I would like to thank Silent Scarlettt for the wonderful cover.

------------------------------

A college student of the modern times was asked by a Goddess to be a hero of her world. 

Can he maintain his sanity amidst destruction, slaughter and betrayal? Or will he triumph against it, to become the hero that he was supposed to be?

------------------------------


I would like to make a few things clear, there would be no harem in this one.

I don't think there will be romance in the near future.

No OP MC? At least not for now.

And mostly, everyone is using their brains.


------------------------------


If you have time please try to leave a review. Would help me a lot ;)

-----------------------------


My first book. Hehe

Thanks!

This book is about a girl named Chara Dragon Dreemurr and she is secretly a shapeshifter. No one, not even Techna Tiger, knows that Chara is a shapeshifter. I will give you no information about either one of them. Just read and you will learn.

Jawsh walked over to the town leader giving the new player quests.

[ Town Leader David ]

[ Relation: friendly ]

Jawsh looked at the green name of the NPC symbolizing his friendly nature, he stood in front of the NPC not minding the crowd of other players around.

"I want to move to the Red Dragon city."

His words caused players around to look at him at amazement.

"Did he already meet the requirements to leave the town."

"The dogs and chickens give little to no XP and most of the money is spent on bandages and weapon repairs."

"Do you think he knows a good grinding spot."

Jawsh didn't want to be caught up with these people as quickly followed after the town leader who was walking towards a stone tower which Jawsh believed was the only stone structure in the whole town.

The Town Leader David stretched his hand at him, causing Jawsh to look puzzlingly at the man.

"Money to operate the teleporter." the leader replied calmly

Jawsh rummaged through his pouch which was filled with bandages, his dagger, and the unknown medallion and some spare money along with the gold coin.

Jawsh handed the gold coin over, 

"Ok now stand over there.."  Town Leader David pointed at the center of the room where an intricate rune was drawn on the floor.

Jawsh stood in the middle of the rune and looked up to see Town Leader David waving at him,

"Uh bye to you too," Jawsh said before there was a white flash forcing him to shut his eyes. 

Jawsh opened his eyes after a moment looking at front of him he found two armored guards beckoning him to move out of the building, he walked out the front door and looked back to see a beautiful tower made of stone and limestone.

"I'm in the city now let's go get my class."

Normally when a player entered the city they would have to go to an instructor to select their class.

Looking at the warrior instructor who could let you select the class of warrior, Jawsh was tempted to attempt the hidden trick that he had come to know.

"But I don't have the time for that, I can't let anything distract me, I have already selected a class and I will get it."

Jawsh started running on the pathways beside the roads of the Red Dragon City.

Jawsh was currently sitting on a ledge of a  closed window facing towards a dark alley, he knew for a fact that here was the location that would allow him to encounter one of the hidden NPC in the game.

Soon the target was within his sight a completely black cat with red eyes it slowly entered the alley, 

SWOOSH!

"Got you now!" Jawsh said as he used his hands to capture the black cat.

"Meow no Please don't hit me no, Meow!" The black cat started talking.

But Jawsh was not surprised rather elated as now he was sure that he had successfully captured his target.

[ Unidentified ]

Jawsh looked at the grey nametag of the cat displaying an unidentified tag.

"What is your name?" Jawsh demanded,

"Vance..meow!" 

"Stop meowing!" Jawsh ordered trying to huss the cat down so no one entered the alley and ruin his plot.

"I am not doing it on purpose, meow!" 

"Shhh..." Jawsh glared at the cat making it shut its mouth.

"Please I was not going to Steal the dragon's treasure I was not I was just looking at the scenery."

Jawsh looked at the cat realizing what the purpose of the NPC was in this town,

Jawsh remembered listening to May recite the incident where the guardian of the city the Red Dragon could become hostile to players in case a rare A-grade quest Rob a dragon was completed.

Looking at the cat seems like this guy was the trigger for the whole quest.

But Jawsh was not here to get the A rank quest from him. 

Jawsh fished out the medallion he had obtained in the sewers and flashed it before the cat.

"Ah, so you are a fellow brethren!" the black cat sighed as if his life was spared.

"Oh no it was from my father, he told me to find you so you can initiate me in being a shapeshifter."
Jawsh fabricated a lie on the spot hoping for the cat to buy his lie.

"Your father huh, meow!" Vance muttered as if unsure.

"Well it was not particularly you, he just told me how to find one of you guys." Jawsh tried to make the lie more reasonable.

"Well, you have the medallion on you what did you say was your name again, meow!" 

"Jaw... it's Ghost!" 

"Listen, Ghost, I don't really know what you know about the shapeshifter but I am a special existence among them."

Jawsh knew all the backstory on this guy, he was a hidden NPC that had the secret identity of being from the true line of shapeshifters but he was only able to mimic small animals like ravens or cats causing his master to banish him till he became a better shapeshifter.....

Jawsh didn't want to waste his time on the cat, he quickly said,

"Teach me to be a Shapeshifter,"

"Ok, meow!"

A prompt appeared in front of Jawsh.

[Would you like to change your class to a hidden growth type class Shapeshifter]

Jawsh selected yes and looked at his character panel with excitement.

[ Name: Ghost ]

[ Race: Human ]

[ Class: Shapeshifter ]

[ Subclass: None ]

[ Title: None ]

[ Level: 6 ]

[ EXP: 0/600]

[ HP: 60 ]

[ SP: 30 ]

[ MP: 1]

Attributes:

[ Strength: 2 ]

[ Agility: 5 ]

[ Intelligence: 1 ]

[ Vitality: 1 ]

Hidden Attributes:

[ Fortitude: 1 ]

[ Luck: 1 ]

[ Charisma: 1 ]

[ Perception: 1 ]

[ Unassigned Points: 0 ]

Staring at the class Shapeshifter he clicked on the more information symbol.

Imperium is the newly launched VRMMORPG that is state of the art and will revolutionalize the lives of every person living in the galaxy.

Jawsh Black is an engineer on a space station in the vast galaxy.

He successfully hacks into the server of the new game Imperium allowing him access to some of the information that was hidden from the general public.

Armed with hidden knowledge of the game sets out to make a fortune within the game to escape his lousy life on a space station.

The old man looked up at Vy and was stunned for a moment by her beauty. It was rare for an old man like him to see a pretty lady these days. He asked to examine the ring and Vy happily obliged. Potto took the ring from her and examined it closely under the light of the lamp that hung above them. 

"The craftsmanship is a little rough on the edges and time has caused some damages. But it's definitely worth something. Young lass, would you be keen to sell it?"

<Simple ring appraised>

<Simple ring has been identified as a damaged gold ring.>

Vy was surprised but she did not show it. 

-System, can the ring be fixed?-

<Yes>

-What is the current value of the ring?-

<It is currently worth 10 silvers.>

-After it gets repaired, how much would be then?-

<It would be worth 25 silvers.>

"If I am looking to sell it, how much would you offer," Vy asked Potto. 

Potto stroked his beard and thought for a while. He knew it was a gold ring, underneath the damage that had been done. Since the girl seemed nice enough, he decided to give a reasonable offer. 

"8 silvers."

-He knows the value of it and has a pawnshop owner, he would need to make a profit too. That is a fair deal for both of us. But I can't let go of the fact that it would be worth so much more after being polished and fixed.-

Vy pondered for a moment and thought of a reply. She could only hope that the shopkeeper would agree. "What if I were to pawn it instead? How much would I be able to get and by when do I need to return to get it back?"

"You seem like a nice enough girl. If you were to pawn it, I'll give you the 8 silvers. If you can come back with 10 silvers before 30 days is up, you can have it back."

Vy smiled. She put out her hand and said, "It's a deal!"

Potto smiled and shook her hand. After her transaction with Potto was complete, Vy paid Carole what she owed her. With the additional income, she also decided to purchase a small leather sling satchel, to carry her items with her, as well as a belt for her to holster her dagger. 

