Chapter 12: Memento Mori.

Chapter 12: Memento Mori.

Multiple proficiency requirements fulfilled. [Identify Lv. 7] [Night Vision Lv. 3] [Acrobatic Lv. 2] acquired

Multiple proficiency requirements fulfilled [Spark Fire Dragon Lv. 4] [Earth Magic Lv. 4] [Evasion Lv. 4] [Holy Resistance Lv. 4] [Fire Resistance Lv. 4] [Earth Resistance Lv. 4] [Enhanced Mana Growth Lv. 4] [Enhanced Intelligence Growth Lv. 4] [Enhanced Agility Growth Lv. 4] gained. Your Current SP is 450

You have bought [Wind Magic Lv. 1] [Enhanced Mana Capacity Lv. 1] Your current SP is 250

Skill requirement fulfilled. [Spark Fires Fire Boost] gained

Magic gained: [Rock Bullet] [Wind Bullet]

So, you think these are the skills I need to invest in? I asked myself after looking at all the System messages Ive recently received.

'Yeah, these are the stuff we will be needing the most, I think.'

You think? Whatever. So, what are we gonna do with the remaining 250?

'Save them up.'Witness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through Ñôv€l--B1n.

I guess we can train the rest up and be efficient about it.

[Parallel Thoughts].

Speaking with myself sounded like something a crazy or lonely person would do, and while I would consider myself in the latter half right now, what I was talking about was a skill. A System skill to be specific with duplicated my mind and placed it inside my mind. A bit complicated, but to sum it up, I had an extra me in my head.

It was better to imagine it as two consciousnesses living and thinking inside a single body. The clone inherited pretty much everything about me memories and personality only that it wasnt 100% me, at the end of the day. She was my Parallel Mind, a clone.

Youre still hung up on that? I mean, it is weird. I can sympathise, but dont forget that Im a System product. I was created by it and I am here to serve you specifically, Original Mind. The clone went on to send me a thumbs up with a large gecko grin to comfort me, but I will still confused about her.

I know I responded with a sigh internally. Its just that, while you helped me buy and upgrade the skills that would be good for me Uhm, us, I dont know what to do with a second me in my head. Feels like some split personality shit, dude.

If that is the vibe you want to go with, then, sure, do what you want, Original Mind. But, if you're scared about me taking over your body or something, dont. I cant do it without your express consent. You are the boss in our relationship~

Bleh, dont call me boss It makes me seem like a smug bitch since Im technically calling myself that.

I had a feeling it would take me a while to get used to her, but I couldnt argue she wasnt useful. Not only did she help me with the previously mentioned SP usage, she was the one who helped me evolve. She accepted the evolution choice after I fell unconscious.

After we got to know each other, she told me I almost fell asleep while the option was up. Adrenaline still kept me going, she said. And in this small window, she had me evolve before we died from our injuries. After all, if I fell asleep, she would be forced to go offline, too.

About the weird evolution itself, she told me the options changed after I was half-asleep. All the previous three options disappeared, and she was only able to choose [Young Spark Fire Dragon]. That the System adapted my choice after it took in my draconic lineage and genetics.

Which begs the question from what sort of bloodline did I come from? Maybe the gods did something and decided to bless me with a good one, but how important was it in the first place? Well, sadly, asking about it did nothing.

Regardless, even if asking my parallel minds didnt yield any information, it did make me appreciate her as a talking partner.

Awwwwwww, thank you~

S-Shut up, Im trying to think right now!

As I said, she was a good companion. Sure, it didnt sound sane but it beats having to endure this solitude. I rather kill the loneliness and accept I was going crazy, since going through the SP skill was quite comforting with her.

We managed to level up a ton of skills and she helped me set up a good skill build for my future as a mage. For example, I overlooked [Wind Magic] for only 100 SP, which was the same amount I paid for [Enhanced Mana Capacity]. Cheap and they seemed super useful. One increased my mana and the other enlarged my toolkit.

