Nightmares Paradise [LITRPG System Integration]

The Fragment Of Shadow possessed characteristics similar to obsidian, despite being shaped like a black diamond. Cold to the touch and eerily smooth around the edges. Unlike all of the previous fragments Jon had obtained, the Fragment Of Shadow didn't possess a grand lustre or some minute barely noticeable quality to it.

For all in intents and purposes, it was just a rock, albeit a deceptively pretty one.

Jon had held a piece of obsidian before during one of his science classes a couple years ago. While the topside possessed a somewhat glassy texture to it, the underneath was just black coloured rock without any unique or peculiar properties to it.

The Fragment Of Shadow intrigued Jon, despite the fact that it lacked any obvious compatibility, with either Knowledge or Wood. Everything of sufficient physical size possessed a shadow within Jon's world.

Shadows required a light source in order to be created, so from a metaphysical context, shadows were born from light. Despite possessing qualities or feelings commonly associated with darkness or perhaps night.

While Jon had planned to integrate his Fragment Of Regeneration into his Wood Mana Core, his handful of other fragments laid waiting to be integrated. Jon's Fragment Of Moss would be kept in reserve for his Wood Mana Core, but this left seven potential fragments to integrate.

Six, if Jon excluded his Fragment Of Mouth. The connotation the fragment possessed didn't quite sit well with him, refusing to integrate it into his Knowledge Mana Core, or his Wood Mana Core.

While he didn't want to discount the remaining fragments, Jon had a good feeling about this Fragment Of Shadow. All of the other fragments he had received from a task reward provided excellent abilities, so there was no reason as to why this should be any different.

Accepting the system integration prompt, Jon waited patiently for roughly two minutes before feeling something settle within his chest. A somewhat 'full' sensation filled Jon. Not quite on the verge of 'overflowing', but certainly enough to cause Jon to straighten his back, focusing on the image of his Knowledge Mana Core within himself.

There were no distinct changes to its physical structure or appearance, nor to the rotation or constant release of spiritual energy. Wisps of silvery-grey fog occasionally emanating from the lustrous spherical orb.

Jon noticed just from picking up his Fragment Of Regeneration, that there was still the possibility of integrating another fragment into his Knowledge Mana Core.

'Perhaps this 'full' sensation is the feeling of my Mana Core growing closer to its maximum capacity? Are six fragments the limit for each Mana Core?' Jon thought to himself.

'Thirty-six total abilities… Damn I'm not even close to reaching such a thing', Jon let out a whistle, before seeing another system prompt appear in front of him. His newest ability was perhaps his most… peculiar one yet.

[Fragment Of Shadow]
[Thou Is But A Shadow Of Oneself]
(Knowledge, Shadow, Mutation, Enhancement, Spell, Perception, Resistance)

Effect (Mortal): Transforms the mortal nature of one's shadow into that of a Hades-Sagacity Shadow. Dramatically increases mana regeneration. Dramatically increases resistances towards light-related damages, afflictions, and debuffs.

Chant, then infuse your shadow with the essence of unseen knowledge and ardent erudition. Extend and manipulate the limits of your shadow within a certain radius. Peer through its eyes, listen through its ears, feel the brush of stone and dirt against its feet. Knowledge acquired by the Hades-Sagacity Shadow shall become your own.

Jon felt as though something had nudged his entire being all at once. As if someone had moved him just a single centimetre without coming into physical contact with Jon at all.

He thought he felt his form ripple for a second. Jon's eyes immediately glancing down towards his shadow, noting that while the nature of his shadow had now stepped beyond mortal limits, its appearance had not changed in the slightest.

If anything, Jon could feel the wisps of spiritual energy released from his Mana Core grow more prevalent. His newest ability dramatically increased his mana regeneration, so that part made sense to Jon.

Even the chant, which allowed him to extend and manipulate the limits of his shadow somehow made sense. Jon would be able to extend his five senses into his shadow, observing the world around himself using his shadow as a conduit.

Considering how powerful it sounded, Jon suspected that there were unsaid limitations or consequences of performing the spell. While his first, and only other Spell-type ability [Cometh Thy Red Horse Awaits], informed Jon of the temporary weakness after the spell had concluded, [Thou Is But A Shadow Of Oneself] did not.

However, despite all of this, his eyes lingered on the name of his shadow.

Or rather, the name of what his shadow had transformed into.

'Hades-Sagacity Shadow? As in the Greek God? More mentions of theological and mythological concepts and individuals. Hades was the Greek God of the underworld and as such authorities over souls and the dead. If I am not mistaken, his domains stretched into concepts such as the night as well, but I don't remember much more than that.'

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Jon wanted to know why this human mythological figure had been mentioned in his ability description. While there was something suspicious about the existence of a Karmic Mana Core, and the naming sense of his third ability [Ashvattha Rana; Earthen Treasury Womb], mentioning such a renowned figure within western mythology caused Jon to furrow his brows in thought, before gradually eliminating that possibility.

If the System Introduction were to be believed, then there were 36 universes before the one that Jon belonged to that had already been integrated into the System. If the number of lifeforms within a universe numbered in the hundreds of quadrillions, or tens of quintillions, then what were the chances of at least one of them being named Hades, and possessing both a Knowledge Mana Core and a Shadow Mana Core?

Whatever possibility that was, multiply it by thirty-six, and chances are that eventually a couple of people like that would have been born.

