《Gate - Cultivation/Progression LitRPG Novel》 1 - Clearstar {Records requested. Query = ¡°Clearstar.¡±} {¡­ Authorization granted.} {Beginning report¡­} December 13 Nexus, Cloud Sector ¡°Daoist Clearstar, you are playing a dangerous game. Even immortals dare not alter the flows of Time.¡± Clearstar stood on a large floating platform. Surrounding it were many other platforms, each with a group of people atop. Clearstar looked at the immortal that had addressed her, greeting it with a martial bow. ¡°Honored Immortal, I am willing to erase everything we have done now to give ourselves another chance. My own soul, and the souls of these practitioners around us are but a small price to pay to change the fate of our sector.¡± This immortal was the least powerful of the three in the Cloud sector. Having barely enough power to constrain itself to the plane, the amount of power it could exhibit was only the fraction of it¡¯s true power. Yet a boulder, no matter how small, dwarfs even the largest stone. ¡°The planes will suffer backlash, even centuries into the past. Our sector will be vulnerable to the others. Three immortals are not enough to defend against the hordes of foreigners if they hear that we crippled our own practitioners. And our border is already weak, how can you just let it die?¡± Clearstar looked at the immortal, considering her plan for the last time. If the plan failed, her sector would be all but done for, with half of its defenders dead and their strongest cultivator destroyed. But if she succeeded, there could potentially be a complete shift in inter-sector relationships in just a few decades¡ªa blink of time for cultivators whose lifetimes spanned centuries. ¡°Because,¡± Clearstar began, ¡°The future we can see is not a future that we want. Our sector is destined for failure¡ªthis final gambit will accelerate it¡­ only if it fails.¡± ¡°I cannot stop you.¡± Clearstar nodded, but did not reply. Then without a bang, but a whimper, the strongest cultivator in the Cloud sector crumpled. The storm struck silently and without warning, battering the sector with enough force to sunder continents and empty seas. This was not a normal storm, but one stitched from space and time itself, the kind that could not be naturally formed but only induced by a simply superior existence. Countless creatures perished as the sector¡¯s membrane ruptured. Planets vanished and planes evaporated. Concentrated energies of chaos bubbled unfiltered into realty, warping everything it touched. The soul of Daoist Clearstar watched it all happen from a bubble in space created by the Reversing formation. Clearstar could feel her cultivation regress, her Personal and Elemental Laws consumed as fuel for the formation. With a flex of her will, the speed of the consumption slowed as profound symbols representing Clearstar¡¯s very existence came into being. Shooting outwards from her external meridians, the symbols flashed into a spherical white-blue shield. Projecting her spiritual sense outwards from the shield, her worst fears were realized as her sense touched upon the spirits of two other cultivators, two she recognized as spatial experts from the enemy sector¡ª Sky. Typically, two cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage posed no threat to an expert like Clearstar. But the circumstances here changed the whole game. Just another reminder to never become compliant, she thought to herself. I have to suppress them before the formation takes my Laws away. After that, it¡¯s a defensive battle. Knowing she couldn¡¯t beat two spatial artists in a fight of speed, Clearstar sent out a pulse of suppressive force from her shield. As the pulse of force shot out, the two spatial experts from the Sky sector felt the weight of her Law bearing down on them. They faltered for a moment, their attempts at spatial manipulation disrupted by the sheer power of Clearstar''s spirit. Seizing the opportunity she had bought, Clearstar unleashed a torrent of energy from the shield, manifesting as brilliant arcs of white-blue lightning that streaked towards the two cultivators. The lightning stuck one squarely in the forehead, and the cultivator¡¯s control on the space around him slipped. His spirit flickered for a moment, the lapse in concentration drawing him away from chaotic space and into the physical realms as a lodestone draws a needle. He let out a burst of chi, temporarily stabilizing space so that he could lock himself in position again. The other quickly formed Daoist hand seals as he pooled chi around his external meridians. The pools transformed into miniature portals, which the cultivator impositioned between his body and the lightning bolts. They shot back towards Clearstar¡¯s barrier, but it reabsorbed the chi, flashing white for a moment before settling. Clearstar, seeing the effectiveness of her lightning, tried to form some again before realizing she no longer had the power to do so. The attack, which normally would barely have made a dent in her reserves had used over half¡ªthe remainder of which being drained quickly by the Space-Time reversal formation. Exhaling a breath of chi, Clearstar fed the rest of her reserves into the formation while recycling her barrier. Pointing a finger, her chi shot out to join the symbol-filled mist that the barrier became. As her spatial bubble accelerated, the chi shaped the mist into eight bolts of pure blue chi. Each spatial artist received four bolts. Four is an inauspicious number, of course, and the cultivators¡¯ failed defense against the Law-infused chi attack proved inauspicious indeed. Failing to muster a satisfactory defense against Clearstar¡¯s strike, the Sky sector¡¯s space artists were forced to spend all their efforts on defensive techniques¡ª and as their concentration slipped, both vanished from chaotic space, leaving Clearstar¡¯s bubble alone. She let out a breath of relief. As she inhaled, she closed her eyes and diverted her attention inwards. There, she saw six bright Gates, miniature portals that formed the base of Clearstar¡¯s cultivation. She saw three dim Gates that were the end results of all of Clearstar¡¯s aspirations. The third and final realm¡­ the realm of immortals. Just one more Gate and I would achieve Hegemony. Clearstar shook her head and diverted her attention to the ones she had open. They were getting dimmer by the second, the energies that propped each Gate open being drained by the formation. The sixth gate flickered and went dark as her Laws were drained completely. Then the fifth went dark also. Then Clearstar felt a tether snap as her nascent soul shattered and died, sucked in by the formation. Then, the energies of the formation surrounded her Cultivator¡¯s Core and suppressed it until it had no more motion. The power from her fourth gate faded also. The formation didn¡¯t stop there, deconstructing the core itself. Melting the solid chi, then consuming the evaporated drops also. In short succession, the third and second mortal Gates fell like the three transcendent before it. They were dark, but did not close completely. Fortunate¡ª the process to open a Gate was much harder than it was to re-light one. Feeling the bubble slow from her weakened spiritual sense, Clearstar opened her eyes. With only a single drop of liquid chi, she barely had the right to be called a practitioner, let alone a cultivator. As she saw the misty gray dome that her bubble had stopped next to, she turned the chi droplet into mist, before moving half of it into her palm. Forming a technique with this measly drop of chi, her palm strike made a crack in the dome that healed immediately after Clearstar made her way through. Looking out at the world that raised her, she saw sights she had not seen for centuries. Towering buildings of steel and glass, the horns of cars and buses, the whistle of the wind through the telephone wires, and all the sounds of the city. Clearstar smiled. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Earth. Home at last. {Continuing report¡­} A man is standing in the air. His silver hair flows just like how it would in terrestrial winds. Extending a hand towards a gray misty barrier, he closes his eyes. After a moment, he frowns. He extends his perception outwards, away from a blue-green planet and its gray moon. A wave of chi fast approaches. Then, the man directs his attention to a line of weakness in the barrier. Is someone trying to speed up my sector¡¯s integration? Impossible. It would take an immortal, and a powerful one at that. No one powerful enough would dare leave their own sector¡ª the risk of attack is too great¡ª and chaotic space would tear them apart regardless. He forms signs with his hands, shooting out a hundred and eight symbols of his personal Law. Each rune forms a connection with every other rune, and the orange light the connections produce expands into a formation. A drop of gray mist pours out of the formation and melds with the barrier, strengthening the torn spot. A moment later, he forms another sign, rearranging his Law projection. The lines of energy between each of the symbols change, forming another formation. The formation dissolves quickly, leaving a sphere of white-blue chi. The chi flies into the man¡¯s waiting hand with a flex of his will. Interesting. The chi is barely first level, but I sense mysteries of a peak-Law Stitching grandmaster within. The man places his thumb above his ring finger, straightening his index and middle fingers. He taps the sphere of chi slightly, absorbing it. He purifies the chi and releases it as a transparent mist. Then suddenly, without any warning, it turns into a blue-white missile that shoots harmlessly through the gray barrier. The god narrows his eyes. Interesting. {Continuing report¡­} What good fortune, Clearstar thought, as she sensed some of her own chi a short distance away. A single flex of will turned it into a blue-white missile that she quickly reabsorbed. After cycling it, the chi was refined and turned liquid, quickly soothing Clearstar¡¯s heart. She was not used to being without chi. These measly drops were nothing compared to her full power, but they seemed sufficient to prop open her Gates, so she would accept it. Clearstar looked inwards, and seeing that she lacked energy to teleport, was forced to fly down from the skyscraper she stood on. I can afford this. Some quick meditation will open my Gates again, and I¡¯ll become a peak mortal-level practitioner. She stood on a platform of air ten feet above the busy sidewalk. A busy sidewalk, she noted. I¡­ can¡¯t believe I forgot about the mortals here. Seeing as she lacked chi to teleport, Clearstar sighed before teleporting anyway, into a dark alleyway with a few mortals. A pair of bright spectral wings dimmed. {Continuing report¡­} A man is looking through the clouds. He follows a streak of blue-white chi as it shoots through the air, watching it intently. It descends into a mortal city and makes a beeline for a human woman standing on top of a tall structure. The man gets worried for a moment, but his worry is turned into apprehension as the bolt of qi is absorbed harmlessly. A practitioner? Strange. This sector isn¡¯t to be integrated until winter solstice. The man laughs. He watches as the woman uses a mediocre flying technique to descend from the structure. The mortals point and stare at the flying practitioner, which is expected. The man laughs again. Entertainment is hard to come by in this corner of the universe. He stops laughing when the practitioner forms wings of soul energy behind her. He raises a brow when she rips space apart. He realizes that this practitioner must have been the one to meddle with the sector barrier. The god frowns. {Continuing report¡­} Clearstar walked out of the alleyway, wearing jeans and a sweater. Two wallets filled with mortal money in her pocket, and a ¡®liberated¡¯ backpack on her back. It¡¯d be much easier to blend in with the locals, now. Three things to do. First, re-establish my connection with this sector¡¯s Realms. Second, form my Core again. Third, find me. Clearstar walked through the city streets, using a movement technique to leave the city in a matter of minutes. She burned some precious chi to do so, but it definitely was worth it. The faster she could find some large natural area, the faster she could access the massive source of chi that were the nine Realms. Her reserves were almost empty before she could find a tall hill to meditate on. It wasn¡¯t anything extraordinary, but it would do for the first Realm¡¯s trial. Clearstar had constrained her spiritual sense, but now she let it loose. She assumed the lotus position at the hill¡¯s apex, then focused her gaze inwards. She saw a sea of white-blue misty chi, centered around a solitary drop of liquid chi. Early Foundation Establishment. Lucky the formation left me a few drops to play around with. She looked above the sea of chi and saw six dark gates. Open, but not open. Clearstar, still focusing on the smallest of the six gates, sucked chi from everything her spirit could touch. From the air and the trees to the earth below, she breathed. A depressingly small amount of chi entered her sea, however. The chi density is pitiful. Well, to be fair, old Earth hasn¡¯t been integrated into a sector yet. I¡¯m lucky there¡¯s any ambient chi at all. The amount she gathered appeared in her sea, unfortunately not enough for another liquid drop. She would have to make do with only misty chi for the upcoming fight. Clearstar took a good look at the first dark Gate within her. It looked just like the others, except the darkness within the other Gates seemed¡­ deeper. This one¡¯s black seemed normal¡ª the others looked more like the unending-abyss flavor of black. Clearstar centered herself, then projected her spirit inside the Gate. Daoist Clearstar stood on a dark gray rock substance that stretched on as far as the eye could see. {Continuing report¡­} The man watches as the only practitioner on Earth enters a still-unopened Realm. Truly a strange case¡ª the Expanse is not open at the moment, yet she appears there anyway, expecting a fight to gain access to it. I¡¯ll give her a fight, I suppose. He flexes his domain to create an weak illusory copy of himself. He shapes its features so that it is unrecognizable, then teleports it into the first Realm. Integration of this sector would begin in¡­ roughly a week, local time, and a week of useless barren Realms would be no big deal. The god watches the practitioner with interest. {Continuing report¡­} Clearstar readies herself as a spectral man appears a distance away. Hm, a humanoid guardian. She projected her spiritual sense, brushing over it. Body Refining¡­ Copper. Odd. Physical Copper is the second level, and this is a first level trial. I guess the realm could sense my third level Foundation cultivation, and adjusted the trial accordingly. Clearstar sent out a missle of chi to test its defenses. This should be easy. The missile streaked through the air, approaching the guardian. It pulled out a sword, and launching a flurry of blows at the missile, whittled it down to the misty chi which made it. It then launched itself forwards, closing the distance between the practitioners quickly. Clearstar stayed in place, and formed hand signs from which six balls of blue flame came out. They floated behind her head like a halo. Seeing as the guardian still out of melee range, Clearstar raised both of her palms and formed countless miniscule dots of chi that filled the air around her. Star Spirits. She chanted under her breath, then the Star Spirits, now being controlled by Clearstar, began flitting around. They formed a thick half-sphere between her and the guardian. The guardian, getting dangerously close began to twirl his sword, causing illusory blades to layer on top of each other wherever the sword passed. By the time Clearstar had finished with her techniques, the technique was already within the barrier formed by her technique. The layered illusory blades tore through the Star Spirits, but there were so many of them that the guardian¡¯s technique¡¯s power was exhausted by the superior practitioner¡¯s barrier. The spirits flooded in from all directions, implanting themselves onto the guardian¡¯s armor in tiny explosions of white and blue chi. While she focused on directing her attacks, though, the guardian¡¯s physical self charged straight into Clearstar¡¯s mortal body. She went flying backwards, injured, but she absorbed a few of the Star Spirits to regain use of her physical self. Spiritual cultivators like Clearstar boasted strong magical barriers, long-range offensive capabilities, and versatility at the cost of their physical strength and durability. Physical refiners were the majority in the early realms, due to the fact that they had a steeper power curve in the early stages. The massive increases to power and durability were threats to any spiritual cultivator of the same stage as them. Clearstar cushioned her fall with a blanket of chi, and extended her perception to focus on the guardian charging forward forming another attack with illusory blades. It charges, knocks back the target using momentum, and layering illusory blades until ready for a kill. Not a bad strategy¡­ but not enough to defeat me! Clearstar cycled to regain her chi, then began chanting a spell. It was one of the most powerful ones she could execute at her current level, and should absolutely obliterate the guardian. She merged the few Star Spirits remaining into a larger chi shield, which she impositioned between her and the guardian. She had just finished the spell when the guardian shattered her chi barrier. A flood of misty chi left her, and guided by her spell, formed a giant column of blue fire that struck the guardian dead center. Feeling her reserves dip significantly, she extended her perception into the Flame Strike¡¯s radius to see the guardian, its armor destroyed and its scorching form disintegrating into orange energy that disappeared just as fast as it came into being. The rocky fields of the Expanse vanish around Clearstar. She blinks, and finds herself in a strange room with no windows or doors. In front of her stands a man who radiates no power at all from her spiritual sense. He¡¯s wearing a breastplate and a single-handed sword is hung at his wrist. His long silver hair is moving like he¡¯s standing in a light breeze, but Clearstar can feel no wind. The god frowns. ¡°Why are you here?¡± {Continue topic? ¡­ Denied.} {Report complete.} 2 - Spellbook Clearstar lets her perception extend outwards, hitting the boundaries of the pocket world. She felt the immortal¡¯s own sense brush her own before she withdrew the probe. A young immortal, then. Freshly ascended¡­ but I still wouldn¡¯t be able to beat him even if I were at my peak. ¡°You would not understand, honored one. Even immortals dare not alter the flows of Time.¡± The immortal¡¯s eyes flash white. He snorts. ¡°And you, a mortal, do dare?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she responds simply. ¡°You have no records of me because technically, our sector has yet to be integrated. Soon, at the next solstice, no?¡± ¡°You should not know that.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand why my knowledge, or lack thereof, should concern you.¡± ¡°The safety of this plane concerns me. As do you, by extension.¡± ¡°I cut my journey short by a full three realms in order to return here. You think that I wish to harm our plane?¡± Clearstar continues, softer. ¡°This is an opportunity of lifetimes. A forced timeline branch, now, done from years in the future¡ª¡± The immortal cuts her off. ¡°An opportunity for this plane indeed.¡± This is way above my paygrade. ¡°You can do as you wish what you can. We are done here. Your mind offers me more answers than your mouth.¡± Surprised she didn¡¯t feel the immortal probing her mind, Clearstar could only thank him in reply. The immortal does respond, only closing his eyes. A set of three concentric orange circles appears behind his head, rotating against each other, bathing the area in warm light. Four dots of bright white are spread across the circles. One of those dots shoots forward like a dart, implanting itself on Clearstar¡¯s forehead, ignoring all of her attempts to resist the technique. ¡°My Rule will stay with you until, ah, I remove it. I will remain in touch, mortal¡­¡± He stops himself, clearing his throat and resuming after a short pause. ¡°¡­ Daoist Clearstar.¡± {Records requested. Query = ¡°Sector Pre-Integration.¡±} {¡­ Authorization granted.} {Beginning report¡­} December 20, 16:24 Earth, one day before winter solstice. Clearstar opened her eyes and the forest stretched out before her. The ground was a foot or so beneath her levitating form, and the azure sky stretched out unbroken as far as she could see. Her spirit extended to the maximum, the ambient chi created by the gentle river and the trees were quickly swept up as soon as they were produced, like how the expansive sails of a sailboat extend far to catch even the lightest of winds. A week of calm meditation focused on gathering chi saw Clearstar¡¯s soulscape filled with liquid and gaseous chi. An ocean of liquid flowed slowly in circles, and the space above and below swirled with a dense white-blue gas. Her cultivation speed felt slow, because there simply wasn¡¯t enough chi in the atmosphere to support anything faster. Early Foundation Stage¡­ not bad. I would have hoped to have some pillars raised by now, but middle Foundation will come in a week or so after integration. Looking up at the setting sun, Clearstar closes her eyes again, continuing to gather the ambient chi. Reach, absorb, refine, repeat. {Continuing report¡­} December 21, 8:01 AM Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth The first thing Claire Wright saw when waking up were boxes. Not shipping boxes, or Amazon boxes, or some kind of cardboard boxes. No, these boxes were blue and shiny. And as her eyes cleared, she could tell these boxes had words on them. I do not want to deal with this right now. I didn¡¯t even drink anything last night? Standing up and pulling open her room¡¯s curtains, she bumped into her desk that was obscured by the blue box. Cursing inwardly about hallucinogens and door knobs and everything in between, she took a step backward and fell backwards onto her bed, laying down to take a look at the words the boxes had. Could be fun before whatever crap is wears away.
System integration process... 100%.
Hello, aspirant! Welcome to the System, a mechanism granted as an aid to mastering the energies of the universe.
Display: Status¡­ Path¡­ Stages¡­ Techniques¡­ Abilities¡­Inventory¡­Quests¡­ Preferences¡­
Oh, what the fuck. I hope this isn¡¯t real¡­ Rubbing the bridge of her noes with her fingers, Claire raised another hand and tried batting the boxes away, to no avail. How does this thing work? Loosening control over her limbs in defeat, Claire sighed and closed her eyes. Which, thankfully got rid of the blue boxes. Until she opened them again. ¡°Fuck off.¡±A box opened up in front of her eyes.
Command not understood. Options: Status¡­ Level¡­ Statistics¡­ Class¡­ Inventory¡­Quests¡­ Preferences¡­
Is¡­ it voice activated? That¡¯s kind of stupid. ¡°Uh, Status?¡± As she said this, the earlier boxes disappeared, replaced by a new one.
Tier: 1-0-0 Name: Claire Wright Title: N/A
Level: 0 Rank: Novice (Select Class?) Abilities: N/A - Class required. Techniques: N/A - Class required.
Statics: 1.470 Physical: 0.78 Mental: 1.13 Spiritual: 2.50
Quests Active: 1 Paths to Power (I) - Select a Class, then gain a level in that class. - Reward variable.
Huh. It¡¯s like I¡¯m in a game, now. Like, Baldur''s Gay, Gate or something. A realization dawned on her. Is the world going to shit? Claire sighed again. We are definitely going to shit. Resolving to not become part of the problem, she focused on her status. ¡°Lets try¡­ uh¡­ Class.¡±
Classes are distinct roles and archetypes that define your abilities, skills, and your Path to Power. Each class has unique strengths, weaknesses and specializations. You may only start with one class.
Recommended Classes: (Note, Due to the circumstances of integration, only combat classes are shown.)
Warrior - A basic physical class, Warrior is unlocked by having at least 0.70 starting Strength. Rogue - A basic physical class, Rogue is unlocked by having at least 0.70 starting Agility. Magician - A basic mental class, Magician is unlocked by having at least 0.70 starting Intelligence. Elementalist - A basic mental class, Elementalist is unlocked by having at least 0.70 starting Wisdom.
Wizard - A mental class, Wizard is unlocked by having at least 1.0 starting Intelligence. Monk - A basic spiritual class, Monk is unlocked by having at least 2.0 starting Spirit.
No unlocked Rare classes may be selected at this time.
Kind of curious why they won¡¯t let me pick a Rare class. I have at least one unlocked, right? Or it wouldn¡¯t show me the option at all. Hoping to make the best of the situation, picking Wizard seemed like a no-brainer. It was that or Monk, and honestly sitting around and chanting scripture or whatever Monks did didn¡¯t sound nearly as cool as being a Wizard.
Class selected: Wizard.
Claire felt strange for a moment, sort of like what she imagined it would feel like if her blood were to becoming freezing cold. Her body began to tingle slightly as a warm pleasurable feeling appeared and rushed from her stomach to her whole body. That¡­ can¡¯t be what it feels like¡­ but I guess I could get used to leveling up.
Class gained. Wizard ¡ú 0. Default Abilities unlocked: Spellcasting, Arcane Recovery
Spellcasting: You have a spellbook that contains all the spells you know. By channeling energy through the spellbook, you can cast any spell learned and prepared in the book. In addition, you have a number of assigned Cantrips based on your Wizard level which you can cast at will without your spellbook. Claim/Designate spellbook? Open Spell List? Arcane Recovery: You have learned to recover energy while resting with your spellbook. You gain energy from your spellbook after an hour of doing nothing more intensive than reading a book, pacing in circles, sleeping, without casting any spells. Amount recovered is determined by Wizard level.
Shifting the other boxes to the side of her vision with a thought, Claire focused on the box about her spellbook. Claim, she thought, and a brown leather book fell from the air besides her with a thunk on the bed. Leaning over, she picked it up.
Spellbook claimed. Spell List accessed.
