[Necromancy lvl1: 0.01 points]
[Black Magic lvl1: 0.01 points.]
Magnus sensed that something was wrong when he saw the boy's dramatic overreaction. His curiosity was immediately piqued.
"Don't make me sweat it out. Tell me what Sparks you got." The Vampire pressed him expectantly.
Ikaris regained his composure and told him what he had just read. After hearing what the two Sparks were, Magnus also became serious.
"That's... Unexpected." He admitted hesitantly a moment later. "They're Knowledge Sparks. And very encompassing ones at that. The rarest Knowledge Spells and the most troublesome to cultivate. As they grow your knowledge of these two types of magic will grow exponentially, but it will also be easier for you to teach it. This Angel of Faulch... must have held great expectations for his successor."
"But the names of these two Sparks sound a little too evil." Ikaris objected while squinting his eyes. "Am I to take it that all of House Morgunis' talented descendants excel in both of these magics? Necromancy is controversial, but still okay. On the other hand, no matter how I look at it Black Magic sounds evil..."
The old Vampire did not contradict him. Instead he grunted,
"There's only one way to be sure. Dig into your memory and see if you can find any new knowledge. Given the development of these two Sparks, at best you should feel a vague familiarity with certain themes which will help you learn these two magics faster when you start practicing them."
Ikaris followed Magnus' instructions and closed his eyes. He found new memories indeed. Blurry and indistinct, like distant childhood memories that had all but faded, but memories nonetheless.
Then, without thinking anything of it, he went into a meditative trance and the darkness around him seemed to draw him in. This silent nothingness no longer felt so empty and he had the strangest feeling that he only had to wish for it to respond to his call.
Of course, all this was only an illusion. Nothing that wonderful happened. However, Magnus, whose Soul had retained its extrasensory perception faculties, perceived something very different.
Ikaris' skin pores opened and a stream of tiny black and gray particles invisible to anyone but him seeped into his body, dissolving inside. This flow was so dim and fickle that even after years nothing significant would happen, but for the Vampire it was the confirmation he had been waiting for.
The boy's affinity for Death and Dark Elements had been awakened and his body had already subconsciously understood how to harness it. As talented as Ikaris was, such an instinct could only be attributed to his two new Sparks.
About an hour later, Ikaris opened his eyes with a dazed expression. He hadn't noticed anything that had just happened except that he felt incredibly comfortable. It had been a long time since he had felt such a great sense of fulfillment.
"No clear memories." He stated with disappointment. "I still have no idea how to use either of those two magics."
"Don't sweat the small stuff." Magnus consoled him in a slippery manner. "Everything will come in time. Just keep absorbing the Bloodspark when you feel ready."
Ikaris nodded and then once again focused on the black feather in his hands.
"Assimilation."
The rest of the night passed in a flash and shortly before dawn the boy got up, and stretched. He inspected his status, then left his tent with contentment.
[ATTRIBUTES:]
[Bloodline(s): Human Crawling-Thrall(defective), Nephilim of Faulch (0.8%)]
[Age: 15 years old.]
[Height: 1.71>1.73m.]
[Weight: 68>69kg]
[Magic Power: 0.006 points.]
[Stamina: 17.9>18 points.]
[Strength: 4.8>5.1 points.]
[Agility: 4.4 points.]
[Constitution: 4.5>4.7 points.]
[Vitality: 31.3 points.]
[Soul Strength: 101 points.]
[Dark Element Affinity/Resistance: 0.08%]
[Death Element Affinity/Resistance: 0.08%]
[PRIMARY SPARKS:]
[Life Spark lvl1: 17.9>18 points.]
[Soul Spark lvl1: 101 points]
[Divine Spark lvl1: 0.06 points.]
[SKILLS:]
[System lvl2: 1.46>3.16 points. Passive Effect: The System can now be accessed subconsciously at the cost of immense concentration]
[Appraisal lvl2: 1.06>2.65 points. Passive Effect: It is now possible to roughly Appraise the targets of your choice]
[See-Through Vision lvl2: 1.00>1.38. Passive Effect: It is now possible to peer slightly through objects with proper focus].
[Stealth lvl2: 1.00>1.47. Passive Effect: Presence can be consciously increased or decreased to a certain extent].
[I Am Me lvl2: 1.09>1.12. Passive Effect: You are anchored, and your personality is less vulnerable to external or internal mental alterations whether magical or physiological.]