What Jon wanted to know; was why his ability had this individual's name in it?

'Is it possible that the System… recycle stories and histories?' Jon thought to himself.

The notion seemed plausible, but without sufficient evidence, it could only stay as a mere notion.

Standing up, Jon winced feeling another bout of pain shoot up his arm. Closing his eyes for a moment, Jon clasped a hand in front of his heart, feeling the sensation of spiritual energy leaving his Mana Core, flowing down towards his shadow.

"Hark! Mine is the shadow of knowledge, the sweet ignorance within thou ambitious daydream. Hitherto, and awaken from thou fantasy, lest your eyes become mine own, your fingers, feet and heart all too".

The words rolled off Jon's tongue, settling within the depths of his mind. Despite the strangeness behind his words, Jon could feel the shadow beneath his feet ripple, disturbing its calm surface. The black splotch froze, creating a distinct division between Jon's movements, and the movements of his shadow.

While Jon's injured hand remained at his side, his shadow merely paused, looking at itself while attempting to pat down its form. Jon felt his hand pass through himself without any difficulty or resistance, nothing but a strange hollowing sensation within his chest.

There was no sensation of pain while in this form, allowing Jon to clench both hands without fear of discomfort and tenderness. The faintest traces of a smile could be seen on Jon's face.

The world around Jon was strange, not quite as two dimensional as he expected it to be. His viewpoint was fixed, as if the ground beneath him had grown eyes, allowing him to only peer forward, or upward rather.

This changed when Jon took several steps forward, allowing his shadow to crawl up a tree, changing its point of view.

Jon could feel the grooves of the tree bark behind him on his back. Reaching his hand upwards towards one of the lower branches, Jon's shadow could feel the texture and elasticity of the leaves above him.

Jon didn't even have to breathe, the rise and fall of his chest a now entirely unconscious motion. The movements of the shadow were now reflected upon the movements of the physical form. At the same time, Jon could still prevent his physical body from moving and then stretch his shadow a specific lengths away.

It was a strange, and somewhat awkward sensation. Jon could control himself and his shadow at the same time, each making a different motion which he felt rapidly drained his spiritual energy.

Pushing the limits of how far he could stretch his shadow, Jon watched as it stretched over twenty-five feet away from himself. His shadow stepped forward as if Jon himself was walking, but instead of moving alongside his physical form, his shadow merely stretched further and further away, growing thinner with every step he took.

Taking a step beyond thirty feet felt as though Jon was trying to shove his head through a drainage pipe. Despite his shadow being unable to feel pain, his [Monstrous Instinct] told him that there was nothing good about pushing the limits of this reach beyond thirty feet.

Jon did not want to test using [Thou Is But A Shadow Of Oneself] while overloaded with mana, so just opened his eyes, cancelling the spells activation.

Jon felt his form tremble, he was once again flooded with sensations of pain, gravity and cold against his chest. Information flooded into Jon's mind all at once, causing his mind to pause for a moment, remembering that he had to breathe.

'I think I found the drawback of this ability', Jon thought to himself.

Despite being able to return his senses back to his physical body at any point in time, there was an obvious discordance between the moment he returned, and the moment Jon could comprehend everything around him.

"Unless I can get my hands on a fragment which can increase the speed of my cognition, I think I won't be able to use this ability during combat. While the range is limited now, perhaps in the future I will have the opportunity to increase it somehow", Jon said, hope clear within his voice.

It was a solid ability in Jon's opinion. It was not quite as powerful as [Mine Is The Sea Of Knowledge] or [Cometh Thy Red Horse Awaits], but Jon still had one more ability which he had yet to use, unable to do so until he possessed the materials needed to perform its associated ritual.

Unfortunately for Jon, while he knew the names and characteristics of his ritual materials, there was nothing he had seen thus far that could match the descriptions his inherent knowledge of the ability gave.

Jon rubbed his chin in thought before noticing Avahni's figure stir, swiftly placing the rest of his fragments back into his sandwich container. However, instead of placing them within his backpack, Jon glanced towards a hole several inches deep, placing the container within and burying it.

Jon placed his Wood Mana Core within his backpack, and turned towards Avahni, who merely sat up, noticing that the place she had woken up, was not the same place that she remembered passing out. Her eyes swiftly moved towards Jon, or his figure waving slightly over a dozen metres away.

Lifting his hand parallel with the ground, Jon tilted it from side to side, using his free hand to point towards her chest. He wasn't quite sure if Avahni was able to comprehend his gestures but felt the need to ask anyway.

Fortunately, the lutin shook their head, giving Jon the impression that they understood his meaning. Avahni didn't experience any pain while integrating the Fire Mana Core. While she spoke a few words that Jon didn't quite comprehend, she gestured towards Jon, giving him a couple small claps before lifting a palm and pushing it forward towards Jon.

Jon didn't need to understand what Avahni was trying to say, to understand her meaning either.

"Now it's your turn Jon. Integrate your Wood Mana Core, while I watch over you", their gestures implied.

Jon felt his stomach churn, afraid that Avahni would suggest such a thing.

While Avahni was unafraid to trust Jon with their wellbeing, Jon wasn't so willing to trust a stranger with his own. Despite knowing that this alien put their faith within the simple, childlike notion of a promise, Jon was far too familiar with how the world actually worked to be believe such a thing.

Jon shook his head, rejecting the offer that Avahni extended towards him.