Cantrips (3/3) Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.Spark - You conjure and project a mote of fire from an extended finger. Damage and range is determined by Intelligence and Wizard levels. Components: Verbal, Somatic. Blade Ward - You extend your hands, tracing runic sigils in the air around you. Non-magical weapon attacks are stopped by a runic barrier, its duration and strength being determined by Intelligence and Wizard levels. Components: Somatic. Mind Spike - You drive an invisible spike of energy into the mind of another creature you can see. Strength of the disorientation and damage is determined by Spirit and Intelligence. This may be contested by the target¡¯s Wisdom. Components: N/A
Sitting up, Claire moved the spellbook into her lap. There were detailed lines and dots, runes probably, below each of the cantrips detailed in her spell list. Shifting her knees up to get more comfortable, she began studying the spells, in an effort to memorize. {Continuing report¡­} December 21, 8:15 AM Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth Clearstar withdrew her spiritual sense from the forest. The chi had hit the plane and the System assistant was no doubt fully integrated into the population. Her spirit withdrawn, the chi rushed in to fill the vacuum Clearstar had created, and soon enough a blue box appeared in her vision. Memories.
System integration process... 100%.
Hello, aspirant! Welcome to the System, a mechanism granted as an aid to mastering the energies of the universe.
Display: Status¡­ Path¡­ Stages¡­ Techniques¡­ Abilities¡­Inventory¡­Quests¡­ Preferences¡­
Ignoring the prompt, Clearstar looked inside her soulscape to find her spiritual sea¡­ and a cloud of rainbow mist that pulsed as her own white-blue chi held it back. Manipulating her chi to form tendrils, she gathered and caged the weak divine chi with her own. The mist turned into liquid, and all of the little blobs consolidated into a large rainbow ball of mist surrounded by Clearstar¡¯s personal chi.
Situation update detected. Scanning¡­
The consolidated mist was stronger than before, yes, but its probes and scans into Clearstar¡¯s soulscape could not escape the barrier of liquid chi that constrained it.
Scan failed.
Sending her own chi into the system-ball, Clearstar began to alter it. A few short minutes later, she finished her changes. Status.
Title: Daoist Clearstar Tier: 1-3-1
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Rank: Sea Gathering - Late
Statistics: 13.86 Body: 2.17 Mind: 4.41 Spirit: 35
Smiling, Clearstar returned to cultivation. Her spiritual sense blanketed the land, and the chi from earth and sky funneled into Clearstar. Mist was gathered and converted, then condensed. Pillars in a hour. Crucible in a day. We will be Core by next week. Eyes closed and a gentle smile on her face, Daoist Clearstar did not notice a bright blinking white dot on her forehead. {Continuing report¡­} December 21, 8:27 AM Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth Claire stood, panting by the foot of her bed, having failed to cast her Blade Ward for the umpteenth time. The runes were forming in the air, which was pretty damn cool, but they would always seem to fizzle out right before the last lines connected to form her barrier. I fucking hate being a wizard! Trying it again, she moved her arms and fingers in patterns, white light trailing and staying where they passed. She was getting the hang of turning on and off the, pen, so to speak, and the runes were clearer and more defined every time she tried. After another fail, she looked through her Spell List¡¯s picture of the runes again, and resolving to do something different this time around. Picturing the runes in her head and moving her fingers around to trace the lines in the air, she spoke out. ¡°Blade Ward!¡± Suddenly, she felt a tug on her mind¡­ spirit?? as something was sucked out of her. The runes in the air became thicker and joined together smoothly. When the last few runes touched, a spherical blue barrier sprung out and extended for a foot or so around her from where the runes were. It moved as she did, and the barrier flowed through the furniture without breaking. I¡­ don¡¯t need to manually draw the runes? All I have to do is picture it and the system does it for me, I guess. Cool. Still, Claire wanted to do things without cheating, so she, armed with the fake muscle memory the System gave her, began casting Blade Wards again. It only took two tries for her to do it alone. And ten after that before she could get it in less than twenty seconds. She ignored honks outside and the rising sun, practicing the Blade Ward until she could cast it consistently under five.
Spell Leveled! Due to casting Blade Ward successfully for the first time, its level has increased! 0 ¡ú 1
Spell Progressed. Due to casting Blade Ward successfully, its proficiency has increased!
...
[Spell Leveled!] Due to forming the runes of Blade Ward manually for the first time, Blade Ward has greatly increased in level! 1 ¡ú 6
[Spell Leveled!] Due to forming the runes of Blade Ward manually many times, Blade Ward has reached maximum level! 6 ¡ú 10 Choose capstone?
Reading the system prompts, she realized that in fact, people were not supposed to form the runes manually. Noting the language of the system, the level had increased once when she cast it successfully with aid for the first time, and then its proficiency increased with the second test. The level had greatly increased after forming the runes manually for the first time, and after only, like, half an hour of practice it had jumped to max level. Looking at the clock, she had a slight panic after seeing the time, 9 AM, but felt relieved after realizing it was a Saturday, and she didn¡¯t have anything to do today. Besides practice my spells, that is. Wiping off sweat from her brow with a corner of her blanket, Claire moved to her desk, setting her spellbook on the table and opened up the screen for Blade Ward¡¯s capstone.
Cantrip: Blade Ward Level: 10 You extend your hands, tracing runic sigils in the air around you. Non-magical weapon attacks are stopped by a runic barrier, its duration and strength being determined by Intelligence and Wizard levels. Components: Somatic.
Capstone options: Improved Strength And now, the Ward is stronger than ever. Intelligence and Wizard levels are considered doubled when determining the strength of the spell. Improved Duration And now, the Ward lasts longer than ever. Every level in Wizard provides an additional second of spell duration. Improved Flexibility And now, the Ward is more flexible than ever. The spell¡¯s barrier will not be limited to just non-magical weapon attacks, extending its reach to some offensive spells.
Strength was the most straightforward of them all. Simply raising the strength of the barrier to double what it is. A powerful upgrade. It would make the barrier look thicker too, which would be a plus. Duration seemed like a mixed bag. Having a longer spell duration might make it possible to stack Blade Wards on top of each other, one system cast and the other manual, but the fact that she didn¡¯t know how high wizard levels went was a big turn-off. That left flexibility. Stopping magic as well as weapons would never not be helpful. It seemed like a large upgrade, too, which had some interesting implications. Are the same capstones offered to everyone, or are there requirements to meet that unlock more? Also, how strong is the barrier, compared to attacks and other spells? Eh, I¡¯ll cross that bridge when I get there.
Spell capstone selected.
Cantrip: Blade Ward - Flexible Level: 10 You extend your hands, tracing runic sigils in the air around you. Physical attacks and ranged spell attacks are stopped by a runic barrier, its duration and strength being determined by Intelligence and Wizard levels. Components: Somatic.
¡°Nice!¡± Claire exclaimed, reviewing the spell¡¯s description. The words had changed in her physical spellbook along with the spell list, and so had the runes. The changes were small, so they were easy to commit to memory again. Casting the spell through the system, Claire¡¯s hands moved on their own as a full-body translucent blue bubble appeared around her. She tried to touch the inside of the barrier, but realized the bubble was just out of arm¡¯s reach. She counted twenty seconds before the spell disappeared.
Class leveled up!
Quest complete!
Dismissing the boxes for the moment, she left her spellbook open on the desk, moving back towards her bed. Reaching towards the outlet on the wall, she received a light electric shock as she picked up her phone. Furrowing her brows in confusion, she pressed the side button again and again, to no avail. Setting it down on the bed, Claire quickly dressed herself and got ready to go outside, then sat back in her chair before her open spellbook.
Class leveled up! Wizard 0 ¡ú 1 Due to your practice and mastery of the spell Blade Ward, you have learned a new spell! Open Spell List? New Ability unlocked: Preparing Spells. Open Abilities?
[Quest Complete!] You have satisfied the requirements of the quest, ¡°Paths to Power.¡± - Select a Class, then gain a level in that class. (??) - Rewards obtained: 1x Random Class Spell (1st Circle) - Bonus obtained: 1x Random Spell (1st Circle),
Two slips of material, light blue and dark green, floated gently down, setting themselves down next to Claire¡¯s spellbook on her desk. Golden letters and runes were all over the object. They looked like thick rulers, and when Claire tried to pick the blue one up, it had some heft to it.
Consumable: 1x Random Spell (1st Circle) This consumable grants the caster one random spell of the first circle, from any class list. The spell will be converted to one of the caster¡¯s main class, but keep its original statistic dependencies and characteristics. [Rare Item.] Consume?
Selecting the Consume option, Claire watched the item turn into motes of light that settled themselves inside of her spellbook. She extended a hand towards the book, flipping a page and opening her Spell List.
Cantrips (3/3) Spark - You conjure and project a mote of fire from an extended finger. Damage and range is determined by Intelligence and Wizard levels. Components: Verbal, Somatic. Lvl. 10 Blade Ward - Flexible - You extend your hands, tracing runic sigils in the air around you. Physical attacks and ranged spell attacks are stopped by a runic barrier, its duration and strength being determined by Intelligence and Wizard levels. Components: Somatic. Mind Spike - You drive an invisible spike of energy into the mind of another creature you can see. Strength of the disorientation and damage is determined by Spirit and Intelligence. This may be contested by the target¡¯s Wisdom. Components: N/A
First Circle (2/2) Shield - You conjure an opaque magical shield that protects you. Shield response time, strength, and maneuverability are determined by Intelligence and Wizard levels. Components: Verbal. Minor Healing - You chant and channel energy through your hands, and heal the target equal to the energy expended. Efficiency is determined by Spirit and Cleric levels. Components: Verbal, Somatic.
After reading the new spells and memorizing their constructs, Claire opened the door to her room and stepped out into the hallway. Glancing at the clock on the wall, the time was 9:01 AM. {Continue topic? ¡­ Denied.} {Report complete.} 3 - Lucas {Records requested. Query = ¡°Claire Wright.¡±} {Error synchronizing results... Resolved.} {Beginning report¡­} December 21, 9:10 AM Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth Claire walked down the sidewalk to the convenience store on the corner, her hands clenching and unclenching around her spellbook. It felt lighter in her arms than it should have, no doubt due to the whole spell part of the object. No complaints¡­ she didn¡¯t want to drag around a literal tome everywhere, so this oddity was welcomed. The streets were oddly quiet. A few cars zipped down the double-wide street, all outbound, Claire noticed, but there wasn¡¯t too much foot traffic. Still asleep, maybe? Saturday mornings aren¡¯t generally that busy, but still. Things got more confusing as she saw a man appear. He turned the corner from the next street up, sprinting with a fearful expression on his face. Seeing her, he slowed down slightly before stopping in front of her, breathing heavily as his hand held on to the roof of a nearby car. ¡°I¡­ You gotta get out of here before you get hurt, girl.¡± He said, looking Claire up and down. ¡°What?¡± She replied, taking a step away from the stranger. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°There were two guys fighting about who was first in the line.¡± He let out, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. ¡°All this,¡± he gestured to the air, ¡°is making people feel a hell of a lot stupider.¡± Claire pulled her spellbook a bit closer to her. ¡°And?¡± She prodded. ¡°The clerk tried to interfere. Guy standing in the back stabbed him before he could let out a few more words. Other guy drew on him too.¡± He looked back in the direction he¡¯d came. ¡°Still going at it now, in the street.¡± Well, shit. There goes my plan of heading to the store before the world goes to shit. Looks like it¡¯s going to go to shit a lot faster. Claire scanned the man, who thankfully hadn¡¯t gotten closer to her, seeing a leather sheath with what looked like knife handles sticking out, cuts through his jacket and pants, and a dark spot coming from near his shoulder. ¡°Are you hurt?¡± She asked, her expression softening. ¡°Bastard got me with his sword.¡± He grimaced. ¡°He got me, I mean. Sorry, miss.¡± Claire raised her eyebrows, simultaneously opening up her spellbook. ¡°How old do you think I am, twelve?¡± She moved off of the sidewalk, sitting on the stone steps before one of the houses¡¯ front doors and gesturing at one of the other steps. ¡°Look, I really need to get something from that store, and I can heal you if you¡¯re willing to help me out.¡± He looked at her, doing a double take at her spellbook. ¡°You¡¯re not a priest.¡± Moving his head had seemed to shift something near his shoulder, though, and he grunted in pain. ¡°You wanna do this or not? I can patch that up¡­ probably¡­ if you help me out with the store.¡± Plus, I need someone less squishy than a wizard to team up with, if the world goes to shit. Until I can find my friends. ¡°Fine.¡± He moved over, sitting down on the stone, knives clinking as he sat. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Claire said as she leafed through her spellbook. Scooching over slightly so she could reach his shoulder, she cast the spell, reading the invocation from the book. ¡°[Minor Healing.]¡± He shrugged his shoulder around, tilting his head so he could get a better of the wound. Rather, former wound. He looked at Claire with a mix of emotions playing over his face. ¡°It¡­ worked.¡± He blinked. ¡°Better than any doctor¡¯s done, that¡¯s for sure!¡± She didn¡¯t respond.
Spell leveled! Due to casting Minor Healing successfully for the first time, its level has increased! 0 ¡ú 1
Lvl. 1 Minor Healing - You chant and channel energy through your hands, and heal the target equal to the energy expended. Efficiency is determined by Spirit and Cleric levels. Components: Verbal, Somatic.
Having finished reading the pretty boring level up, she withdrew her hand from his shoulder and closed her spellbook with a flick. Suddenly regretting healing the stranger, she stood up quickly. ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the deal?¡± He asked, jogging to catch up to her. ¡°Wait up, uh, I don¡¯t even know your name.¡± Shrugging, she walked forward until she was on the intersection where the man had run from originally. ¡°Claire. And, it¡¯s a wizard thing. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Claire did not like what she saw. There were several cars with giant dents in them, cracked windshields, and the door to the store¡ª her target¡ª was lying splintered in the middle of the sidewalk. And there were two guys with giant swords going at each other in the street. ¡°See why I was running?¡± The man said, catching up. ¡°I¡¯m Lucas, by the way.¡± ¡°Mm,¡± Claire said. ¡°I¡¯m just going to walk on the side and hope they don¡¯t see me. Follow.¡± Shrugging, the man agreed. Walking side by side now, she noticed Lucas reach into his belt to pull out two of the larger knives from his sheath. Mirroring him, she opened up her spellbook also. They entered the store without a hitch. ¡°Cashier must be in the back,¡± Claire said, seeing nobody at the counter. Looking back, she saw Lucas leaning against the door frame, twirling a knife in his hand. Seeing that he didn¡¯t respond, she filled up her bag with bottled water, canned food and some utilities, like rope and a lighter before walking back to the front of the store. Setting her bag down, she noticed a spot of red on the counter. Blood? She stood up on her tiptoes, getting a glance at the floor behind. There was a girl lying face down, a million tiny cuts all over her skin, even below her shredded company polo. Something was sticking out of her back. The black handle of a knife. Whirling around, shocked, time seemed to slow as she saw a grinning Lucas throw three black knives at her. It was him?! Clutching on to her spellbook, she breathed out an incantation. ¡°[Shield]!¡± An opaque magical shield sprung up between Claire and the knives, which clattered against the shield uselessly. Feeling her mana drain with each impact, she put her palm up in a ¡®stop¡¯ motion, and pushed it at Lucas, willing her barrier to move similarly. As he stumbled backwards into the sidewalk, time seemed to go back to its original speed. Realizing the danger, Claire casted a [Blade Ward], her shaking hands forming the spell just barely before Lucas could steady himself. Still grinning creepily as he wiped dust off of his shoulder¡ª the one she had healed¡ª he locked eyes with her. His voice had none of his earlier warmth or emotion, making the laugh that cane next something that chilled her to the bone. ¡°I always like it when they fight back a little.¡± ¡°That¡­ that was you,¡± Claire let out, lifting her spellbook up. She rifled through the spells she had available, blade ward, mind spike, and spark, thinking what would work to get herself safe. Lucas bent down and recovered one of the knives from the ground, only taking his eyes away from hers for a moment. ¡°Uh huh,¡± he replied, aiming another knife. ¡°I can tell you¡¯re going to be more fun, though. Claire.¡± He said her name slowly, teasing out every syllable. "What a beautiful name.¡± Cursing her decision to leave the apartment without practicing more spells, she read out the incantation for a [Spark] from her spellbook. A tiny shimmer of fire appeared at her fingertip, shooting forward and implanting itself into Lucas¡¯ chest. Grunting in pain, he hurled his knife while drawing a larger dagger from another sheath. It sailed through the air before meeting Claire¡¯s ward, which shattered after deflecting the weapon. She turned and ran, fingers moving less jerkily now, already casting another [Blade Ward]. Before she could, though, two things struck her lower back in quick succession. Her defensive spell came up, and Claire reached down to feel the impact point with her hand. It came back red. Stolen novel; please report. Lucas, holding a dagger now, rushed towards the [Blade Ward], slashing at the spell with the weapon and throwing angry fists at it with his left hand. As the runes began to dim, Claire began forming the runes for a [Mind Spike] in her head. Not knowing what to expect, she released the spell, which left her own mind reeling as it felt like something had eated a corner away from it. Her consciousness brushed Lucas¡¯, and in her head she could see a psychic spike drive itself into his. Reeling, the man let out a roar of pain, dropping to his knees as Claire, having recovered already, took this opportunity to dash into another aisle, hoping to escape. He did not let her. As she ran, an intense pain shocked her from where the knife had hit her earlier. Poison? Falling to the ground, spellbook still in hand, Claire¡¯s mind flashed to the girl behind the counter with Lucas¡¯ knife in her back. All of those tiny cuts¡­ from a knife coated with poison made to inflict only pain? She shuddered. Claire¡¯s ward also shuddered as the man¡­ no, monster¡­ jumped on top of her, dagger in hand. The spell only slowed his momentum as he fell straight on top of her. He pried the spellbook out of Claire¡¯s grasp, pushing it out of her reach. His knife¡¯s edge ran slowly down from her collarbone to her shoulder, and Claire screamed. She desperately tried to form the runes for a Mind Spike in her head, but lost focus completely when the dagger made a similar cut from the base of her neck to her armpit. ¡°Shut up.¡± Lucas tore out the strip of cloth between his cuts, bunching it together. Setting the dagger on the ground, he forced Claire¡¯s jaw open and pushed it inside. She took this opportunity to push the terrible, terrible knife away, but her plan backfired as the spinning blade slashed along the top of her thigh. A wave of pain hit her, and her whole body tensed. Lucas was thrown up a few inches, but when he crashed back down, he knocked the breath out of her. His other hand snaked around her neck, and a wave of terror hit her as it constricted. Her world went dark before she could confirm the [Mind Spike] she was trying to cast had been successful. {Continuing report¡­} December 21, 9:16 AM Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth The sea had receded in Daoist Clearstar¡¯s soulscape. But where it had been, nine intricate blue-white pillars had appeared in a circle. Each were exactly the same as the others, and the runescript running up and down the pillars glowed faintly. The sea had begun to move, forming a whirlpool centered around the center of the nine pillars. This is where she would focus her efforts for the rest of Foundation stage. The runes would automatically convert the misty chi into liquid, expanding her sea as long as she had energy to spare, so all that would be needed now would be the forming of a device that could compress the liquid chi into a crystalline solid form which she would mold and turn into her Cultivator¡¯s Core. But that was the Fourth realm, and Clearstar had only one Gate open. About time we rectify that. A slight shift in her perspective led to the appearance of the Gates. One above each of her pillars, but that was irrelevant. Right now, only one was lit, meaning that she could only fully access the first Gate. Two others were dim, meaning that she met the requirements to attempt an opening. Clearstar directed two tendrils of chi, which pierced the entranceway of the two dim Gates simultaneously. A moment later, she was face to face with the immortal. ¡°Look.¡± He says. ¡°I don¡¯t want to spend more time that I need to.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± replies Clearstar. ¡°I think the first few weeks after integration are the most entertaining.¡± The immortal laughs. ¡°Not for the mortals down there.¡± ¡°I suppose not. How¡¯s, ah, she doing?¡± ¡°About to get killed. Just like last time, I suppose, if your earlier story is true.¡± ¡°Yeah, I expected as much. Well, I¡¯m sure things will end up fine.¡± The immortal laughs again. ¡°I¡¯m in much better mood now. The lack of chi earlier was¡­ not pleasant.¡± ¡°Agreed!¡± Clearstar gestures with her hand. ¡°May we talk business?¡± ¡°Ah, business. I suppose so. The mark and the Gates, no?¡± ¡°Yes, honored immortal.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll keep the mark there, for now.¡± He sees Clearstar¡¯s frown before her muscles can even execute it. ¡°Toned down, of course. Just to make sure you don¡¯t make contact before the natives have a Gate opened by themselves.¡± ¡°Naturally.¡± Clearstar waits for him to continue. ¡°And the Gates¡­ I don¡¯t think that will be a problem at all. Now that you have more than a few motes of chi, the Guardians won¡¯t stand a chance.¡± Clearstar smiles and snaps her fingers, forming an illusion of sparkles appearing. ¡°Entirely true, honored immortal.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not waste either of our energies, then.¡± ¡°That¡¯s more than I could have wished for.¡± Clearstar appears where she was, in her soulscape, with three bright Gates. It would have been annoying to need to explore the Realms just to open these Gates. Once she reached Core, though, Clearstar doubted that the immortal would let her skip the delve. Smiling outwardly, she cleared her mind, and returned to cultivation. The ocean of chi pulsed with her breathing, and the misty winds swirled in tune with her thoughts. {Continuing report¡­} December 21, 9:17 AM Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth Claire opened her eyes, thankfully not dead. Her mana had replenished a fair bit while she was unconscious, but she was still crushed underneath Lucas¡¯ unmoving body. She struggled a bit to free her arms, but the hand that had held them didn¡¯t resist as she pulled. His other hand, still wrapped around her neck, was harder to pull off, but she managed to pry his fingers loose. She heaved him off of her, albeit taking a few more attempts than she would have hoped, and stood up, pulling his makeshift gag out of her mouth as she did so. Her spellbook was thankfully undamaged, still lying on the ground where Lucas had pushed it. She picked it up, and as soon as her hands met the leather, a rush of system boxes appeared in her vision.
Spell Leveled! Due to casting Minor Healing successfully for the first time, its level has increased! 0 ¡ú 1
Spell Leveled! Due to casting Shield successfully for the first time, its level has increased! 0 ¡ú 1
Spell Leveled! Due to casting Spark successfully for the first time, its level has increased! 0 ¡ú 1
Spell Leveled! Due to casting Mind Spike successfully for the first time, its level has increased! 0 ¡ú 1
Spell Progressed. Due to casting Mind Spike successfully, its proficiency has increased!
