《Avitus Volten's journey through space and time》 Chapter 0 - Project End Game I have to risk it all now. Why did it come to this? Everything was going so well. Why did it all fall apart so fast? "Mister Volten, the Chinese government has cut all funding and support."(???) Alas, it was only a matter of time, all support for my research dropped one by one until there''s none left. With the sudden public backlash that¡¯s been going on, such a development was inevitable. A notorious serial killer has been caught in London and it was discovered that she was using high-grade military enhancements designed by my company. And somehow all the public blame fell on my research. Not on the negligence of the military program it was stolen from and neither on the serial killer herself. "Our intel also suggests that they and the Russians are mounting an armed capture operation. Most likely we are their target. Also, there¡¯s been an increase in the surveillance forces hidden near our island"(???) Those bastards, now that the situation has become so unstable, they will jump at the first chance to steal my research. In a few days they¡¯ll be able to invade my base and parade as international peacekeepers afterwards. With all this growing pressure I must move fast, I¡¯ve run out of options. "Mirida, how are preparations for Operation: C.A.T. going?"(Mister Volten) "Everything is ready, it can launch at moment¡¯s notice."(Mirida) I turn around and sigh. Am I really doing this? Shouldn¡¯t I just abandon it all and disappear? It wouldn¡¯t be impossible. All those ''superpowers'' with all their intelligence organizations wouldn''t be able to track me down. I would be able to live the rest of my life peacefully without lacking anything. No, something will be lacking. A goal. I would live an ordinary life, unable to peruse my aspirations. A future. I would be a shell of my former self, yearning for the past that I had lost. Progress. I would stagnate or, even worse, I will decline, falling to what I''ve struggled to ascend from. I feel my hand gently grabbed from behind. I turn around to see Mirida looking at me with worry apparent in her eyes. "Are you sure you want to do this? We can just flee and start everything anew, continue your research somewhere else under a new name." (Mirida) This woman! We both know such a thing is impossible. I won''t be able to continue my research. Those greedy pigs won¡¯t be tricked twice and even if they would be, those kinds of resources are bound to attract attention. In the end I¡¯d be forced to live a low-profile life. A life stuck in normality. I would stare at the ceiling instead of breaking it and asking myself how long until I do the same with the next one. Why would I willingly submit myself to such a thing? I''d prefer death over that lifestyle. In the end, my plan is a huge gamble, but even the worst scenario is actually the second best option. I look her directly into her eyes and let mine show my determination. After a few seconds, her worry begins to fade and I take advantage of that moment and kiss her lips. She''s surprised at first, but then she begins to enjoy the moment. We both do. After the moment passes and our lips part, Mirida takes a step back and tries to hide her blushing face. I will never get bored of how cute she acts when she¡¯s teased. Even at such a moment I can¡¯t help but admire her beautiful black eyes. Her lively and elegant kimono that serves only to accentuate her slim figure and Asian heritage, coupled with her short black hair and bangs could easily place her in her teens. In the last 10 years her appearance only got younger, not in small part due to the enhancements she¡¯s been getting. "I never took you for a romantic, ...Master."(Mirida) Her voice fading with each word, until the last one was barely audible. It¡¯s true that we had never shared such a passionate kiss before. I fear that love would get in the way of my work so our relationship can only be described as casual or convenient. "Guess even I can get emotional in such moments."(Mister Volten) As much as I try to deny it, the fear of death isn¡¯t something I can completely suppress. But, this is not the moment to show weakness. Doubts will only increase the chances of failure. "Initiate Operation: C.A.T.!"(Mister Volten) Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
As always, my trusty my A.I. chip is here to ruin the mood as if making fun of my determination. -Yes. A second later the metallic voice of the base''s central A.I. is heard from my deck. "Request received. Authorization: Avitus Volten-administrator. Commencing operation."(Central A.I.) Just as the last word was spoken, I hear the evacuation alarm outside. I look at the screen on the wall as the security cameras capture the panic that spreads to all personnel as they try to leave. No one can blame them, the evacuation alarm is the highest tier on the disaster scale. In all this panic it was easy for the security drones to pick out and eliminate the spies that have ''infiltrated'' our research projects. I watch the screen for a few minutes, until everyone except for the two of us has left the island. I turn and look at Mirida. "Sure you don''t want to leave as well? You don''t have to die with a madman for his ambitions."(Avitus) "You know, I feel offended you''re asking such questions at this point in time."(Mirida) Although she was pretending to be angry, it all fell flat with that smile on her face. Well, it would be an insult to press further, so I continue by closing all communication and sealing the inner base. Now that we¡¯ve cut all contacts with the outside world and killed the spies keeping tabs on my movements, it won¡¯t be long until the base will be under attack. "Let''s go then. We''ll quickly go through the human enhancement labs for the latest versions, then we''ll head straight to the quantum labs." Mirida just nods silently, then we leave my office heading towards the installation sector.
