(POV - (Y/N)

The first thing my eyes saw was the trees and dim blue skies above when I finally came to my senses, the area around me was quiet enough for birds and other creatures to roam about but it only prompted me to get up slowly.

I looked around my location, more trees and bushes in the distance with enough density to block out anything my eyes wanted to look further into.

"Where am I now?" I questioned to no one while patting myself clean of dirt.

Unless I was under an insanely potent hallucigen which I definitely wasn't, this place or world should be a completely new and different one if that "God" was trustworthy enough.

Unfortunately, I do not know where the hell I am, a forest filled with trees and who knows what isn't enough to give me an indication of location but as long as I find a vantage point then I may be able to get a better chance at finding out whatever this world is.

Also, being all alone inside a dark forest isn't really the very best of all situation with all the warnings parents drilled into me when I was younger... speaking of which, I wonder if "God" did anything about my death; did she erase my existence in the old world or just left it as it is?

Honestly? I'm hoping for the former.

"And honestly? Why..! Is..! This..! Thing..! So..! HEAVY?!" I grunted out, lifting the case up to prop it against a tree so I can see what kind of "weapon" this is.

From the sheer weight of it, it should be almost around 100kg but I mostly left that to speculations since my family was quite insistence on me going to the gym to work out every now and then... so that's to say I'm quite used to lifting the weights.

Still... is this a mace or hammer? Why would there be a need to make it so heavy? Those were my thoughts regarding this thing, that is until I placed a palm on the surface which triggered some sort of mechanism underneath before the sides of this... case opened up?

What greeted me soon afterwards were several pair of swords with a brilliant gleam of jade green with golden engravings and linings with a pair of swords having a simple immaculate silver blade while the others have a deeper coloration of green to it.

If this is my weapon then appearances aside... how am I meant to use them?! I never trained in swordsmanship or with any weapons in general! Was that brat of a "God" trolling me?!

But I do recall her chanting something weird with that light going into me right after I complained to her about this problem, perhaps it's something related to wielding a weapon?

Well, no use in overthinking it... I took a hold on one of the swords before pulling it out, hearing the satisfying sound of the blade leaving its sheath as I brandished the weapon in front of me.

At that moment, I think I managed to understand what the "God" did to my body to fill in the gaps of my knowledge in wielding a weapon because right now... this blade just felt right.

"...It fits my fingers and palm perfectly... this body knows... how and when to use them?" I muttered, feeling a foreign sense of familiarity when I held the blade.

Must be the effects of whatever that light bestowed onto me by "God", this body knows... I technically "know" how to wield this sword and possibly other weapons altogether.

"Nice." I murmured, taking a swing as my body fluidly moved with the sword, almost seemingly on its own as the blade sliced through the air.

I then turned to look at a random tree in the clearing that I stood in before glancing at the sword again... hmm, I always wanted to try this especially with how many swordsman and woman making it look so flawless in both anime and games.

Just as I began to swing the blade, my mind instantly transmitted all the movements and targets I want to aim at on the tree trunk into my entire arm to the wrist and hand, no motions were wasted as well as the speed and strength behind it as my arm and sword turned into a blur.

I let the weapon swing for longer until a seconds have lapsed which left me slightly breathing hard while I took a look at my handicraft, the once untouched tree bark was completely littered with smooth and cursive slash marks.

Though what did peak my interest was the fact that the cuts were not as deep as I had hoped so, they were cut in the places I had precisely targeted but it didn't do any impressive damage.

I then swung around my arm without the blade in hand, doesn't feel like I've lost any strength but unless I'm wrong... I soon walked up to the tree before reeling back my fist and then shooting it forward with all my might.

A pitiful sound akin to that of a slap hit the tree trunk and I knelt onto the ground afterwards while clenching my fist in pain, I sure as hope there isn't any broken bones!

"...Fuuuuuu- my hand..." I cursed, rubbing my knuckles after the completely unsuccessful attempt slash failure at punching a tree in.

