HP: Sacred Gear Chat Group (2) - Chapter 36 (Patreon)

Chapter 36 - Shout

Staring at the string of notifications, I realized just how much I had actually missed.

[ Feats achieved: Visit a new World <Elder Scrolls> (1 Roll) ]

In all honesty, I had expected that one earlier, but I hadn't had much time to think about it because we were immediately attacked by a Dragon after arriving in this World.

[ Feats achieved: Defeat a Dragon (1 Roll) ]

Which we had managed to beat. Thankfully, that counted as a Feat, too.

[ Feats achieved: Learn a form of Divine Magic <Thu’um> (1 Roll) ]

So, otherworldly Magic no longer counted as a Feat. However, some rare form of Magic that only a handful of individuals could use apparently did.

And Divine Magic, too? While the in-game version seemed rather tame thanks to gameplay restrictions, the lore version made perfect sense, especially considering how it actually worked.

[ Feats achieved: Add a Spark of Divinity to your Soul <Vulthuryol> (1 Roll) ]

Am I a God now? Probably not.

Well, most Dragons in Skyrim, or rather, the Elder Scrolls Universe, weren't Gods, but they were aspects of Akatosh. Meanwhile, Alduin, the most powerful and unique aspect of them all, was considered a God in his own right.

I had received this Feat after absorbing Vulthuryol's Soul down in Blackreach. It was the first Dragon Soul I had absorbed myself after learning how to do so by watching Agnar.

Would I eventually ascend to Godhood if I absorbed enough Dragon Souls?

And what would I even become then? A Devil Dragon God?

[ Feats achieved: Get an Elder Scroll (1 Roll) ]

Simple enough. Get your hands on a fragment from before creation itself, and you earn a Feat for it.

[ Feats achieved: Reach Master level in all Common Schools of Magic <Elder Scrolls> (1 Roll) ]

I had barely reached Master Level in most of them, having just crossed the threshold from Expert thanks to my own Knowledge combined with the Information I had absorbed from the Oghma Infinium.

With enough Magic Power, or Magicka, even a Novice could cast a Master-level Spell.

Reaching Master Level in a School of Magic didn't mean you were a Master Mage. It simply meant you had fully grasped the concepts of that particular branch of Magic. It was the starting point that separated a regular Mage from a True Mage.

It meant you genuinely understood the fundamental principles and Magical Theory behind your chosen branch of Magic, allowing you to wield the Arcane Arts with far greater power and efficiency.

From there, you were ready to branch out further into the Arcane Arts, which could no longer be neatly categorized into crude Schools such as Destruction, Alteration, Illusion, Conjuration, Restoration, and 'Mysticism'.

No, this was the starting point from which a True Mage could begin dissecting natural Phenomena, creating their own Magic, and understanding and manipulating Reality on a conceptual level.

A Mage who reached Master Level in a School of Magic had officially graduated from being a mere Apprentice. They had taken their first real step toward becoming something far greater.

Most Mages who reached this point were already old, with little of their Lifespan left to them.

But those who weren't? They were ready to become Legends.

Figuring out ways to extend their Lifespan or even achieve Immortality was usually one of the first things they did.

Just look at the Wizard Lords of House Telvanni. Most of the Masters in the House had figured out one way or another to extend their Lifespans, whether by making deals with Daedra or performing certain Rituals. Some had lived for Centuries as a result.

And that wasn't even mentioning true Legends like Shalidor, who had lived through most of the First Era, which lasted 2,920 years, and had even enchanted his resting place to allow him to return to the World of the living.

Or an absolute Powerhouse like Divayth Fyr, who had been born during the First Era and was still around to this day. He was such a powerful Mage that even Daedric Princes were wary of him.

Thanks to the Oghma Infinium, I had skipped years, if not decades, of the Magic Studies a regular Mage would have needed to reach this level. I had arrived at the very starting point that separated an ordinary Mage from a True Mage.

Apparently, reaching that level was worth a single Feat.

Unfortunately, the Oghma Infinium had chosen to branch out further from there, teaching me the basics of entirely new fields of Magic instead of deepening my Knowledge of a single branch.

Instead of learning some form of Godlike Magic, such as how to create a Soul through Soul Magic or something along those lines, I had instead gained a very solid grasp of Magical Theory across a wide range of different fields.

I had no idea which approach was better: branching out or focusing on a single field early on. But the Oghma Infinium hadn't given me any instant Cheats, either. Perhaps that was by design on Hermaeus Mora's part, considering the Oghma Infinium was based on his Knowledge.

It would have been extremely foolish of him to give a sufficiently talented Mortal an easy way to become a threat to him.

Not that I could complain. I had learned a lot about the Magic Theory of the Elder Scrolls Universe.