Carole had a changing room at the back of her store, so she invited Vy to change into her outfit. After changing into her new clothes, she stepped out of the changing room and Carole brought her a full-length mirror to have a look. 

"So, what do you think?"

For the first time, Vy looked at herself in the mirror. The clothes fit her well, her dragon necklace sat beautifully in the centre of her chest. Her hair was passed her shoulders and a little curled, despite the little care she had given, they were not too tangled. She smiled, as she examined the satchel and her dagger on her belt. 

"It looks great. Thank you Carole!"

Carole smiled. "Actually, are you planning to stay in the town to look for a job? If you are, I could help you to ask around."

"That would be great actually! If you need an extra pair of hands around your shop, I don't mind helping out either."

"That's actually a great idea. It could be useful to have an extra pair of hands. With the big harvest festival coming up in a week or so, it does get busier."

"A harvest festival?"

"Yes, it happens twice a year and this is the second one this year. It is also the bigger one so more people will be swarming into the town. There will be many festivities and there would also be a larger market set up right outside the town to cater to the travellers and farmers who would be coming in."

After bidding farewell to Carole, Vy realised it was getting late and most of the stores were closed. She made her way back to the inn and went back up to her room. Closing the door behind her, she locked the door and went to put away her things into her satchel. Taking off her boots and jacket, she laid down on the bed and drifted off into sleep. 

The next day, Vy went out early to explore the town a little more, hoping to better understand her surroundings. Since it was still early in the morning, the streets were pretty much silent apart from a few snoring drunks on the side of the road or the occasional townsfolk who was rushing off to open their shops for the day. 

After some time, came across a shop that caught her interest. It looked pretty ordinary from the outside, but the signboard indicated that it was a place for books. The shop had a sign that said it was open so Vy did not hesitate and walked in. 

The little bells that were hung on the door chimed as Vy walked in. She called out to see if the shop owner was around, but there was no reply. Without much thought, she looked at all the books that lined the shelves and those that were scattered all around. 

There were books piled up everywhere, all hardback and leatherbound. Their designs were simple, simply embossed with the title of the book and the name of the author. Vy realised that the language of the world was different from her own. 

-System, is the language of this world different from the world I come from?-

<Yes, that is correct. The World of Gaeian has multiple languages. The language you are able to comprehend is the dominant language that is largely spoken by all humans and other beings.>

-There are other beings? Other than humans?-

<Yes. There are many types of species that exist in Gaeian. The humans of Gaeian are also different from where you came from. While most humans are able to use small amounts of magic, others have varied abilities.>

There seemed to be so much that Vy did not know of. She needed more time to process all the information. As she continued to browse the shelves, a book caught her eye. While it was leather-bound, just like the rest, it had the head of a dragon embossed on the cover. Vy picked up the book and read it. 

It was about different races of beings, some who have the ability to take different forms, yet it was different from a shapeshifter. Taking the form would not consume their energy or magic in any form. If they chose, they could exist in that particular form for extended periods of time. There were records of humans choosing to do so and never regaining their human form. 

"Eventually they forget that they were even human," a voice spoke from behind. 

Vy was stunned and her reflex caused her to drop the book. She turned around and pinned the source of the voice to the bookshelf with the dagger in her right hand.

“Did you just reply me?”

“You can talk? You can converse with me?”

Vyrena was amazed. She knew from the memories of the host that this has never happened before. This was new.

-Why are you in my mind?-

-Adapt? Adapt to this new world?-

She pondered what that meant, but she had more pressing questions.

________________________________________________

Join Vyrena on her journey as she tries to figure out her mysterious past after transmigrating into a brand new world! She will make friends, enemies, gain new powers and become the greatest warrior she could ever be!

Will she find out who she was before? What will the new world bring? Join the journey and find out!

I hope you enjoy the story! If you love it or maybe not, give me some feedback in the comments or in a review! All feedback would be greatly appreciated~

Upload Schedule: Aiming for 1 to 2 chapter a day! *cross my fingers*

Word Count per chapter: 700 to 1,200 words

PS: The art work is designed by @lushiette on Instagram! Thank you for bringing my girl to life~

A huge thank you to everyone who supported me in posting my novel XD you know who you are~

Isabella opened her eyes to see herself in her own bed once more, if she wasn't mistaken then she had slept outside last night, then who had carried her back? She didn't dwell on it and decided to venture out, but before she could even move there was a gentle knock on the door. "Come in" She said in a dry voice.

The door opened revealing a young timid maid who had her head down. She fidgeted and refused to look up to meet her eyes. Isabella's heart hurt a little, was she that ugly?

"My lord awaits the Miss for breakfast." She said in a quiet voice, she seemed scared of Isabella. She nodded and the girl quickly retreated. She sighed, she didn't blame Regina for destroying her looks totally but she still felt resentment.

The define being white locks of white hair smirk. "This will be an interesting story right? Master?" A young girl around the age of 15 smirked, if this universe was this interesting she would definitely create more once this was finished.

.

"At the edge of this forest, that's where the dragon lands begin. " Solomon began with a serious look on his face, he had found allies on his journey and was naturally more than willing to tell them everything. "Dragons look exactly like humans. The only difference are their lizard like eyes. The pure bloods can transform into full grown dragons, the more powerful they are, the more the size of their transformed form." He turned to them curiously, he hadn't asked them before and it had just dawned on him he had no idea what they were seeking for, "By the way, why are you going to the dragon lands?"

Regina thought for a bit for how to phrase her answer, "Well you see... I need dragon scales to reinforce the walls and windows of a few shops back home.. We have a shortage of dragon scales in the city I'm from." Regina said trying to explain the situation, she tried not to sound abnormal to the shapeshifter, she completely failed. Solomon face palmed.. Shouldn't she have just bought one from her local underground organization? They sell everything.

Literally. Everything.

"I also want to gain fighting experience" Regina added, again trying not to sound like a nut job, she really didn't care about experience, that was just an advantage of going on her little journey.

"Let's set out tomorrow." Solomon finally said giving up, why did the most beautiful people have to have odd personalities (A/N: says you!) "that way it won't be long before we reach the boarder."

The night crept by slowly making way for dawn and soon enough the trio began to make their way to the edge of the forest trying to avoid as many beasts as they could.

They happen to come across a massive lake. "We have to go across the lake." Solomon said. The lake seemed to stretch for miles with any patch of forest on the other side.

"How did you cross over?" Regina asked curiously, she didn't see any boats and she was relatively sure he wouldn't have been able to swim the distance.

"You see, I tied and arrow to a long piece if string and shot myself over."

"..."

".....Miss please step away, his idiocy might be contagious" Alein said with contempt, why was such a moron at his miss's side? Regina quietly shuffled away obeying her knight isolating the run away prince. Solomon was dumbstruck! It wasn't his fault! He was desperate! What kind of prince gets treated like this? He must really be the saddest prince ever.

"Then I guess you have another way smarty pants." This was all that damned knight's fault! Solomon spoke to Alein with an icy tone to gritting his teeth. He had called him an idiot in front of the beauty! Unforgivable!

"Miss, marine weeds grow around here, we should use that to cross over." Alein said to Regina completely ignoring Alein who was fuming, actually, fuming was an understatement.

"Marine...weeds?" Regina asked not sure what they were, she had heard of them before in one of the herb books she had read but she couldn't quite remember what they did.

"Yes miss, they let you breath underwater." Solomon was dumbstruck. Why didn't he think of it!? Now he would really seem like an idiot in front of her! So much resentment was building up towards Alein right now...

Regina was genuinely fascinated by the existence of such a herb. This world was truly amazing! They even had stuff like this!

Alein gently escorted Regina away and Solomon followed bitterly. He could see that Regina was genuinely interested in the weeds, he had no desire to spoil her fun. All he could do was silently curse Alein in his heart and swore that next time he would be the one to sweep her off her feet and take her as his consort.