Alright, that confirms it- while I have the techniques and knowledge to properly use a sword, I severely lack the strength to maximise the effects of my attacks which means I'm as good as skilfully cutting through a stick of butter with a toy knife.

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[Name] - (Y/N) (L/N)

[Title] - (N/A)

[Race] - Human

[Level] - 1

[Health Points] - 100/100

[Mana Points] - 100/100

[Fatigue] - 1%

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[Strength] - 10

[Endurance] - 10

[Agility] - 10

[Intelligence] - 10

[Sense] - 10

[Luck] - 0

[Available Points] - 0

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[Player's Mind] (Passive) - MAX

[Player's Body] (Passive) - MAX

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"Ooh, so this is the [System]... definitely cliche as hell with how it's structured like a game..." I remarked, looking at my profile.

"My intelligence is ten... not sure if I should be insulted or disappointed but I'll be both and my luck is... zero, figure it would make sense from all the crap that happened." I added.

"So... upon clicking onto any of these stats, I get to see further explanation on what exactly are their uses- I can already tell what they so nevermind that." 

Looking further into this [System], my eyes then caught sight of a small inbox sitting on the top right corner of the entire holographic screen and it has a notification on which meant I got something in the mail... was it from that "God"? 

Out of everyone here and my knowledge, she should be the only to have access to it though from how I was recently treated, I'd rather not be expecting too much from her which is why I hesitantly clicked onto the inbox.

Though I didn't realise I would be offered a small range of boon.

"...as an apology, here's a gift from me though you may only select one ability to give you absolute control over its respective powers- choose wisely." I repeated the words stated on it.

Well, that is quite considerate of that "God" to do so and the presented choices at the moment right now are; Pyrokinesis, Hydrokinesis, Geokinesis, Chlorokinesis, Photokinesis and Umbrakinesis... so "absolute" control over the elements?

Sounds promising if the elemental manipulations extends to other forms of subtypical manipulations... perhaps I can make frostflames even if I select Pyrokinesis? 

Perhaps, perhaps not so I should choose carefully unless I mess up...

Let's see, selecting Pyrokinesis would clearly give me the advantage of creating fire on the whim, making camp and cooking food and warming up would immediately be solved but without proper control over the element will and can potentially cause a wildfire.

If I not careful enough, I can also accidentally burn someone or something to a crisp and cause unintentional damage which can also spell out more problems for me to handle.

However, barring fire damage, it is a good element to use against enemies as a whole so that will be on the top of the list for now which brings me to the next one... Hydrokinesis.

Obviously creating water at will can easily solve hydration problems in areas where that is completely barren of all liquid, it can act as defensive measures or even offensive attacks that can slip through an enemy's guard but either way, it has immense potential so it takes the second spot on the list of choices.

Geokinesis, control over earthen elements which I think should also count towards metallic ores which means I can easily create structures that requires or performs more effectively with the earth itself helping me, it can be defensive but can I really easily manipulate other earthen elements? If anything the Avatar had shown me, I may be restricted to only one type of "earth".

This is actually hard, even from my own childish fantasies of being an elemental wizard...

Next is... Chlorokinesis- complete control over plants, well if I remember what Poison Ivy can do with the plants then it's not too bad of a choice but not really my style to be honest. Sure, I can probably end world hunger by forcing crops to grow at a quicker rate but until I weighed all the pros and cons of each abilities, I'll put this on hold.

Then we have Photokinesis, manipulation of light which can affect the sense of sight but that's pretty much all I recall, since it affects the electromagnetic radiation in the air then maybe I can turn myself invisible or even solidfy it into a physical form like how Kizaru did in One Piece.

However, if I can't then I would have wasted a choice out of all the other useful options.

Finally, we have Umbrakinesis, manipulation of darkness which to be completely honest, is an ability I was the most excited for when I heard its availbility, mostly coming from my edgelord ego that I've abandoned years ago- not my greatest moments in life.