During the process, I also suggested to learn [Water Magic] and [Dark Magic] to become proficient in all elements, but I soon learned they were 2100 and 3000 SP respectively. Affinity affected the cost, it seemed, and I guessed also how much to level them up.

While annoyed my titles were stopping my dream to become an all-elemental mage, my parallel minds pointed out if I even wanted to become a jack-of-all-trades, instead of just becoming an archmage level threat with whatever I had right now. I had holy, fire, earth, and wind right now. She sounded reasonable so I listened and ignore those two skills.

Although, without [Water Magic], I have no access to water anymore. The strawberries and rainwater in my storage were the only thing keeping me going, and they were depleting fast! Although, not buying that skill allowed me to break through multiple breakpoint requirements for my important skills. And thats how I ended up with 250 SP.

Kraaaaaaaaaaa! I roared.

The sound of my draconic voice travelled throughout the cave, echoing even further than I thought. Considering how far it went, I could only guess how huge this cave must be.

'Hey, what are you doing?!' My parallel mind asked flustered.

She should understand my actions and motives, so this must be her way to strike up a conversation.

Boredom. We've walked for a while now, but we haven't found anybody else yet. This cave is empty.

The cave was cold and dark. Two adjectives I wish would have been reversed. [Fire] nullified the former and [Light] the latter, but the general idea is that this place sucked ass. I switched from a less ideal living environment to another one.

On the bright side, considering how desolated this cave has been recently, my sleeping quality had improved tremendously. [Enhanced Enemy Sense] still notified me of small critters like bugs, but Ive learned to block out smaller warnings. I could deactivate it, but what do you think I was? An idiot? Yeah, right.

Sleeping soundly after over a month of torturous short sleeping seassions just to wake up in the middle of the night. Oh, how I loved being fully rested. That was one good thing about being inside this cave. Maybe that was why dragons loved caves so much in stories. Good sleep was the most valuable prize.

Was it worth giving up interacting with living beings, I wonder?

Weeeell, technically, we do have other living organisms around us. Bacteria, bacteria, bact

Her joke was bad. I hastily stopped her before her punchline to save myself from cringetopia.

Yeah, yeah, I know. These mushrooms also count as life, right? Speaking of which, these mushrooms are quite tasty.

Belzac Mushroom

A mushroom growing in the deep caves of the Belzac Forest. When dry, its flesh displays a strong absorption ability for any kinds of liquids; essentially stuffing the mushroom full, if not handled carefully

I preferred my shrooms in a creamy soup, but I needed to eat them raw for the little bit of liquid in them. The humidity inside this cave was keeping these mushrooms alive by letting them absorb the moisture from the air, giving me a way to obtain small amounts of water.

'That reminds me, we did level up our [Identify], so why not use it on something.'

Ive nothing better to do, so why not. Im also curious about a certain plant with a similar name to this mushroom.

Belzac Herb

A herb that possesses astonishing healing capabilities against most wounds. Due to possessing a calming effect, it can be used to alleviate symptoms like fever. Can only grow in the Belzac forest

There is that word again: Belzac.

'Astonishing healing capabilities? Wow, and we've been using these leaves as a food wrapping. Hey, hey, Original Mind, do you think potions and alchemists exist in this world?'

'This wouldnt dare to not have them, right? I wonder how potent the healing potion would be with this thing. Hiehie, imagine if we were to open a garden and grow these. Ahh, a dragon and her garden.'

Regardless of my daydreams, I wasnt ignoring the fact we got that Belzac forest name once again. The word Belzac appeared again. For some reason, identifying the word Belzac led to no answers, so I tried it on Belzac forest due to trial and error and managed to get another clue.

Belzac Forest

A humongous forest bordering several mountain ranges. The forest is divided into three areas: the mountains, the forest, and the swamp. Most of the weaker monsters live in the western mountains, where a wide variety of potent herbs and plants enjoy the bountiful sun and nutrients. Powerful monsters prowl the forest and swamp

Oh! So the place Im in is the Belzac forest and Im somewhere in the west, if that one part is to be believed.