Cantrips (3/3) Lvl. 1 Spark - You conjure and project a mote of fire from an extended finger. Damage and range is determined by Intelligence and Wizard levels. Components: Verbal, Somatic. Lvl. 10 Blade Ward - Flexible - You extend your hands, tracing runic sigils in the air around you. Weapon attacks and ranged spell attacks are stopped by a runic barrier, its duration and strength being determined by Intelligence and Wizard levels. Components: Somatic. Lvl. 1 Mind Spike - You drive an invisible spike of energy into the mind of another creature you can see. Strength of the disorientation and damage is determined by Spirit and Intelligence. This may be contested by the target¡¯s Wisdom. Components: N/A
First Circle (2/2) Lvl. 1 Shield - You conjure an opaque magical shield that protects you. Shield response time, strength, and maneuverability are determined by Intelligence and Wizard levels. Components: Verbal. Lvl. 1 Minor Healing - You chant and channel energy through your hands, and heal the target equal to the energy expended. Efficiency is determined by Spirit and Cleric levels. Components: Verbal, Somatic.
Dismissing them, she resolved to practice her spells more as she turned to look at Lucas. His poison still stung her, but it was a million times better than the lancing bolts of pain she had felt when the poison was still fresh. Her heart fell when her mind flashed over to the poor girl behind the counter. All the cuts across her body, the poison that seeped into her would have been agony. Claire had screamed like a baby when he made the first cut, and would have screamed more if she hadn¡¯t been gagged just after. That girl had more cuts by an order of magnitude, at least. Anger filled Claire as she looked at Lucas¡¯ body. By the time she calmed down, his corpse was obscured by the smoke branching up from his scorched body, his flesh blackened and melted by her flood of magical flame.
Spell Progressed. Due to casting Spark successfully, its proficiency has increased!
...
Spell Progressed. Due to casting Mind Spike successfully, its proficiency has increased!
Spell Leveled! Due to casting enough Sparks to make a flamethrower, its level has increased! 1 ¡ú 2
[Class leveled up!] Wizard 1 ¡ú 2 Due to your abilities demonstrated in combat, you have learned new spells! Open Spell List?
Claire didn¡¯t have the heart to look at her new spells. I killed someone today. A part inside of her said that she would have to kill many more. The other pledged to never need to kill someone again. Stepping over the burning corpse, Claire poured her mana in her healing spell, patching up the cuts from Lucas¡¯ poisoned dagger. As she went back to the main aisle, hoping to get out of the store with her bag¡ª still on the counter, she noticed¡ª as quickly as possible, she heard something that was the last thing she wanted. The chimes tingled sweetly as a bearded man in a black jacket, who looked like he just took a bath in blood, stepped through the front door. His sword was held on top of his shoulder, and then he saw her. His eyes flashed and he seemed to grow even bigger than he was already. ¡°Hello,¡± he said, in a voice that sounded to her just as evil as the warrior looked.
You have received a new Quest.
Claire stopped dead in her tracks, everything just catching up. Her breathing was erratic and heavy. ¡°Please,¡± she begged, as the tears came. ¡°I just want to go home.¡± {Continue topic? ¡­ Denied.} {Report complete.} 4 - The Pair {Records requested. Query: ¡°Continue.¡±} {Continuing report.} December 21, 9:19 AM Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth ¡°I won¡¯t hurt you.¡± He said. ¡°Don¡¯t even know if I can, honestly.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The man leaned his sword against the counter, walking to one of the shelves. Wincing, he grabbed a Gatorade and drank half of it in a single gulp. He reached out for another, tossing it over to Claire. ¡°I really won¡¯t. Trust me.¡± Hands shaking, she let go of her spellbook, which floated in the air, to open the drink. Fruit punch spilled across her tongue, the best flavor of sports drink wetting the back of her throat and making Claire feel just a little bit better. He didn¡¯t look as evil anymore without the sword now, either. Claire glanced at her spellbook, which had appeared to gain the ability to levitate, before addressing him more clearly this time. ¡°What¡­ what do you want?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s pretty simple,¡± He replied. ¡°I could hear you and that rogue fighting from outside. You must have killed him, cause its only you here now, but the thing is, you look a lot less hurt than someone who just fought a sadistic poison-user.¡± ¡°You want me to heal you? Just because I can heal myself doesn¡¯t mean I can do it to you. And¡­ tell me why I should.¡± The man moved back to the entrance of the store, finishing his drink and throwing it over Claire¡¯s shoulder into the fire rising behind her. ¡°Well, there¡¯s only one door. You do this little thing for me, and you can go home, alright?¡± Her eyes hardened. ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me like that.¡± ¡°Oh, calm down. You better make up your mind quick, girl. That fire must be pretty hot, huh?¡± Claire looked behind her, seeing that the [Spark]s she¡¯d released on Lucas had turned into a fire that was currently devouring the back side of the store. ¡°I¡¯ll do it, then.¡± He smiled. ¡°Now that wasn¡¯t too hard now, was it? Come here.¡± ¡°Yeah, screw that.¡± She flipped through her spellbook. ¡°Throw your sword out the door and get down on the ground on your stomach.¡± He gave her a weird look, but complied. ¡°I might be into that, babe.¡± ¡°Fuck off, I¡¯m barely twenty.¡± She walked closer, casting a [Blade Ward] with her free hands as she did. The barrier of blue energy surrounded her, and her back grew slightly more comfortable as some of the fire¡¯s heat was stopped by the spell. ¡°Put your hands behind your head.¡± He did so, and Claire stepped over his back, seeing deep cuts all over. Reading the incantation for a [Minor Healing] spell, she manually cast the spell, controlling her flow of energy so she would still have mana left over. A group of the most serious wounds sealed shut and his bleeding slowed immensely, after which Claire immediately grabbed her bag from the counter and ran out of the building.
Spell Leveled! Due to forming the runes of the First Circle spell, Minor Healing, manually for the first time, Minor Healing has greatly increased in level! 1 ¡ú 5
As she slowed down, Claire opened up her spellbook, which levitated in her sight to the side. Ignoring system boxes, which she swept to the side to deal with later, she studied the runic construction of her cantrips. They were free and immensely useful, especially if she could level them and get capstone abilities, judging by how [Blade Ward] had worked. The streets were quiet, and the few people she saw all carried some kind of weapon. She saw a person battering down a door with an axe, an old man lying on the steps of a home impaled by a spear, and shows of past violence wherever she looked. They left her alone, though, the combination of obviously-magical runes and a floating spellbook deterrent enough. When Claire got back to her apartment she set her goods on the desk and took a big metal pot out. She wanted to practice her cantrips, and obviously there was nobody living around to practice on, she¡¯d resigned herself to shooting [Spark]s into a pot of water, playing around with the runes to level it up faster. She opened her spellbook up to the page detailing the cantrip.
Lvl. 2 Spark - You conjure and project a mote of fire from an extended finger. Damage and range is determined by Intelligence and Wizard levels. Components: Verbal, Somatic.
The page had a circular spell glyph underneath it, which was what Claire¡¯s hand traced in the air whenever she cast it. Underneath the glyph was a set of words¡ª the verbal component. Rolling the syllables off of her tongue, Claire tested out the incantation without attempting to cast the spell. When they came fluidly, she switched over to drawing the set of three runes in the air with her hand. Feeling like she had the hang of it, Claire let the system take over, sending [Spark] after [Spark] into the pot of water. She focused on the fingers that drew the runes, and the drawing sensation that existed for a moment whenever the spell formed. It was mana, she could tell. Just like how her [Shield] and [Minor Healing] drew mana from her, these weaker spells seemed to do so too, just on a scale so small they felt negligible. She closed her eyes, drawing the runes and saying the incantation. Each word she said made the fire burn just a little brighter as it floated an inch or so away from her fingertips. Her fingers traced tiny lines of gray and red in the air, shooting little burning balls into the water pot target. Claire realized soon that each of the three runes of the spell did seperate things. By trying to slow down the flow of mana by drawing the spell glyph slower, she saw that the first rune summoned a mote of fire, which grew in size and heat with the second rune, and was finally launched forwards with the third.
Spell Leveled! Due to forming the runes of Spark manually many times, Spark has reached maximum level! 6 ¡ú 10 Choose capstone?
Improved Heat - And now, Spark is hotter than ever. Intelligence and Wizard levels are considered doubled when determining the strength of the spell. Improved Speed - And now, the Spark is faster than ever. Intelligence level is considered doubled when determining spell range and speed.
The options were simpler this time around. More damage and more range, it seemed. While Claire was curious as to how the spell would change with a more damaging spell, she figured that [Spark] obviously had a bigger brother, Fireball, which would cover all of her damage needs when she unlocked it. Also, seeing how the speed and range changed would probably be more beneficial. Her hunch that the Speed upgrade would change the last rune, the one in charge of projecting the fire, turned out to be correct as the level up rewrote the last rune. It was more complex now, but not much so. She cast the older spark, the simpler force rune still in her memory. Then, to see the difference, she let the new spell fly out, which hit the surface of the water in her pot, making a large splash that almost got Claire wet. Satisfied with the performance, she grabbed the biggest bag she owned and began cleaning out her room for things to take. Trying to keep the¡­ event¡­ in the store out of her mind had failed, and she had decided that the safest thing to do would be to head into the more loosely populated suburbs, and maybe even farther into the woods and mountains. Sitting down in the driver¡¯s seat of her rented car, she turned the key, hoping that the old machine would turn on. To her dismay, it began starting, but she heard a sound reminiscent of a lightning bolt from the hood. Getting out of it, she opened the hood of the car, seeing black smoke rising, accompanied by a terrible stench. Sighing, she left it how it was, pausing to grab her emergency money and car-issue first aid kit fromt he glovebox. Claire walked through the streets, overstuffed bag on her back, and anything she couldn¡¯t fit inside it strapped to the side. Her spellbook floated to her left, and she practiced forming the glyphs for her cantrips as she walked. The [Spark]s would pass through her ward, but it seemed like every time it did, the time remaining for the ward dropped significantly. By this time of day, more people were up and moving, acclimatizing to the System and all the things it did. Everybody got a starting weapon of their class, Claire noted, seeing a kid she faintly recognized recoil in shock as a giant halberd appeared out of thin air, dropping on him. She idly wondered where these things came from, and if it really was the best idea to give everybody weapons. Probably not, she thought. The police and officials would not be having a good time, especially when idiots inevitably realized that they finally could fight back against established authority. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Thinking upon the System, Claire recalled the message that she¡¯d first seen. Hello, aspirant! The System is a mechanism granted as an aid to mastering the energies of the universe. It was certainly interesting, particularly the bit about being an aid. Maybe the system¡¯s abilities could be replicated without using the system itself? Realizing that that¡¯s what she¡¯d been doing with her spells the whole time, Claire shrugged in her head. When I say the spell¡¯s name with the intent to cast it, the System must take over for me for the rest of the spell. Just thinking of casting my Blade Ward lets the system move the mana into the spell glyph for me, I guess. But it doesn¡¯t do that for Spark, I need to actually say it verbally¡ª probably because it has verbal components. But why does the System exist? It has to be expensive to help everybody master the energies of the universe. It has to get something out of this, whether now or later, to make all of this effort worth its while. Casting the thought aside, Claire decided she¡¯d had enough of spell practice and opened her Quest menu, then using her stored spell item. Quest rewards would stay with the system, it seemed.
Quests Active: 1
Paths to Power (II) - Cantrip total level is greater than ten. (??) - Have six prepared First Circle Spells of your class. (3/6) - First Circle Spell total level is greater than five. Rewards: 1 Wizard level, School of Magic feature, 1x Random Class Spell (1st Circle)
Consumable: 1x Random Class Spell (1st Circle) Item consumed, Spell gained.
Ice Shard You freeze and project a small shard of ice, dealing damage to an enemy on a hit. Regardless if it hits or misses, the shard then explodes, launching specks of ice outwards in a sphere. Shard damage is determined by Intelligence level, Wizard level, and quality of the material consumed. Radius is determined by Spirit level. Components: Somatic, Material (a few drops of water or a piece of ice)
The spell seemed nifty, and Claire was excited because all of her other First Circle spells were defense or healing related¡ª having something that could reliably do damage at range would be useful. The material component would get annoying, though. Needing some water or ice to cast the spell made sense, because this was actually throwing something physical, but it having to have water or ice always ready might be a pain. She was a bit confused about the quest¡¯s requirement to have six prepared spells. Right now Claire had four, and so far only quests and level-ups had given her more spells. If she relied only on level-ups, she would be missing out on whatever a School of Magic was, but potentially would level up faster in the long run because of the guaranteed Wizard level upon quest completion. On the other hand, she might be able to milk more out of a School of Magic if she leveled up earlier. Claire slowed down, seeing a group of about ten people standing in the street in front. They were mainly physical classes, most holding some variant of sword or spear, but there were a few archers and a single rogue. She let her wards drop to not make too much of a scene, and saw quickly that the reason for the gathering was that there were two people, a man and a woman, holding weapons that looked far more dangerous than their usual variety. The woman had a chainmail shirt on, the first piece of armor Claire saw. She would think that the women had some kind of defense-based class, but she had a giant sword she held with two hands that had faint glowing runes running down the blade. The man was wearing a robe, also with glowing runes, and he had a book very similar to Claire¡¯s own. He had to hold it, Claire noted. Which meant that, all things considered, she was cooler than him! The woman noticed Claire show up, noticing her floating spellbook. She elbowed the man, gesturing to the magical device. ¡°I¡¯m gonna say the same thing I said to all of these people,¡± she said, addressing Claire. ¡°Give us all of your stuff, the new things this System gave you, and you can get on to wherever you¡¯re going.¡± Seeing Claire¡¯s hesitance, she continued. ¡°Or don¡¯t. But I think my friend here might insist you hand that book over.¡± ¡°She¡¯s right. You wanna hand it over nice?¡± He asked, flipping a page in his own book, then forming a spell glyph that Claire did not recognize. ¡°We can play the hard way too.¡± The woman cut in, pointing to a small pile of corpses to the side. ¡°You can be next.¡± Claire, frustrated that she had gotten herself into another fight when all she was trying to do was avoid them, didn¡¯t reply to them. Making a thinking pose, she subtly formed the runes for a ward around her with her other hand behind her back. It sprung to life, after which the other wizard immediately finished casting his spell. The crowd looked a lot smaller than when she was far away, some having left and the others scattering out of the street. They could probably beat the two alone despite the obvious level and gear gap, but it seemed they wouldn¡¯t get involved so long as there wasn¡¯t a clear winner. It was nice seeing that so many people had confidence in her survival skills, but less nice when it was her that they¡¯d left alone to fight the pair. Two bolts of force punched a hole through her ward, the spell slowing the enemy magic considerably. One of them flew right by Claire, but the other hit her on the hip with the force of a heavy punch, bruising the area and forcing her to take a step back. The woman raised her sword in the air, shooting forward at lightning speed. She swung the blade twice in quick succession, which made the ward dim significantly, but it didn¡¯t fail. Taking a step back, she seemed to channel some kind of energy which made the runes on the blade light up. Thinking this was the perfect time to test out her new spell, Claire grabbed a bottle of water from her pack, discarding the rest of her heavy things on the ground behind her. She opened the lid and poured it out, simultaneously casting her [Ice Shard] spell. Mana drained from her core, flash freezing all of the water that was outside of the plastic container. It hovered for a moment as light blue lines inlaid itself on the newly-made ice, then Claire pointed her finger at the caster who send the force bolts at her. It shot forward quickly, bouncing off a hastily-cast spell that she recognized as [Shield]. The shard of ice then exploded, the shards making it around the defensive spell. A few shot towards the woman with the sword, but they only left shallow cuts, barely drawing blood. Taking the opportunity that the attack had brought her, she steeled her mind in preparation of a mental attack. Forming the glyph for [Mind Spike] in her head, she made eye contact with the woman holding the sword before letting the spike rip deep into her consciousness. She finished charging the runes on her sword, which glowed red. The sword took on a similar hue when she swung it horizontally, sending a line of energy outwards. Claire¡¯s ward stopped the attack, but the wave still managed to push her backwards a few feet. The ward¡¯s integrity quickly drained until it shattered completely¡ª but the woman staggered, spitting blood out of her mouth. Looking upwards, she glared at Claire, preparing to take advantage of the downed ward by rushing into melee range. The other wizard had finished casting another spell. He had backed up quite a bit, currently taking cover behind a stopped car in the middle of the street. All of a sudden, Claire felt a crushing sensation, her knees growing weak before they crumpled to the ground. The warrior charged her with sword raised high, as Claire struggled to lift her hands through the overpowering pressure. The gravity-enhancing spell ended just in time, allowing Claire to raise a [Shield] in between her and the giant sword coming down. It failed to break through the barrier, thankfully, and Claire stood up, making a pushing motion with the barrier that shoved the other woman outside of melee range. The barrier stayed between her and Claire, the latter¡¯s left hand moving to control the defensive spell from a distance as her other hand renewed her personal wards. The [Shield]¡¯s mana exhausted by the movements and the continued battering with an enchanted sword, Claire spoke out the incantation for her [Spark] cantrip, attempting to form the runes with both hands. One succeeded, following her pointed finger and shooting at the woman¡¯s head like a bullet. The other formed much slower, the weaker attack dodged by the warrior. She almost dropped her sword as the fiery bullet hit her, knocking her head sideways and also lighting a fire in her hair that quickly grew. She patted it out, yelling in pain as the magical flame burned her scalp and her palm. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you for that!¡± She shouted. Worrying much more about the threat on her life than the woman¡¯s new smoking hot haircare routine, Claire ran away from her, angling herself so she would have better line of sight on the wizard who had hid behind the car. She didn¡¯t expect him to jump out and rush her, incanting a spell as he ran. When he was about ten feet away, he raised both hands, palms facing Claire, expelling misty silver crystals and a blast of cold air. The spell formed ice crystals on the ground as it approached her, and her whole body grew numb as the attack chilling her to the bone. When Claire tried to run back, she almost fell as her stiff joints didn¡¯t want to respond to her. Staying in place, she let loose a series of [Mind Spike]s at the woman, watching her stagger and fall, dropping her weapon as she hit the pavement head-first. Claire formed the spell again for good measure, forming a connection between the two brains. She ripped and tore at the woman¡¯s mind with her own magically-enhanced one, watching the prone woman¡¯s attempts at standing up get more and more jerky. Seizing the opportunity, a man holding a longsword jumped over a car and into the street, plunging his blade through her chain mail into her back. A second later, two arrows struck her on the head. She was bleeding profusely, but she leapt into the air, having recovered her sword. Her body glowed red, sunrise red. Coming down, a wave of energy split the opportunistic warrior clean in half. She turned towards Claire, about to use her last breath to charge her, but a dozen arrows from all around slipped through her forsaken defense. A thrown knife sailed towards her eye, and Claire averted her eyes. The other wizard was being forced away from the cover he¡¯d found again by some of the bystanders from before. They had weapons out, and the spellcaster was exchanging blows with those he had terrorized just a few minutes before. His robe deflected many attacks, but ultimately he was facing too many¡ª and his robe could not defend his skull nearly as well as he could defend his body. Claire walked over as he hit the ground, a mace having crushed his skull to pick up his spellbook. Looking behind her to see people looting the corpse of the warrior, where a big axe-wielding man had took her chainmail which had adjusted to fit his hulking form. A few people were fighting about the enchanted sword, so Claire turned away to focus on the downed wizard. The people were looking at her expectantly, but she didn¡¯t say a word. With a dead look in her eyes, she picked up his spellbook and undid the clasp of his magic robe. Some trinkets spilled out of the pockets as she lifted it over his head: some earrings, a necklace and a ring. She took the earrings and necklace, leaving the ring which was snatched up immediately. She glanced at his hands, which had more rings on them, but only a few seemed like they had runes on them. Not enthusiastic about prying rings off of a dead man¡¯s finger, Claire folded the robe, tucking the jewelry into her own pocket. Finding her pack untouched, she stored the robe and spellbook, intending to take a look at them when she was somewhere quieter. She would need to address the system prompts that had accumulated over the battle, too. Silently, with a pensive expression on her face, she took slow steps away from the people crowding around the two corpses. People argued and fought over who should get what, but Claire couldn¡¯t find it within her to care. She took one step after another until she could no longer smell the blood, until she could no longer hear the voices, until she could no longer remember those that had just died. Why do we do this to each other? 