Unspeakable Things

"Is that it?"

...

Rhasta frowns, "What do you mean? I just showed you. Are you not impressed!?" the Shadow Shaman exclaims, clearly surprised by Michael's indifference.

Michael shrugs, "I mean, compared to everything else, it's kinda weak, don't you think?" he says, knowing he could probably cause the same damage with a Gandalfr enhanced kick...? No, probably not, but many with like ten more points in strength? Still, Ether Shock would easily do that much damage and more.

Rhasta shakes his head, "Clearly you don't understand the spell. It multiplies the strength of one attack. I created it when I was younger and dreaming of becoming a warrior," he shakes his head with mirth, "It is useless for me now, I am too weak to run faster than a jog, but for you? It could be very impressive!"

Michael slowly nods, understanding the utility of the spell. Still, from what he saw, Rhasta had needed to use his Serpent Ward to actually cast it. "And I can learn it, right? Without needing a Contracted Spirit?"

Rhasta goes to speak but trails off, "Ah, no... To use it you would probably have to summon my Serpents... Still, our deal was one spell! This is that, and you will learn or not! Either way, you will now do what I say with your mouth firmly closed!"

...

Michael lets out a sigh, "Fine. But I'll get you back for this, old man." he grouses, but still sits down before Rhasta to start learning how to cast it.

Flashback end :

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Michael grimaces as he recalls those training sessions... Rhasta had thought it sensible for him to know what it felt like to be hit by the spell, said he was teaching his body the 'feel' of it. Michael was sure the old man was just taking out his frustration at his inability to instantly learn the spell though.

Still, he'd eventually managed it, and the new spell had even become visible in the Book of Heroes, which was kinda surprising if he were honest.

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Spirit : Shadow Shaman

Level : MAX

Abilities :

Carnival Tricks (Rank 4) : Allows user to form ephemeral shapes, creatures, and patterns to amuse, distract, or frighten.

Ether Shock (Rank 4) : Casts a cone of ethereal energy that strikes multiple enemies.

Hex (Rank 4) : Temporarily transforms the target into a harmless chicken.

Shackle (Rank 4) : Magically binds an enemy in ethereal threads while also dealing damage throughout the duration

Serpent Wards (Rank 3) : Summons multiple Serpent Wards to attack any nearby enemies.

Ether Strike (Rank 1) : Uses a Contracted Spirit to enhance a single strike. Damage is multiplied depending on the mana used and the base strength of the attack itself.

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Apprently, spells, skills, and abilities taught by his Spirits would appear under whoever had taught it. Thus his Ether Strike spell coming under the category of his Shadow Shaman spirit.

The spell was useful, though, he hadn't actually cast it outside of Rhasta's realm. There were a few problems he'd found with it though... The first being that he couldn't use Mana Break with it, as the Mana Break effect would dissipate the mana gathered by the Contracted Spirit, in his case, the Serpent Spirit he'd borrowed from Rhasta.

Still, with his Gandalfr Runes active and using his full strength, he was able to obliterate a hardwood tree thicker than three men's waists. He'd had to borrow one of Rhasta's Spirits for it, but the damage was well worth the cost.

His training with Riki was steadily progressing too, but his most difficult sessions came whenever he challenged Slark. And boy, that fish could pack a punch. Unlike Rhasta who could obliterate him with magic, or Riki who'd slit your throat without you even noticing, Slark was a beast at brawling.

His abilities made him able to take huge amounts of damage and easily recover(Not that Michael had ever gotten him to that point), and his speed made it difficult to even keep an eye on him, let alone actually hit him.

Usually, their fights lasted around ten seconds? Depending on how long Slark wanted to taunt him. Something Michael was able to evade a couple strikes before being shredded to ribbons. Still, despite how painful it could be, it was good experience, and he was steadily learning how to counter the annoying fish prick.

Michael shakes his head, concentrating on the task at hand. Tiffania was finally confident enough to actually attempt the Teleportation Gate spell. She was attempting to open a door connecting two sides of the small clearing, and boy, was the chant to actually cast this spell fuckin' long!

A minute of chanting later, Tiffania swipes her hands in opposite directions, causing a black rift in reality to open up. It was around 8ft, and 4ft wide, another identical door opened on the other side of the clearing, but Michael wasn't able to see through to the other side of the door, as if something was blocking it.

An ominous black mist slowly started leaking from it, and visible black ripples seemed to echo from it, turning the nearby grass and other foliage black as they began to rot... No, not rot, mutate.

"Shut it off, Tiff! I don't know what it's doing, but it can't be good!" he quickly says, not wanting to bring a zombie apocalypse to this world... At least, not before he left.

Tiffania nods and points her wand at the door, but it doesn't close at her command, forcing her to start chanting another spell specifically designed for this situation... Apparently, Brimir too had issues when he created this particular spell.

*Ssssshhhhoooooooo*

The sound of whistling wind echoes around the clearing, but there wasn't even a small breeze blowing past... A pure black limb, dripping with ooze-like liquid begins to extract itself from the door and Michael jumps into action, slamming Derflinger down at it despite the sword's protests.

*Shuuu!*

Only for a strange sensation to occur... His blade passes through the arm as if it were liquid, and once it did, it felt like gravity was forcing his blade out of it, shooting Derflinger out of the creature's flesh.

Fortunately, Tiffania had finally completed her spell, causing the door to instantly slam shut, cutting the arm off and causing it to squirm around as it bled black blood. Strangely, its blood acted as if gravity were reversed, causing it to fly up to the sky... The eventually bled out entirely, leaving its black husk lying on the grass, still somehow causing nearby plantlife to rot.

Michael glances at Tiffania with apprehension, "Er, I think you need a bit more practise... Okay?"

Tiffania just nods, still staring at the arm in disgust and mild curiosity.

With that, Michael carefully stored the arm in his inventory, and promptly tried to forget about it, not wishing to contemplate what horrors existed between worlds... He could only hope that Tiffania wouldn't summon Cthulu with her next Teleportation Gate... Hopefully.