Soon enough the small group were underwater. It was such a vast land it would take some hours to get across. Regina didn't mind at all. She eagerly watched all the fish swimming by. Most of them were brown and she even passed some snakes and eels.

She couldn't talk or else she would swallow unnecessary water, so the journey had been silent. Due to the fact that most of the fish were brown when she spotted a blue seahorse she had been dragged by her fascination towards it. Not only was t blue but it was also man sized, she could ride it!

She made her way to it slowly trying not to startle it. She swam upwards and slowly descended on its back. The seahorse was scared shitless and immediately swam away. Leaving a sulky Regina spinning. Her companions mentally laughed, happy she was having a good time.

Time flew by and they soon arrived at the other side of the lake. They were all drenched so they decided to camp by the lake and let their clothes dry.
Alein handed Regina a set of clothes from the dimension bag and gave Solomon a spare shirt and pants.

Soon the trio were having some roast meat, peacefully enjoying the night sky. They all silently watched the stars sparkle. Regina felt her eye lids began to close, then she heard a cracking sound.

She looked around but couldn't find a source of the cracking. Then she heard it again! It was coming from above. She looked up but couldn't see anything.

She stared at the sky for a while until she saw it. There was a small crack in the sky. She swiftly looked at her companions who didn't seem to notice then she turned to take another look at the sky. The crack was gone. She must've been imagining things....

The life of an immortal witch is lonely and full of solitude, unexpectedly she stumbles upon a little child on her road to her little cottage in the forest after scaring a few villagers and hunting for herbs. After raising letting that child grow up the daughter of a Duke she wonders exactly what ripples she'll cause in such a boring world

The next day, 
Lucifer made Juin go through all the books they borrowed from the public library, especially on the books that listed down the supernatural beings. After all, Lucifer did not know all the types of supernatural beings, especially those from other dimensions. Hence, he had to study them just in case.   
Of course, such a situation was rare, since The Nightmare Rift was often visited by beings from other dimensions and the high-ranked creatures within The Nightmare Rift would also visit other dimensions from time to time.  
"Can I take a break now?" Juin asked as he massaged his thighs. "I've been reading for hours…"
"You can," Lucifer said nonchalantly as he lay floating in midair, "if you are ready for more training…"
"Urgghhhh…" Juin groaned as he banged his head against the table a couple of times. 
It was a good thing that Wesley had gone out to play or he would have to call for help again. 
As Juin continued to fill in his brain with as much information as possible, Lucifer could not help but glance at him from time to time. 
"Hey, vessel…"
"Mm?" Juin replied absentmindedly. 
"How much of your life do you remember?" 
Juin stopped reading and looked up at Lucifer. "Not much… Why?"
"I'm curious." 
Juin thought for a while before saying, "I don't remember much. Just that I spent all my time with…" 
His expression changed slightly when he thought of his old friend. He then looked down at the book and continued reading. 
"With Ashton?" 
There was a moment of silence before Juin nodded and murmured, "Yeah…"
"Is there anyone else? Like someone older maybe?" Based on what he found out from Mrs. Martin yesterday, someone had been protecting Juin, and this person had to be near Juin from a long time ago. 
Juin shook his head. "At the orphanage, it had always been me and Ashton. Other than Max, Ashton didn't like it whenever I talked to others, so we had always played together. It wasn't like I needed anyone else anyway."
"What about the accident?"
"Nothing much. I don't remember much about it. The therapist said that the memory loss was due to shock." He then shrugged nonchalantly. Perhaps it was best that he could not remember. He was already having a hard time with the little memory that he could remember. Somehow, he had a feeling that if he figured everything out, he might not be able to take it.
"Aren't you curious?" Lucifer asked while trying not to show his eagerness. 
Juin hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "No… Not really…" 
"What if--"
"Your Majesty, no offense, but I don't want to talk about this, alright?" Juin said clearly as he kept his eyes on the book. He knew he would be punished for this, but Ashton was one of the topics that he would willingly take the punishment for instead of talking about it. 
Lucifer wondered if he should burn his vessel for being insolent, but in the end, he decided not to. "It wouldn't be good to force him now…" he thought. He had to get Juin's body and mind up to an acceptable level before forcing the memory out of him. 
Besides, he just needed to tire Juin out one afternoon so that he could always take over Juin's body and visit the orphanage, which was only a couple of minutes walk away. 
…
The next day, 
Early morning, after breakfast, Juin walked Wesley to the bus stop and waited for him to get on the school bus before heading to Max's house. 
He had called Max yesterday, so he knew around what time they would leave the house. Since they were driving, it meant that they did not have to go so early compared to taking the bus. So, Juin took his time walking to Max's house. 
"Juin…"
"What?" 
Lucifer was standing on Juin's shoulders, much to the latter's discomfort even though Lucifer weighed nothing, when he said, "Don't stop walking. Someone's watching us…" 
Juin stopped for a split second before continuing to walk at the same pace. "W-who?" he asked, shivering a little from the thought of the person watching him. It was still extremely early in the morning; the sun wasn't even fully up! Whoever that was, it was just pure creepy!
His eyes glanced around, but he could not see anyone. 
"I don't know… I sensed it the moment we stepped out of the house. It was a very subtle aura, barely noticeable," Lucifer said as he looked behind Juin. If not for his heightened sense after signing Ka'Za's Soul Contract with Juin, he would have missed it. 
From a distance, he saw a cat perch on a tree branch while watching their every move. With a smirk, he murmured, "Shapeshifter?" 
"Shapeshifter?" Juin's eyes widened slightly. "Wait! A werewolf?!" 
"No…" Lucifer shook his head. He stared at the cat for a long time before saying, "No, not a shapeshifter. But someone is watching us from far away." 
"Huh?" Juin was confused. "From far away?"
"Remember what you read yesterday? Some beings could send their familiars to do things for them. That's what's happening now, I believe… Anyway, I think that person is just watching us for now." 
Believing that whoever watched them could not harm them at the moment, Lucifer turned away from the cat and said, "You need to get stronger, faster. Stronger enemies are coming. They are only watching you know, but they aren't going to be so passive forever. Stop being such a wuss. When you get to the new school earlier, you need to get new underlings. The more eyes and ears you have, the better prepared you would be."
Juin nearly puked out his breakfast. "What do you mean new underlings? I don't even have an old one! Besides, who would be my underling?" 
"Beat them up until they submit to you!" Lucifer snarled as he punched his right fist into his left opened palm.
"I would consider myself lucky if they don't strip me naked and tie me to a flag pole!" 
Lucifer floated down from Juin's head and was now walking next to him. "Why are you so useless? Let me takeover your body then! I'll beat up the alpha at the school, then everyone else can be your b*tch!"   
"Hell, no!" Juin snapped as he looked at Lucifer, wondering if all demon kings were same like him. If he allowed Lucifer to take over his body while at school, Juin was worried that he would no longer have a school to attend when he took back his body. 

Synopsis: 

Remember when you were young, and your parents told you not to touch things that weren't yours? 

Well, Juin should have listened to that piece of advice before he touched an antique sword in a museum. 

Juin, an average human from Earth; a thin, well-known weakling who was afraid of his own shadow and was basically everyone’s favorite punching bag. 

One day, he accidentally summoned a demon from another world. And the worse part was… He summoned a demon king who had the emotional maturity of a teenager and the mouth of a sailor. 

With Juin's fear of basically everything and the arrogant demon king who was afraid of nothing, what would the 16-year-old's life be from now onward?

xxx

Note from author: 

Except for first chapter, which is a prologue and set in another dimension, the rest of volume one would focus mostly on Earth. The first volume would focus Lucifer and Juin's developments, especially the latter's development both in skills and character.  