-Deny it. Power down all non-essential functions, including the security system. Power up pod E-21 with prototype HH-2.31 and pod E-22 with HH-1.56. Reserve all necessary power for Project: End Game and prepare for its launch in 30minutes. Redirect all remaining power into the quantum shield and isolate the main base. By the time we arrived, the two pods were ready. I signal Mirida to enter E-22, while I enter E-21.
This kind of operation is meant to be done when the patient is unconscious, but I don¡¯t have that luxury right now. I take a deep breath and order the A.I. chip to start.
-Yes. Aaargh, dammit. I¡¯m barely able to avoid passing out from the pain, even if it¡¯s less than half of what I should be normally be feeling, thanks to Arnold¡¯s Pain Suppressor enhancement. I hope the best for the poor sod, he¡¯s a smart boy, but that mouth of his will bring him trouble. While doing my best to distract myself from the pain, 20minutes pass and the operation finishes. I feel my clothes being put back on and the pod opens. I take a step out and fall to the ground. Shit, time is of the essence here, collect yourself Avitus! I muster all my strength and try to stand up. In a few seconds I¡¯m able to regain control over my body, but my head is still dizzy. Why didn¡¯t I leave the post op system powered on? Finally on my feet, I face forward and look in the mirror. There¡¯s a young man, barely in his twenties, with a tall and well-built stature. His well-defined and compressed muscles are only visible on his forearms, the rest hidden by his short-sleeved black shirt. He is staring at me with his clear, light blue eyes that seem to hold the universe within. The disheveled silver hair only adds to his charm. A proud smile forms on his face. He¡¯s at least 25 years younger than me.
Now¡¯s not the time for this nonsense. I turn to my left and look at Mirida, still sleeping in her opened pod. I couldn¡¯t let her suffer, so I had her go through the normal procedure. I send a pulse to her A.I. chip to wake her up. She jolts awake and opens her eyes wide, but collects herself quickly and gives me a nod to say that she¡¯s ok. We then rush to the quantum labs, our speed easily comparable to that car from 20 years ago. We get there and enter the secret underground lab of Project: End Game.
By the time we arrived all preparations were already finished. Here comes the moment of truth. "Initiate Project: End Game."(Avitus)
No, I don¡¯t want to! I hate gambling. Thrice in my life have I taken a chance below 95% for something important and lowest of them was 20minutes ago! Why did it com¡­ "You will succeed. You always did. I am behind you to support you all the way."(Mirida) Focus, Avitus! Such thoughts are useless now. I¡¯ve made my resolution. I¡¯ve made my decision and I must follow it to the end. ¡­Thank you, Mirida. -Yes, do it. We put on some protection suits and entered the observation room. I lean on the central console, looking through the 5layers of triple reinforced glass. A few seconds later, the reactor powers up and a crack in reality begins to form. Pure quantum energy begins to slip out of it. "Harness all the energy you can and recycle it to keep the crack open. Use the excess energy to reinforce the quantum shield and power up the security system. As soon as 60% of the quantum turrets and cannons are operational begin counterattacking!"(Avitus) Hah! Who needs their resources? Who needs their help? Project: End Game, the self-sufficient infinite quantum reactor. With it a lone island in the Pacific will have a military power equal or higher than any of the 4 ''superpowers''. And that¡¯s just the tip of the iceberg. With so much power my research will see an exponential growth. Imagine the new heights reachable for the human race. Even spatial colonization won¡¯t be outside our grasp anymore. Humans flying in the sky from town to town for an afternoon walk would be a common sight!
"Close the re¡­"(Avitus) Not even able to end my sentence, Mirida and I are pulled into the growing tear in reality together with all glass walls that had been separating us from the reactor. Milliseconds later I find myself floating through a something that can only be described as nothingness and everything at the same time. My suit is unable to endure in this space of pure quantum power and begins to deteriorate. I fail to keep my eyes open and my consciousness slowly fades away.
Chapter 1 - Operation New Game? 1
Warning! Unknown organism is closing in on host¡¯s position. Host is advised to wake up.