5 - Four December 21, 11:52 AM Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth Claire had been walking for a good bit, having been able to avoid more large fights. When people tried to threaten her, they normally ran after her wards went up. Definitely the best spell ever. If the glowing magical bubble didn¡¯t deter them, a [Spark] shot their way normally did. She had gone through the system boxes that she¡¯d accumulated from the fight earlier. While she initially didn¡¯t care much for the fighting and crime that now plagued the lands behind her¡ª she was certain that there were multiple fires raging in the city¡ª she couldn¡¯t help but admit that seeing the numbers go up was fun¡­ if fun could describe this system that seemed specifically designed to encourage bloodshed. Obviously the spells she¡¯d used had leveled up. Ice Shard gained the obligatory first level, Shield was bumped up one, as did Minor Healing. Mind Spike had shot up a whopping four levels, bringing it up to five. Almost definitely because she had used it to essentially turn someone¡¯s mind into jelly. She also noticed a slight bump in her statistics. She didn¡¯t feel any different, but her average had increased by a few hundredths of a point as she walked. The homes were getting more sparse now, apartments and condominiums giving way to big houses and tree-filled lawns. Claire was tempted to go break in, and maybe find some things she could use. She decided against it. The only thing she really needed was more gear from the system and more spells. Well, a tent and some more food wouldn¡¯t hurt, but worst come to worst, she could steal those. They wouldn¡¯t be neccessary unless she decided to leave civilization proper, which she had no plans on. She couldn¡¯t say that she wasn¡¯t drawn to it, but her logical side informed her that a bear or wolf would rip through her, probably, spells or not. Then again, she had no idea. A bear might be scared away by her [Spark], or perhaps a wolf pack would get shredded by the shards from an [Ice Bolt]. She knew that the spells didn¡¯t work well enough to the point of instant killing other people, so they probably wouldn¡¯t work on animals either. All of a sudden, a system box appeared in front of her vision¡ª even though she had it configured to only show when she asked for them. System Announcement. Time: Integration +4:00 Hello, aspirant! Congratulations on surviving four hours with the System. To celebrate this, new features have been added to better aid your climb. First, the Leaderboard! The Leaderboard is a ranking system that considers your development holistically. The top ranking will receive rewards based on their performance. Open Leaderboard? Second, you will find monsters. In areas with low population, animals and beasts will gain strength, becoming monsters! Killing them may improve your Leaderboard ranking, and will also unlock many other rewards for you. Third, the Shop. What use are the shiny monster parts and useless gear if they sit, collecting dust? Now, you can sell these to the Shop! You will receive compensation that allows you to purchase items from the Shop. However, both of these are limited, so be careful with what you buy and sell. Open Shop? A reward for staying alive was certainly fun. Claire didn¡¯t know if she was a fan of the monsters, though. It would be good spell practice, and the system implied that they might drop things that would help her out. On the other hand, murder didn¡¯t sit right with her still. But she guessed it would depend on what the monsters were like. Levels, for sure. And gear, if she was lucky. Shifting focus away from monsters, Claire opened the Leaderboard function, dismissing the announcement after she did so. There would be time plenty for browsing through the shop, especially when she found some money or more things to sell besides the jewelry and robe that the wizard she looted earlier had. Also there was his spellbook to go over, which surely would sell for a good amount. Claire Wright: Wizard Level 2. You currently are ranked #1268 in the Sub-Sector (North America) for progression, #119 for combat ability, and #? for future potential. Your current ranking for combat ability qualifies you for a reward at the end of the day. Category: 101-150. She figured that she needed a place to settle down, away from the city. A cave, maybe? She laughed inwardly, hoping that she could find a cabin out in the woods, or an abandoned house in the suburbs. Still thinking about how things would go, it was about another half an hour of walking until she saw her first monster. Claire had stopped to take a break to rest her legs when she heard a growling from inside of a house. A giant dog burst out of the door, its veins thick and muscles bulging as it ran. Its owner had left it alone, and the lack of people around had managed to transform the dog completely. Claire had raised her wards when she saw it run towards her, its frame colliding with her defenses. Looking dazed, it continued to bite and scratch at the magical shield. Claire waited for a bit, letting the attacks whittle her shield before refreshing it instantly. The spell was specifically designed to resist physical attacks, meaning that there was no hope of the beast making it in to hurt her, but at the same time all of her attention was being focused on the beast. Its blows hit a lot harder than anything a person had tried yet at her level, which was saying a lot because her basic ward could hold off for quite some time against other people. She hoped that it was the monster that was abnormal, that it had a special propensity to shield-breaking, but there was a chance all monsters would be this strong, too. Or, its power was due to their distance from major population centers¡ª she was three hours away from the city, now and maybe four hours¡¯ walk from where all the people really lived. Claire let loose a spark of fire just as the monster broke through her ward. Shooting forward and hitting it in the snout, it was knocked back visibly by the spell before turning to lunge again. By then, she had a mind spike prepared, which instantly connected the two¡¯s minds. In that brief moment, she could sense a¡­ profound wrongness with the mind of the beast. It wasn¡¯t anything like the others she¡¯d hit with the attack before, whose minds felt normal. When she was with the monster, though, it felt like something had corrupted the replica. Almost like a tumor had grown wild within¡­ the metaphysical body, for lack of better word. The metaphysical body in question, shaped like a very normal dog, had a very clean hole right through it where the heart would be. Her focus back on the physical form of the monster, Claire was blasted backwards when a jet of light burst out of the dog¡¯s body, right where her mind spike had hit. Energy visibly streamed out of it, and the monster burst as it seemed like it was being sucked into itself. She lay on the ground reeling, the blood coursing through her body feeling like a hundred needles. She felt something change inside of her, and the feeling of the needles persisted. Piercing through her body, limbs, and extremities, Claire was filled with an icy cold sensation, and then it suddenly stopped. Something felt different, but she couldn¡¯t place her finger on what it was. Then, her ears buzzed as a melodic voice sounded in her ears. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Hello?¡± Her voice quivered as Claire began to prepare runes for some kind of attack. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Hmm. Don¡¯t worry about this. You¡¯ve just done something very, very good. I¡¯ll be in touch with you, soon enough. This changed your System a little bit, and I¡¯ve added in a few touches of my own. I think you¡¯ll like it.¡± The buzzing in her ear faded. Claire kept calling out to the voice, but it did not return no matter how much she yelled. Confused, alarmed, and really, really scared, she decided to obey the command from the¡­ administrator? Surely she was one, but Claire was still confused as to why an administrator had contacted her. Opening her system, she saw a few upgrades, a class level-up, and a few new spells. Her quests were changed also. [Class leveled up!] Wizard 2 ¡ú 3 Due to your abilities demonstrated in combat with men and monster alike, your masterful use of Spirit to rupture the core of a higher-leveled monster, and a boon granted by a greater being, you have gained a significant upgrade to your Path! Your existing spells have been modified. You have learned new spells. You have gained a new class feature. Feature: School of Magic School of Magic has been selected: Order of Mind. Ability: Primacy of Intellect: You gain a passive resistance to harmful mental and spiritual effects. You enjoy a buff to the effects your own mental and spiritual spells. Cantrips (3/3) Lvl. 1 Energy Bolt - Speed The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. - You conjure and project a mote of energy from an extended finger. Damage and range is determined by Spirit and Intelligence levels. Components: Verbal, Somatic. Lvl. 1 Words of Warding - Flexible - You extend your hands and chant, tracing runic sigils in the air around you and invoking words of power. Attacks are stopped by a barrier, which is extremely durable while components are being supplied. Duration and strength after this point is determined by Spirit and Intelligence. Components: Verbal, Somatic Lvl. 1 Spirit Spike - You drive an invisible spike of energy into the spirit of another creature you can see. Effects are determined by your Spirit, contested by the target¡¯s Spirit and Wisdom. Components: N/A First Circle (4/6 prepared) Lvl. 1 Spiritual Shield - You conjure an opaque shield that protects you, also granting you positive effects. Shield strength, duration, and type of buff is determined by Spirit. Components: Verbal. Lvl. 1 Energy Infusion - You inject energy into and project a physical object in your hands, dealing damage to an enemy on a hit. The object then explodes, dealing damage in an area. Damage, distance, and area of effect are determined by Spirit and quality of material component. Components: Somatic, Material (a fist-sized or smaller physical object) Lvl. 1 Energy Blast - You conjure and project a number of energy bolts from an extended palm. Bolts can be combined to form a blast, which shoots outward in a cone from the contact point. Damage, range and quantity is determined by Spirit level. Components: Verbal, Somatic. Lvl. 1 Minor Healing - You chant and channel energy through your hands, and heal the target equal to the energy expended. You are healed for a fraction of the amount you heal others. Efficiency is determined by Spirit level. Components: Verbal, Somatic. Second Circle (1/0 prepared) Lvl. 1 Personal Sphere - You flood a spherical area with energy that follows you. Other beings in this area can be aided or hindered at your will. Hostile attacks will be less effective if they enter the sphere. While the sphere is active, you enjoy a buff to attacks made with Spirit as their base and a buff to your physical durability. Effectiveness is determined by energy consumed. The administrator had given her a pretty substantive boost. She must have seen something in me! All of her spells were reset to the first level, unfortunately. But they all seemed much more versatile. The ice shard spell, for instance, had removed the ice part entirely, replacing it with a version that ran off of her Spirit and worked with anything, not just ice. Her shield spell had changed also, turning into a full-body shield that also ran off of her insanely high spirit. It also would buff her while active, which would be cool. Claire might miss having a shield she could bash things with, but the change was by and large a good one. She had gained a new first circle spell, the energy blast. It seemed like another area damage option, apart from energy infusion which would eat material components. It seemed like a version of what the wizard she¡¯d fought earlier used to bust open her shields. Claire¡¯s cantrips had changed the most. Spark turned into a neutral version of itself, no longer fire but just plain ¡°energy.¡± Mind spike had changed into a spirit spike. Judging by the system level up notice, it seemed like ripping open the monster¡¯s mind with the spell had also leveraged her spirit, which tore apart the monster¡¯s spirit as well. A neat upgrade, particularly if she could casually explode holes in things with her mind alone. The biggest change, however, was her upgraded blade ward. It had changed almost completely. It wasn¡¯t a one-and-done deal anymore. It sounded like it would stay almost indestructible until she stopped channeling energy and writing the runes. Afterwards, depending on her spirit, the shield would last until the energy was exhausted. All in all, potent upgrades. They would take some getting used to, but that was a matter of course. Claire, having digested the information, pulled up her quest list to see if it had any guidance on what to do next. Quests Active: 6 Paths to Power (II) Cantrip total level is greater than ten. (??) Have six Spells. (5/6) First Circle Spell total level is greater than five. (??) Rewards: 1 Wizard level, School of Magic feature Eye of the Storm (Limited) Find reliable shelter. Find a renewable source of food and water. Survive the night, until 8:00 AM. Rewards: Spatial Pouch, Variable Monster Slayer (I) Slay 10 monsters. (1/10) Rewards: Gear Upgrade Token * Do this immediately!! Learn how to meditate and level the skill to 11. Rewards: Basic competence, 1 level up * Stop being weak (I) Raise your Body statistic to 1.00 (0.89/1.00) Raise your Mind statistic to 1.50 (1.41/1.50) Rewards: Average physique, acceptable intelligence, 3x Body Refining Pill * Prove yourself (I) Kill monsters higher than your level. (1/25) 3x Spell Upgrade Token (1st Circle) She had received several new quests, and the Paths to Power (II) was almost done. She received an additional two, one to find safety, basically, and the other to kill monsters. Given by the low number of monsters it asked her to kill, Claire figured that it would be the first in a sequence of similar quests. The truly interesting ones were the ones that the Administrator had gave her. The appearance of the quests was different, as was the phrasing of the material. The Administrator seemed to really want her to learn how to meditate, rewarding it with a whole new level up! Body Refining Pills sounded interesting also, and she only had a few tenths of a unit before both of her statistics met the requirements. She also had a variant of the system-given Slay Monster quest, only requiring her to kill higher-leveled monsters. The reward was much better, giving three instead of one tokens for her to upgrade things with. Claire mentally sorted the quests out in order of priority. First was Paths to Power. It was already so close to finishing, and she really wanted the free class level that the quest would reward. The new spell and School of Magic feature would be useful, too. After that, it would probably be the Monster Slayer quest. Ten monsters for a gear upgrade token seemed like a really good deal¡ª and from her earlier hunch, she could probably try to kill more if the rewards were good. She might even get some progress into the one with higher-leveled monsters. The juicy reward from the meditation quest and body pill quest seemed unfortunately out of her reach. She would probably try to learn meditation after she¡¯d found safe shelter, finishing the Eye of the Storm quest in the meantime. And for the body, she found that her attributes climbed as she did things and leveled up. So besides from that, there was nothing worthwhile that she knew would raise up those statistics. Plan set, she decided to go and find somewhere to rest while she read her spellbook. Wizard¡¯s Arcane Recovery told her that she would regain energy quickly while doing so, so Claire burned energy into a ward spell, hoping that the amount she put in would keep her safe while she rested. The first thing she noticed with her new set of spells was that the System would no longer cast it for her. She had to form the runes, expelling mana from her hands and fingers in order to draw them in the air, or mentally form the runes for the spells without somatic components. Another thing was that her spellbook¡¯s layout changed. Now, each of her new spells had the old forms in the pages behind. So her energy infusion spell had the inscription for an ice shard right behind it, and the bolt spell had the spark one as well. Those could still be system cast, just as before, but Claire was curious as to why they did not count as new spells. Almost on a whim, she decided to try decoding the runes in the spells she knew. Ice shard and spark were the prime candidates right now, both seeming like they were really simple. Well, as simple as literal magic spells could get¡ª meaning that they didn¡¯t do anything weird like her Spirit Spike or any of the barriers. After several minutes of perusing the spells, she realized that the two had something in common. The spark spell was simple, with three runes. It summoned a fire, then it grew the fire, then it finally shot it out. The ice shard, while more complex, followed something similar. It froze water, then infused energy (in fashion similar to the more general spell she¡¯d just obtained), then finally shot it out. In both cases, the attack was shot out¡­ with the same exact rune. Realizing now that runes were like puzzle pieces, almost, it only took a few tries for her to manage to make some progress. All she did was change the first runes around from the two spells. Instead of forming an ice shard, the spell instead conjured a mote of fire, but it unfortunately got bent out of shape by the second rune. Her next attempts exploded in her face, thankfully not hurting her because of the little amount of energy poured into the experiment. It was about a half an hour until Claire had managed to make a fire version of the ice shard. It was a bit cheaper in mana, but it couldn¡¯t do nearly as much damage as the shard. All it did was make an exploding spark, which must not have counted in the System as a new spell. It was a solid proof of concept, though, leading Claire to resume experiments. This time she would try to make a spark-sized version of the ice shard. She swapped the first runes from the two, and the spell went off without a hitch. The water in her hands froze, promptly melted again, then shot forward with a small splash on the ground. Useful¡­ in a water gun fight. The next thing she tried was swapping the first two. The rune that would enhance the flame from her spark would melt the frozen water that ice shard¡¯s rune had made, so maybe she would basically cast an ice shard without all of the extra runes? That went off much better. The water froze, then was shaped by the second rune, then shot off. No explosion, though, proving Claire¡¯s idea that the middle runes were the ones in charge of exploding. Still no system spell, but that was fine. The next few minutes were spent testing out different combinations of all of the runes from the two spells. She managed to make a spell that shot already-exploded ice, and a spell that only froze water, but it was only until another twenty or so minutes passed until she got a notification that she had learned a new spell. This particular attempt was very similar to the ones made before, only that she had tripled the amount of runes used. Not the type, only the number. This one, when she cast it, froze all of the water almost instantly, then it visibly deformed into the shape of a crystal shard¡ª almost like a knife with no handle. The spell then ended, but Claire was left with a physical object, a knife made out of ice. When she threw it at a tree, it exploded into a million little pieces, quickly melting in the midday sun. [Quest Complete!] You have satisfied the requirements of the quest, ¡°Paths to Power (II).¡± Cantrip total level is greater than ten. (??) Have six Spells. (6/6) First Circle Spell total level is greater than five. (??) Rewards: 1 Wizard level, School of Magic feature, 1x Random Class Spell (1st Circle) 6 - Out of Town December 21, 12:03 AM Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth Finishing the second Paths to Power quest was not a fun experience. Maybe it was leveling up twice in a short succession, or something else, but Claire¡¯s head was killing her, and her spirit felt like it¡¯d been stretched and torn a hundred time. It did have its reward, though. As soon as her spirit felt better and her headache improved, she touched a hand to her spellbook and opened the system notifications that had accumulated. [Class leveled! Statistics have been enhanced.] [You have gained a School of Magic feature: Mental Model. Once per hour, you may form a mental model of past experiences, the present moment, or a projection of potential future events. Your Intelligence and capacity to handle Intelligence is greatly increased during this time. Duration of Mental Model scales according to your Intelligence and Spirit.] Dismissing the notifications, Claire opened her full status which had grown, substantially.
Full Status: Tier: 1-0-2
Name: Claire Wright Level: 4 Class: Wizard
Abilities: Spellcasting, Arcane Recovery, Preparing Spells, Ritual Casting
School of Magic: Order of Mind Primacy of Intellect, Mental Model
Spells Known: Cantrips (3/3) Lvl. 1 Energy Bolt - Speed - You conjure and project a mote of energy from an extended finger. Damage and range is determined by Spirit and Intelligence levels. Components: Verbal, Somatic. - Subspells: Spark, Icicle Lvl. 1 Words of Warding - Flexible - You extend your hands and chant, tracing runic sigils in the air around you and invoking words of power. Attacks are stopped by a barrier, which is extremely durable while components are being supplied. Duration and strength after this point is determined by Spirit and Intelligence. Components: Verbal, Somatic - Subspells: Blade Ward Lvl. 1 Spirit Spike - You drive an invisible spike of energy into the spirit of another creature you can see. Effects are determined by your Spirit, contested by the target¡¯s Spirit and Wisdom. Components: N/A - Subspells: Mind Spike
First Circle (4/6 prepared) Lvl. 1 Spiritual Shield - You conjure an opaque shield that protects you, also granting you positive effects. Shield strength, duration, and type of buff is determined by Spirit. Components: Verbal. - Subspells: Shield Lvl. 1 Energy Infusion - You inject energy into and project a physical object in your hands, dealing damage to an enemy on a hit. The object then explodes, dealing damage in an area. Damage, distance, and area of effect are determined by Spirit and quality of material component. Components: Somatic, Material (a fist-sized or smaller physical object) - Subspells: Ice Shard Lvl. 1 Energy Blast - You conjure and project a number of energy bolts from an extended palm. Damage, range and quantity is determined by Spirit level. Components: Verbal, Somatic. Lvl. 1 Minor Healing - You chant and channel energy through your hands, and heal the target equal to the energy expended. Efficiency is determined by Spirit level. Components: Verbal, Somatic.
Second Circle (1/0 prepared) Personal Sphere - You flood a spherical area with energy that follows you. Other beings in this area may be aided or hindered at your will. Hostile attacks will be less effective if they enter the sphere. While the sphere is active, you enjoy a buff to attacks made with Spirit as their base and a buff to your physical durability. Effectiveness is determined by energy consumed.
