During his journey with the Crocodiarii Ethan learned a bit more about them, but the general wasn't someone interested in culture and arts, he listed the abilities of his people. Their strong scales and mighty jaws, their fearless nature and their pride. Which weapons they could use and how many troops he could expect. When the general fell silent he watched his improved stats while riding on the so called behemoth lizard, then Ethan noticed a new category in his status window, he knew stuff could be added there but he never expected this kind of information to be relevant to him.
Troops
Dual-Purpose Infantry: 500 Crocodiarii
Commander: 1 Veteran Crocodiarii
General: 1 Winter Elf
Total: 502
It wasn’t much, it was basically nothing but at least he could now keep track of the lives he was responsible for now. It was bleak to see lives other than numbers, like they were nothing more than that to the system. His gaze drifted upward and finally stopped at a line in his status.
Mana Points (MP): 1100/1100
Seeing this number felt wrong to him, because when he concentrated and looked into his inner self he saw the source of his mana, a frozen lake where under the surface the water whirled around in an endless vortex. This lake could sink and rise when he uses magic and regenerates his abilities again. To him magic wasn’t a number on a status.
Magic was…potential, it was something raw and endless. Even the system, which he guessed was born from magic, couldn't define magic. It could label it, move it, use it, suppress it. But it could never lock it away or define it in a meaningful way. Because magic has raw potential.
Since the birth of the universe magic has been part of it. When we think about time and space there is also magic and when magic vanishes to will the rest of existence.
Because…Magic is potential that we can use however we want as long as we have the imagination and the strength. But now he understood the system, Ethan finally knew why it acted like it did! Because while magic is a blessing it’s also volatile and can be as good in destruction as it is in creation.
So the system acts as a guide to make it usable for everybody. That is also the reason the system doesn’t care. Because magic knows no good or bad, it just is.
Ethan’s hands trembled and his eyes opened wide. He felt like he would explode any second, his hand started to grow cold and he stared at them, he watched with an intensity as his mana streamed down his arms into his hand, raw mana leaked from his skin and he could see it crystalize instantly. His mana wasn’t fluid like one would expect, instead in form into ice crystals the moment it leaves his body.
Magic was adapting to his will, his nature and to his system. It was subconscious and required no effort but he did it without knowing how he did it. He felt his path getting clear, the direction he wants and needs to walk in. Ethan tried to hold this moment of enlightenment but it slipped through his fingers a moment later, vanishing in a breeze of cold air.
While he still was in this heightened state of mind he jumped up, balancing in the big saddle of the lizard and he used his magic. Slowly at first, a power building up around him. First the pale blue he was so familiar with but it soon changed into the white of something even colder, so cold it almost burned him.
He took a deep breath, letting the air out again resulted in a thick cold mist floating around him as he used his subclass, not to infect a monster, use a form of transmission or raise the lethality. He changed the nature of his eternal ice.
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Because of magic's potential, it could become anything so he subdued the skills of his weak subclass and morphed them into something new, something stronger and more aligned with his path of ice and snow.
Power exploded in his hand, power he tried to contain and control. Sweat dripped from his face as pressed the sphere that formed in between his hands together. Containing magic that wasn’t created with the assistance of the system. Something that would be impossible without understanding.
Ethan dropped to his knees, the sphere pressed against his body, his hands covered in frost and black streaks of plague magic invaded his veins as he let out a scream and the sphere settled down, a shock wave erupted from the sphere that pulled Ethan with it, landing on his back while still holding the sphere.
With excitement all over his face he inspected the sphere. It was a perfectly round sphere made of ice. Inside of it a mixture of black and pale blue swirled around, it wasn’t mixing into one color, because it was two things but also one at the same time. Of course that was impossible, if magic wasn’t involved. He inspected the sphere and was assaulted by a wall of text, written in the matter of fact way the system communicates most of the time.
[Abyssal Frostbite of Relentless Growth]
[This is a plague characterized by a severe sensation of cold that penetrates deep into the bones, regardless of external temperatures. Infected individuals experience significant skin discoloration, turning deep blue or pale white, often accompanied by mottled patches indicating tissue damage. Uncontrolled growth of grotesque, spindly tissue resembling ice formations occurs around the extremities, leading to intense pain and debilitating movement due to joint stiffness.
As the plague progresses, it severely compromises circulation, leading to an increased risk of frostbite and tissue necrosis. Infected individuals endure numbness and tingling, particularly in the fingers and toes, as their limbs become increasingly affected. This condition results in general weakness and overwhelming fatigue, making it difficult for individuals to cope.
Psychological effects, including paranoia or hallucinations related to cold, can heighten their sense of isolation. Ultimately, many may succumb to a slow and painful death from multiple complications. The widespread tissue damage can lead to systemic infections as growths become necrotic and fester, releasing toxic substances into the bloodstream. Organ failure may occur as the body struggles to fight off these infections, and extreme cold can lead to hypothermia or cardiac arrest. Some may die from severe pain that overwhelms the body’s ability to cope, while others may face a more gradual decline characterized by debilitating weakness and the complete loss of bodily functions due to untreated septic conditions. As the disease progresses, the combination of pain, infection, and systemic failure typically culminates in a tragic end, often marked by the final throes of agony and despair.]
Ethan was shocked by the amount of text the system provided but maybe it was because he was the original creator of this plague? While the system usually keeps things short it seems this time it wanted Ethan to know what he created.
He was certain the system also helped in some way but he wasn’t sure, the fact it literally offered him a detailed description after a few seconds was astonishing to him. But Ethan also knew something else, this plague was gruesome and he had a guess why.
While the plague mage class of his was pathetic in terms of level his new class and especially his special ice variant was strong in many ways, the whole progenitor business was influencing him and he didn’t know if he liked that.
Still, he would accept this gift and try it on the undead, because there was nothing said about this plague not working with the undead.
Like he called for them he already spotted a massive sand cloud in the distance, something was marching there.
A grin spread on his face, he hoped they would arrive soon…
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