Ugh, what happened? Unknown organism? Where am I? I open my eyes and look around just to find myself surrounded by huge trees, probably in a forest. They bear close resemblance to fir tree, but are somewhat different. In the distance I can spot a very tall mountain, at least 5kilomeaters high from where I¡¯m standing. I turn my view back to myself and try to understand the situation. I¡¯m in my protection suit, but the helmet was blown off and its fabric seems greatly weakened. Last thing I remember, hmm, I was launching my greatest pro¡­ My thoughts are interrupted as I see a huge grey wolf charging towards me at unbelievable speed, I swear I¡¯m seeing electric sparks left in its wake. I panic and only manage to raise my left hand just in time to prevent my head from being bitten off. Argh, its teeth sink into my arm and I feel a sudden jolt of electricity. The hell?! I try to fling it off my arm, but the thing¡¯s clutch is too strong. Calm down! If I continue like this, it will rip my arm apart. What¡¯s the best course of action I can take? Ok, my enhanced constitution prevents me already having lost my arm, but it won¡¯t be able to for much longer. This thing resembles a wolf, but it¡¯s bigger, stronger and faster. Even so, it should still share a normal one¡¯s physiology. This means that its most exposed weak point should be either its eyes or ¡­ I use my other hand to punch its vulnerable neck. According to my expectations, its clutch loosens, allowing me to retract my arm, then kick it off me with my whole strength. As I thought, the neck is the better choice as robbing it of its sight would give it a disadvantage, but its nose and ears would easily make up for it. The creature twists in the air for 10 meters until it hits a tree. What is happening here? What is that tree made off? The force it was hit by should have cracked it in half. And how¡¯s that fucking monster still alive?! It struggles to stand up, but fails. At least the impact made it unable to properly control its lower legs. Looking at the wolf and tree, it¡¯s like someone is trying to create enhanced animals and plants, similar to what I¡¯m doing for humans. While as a fellow researcher I respect his endeavor, I completely fail to see his goal in doing so. Anyway, if this experiment is allowed to recover it will pose a future threat to me. I collect myself and stand up. My left arm hurts like hell, that monster¡¯s teeth almost reached the bone, but it shouldn¡¯t be a life threatening wound. My self-regeneration should be able to take care of it in 30-45 minutes as long as I close it. But first, I must finish off this creature. As I get close, in a last ditch effort, the wolf lunges at me with all its strength. When its teeth almost reach my waist, I knee it in the side of its head. Now stunned and defenseless on the ground, I step on its neck to quickly end its live.
You have killed a Dire Lightning Wolf! You have earned 3.3 stat points!
What the fuck? Why is there a blue screen on the corner of my view? I focus on it and it zooms in until it¡¯s in front of my eyes. And now it disappears as I will it. Ok, let¡¯s take it slowly and figure out what¡¯s happening here. The first thing I should address is my left hand. Now that the suit¡¯s arm has bite marks on it, I can use it to create a bandage. I expected some resistance, even in its weakened state, but it tore away like paper. The rest of the suit is also like that, so I get rid of it as its weight only works to impede me. I use a part of it to dress the wound and leave the rest to my enhanced regeneration. Now I have 2 issues more. Where am I? And what was that blue screen? The message from the latter would suggest that I¡¯m in some kind of VR game, but that would make no sense. I remember the quantum reactor starting well, but then the fissure got too big. I was going to close it, but then we were pulled inside the crack. -Tell me all relevant events that happened after entering the rift until I regained consciousness.
Unknown direct connection with the host brain is being established. Forced closure failed.
Host¡¯s body is undergoing modifications. Process result: no changes detected. A more detailed inspection is required to determine the actual effect.
Host¡¯s brain is undergoing modifications. Process result: new ability developed: host¡¯s brain now generates and stores an unknown type of energy, no other changes detected.
Host is affected by a gravitational force. Host is advised to prepare for landing.
Host¡¯s body is being infused with an undetermined substance. Process result: determined to be a small increase in host¡¯s abilities. Further investigation and experimentation needed to determine the whole effect. No apparent side effects.
Host¡¯s right arm is broken. Auto-regeneration starting. Estimated heal time: 4minutes 3seconds
Command not recognized.
