New Skill

As seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours, Riven fell into an almost trance-like state. 

His body was being broken down and reconstructed, reshaped to perfectly align with his new skill. Meanwhile, his mind latched onto the torrent of information flooding into it, absorbing it with unwavering focus.

The runes that made up this magic circle reminded him of the ones he saw in a Viking movie in his past life. They varied in shape and size and linked together differently in each of the patterns that made up the magic circles. 

Was it a language? Did each of the runes make up a word? Or a letter?

"Argh!" Riven grunted as a searing pain began to bloom in his chest where his mana heart was located.

[[ Downloading the Skill Book: The Seven Trials of Ignis, first trial.

60%… Time remaining: 10 hours 30 minutes 59 seconds ]]

The hum of mana in the room intensified, accompanied by a mounting, unseen pressure.

"The mana is increasing - hold strong Ember!" The Count said as Embers hands began to tremble under the weight of the pressure.

As the skill continued to download into his mind, he could see the inner mechanics of the fire ball and how it was used. It was incredible - just how on earth would he have learned this without the help of the system?

The hours trickled by and Riven began to feel a pressure building inside of his body. The Mana surrounding them continued to build and a groaning noise could be heard.

"He's nearing a breakthrough! My god, it's only been a day!" The Count exclaimed as stood up on his feet. "I don't know if I can fully handle the backlash of the mana - evacuate the manor! You too Ember!"

"Father I can help!" Ember cried as she struggled to stand, her face twisting as she tried to keep the magic circle stable in front of her.

"Go and make sure you and your mother are safely away - now! This is an order!" The count shouted and Ember whimpered before dropping her hand and running from the room.

"All is well soon, don't worry about anything else and concentrate!" The count shouted at Riven. He casted another magical circle beside the one he formed before and it caused the bubble around Riven to grow thicker.

[[ Downloading the Skill Book: The Seven Trials of Ignis, first trial.

90%… Time remaining: 30 minutes 59 seconds ]] 

The pressure was building near his mana heart and it felt as if his ribcage was about to crack open. A whooshing sound filled the room and Riven could almost see the glow of the dense mana that began to spiral towards him.

"Arghhh!" Riven screamed as a blinding light began to burst from his chest.

"Yes! Ha ha! That's it!" The count cheered as an invisible wind began to surge through the room, blowing the counts hair out of place.

[[ Downloading the Skill Book: The Seven Trials of Ignis, first trial.

98%… Time remaining: 4 minutes 59 seconds ]]

Rivens body began to move on its own once more, his hands outstretching in front of him as mana began to flood through his veins and towards his fingers.

A magic circle began to form in front of hands, more detailed than any he had seen yet. The feeling of finally casting a magical spell was euphoric and definitely a feeling Riven would not soon forget.

"You… you did it." The count said quietly, so quiet that Riven almost didn't hear it.

Heat emanated from the magic circle Riven was weaving and it soon became unbearable.

"Don't hold back Riven!" The count shouted as the hum of mana built to a crescendo. "Let me see the full extent of my ancestors magic!"

Rivens mouth opened as he screamed, light streaming from every orifice in his body as the room drew silent.

And then, the world exploded.

At least, that's what it looked and felt like.

The magic circle Riven formed exploded in a bright orange light and fireballs as big as a basketballs began to shoot out from within.

"Argh!" The count yelled as he struggled to shield himself from the explosion.

Fireballs shattered the windows, crashing through the walls and setting the furniture on fire.

The floating Riven finally lowered to the floor and he collapsed. Just as he was about to hit the floor, the count caught him. The count quickly sent out a series of magic circles and the fire surrounding them was quickly put out.

[[ Congratulations! You have now learned the skill:

The Seven Trials of Ignis, First Trial ]]

Riven groaned as he tried to move but it felt as if he had just ran a marathon.

"Don't try to move". The count said as he set Riven down gently beside him. The count leaned back on his hands and looked at the wreckage that was formally Rivens bedroom.

"I'm sorry… about the room." Riven said quietly as he pulled himself into a sitting position, cringing at the pain the motion brought.

"Never worry about that." The count said softly. Silence fell on them for a moment before the count spoke again, "In all my years… I never thought I'd get to see one of our ancestors skills. This is… unprecedented. Incredible." He said wistfully. His appearance was dishevelled and his skin smeared with dirt and sweat - but he seemed truly happy.

"Oh no!" Riven realised something as he began to drag himself towards his charred bed. "My stuff!"

"Stop! Stop!" The count put a hand out to stop Riven. "I've got your items here safe and sound." The count reached into his jacket and pulled out the charred stick and potion bottle and placed them in Rivens hands.

"Thank you." Riven breathed as he clenched hold of his items tightly. "I think… I'm going to sleep for a while." Rivens voice was barely a whisper as exhaustion weighed down on him.

"Rest now, I'll sort everything out so just focus on healing." The count smiled and patted Riven on the back.

Riven knew that he was safe - there was no way the count was going to let anything happen to someone who could wield his ancestors magic.

Riven had just become a powerful weapon to the count, one that he was now going to nurture and protect. That meant that Riven could rest easy, at least for now.

As Riven fell into a deep sleep, the count couldn't help but feel a mixture of emotions in his chest.

The wind swept through the now collapsed wall and cooled the counts sweaty skin. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

"Things are changing," the count murmured. First, the undead groups had begun attacking the border, and now his once talentless son was transforming into a formidable mage.

"I can't wait to see how far you'll go." He said as he looked down at his sleeping son. "I guess the child of a dragon is still a dragon after all."

—x—

[[ Announcement! Announcement!]]

A system window appeared in the darkness of Rivens dreams and his consciousness began to shift.

[[ System administrator override, teleporting user. ]]

What the…

Suddenly, Riven was yanked downward, a crushing pressure gripping his mind as he plunged deeper and deeper.

[[ W//////W/////WARNING! REA////CHING SYSTEM BOUNDA////RIES ]]

The system window began to glitch and become unreadable.

Just as Riven thought his head was about to explode, he suddenly came to a standstill and everything became calm.

"System?" Riven called out to the darkness but was met with silence. He was suddenly reminded of the void he was in before, the same endless inky darkness surrounded him now just as it did then.

He didn't understand… was he dead again? No. There was no way! He had finally just learned his first skill, he couldn't be dead again! He had just been given his second chance at life!

"System!" Riven cried out, panic beginning to grip his heart. "System! Are you there?!"

"The system doesn't reach here, my child." A deep voice spoke and Riven shrank back from it. The voice was ethereal yet terrifying, a sound that Riven had never heard before. It was if a thousand people were speaking all at once.

"Who-who are you?" Riven asked quietly trying to get some grasp on his surroundings.

"You have no need to fear me, Abyss Born." The voice said, "I only wish to tell you something - to warn you."

"Warn me about what?" Riven asked, his voice wary.

"On the night of the autumn full moon, the undead will be at their strongest." The voice said and dread filled Rivens stomach. "Beware… the academy… find the relic… Abyss Born." The voice began to fade in and out and before he could ask anymore questions he was suddenly yanked upwards again.

[[WARNING WARNING WARNING]]

A red system alert popped up in front of Riven as he continued to fly upwards and Riven felt perplexed. Just what the hell was going on?!

[[ System stabilised. Re-entering rest mode. ]]

Before Riven could even react, he was swiftly pulled back into unconsciousness.