It might seem a little slow pace at first, but that's because I'm trying to build a piece everything up one by one, giving you a better immersion as you journey through the Demon King's Cowardly vessel.

Honestly, I would love to hear your opinions on the development of the characters and the world. If you like to discuss more with me, please go to the discord link below.

https://discord.gg/Bva8QhZ

And if you would like to support me monetarily outside of WN, please consider buying me a ko-fi at the link below. Every ko-fi helps in my journey to be the very best, like no one ever was... (lame, I know)

https://ko-fi.com/luoyeyouling

Regards,
LuoYe

The Syndicate had covered their tracks well. Even after three days of thorough searching by General Anderson and the militia, their lair had still not been smoked out yet. There was nothing Link could do about it, so he decided to just wait patiently.
As for Princess Annie, she was ordered to report to the king in Springs City, so on the second day, she reluctantly left River Cove town. With no one left to disturb him, Link could finally dive back into his studies peacefully.
He was no longer staying in the inn attic but was staying in the cabin that the Flamingo Band of Mercenaries had bought instead. There were people tending to his needs here and the food that the cook that they hired at a high price had prepared was delicious too. Most importantly, no one would disturb him here while he studied, so he settled down in the cabin contentedly.
Within three days, Link had finished reading three books on enchantment. From these books, he had developed a deep understanding on the subject. The opening of the book Introduction to Magic enchantments had very neatly encapsulated the concept of enchantment in a single sentence.
enchantment is the process of fixing spells onto a certain object.
Theoretically speaking, as long as the proper method was employed, any spell could be fixed onto an object, including Fireball, Protective Armor, Flying Blades, Hidden Power, and so on. The method and skills involved in fixing these spells fell under the field of enchantments.
Take the wand for example. The wand was, in fact, an object where Mana could be stably fixed on. According to folklore 500 years ago, Magicians used to cast spells without using wands. Therefore, there were two steps involved in their spellcasting – the first was to compress their own Mana into magic aura and then using this magic aura to release the spell that they intended to release. This made it much harder for the Magicians at that time to advance their skills compared to the present where Magicians used wands to cast their spells.
Having read the three books, Link turned his attention to writing letters. He had two of them to write: the first was to Moira, where he would write down all the questions he had concerning the contents of the textbooks and the second was a letter to Eliard.
Eliard shared many similar interests with him, and their intelligence was on roughly the same level as well so Link enjoyed talking to him about anything. Link would write to Eliard often, regardless of whether there was anything important to inform him on. They would often discuss their thoughts and comments on subjects about magic, or they would only share news and gossip they had come across. Whatever it was, they both enjoyed hearing from each other very much.
Link would have a lot of free time while waiting for the replies to his letters and he would spend it by conducting enchantment experiments in his room based on the theoretical and practical knowledge that he had just gleaned from the books.
The most commonly used metal in enchantment was Mithril because it was highly conductive for Mana. By molding Mithril into different configurations through various methods, a stable and long-term Mana storage device could be built. And through changing the structure of Mithril, the structure of Mana could be altered too, enabling the casting of different spells.
Those were the theories, anyway. In practice, though, one had to pay attention to numerous other details that would eventually affect the outcome, which was why Link wanted to conduct these experiments.
He didn't have any Mithril on hand, but that was fine because he could get some of it by breaking the New Moon wand apart. Although the wand wasn't of the highest quality, it did contain a decent amount of Mithril. In fact, Link managed to obtain a pound of Mithril after dismantling the wand.
What a waste, the 1000 gold coins' price was all spent on the Mithril in the wand. Was this supposed to be crafted by a master wandmaker? thought Link. He wondered if the wandmaker's reputation had been grossly exaggerated.
Once he'd obtained the Mithril, Link spent 20 Omni Points to purchase a transformation spell necessary for enchantment – Shapeshifter.
Shapeshifter
Level-2 Spell
Mana Consumption: 0.2 points per second
Effects: Once cast on a certain object, the object's physical shape will alter and change according to the spellcaster's wishes.
(Note: This is a necessary spell for low-level enchantments.)
After quickly learning this spell, Link immediately used it on the Mithril on the table.
The spell didn't require any special Mana focusing skills, so even a Magician's Apprentices' spellcasting skills were sufficient. As the Mana in Link's body got agitated and was arranged into a specific spell structure, a special force field would emerge.
This force field was almost invisible. If it didn't slightly bend the light that passed through it where it was concentrated in the palm of Link's hand, he wouldn't have noticed its existence at all.
Link knew that the force was known in transformation spells as the 'Higgs Force Field'.
This force field was discovered by a Magician called Higgs more than six hundred years ago and he was also the one who pioneered the field of transformation spells. His discovery had changed the enchantment skills from something that only high-level Magicians could do to something any average Magician could easily learn.
The Higgs Force Field had a strange property where it could transform any non-living objects' shape and properties. As long as your skill was developed enough, you could change metal to water, or even stone to gold.
But of course, the skills that were needed were very, very difficult to develop, and there was also another constraint – the huge Mana consumption rate.
The more properties of the object that was to be transformed, the higher the Mana consumption rate. For example, the ability to transform rock into gold at first glance might seem like an enticing idea that would enable one's fortune to grow infinitely. But in fact, it would take all of the Mana that a Level-6 Magician possessed just to transform a palm-sized cobblestone into gold of the same size and weight.
Nothing could be more precious to a Magician than his Mana, so no Magician in their right mind would ever waste all of their Mana for a mere palm-sized lump of gold. And so, no Magician has ever bothered to learn to transform rocks into gold.
As the adage went, there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
Now back to Link.
Link guided the transparent force field with his mind to wrap around the thumb-sized pile of Mithril on the table. Then he imagined the structure of the spell, Glass Orb in his head.
Link possessed an especially active imagination, so he could easily visualize things in his mind down to their smallest details. This skill worked in his favor when learning enchantment.
The pile of Mithril started to move and began to form into threads. The threads turned into magic runes and finally it transformed into a solid body of Mana structure, precisely the way Link visualized it in his mind.
About three minutes later, a shiny ball of Mithril was formed. At a glance, the orb seemed to be a normal ball of metal with a hollow structure, but when examined closely, it was an exact replica of the spell structure of Glass Orb.
Of course, there was no Mana in the Mithril threads, so it was presently only a hollow structure that was not able to capture the fire elements in the air. In short, right now it was just a pretty thing to look at.
Let's see if it works. Link picked up the small Mithril ball and focused his Mana into it.
This process did not require high concentration. All Link had to do was to pour his Mana into the ball. He didn't need to visualize the spell's structure because the Mithril threads would automatically guide the Mana into the structure of the glass orb.
Moments later, Mana filled the whole of the Mithril ball. When closely examined, Link could see that the Mithril ball was starting to light up, became blue, and finally grew into a glowing blue orb.
It was now a perfect facsimile of Link's spell Glass Orb.
"What a time-saving way to cast a spell. It did come at a high cost, though," Link said with a sigh. The spell had cost him 1000 gold coins, even an ostentatious Magician wouldn't choose to use such an expensive technique.
This was a Mithril-based glass orb, with the Mithril threads already in the configuration of the spell structure of Link's Glass Orb. This way, any Magician in the world capable of manipulating the Mana in their body would be able to unleash Glass Orbs. All they had to do was direct their Mana into the Mithril ball.
But of course, this technique was just too expensive to be practical. Not only was its power pitiably small, it could also only be used once, so it was only useful in experiments.
There was a description of the basic structure of magic wands in Basic enchantments, I think I'll try and replicate that.
So Link got himself a wooden stick. He then cast the Shapeshifter spell on the Mithril threads to move and fit it onto the stick according to the spell structure shown in the textbook. After that, he put on some finishing touches and then Link had successfully created his first basic magic wand from scratch.
Link was examining the crude wand in his hand that was lined with Mithril when a notification popped on his interface.
Basic Wand (Unnamed)
Poor Quality
Effects: Increases the power of spells by 5%.
That's not too bad. Link didn't mind that the wand was of poor quality because he had only spent half an hour to make it.
He tried casting spells with the new wand and thought it felt very nice in his hand.
"Ha! Isn't this interesting!" exclaimed Link, amused at how surprisingly good the wand was.
He successfully cast two more spells with the new wand. Now Link's interest towards enchantments deepened considerably. He remembered a chapter in Basic enchantment about the creation of magic scrolls.
Magic scrolls used special Mana-conductive ink. It involved the process of transferring the structure of spells onto a two-dimensional surface of an anti-magic sheet of paper. The advantages of magic scrolls were that it was portable and cost-effective, and if Mana and activating magic runes were fixed onto the scrolls too, even laypeople could use them to cast spells.
Link wanted to try creating a magic scroll, but he didn't have any materials that were required. He didn't let that stop him though.
What to do when there was no Mana-conductive ink?
No problem. The source of magic-conductive ink was the blood of magical beings, and Magicians were one of those magical beings, so the blood of a Magician could be used as a substitute for Mana-conductive ink. The more powerful the Magician, the more effective their blood would be as Mana-conductive ink.
Without any reservation at all, Link took a few drops of blood from his own body.
But what about anti-magic paper? Well, in fact, goatskin paper was the most basic and the most common type of anti-magic paper, so Link had that covered too.
Now that he had all the materials he needed, Link dipped the quill into his own blood and then sketched the spell structure of Fireball onto the goatskin paper.
Link's ability to accurately imagine a structure worked in his favor in recreating the spell structure of Fireball in one smooth stroke onto the goatskin paper. He then incorporated the necessary activating magic runes and poured his Mana onto the scrolls.
Immediately, the blood-red ink on the goatskin paper emitted a magic aura, but because of the restrictions of the activating runes, the scroll did not absorb fire elements in the air, so no Fireball was formed.
Link wanted to test the effects of the scroll right away.
He activated the magic scroll according to the method in the books, which was to wipe away the activating runes and then hurl the scroll into the air.
The scroll absorbed and attracted fire elements in the air, then it started to catch fire and burst into a ball of flame. Because of the very simple spell structure and because the scroll was made with crude materials, the Fireball did not have much explosive power. But all in all, Link considered it a success.
"How fascinating!" Link's interest on enchantment grew even stronger now.
Soon after, letters for him arrived from the academy. He opened and read the one from Eliard first before carefully going through Moira's letter, where she had given him very clear and detailed answers to his questions. Along with the letters, Moira had also sent him three new textbooks: Wand Construction, Advanced Enchantment Skills, and Cutting-Edge Applications of the Higgs Force Field.
Link rejoiced at the titles of these books; he couldn't feel happier if he had been sent precious gemstones. After skimming through Wand Construction, he vowed that he was going to create a new wand for himself!