Considering what happened until now, this isn¡¯t Earth anymore. It¡¯s probably not even the same dimension anymore, considering the parallel universes theory was Project¡¯s End Game starting point. I can only assume this blue screen is this new connection that was established when I was floating in the inter-dimensional space.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Now, let¡¯s decide my goals and set up a list of priorities. First of all, I must survive and to do that, while not urgent, I must find shelter, food and water. I must understand this new world and how many of my old world¡¯s principles apply here. This new world is a lot more dangerous, but it seems like it can provide me with new research opportunities. Alas, for that I need a lot of equipment and other resources, so it must wait quite a bit. For now I should try and get in touch with Mirida. If she¡¯s also here, teaming up with her should speed up the process. Being careful to target only the A.I. chip connection this time, and not this new connection that I can¡¯t close to, I order it to establish a connection with my assistant. I wait a few seconds until I get an unfortunate reply.
No feedback received. Target outside the 10km radius or not responding to the local connection. Unable to find any mobile network or any other satellite connection, long-range connection cannot be established.
This means that Mirida, if she made it, landed in a different spot. I should search for her, but it can¡¯t be a priority for now. Also no satellite connection means that this world is more different from ours than I initially thought. Either I am outside the satellites¡¯ range, there isn¡¯t any satellite, or they use a different system from that on Earth. Going back to my list of goals, if I lean on a tree to take a 30-40minutes nap every 12hours or so, I should be able to last for a few weeks without any deep sleep. The A.I. should wake me up if there¡¯s any danger. In this time I should be able to find some form of civilization and even if I don¡¯t I will, at the least, identify the dangers and how to avoid them, so finding shelter is not priority for now. I¡¯m currently in what seems to be a forest, so, hopefully, if this world has any semblance to Earth, I should be able to find a drinkable water source before I start getting dehydrated. My safest bet would be a stream or a small river, as I¡¯m not sure if my old protection suit or my shirt can be used to filter water. This leaves me only with finding food. My first option, and probably the safest one, is foraging. It¡¯s late summer on Earth and while it¡¯s probably not the same here, the temperature indicates that I shouldn¡¯t fear a food shortage. Even if I can¡¯t find wild fruits or the like, I can resort to hunting. Speaking of which, this thing is a lightning wolf, huh? A wolf able to generate electricity¡­ where the hell did I end up?! Is it even safe to eat? I¡¯d like to exclude the possibility that everything here is poisonous to me. I have no knowledge of this new world and I suppose the only way to get some answers is interacting with that blue screen. While I can¡¯t trust it completely, it doesn¡¯t seem like it holds ill will towards me as it had many chances to act against me. Getting information from it is probably the fastest way to make sense of the situation and maybe I can even find out about its goals. -A.I. chip, display all messages received through the new connection.
Integration complete. You are now compatible with the System. You can use the ¡®status¡¯ command for additional information. Welcome to Planet Ludon!
User headed towards Planet Ludon, under the System¡¯s influence. Beginning integration.
You have obtained the title ¡®Otherworlder¡¯. All base stats increased by 5 permanently. You have obtained [Basic Appraisal Lv1] common skill. You have received 10 Path Points.
You have obtained the title ¡®Outsider¡¯. Your common skill [Basic Appraisal Lv1] upgraded to rare skill [Basic Long-range Appraisal Lv1]. You have obtained the [Fake Status Lv1] rare skill. You have obtained a 10% permanent bonus to all stats.
Your lightning affinity is over 95%. You have obtained the ¡®Lightningborn¡¯ perk. Your lightning resistance is increased by 80%. You have obtained the [Lightning Conversion Lv1] rare skill.
Due to being used, pre-integration [Quantum A.I. Processor Lv27] personal skill is now displayed in your status. You have obtained the ¡®A.I. chip¡¯ perk. Your mental affinity increased by 50%. Your mental resistance increased by 30%.
Due to being used, pre-integration common skill [Basic Self-Regeneration Lv.8] is now displayed in your status.
You have killed a Dire Lighting Wolf! You have earned 3.3 stat points!
Command not recognized.
Ok, let¡¯s ignore the first thought that someone is playing a bad joke¡­ Skills, titles, stat points, any way I look at it, it is seems like I¡¯m in some kind of video game. As much as I want to stop dealing with bullshit right now, I can extract some information from here. First of all, arriving to this Planet Ludon, forced integration with the System. If I am to trust what it said, the planet is under its influence, so the natives should be connected to it as well. I can also assume that this integration is the unknown modifications identified by the A.I. chip. And as much as I would like to deny it, I¡¯ve felt some improvements in my strength and speed, small but noticeable. It goes along with this 10% stats boost. Also now that I think about it, the wolf¡¯s bite hurt a lot more than the electric current afterwards. Let¡¯s go along with this for now and do as advised. Status.