More importantly… probably, my visit to this World had already granted me six Rolls. Depending on what I got, they could turn out to be something amazing or complete trash.

Let's see what I get.

[ Rolling… ]

[ Congratulations! You received a Common Consumable! ]

[ Cotton Candy Cloud: A very expensive candy ingredient made from a rare type of edible pink spiderweb. It has the taste and texture of very rich cotton candy and looks like a fluffy cloud when formed together. ]

Uh, okay? A Common Roll. Some sort of sweet I had never heard of before.

I'd keep it inside the System for now. It would be better to share it with the others instead of eating it all myself.

[ Rolling… ]

[ Congratulations! You received a Rare Spell Tome! ]

[ Fuinjutsu: Elemental Sealing ]

I immediately retrieved that one. Instead of a Tome, however, I got a Scroll.

It was written in some form of Japanese, and based on the description, it had to be from the Naruto Universe, since it used Chakra to seal away different Elements.

That was pretty much all it did.

The Fire Sealing Method Jiraiya had used to seal away Itachi's Amaterasu Flames was one of the 'Spells' described in the Scroll.

It covered all Chakra Elements and included theoretical Knowledge about how to combine them.

Calling it a Spell Tome was a bit of a stretch, but it was still an interesting Roll since it introduced me to a new form of sealing.

I already had plenty to study, but this would make for an interesting read and broaden my perspective. Perhaps I could figure out how to make it work without Chakra. Or maybe Chakra was simply another form of Magic Power?

I'd figure it out once I had some free time.

[ Rolling… ]

[ Congratulations! You received a Common Power! ]

[ Danger Rating: Allows you to view the danger a target can pose to you, ranging from Safe, Moderate, Dangerous, Lethal, to Certain Death. ]

At least this one was generally useful.

It was also a new Category of things I could get from my Gacha. How that even worked was another question entirely.

Still, Powers could be pretty cool.

I didn't recognize where this one came from. Maybe it was from a Video Game, or perhaps it was something original?

[ Rolling… ]

[ Congratulations! You received a Legendary Building! ]

Oh! A Legendary!

My very first one! Now I knew I could actually get Legendaries!

But a Building? What was that supposed to mean? That was another new Category, too.

[ Clock of Ages: An enormous mechanical clock that you can place on a Territory you own. By precisely adjusting the various gears and chains within this clock, you can control the rate at which time flows inside a Territory you designate as belonging to you, relative to the outside World. You can speed up time to a maximum of four times its normal rate or slow it down to half its normal rate. ]

I had my very own Hyperbolic Time Chamber! A weaker Version of it, sure, but it was still a Time Chamber! And one that I could adjust!

No wonder this thing was considered Legendary!

Now, all I needed was a place I owned…

Preferably, one that was well protected from outside influences. I didn't think I would be able to hold on to it for long if I placed it somewhere everyone could see what it did.

That would attract far too many greedy people.

Hmm, I'd have to focus more on some of my plans. As a Devil with a shit ton of time on my hands, I had thought this was something I could take care of in a few decades. But finding a cool Territory of my own would have to move to the top of my priority list.

[ Rolling… ]

[ Congratulations! You received a Common Spell Tome! ]

[ General School - Prank Spells ]

Okay… compared to a Hyperbolic Time Chamber alternative, this was just a bad prank.

Are you sure this isn't a Junk Roll?

After flipping through the Pages, I began to understand why it was considered a Common Roll. It was just a Book filled with Prank Spells, but those Spells came from different Magic Systems across different Worlds.

While their practical usefulness was quite limited, the Book itself could provide some interesting insights into the Magic of other Worlds.

Still, it couldn't really compare to my other Rolls.

Meh, you win some, you lose some.

[ Rolling… ]

[ Congratulations! You received a Common Item! ]

[ $10,000 ]

It was Money…

After retrieving it from the System, I found myself holding a stack of $100 bills bound together with a paper band. Every single bill looked like legitimate Money.

I only knew British Pounds, but these bills had everything proper Money was supposed to have. The paper felt authentic, and there were serial numbers, watermarks, a portrait of Benjamin Franklin, and all the other details I'd expect to find on real Money.

I couldn't spot anything wrong with it.

So it shouldn't be counterfeit, right? I wondered if there was a Spell that could detect that kind of thing.

Where was the System even getting all this Stuff from? Was it stealing things from random Universes?

Whether my Sacred Gear was a thief wasn't a question I should be pondering right now.

I was better off getting some sleep. Agnar had already passed out, and tomorrow we'd have several hours of flight ahead of us before continuing our looting tour through Skyrim.

Tomorrow would be important.