Link was the top Archmage in the entire server. He had just defeated the strongest boss, the Lord of The Deep, Nozama with his party. However, instead of going back to town, he was transported to a secret location with pixelated CG. 

It sort of felt like a vacuum, and within it came a glorious and commanding voice that calls himself the God of Light. 

"Link, would you be willing to be the saviour who will pull the World of Firuman out from the churning abyss?"

What a huge mission! If it was in the real world, Link would have rejected it immediately. However, he was bent on being the hero in game.

"Bring it on!" Link answered confidently.

"Then, best of luck." 

And so begin Link's journey of magic, friendship, betrayal, love and despair in the ever changing World of Firuman.

The giant bat slowly descended from the sky, gently flapping its blood-red wings. Once the dust on the ground was raised, it had quickly transformed into a tall and thin middle-aged man. He wore a black suit with a white shirt, and had a pale yet handsome face. If it were not for those blood-red eyes, nobody would have thought that this charming middle-aged man was actually an infamous undead creature, a high-level vampire…
During the polite greeting of the vampire, everybody had simultaneously held onto the Teleportation Scrolls. This was not a joke. The strength of level-18 could kill any one of them instantaneously. The gap between both sides was too wide, and was not something a few mages could stand up against. 
Facing this terrifying reality, their only choice was to escape. As for this mission, they could only blame it on their luck…
"Let me think, how many years has it been since I last saw a human? A hundred years or a thousand years…" After the vampire landed, his pale face had a grin. His gaze towards them was as if he had been starved for a hundred years and suddenly saw a sumptuous dinner. That gaze was as if he was salivating, causing them to feel a chill down their spines. 
Lin Li did not speak, only staring at the Vampire. He held his teleportation scroll in one hand, while the other inched towards his back, making gestures to signal an escape towards his companions that had just recovered from Petrification. 
One party was staring intently at his dinner, while the others were trembling with fear and trying to escape. At that tense moment, nobody noticed that the last remnants of the black fog had seeped into crystal. After the last remnants of black fog had seeped in, the crystal that was abnormal since the day it had been dug up started to undergo some changes…
The crystal that had been glittering and translucent now became completely crimson in color. From afar, it looked like a piece of solidified blood, yet that crimson was not like an immutable solid. It was as if there was life force struggling within the crystal, using all its might to be free of a leash of some sorts. From the looks of it, it was about to succeed…
"No matter what, I have to thank you all. Humans, thank you for delivering me dinner!"
Once the hoarse voice had fell, the black suit was waving in the wind and flapped ferociously. Under the crescent moon, the vampire let off an incomparable aura. Even Lin Li felt suffocated under this strong aura filled with bloodlust.
He frowned, and was about to open the teleportation scroll in his pocket…
Yet, at this moment, the crystal on the floor had suddenly radiated a blinding flash of red.
Everyone heard a roar, which was followed by an explosion of an equally strong aura. Before they could understand what was happening, a crimson shadow shot out like an arrow with the "ta, ta, ta, ta" sound of trotting hoofs, forming a crimson shade in the air.
"Shape… Shapeshifter…" The others did not know what was happening, but Lin Li understood clearly. This was the treacherous Shapeshifter from the Nightmare Mountains. Gazing at that crimson shadow, Lin Li was panic-stricken at that moment. He was in a daze with his mouth open for a while before uttering out two words. "Oh, f*ck…" 
This time, they were in deep waters.
The companions behind Lin Li were stunned; it was as though somebody shoved an egg down their throats. They were about to be driven crazy from the fright. First a vampire, and now a shapeshifter. They were mentally prepared not to be shocked even if a Fire Dragon was to appear right now…
"Felic…" Mason looked straight with a voice that was like he was sleep-talking. "What, what, what… What is that…"
"Accordingly, it's called Shapeshifter…" Lin Li was no better than Mason's. It had mysteriously disappeared from the Nightmare Mountains, and randomly appeared in the Shadowglen; moreover, it was filled with a peculiar aura. This peculiar and strange feeling caused Lin Li to be unable to breathe. 
While the two of them conversed, the vampire screamed.
Lin Li looked over in horror. He saw that a red and a black shadow were locked together under the crescent moon. The four hooves of the Shapeshifter were blazing, and with a roar, it had pierced a hole in the Vampire's suit with its unbreakable horn… 
The humiliated Vampire was unyielding; it used its razor-sharp fangs and claws to leave wound after wound on the half intangible and half tangible body of the Shapeshifter. As both were level-18 creatures, they used immense strength. Even a moment of contact would scatter radiating flares.
Both were a formidable existence proficient in Dark Magic, and both had an incomparable brute strength. Just a moment of contact, and both were inseparable. As the Shapeshifter had a half intangible and half tangible body, it had strong immunity towards physical and magical attacks. On the other hand, a vampire could drain the strength of its opponents. Although each attack it dealt did not cause much damage to the Shapeshifter, it had constantly drained the Shapeshifter's strength. It was as if after every attack, the crimson radiance dimmed a little.
Even though this battle between two level-18 creatures was not as immense as the battle between the undead in the morning, the intensity was on par with it. An immense amount of Dark Magic flowed out, resonating with a powerful magical wave in the surroundings. The magical elements were strong after each consecutive wave; the pressure left everyone breathless. The razor-sharp claws and the unbreakable horn had splattered blood around the battlefield, dying the earth red… 
Only at this point did Lin Li realize that this strange battle might bring about some results… 
This was indeed a chance gifted from the heavens…
Everybody had spent a lot of effort on this mission. If they were to abandon it right now, everyone would not be able to take it lying. The mysterious appearance of this Shapeshifter had given them a chance to gamble. They had to gamble once, regardless of whether they made the right choice. Even if they did make the wrong gamble, they had their Teleportation Scrolls in their hands. There would not be much loss.
Lin Li hesitated for a moment before making up his mind quickly. He tightly clenched his teeth, and spat out two words. "Kill him!"
Mason was totally terrified. After hearing those words, he unusually asked, "Kill whom?"
"Idiot." Orrin's voice came from the back, and at the same time, a fireball flew past…
"F*ck, just you wait…" Mason snapped back into reality, and glared at Orrin while he hastily recited a spell.
The first thing that struck the vampire was not Orrin's fireball, but Larry's Flaming Storm. This level-9 mage might not be lucky, but his reaction speed was much faster than Mason's. Lin Li's voice had just fallen, and he had already cast his Flaming Storm, setting the vampire's body on fire.
"Despicable. Both of you are equally despicable." With two fire spells blasting it simultaneously, even a powerful level-18 creature would not come out unscathed. 
There was only a furious shriek coming from the battlefield, a shriek as sharp as the cries of a nightbird. The bombardment from the two fire spells had thoroughly enraged the Vampire. It endured the Shapeshifter's Death Ripples, and slashed two gaps in the Shapeshifter's body with its razor-sharp claws before withdrawing. It metamorphosed into a blood-red bat in the air, charging furiously towards the mages that had backstabbed it.
"A level-18 bullying a level-9, yet you dare to say I am despicable?" Mason scolded fiercely, and threw an Icy Spear. When the Icy Spear that was as strong as Flaming was thrown, even a level-18 Vampire would have to briefly dodge it.
Yet it was this brief moment that bought the Shapeshifter enough time.
With the resounding roar of the Shapeshifter, everyone felt a surge in Dark Force. In that instance, everywhere was pitch-black. Even the crescent moon in the sky seemed to have lost its radiance at that moment. The Shapeshifter had cast the Obscurus Spell, it was stronger than the one used by the Fantama Panthera in the Nightmare Mountains. In a blink, it had covered an area of more than a hundred metres. Even if it was a level-18 Vampire, it would have been at its weakest under this Obscurus Spell.
The blood-red bat was flying at blinding speed, but under this endless darkness, it flew with abnormal difficulty. From afar, it looked like a red snail carrying a heavy mountain while crawling in the air. Just a short distance of tens of metres was like the difference between heaven and earth.
At this moment, Lin Li had finished reciting his spell. The magical crystals on the Winter Staff started radiating a bright light. The violent magical elements created a deafening blast in the air… 