Manipulate darkness extends to shadows and everything related to it, examples or users from fictions that I can think of are; Noob Saibot from Mortal Kombat, Ragna the Bloodedge, Raven from DC Comics, Jellal Fernandes from Fairy Tail and Sung Jin-Woo from Solo Leveling.

Wait a minute, now that I think about it, am I not essentially going to be leveling up by myself later on? So if select Umbrakinesis, will that pretty much make me Sung Jin-Woo 2.0 or 0.5?

Actually, I recall seeing a [Store] page on the [System] so maybe they might have several products that can substitute for the aforementioned elemental effects, matchsticks for fire, water flask for... well, water and shovel or pickaxe for moving rocks and dirt, torch for light.

I don't think I need a fertiliser and I highly doubt I can use it in the middle of a fight unless the smell can ward away or distract the enemies, they just smell that bad.

Since I don't think I can substitute an item from the [Store] for darkness then... I guess the final decision is to take Umbrakinesis; with enough experience, I can either become incorporeal with the dark, move around in shadows and attack without the fear of being discovered by enemies.

Besides, power of light is overrated, darkness for the win... and edgyness.

I may not be able to become a Shadow Monarch as Sung Jin-Woo did but maybe I can adapt and improvise and upgrade my skillset into becoming something similar to one, let's just hope I get the opportunities to do so afterwards.

[Would you like to select "Umbrakinesis" as your inherent ability?]

[Yes / No]

"I made the final decision already... no point overthinking it..." I said to no one before clicking down my confirmation.

The moment my finger landed on the [Yes], my whole world went black.

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A gasp and bolt up from the ground was what happened next after my unexpected loss of consciousness, but I am more relieved than concerned since I didn't get attacked by anything though I had no clue how long I was out for.

The sun in the sky was still up high and seemingly unchanged so I should had been out for at least a few minutes but I'm still not confident enough to let myself be so defenseless especially in another world with nothing but horribly low stats and level.

Though I have to ask, did anything change on my body? If absorbing or gaining the ability to manipulate shadows came at the cost of possibly falling into a coma or just simply losing consciousness, what happened when I was out?

Body checking myself revealed nothing but the same flesh and skin and clothes so I'll assume the effects are internal and within the [System], the next crucial step is how to control my newfound powers without the risk of it blowing up in my face.

As if on cue, a holographic screen popped up in front of my face as I saw five new powers listed under the [Skill] section and all of them are certainly related to Umbrakinesis the more I read into their information and usages.

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[Shadow Aura]

Generate a translucent armour that protects the body and prevent light to moderate damage to the Player, may break faster under heavy attacks. 

[Cost] - 30 Mana Points.

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[Shadow Orb]

Create a small orb of darkness to hurl at targets and deal moderate damage, more Mana is expended the more damage is wished to be dealt.

[Cost] - 5 Mana Points.

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[Shadow Shift]

Allows the Player to morph and blend into the shadows itself, granting movements through the darkness so long as it is present.

[Cost] - 15 Mana Points.

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[Shadow Lock]

Reach into the target's shadow and immobilise them in place without the risks of receiving any attacks from them, the stronger the target is, the harder it is to immobilise them.

[Cost] - 10 Mana Points.

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[Shadow Arms]

Allows the Player to materialise any form of weaponry from the shadows itself, Mana expended varies from sizes and shapes of the object itself.

[Cost] - 20 Mana Points.

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Well, if this isn't edging on the power of darkness then I don't know what is but now is a good time to test out one of them... I think I hear something coming from the trees, doesn't help when it looks like it's getting darker on the inside despite the sun being up high.

...There was a growl, unmistakeably one coming closer and honestly? I can't help but sweat as my palms became clammy while my heart hammered faster.

This is a new world and reality itself so I can't treat this like a VR game, if I die then I die though the thoughts aren't really helping my case right now with my sword held in one hand before I created a small [Shadow Orb], taking away five Mana Points.