[Black Veil lvl1: 0.39>0.67 points]
[Heart Puncturing: 0.19>0.55 points]
[Self-Healing lvl1: 0.02 points]
[Necromancy lvl1: 0.01>0.08 points]
[Black Magic lvl1: 0.01>0.08 points.]
[Enhanced Strength (30%) lvl1: 0.01 points]
[Assimilation lvl1: 0.002 points.]
If another Sorcerer were to see Ikaris' stats and his number of Secondary Sparks, they would undoubtedly be in shock for a very long time. It wasn't the stats or the number of Sparks themselves that were mind-boggling, but that all of that could be accomplished with such a small Divine Spark.
When the teenager left his tent, he found Horny already grazing happily in the meadow. Obviously, he was not coping well with the nighttime confinement. A bison wasn't supposed to sleep in a tent.
"Mooo." (What's up?)
Ikaris did not speak the bovine language and was obviously unable to answer, but he gave some chestnuts to the animal, which seemed to appreciate the treat. Still having a short hour before the new villagers were summoned, the boy then took advantage of the silence to continue dissecting the Rank 4 Magical Beast.
To be perfectly honest, he was amazed that the carcass had not been devoured or ripped apart by all the abominations and skeletons swarming in this black fog, but he had apparently underestimated the effectiveness of the runes covering the boar's hide.
He would have thought that after its death and after being partially butchered, the skeletons and other monstrosities would have approached it, but this was not the case despite the fact that the skin no longer fully covered the corpse's flesh.
'As soon as we can, we'll have to take care of this skin.' He reminded himself mentally. 'If we can't make clothes out of it, we can still use it as a cloak or sheet to survive the night outside in an emergency situation.'
The thing was, besides him, Malia and Ezrog, no one had the strength to cut through that skin. And if dexterity was factored in, he was probably the only one left.
Last Saint Village had Danchun and Ling, the seamstress, but neither woman had the physical strength required for the task. The dancer struggled to cut through the much more tender meat despite her experience as a Cultivator and her exquisite butchering technique.
The next to get up were Danchun and the dwarf, Nardor. The woman went back to practicing her Tai Chi in front of the dawn sun, while the dwarf promptly proceeded to take measurements and perform calculations while walking around the village.
Just before the daily summoning, the dwarf trotted over to Ikaris and said,
"My Lord, taking into account the next villagers who will be joining us in the coming days, I have estimated that the palisade will be completed in 5 to 7 days at a rate of 3 round trips to the forest per day to collect wood. With the Tartarus Enforcer and Horny we can knock that down to 3 days, but the village would be left defenseless."
Ikaris resolutely refused.
"With these lycans lurking around us, I can't leave the Stele undefended. The Tartarus Enforcer must stay in Last Saint Village. As for Horny, it's true that he can be a great beast of burden, but he's also hard to discipline. By letting him graze to his heart's content here, it makes one more guardian for the village."
"It shall be done as you wish, my Lord." Nardor did not insist. He did, however, state conservatively. "After the first haul of wood, I should also stay in the village to supervise the construction."
Ikaris nodded in understanding, then went to the summoning point. A moment later, seven women and eight men appeared naked before him. After briefing them and giving them food and clothing they set to work.
His luck from the first day seemed to have run out, as the talent of these new villagers ranged from D to E. One of them, Dwayne, was even a Down's Syndrome patient with G talent. Ironically, he was the only Earthling summoned by the Stele today.
The teenager had already considered the possibility of getting handicapped citizens, and he had no intention of rejecting them. Each person could find a job that suited them and with magic it might not be impossible to cure them of their disabilities.
However, he had not imagined that he would gain such a villager so soon, when Last Saint Village was in dire need of competent personnel. At least he was well-built and obedient, and Ikaris decided to take him along to help carry wood.
In addition to this cripple, there were 12 peasants, a baker, and a herbalist. All were human. Alas, according to the assessment given by the Stele, they were mediocre and lacked ambition, aspiring only to a simple and peaceful life.
Suppressing his disappointment, Ikaris left Ellie, Danchun, and Kellam to take care of the village, and then their impromptu group of lumberjacks set off. Without hesitation, he had assigned all of the able-bodied men to the group of lumberjacks, even accepting two female volunteers to work with them.