Identity Stats Active Paths
Name Avitus Volten STR 224 [246.4] VIT 146 [160.6] Human 0.4%
Race Human AGI 285 [313.5] PER 367 [403.7]
Sex Male DEX 312 [343.2] INT 348 [382.8]
Age 47 CON 186 [204.6] WIS 94 [103.4]
Title END 96 [105.6] TLN 6 [6.6]
Affinities Resistances Titles Earned Perks
Lightning 96% Lightning 90% Otherworlder Lightningborn A.I. Chip
Mental 82% Pain 72% Outsider
Shadow 53% Mental 55%
Fire 38% Poison 52%
Spatial 8% Spatial 25%
Temporal 2%
Skills
Common Rare Personal
Basic Self-Regeneration Lv8 Fake Status Lv1 Quantum A.I. Processor Lv27
Basic Long-range Appraisal Lv1
Lightning Conversion Lv1
You have 3.3 unspent stat points and 10 unspent path points.
Chapter 2 - Operation New Game? 2 Ok, let¡¯s examine the possibilities. First one that comes to mind would be that I¡¯m a dream. But I should ignore it for 2 reasons. First, the complexity and the realism of the situation are unlike the ones possible in a dream. For the second reason let¡¯s go with something similar to Pascal¡¯s wager. If it¡¯s a dream I lose nothing if I¡¯m being careful. If it isn¡¯t and I¡¯m going all crazy it can end badly. The next thing that comes to mind is that I¡¯m in a VR game, but that quickly falls as I should be able to log out by now. If I¡¯m somehow trapped in a VR, then it comes down to Pascal¡¯s wager again. If I am and I play along I have nothing to lose. If I¡¯m not and I lose my life trying to find a way to log out, well, let¡¯s say it wouldn¡¯t be a smart idea. This leaves me with 2 other possibilities. One, this System is trying to make me believe I¡¯m in a game for an unknown purpose. Two, this dimension¡¯s or this world¡¯s laws make the reality resemble a video game from my old world. The System was able to perform modifications on my body, even operating on my brain, so I can assume it could have killed me many times over if it wanted to. I also don¡¯t believe it would have been hard to extract information from my brain if that¡¯s what it was after. Opposing the System at this point doesn¡¯t seem possible, so playing along would be the better option. Before the collapse of the game industry at the hands of Mario, there were over a thousand coming out every year. Even after, it didn¡¯t drop below a hundred a year. Each one had its own set of rules. If this world really works like a game, the first thing to do is learning its rules. The Identity tab should be self-explanatory, so let¡¯s try it like this. Explain stats.
Command not recognized.
Help stats. Stats help. Stats explanation. Help.
Command not recognized. Command not recognized. Command not recognized. Commands available to the user: Status, Assign Y(number) stat points to X(stat name), Available paths, Start the X(path name) path, Title X(title name) equipped effects, Set X(title name) as primary title and Manual.
What the fuck is with this number of commands, you goddamn stupid program? You can perform genetic modifications in an inter-dimensional space, but can¡¯t understand more than 5 commands. Even the most basic of Earth¡¯s A.I.s is able to extract commands from human speech. Speaking of which¡­ -Use my connection with the System and send the Manual command. Store all information received and sort it. From now on use the same display method as the System, except for urgent messages. Send me everything related to stats.
Stats represent a user¡¯s capabilities. Stats are separated into 3 categories: base, added and bonus. The stats tab displays the base stats and the total stats. Base stats are called ¡®starting point¡¯ of the stats, as they have great influence over the other two. Base stats also display some capabilities that cannot be improved by added or bonus stats. These type of stats can be increased through various means. Added stats represent the improvements bought with stat points. While the added stat is below 50% of the base stat, improving it costs only one stat point. After that, every mark of 50% of the base stat doubles the stat point cost. Added stats have the following effects. Strength (STR) increases the maximum physical power that the user¡¯s body can exhibit. Agility (AGI) increases the maximum physical speed that the user¡¯s body can achieve. Dexterity (DEX) increases the control the user has over his body. Constitution (CON) increases the user¡¯s body¡¯s ability to withstand physical force. Endurance (END) increases the stamina that the user¡¯s body has. Vitality (VIT) increases the regeneration of the user¡¯s body stamina. Perception (PER) increases the detail of information received through the user¡¯s senses. Intelligence (INT) increases the user¡¯s mana regeneration speed. Wisdom (WIS) increases the user¡¯s total mana storage capacity. Magical talent (TLN) increases the user¡¯s ability to use magic. Bonus stats provide a percentage increase to the sum of base and added stats. Bonus stats are very rare and can only be gained from a few titles, perks and paths.
