Shadows and Stats: Daphne’s Preparations

Before her departure, Daphne utilized the orb’s power to re-examine and confirm her current attributes. She reviewed the detailed panel.

Daphne’s current status was laid bare: she was a female Half-Blood with a Succubus Physique, currently a Level 1 Cleric (Base Class), with an empty experience pool requiring 100 points for the next level. Her Death Lineage followed the Night Path, placing her at Sequence 9 as a Shadow Walker.

Her vitals showed 100% Health and 10/10 Mana. She possessed the skill Shadow Sprint at Level 1, tied to her Shadow Walker lineage.

Her spell repertoire included Lightfire, Blood Disguise, and Mage Hand, all inherent Half-Blood talents. From her Shadow Walker path, she commanded Pain Lash at Level 1, complemented by the Cleric spell Prayer at Level 1.

Furthermore, she had several traits: Light and Shadow Vision, allowing her to discern the interplay of light and dark; Night Conservation at Level 1, reducing mana consumption in shadows; and Blessing Aura, a passive Cleric ability.

The Cleric profession, acquired through Blood Disguise, was only at the base Level 1. Nevertheless, it provided Daphne with a crucial mana pool, without which she would be unable to cast any of her mana-consuming arcane or divine spells.

The spell Pain Lash originated from the Shadow Path, an initial fel-attributed destruction arcana of the Death Lineage. Grover Crane’s previous spell, used to whip the necromancer, was precisely Pain Lash. However, the lich’s version was of a significantly higher level, incomparable to Daphne’s current Level 1 mastery.

The Prayer spell, a foundational divine art, stemmed from her Cleric profession. Arsuga did not accept clerics, which meant there was no synergistic link between the Death Lineage and the Cleric profession. Had she chosen a faith lineage that embraced clerics, Prayer would have upgraded and transformed into a different divine spell.

For instance, Edith’s Sunfury Prayer, which she had previously cast on Ian, was an upgraded replacement of the ordinary Prayer after she acquired the Blazing Sun Lineage. In this world, the ability to wield special prayers enhanced by a faith lineage signified a cleric’s eminent status within their sect. Both Edith and Gwynevere naturally belonged to this esteemed group.

Daphne wasn’t concerned about her inability to upgrade Prayer for now. After all, the Death Lineage’s Shadow Path was merely a temporary, secondary faith residing in her ring. She could always acquire the Blazing Sun Lineage or the Nature Lineage as her primary faith later.

As for traits, they were essentially passive skill enhancements. Light and Shadow Vision granted extraordinary followers of the Shadow Path the ability to discern the distribution of light and darkness. This allowed them to swiftly locate areas connected by shadows, enhancing their rapid traversal through gloom when combined with the active skill Shadow Sprint.

Night Conservation reduced the mana cost of casting spells while within shadows. While this trait grew incredibly potent at higher levels, at Level 1, the effect was marginal. Blessing Aura was a passive halo inherent to the Cleric profession, boosting the healing received by allied characters within a certain radius by 10%.

After a swift review, Daphne found that the effects of these skills and traits were largely consistent with those in COG, the game she knew so well. The only difference was that specific damage values for offensive spells and maximum health were now blurred, as life and death in reality could not be quantified by mere numbers.

Still, increasing her level was always the correct path.

Since the orb presented Daphne with an attribute panel reminiscent of her gaming days, it was probable that she would also be allowed to freely allocate skill or spell points acquired upon leveling up. Enhancing skill or spell levels would correspondingly strengthen their effects. At higher ranks, even the most basic abilities could yield astonishing results.

Often, a certain class and faith combination would culminate in maxing out the most efficient skill or spell and repeatedly spamming it, relegating all other playstyles to mere entertainment. Efficient dungeon groups would only recruit the most optimized classes and tactics. Before her transmigration, Daphne had been a character build guide writer for a strategy team. Even the most efficient raid groups would copy her blueprints, for few were more professional than she when it came to maximizing efficiency.

“With these abilities, dealing with a few weak Ungor beasts should be more than enough,” Daphne reassured herself. “Even if I encounter a more ferocious one, I possess the means to escape. It’s quite safe.”

She firmly locked her room door, leaving only a tiny crack in the window, then stood by it to inscribe the runes.

Shadow Sprint was a unique skill that required no mana to initiate travel, though its advanced Phasing required it. Only a handful of abilities in all of COG required rune inscription to activate, manifesting in-game as lengthy incantations that would fail if interrupted. Daphne understood this as a balance mechanism implemented by the developers; otherwise, rapidly phasing in and out of shadows would allow one to evade too much damage, making it utterly overpowered.

Reality, however, cared nothing for balance. When one’s mana reserves reached a certain immense level, the process from rune inscription to dissolution would take but an instant. The unskippable channeling times of the game could be circumvented in this world through sheer overwhelming power.

This was Daphne’s ultimate goal: to eventually be able to instantly vanish into shadows without any wind-up. She would no longer have to worry about being pounced upon by other lecherous girls.

After the black-purple runes were fully inscribed, they slowly dissolved. Shadowy smoke began to coil around Daphne, enveloping her until her limbs and body became indistinguishable from the swirling dark vapor. She gradually sank, merging into her own shadow.

Where light fell, shadows inevitably followed; shadows were ubiquitous. Daphne could clearly perceive the outline of every single shadow. The world of shadows, though distinctly different from the world of light, was interconnected at every point. In an unnoticed corner, within the shadow cast by the eaves, a wisp of imperceptible smoke swiftly darted past.