The name of my birthplace gotcha! Leveling up [Identify] once again proved to be invaluable for my information gathering. Not only did I learn where I currently was, but that there was more to this place than I thought. If the hole I dropped into was in the mountain area, then the exit would probably lead to the forest.

'Or swamp. Regardless, stronger enemies, huh? I could hear the worry in my parallel minds voice, and I couldnt help but agree with it. We just dodged a close call and now were No, wait, actually, this might be good fortune!

Yeah, were just unluck Hold on, what?!

I turned my mental head around to face her. I then imagined myself exaggerating a shocked face and asked her, with a little bit of real shock, to clarify what she meant.

'I understand that this might sound crazy, but you saw what happened to us back there. We are too weak, and we arent strong enough to properly survive if we dont start putting some seriously hard work into getting more strength.'

Hard work is worthless if we get killed by such a reckless action! Did you not see that garm?! Did you not see the even more terrifying garm that was its leader?! If there are even more of those things out there then send your prayers.

I was appalled! What was this person thinking and saying to me about fighting stronger monsters? For somebody who named herself a clone, she sure acted against my intentions!

'Sowhat are you planning to do then? You arent seriously suggesting staying in this cave, right?'

I-I don't you remember what I felt when I saw that second garm?

I asked her while remembering the total stats of the garm with the [Pack Leader] title. It was crazy high if you compare them to the first garm. I thought that first garm was pretty scary already, but it looked like he was just a grunt.

The fear I felt from them, the terror of death hanging above me, and the disgust at how I couldnt contend against them. I felt hopeless and could only count my lucky stars with how I got out of that. All of these emotions were there for my parallel mind to analyze, but she still chose a decision I wouldnt have taken ever.

' Of course, I do. However, I dont think that way.'

What?

'Please, remember this for the future, Original Mind. I am you, but I am still an entity created by the System to assist you. We share emotions and memories, but mine could still be considered robotic. Logical. I am not here to backstab you or anything, but I am looking out for your future benefits.

I knew I shouldnt have been surprised about this, as I had already understood she wasnt 100% me, but I still thought we would still think the same way. It felt like a foreign being was inside my brain right now. Like a parasite.

My parallel mind instantly shook her mental head and hands as she noticed my panic. She was trying to show me I had nothing to worry about.

'Hey, I never said we were that different. I am thou, and thou art me, or whatever. The only difference is that I have to think more objectively, without all your emotions so I can do a better job.

So, you dont feardying?

Every true sentient being must possess a will to survive. A preservation instinct. The only way my new neighbour could be me was if she shared this trait with me.

'My existence was created to keep you alive. Your survival is my most important task, and from how I see it, cowering inside a cave, instead of going out there to at least try to survive is something we couldnt afford if we wish to fulfill our promise and dream to our parents!

I was dumbfounded. I couldnt respond back as I knew she hit a bullseye.

But, I dont want to die again. I dont want to feel so terrified about everything again, that it could all end like that. All that pain through my body

Butbutthis isnt the same. I dont want to dieI dont want to feel that terrified again.'

'And it would continue if you dont do anything about it. We are a dragon! Has failure ever held us back in our past life? I remember our teachers praising our efforts despite how often we fucked up and failed our auditions!

You cant be seriously suggesting that sort of thing in this situation! Failing to have my dream come true is different than losing a fight in this world!

If I couldnt get scouted by a talent scout then ok, better luck next time. I would have the time to train my dancing and singing. My dream to become an Idol wouldnt just die from one or two or tens of failed castings. But lose a fight in this world and youre most likely dead. I couldnt count on my luck persisting all the time.

Looking back, if I hadnt unconsciously used [Mana Control] on my first day, then I would have died without knowing what even happened. Even my first real fight was a disaster; I barely won cause those kobolds were equally as bad at fighting as me.

The noose was this close to hanging me.

'I know what you are thinking but we dont have a choice here. Even if you dont include the fact that we will probably starve to death here, what about our dream? Becoming an Idol. Wasnt that the plan we decided on the moment we found [Humanize]?'

