Shadow Seer (Rogue Merchant Book #3): LitRPG Series by Roman Prokofiev (english reading book TXT) 📗

30 minutes, via some artifact with a magic gem. Who would have thought that a simple light magic spell could be so dangerous for all shadow users? I recalled Abel warning me about that.

Summoning the Succubate was blocked in this world, like all portal magic. Maybe I could use a Greater Shield of Shadows? They would never deal me ten million damage. It was a logical solution, which is why I put it on the back-burner. Intuition told me that I might need the rare spell with a two-day long cooldown later, and probably very soon. Flaming Bolides were out of the question, too, as they were AOE skills that would quickly make local NPCs join the hunt for me.

I wanted to leave gracefully and undetected, while the Pandas didn’t suspect that I returned to Thrainul’s ship. They probably had eyes on the wharves, and the trio of assassins could easily board the Abyssal and take on the entire crew.

Well, I had the whole night ahead. The Pandas were in no hurry, and neither was I. They released their pawns, doubling their numbers. I really didn’t like one of their minions, a huge grey-maned werewolf with eyes burning like scarlet coals. He sat down right in front of me, licking his fangs. Pinprick went offline, indicating that they were going to take shifts watching me. I noted the time and opened up my Proxy archetype.

The Proxy of the God of Shadows

Rank 2: Shadow Listener (level up skills to increase rank)

Passive abilities:

Shadow Sight (5/5): you can see the Shadow Plane and its items and inhabitants just as clear as the material world. You don’t have to travel to the Shadow Plane to interact with them. You are able to find caches and secret passages in the Shadow Plane.

Shadow Talk (1/5): you can hear whispers between shadows and understand individual phrases. You can read simple writing in Shadowspeak. You can talk to Shadows, but they can play tricks on you.

 

Active abilities:

Shadow Eyes (5/5): you can find and sense shadows within a thousand-step range. You can use their eyes and contact them. You don’t have to be in the Shadow plane to use this ability.

 

Shadow Travel (1/5): you can enter and move through the Shadow Plane for up to 1 minute / 80 minutes.

 

HIDDEN (rank 3 required)

HIDDEN (rank 4 required)

Talent:

HIDDEN (rank 5 required)

HIDDEN (rank 6 required)

Lost in thought, I sat cross-legged, closed my eyes, and activated Shadow Eyes. A three-dimensional search sphere appeared in front of me, similar to the ones used by seekers. They, however, could see the sparks of objects and creatures while I saw the black dots of shadows.

There were a lot of them! Small shadows hid in the darkness along the roads and unilluminated sides of buildings, stirring in the clefts of sharp cliffs. Mindless, invisible, and incorporeal, they still existed, and each of them was at my disposal. Upon sensing my touch, they shuddered in fear, giving me their sight.

My attention was drawn by a black smudge skulking in the depths of the Stone Forest, in the maze of caves running through it. This smudge was much bigger than the other dots, and I reached out to it, trying to “connect” to its eyes. For a second, I saw grim grey rocks and grotesque growths of stalactites, heard the sound of dripping water... Skulls and rib bones gleamed in the dark around it. I felt the cold shock of an alien mind before it broke the connection between us, interrupting the empathic link.

Was it a supreme shadow? I didn’t know anything about those dwellers of the Shadow Plane. They were supposed to be sentient, like NPCs, and capable of independent actions. Still, what interests did they have? What goals did they pursue? Why did Sphere’s AI even generate creatures like that? Abel had cautioned me against interacting with supreme shadows, saying that they were dangerous. But I had no choice, and really, Tormis must have had his reasons for giving me his legendary archetype. I needed to use all of its abilities.

I still had six attribute points remaining. Well then, let us try. I assigned one more to Shadow Talk, keeping my eye on the changes in its description.

Shadow Talk (2/5): the whispers of shadows become clear and distinct. You can give shadows short commands, and lesser shadows will obey, although the supreme ones will ignore or try to trick you. You can understand long inscriptions in Shadowspeak, but the meaning of complex messages still eludes you.

 

That seemed better. I subdued my inner miser and, with an unflinching hand, allocated three more points into the skill, capping it.

Shadow Talk (5/5): you can hear and fully understand all shadows. You can order them to stay silent or speak up. Both lesser and supreme shadows respect you, cannot lie to you, and will obey your orders. You can read text of any complexity in Shadowspeak.

 

As I read it, I grinned. That meant control. I could command the creatures of the Shadow Plane and order them around. But what could they do in the material world, intangible and ethereal, invisible to anyone? The lesser ones could only spy, but the jury was still out on the supreme ones. The pile of bones in the cave with the large shadow hinted that it did have a way to influence the physical plane. If I started to ask around, the residents of the stalagmite settlement would probably tell me a lot of scary stories about the invisible monster in the caves, maybe even give me a quest. Interesting.

However, at the moment, I needed something else. Once again, I reached out to the big black smudge below, trying to make contact. Just as expected, this time, I succeeded. As I sensed its cold, slow thoughts and alien emotions, I recoiled, as if from