Lin Li accidentally enters another world while playing with his smurf mage account just after he maxes out all kinds of crafting skills, bringing with him various top-grade materials. Although his character is practically powerless, what he gains in return is unprecedented magical talent! Can he survive by himself after being thrown into another world?

Pulling back, I adjusted my grip on the ball before rocketing my arm forward with furious momentum.

The air split at the force and once the ball left my hand, the crack of the baseball hitting the wood rang throughout the woods. Using my enhanced reflexes, I brought my opposite hand up and caught the rebounding ball with my glove, a similar crack ringing out again albeit much quieter and more muffled.

This was the 347th ball I'd thrown. I was now able to smoothly and accurately throw the ball with 60% of my power. Let me just say that controlling where the ball hits when you're throwing at your hardest is surprisingly pretty hard. Luckily, I'm a genius. Or at least a pseudo-genius because of my learning ability.

Pulling back for another throw, I sniffed the air smelling Vampires near. When I say near, I mean within half a kilometer but still; if I can smell them, they could probably smell me.

So in the thoughts of self-preservation, I packed up my stuff before running off deeper into the forest, where I knew wolf territory was. The Vampires wouldn't follow me there and the wolves will probably leave me alone.

When I got there, I got on with more throwing, wanting to get to at least 400 throws before I called it quits and started working out.

. . .

It took a bit of time to get those last 53 throws in because I was actively trying to improve everything about my throws but it was worth the time.

I thought this as I looked at the deep dent on the thick tree in front of me from all the balls I'd pelted at it.

Smiling victoriously, I threw the worn-out and broken baseball diagonally into the air and away from me and I watched it rocket away despite me not even using full force.

Haah~ It's so fun having superhuman strength~

Chuckling to myself, I started to work out. I'd do hundreds of sit-ups, hundreds of press-ups, hundreds of pull-ups, and hundreds of squats, and even then, I barely felt an aching muscle in my body, the boiling energy in my body rushing to heal whatever tear I made in my muscle, no matter how micro it was.

And the best part?

It healed the muscle back better.

Oh, how I LOVE being a Shapeshifter. At least my kind of Shapeshifter.

Finding some big rocks I started lifting them and doing a multitude of workouts, pushing my limits even further. Bodyweight exercise doesn't help much anymore and I've started to use them as a warm-up for the exercises like this.

Rocks like this litter the woods around Forks and they come in all kinds of sizes. The one I was currently lifting must have been bigger than a bike and nearer to a car in size and I'd have to say it weighs closer to a ton than it does to one hundred kilograms; probably around 800kg? Yeah, that seems right.

This wasn't my absolute limit but it did make my bones creak. Though the energy in my body constantly repaired bones microfractures, and this is when I realized this energy is what fulls my healing factor as well.

I guess it's like a Shapeshifter's equivalent to a Vampire's Venom which flows through their system and can be used for several purposes.

Anyway, I continued to exercise until I heard some twigs crunching a few meters away from me. Hurriedly dropping the rock with a loud bang, I spun around and I tried to play it off like I wasn't just lifting a big boulder like some light work out weight.

Even started whistling. Not suspicious at all.

Looking at the person who'd caught me pretty much red-handed, I had to do a double-take.

Tall, for a girl at least, at around 5'11" with sleek black hair cut short at about her chin and her black eyelashes were like feather-dusters, batting over her dark, but shiny, brown eyes which seemed to shine with disbelief but also realization.

"Alex?" her mouth, formed like an 'o', became a wide smile and she rushed over toward me and hugged me tightly.

Her hugs force was slightly strong, even for my body, so I knew she was supernatural. I knew who she was, however, so I didn't need to know this to know she was of supernatural origin.

Feeling her athletic but feminine body pressed close to mine, I was stunned before I felt joy at meeting a friend I hadn't seen in many years, and quickly returned the hug with crushing force which made the girl start laughing joyfully.

Looking own at her head buried in my chest, I smiled before separating.

She reluctantly separated from me before she looked up at me with a dazzling smile and I had to admit: In the years I hadn't seen this girl, she'd really bloomed into a beautiful girl. It was different than Edythe who looked unreal or ethereal like a supernatural being, or like Bella who looked like a 'girl next door' type of girl, this girl in front of me gave off a more exotic kind of beauty and it really set her apart from most, if not all, of the girls I knew.

Smiling back at her, I spoke, "Leah...It's been what? 5, 6 years? You've really grown!" I stopped myself from looking at her tall, athletic and developed figure and kept my eyes focused on her shiny brown eyes.

Hearing what I said, Leah averted her gaze as her copper skin went a bit darker in her embarrassment from my comment, "Yeah, I guess I have..." she bit her lip as she looked back up at me, looking at my muscular body as her gaze traveled back up to meet mine, "But you're one to talk; where's that lanky boy I used to play soccer* and tag with? You've really grown yourself...and filled out," Leah went flustered again as she looked at my body.