Ok, the first 7 stats are easy to understand, but magic? Am I in some kind of fantasy world? Maybe this is how the wolf was able to use electricity. My base intelligence probably comes from my thinking speed, so I can assume that adding stat points don¡¯t improve this aspect as well.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. If I remember correctly, the A.I. chip identified a mutation in my brain that enabled the generation and storage of a new type of energy. Going by these explanations, mana is the name of that energy. Without the 5base stats boost coming here my magical talent would have been 1, but it makes sense as Earth didn¡¯t have this concept. Now, I can roughly understand the stats, so moving on we have the paths. It¡¯s a bit creepy seeing that I¡¯m 0.2% percent human so I hope it mean what I initially thought. Maybe it¡¯s something that started when I got here. Let¡¯s see what the A.I. chip got on paths.
Paths are journeys that the user can embark on. By doing activities related to the chosen path, the user progress farther on it. Reaching milestones and completing paths provides the user with powerful bonuses. There are 4 different types of paths. Racial paths are first and longest type of paths the user will encounter. To progress on them the user must experience and adapt to change, meet and interact with new individuals, experience a wide array of emotions or complete other paths. While most racial paths allow the user to improve different aspects of his race, some allow him to evolve to higher races. Combat paths provide a wide array of fighting styles that user can learn. Progressing on this type of path requires the user to train into, fight with or gain deeper understanding of style represented by the chosen path. The user can combine different styles to unlock new paths. Having 2 or more combat paths with similar style will slow down the progress on all of them. Profession paths support all crafts that the user can practice. Practicing, improving and gaining better understanding of the said craft will earn progression on the respective path. This type of craft can provide new ways to further the chosen craft. Other paths are the ones that cannot be classified in any of the above 3 categories. Such paths are rare and don¡¯t have a common line of progression. Unlike the first 3 types that have standardized rewards, with very few exceptions, the rewards from this type of paths are more often than usual personalized to suit the needs of the user. The user can¡¯t have more than 5 active paths at any time. Embarking on paths costs path points, with a few exceptions. Embarking on more than one path of the same type will cost 2 times the sum of their prices. Completed paths will no longer be regarded as active and user will retain all bonuses gained from them.
Ok, this is quite a lot to take in, but before recklessly choosing a path, I¡¯d like to learn how to earn these path points. Spending them all, then finding better paths only to be unable to embark on them wouldn¡¯t be the most well-thought out choice. The A.I. should have found something on the topic.
Path points can be gained by reaching paths¡¯ milestones or completing them. In rare cases they can be obtained as special rewards. Most beings will receive their first path points by reaching the first milestone of their racial path.
So starting paths costs path points and finishing them gives path points. There is a lot open to speculation here, I don¡¯t have enough data to make even a calculated guess on how this path system works. Some examples would have clarified the situation a bit, but the A.I didn¡¯t find any. After I requested to see my available choices, I¡¯ve received a list of more than 200 paths. I quickly went through them and selected a few that caught my eye.
Path Name Description Type Cost
Otherworlder 1 Arriving in a new world, you must learn to adapt and survive in this new environment. Other 1
Outsider You¡¯ve come to new world and seen its rules. Now it¡¯s time to make the world change after your rules. Other 1M
Apprentice Hunter Braving the wilderness, you now learn its rules. Tracking, stalking, killing and dismantling beasts will now become your daily routine. Profession 10
Forest Forager The forest is an unknown for many, for you it¡¯s a gold mine. Avoiding dangerous beasts, you find all its natural resources. Profession 2
Apprentice Cook Anyone can roast a piece of meat. You take the step further to ensure that it¡¯s safe and tasty. Profession 3
Beast Dismantler A beast¡¯s body is full of resources, limited only by the imagination of those using them. Your job is to make sure they receive only quality products. Profession 2
Animal Researcher The world contains many species and races. You study the animals, seeking to understand the secrets hidden inside their bodies. Profession 10
Apprentice Martial Artist There are many weapons in the world. You chose the most reliable one, your body. Combat 5
Karate Practitioner Martial arts are as numerous as clouds in the world. You keep your distance, using the full length of your arms and legs to strike your opponents. Combat 3
Apprentice Lightning Mage Magic has many shapes and forms. You chose to wield the unbound power of lightning. Combat 20
Lightning Warrior 1 Harnessing the power of lightning and wielding it inside your body, you strike your enemies with overwhelming speed and power. Combat 50