Statistics: 2.03 Physical: 0.91 (¡­) Mental: 1.42 (¡­) Spiritual: 3.76 (¡­)
Quests Active: 6 Paths to Power (III) Level up cantrips. (3/30) Level up First Circle spells. (4/20) Level up Second Circle spells. (0/5) Absorb energy. (0/1) Rewards: Spirit Seeding Pill x2 OR Spirit Hardening Pill x2 depending on Path, Variable Eye of the Storm (Limited) Find reliable shelter. Find a renewable source of food and water. Survive the night, until 8:00 AM. Rewards: Spatial Pouch, Variable Monster Slayer (I) Slay 10 monsters. (1/10) Rewards: Gear Upgrade Token * Do this immediately!! Learn how to meditate and level the skill to 11. Rewards: Basic competence, 1 level up * Stop being weak (I) Raise your Body statistic to 1.00 (0.91/1.00) Raise your Mind statistic to 1.50 (1.42/1.50) Rewards: Average physique, acceptable intelligence, 3x Body Refining Pill * Prove yourself (I) Kill monsters higher than your level. (1/25) 3x Spell Upgrade Token (1st Circle)
Paths of Power (II) was, unsurprisingly replaced by the third quest in that chain. As the last one had required her to learn spells, this one was telling her to level them up. Cantrips and First Circle ones wouldn¡¯t be that difficult, she hoped, but it also had her leveling up Second Circle spells¡ª meaning that unless she could figure out a loophole, she wouldn¡¯t be getting that quest done for quite a while. It also was the first time that she saw two different options for the quest reward. Pills for spirit seeding and spirit hardening¡­ depending on Path? Intersting, for sure, but definitely a problem for future-Claire. Looking around, she could tell that there were still a few hours until sundown. By then, she hoped, she would be out of the suburbs completely by sundown if she kept at her current pace. Hopefully she would be able to finish a few quests in the kill monsters category, stacking up upgrade tokens that would surely be helpful. The physical excercise would probably level up her Body statistic enough to fulfill one of the categories of her other quest, too. The thought of upgrade tokens reminded Claire of the things she had looted off of the wizard. Not wanting to wear the items of the dead man, she had left the enchanted robe and magical jewelry stashed in her pack. Not wanting to make a decision yet, she resolved to kill some monsters until she had enough things to sell to the shop, then decide what to do with the items¡ª be that to use them or to sell them also. After she killed some monsters, hopefully making her stronger, she would have time to look for food and shelter. Worst come to worst, she would hole up in a tree at night and blast away at the monsters below from cover. Ideally, she would find an abandoned mansion complete with food and water supplies, and maybe a swimming pool and gym, if she was to dream big. Quests and spells aside, the best change in Claire¡¯s opinion was how much easier doing things were. She could actually sense her spirit now, in a dim white sphere around her navel. She couldn¡¯t do much to it besides take energy out at this point, but she was sure she could learn to manipulate it more with practice. The energy flowed from her core to her hands when she called for it, as smoothly as water did through a straw, but more like honey. When she controlled this energy, drawing it up from her core and writing the rune for an energy bolt with her hands, she felt her reserves dip as the spell formed. It was extremely bright from the overfilled spell glyph. It launched itself forward, blasting a small hole in the sidewalk. Claire felt her reserves inch back up as she cast the spell without using energy from her core. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Using a bit of energy that was in her finger, she felt it coat her fingertips as she drew the glyph. The spell formed normally this time, not doing any damage to the ground she aimed it at. The first time, she had carved a spiritual hole in the world in the shape of the glyph, then filled it with her energy. All of the energy she filled the mold with was used by the spell that formed. The second, all she did was trail energy in the shape of the rune in the air. There was no deep mold to fill with her energy, only the tiniest bit of energy that formed spiritual lines. So the spell wasn¡¯t nearly as powerful as the first¡ª nor was it as costly. Claire repeated this process with all of her cantrips: getting a sense of how the spell would work if she used her core¡¯s energy in a mold, or just a normal casting from manipulating ambient energy with her hand. She switched to offensive methods as soon as monsters appeared, the regular castings doing decent damage to the beasts. Whenever she used energy rom her core though, they would die instantly. Her quest counter ticked up, killing enough monsters to satisfy Monster Slayer (I) after five or ten minutes of walking. Unfortunately, Prove yourself (I) didn¡¯t change, the monster¡¯s apparantly being too weak for them to count as monsters higher than her in level. It made sense, she supposed. Her cantrips would kill these things, often oversized squirrels or dogs, in just a few shots. The corpses disappeared from the ground, turning into shimmering specks of rainbow light a few seconds after their death each time, occasionally leaving a chunk of meat, skin, bone, or other animal part. She had been putting these into a separate compartment of her bag to sell later. As a gray slate token appeared in her hand, a hammer inscribed on one side and a stylized helmet on the other, her quest updated. Not too much different¡ª the reward was the same¡ª except this time the number of kills required was bumped up from ten to twenty five. Claire was about halfway through Monster Slayer (II) when something interesting happened. The encounter started off just like all those earlier with something popping up and preparing to rush her. But this was a bit different, in that it wasn¡¯t some kind of dog or squirrel with dangerous-looking fangs and claws, but rather it was a normal-looking cat. Well, not exactly normal looking. Its light grey fur shimmered green, and its eyes looked like it had a spark of intelligence. It looked down on Claire from the lamp post it stood on, licking at its paw. She paused to look at the cat, not sure whether to blast it with energy or to keep going. She made her decision when the cat pointed a little paw at her and meowed, a faint green blade zipping towards her. She paused, surprised enough that a literal animal had cast a spell to attack her that the spell in question made contact, cutting a line through her about a foot long. It sliced open a cut in her jeans, drawing a thin line of blood along both of her upper thighs. ¡°What the hell, cat?¡± Claire said, frustrated. ¡°Why my pants?¡± She then saw the cat jump off of the lamp post, floating in the air like a goddamn hang glider. It launched a series of wind blades at her while flying, cutting Claire in a few more spots before she managed to react with a spiritual shield. The wind blades couldn¡¯t pierce through the First Circle spell, and Claire retaliated with a barrage of energy bolts, five of them soaring through the air at the cat. The monster did a backflip midair, stepping on some kind of conjured platform of wind that took it well out of range of the energy bolts. It stayed there, hovering about fifteen feet in the air sending wind blades at Claire like there was no tomorrow. There wouldn¡¯t be a tomorrow for the mage-cat, certainly. Claire furrowed her brows as her shield weakened slightly. Bending down to pick up a loose rock, she began to infuse energy into the stone. When she was done, she launched the stone just below the cat, which stepped off of its platform in the air to glide down to earth. Seeing the stone would miss, Claire commanded it to explode. The rock burst in a cloud of dust, obscuring the cat for a moment¡ª then the dust shot outwards, propelled by a quaquaversal burst of wind with the cat at its center. Almost smirking, the cat floated gently to the ground without a scratch on it. The hell? Does this goddamn cat have a shield, too? The green shimmer had disappeared from the cats fur, so that was probably what had caused the burst of wind. Some kind of pre-cast defense that would trigger in a dangerous moment? Regardless of how cool the spell was, Claire was forced take a step backwards as three miniature tornados formed on the ground. Each about a cubic foot in size, they launched themselves towards her spiritual shield which was dispelled by the cutting winds. Two tornados were exhausted by her defenses, but the other one connected, gifting Claire more tiny cuts for her trouble. The thousand cut approach was certainly annoying. It might have even been dangerous if Claire had not had a healing spell. A single casting of minor healing sealed up all of the cuts on her skin, unfortunately not doing the same to her clothes. The cat¡¯s smug look faded as it saw its hard work reverted almost instantly. It turned tail to run, the intelligent cat realizing that it was far outmatched. It gathered green energy around it for a few seconds, then launched itself at least thirty feet into the air. As it began to glide, Claire ran after it, imbuing stones with energy as she did. Two magic rocks flew into the air, exploding in clouds of dust and splinters. Another set followed those, then more. She interspersed regular energy bolts between the energy infusion attacks. Her core had dipped to about three-quarters of what it was initially before Claire saw a little gray blob fall out of the sky. The wind-cat managed to fall with grace, as much as a dead cat could manage, at least. It dissolved into rainbow light, leaving behind a little loop of gold chain. Necklace of Flowing Wind Rarity: Common This necklace creates a small, localized gust of wind when worn, giving the wearer¡¯s clothes and hair the impression that they are flowing in a calm breeze. The air is either pleasantly cool or pleasantly warm, wearer¡¯s choice. She opened the clasp, looping it around her neck and shutting it. True to the description, a pleasantly warm wind surrounded her, blowing into her face. Her hair and clothes gently flowed in the magical breeze, somewhat dramatically. With nothing else to do, Claire took the upgrade token from earlier and pressed it into the thin necklace, accepting the upgrade when the System prompted it. Necklace of Flowing Wind Rarity: Uncommon This necklace creates a small, localized gust of wind when worn, giving the wearer¡¯s clothes and hair the impression that they are flowing in a calm breeze. The air is either pleasantly cool or pleasantly warm, wearer¡¯s choice. Once a day for free, you may create a platform of hardened air below your feet to jump off of. Alternatively, you may use energy to replicate this effect, the platform¡¯s duration depending on energy used. Spells and attacks pass through this platform. The ability was what the cat had used in their brief fight though obviously not as strong. The monster was able to fly, while this item would only give Claire a double-jump, maybe. Still, with a few more upgrades there might be a possibility of the item getting an ability for flight. Claire decided this as good a point as any to take a break. Her legs felt tired, and her spirit was slightly strained after using all of those spells to bring the magic cat down. Spotting a Seven-Eleven a short ways down the road, she decided to set up camp there. The surroundings had greatly changed in the hours she had walked. The road was wide, and some stopped cars were stuck in the middle. There was a crash up ahead, the fires having long died and the twisted metal of the cars¡¯ frames interlocked with each other. The road¡¯s edges had the occasional tree, the sparse coverage turning into true forest at the edge of her range of vision. Some monsters emerged from the woods, easy to take care of but not enough to give her quest the last bump it needed. They made for good practice for her more powerful spells, albeit very energy-exhaustive. She made sure to gather the parts they dropped, but it was the normal stuff¡ª meat and bones, and no gear. Claire looked at her quest progress as she approached the doors of the store. Slay 10 monsters. (22/25) The windows on the doors were boarded, and they not give way immediately when Claire pushed. Trying again harder, she heard a painfully loud scraping sound on the ground as the door opened, slowly. Standing behind were three people, weapons drawn. A family, it seemed. A thin man wearing a sweater and a Roman-style helmet had a large metal shield raised, which he impositioned between himself and the door. Behind him was a scared little boy clutching onto his father¡¯s leg, a discarded staff behind him. And standing with a bow pointed right at Claire¡¯s head was a woman, who spoke up. ¡°Hands up in the air.¡± Claire exhaled sharply, complying with the order. ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯t shoot!¡± she said, waving her hands in the air. The little boy peeked around his father¡¯s shield, looking at Claire. ¡°Is she on the same team as those bad people, dad?¡± ¡°Shhh,¡± he breathed. The man changed his position so his shield would keep covering his son, ¡°I don¡¯t know, buddy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not, I¡¯m not.¡± Claire interjected. Looking to the woman still holding her bow up, she shot her a pleading look. ¡°What people are you talking about? Please put that bow down, I swear I¡¯m not here to hurt you.¡± I have to be more careful taking risks. If my wards were up, the archer wouldn¡¯t have been able to do anything. I¡¯ve gotten too arrogant, killing all of these weak monsters. Seeing the woman nod, she continued talking. ¡°I came from the city. I¡¯ve been walking out here all day. I need¡­ I¡¯ve been looking for somewhere to set up for the night. I¡¯m pretty powerful! Those, uh, bad people your son mentioned won¡¯t be able to do anything to us if I¡¯m here. I just need somewhere to stay. Please.¡± The man stood up. ¡°Lindy, she¡¯s telling the truth. My skill says so, at least, and it ain¡¯t do us wrong so far.¡± Lindy lowered her bow, gently pulling the arrow off of the string. ¡°Come in.¡± Relieved, Claire squeezed through the gap in the door. Setting her bag on the ground near one of the half-empty shelves, she saw the man put his shield down to move the barricade back behind the door. The shelves were stacked with crate after crate of water, the liquid being the weight behind the barricade, it seemed. Claire opened her pack, taking a sip of water. Hoping to diffuse the tension, she threw out a lopsided grin. ¡°Hey guys, I¡¯m Claire! I¡¯m a wizard, what about your classes?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Lindy. Ranger.¡± Lindy shot Claire a look that she couldn¡¯t decipher before sitting down in a camp chair she had set up. ¡°Hey Claire, I¡¯m Rich. I¡¯m a, uh, Paladin.¡± He thunked his heavy shield on the ground. ¡°This here is James.¡± ¡°Hi Claire!¡± James said. ¡°Are you going to help us with the bad people?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, James. But your parents and I are going to deal with the bad people together, okay?¡± ¡°Okay!¡± He exclaimed, scampering off into another aisle. ¡°He¡¯s a little something, isn¡¯t he?¡± James offered. ¡°Yeah, so cute!¡± Claire replied. ¡°How¡¯s he dealing with all of¡­ this stuff here?¡± ¡°He¡¯s honestly loving it. He was living his dream, up until a few hours ago.¡± ¡°Was that what he meant by the bad people?¡± ¡°Yes. A group of people came over around noontime. They tried to come into the store, but we¡­ well.¡± His voice dropped, expression pensive. ¡°There were a lot more of us in here before.¡± Claire swallowed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± He brought himself out of his thoughts, forcing out a chuckle. ¡°There were enough of those types before. This¡­ just made it so much worse.¡± Claire looked at the torn shoulder of her shirt. ¡°All too true.¡± 7 - Hunting December 21, 1:13 PM Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth Rich looked at Claire, sighing. ¡°We can talk while we find somewhere for you to settle in.¡± Gesturing for her to follow, he shot his wife a tight-lipped smile as he walked towards the back of the store. ¡°We have camping gear and sleeping bags in that corner, over there. Generator¡¯s busted, so you can¡¯t charge your phone, but we have lanterns and headlamps on that shelf there.¡± He pointed out where the rest of the gear and necessities were, including a spot where they had an gas-powered stove. ¡°How much for a sleeping bag?¡± She asked. ¡°I can only pay with monster parts, but¡ª¡± He cut her off. ¡°No one else is using these. How about this, we¡¯ll eat the monster meat that you have, and call us even for the gear.¡± She agreed quickly. Once Rich made sure she was familiar with the layout of the makeshift base, they headed back to the front of the store. Lindy was back behind the counter, organizing things into separate crates while James waved his staff in the air haphazardly. ¡°Sit down,¡± said Rich, offering Claire one of the foldable chairs they had set up. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about the looters.¡± She did so, opening a bottle of soda as she sat before he continued. ¡°A few of my neighbors decided to come out here this morning. Figured it would be safer out here in the middle of nowhere, rather than around people, you know? She nodded. ¡°We were in here by the time the monsters started showing up. They couldn¡¯t get through the walls, fortunately, and only came if they could see us. That¡¯s why we boarded up the doors.¡± ¡°How many of you were there..? If you don¡¯t mind me asking.¡± ¡°Six,¡± he replied. ¡°Not including the kids. Even with them, though, we had enough food and water in here for weeks. The store was empty, shelves mostly full. But a group came knocking on the door. We let them in, but then they turned on us. Didn¡¯t even have the chance to fight back before three of ours were killed.¡± ¡°Who were these people?¡± ¡°We killed the two in here, and watched the guy they left outside run off into the woods. There¡¯s an old hunting cabin out there, which we think is where they set up. There¡¯s a good number, too. Just before you came here another trio of their people came over. Feels like they have a number of these groups, taking and stealing from everyone around.¡± ¡°Some kind of bandit group, then.¡± Rich nodded. ¡°They¡¯ll be back again at sundown. We won¡¯t be able to stop them if they come in force, but we¡¯ll be done for if we leave all of our supplies behind.¡± ¡°What were you going to do?¡± ¡°Lock this place up, hide away some of our gear, and hope they don¡¯t find us when they loot this all. We were thinking about defending directly, but I was afraid it would hurt James. Lindy agreed with me on that.¡± ¡°I think we can do better. What levels are you guys?¡± ¡°We¡¯re both level two. Shieldbearer Paladin, and my wife¡¯s a Ranger.¡± He paused. ¡°She won¡¯t be able to join us, though.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°The second group of bandits had another archer.¡± Claire felt Lindy¡¯s eyes drill into her from across the room. ¡°Poisoned arrows¡ª we were both hit. I have resistance from poison from my class, but it only halved the effects. I have an, ah, effective level taken away from me when I do anything, and Lindy has two.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re only level one, and her¡­ zero.¡± She breathed out a curse. ¡°What level are you, Claire?¡± asked Lindy, who had finished organizing. ¡°I¡¯m, uhm, almost to level five.¡± She opened up the Leaderboard menu, briefly scanning it. ¡°Top ten in combat ability. I could help you guys level up to get rid of the poison¡¯s effects. I, honestly don¡¯t feel comfortable going against a whole bandit gang alone, though. But if we level up another few times in the next few hours I think we¡¯ll be a lot better off. ¡°Level five, and top¡­ ten?¡± Rich exclaimed, surprised. ¡°If you can get us a few more levels, they won¡¯t stand a chance!¡± ¡°Oh, please, Rich.¡± Lindy shot a look at her husband. ¡°Look at her, she¡¯s young enough to be our daughter. Do you really believe she¡¯s ranked at all, let alone top ten?¡± ¡°Lindy, it¡¯s up to you if you believe me or not. I¡¯m offering to level you both up, so that we stand a chance against the bandits tonight.¡± ¡°Darling, please. I like our chances better this wa¡ª¡± ¡°Pfft. You go do whatever the hell you want. I need to stay and watch James. Make sure he doesn¡¯t do something stupid.¡± Rich sighed, standing up to grab his shield. ¡°Alright, then.¡± Claire did so as well, walking over to where her pack was stored. She waved her hands around it, drawing intricate-but-meaningless spell runes in the air around her pack. ¡°I¡¯m leaving this here. Please don¡¯t mess with it.¡± Lindy didn¡¯t respond. Rich walked through the aisles, away from the main door. ¡°C¡¯mon, Claire. We¡¯ll go out through the back.¡± She hurried to follow him. December 21, 1:19 PM Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth Clearstar¡¯s calculations were off. By a large margin, in fact. Her mind was in her soulscape, observing the crucible she had built in the center of the nine pillars. Late Foundation Establishment - Crucible Creation (Middle). Her spiritual sea was overflowing with liquid chi, the whirlpool formed by her Foundation pillars not moving fast enough to cycle and purify the energy. A tiny cauldron floated in the air, the liquid chi that comprised its form was even denser than the pillars that propped up her spirit. The Foundation Establishment stage was the last of the mortal stages, and Clearstar looked forward to when she would be able to finally condense her Cultivator¡¯s Core. The two mortal stages were quite simple, being solely devoted to the purification and condensation of chi. Chi Gathering and Foundation Establishment. They were different from physical cultivators in this sense, who focused on the refining of their bodies in three stages. A Chi Gathering cultivator would be equivalent to a second-stage physical cultivator, and Foundation the third. The three levels of Chi Gathering were separated by the strength of the practitioner¡¯s spirit. Though most practitioners would only learn to manipulate external chi by the first level, Body Forging, collecting gaseous chi by Mind Awakening, and channel energy through the body by the Meridian stage, there were exceptions. She had chi control up to the Mind stage as a mortal, after all. Clearstar had also scouted for other people with similar chi manipulation skills to grant some power to. Feeding the sector talents a little bit to get them on the true Path a little earlier. She pushed for meditation, meditation, meditation, but wasn¡¯t too sure how many of them would listen. They would have to, before they could enter their soulscape themselves to open their Gates. It would be nice to make true contact early and force a few second-stage powerhouses. It would cripple their future cultivation, but in the early cross-sector competitions, a few extra peak Chi Gathering champions would stomp the others. Forming a technique to scry on those she had seeded, Clearstar¡¯s mind was shunted across space to each of the seven. One for each sub-sector, or each continent. Checking in on their progress and finding nothing unusual, she ended the technique. In the blink of an eye, she folded space together to teleport to the peak of a real mountain. One of the taller ones in the North American sub-sector, she recalled. The area was devoid of human life¡ª only some monsters that ran instantly when Clearstar focused on them with her spiritual sense. Finally quiet, she took out a set of formation flags and set up a chi-gathering array to speed up her cultivation.
Clearstar: Foundation Establishment - Late. You currently are ranked #1 in the Sector for progression, #1 for combat ability, and #1 for future potential. Your current rankings qualify you for rewards and titles at the end of the day. Category: 1
December 21, 2:01 PM Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth ¡°C¡¯mon, Rich, just like how we practiced!¡± Claire urged, watching the Paladin activate a skill. The shield stood against the monstrous elk¡¯s first ram well enough, but Rich¡¯s feet dug further and further into the ground. It wasn¡¯t an ideal match up, but he had insisted on testing his limits. He couldn¡¯t do much against the elk, unfortunately. Both had completed a few more quests in the Slay Monsters category, earning upgrade tokens that they had agreed to save until the hunting session was over. Rich, with his foresight, had grabbed a couple burlap sacks on the way out of the store to store monster meat in. They only had one halfway full with parts, and the other sack was still empty. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Looking to see the monster knock Rich prone, she sighed. He couldn¡¯t deal too well with the elk¡¯s attacks. As long as he had enough strength to stand his ground, nothing could get by. But the elk would ram his shield again and again, forcing him to back down. Before its antlers could spear through Rich, Claire shot an energy blast at it. The three bolts of energy exploded on contact with the beast, killing it instantly. Rich stood up, grabbing the elk steak that dropped to toss it in the bag. ¡°You¡¯re going to need to level up more before you can stand against the elk, Rich. We should go back to the spot with the coyotes, your reflection skill works much better against them.¡± ¡°I woulda thought that third time¡¯s the charm, but man,¡± he said, activating his regeneration, ¡°those things are tough. You¡¯re right, I can probably level up to four soon enough, in the coyote spot.¡± As they walked through the forest, Claire opened her system to see how she was doing.
Claire Wright: Wizard Level 4. You currently are ranked #638 in the Sub-Sector (North America) for progression, #6 for combat ability, and #1 for future potential. Your current rankings qualify you for a reward and a title at the end of the day.
Cantrips (3/3) Lvl. 7 Energy Bolt - Speed - You conjure and project a mote of energy from an extended finger. Damage and range is determined by Spirit and Intelligence levels. Components: Verbal, Somatic. - Subspells: Spark, Icicle Lvl. 2 Words of Warding - Flexible - You extend your hands and chant, tracing runic sigils in the air around you and invoking words of power. Attacks are stopped by a barrier, which is extremely durable while components are being supplied. Duration and strength after this point is determined by Spirit and Intelligence. Components: Verbal, Somatic - Subspells: Blade Ward Lvl. 2 Spirit Spike - You drive an invisible spike of energy into the spirit of another creature you can see. Effects are determined by your Spirit, contested by the target¡¯s Spirit and Wisdom. Components: N/A - Subspells: Mind Spike
First Circle (4/6 prepared) Lvl. 5 Spiritual Shield - You conjure an opaque shield that protects you, also granting you positive effects. Shield strength, duration, and type of buff is determined by Spirit. Components: Verbal. - Subspells: Shield Lvl. 8 Energy Infusion - You inject energy into and project a physical object in your hands, dealing damage to an enemy on a hit. The object then explodes, dealing damage in an area. Damage, distance, and area of effect are determined by Spirit and quality of material component. Components: Somatic, Material (a fist-sized or smaller physical object) - Subspells: Ice Shard Lvl. 3 Energy Blast - You conjure and project a number of energy bolts from an extended palm. Damage, range and quantity is determined by Spirit level. Components: Verbal, Somatic. Lvl. 2 Minor Healing - You chant and channel energy through your hands, and heal the target equal to the energy expended. Efficiency is determined by Spirit level. Components: Verbal, Somatic.
Second Circle (1/0 prepared) Personal Sphere - You flood a spherical area with energy that follows you. Other beings in this area may be aided or hindered at your will. Hostile attacks will be less effective if they enter the sphere. While the sphere is active, you enjoy a buff to attacks made with Spirit as their base and a buff to your physical durability. Effectiveness is determined by energy consumed.
Quests Active: 6 Paths to Power (III) Level up cantrips. (11/30) Level up First Circle spells. (18/20) Level up Second Circle spells. (0/5) Absorb energy. (0/1) Rewards: Spirit Seeding Pill x2 OR Spirit Hardening Pill x2 depending on Path, Variable Eye of the Storm (Limited) Find reliable shelter. (?) Find a renewable source of food and water. (?) Survive the night, until 8:00 AM. Rewards: Spatial Pouch, Variable Monster Slayer (III) Slay 100 monsters. (51/100) Rewards: Gear Upgrade Token * Do this immediately!! Learn how to meditate and level the skill to 11. Rewards: Basic competence, 1 level up * Stop being weak (I) Raise your Body statistic to 1.00 (?) Raise your Mind statistic to 1.50 (1.42/1.50) Rewards: Average physique, acceptable intelligence, 3x Body Refining Pill * Prove yourself (I) Kill monsters higher than your level. (3/25) 3x Spell Upgrade Token (1st Circle)
Scattered progress all around, but not enough to bump her up a level. She had gathered by this point that Prove yourself (I)¡¯s requirement to kill monsters higher than her in level did not mean her wizard level¡ª but rather something else. It had only gone up twice, both fighting what seemed to be area bosses. Rich handled the coyotes in question easily. Four or five of them would swarm him at a time, but their small attacks couldn¡¯t get by his shield. He was strong enough to swing the shield around very quickly, the heavy metal bashing coyotes¡¯ brains in. After a while, the forest grew unnaturally quiet. ¡°Coyote Alpha¡¯s going to come soon, Rich!¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Claire ran up to join him in the clearing. The toughest part about the coyote alpha, from the time they had fought it before, was how hard it was to find. It lurked in the undergrowth, his occasional howls summoning swarms of smaller monsters. The swarms were good practice for the two, though. As the first group came, Rich let out a skill-enhanced roar that drew the focus of the swarm. Claire charged an energy blast from behind him, which formed one small bolt for each coyote that clawed at Rich. She hit all but one, which was squashed by the paladin underneath his shield. ¡°I need to get better aim!¡± ¡°Please, you¡¯re trying to aim, like, five bolts at once.¡± Scanning the area for the alpha, Claire charged up another energy blast. She would normally have used a ward or the spiritual shield, but they found that Rich would progress quicker if she didn¡¯t. A group of six leapt out at the pair. Four of them died in the air, the last bolt going loose and crashing into a tree. The last two landed with a clang on Rich¡¯s shield, just in time for him to bash the shield on the ground. ¡°I found the alpha!¡± Rich pointed at a spot in the tree line. Sure enough, a gray shadow was hiding in a bush. Claire watched it howl, seven coyotes appearing from nowhere to pounch at her. ¡°Going to use the new skill, Claire!¡± Rich activated something, an illusory shield springing up between Claire and the monsters. Tempted to put up her ward, she settled on throwing an energy-infused rock at the swarm, which exploded in their midst. ¡°Thanks! Let¡¯s do one or two more waves and we¡¯ll take care of the boss!¡± She replied. They finished the alpha after dealing with the next two waves. Claire was reaching to pick the loot off of the ground when Rich exclaimed in joy. ¡°Level four!¡± ¡°Congrats! Did you get anything new?¡± ¡°Yeah, a new skill and a body enhancement. The poison¡¯s gone.¡± ¡°Great!¡± ¡°Yeah, I wish Lindy was here to get this, too.¡± ¡°Hey, we take what we can get.¡± ¡°Do you want to go back, now? Or maybe stay a little bit to try and level to five?¡± ¡°I can feel that level five is just a few breaths away. I should be able to get it by the time we get back.¡± Claire began walking back in the direction of the camp. ¡°I got this item from the alpha, I think you might be able to use it.¡± ¡°Sounds good¡ª and, what did you get?¡± ¡°A common Shadow Tooth Bracelet. It makes the wearer¡¯s voice louder and increases the range. Passive, too.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take it, I guess. Might help out with the taunt.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I was thinking.¡± As they walked, Claire took potshots with energy bolt and energy blast at the random small monsters that were in the forest. She missed most of them, but her aim got better every single time. Just as the woods began to thin, Claire received a notification. [Class leveled up!] Wizard 4 ¡ú 5 Due to your monster-slaying excellence, you have gained a level! You have learned a new Ability, and a new Cantrip. Runic Cantrips: You may deconstruct your cantrips into the runes that form them, rearranging the runes you know to form new cantrips. Cantrips may be swapped out with study and meditation.