This was Leah Clearwater, my other childhood friend. Jacob, her and I were inseparable when we were younger and we'd made some fond memories that I could look back on even to today. Though she didn't stick with me and Jacob once we'd all entered Middle School; she split off with Jacobs sisters and the other girls in her area. Being friends with boys at that age was like a social taboo.

Kids in early puberty are weird, I guess.

But more importantly, Leah Clearwater was the only girl to awaken the Shapeshifter Gene in her family. In the books and the movies, she was a Shapeshifter, and in the books, she was THE fastest wolf of the pack.

This girl was like me - A Shapeshifter.

And from her hug just now, it seemed she'd already fully phased or she was currently coming to the end of her phasing and would soon be able to shift.

Though this was weird. She shouldn't be able to do this until New Moon. Right now we're still in Twilight and Leah Clearwater should still be a normal girl, albeit pretty moody because of her break-up with Same, another Shapeshifter.

Why had she awakened? Had some big stuff changed?

Pushing my thoughts to the edge of my mind, I looked at the girl in front of me and curiously smiled with a raised eyebrow, "By the way, since when did you get here, Leah?" I needed to know if she had seen me lifting that massive boulder because if so, I'd have to swear her to secrecy or something like that.

I should have paid more attention to my surroundings.

Hearing what I said, Leah smirked before squinting her eyes in a smug expression, "Oh, I don't know, since you were overhead pressing that massive boulder behind you~" as she finished her smug expression crumbled and she started laughing.

I was slightly confused on why she wasn't curious about how I could do that if she did indeed see me, but not wanting to dig myself a hole, I rolled my eyes before replying to her, "I think it goes without saying that you can't tell anyone what you saw, right? Please, Leah," I smiled pleadingly, wanting to use the looks she was so obviously enamored with to my advantage.

She stopped laughing before looking at me seriously which kinda surprised me; Leah was never serious when we were younger. She was either being grumpy and easily agitated or energetic and happy. Never serious.

Her pretty brown eyes looked up into my blue ones and she smiled a little.

"If it's a favor for you, Alex, then I'm sure I can keep this a secret," she lost her serious face, replacing it was an ironically cat-like smile, like a playful cat playing with a mouse, "But you owe me one. Maybe dinner at a nice restaurant, we could go to Port Angeles like we used to do with our parents," she smiled happily, remembering the meals we'd go for after doing some fishing, but went a bit flustered as she carried on, "But just the two of us this time. Don't let Jacob weasel his way into the meal, either," she scowled and I had to say, I was surprised with her apparent dislike of Jacob.

Seeing my obvious confusion, Leah flicked her hair back, seemingly in frustration before addressing it, "Back when we were kids, Jacob was a real dick to me when you went around. Constantly teasing me for being a boy-like girl, saying I shouldn't play with either of you, or just being dismissive of everything I had to say, and I guess it just stuck with me," she sighed before carrying on, "I really only put up with Jacob because I liked being with you. You made most things fun and you didn't dismiss me because I was a girl...You don't know it, but you were a big confidence booster for me growing up," she smiled sweetly while looking at me and I'd be lying if I said I didn't have to hide my blushed cheeks by looking away.

But still, I had no idea Jacob was such a dick to her. Sure they never got along as well as they did with me but still...I didn't think it was so bad.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear Jake was such a jerk to you...I'll make sure it's just us to for the meal," turning back to her, I smiled apologetically at her before it turned into a more playful grin, "Plus, I wanna save money. So it just being us two will be easier on my wallet~" laughing lighthearted, Leah joined me and we just stood there laughing.

Finally, the laughing came to an end before I looked at Leah with a grateful smile, "Thanks, Leah. Despite not seeing you for a few years, you're still you; a great friend. Thanks for agreeing to keep my secret," I pat her head, it being something I'd done all the time when we were kids - Leah used to be a pretty short kid and it was easier to treat her like a younger sister than a person of the same age.

And I guess some of that just carried over as I did it on instinct.

Still, Leah didn't seem to complain, she just yelped a little before her full lips curved into a small, but happy, smile as she just sat there enjoying the head pat. 

By the time I realized what I was doing, it was already clear she didn't mind it so I just carried on for a few more seconds before pulling her into another tight hug, happy that I'd reconnected with a friend of mine before I thought it would happen.

Weirdly prepared for the hug, like she was going to hug me if I didn't hug her, Leah tightly wrapped her arms around me and we just stood there, old friends who would soon get to know one another once again.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy hugging such a beautiful girl but I didn't do anything weird; it wasn't in my nature to be like that. I'd at least ask before doing that kind of stuff. Though that didn't stop Leah from doing some...questionable stuff.

Mainly sniffing me. But I chalked it up to her wolf instincts going wild because of emotions after meeting an old friend of hers and finding out he wasn't so different from her. Which she'll probably want to speak about when we have dinner. Thrilling.

After a solid minute of hugging, I tapped Leah's back to tell her to let go of me and she reluctantly did so, looking up at me with crescent-shaped eyes and a wide smile.

Weirdly happy...

Blocking such thoughts, I smiled down at her before picking up my bag next to me with the baseballs and my glove in it.

"Well, I better get going. I'll come here around tomorrow night and we can figure out the details for this dinner I owe you, okay?" smiling, Leah nodded at what I said, and after I gave her hair a ruffle, I broke out in a jog which slowly developed into a sprint as I needed to get home to ask my dad something.

. . .

POV Change - Leah Clearwater

As I watched the tall, handsome boy run away, I felt my cheeks go warm, followed quickly by the rest of my body.

It still felt like his intense, electric blue eyes were looking at me and the feeling sent goosebumps over my skin.

I can't believe how much he'd changed.

The pale, slightly skinny bean pole I used to know had turned into a slightly tanned muscular bodied Adonis. But he was still the same. A smile like the sun and kind, gentle eyes.

I couldn't say I wasn't surprised by the fact he was lifting a boulder around the size of a car, and to see how heavy it was I tried to lift it - I could barely get half of it off the ground - but honestly after I completed my phasing and gained the ability to turn into a big wolf, I could confidently say I wasn't too surprised by most things anymore.

If anything, the thought of him being supernaturally charged me with energy - I wouldn't have to hide what I was from him!

As I watched the handsome boy run away, I smiled thinking about how he hadn't changed, and with a hand to my chest, I felt myself linked to him and I couldn't fathom how I'd survived without him. Watching where he was, now that he'd disappeared into the darkening forest, I couldn't help but smile and do a few mini-fist bumps into the air when thinking about how we'd be getting dinner together--

Together. Just the two of us. Like a date. A date with Alex.

Feeling my brain short-circuit, I phased into my wolf form before speeding off home, knowing that I needed to ask my mom to take my clothes shopping.

Dying, gaining a few wishes and reincarnating into a world where an Underworld of Vampires pretty much rules the world, watch as Alexander becomes something who makes the Supernatural world know that a single being can become a threat to everything.