Apprentice Space Mage Magic has many shapes and forms. You chose to wield the dimensional power of space. Combat 50
Apprentice Time Mage Magic has many shapes and forms. You chose to wield the absolute power of time. Combat 100
Apprentice Fire Mage Magic has many shapes and forms. You chose to wield the destructive power of fire. Combat 5
Apprentice Water Mage Magic has many shapes and forms. You chose to wield the flexible power of water. Combat 5
Apprentice Nature Mage Magic has many shapes and forms. You chose to wield the wild power of nature. Combat 10
Forstgol 1 Very similar to normal humans, Forstgols chose the forest as their way of live. You follow their path, becoming one with nature. Racial 10 (5)
Chapter 3 - Operation New Game? 3 Seeing that ¡®Dismantler¡¯ there just made me realize something, the System is in English. I¡¯m in a different universe, or at least a different world, and the System is displayed in English. The chance of two worlds developing the same identical language is nearly zero, so the System probably uses the user¡¯s language. The verb ¡®dismantle¡¯ is used wrong here, but understanding what it tries to communicate, I don¡¯t think English has a correct word for it, which supports the translation theory. Let¡¯s get back to the paths topic, first of all I¡¯ll discard all the racial ones. All of them cost 10 or more, because their price is doubled, and most those that I can start don¡¯t seem fitting for my current situation. The only one that can be useful would be the ¡®Forstgol 1¡¯, but the description is too vague and it doesn¡¯t justify spending all my points on it. In the other type, I only have two paths so I¡¯ve listed them both. The ¡®Otherworlder 1¡¯ path seems almost a no brainer considering the description, the cost and connection with title. But what the fuck is that cost for the ¡®Outsider¡¯ path? According to the A.I. chip that¡¯s one million points! Damn, that description got my expectations sky high just to be shut down immediately after. On the topic of paths that I can¡¯t start right now there are very few above 10points, disregarding the ¡®Outsider¡¯ and racial paths. 3 of them caught my attention as they seem to contain some pretty important information. First, there¡¯s the fact that the so called space magic and time magic are leagues above the other types. I have more than 20magic apprentice paths and only those 2 cost more than 25 points. Second, as ¡®Lightning Warrior 1¡¯ has no equivalent of any other attribute, it was probably unlocked by my affinity or resistance. I can¡¯t rule out the possibility of earning it during my fight with the wolf. Getting that out of the way, let¡¯s talk viable choices. My first impulse is to choose ¡®Animal Researcher¡¯. I have in front of me the corpse of a goddamn wolf that generates electricity. The only problem is the cost. On a second thought, there¡¯s also the fact I can study it even without the path. And the fact that I have no way of studying it without lab equipment¡­ Wait, I got a bit too much into this path choice, that I forgot something. Before going further, I think it¡¯s better to understand the other tabs in the status as well. I already spent almost 5 minutes looking over 3 tabs so I¡¯ll speed this up a notch. -Send me a summary of the remaining tabs. I¡¯m mostly interested in what they do, but add any other relevant information about them.
Affinities represent your attunement with different elements. The higher the affinity the easier it is to produce and control said element using mana. Increases in affinity apply to the interval between the current affinity and 100%. Affinities are not shown in the status window unless they are above a certain threshold individual for each element.
Resistances represent your body¡¯s ability to withstand different elements. Increases in resistances apply to the interval between the current resistance and 100%. Resistances are not shown in the status window unless they are above a certain threshold individual for each element.
Titles are earned by performing great feats or achievements. Titles are rare and hard to gain, but provide great benefits. By equipping a title in the Identity tab, the user can gain additional buffs. Only one title can be equipped at a time. Most titles unlock powerful paths.
Perks are representations of powerful bonuses. They are innate to some races or species, but can also be gained by fulfilling certain conditions. Some perks can unlock unique paths.
Skills are ranked into 4 categories: common, rare, epic and legendary. Skills are classified after a mixture of power, utility and usability. Personal skills are a special category, as they are skills outside the System¡¯s database. When a skill is granted through the System, the user gains the knowledge and mastery needed to use it.
Most of them seem self-explanatory. What I¡¯m most interested in here are the way affinities and resistances increase and the equipped title. The higher the affinity or the resistance the harder it is to increase. For example, my mental affinity is at 82%, increasing it by 50% will only bring it to 91%. This means that my lightning affinity is even higher than I initially thought. Next up are the titles. From what I understand, they provide 2 bonuses. One of them is permanent and the other is active only with the title equipped. The equipped title is considered primary and is also displayed in the identity tab. Let¡¯s see what my titles have to offer.