Cantrips (3/3) Lvl. 8 Energy Bolt - Speed - You conjure and project a mote of energy from an extended finger. Damage and range is determined by Spirit and Intelligence levels. Components: Verbal, Somatic. - Subspells: Spark, Icicle Lvl. 2 Words of Warding - Flexible - You extend your hands and chant, tracing runic sigils in the air around you and invoking words of power. Attacks are stopped by a barrier, which is extremely durable while components are being supplied. Duration and strength after this point is determined by Spirit and Intelligence. Components: Verbal, Somatic - Subspells: Blade Ward Lvl. 2 Spirit Spike - You drive an invisible spike of energy into the spirit of another creature you can see. Effects are determined by your Spirit, contested by the target¡¯s Spirit and Wisdom. Components: N/A - Subspells: Mind Spike Minor Telekinesis - You form a telekinetic hand which obeys your mental commands. Strength and dexterity of the hand are determined by Spirit. Maximum complexity of command is determined by Intelligence. Components: Somatic
Tier: 1-0-2 Name: Claire Wright Title: N/A Level: 5 Class: Wizard
Abilities: Spellcasting, Arcane Recovery, Preparing Spells, Ritual Casting School of Magic - Order of Mind: Primacy of Intellect, Mental Model
Physical: 1.02 (¡­) Mental: 1.43 (¡­) Spiritual: 3.76 (¡­)
Quests Active: 6 Paths to Power (III) Level up cantrips. (12/30) Level up First Circle spells. (18/20) Level up Second Circle spells. (0/5) Absorb energy. (0/1) Rewards: Spirit Seeding Pill x2 OR Spirit Hardening Pill x2 depending on Path, Variable Eye of the Storm (Limited) Find reliable shelter. (?) Find a renewable source of food and water. (?) Survive the night, until 8:00 AM. Rewards: Spatial Pouch, Variable Monster Slayer (III) Slay 100 monsters. (98/100) Rewards: Gear Upgrade Token * Do this immediately!! Learn how to meditate and level the skill to 11. Rewards: Basic competence, 1 level up * Stop being weak (I) Raise your Body statistic to 1.00 (?) Raise your Mind statistic to 1.50 (1.42/1.50) Rewards: Average physique, acceptable intelligence, 3x Body Refining Pill * Prove yourself (I) Kill monsters higher than your level. (5/25) 3x Spell Upgrade Token (1st Circle)
Items: Necklace of Flowing Wind (Uncommon)
The pair entered the store from where they left, barricading the door behind them. Setting the burlap sack filled with monster parts down where the stove was set up, Rich walked back to the front of the store. Claire followed right after him. ¡°We¡¯re back!¡± 8 - Something Interesting? December 21, 3:53 PM Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth ¡°Welcome back!¡± Lindy stood up to kiss her husband as he walked back into the common area. ¡°How did it go?¡± ¡°It went well.¡± He replied. ¡°Both of us leveled once. I got an upgrade to my resistances, too, so I can fight like a level four. A whole extra point in my physical statistics did wonders.¡± ¡°We brought back tons of meat and monster parts to sell. We¡¯ll be able to buy some things from the system shop. Do you guys have anything in mind?¡± Claire asked, pulling out the monster parts she herself had gathered on the way to the store. ¡°We¡¯ll need to get rid of a lot of this stuff if we want to buy anything useful.¡± ¡°I think priority one should be something to defend ourselves with tonight. We have a couple hours until night.¡± Lindy said, worried. ¡°Some armor for you and I, dear, and maybe for Claire. Some special arrows, or potions? Whatever they sell that sounds like it would work, honestly.¡± ¡°Metal armor¡­¡± Rich began, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say no to it, but I think it¡¯s a bit out of our budget.¡± He began to pull out the monster parts from the bag, laying it down on the ground. ¡°Any ideas, Claire?¡± Claire had a thought, pulling up a description of one of her abilities. ¡°I have an ability that we might be able to use. It¡¯s called Ritual Casting, and I can anchor a spell I know onto a surface, then pay the energy cost through an external object. From what I know of our energy, the ritual will be more powerful and more expensive than a regular casting.¡± Seeing their gazes, she continued. ¡°I could probably make a shield that covers, this room probably. Or personal shields for all of you guys that buff you when they take effect. Or, a giant ritual energy blast.¡± Rich looked up. ¡°You can¡­ power up the explosion attack that killed a whole pack of coyotes instantly? The same one that slagged monsters over your level focused specifically on defense?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ maybe?¡± ¡°They¡¯re DEAD!¡± A high pitched voice shouted, laughter accompanied by light footfalls. ¡°Pooped, Farded, FUCKED!¡± Shooting around in surprise, Lindy raised her voice. ¡°James Arthur Fletcher, where on earth did you learn that kind of language?¡± Rich spat out the water he had been sipping. He restrained his laughter quickly, matching his wife¡¯s tone. ¡°James, little man.¡± He paused to collect himself, shaking his head. ¡°God. Lindy, this is all you. Claire and I should talk, about, ah, rituals.¡± Watching Lindy catch the child and bring him to where their beds were set up, Claire opened up her screen for the system shop. Ignoring the juicy offers of gear and weapons, she navigated over to the ¡°sell¡± portion. ¡°I¡¯ll sell all of the stuff so we can buy more expensive things if need be.¡± She said. ¡°Don¡¯t know if we can transfer money.¡± ¡°Sounds good. I¡¯ll look through the things we might need, and let you know if there¡¯s anything we should get. What was it that you needed to cast the rituals?¡± ¡°Uh, the system says I need mana storing objects to power them. Do you think we should go for the large approach, though? Like the area shield, not the personal ones.¡± ¡°Tough choice, honestly.¡± He replied, stroking his hand over his chin. ¡°Going big would feel like putting our eggs in one basket. I do like the idea of a shield that they can¡¯t get through, though.¡± ¡°Mmm. That would help with the fear factor, maybe? If they came to the store and saw a force shield protecting it.¡± ¡°Right. Or we have one big ritual that explodes a huge chunk of rock, for example, to kill them all in one shot.¡± ¡°The other solution is the personal spells. I think it would be harder for me to do, personally, but it would be a lot more flexible than the giant alternative.¡± ¡°The personal shield you mentioned earlier, but you also would be able to make ones with damage spells, right?¡± ¡°Yeah. I think with our budget, we should stick to necessities only. Shields for everyone, of course, and maybe a few aces up our sleeve in the form of energy blast spells or an energy infusion.¡± ¡°What about cost?¡± ¡°System¡¯s telling me I¡¯ll need a different tool for each type. Array flags and anchors for the big approach, and a talisman quill for the second.¡± ¡°Arrays and talismans, I see. Let me pull it up in the shop¡­ I got them. Array stuff looks like they are multi-use, while talisman ink needs to be consumed each time. Talisman stuff is significantly cheaper, though. We¡¯ll have enough for plenty of those, but only for one array.¡± ¡°Honestly I¡¯m leaning towards talismans. If we had enough for two arrays, to defend and attack, it would have worked. But the flexibility of talismans are winning me over.¡± He paused, a quizzical expression on his face. ¡°I guess so.¡± ¡°Great! What was your recommendation for the talisman quill?¡± ¡°There¡¯s one here, the Sparrowheart Feather, that has a chance to give a movement speed bonus on talismans its used on. Uncommon item, so it¡¯s not that bad. The Magus¡¯ Quill, which comes equipped with a spell you can use to write or erase any text. The Whirlwind Quill, which is like the Sparrowheart but it buffs attack speed. There¡¯s also a Clear Star Brush, that provides a flat buff based on the quality of energy used. And a brush that also works as a spellcasting wand. Those last two are only common, though.¡± Claire shrugged, noncommittal. ¡°Any more?¡± ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s ones with elemental aspects. But from the spells I saw you use earlier, you don¡¯t have an elemental disposition, right?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± she replied, not sure what to think about Rich¡¯s conclusion. ¡°Plus, they were all common. The ones I listed were just the interesting ones I could see.¡± ¡°I like the sound of the Magus¡¯ Quill.¡± It had a practical part that might be nifty. The spell attached would let Claire write out new runes in her spellbook, and erase any text she came across. ¡°I wonder how far someone can stretch the spell, though.¡± He laughed. ¡°If anyone could stretch it to its limit, it would be you. But I think there might be some value in the ones with the movement speed or attack speed chances.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really want to gamble on an off chance.¡± She couldn¡¯t deny that they had an appeal, but there was too much variability with those items. ¡°Fair, I guess. I think you should consider the flat buff, in that case.¡± Claire paused, considering the Clear Star Brush. ¡°It sounds good, but it¡¯s just a common. Not worth it when we can get an uncommon, right?¡± ¡°True, it might not work as good as the uncommon one.¡± He shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s your brush, and I think you have a better idea of the magic than I do.¡± Nodding, Claire quickly found the Magus¡¯ Quill in the system shop, ordering the item then navigating to energy storages. ¡°Anything fancy with energy storages I should watch out for?¡± She asked. ¡°Nope,¡± he replied. ¡°Just the size and the capacity. For us, we should go for the smaller ones with medium capacity, no?¡± ¡°Yeah, it looks like the tiny ones are cheap enough and should pack enough of a punch.¡± She didn¡¯t understand what units they were measured in, but Claire hoped that they would be able to power a shield for at least a few hits. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. A bag full of twenty tiny energy storage stones dropped onto Claire¡¯s lap. Not opening it, she put it aside. ¡°Now for talisman paper and ink.¡± ¡°I¡¯m seeing a beginner talisman paper that¡¯s made of some kind of rock. Can you toss me the energy stones real quick?¡± She tossed the bag to him. ¡°They look like they should fit inside, Claire. The tiny crystals were the right buy.¡± She shot him a smile, catching the energy crystals. The rest of her materials dropped on her lap¡ª some sheets of slate rock with a soft texture and faintly glowing black ink. She waited expectantly for the Magus¡¯ Quill to appear, tapping her foot on the ground. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Quill doesn¡¯t want to order.¡± ¡°What does the system say?¡± ¡°Let me check, real quick¡­ uh¡­ that the order could not be completed. Some kind of internal error.¡± ¡°Does it tell you why?¡± ¡°Yeah, it sold out apparently. I¡¯ll get the other one, I guess. At least they refunded us.¡± Rich nodded, watching a pure white brush with blue runes running up and down the side drop into Claire¡¯s waiting hands. She held it up, twirling it around in her hands. ¡°It¡¯s cheaper, and looks prettier, I guess.¡± He smiled, letting out a deep breath. ¡°Got that goin¡¯ for ya.¡±
Clear Star Brush Rarity: Common This talisman brush has the ability to hold ink within it depending on level. Ink stored and used this way is more receptive to the user¡¯s energy, amplifying the effects of the talisman.
After hours of work, Claire was done. The talismans had not come easy, the process of only carving the glyph being difficult. She had been forced to sell her dead-wizard gear to buy more ink, as it was destroyed on every failed attempt. Thankfully, the slate talisman base stayed stable. If it hadn¡¯t Claire would have probably needed to sell her current uncommon items and maybe even the last stockpile of monster meat. It all seemed to pay off, though. Twenty talismans. Seven spiritual shield spells, which would run until the storage crystal ran out, and the rest of high-powered energy blast spells. She had decided to test one of the first she had made by pointing the talisman out the door and activating it. The whole thing turned to dust, creating four blasts instead of the normal three from the remains. They had enough juice for almost fifty blasts. Overkill? Eh, it would depend on who came. Lindy had decided to take a nap after scolding James a hour or so ago. He ran around a bit, trying to play with the talismans Claire had made, but she kept the boy far away from the dangerous weapons. Rich had bought sturdy leather tops for them all with his share of the money. He couldn¡¯t afford three enchanted ones, so Claire¡¯s and Lindy¡¯s were normal while his carried a boost to physical strength. Wanting to practice, Rich had left while Claire was crafting, promising her he would come back as soon as he finished practicing his new skills from the level up. Picking up the talismans she had worked so hard on, she opened the system description.
Basic Talisman (Spiritual Shield) Rarity: Common This talisman, when activated, summons a force shield around the user. Shield provides a buff to physical strength and agility, and lasts until the energy stored in the talisman is consumed. Talisman must be within one inch of the body to take effect. When the shield is exhausted, this item is destroyed.
Basic Talisman (Energy Blast) Rarity: Common This talisman, when activated, summons energy bolts. Bolts shoot in whichever direction the talisman is activated in. Once summoned, this item is destroyed.
She would keep one of the more expensive shields for herself, for emergency use, and the remaining would go to the others who couldn¡¯t cast shields themselves. Enough to protect them for a few hits, but Claire hoped that they would only need to use one. The time leading up to sundown were filled with a apprehensive silence. Lindy had joined her in the main area, so had Rich, and as the sun dimmed they ate some of the monster meat that Claire had brought back. They were excited about the talismans, the energy blast ones in particular. Although, she thought, they were the objectively less cool one, Claire had to admit that a physical class conjuring a spell that would be powerful for a level five wizard did have its appeal. Rich and Lindy shared a long look, the two glancing at James who was eating his food with a smile on his face. Rich stood up, pressing his lips together. ¡°Hey, buddy,¡± he choked out, swallowing. Then he forced out a smile. ¡°Like that steak?¡± ¡°Yeah, Dad!¡± he replied, oblivious to the torrent of emotions undoubtedly rushing through his father¡¯s head. Still looking at his meal, he picked the meat up with his hands and took a bite out of it. ¡°It¡¯s the best steak I¡¯ve ever had!¡± Rich crouched down, getting on eye level with his son. ¡°I¡¯m glad you like it.¡± Feeling as though something was wrong with his father¡¯s tone, James looked up at him with an expectant look. ¡°What do we say,¡± Rich continued, ¡°when someone does something nice for us?¡± ¡°Thank you, Miss Claire,¡± he recited in a practiced, singsong tone. ¡°This is really good!¡± In the lull of sound that followed his words, three hard knocks sounded on the front door.
Claire Wright: Wizard Level 4. You currently are ranked #638 in the Sub-Sector (North America) for progression, #6 for combat ability, and #1 for future potential. Your current rankings qualify you for a reward and a title at the end of the day.
Tier: 1-0-2 Name: Claire Wright Level: 4 Class: Wizard
Abilities: Spellcasting - You have a spellbook that contains all the spells you know. By channeling energy through the spellbook, you can cast any spell learned and prepared in the book. In addition, you have a number of assigned Cantrips based on your Wizard level which you can cast at will without your spellbook. Arcane Recovery - You have learned to recover energy while resting with your spellbook. You gain energy from your spellbook after an hour of doing nothing more intensive than reading a book, pacing in circles, sleeping, without casting any spells. Amount recovered is determined by Wizard level. Ritual Casting - You anchor an expanded spell glyph that you know onto a surface. The anchoring process takes five minutes per Circle of the spell being cast. You do not expend any energy for the casting of the ritual until the spell is activated. Energy may be drawn from any energy-storing object. Runic Cantrips - You may deconstruct your cantrips into the runes that form them, rearranging the runes you know to form new cantrips. Cantrips may be swapped out with study and meditation. School of Magic - Order of Mind - Primacy of Intellect, Mental Model
Spells Known: Cantrips (3/3) Lvl. 8 Energy Bolt - Speed - You conjure and project a mote of energy from an extended finger. Damage and range is determined by Spirit and Intelligence levels. Components: Verbal, Somatic. - Subspells: Spark, Icicle Lvl. 2 Words of Warding - Flexible - You extend your hands and chant, tracing runic sigils in the air around you and invoking words of power. Attacks are stopped by a barrier, which is extremely durable while components are being supplied. Duration and strength after this point is determined by Spirit and Intelligence. Components: Verbal, Somatic - Subspells: Blade Ward Lvl. 2 Spirit Spike - You drive an invisible spike of energy into the spirit of another creature you can see. Effects are determined by your Spirit, contested by the target¡¯s Spirit and Wisdom. Components: N/A - Subspells: Mind Spike Minor Telekinesis - You form a telekinetic hand which obeys your mental commands. Strength and dexterity of the hand are determined by Spirit. Maximum complexity of command is determined by Intelligence. Components: Somatic First Circle (4/6 prepared) Lvl. 5 Spiritual Shield - You conjure an opaque shield that protects you, also granting you positive effects. Shield strength, duration, and type of buff is determined by Spirit. Components: Verbal. - Subspells: Shield Lvl. 3 Energy Infusion - You inject energy into and project a physical object in your hands, dealing damage to an enemy on a hit. The object then explodes, dealing damage in an area. Damage, distance, and area of effect are determined by Spirit and quality of material component. Components: Somatic, Material (a fist-sized or smaller physical object) - Subspells: Ice Shard Lvl. 2 Energy Blast - You conjure and project a number of energy bolts from an extended palm. Damage, range and quantity is determined by Spirit level. Components: Verbal, Somatic. Lvl. 1 Minor Healing - You chant and channel energy through your hands, and heal the target equal to the energy expended. Efficiency is determined by Spirit level. Components: Verbal, Somatic. Second Circle (1/0 prepared) Personal Sphere - You flood a spherical area with energy that follows you. Other beings in this area may be aided or hindered at your will. Hostile attacks will be less effective if they enter the sphere. While the sphere is active, you enjoy a buff to attacks made with Spirit as their base and a buff to your physical durability. Effectiveness is determined by energy consumed.