( I don't own the cover photo I'm currently using. If the original owner wants me to take it down, then I will. )

"Whoo! Finally a subject change! Well kind of…" Eranoth shouted with his bloodshot eyes. 
"This time I want to share a bit about a rarer type of shapeshifting. It is known as empathy and resonance shifting. In order to understand empathy shifting one must first comprehend empathy."
Eranoth rubbed his temples and tried opening his heart to no avail. "Dang, I am still too heartless of a person to empathize with others…" He sighed as he pulled up the webnovel app on his phone to get some minutes of reading while typing up things. 
"Empathy in its simplest form is connecting with another being emotionally. To be empathetic is a bit more difficult than being sympathetic. There is a type of 'spiritual' power people claim to have that relates to empathy. They are called Empaths. Empaths, by the way, make great minor characters when you have another character who tries to keep everything hidden, especially from the readers."
Eranoth snorted as he thought about his one friend who isn't a webnovel writer who has shown empathic tendencies. "Actually most of my knowledge about empaths came from him." 
"An empath is someone who can feel what others feel. At the least, they can pick up on the emotions of others and experience them themselves. To the opposite extreme, they can feel the other person's pain, and non-emotional things they feel. Personally, my response is, IT'S MY PAIN DANG IT! LEAVE YOURSELF OUT OF IT!"
"There is lore somewhere out there that basically says the more you empathize with someone the more like them you become. Empathy shifting actually stems from this concept."
Eranoth sighed. "Trust me, this one surprisingly shows up in writing more often than you would think."
"Empathy shifting has many ways to apply it and it isn't very restrictive as empathy can be formed towards objects as well and living beings depending on your world lore. By developing a connection beyond that of a normal Empath; one can not only change their shape, they can change the type of presence they give off as well. There are some dragon legends regarding shapeshifting that fall under this category. Among the very rare non-arrogant dragons there is a species of dragon that will 'disguise' itself as other creatures and live among them. It developed that ability because it uses high amounts of empathy to become the same species. If I recall correctly, they were a species of green dragons. Most dragons however have too much pride to use this form of shapeshifting."
"Empathy shifting is rarely permanent unless desired however it often comes with side effects. Because you empathize to change, some of the things that were empathized will often secretly remain. For example if a human empathy shifted into a dog, after they end the transformation of 'being a dog' on more than just the physical level they may find themselves scratching behind their ears more often as habits are easily formed but hard to break. The longer you empathy shift the more like the creature you will remain when you end the shifting."
"There are a few things to remember with empathy shifting. 
1:The adaption period to learn how to act as the creature is almost non-existent as empathy grants you a piece of the creature's experience. 
2: Partial Empathy shifting is also valid. In fact, it is more common because it is a transition stage between Empath and Empathic Shapeshifter. Partial shifting has less side effects.
3: Side effect and backlash often occur. As I mentioned before habits are easily formed. Backlash of empathy shifting comes from Empathy's supposed opposite, Apathy. Feelings of Apathy (or not caring, which I am an expert of…) while under the effects of Empathy shifting can cause great harm to the user. Form lock mentioned in chapter 3, Amplified side effects, Mutations, Physical or mental harm, Form ejection or rejection, and other things can happen. 
4: It only works if your character can create that bond even if it is only one way.
5: Empathy shifting isn't always appreciated. Some people would find it rather disturbing. After all, it is the "I feel you." Form of shapeshifting. 
6: The methods of forming empathy can easily range from very basic to very adult content. Be wise when you choose your method of forming empathy. Don't let the forming of empathy ruin your story. 
Eranoth shook his head. "You can see why I have had no success with empathy shifting in real life with how apathetic I am… On a side note I finally am on the discord chat! And strangely for the last 20 minutes we have only had two people ghost on the chat. According to my sister it is usually much more rowdy. I am sure I will see what she means soon enough."
"I guess I should get on to the topic of Grudge shifting. To be honest I don't have a good name for it. In shapeshifting lore there exists a special type of emotional and spiritual poison. It is caused by excessive emotions, suffering, etc and fueled by a desire to drag others into the same suffering."
"There are many ways this can show up in a story: An object, a miasma, contact with an actual being and so on. However there are lots of things to consider with this type as well.
First: Necromancy, a subject to be addressed later, frequently uses this type of shapeshifting to create undead. You will find this form of power more frequently in books with necromancy. Just know that this type of shifting does not always have to be necromancy. I have seen a few cases where this is not necromancy but cursed transformations.
Second: This is typically a curse type of shapeshifting. So pay attention to what causes it to work and not work. If this type of shapeshifting is generated in too much power then the doom vibe increases exponentially. Usually the more beings involved the stronger it is the more area it affects and so on. If you want a single target curse, rely on less creatures but concentrate the emotions. If you want to go with a AOE more creatures less focus.
Third: This type of shapeshift is usually permanent until curse is broken or death (or in necromancy re-death). Also the new victim usually adds to the strength of the curse. This is usually a very dark and easily lorebreaking method of shapeshifting unless you add ways to counteract it. Most people go with the whole divine light or whatevers.
Fourth: This type of shapeshifting is usually not intentional and is usually more instinctual by nature. It is usually guided by 1 existence but created from the instinct of multiple others.
Fifth: Getting rid of the organizer doesn't always remove the effect. This depends on the nature of the relationship between the organizer and the creatures causing the problem. For example, if the relationship is that the organizer is maintaining the curse, transformation, or undeath then the effect will fade when it is gone. If the organizer is only guiding instead of maintaining the effect, curse, transformation, emotional poison of doom will remain until cleared by removing the source.
If you want an example to see how it works. I explain one example of this in chapter 31 of my book, Jericho the Bard. There are some details before and more details will come as the story progresses.
"Fihew, dark stuff… Just know that Necromancy will eventually have its own chapter, or more… Man, I really should stop writing, it is almost midnight where I am. Let's push through this chapter!"
"The last form of shapeshifting I mentioned in the title is Resonance shifting. It is very very similar to Empathy shifting. The difference is that you are resonating rather than experiencing. Instead of 'feeling like a dog to become a dog', you 'resonate with the existence of a dog to become a dog'.
"One example of Resonance shifting can be found in my book Jericho the Bard in chapters 20-23. While i don't explain it in detail in the book, and I am utilizing a variation of it, it is a decent way to see resonance shifting in action."
"Unlike empathy shifting the resonance doesn't have to be a positive thing. The shapeshifting doesn't have to come from within either. The person can for example have a hostile resonance with cats and end up shifting into a cat. The person can have resonance with a cat in some way, and a practitioner of magic or a deity can tap into that resonance to transform the other."
"This form of shapeshifting uses high mental/emotional/or physical resonance as a base. Basically it can be positive and work similarly to empathy shifting with a few less risks but much harder to control. Or it can be a very curse like shifting type where that resonance creates a punishment of sorts. There was a story a lot time ago, I don't remember what it was called but in that story the person killed an animal and then woke up the next day as that animal because of resonance shifting on a negative way. I think it was a form of divine punishment or something like that. Curse like resonance shifting is often permanent until conditions can be met. These conditions usually entail changing the resonance one felt for the creature they were cursed into."
"If you want a more innocent variation of Resonance shifting, (with very little explained or detailed out) you can look up My other book, Jericho the Bard and read chapters 20-23.
"Whoo! Finished before midnight my time on this chapter!"
"Again, you will find that in later chapters similar concepts show up. Shapeshifting in general is a very complex topic. I hope you will enjoy the many more chapters of info dump! I hope this becomes an incredibly useful book for people! Gnight All! I am going to bed like I told myself to do last chapter!"

© J Eranoth

Eranoth's Lore books are a series of books about otherworldly lore. They are designed to bring clarification about subjects that are not easily understood. 
This particular lorebook is dedicated to the many methods of shapeshifting. 

Eranoth's actual novels will come out at a later time when they are ready to be unleashed upon the world. Please know that Eranoth's lore books are not his world's lore, they are general lore for the use and adaption of writers.

For those seeking logic for lore, feel free to let me know what types of lore you want me to write books for. Before you get all excited, I WILL NOT waste time writing lore books on topics easily found with google OR adult content. If you want a lorebook on those types of things don't ask.

Happy reading and Writing!
Note: Due to the nature of the book, there is very little 'story' but I have tried to break it up a bit with story to make it less of a straight info dump.

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The Shapeshifter

Secretly A Shifter

Imperium Online

New World New Life

Daughter of a lonely immortal - Dropped

The Demon King's Cowardly Vessel

Advent of the Archmage

Another World’s Versatile Crafting Master

A New Wolf in Twilight

Eranoth's Lore Books Volume 1 Shapeshifting

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