’ll tell you that your guess is as good as mine. Neither your grandfather nor I ever figured it out. Hopefully, you have better luck. "

His father patted him on the shoulder again as he stood up from the rock, groaning slightly as he stretched his back.

" Meet me here tomorrow and I’ll take you to the ruin I’ve been exploring. It’s ancient, something from before the World Law was broken, if you believe the superstitions. Perhaps it can give you a hint. "

With that, his father headed back into the house.

Sam’s thoughts were tumbling like mad through his mind as he tried to sort out the information he’d just learned with the class quest, guessing wildly at what it could mean.

But...his father and grandfather had spent their entire lives on this quest. How could he possibly figure it out?

His eye was drawn to his status sheet again as he pulled it up, glancing towards the bottom where the cursed trait was visible.

"Defiant, am I?" He swore at it. "I’ll show you defiant." 

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