Slowly and steadily as I kept my back against a tree in case there was another enemy sneaking up behind me, I tried to breathe quietly and calmly though the creature that growled across the foliage would soon reveal itself with a pair of glowing red eyes appearing first.

Bipedal wolf-like creature with black fur, glowing red eyes and bone-like platings across its body- wait a goddamn minute, isn't this a Beowulf from that animated series; "RWBY"?

It's definitely been a long time since I've watched that show but I've dropped it since the quality went downhill from what I've heard from rumours and it has yet to improve on anything.

Well, that's too bad, Monty Oum must be rolling around in his grave right now- wait another goddamn minute, I'm suppose to be fighting, right?

A snarl snapped my attention back to reality as I quickly leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding a lunge from the Beowulf, whether this is RWBY or not can be answered another time, now I just need to kill this thing and maybe level up.

I should test the waters with this [Shadow Orb]- that was my thought before I hurled the ball right at the beast's exposed back, the speed wasn't slow at all though it can still be dodged if anyone's perceptive enough.

Unfortunately for this Beowulf, it isn't which is fortunate for me as my attack landed right on its back before the ball of shadow exploded into nothingness, leaving behind a gaping clean hole on the Grimm which howled in absolute agony.

Don't be mistaken, though I've managed to land an attack dead on, it still doesn't make me any less nervous though I'd wager one of the passive skills is keeping myself in check so that I don't accidentally freak out and mess up this rodeo.

Without anymore distractions, I leapt forward with my sword raised and aimed right at the open hole in the Beowulf's back, the results was quick and clean as the blade sank into the dark flesh before piercing through to the other side.

Whether it was adrenaline or the heat of the scuffle, I managed to slice the blade across the beast's chest, bisecting it into two pieces that fell onto the ground before dissipating into dust.

"...I did not level up, it was one Beowulf so it wouldn't have the EXP for it." I remarked, staring at the carcass fading into the air.

"Though it was only one orb, it was enough to deal quite a blow to its body though I should also use my other skills in case." I continued before thinking quick.

Should there be an attack when my back is turned then I should activate [Shadow Aura] to tank the ambush and if anything goes wrong, I can use [Shadow Shift] to escape but the biggest issue to conserve my Mana Points.

The former is already taking a huge chunk of MPs from me so I should use that skill in moderation as well as keeping my eyes and ears out for more enemies, [Shadow Arms] would be a skill that sounds rather interesting to use but I'll do that when I'm more confident.

I can't say for sure that the shadow weapons I make will not break under pressure so it's better to be safe than sorry, good thing that passive skill "God" bestowed upon me allowed me to quickly adapt into using different weapons.

A tiny part of me feels a bit guilty since there are probably hundreds or more people training all their lives to become a master of their arts, only for me to come along and flip them all off and declare myself as a master in mere seconds.

Well, no use in dawdling... I got more beasts to slay and EXPs to grind.

I turned to see more glowing pairs of eyes emerging from the forest, clearly furious at the death of their kin as a pack of Beowulves stood in front of me, snarling and sniffing the air.

My only response was to simply activate [Shadow Aura], allowing a dim shade of darkness briefly cloud over my entire body before vanishing as I gripped the sword tightly.

So far, my mind was working on overdrive to target the areas where it would inflict the most damage, the underbellies, the armpits, heels and even the eyes and necks.

I wasn't so sure of the outcome for this fight but I certainly won't be dying now.

A single breath escaped my mouth and I charged at the pack with the Grimm themselves howling back and responding with their own lunges.

Today is going to be a long one.

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New chapter and I want to point out that the story is going to go drastically different this time around, majority of it focuses around worldbuilding and MC powerbuilding so y'all gonna have to deal with it, as for the timeline... I'm still debating on when to set it at.

Obviously we aren't going to go Solo Leveling Sung Jin-Woo mode at the very start because that's the thing that messed my story up the most at least to my opinion, I'm going to build on my own MC with its own original shadow abilities but worry not, the Shadow Monarch powers are still going to come back- just not now.

Thanks for the patience and I hope you've enjoyed.