Statistics: 2.07 Physical: 1.02 (¡­) Mental: 1.43 (¡­) Spiritual: 3.76 (¡­)
Quests: Paths to Power (III) Level up cantrips. (12/30) Level up First Circle spells. (18/20) Level up Second Circle spells. (0/5) Absorb energy. (0/1) Rewards: Spirit Seeding Pill x2 OR Spirit Hardening Pill x2 depending on Path, Variable Eye of the Storm (Limited) Find reliable shelter. (?) Find a renewable source of food and water. (?) Survive the night, until 8:00 AM. Rewards: Spatial Pouch, Variable Monster Slayer (III) Slay 100 monsters. (98/100) Rewards: Gear Upgrade Token * Do this immediately!! Learn how to meditate and level the skill to 11. Rewards: Basic competence, 1 level up * Stop being weak (I) Raise your Body statistic to 1.00 (?) Raise your Mind statistic to 1.50 (1.42/1.50) Rewards: Average physique, acceptable intelligence, 3x Body Refining Pill * Prove yourself (I) Kill monsters higher than your level. (5/25) Rewards: 3x Spell Upgrade Token (1st Circle)
Items: Necklace of Flowing Wind (Uncommon)
9 - Tianjing December 21, 9:35 PM Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth ¡°James?¡± His father, lips pressed together, watched him devour the rest of the meal in a flurry of bites, then he took his empty plate and set it aside on the ground. Rich folded his chair after James stood up, leaning it against a wall. ¡°Go to the back. Don¡¯t come out until we come and get you, okay?¡± James threw his arms around his father. ¡°Okay.¡± Rich watched him run through the aisles, raising his voice and addressing the door. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± A honeyed voice replied. ¡°Have you now what you promised us?¡± Claire looked over to Rich and Lindy, her hands pausing in the air. They accepted the talismans she offered, sliding them into pockets. ¡°And what if we don¡¯t?¡± ¡°Then I suppose we¡¯ll have to take it from you.¡± Rich placed his shield firmly on the ground in front of the door. Lindy stood behind him with an an arrow nocked on her bow, and Claire stood to the side, an energy blast prepared. An illusory wall of steel expanded from Rich¡¯s steel, just in time to catch chunks of furniture and metal as the doors burst inwards. The woman that had been speaking strode in, hexagonal panes of light floating around her. She let out a maniacal laugh. ¡°Are you sure you want to fight us?¡± She posed to Rich, a trio of people holding spears streaming into the room behind us. ¡°I¡¯ll never give you my son.¡± Claire, hoping the woman would shut up, told her just that. She raised a brow and narrowed her eyes at the remark. ¡°Where¡¯d you find that one, Richie?¡± She tilted her head towards Claire, after which the spearmen advanced at her slowly. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not like your other side piece will live long, anyway¡ª I take it you don¡¯t want to play nice, then?¡± ¡°No.¡± Claire jumped backwards, pouring more energy into her spiritual shield spell as the spears crashed into it. Lindy sent arrow after arrow at the intruder, but panes of light would materialize to stop the projectiles. ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill you,¡± Claire said to the warriors still striking her shields. ¡°Please don¡¯t make me.¡± A strange voice emerged from the three men¡ª almost as if many were speaking at once from one body. ¡°You think you can win?¡± They laughed. December 21, 9:36 PM Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth Clearstar wasn¡¯t a big fan of the cold. The winds blew sharply across the monastery¡¯s open courtyard, the monks that normally trained there now strangely absent. In front of her sat an old man in a traditional set of robes. She hovered a few inches above the ground, streams of white fabric fluttering behind her into the wind. The monk, still cycling his prayer beads with his eyes closed had not yet sensed the cultivator¡¯s presence. His breathing was deep, his chest rising and falling with each measured breath. Clearstar took a moment to appreciate the monk¡¯s meditation. Watching the chi in the air swirl around and into his temple, she could sense the exact moment when he broke through. ¡°Benefactor,¡± he intoned as his ancient eyes opened. ¡°To what does this one owe this visit?¡± ¡°Heavenly Mirror,¡± Clearstar replied, ¡°Abbot Tianjing. You have done it.¡± ¡°This one admits he is at disadvantage, benefactor.¡± ¡°I have spoke to you prior, Tianjing. You may call me Clearstar.¡± He nodded, letting out a hum of acknowledgement. ¡°If you wish it, benefactor, we may discuss inside, away from the cold?¡± He gestured towards a structure to the side, taking a step towards the unadorned building. Not wishing to refuse his hospitality, Clearstar floated lightly to the ground to walk with the abbot. ¡°Thank you.¡± They walked silently across to the building. Abbot Tianjing invited her in, excusing himself to a back room before returning with a set of ceremonial china. A trickle of water materialized out of thin air, and Tianjing washed his hands before he flicked his wrist. A set of incense sticks began to smoke, and the lanterns all lit up in sequence. Smiling at Clearstar, he pulled a selection of tea leaves out, presenting it to her on a small plate. She nodded, after which he conjured another stream of water above the tea pot. The crystal clear liquid fell from over his shoulder gently into the purple clay pot, preparing it for the leaves that he put in to steep. He fell silent, listening to the boiling water in the pot, like a mountain stream bubbling as it descends from the next peak. After he deemed it sufficient, Tianjing scraped the bubbles off of the surface of the water, letting it evaporate into the air around. He poured the first steep into the teacups, warming the china before sweeping it all up with a burst of chi. It gathered into a ball, vanishing into air after a few seconds. He added more water, the clay pot overflowing slightly, after which he put the lid over and let boiling water sprinkle over his hands on the outside of the warm stone. When it was ready, he drained it into a pitcher, pouring out a clear black liquid for Clearstar and himself into a tall cup. She pressed her palms together, accepting the drink. He sat down then, lifting the tea to his nose. ¡°Does this tea please you, benefactor?¡± She swirled it in the cup, taking in the smoky, floral scent of the black tea. ¡°It is excellent, Abbot.¡± ¡°This one is pleased,¡± he replied. He swept her teacup into the air along with his with a small gust of wind, moving the proper drinking cups on top of the ones the tea was already in. With a flourish, he flipped the cups around, returning Clearstar her stacked cup. She tapped the table once with her finger in a show of respect, before lifting the thin cup upwards. The tea, now shining with the slightest tint of blue light, poured out into the bigger cup. She lifted the cup with Tianjing, smelling it again before finishing it in three sips. ¡°The taste is as wonderful as the smell, Tianjing. Where did you find it?¡± ¡°A dear friend, from the south, gifted this to me after I saved his fellow brother¡¯s life. He wished me save it for a special occasion.¡± ¡°I see. Shall we drink and talk, then?¡± He poured her another cup. ¡°Yes, benefactor.¡± ¡°You are a Monk, correct?¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Yes, benefactor. I am but a humble monk.¡± ¡°No, a Monk.¡± Clearstar snapped her fingers, a series of sparkles trailing from her hand. ¡°Not a regular monk.¡± He chuckled, taking a sip of tea. ¡°The powers of the system are but another tool to us. A monk, or a Monk¡­ these trifles are no matter to this one.¡± ¡°It matters, Abbot. And I am certain you will come to agree.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°You are familiar, of course, with chi.¡± ¡°With chi, benefactor?¡± ¡°You may think of it what you want, but I think chi would be most apt for you.¡± ¡°As the ancients say, ¡®Dao from which is born, the unmanifested Chi. Chi which gives birth to the Yin and Yang.¡± Clearstar nodded. ¡°And from Three¡ªa dynamic Chi appears cycling in harmony. And from Three, creation unfolds and all things are born. By blending the Chi they achieve harmony.¡± ¡°You are well-read, benefactor.¡± ¡°The ancients speak of many. Yet, you, Tianjing, are closer to this goal than they were.¡± ¡°Apologies, benefactor. But what is this goal but another step on the journey towards the Tao? As the saying goes, there is a greater mountain beyond this one, and greater heavens beyond our own sky.¡± ¡°True also, Tianjing¡ª thank you.¡± Clearstar lifted her cup, pausing. ¡°Then I suppose you are at the limits of this first mountain, then.¡± He began to speak, then cut himself off abruptly. ¡°This¡­ energy in the world, benefactor. Is this the chi the Ancients spoke of?¡± ¡°This energy, Tianjing, is chi. You stand now before the realm of Chi. You understand how to progress, but you have no way of doing so, correct?¡± She sipped at her tea. He set his cup lightly on the table, a troubled expression on his face. ¡°Benefactor, who are you so wise in these ways?¡± ¡°I am Clearstar. And I work for us all.¡± She set her cup down also. ¡°Can you sense chi in the air?¡± ¡°Yes, yet, benefactor, what do you¡­¡± He was cut off as his mind and body felt suppressed by an overwhelming force. She withdrew her spirit before a second had gone by, but the old monk¡¯s eyes stayed distant, glazed over, for half of a minute before he regained his senses. ¡°My apologies for my spiritual sense, Tianjing. But I must ask you truly to trust what I tell you to do. There will be a time where this all makes sense.¡± ¡°Benefactor, this one understands. What do you wish me to do?¡± ¡°You will know how you stand amongst your peers by dawn. You must simply grow stronger.¡± ¡°As you command, benefactor.¡± ¡°You currently are at what we call, the peak of the first Realm. Once you break through into the second Realm, you will have the right to call yourself a chi practitioner.¡± ¡°What must I do to become a chi practitioner?¡± ¡°Your knowledge of chi and strength of spirit is sufficient. Your body and mind also, are sufficient to make this breakthrough.¡± ¡°My meditation, then?¡± ¡°That is your most powerful Skill. Right now, Tianjing, the only thing holding you back is yourself.¡± Clearstar finished her tea, pushing it towards the center of the table. She turned towards the open window, looking at the sky. ¡°Once you defeat yourself, you should take these pills.¡± She slid the abbot a stone container with three white pills inside. ¡°They are pills to aid you through Body Forging. You must rebirth yourself in chi.¡± ¡°Yes, benefactor.¡± ¡°And remember,¡± Clearstar stood up, folding her sleeves over herself. ¡°Body and spirit embracing the unity of chi¡ª can one be without separation?¡± Her voice and form faded away as a breeze flowed through the open window. Abbot Tianjing sighed, taking another sip of his tea. He repeated what she told him, committing it to memory. ¡°Body and spirit embracing the unity of chi¡ª can one be without separation?¡± The strength of Clearstar¡­ to make him feel so small. Like watching a crashing wave about to slam into you move closer and closer, unstoppable. It was impersonal in the same way that a distant explosion of a star is impersonal. Impersonal, yet close enough to leave massive ripples. ¡°Body and spirit embracing the unity of chi.¡± Tianjing closed his eyes, letting the empty blanks of his eyelids be replaced with a calm void of black. He breathed in and out, feeling for the chi that he knew was in the air. He watched as thin streams of mist danced around his mind, responding to only his lightest of touches. ¡°Embracing the unity of chi.¡± No¡­ that wouldn¡¯t be the way. He was chi. The ancients said so, that all comes from and returns to it. He expanded his mind so that he covered his body. Then, to the world beyond. The control he felt tapered off sharply as he met air. But it was his¡­ spiritual sense, as Clearstar had said. He could feel it!¡¯ He took grasp of his spiritual sense, expanding it to cover all of his body. Then, his mind felt sucked into some kind of tunnel as some kind of strange feeling overcame him. ¡°The unity of chi.¡± He stood on a wide open Expanse, where a man holding a sword and wearing a breastplate stood. His skin was made of orange mist, and light seemed to bathe him from all sides. Tianjing looked at himself, wearing his robes and holding his prayer beads. He took a step forward to meet the guardian. ¡°Hello?¡± December 21, 9:38 PM Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth Claire¡¯s talisman wrecked those spearmen. She was pretty sure they weren¡¯t even real people. Drones or minions of some kind. Which was troubling, if she thought of it. If there was some kind of weirdo summoning robot drones, they could probably make more. Doesn¡¯t matter, she thought as she flung a set of energy blasts toward the woman who was fighting Rich and Lindy. Panes of light in the air intercepted her bolts, and Claire shrugged. ¡°I hate you stupid wizards!¡± The woman turned around, giving Claire a strange look. She raised an eyebrow, sending a shard of light shooting at Claire. It shattered on her own shield, but the woman said to her, mocking, ¡°I hate you stupid wizards too!¡± ¡°Rich, I think we should get rid of her.¡± Said Claire. ¡°She¡¯s no fun.¡± He grunted, letting a hole in his barrier form as an arrow from Lindy streaked by. It shattered on a cluster of solid light. ¡°Agreed.¡± He activated an ability, his shield glowing white and holding firm in the air. A spectral shield appeared around Claire and Lindy, and Rich¡¯s one-man shield wall looked to be anchored into the ground. He reached a hand into his pocket, taking out a talisman before throwing it at the woman. Her barriers stopped most of the attack, but one bolt managed to make it through, knocking the wizard backwards. ¡°She¡¯s¡­ so squishy.¡± December 21, 9:39 PM The Expanse Tianjing realized that the armored man did not like words much. It leapt forward, activating some kind of ability with its weapon. It tore straight through the first earthen wall the monk erected, and crumbled the second before it was stopped. At least it wasn¡¯t fast. Tianjing thought it would be a challenge, but definitely not a life-threatening one. A part of him wondered why he was transported into this area after his revelation, but most of all he wanted this over with so he could digest what he had learned from Clearstar. There was a wealth of information, there. His juniors and fellow brothers surely would appreciate the advice, and stronger people make for stronger groups. Tianjing turned a bead over in his hand, calling forth a ball of fire to shoot at the attacker. It exploded on contact with his sword, the orange light dimming slightly as the fire dissipated. He shifted over to wind, launching a flurry of wind blades at the orange construct. Those were easily parried by the sword, and unfortunately did not stop the assailant as much as the fireball did. Though the sword had some notches cut into them by the wind blades, Tianjing was forced to retreat further and hide behind some earthen walls before ready to engage with the enemy again. He didn¡¯t think water would be an efficient way to attack a being made of light, but he gave it a try anyway. The water arrow he shot split in half around the defending sword, but both made it to the construct. Bursts of orange light fell from the construct¡¯s form after the water arrow hit. It shifted around in place silently, dimming itself overall but the cuts healed. Tianjing was an old man, but he reckoned himself quite the fighter back in the day. His quarterstaff lay unused in his age, his current Monk class being more suited for meditation rather than the fighting some of his junior Warrior-Monks were inclined to. Still, he lit his staff aflame with his magic, making two strikes in succession against the orange beast. The sword blocked one, but the other strike left a great gash on its knee. The construct leapt backwards, healing as it flied, but Tianjing reacted by throwing a bolt of fire at its retreating form as he jumped forward to follow it with his own staff of flame. The fireball hit on the shoulder, blasting half of the guardian¡¯s sword arm off. It shifted swords to the other hand, healing its arm as it did so, just in time to catch a flurry of attacks from the abbot¡¯s flaming quarterstaff. The abbot wore the guardian down, systematically. Whenever it would use its sword ability, Tianjing would just retreat backwards and erect earthen walls to stop the attack. In close quarters, he would alternate between his flaming quarterstaff, a water arrow, or a manipulation of the earth beneath to force his opponent to trip. The final blow, a water arrow through the neck shattered the dim construct into a thousand motes of orange light. The motes stuck around in the air, clinging onto Tianjing¡¯s form as the rocky ground faded away. The orange turned into a clean blue, falling off of his body as his looked around. Tianjing¡¯s spirit floated in a sea of nothingness, streams of rainbow and blue chi intertwined with each other. He willed there to be land, and then he stood on a replica of his mountain peak. Falling down on the ground, he willed his spirit to fly, and fly he did. He circled in the air, delighting in the feeling before chiding himself and descending to the earth. He walked into the courtyard, the decorations and scenery fading away into a simpler scene. The chi twisted and flew about the center of the sea of nothingness, where nine portals floated. One, the first Realm, he knew, was light. A concept filled his mind as he gazed into the first Gate. An image of the vast, unending field of stone he fought the guardian in appeared in the center of the bright portal¡ª to the Expanse. 10 - Clearstars Miracle December 21, 9:39 PM Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth The enemy wizard went down, albeit at the cost of their attack talismans. Thankfully, her focus seemed to be more on being, well, annoying to buy time for her support to clean up the opposition. Would have worked, too, if Claire wasn¡¯t there. The spearmen drone things would have worn through Rich¡¯s shield quickly, and the mage would have stopped any of Lindy¡¯s arrows from being used to their full potential. Four versus two was probably a good bet, maybe even overkill when the defending couple would be heavily poisoned by previous attacks. Claire helping Rich level up to remove the affliction definitely changed things. The fight was with losses, but mostly gains. She could always head back into the woods to hunt monsters for talisman materials, assuming the system shop stayed around. She had gotten better at the craft too. Claire hoped that she would be able to imbue a more powerful spell into the little slips of paper in the future, but that would have to wait.
Paths to Power (III) - Level up cantrips. (18/30) - Level up First Circle spells. (?) - Level up Second Circle spells. (0/5) - Absorb energy. (0/1) Rewards: Spirit Seeding Pill x2 OR Spirit Hardening Pill x2 depending on Path, Variable
Eye of the Storm (Limited) - Find reliable shelter. (?) - Find a renewable source of food and water. (?) - Survive the night, until 8:00 AM. Rewards: Spatial Pouch, Variable
Monster Slayer (III) - Slay 100 monsters. (98/100) Rewards: Gear Upgrade Token
* Do this immediately!! - Learn how to meditate and level the skill to 11. Rewards: Basic competence, 1 level up
* Stop being weak (I) - Raise your Body statistic to 1.00 (?) - Raise your Mind statistic to 1.50 (?) Rewards: Average physique, acceptable intelligence, 3x Body Refining Pill
* Prove yourself (I) - Kill monsters higher than your level. (5/25) 3x Spell Upgrade Token (1st Circle)
Claire¡¯s quests had progressed also. Her mind had evidently progressed above 1.50, completing ¡°Stop being weak (I).¡± She all but wrote off ¡°Eye of the Storm¡± also, because all that was left was surviving to the morning. A spatial pouch sounded nice. From the sounds of it, it was a spatially enhanced pouch, like an inventory of sorts. As soon as her mind fixated on the body refining pills from her already-completed quest, a stone jar appeared in the air and dropped in her hand. Rich had gone off as soon as the mage¡¯s body was disposed of to find James, but Lindy rested still by the counter, leaning against it with arms crossed. She glanced up at Claire. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Quest reward,¡± she replied. ¡°Some pills.¡± Lindy shrugged. ¡°What kind? I haven¡¯t gotten anything physical from my quests before.¡± ¡°Body refining, it says.¡± Claire popped the jar open, getting a whiff of the pill before coughing and shutting the lid back on. ¡°This absolutely reeks¡ª but, what kind of stuff do your quests give?¡± Lindy twisted open a bar of candy, taking a small bite. ¡°Stat bumps, tokens, and not much else. There¡¯s a big one in here, though, from reaching level ten that increases my life span.¡± ¡°Huh, that¡¯s a weird but cool reward.¡± Claire sat down on a folding chair, sighing heavily. ¡°Mine has some items and tokens, but not a single stat bump. The one that gave me the pills had a stat bump as a requirement.¡± Lindy raised her eyebrows, inviting her to continue. ¡°You have Paths to Power, right? And Monster Slayer? I feel like if we were going to compare, that would be a good spot to start.¡± The ranger nodded. ¡°Both. The lifespan reward is from Paths to Power, and Monster Slayer just has tokens as a reward. Rich and I¡ª everyone, I suppose¡ª has those two. Him and I also have a limited quest. We had to find a way to cure our poison, find an ally, and stay safe until tomorrow.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Claire exclaimed. ¡°I have one pretty close, it¡¯s called Eye of the Storm and it is limited, just like yours. There¡¯s nothing about poison or allies, but it has shelter and the same stay safe until tomorrow bit.¡± Lindy¡¯s words were interrupted by her husband¡¯s shout from across the store. ¡°Goodnight, honey! Night, James!¡± she shouted back. ¡°He needs the rest,¡± Lindy went on, to Claire. ¡°Deserves it after all of today.¡± ¡°We do too!¡± Claire shot her a smile. ¡°Do you want to go hunting with me tommorow morning?¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to go sleep too, then, if it¡¯s okay with you?¡± ¡°Yeah, Claire.¡± The other woman let out a half-suppressed puff of laughter. ¡°Go ahead.¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. December 21 The Expanse Tianjing looked into the portal in his soulscape, the dark rocky ground stretching on and on. He could see patches of plants and grass in the distance, with the occasional tree jutting out from the dark land. Above it all shone a single red sun. The monk looked away from the portal, willing his spirit return to where he had came from. Shifting his mind from inhabiting his body to his spirit, he relished in the feeling of progress. His eyes blinked open as he finished the last of the tea. Neatly, he dispersed the drained leaves and water, then stacking the clay and stone drinkware. He deposited the set on a table on the way to his own room. With a wave of his hands, he extinguished the incense sticks and the lanters. Black smoke curled from the dead flames, its scent filling Tianjing with a sense of peace and calm. He opened a drawer in the table, pulling out two wooden objects. Looking faintly like sides of a crescent moon, the deep brown wood had swirling white patterns carved into the side of the divination tool. The monk closed his eyes and mouthed an invocation, then threw down the cast moon blocks onto the ground. They bounced, and settled. One face up, one face down. ¡°The heavens smile,¡± he intoned, looking at his divination. ¡°On their wayward son.¡± He swept the blocks up with a wave of his hand and a burst of wind. They clattered on the table behind him. ¡°This one sees their will, and will obey.¡± Tianjing didn¡¯t see the blocks land behind him. He entered his soulscape and willed himself through the open portal. His body reformed on the dark rocky ground and looked around. He felt strained more than it ever had been in this realm. It felt like the pressure from being in deep water, but on his spirit and not his body. The chi was far denser here than it was on the mountain¡¯s clearing, too. In the distance, packs of what looked to be wolves roamed about. There wasn¡¯t much cover to hide from them, either. A few gray trees stuck out of the stony land and strange white flowers grew in clumps across the plain. The chi in his body responded to his will, flowing to his feet. He leapt forward in great bounding strides, crossing hundreds of feet in minutes. I need to find somewhere to meditate and take advantaged of all of this energy. Where the animals will not disturb my training. He stopped a short distance from a pool of sparkling liquid. The spring was at the bottom of a valley formed from dark stone hills, and at its edge a group of wolves lapped at the gentle waters. Tianjing could feel the chi from where he stood. It pressed in on all sides, and his strength seemed to solidify without him even using a mote of effort. Not knowing the strength of the wolves drinking from the chi spring, Tianjing spread out his meditation blanket and sat down on the stony ground. He drew chi in from his lungs, sinking it into his body as he exhaled. He moved it without any true direction, only trying to saturate the flesh and bone with energy. The chi faded away into the air, no matter how much he tried to keep it inside of him. The breakthrough that the powerful woman mentioned earlier came when he first drawn energy out of his soul and into his body. Of his own efforts¡ª that was monumental! The system could forcibly take energy from him and manipulate it in its own ways, but Tianjing was not satisfied. That led him to turn to meditation in an attempt to better replicate what the system was doing. His elemental manipulation happened when the system pulled energy from this area underneath his navel and drew it outside in a strange pattern. Then, the pattern changed as Tianjing willed it to. By gathering energy into his lungs from the air, he would need to mass enough to break that divide and keep a speck of chi inside of him. When he realized this, Clearstar arrived. He repeated his words in his mind as he meditated. My mind and body are prepared, and I am the only thing holding myself back. Body and spirit embracing the unity of chi¡ª can one be without seperation? There must not be any seperation between my chi and myself. My spirit carries with it my chi. I am my spirit. I am one with my chi. Tianjing battered at the barrier between spirit and flesh with his chi. He filled himself up with everything he could from the surroundings, and attacked the bottleneck with everything he had. His mind ached with a dull, throbbing pain as chi flooded into his body. Just how air inside a sealed bottle keeps the atmosphere from crushing it, energy from inside of Tianjing pushed out against the outer confines of his spirit, lessening the suppression he felt from the world around him. A sense of hunger consumed him as he felt the chi that filled his body begin to weaken. His eyes flashed open and narrowed in on the chi-dense liquid in the spring. The monk leapt into the air again, his newly-expanded energy supply twisting itself into tens of sharp blades of wind. They tore into the bodies of the wolves drinking just as their death-bringer landed. He sat down amidst the corpses, torn apart by wind blades nearly an entire realm their superior, and reached out his hands to the water. Splitting the chi from the water, a dense mist formed around him. He inhaled it over and over, his body filling with more and more chi. Rebirth myself in chi, she said. And when I do, take these pills. He sprung upwards with great force, the energy in his body powering his every motion. He ran to the place where he had left his bag, and took out the pills that Clearstar left him. The stone container surrounding the three white pills crumbled into dust as Tianjing took hold of it¡ª a bit too strongly. He delicately plucked the pills out from the stone, and threw them into his mouth. Feeling the energy descend, they split apart and let loose another torrent of chi inside of him. The energy seemed to push at him from the inside, filling Tianjing with a sense of extreme pain. Deep gray energy began to come out of his body¡¯s every pore, as his spirit felt like a balloon being overfilled with gas. As the last of the pills¡¯ energy faded, his body spit out a smelly dark substance all over. It smelled worse than anything he had ever smelled¡ª Tianjing had lived in a monastery with the nearest water source an entire mountain away for a significant portion of his life¡ª but this was worse. He cleared his mind of the stench, shifting mental focus away from his body and onto his thoughts. Like how popping pimples removed a speck of infection out of the body, it seemed like Clearstar¡¯s pills removed the impurities from his body and spirit. No wonder she told me to take them when I was ready. Did I not spend enough thought interpreting great Clearstar¡¯s words? He ripped his robes off, seeing the insides covered in viscous black liquid. The same liquid that seemingly covered every inch of him. Grimacing, he ran straight back to the chi spring and jumped into the icy water. After Tianjing washed himself of the sludge, he took a moment to assess himself. A true cultivator, now. Chi seemed to fill every bit of his body¡ª flesh, bones, skin. He composed himself and began to gather more energy from the chi-dense water. The liquid close to skin dissolved and flooded through Tianjing¡¯s body and into his abdomen. It was interesting, he thought, that an initiate on this Path must first step along the oppoosite Path of Body. The chi, though it filled his body, had but a tenuous connection to his actual physical form. On the Path of Mind, a practitioner¡¯s willpower is what binds energy together¡ª what holds and channels the spirit, which in turn exerts its influence on the world. The first step of Chi Gathering: Body Forging; for the body protects the mind, which shall in turn shield the body. Benefactor Clearstar¡¯s miracle medicine accelerated his process through Body Forging tremendously, Tianjing thought. He couldn¡¯t feel any parts of his body where his mind did not have dominion. The chi, he supposed, would need to be condensed a bit further, though. So there he sat in the spiritual spring, for ten thousand revolutions, until his mind and body were one. 11 - Contender Claire Wright rose to the sound of birds and the smell of flowers. The westbound sun shone bright over the land, and the green leaves were tinted with a shade of orange. ¡°Didn¡¯t want to wake you up,¡± said Lindy, noticing her rising. ¡°You looked liked you needed that.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Claire rubbed her eyes. ¡°You have the time?¡± ¡°Trying to check on that quest?¡± Lindy smiled. ¡°Just after eight¡ªRich and I got ours right after we woke up¡ª whatever you get, if its as good as ours, you¡¯ll be happy.¡± She walked away from the younger woman then, telling her that breakfast would be on them this morning. After which Lindy would go out to level with Claire while Rich worked on strengthening the building with James. Hopefully the poison in Lindy could be cured with a few more levels worth of body statistics like it had with Rich, and even if it didn¡¯t, Lindy¡¯s long-range capabilities with her bow would round off the team. Rich in front to block attacks and to keep the monsters engaged, while Lindy and her could pick them off one by one. A pouch dropped into her lap, a reward promised by the screens that she had looked forward to. Her spellbook lay untouched to the side of where she slept. The jars of medicine lay there also, which Claire tossed into the spatial pouch. She stood, emptying the valuables from her backpack and tossing them into the magic pouch, then changed into a fresh set of clothes. She fastened the bag to a loop on her jeans, hanging down so that it was within arms reach. Spell components could go in there, she thought. Items inside seemed to be summoned to the top with a tiny spurt of energy and a mental command. The pouch, even though it was crammed with what surely amounted to pounds of items, wasn¡¯t bursting, nor did it seem to weigh any more than it did. Spell components could be stored there, she thought. Some sharp rocks, water, or anything, really, for energy infusion. She could cast the spell faster that way, not needing to waste time on finding materials off the ground or getting them from her backpack. Talismans also¡ª some spiritual shields or energy blasts for emergencies¡ª Claire shivered. She hated this part of her that let itself spiral into realms of logical and efficient death, only wanting to go back into the peace and calm that she had known and took for granted just two mornings prior. Holed up in a convenience store with a strange family she had never known, nor would have wanted to know, had this¡­ event never struck. She ate their food and conversed with them with gentle words and a pleasant expression¡ª trying to hide the apathy and disgust that built up behind. Why do I let them do this to me, they screamed at her. When I could do all of this without them? Freeloaders? Using her self-earned power as something to pull themselves up by, and by extention pulling her down? They eat the animals that you hunted, they continued. They sleep calmly under a roof and walls that you shed blood to defend. They used her talismans, slips of power that cost Claire both time and energy to make. Without so much as a word of thanks? Or were their pleasantries devoured and concealed by their desire to take what is mine? I have to stop them, and¡ª Claire stood up abruptly, apologizing for startling them¡ª yes, I¡¯m okay¡ª no, I¡¯m all set on food¡ª yes, I¡¯m sure¡ª and rushed outside of the little store into the woods. She obliterated the first monster she saw with an energy bolt, then she spun in a circle and shot off a dozen more motes of blue energy from her fingertips. Why am I this? Trees cracked where the bolts hit, some of the flimsier ones crashing down into the ground all around her. Claire let out a maniacal laugh. Do I want this? The torrent of energy rushing and building up inside of her happily replied with a strong, overwhelming yes. She stood after a while, feeling more concrete than ever the pool of energy that she used magic from. Like a well of pure power, fields that flowed with lush energy, a power core for all things magical. Energy was breathed in from her lungs, directly settling in the core. Then, it was drawn out through some kind of energy pathway though her body, and into the hands to be formed into spells. I don¡¯t hate Lindy, or Rich, or James. Was this energy getting into my head? Putting thoughts in my brain? What does it want? Claire was feeling a lot better after¡­ sitting in a forest clearing surrounded by the corpses of magical beasts. Was that a bad sign? She didn¡¯t take it to be one; it¡¯s all about the circumstances, and no one was around to see. She thought this a good opportunity to open the system¡¯s notifications and rewards from the last day.