'Isnt it about time we gave up on it?'

I said that while sighing, expressing a bit of my built-up stress. It was always an option for me to give up, but I couldn't do it in my past life. However, watching my memories flash around me in that dream certainly brought reality to show. How the hell was I supposed to fulfill my dreams as a dragon in a world I had no idea about?

Would the inhabitants even like my singing? My dancing? My passion?

'And have all our hard work go to waste? We arent that old. For idols, 15 years old is around the age you start properly training to become a professional, so our chance wasnt completely gone yet.' She pointed at my real age, noting my still unfulfilled potential.

Young Spark Fire Dragon

[Holy Resistance Lv. 4] (+1) [Fire Resistance Lv. 4] (+1)

[Earth Resistance Lv. 4] (+1) [Wind Resistance Lv. 1]

Stat growths and related:

[Enhanced Health Growth Lv. 2]

[Enhanced Mana Capacity Lv. 1] (New)

[Enhanced Mana Growth Lv. 4] (+1)

[Enhanced Strength Growth Lv. 2]

[Enhanced Intelligence Growth Lv. 4 (+1)]

[Enhanced Vitality Growth Lv. 1]

[Enhanced Wisdom Growth Lv. 1]

[Enhanced Agility Growth Lv. 4] (+1)

[Enhanced Stamina Growth Lv. 1]

Others:

[Identify Lv. 7] (+1)

[Cooking Lv. 5] [Dismantle Lv. 4] [Parallel Thoughts Lv. 1]

Ability

[Flame Blast] [Spark Claws] [Spark Flame]

Spell List:

Holy spells:

[Minor Heal] [Cure] [Modest Heal] [Smite] [Light] [Holy Protection]

Fire spells:

[Fire] [Firebolt] [Imbue Fire] [Fire Ball]

Earth spells:

[Earth Wall] [Rock Blast] [Earth Strike] [Rock Bullet] [Wind Bullet]

Space-Time Spells:

[Haste] [Storage Magic]

The Light spells:

[Shine]

Titles

[The Light] [Bearer of Kargryxmors Blood] [Otherworldly Reincarnator]

A note from AbyssRaven

Two "chill" chapters after what just happened in the story.

Compared to the forest, the cave is a less hectic place, so this slow and safe atmosphere was reflected in chapters 11 and 12. Without needing to worry about other more dangerous stuff, the MC finally got some time for world-building and characterization.

We had some characterization before, but it was expressed through action. This time it was told through dialogue, or I guess monologue? Well, that really depends if you consider talking with, essentially, yourself a discussion or not. Well, less need for blue boxes means less work for me, so yeah. ;P

The song this time comes from an "SNSD", a.k.a "Girl's Generation", song called "Gee": Rawr

We've only had k-pop and one British pop song, but different song genres will come!

Also, if you have enjoyed the story so far, I hope you guys could spend a little bit of your time to give the story your rating. It'll keep me motivated!

Thank you for reading the story this far!

Edit: Added a few more indications to show who's talking + more inner thoughts. Green is parallel mind #1, while italics is our MC. I'm also using single quotation marks to show that those are "Mc speaking with parallel minds" times.

P.S. Thanks to everybody who gave me some good feedback for this part.

Edit 2: I've rewritten and edited stuff to fit my current writing style. Also, no more colors for the parallel minds.

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About the author

1 Fictions 7 Posts 1 Threads

Monday, January 13, 2020 2:04:26 AM Germany [Member of Zard Skwad]

Bio: Hey there, AbyssRaven here. I'm just an avid Light Novel and Fantasy story reader who randomly thought of a story and began writing about it.

I eventually found out that I've been spending a bit too much time with building, planning, and researching for the story, that I've decided to just share it with others.

Writing is mostly a hobby for me, but I would still love any kind of criticism to improve on it.

I'm also german, so please excuse anything that sounds a bit weird...I wouldn't mind you pointing it out though.

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