———

— High Hrothgar, 4E 201 —

“Sky guard you, Dragonborn,” Master Arngeir greeted Agnar before turning his interested gaze toward me. “Another of the Dragon Blood? This is truly an age of great need.”

The Greybeards really did have the Ability to sense Dragonborn.

No, that wasn't it… Technically, I wasn't a Dragonborn. I had simply learned their Powers from Agnar.

They must have been sensing the Dragon Soul I had absorbed! Of course, the Greybeards had summoned the Dragonborn in the Games after he slew his first Dragon! Before that, he had still been a Dragonborn, but he had never had the chance to use his Powers!

And the Greybeards were pretty strong, too. My new Power, Danger Rating, told me that each of them posed a dangerous threat to my current self.

That shouldn't have surprised me. They were among the highest-level Characters in the Game, on par with the final bosses like Alduin and Miraak. Of course, they would be dangerous in Reality, too.

Arngeir was even on the verge of being classified as lethal to me.

He wasn't someone I wanted to provoke. While watching someone get Fus Ro Dah'd off the Throat of the World was hilarious in the Games, I had absolutely zero desire to experience that in Reality.

“Greetings, Greybeards. I came to study the Path of the Voice. I also hope you will allow me to visit the Throat of the World. I need to collect some of the never-melting Snow found only at its summit,” I requested earnestly.

“That's not so simple. Only when your Voice can open the Path to the Throat of the World will you be ready. First, let us see if you truly are Dragonborn. Let us taste your Voice,” Arngeir replied as the other Greybeards gathered around us.

“If you insist.”

Without a care in the World, I unleashed a thunderous shout.

“FUS RO DAH!”

Just like in the Games, there was actually a Cooldown between Shouts. However, it wasn't as though I couldn't use another Shout immediately afterward. It was more that doing so strained my body, especially my throat and lungs, which needed a little time to recover between uses. If I repeatedly used Shouts too quickly, I would end up hurting myself.

“You are Dragonborn. Welcome to High Hrothgar!”

“Great! Now that we've cleared that up, how about teaching us how to reach the top of the Mountain? I'd like to collect some of your never-melting Snow, and I'd also love to learn whatever else you have to teach me.”

I really wanted to secure some of that Snow, not only for the White Phial but also as research Material.

Mom loved her research, and this World was filled with things to study. But the truly unique stuff was always better, and I would love to dabble in some research myself.

Magic was just so fascinating.

“Guiding you is our sacred duty, as it has been with many Dragonborn throughout the Ages,” one of the Greybeards replied, readily agreeing to my request. “You have already developed your Thu’um quite considerably, but there are still things we can teach you.”

“Great! I'd love to hear more. What do you have in mind?”

“As with your fellow Dragonborn, we will teach you a new Shout and how to use it. Properly mastering a completely unfamiliar Shout is an important part of our training.”

Yeah, that would be the Whirlwind Sprint training.

That was one of the more useful Shouts, but was that really all they had to offer?

“As a Dragonborn, you possess the natural gift to master the Thu’um far more easily than any of us,” Arngeir continued. “Besides refining your Thu’um through practice, experience, and the Spirits of other Dragons, there is a Chamber within these halls. Our Library contains a Statue of Kyne. You may meditate before it, contemplating the deeper meaning of your Thu’um and discovering new Shouts.”

Alright, now we were talking! That was something new, and it definitely wasn't in the main Game. At least, I thought so.

Wasn't that from a Mod? The one that added new Shouts by rearranging the Words of existing ones?

Some of those Shouts were incredibly powerful, too. And this wasn't just a Game anymore; it was Reality. Who knew what else I could discover through Meditation?

Of course, that would take some time.

“I will do that, Master!” I readily accepted his suggestion. “But what about allowing us to visit the Throat of the World?”

That actually made the man hesitate.

“You are not ready yet, Dragonborn. Your Thu’um still requires refinement before you reach the necessary threshold to clear the Path with your Voice,” Arngeir explained after a few moments of hesitation.

In other words, I needed to kill more Dragons.

Well, that could easily be arranged. I had a Summoning Spell that could get us more than enough of them, but I probably shouldn't use it here.

If I remembered the Lore correctly, the Greybeards were hardcore Pacifists. Their entire Path of the Voice was built around the idea of not using the Thu’um for Combat or personal Power.

Starting another Dragon-slaughtering spree up here would be the complete opposite of their Ideology.

“What about me, Masters?” Agnar asked eagerly.

Even then, the Greybeards hesitated, exchanging glances with each other before looking at me. They didn't seem particularly eager to answer.

But Agnar quickly picked up on what was going on and decided to add one important Detail.

“I need to learn the Shout used to defeat Alduin.”

“Where did you learn of that? Who have you been talking to?”

[-- End of Chapter --]