Claire Wright: Wizard Level 4. You currently are ranked #928 in the Sub-Sector (North America) for progression, #5 for combat ability, and #1 for future growth potential. Your current rankings qualify you for a reward and a title at the end of the day. Claim?
She gave the claim signal a mental nudge, and it responded by dropping some tokens onto her lap. Gear Upgrade tokens, just like the ones she had received from the monster quests.
Paths to Power (III) - Level up cantrips. (12/30) - Level up First Circle spells. (18/20) - Level up Second Circle spells. (0/5) - Absorb energy. (?) Rewards: Spirit Seeding Pill x2 OR Spirit Hardening Pill x2 depending on Path, Variable Monster Slayer (IV) - Slay 100 monsters. (12/250) Rewards: Gear Upgrade Token * Do this immediately!! - Learn how to meditate and level the skill to 11. Rewards: Basic competence, 1 level up * Prove yourself (I) - Kill monsters higher than your level. (5/25) 3x Spell Upgrade Token (1st Circle)
Items: If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Spatial Pouch (Uncommon) Necklace of Flowing Wind (Uncommon) Clear Star Brush (Common) Gear Upgrade Token x6 (Common)
Her quests had not been updated much, besides having absorbed energy for Paths to Power. Spells had not leveled, likely because she had been manually casting. Another notification sat at the edge of her consciousness, which Claire summoned into view.
Chi insufficient to grant earned combat title: ¡°Mortal Contender¡± to user: Claire Wright. Allow reallocation and redistribution of chi immediately in order to display and gain the benefits of the combat title: ¡°Mortal Contender.¡±
Just then, a woman blinked into view in front of Claire before she could digest the message. ¡°Hello, Claire. Congratulations on your breakthrough.¡± she said. Claire recoiled where she sat, already beginning to move her energy towards her hands to form an empowered energy blast. She was battered by a pressure so great that she lost control of the energy. Fruitlessly, she called for the energy again, but it refused to even budge from her core. ¡°Are you done¡­¡± said the woman wearing strange robes. ¡°¡­child?¡± The smile on her face did nothing to alleviate the great pressure radiating from the woman. Claire began to see black on the edges of her vision, her physical self crumpling as if under thousands of pounds of pressure, while her mind suffered an ever-growing pain as the force pressed down her spirit. It stopped suddenly. Claire, finally allowed to breathe, took in a great deep breath of air as she looked at the hovering woman with fear. She had an expression of interest on her face. ¡°That was a fair bit longer than the other one,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m proud, Claire.¡± ¡°Do I know you?¡± ¡°Of course you do!¡± Seeing Claire¡¯s blank expression, she paused. ¡°Or maybe you don¡¯t. But that¡¯s okay, just think of me as an, uh, system administrator.¡± Claire supposed that made sense. Administrators being powerful enough to do¡­ whatever had just happened, though, was extremely scary. ¡°You just received a notification to allocate more power, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, should I let¡ª¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°No, I said. Let me make some manual adjustments.¡± A tendril of blue light emerged from the administrator¡¯s hands as she exhaled. It went right through Claire¡¯s skin and flesh a little bit under her navel. She felt the energy¡ª soothing blue¡ª enter her core. The notification requesting more chi disappeared. Shortly, another screen appeared.
Status: Name: Claire Wright Title: Mortal Contender (#5 combat) Tier: 1-0-3 Rank: Adept (Wizard 5) Path: Mind
Quests (3) Path of Mind (I) - Completely fill your expanded core - Fill your mortal shell with chi Rewards: Tier upgrade: 1-1-0 Monster Slayer (IV) - Slay 100 monsters. (12/250) Rewards: Gear Upgrade Token Prove yourself (I) - Kill monsters of your tier. (5/20) - Kill monsters above your tier. (0/1) Rewards: Expanded core
Items: Spatial Pouch (Uncommon) Necklace of Flowing Wind (Uncommon) Clear Star Brush (Common) Gear Upgrade Token x6 (Common)
¡°There you go,¡± Said the administrator. ¡°I¡¯ve made changes to your status that should help your understanding of what you need to do to progress.¡± She took out and offered a stack of paper to Claire. ¡°Here¡¯s a manual that will help you through the next few, uh, levels.¡± Claire accepted the sheaf of paper, tossing it into her spatial pouch. ¡°Why?¡± The administrator ignored her question. ¡°You¡¯ll need to figure that out by yourself. Each Path one walks on must be a personal journey.¡± Claire nodded. ¡°I can¡¯t say I understand, but¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re not meant to, at least not now,¡± interrupted the administrator. ¡°I¡¯ll call for you in the future, sometime. Remember, Claire¡ª¡± The administrator¡¯s eyes flashed with color, a pair of angelic wings sprouting from her back. ¡°You are currently ranked fifth in the Sector for ability.¡± She gestured to the spatial bag containing the guide manual. ¡°I expect better.¡± The administrator disappeared then, leaving Claire with just her words and the manual. Her quests stayed at the corner of her vision, but vaguities like ¡°completely fill your expanded core¡± and ¡°fill your mortal shell with chi¡± had far less order and structure than the previous instructions had had. Her only lead now was to complete Prove Yourself (I), which would apparantly reward an expanded core. After that, she would have to find out how to fill that core, and then how to presumably use chi to saturate her body. Claire stood and began to walk back to their makeshift base. Feeling better now that her breakthrough was complete¡ª and with a direction to go, a purpose to live beyond living and killing¡ª she began to walk. Lindy and her roamed the forest around the store for a few hours. She mainly let Lindy practice getting shots in on the small game that made home in the undergrowth, only stepping in when neccessary to stop injuries, or to handle larger animals attracted by the noise. The spatial bag, unfortunately, couldn¡¯t store much of the spoils, so they were forced to carry it on their bags. By that, Claire was forced to carry all of the monster materials, because Lindy ¡°can¡¯t shoot with a backpack on!¡± She supposed it was fair. The changes the administrator made to her spells felt very drastic: instead of thinking of a spell and letting the system cast it automatically, she had to manually form the patterns. There weren¡¯t that many big ones, for now, but Claire was worried that in the future, she would start forgetting spells. It was helpful that the spellbook still contained all of the spells. The manual that she had received also had a few diagrams, but the hundreds of snaking lines and dots and circles in seemingly random order had Claire steering away from the manual spells, at least for now. Tweaking the spells she had on hand felt easier now, too. As if the bump in the Mind stat¡­ had made her smarter? I guess that is its only purpose. To, well, enhance and strengthen the mind. Claire had experimented with the forming of actual structures to pass the time. Moving the energy¡­ chi? with her mind alone still felt impossible. She could do it inside her body, and she could coat her skin with it, but she lost control of the energy after it went just a few tenths of an inch away. She could draw with her fingers coated in the energy to form really dense lines, which formed powerful spells. But forming thinner lines just on her skin should work in theory. The energy would be in the same shape, but it would be faster to make and easier to hide. Claire just lacked the fine control to do that, at the moment. The morning passed quickly. Lindy took care of herself for the most part, leveling once. They were right in thinking that the level-up would remove the poison from her system, so they decided to head deeper into the forest in search of stronger monsters. Claire had less time to experiment here, unfortunately, but some of the monsters were strong enough for her to finish the first part of Prove Yourself (I). Nothing above her tier had appeared yet, so she was stuck on this point. And it wasn¡¯t like the beasts here weren¡¯t challenging. Lindy, obviously, took a few shots to bring down the unnatural deer and wolves, and Claire, surprisingly, couldn¡¯t one-shot them with her energy bolt anymore. Energy blast still took care of them handily, but having to spend resources on a spell to kill a little wolf felt beneath her. Claire took Rich¡¯s role, here. The monsters had trouble getting through Claire¡¯s wards, so she would stand still and continuously pour energy into her wards while Lindy shot arrow after arrow from the top of a tree. Lindy leveled again, and seeing the sun in the sky, they decided to head back just after noontime. The energy that Claire could gather from the surroundings wasn¡¯t enough to sustain a fully powered shield against groups of same-leveled enemies indefinitely¡ª Claire was the fifth-coolest person in the whole wide world, but she wasn¡¯t that strong. She thought she had a grasp on how leveling worked, too. The energy in the world was far less dense than the energy inside of a person¡¯s body. Or, mind. They were all probably linked to the spirit, but whatever. When something dies, their spirits are burst, somehow, and all of the accumulated energy is released into the air. It stays there for a short period of time, and people absorb it into themselves. And when they absorb enough energy, they level up. Do ranged people level up slower than melee fighters, then? Rich certainly leveled up faster than Lindy. And Claire had felt energy enter her from when she was warded, attracting the attention of the beasts for Lindy to shoot. The system marked her level as an ¡°Adept,¡± now, only showing Wizard as a side note. And, the administrator had mentioned that the changes she made were to ¡°aid in understanding¡± how to progress. The power in Claire felt no different than it had before the change. Leveling, then, wasn¡¯t measured and dictated by the system. The system was just interpreting and¡­ helping the person understand the power that they held. The question Claire had asked the administrator came back to her, all of a sudden. Why? 12 - Wolf ¡°I think we should do some tests,¡± Claire said to the others. They sat in their folding chairs, each holding a sandwich made from convenience store bread and monster meat. ¡°I had a thought this morning about how we could try to level up faster, without necessarily needing to go and hunt higher-level monsters.¡± Seeing interested gazes, she continued. ¡°I don¡¯t know if this will be true for you guys, because I¡¯m a magic user and you guys are more martial classes. But I noticed that there was a pool of energy in my body that spells would come out of.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Rich nodded. ¡°Your mana pool. But because I¡¯m not a wizard like you are, I don¡¯t think I would¡ª or Lindy, for that matter¡ª have a mana pool like you do.¡± Claire shook her head. ¡°You can use magic, I think. Just thought of differently. I have spells, and you two have skills. I think they use the same energy but create different effects. Your skill that lets you keep the shield in place is magical, I¡¯m sure, and so is the one that makes the bigger shield wall. And Lindy¡¯s arrows are not normal arrows, either, we¡¯ve seen them. They¡¯re probably imbued with her energy before they shoot out.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my skill that does that.¡± Claire nodded frantically. ¡°I don¡¯t think that matters. It¡¯s¡­ if I¡¯m right¡­ the same energy that powers your arrows and my spells. Maybe even our tougher bodies, too.¡±\ ¡°How does this have to do with leveling?¡± ¡°I think a level measures the amount of that energy that we have in our body. And! Every time we kill a monster, the energy in them spills out into the world for us to take.¡± They spoke for the next hour or so, settling on a few points to go for to try and level faster. First, standing closer to freshly-dead monsters to see if they would level up faster that way, while Claire would try and work on some kind of contraption to contain kill energy so they could compress it and mimic the effects of killing a high-level enemy. ¡°I completely forgot to ask.¡± Claire stood up, stretching. ¡°What level are you guys now?¡± ¡°Four,¡± Rich replied. ¡°Four, too. Leveled twice today, and I¡¯m feeling a lot better!¡± Lindy dusted her hands, picking James off of her lap. ¡°Is daddy going to stay here again?¡± James asked. ¡°Mommy and daddy are going to go out with Miss Claire over here for a little bit, honey.¡± ¡°Daddy¡¯s more fun¡ª oh.¡± Rich sighed. ¡°We¡¯re going to be just outside.¡± He pointed in the direction of the forest. ¡°There¡¯s lots of scary monsters out there and we don¡¯t want you to get hurt.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Okay?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Here, James.¡± Claire reached into her spatial pouch, pulling out a piece of talisman paper and her brush. ¡°Gimme a minute, I¡¯ll meet you two outside after I make these.¡± She wrote out the rune for an energy bolt on the paper, quickly repeating the process with a blade ward. Handing both pieces of paper to James, she demonstrated how to use them. ¡°Don¡¯t shoot your eye out!¡± Called Rich to his son as he shifted the barricade to the side with a grunt. ¡°I won¡¯t, dad!¡± He looked at Claire with wide eyes. ¡°Thank you, Miss Claire!¡± She stood and tousled his hair. ¡°We¡¯ll be back.¡± Rich pulled the barricade back in place after Claire walked through the door. ¡°Alright, boss,¡± he said playfully. ¡°What¡¯s the plan now?¡± ¡°I think we go to the wolf area first. You can stand in the middle to take attacks while Lindy and I pick them off.¡± ¡°Trying to use me as a meat shield?¡± Lindy chuckled. ¡°Mhmm.¡± Rich laughed to. ¡°Shieldbearer Paladin is my class, after all. Here to serve¡ª¡± he gave a mock bow to Claire ¡°¡ªand protect.¡± Lindy let him take her hand and kiss it, laughing as he did. Claire sighed, looking away. Claire blasted a few monsters that tried to interrupt their walk, but actually turned to stop them when they stepped into the clearing before riverbank that the wolves called home. ¡°Guys.¡± They jumped up, breaking apart like teenagers getting caught together after curfew. ¡°Business, business, right.¡± ¡°I gotchu, Claire! No killing the doggies, sit there and let you two pick them off.¡± ¡°Doggies?¡± said Lindy, shocked. ¡°Oh my god, they¡¯re like big doggies!¡± Claire, stealing a page from Lindy¡¯s book, began to climb a tree. Tried to, rather, because by the time she was up there Lindy and Rich had somehow managed to get weapons on and appear ready for combat. The ranger joined Claire in another tree, nocking an arrow to her bow, while Rich let out an shrieking roar that drew the attention of every wolf in the vicinity. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. They came in groups. Twin foggy eyes glinted red, and dark legs covered space with long bounding steps. Their yellowish-gray fur covered rippling muscles underneath, and their mouths were slightly open revealing rows of pointy white teeth. Rich¡¯s taunt had the wolves charging him, but he quickly activated two more of his abilities. His shield extended in a full circle around him, but the first three crashed into it and knocked him back. ¡°[Hold the Line]!¡± His shield flashed, and it suddenly was held in place. He braced himself on the weapon, pushing it forward to smash a wolf prone on the ground in front of him. The first of the barrage arrived then, two of Lindy¡¯s [Power Shot]s and an energy blast crashing into the pack. An arrow went stray, but the other embedded itself in the fallen wolf¡¯s ribcage. It, bloodied, stood up successfuly just as two bolts of energy changed target to end the wolf for good. Rich moved so he was on top of the fallen wolf¡¯s corpse then swung his shield again at a pair of wolves that charged him from behind. One, battered by the shield was flung back, crimson blood flowing from its snout, while the other took advantage of the gap in Rich¡¯s defenses to leap up and take a rip at his shoulder. Two arrows flew towards the wolf that was still stuck on Rich¡¯s shoulder, and streaks of spellfire poured out of the trees to stop more circling wolves from entering the fray. Combined with a strong and heavy shake on Rich¡¯s part, an arrow lodged firmly into the attacking wolf¡¯s skull and its jaws let loose. The other arrow, by some twist of fate, missed Rich¡¯s neck by a tiny margin. A burst of telekinesis on Claire¡¯s part had a tree branch crack and fall on the heads of three wolves, even as the other four rushed Rich as one. The shieldbearer refreshed his ability, an illusory shield curling around him once more and took on a defensive stance. A wolf was smacked aside, but two more slashed and bit his defense. Their claws, obviously enhanced by some form of energy tore through the newly-activated ability. And though they themselves stopped, the gray dome parted for a moment¡ª a moment long enough for the last wolf to land a bite on Rich¡¯s calf. He stumbled to the ground, thrashing his leg to get the wolf off in vain. Two arrows thunked into the ground, missing their targets, and Claire¡¯s energy blast only managed to cripple one of the three wolves attacking him. Three more injured wolves managed to free themselves from the tree-branch and charged Rich as well. The ones already surrounding him tore chunks out of his side and leg, their claws and bite going straight through his modest armor like a hot knife through butter. The wolf that clung to his calf stood, revealing the injury. It wasn¡¯t as deep as it appeared to be. Rich¡¯s enhanced body seemed enough to take the blow, but as he stood, he favored his other foot. He kicked at the one who had just bit him, and the wolf recoiled. The other ones tried to take advantage of his extended leg, but his shield slammed onto the neck of one, making an audible crack that Claire could hear from the treetops. Arrows and energy blasts rained from the trees then, ending all but one of the wolves. Rich planted his shield in the ground, raising one arm at Lindy to tell her to kill the last one. An empowered arrow shot towards the wolf, but before it could hit, it let out a low, moaning howl. Claire shot an energy bolt as soon as she had heard the noise, and though the magic was fast, the call for reinforcements was already out. Six wolves emerged from the direction of the riverbank. And while four of them were normal, two of them certainly were not. ¡°Those look like bosses. We have to get down to help him!¡± Lindy nodded wordlessly and descended from her tree gracefully. Claire was about to begin shimmying down too when Rich cried out¡ª ¡°Heal me, Claire!¡± She looked at his leg and made a split-second decision to jump the fifteen or so feet from her perch to the ground. Midair she sent a wisp of energy into her Necklace of Flowing Wind, and her movement stopped as, for an ephemeral moment, the girl floated in the air, gently riding the air like a dandelion seed floating in the wind. She fell the rest of the way, her attempts to recall proper falling technique lost in a panic-filled scream of ¡°AAAAAH!¡± Rich, still bleeding but ever the gentleman, turned to her on the ground and offered her his hand. She took it, and he pulled her up as she send a burst of healing through their contact. He sighed in relief, the major wounds now turned to shallow scratches before summoning his illusory shield projection between him and the approaching wolves. Four of them charged him. But Rich held strong on defense, the bodies and claws of the monsters slamming uselessly into his shield projection. He pushed the ability forward then, grunting with exertion as the two in the center fell backwards on the ground. The one-way barrier was nifty, stopping the monsters where they stood but allowing friendly attacks to pass through from behind. A concentrated energy blast and two streaking arrows took care of the wolves on either side of the paladin¡¯s shield. That left two wolves¡­ and the larger ones still hovering fifteen feet away. All at once, the two bosses dashed away so quick that Claire couldn¡¯t keep track¡ª and as they found their new positions on either end of the three-person-group, they let out a mournful howl accompanied by waves of thick white mist. In just a few seconds, the clearing was covered by a blanket of cloud. And then, howls sounded. From nowhere, a wolf jumped out. It bypassed the paladin¡¯s shield, sharp claws flashing in front of her. Rich¡¯s arm swung out, his meaty fist slamming into the wolf¡¯s flank. Flying still, two claws landed to either side of Claire¡¯s neck, as a dark mouth filled with dripping white teeth consumed every bit of her vision. Panic. The shield talismans in her pouch weren¡¯t a concern, then, nor was the magic that would have came oh-so-easily at another time. Her arms beat against the wolf¡¯s side¡ª flimsy as a hummingbird¡¯s wing, and just as useless¡ª as the mouth closed. She turned her head sideways and backwards, hoping to get away from the bite. And it still came down, but on the side of the skull, instead of the front. The wolf¡¯s head tore away, but the body still followed, knocking Claire to the ground. Stars. She could hear the growl of the wolf above her, rearing its head back to take another bite. Monster on either side of her neck, the too-sharp claws just inches away from mortal skin. Spellbook too far: still floating above the ground in the air. Energy roiled inside of Claire, clouding her mind. And as the wolf prepared to deliver another critical bite to the caster, a deafening roar was all that Claire coule hear. Her own blood rushing? Something else? But for one critical moment, a pattern formed on Claire¡¯s skin. Shimmering, mystical blue. And the two minds touched. The wolf was savage. Animalistic in the simplest and worst of terms. Claire¡¯s fury¡ª and her fear, and her pain, concentrated in a spike of intent, right where that pattern was forming on her forehead. And as the emotions came to the forefront of Claire¡¯s mind, it leapt to her command, bridging the physical gap between her and the approaching maw of the beast. A metaphysical projection of what could only be described as Claire, emanated from the caster. For a moment, she felt everything in and around her body. Mind now cleared of pain, perhaps due to the pure sensory overload of the experience, Claire willed the beast to die. The energy¡­ her chi¡­ in the space around responded, drilling a beam of power into the mind of the monster. And it burst.