Otherworlder ¨C 25% increase in stat points gained, 50% faster path progression, 100% increase in the speed of gaining base stats through training, 50% increase in the speed of learning and leveling skills.
Outsider ¨C Add the effect of a chosen title to the effect of the ¡®Otherworlder¡¯ title, then double the resulting effect and gain its bonuses. The chosen title can¡¯t be ¡®Otherworlder¡¯ or ¡®Outsider¡¯. If no other title is chosen simply gain the double effect of the ¡®Otherworlder¡¯ title.
Wow, the ¡®Otherworlder¡¯ effect seems strong in its own right, but ¡®Outsider¡¯ is something else. I may be overthinking this but the fact that it says that it doubles the ¡®Otherworlder¡¯ effect, instead of just mentioning the doubled effect, suggests that the titles¡¯ effect can be improved. For now, I¡¯ll equip the ¡®Outsider¡¯ title and get back to the paths. Too many things point towards picking the ¡®Otherworlder¡¯ path, so the other 10points paths are out of discussion. I can¡¯t choose 2 paths of the same type because their cost will skyrocket, so let¡¯s take one combat path and one profession path. For combat, I have martial artist, fire mage, water mage and karate practitioner. I¡¯ve practice a bit of karate during my spare time, but it was mostly to practice my control over my body, especially after enhancement operations. Karate specializes on keeping some distance and that can be very helpful if I am fighting wild animals. The problem is that the style is optimized to be used against other humans. Just thinking about that wolf slipping through my guard gives me shivers.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. If I am to choose unarmed combat, apprentice martial artist seems better as it doesn¡¯t restrict me to only one style. There are a lot of paths for weapons that I can choose from, but I don¡¯t have access to anything decent that can be considered a weapon and I can guarantee that my fist hits harder than a wooden branch. A magic path sounds very appealing, but also very risky. If I can create drinkable water with magic, one of my problems is instantly solved. If fire magic allows me wield fire as a weapon, I¡¯ll have a long-range method of fighting. The problem is existence of those ifs, for what I know I can end up unable to use magic and be stuck with a useless combat path. By process of elimination, my choice is apprentice martial artist. While it¡¯s the most basic of the choices, it¡¯s also the most solid one. With my enhanced body I should have no problems fighting bare-handed and all I have to do is improve my technique. For the profession path, I have forest forager, apprentice cook and beast dismantler. My problem is finding food and all of them can solve this problem. Beast dismantler would allow me to pick out the edible parts of the animals. Cook is more or less the same thing with the only difference that wouldn¡¯t be interested in the other parts. All three choices have the risk of not providing me with the information I need, but going down that route renders them all useless. Making the assumption that they can help me not get poisoned, at least not badly, all 3 are optimal for my situation. Forager¡¯s description mentions nature¡¯s resources so probably I will focus on finding fruits. It also mentions avoiding combat so I¡¯m not totally sure. Avoiding combat would help me progress this path, but will hinder the martial artist one. Also, out of the 3, it has the most limited usability, as it isn¡¯t helpful outside of the forest. Cooking, besides identifying edible parts, can provide me better tasting food. Being used with the food on Earth, eating basic roast meat will take a bit to adapt to. Being able to cook for myself can be a boon everywhere I can go, but I¡¯d rather spend my time doing something else if I have the option of simply buying food. Carefully dismantling beasts can help me extract other useful parts and not only edible parts. I¡¯m sure that the wolf¡¯s fangs can be used, considering that my skin is harder to penetrate than iron. It is also limited as I don¡¯t intend to spend my time hunting beast. There¡¯s also the problem that I don¡¯t a knife, but that goes for cooking as well. Considering everything, I¡¯ll go with beast dismantler. The other two were close calls, but dismantling seems to be the one that is the most useful in the future. Start the ¡®Otherworlder 1¡¯ path. Start the ¡®Apprentice Martial Artist¡¯ path. Start the ¡®Beast Dismantler¡¯ path.
You¡¯ve started the ¡®Otherworlder 1¡¯ path.
You¡¯ve started the ¡®Apprentice Martial Artist¡¯ path. You have obtained the [Basic Martial Arts Lv1] common skill.
You¡¯ve started the ¡®Beast Dismantler¡¯ path. You have obtained the [Dismantle Lv1] common skill.
I¡¯ve felt absolutely no change at all, but looking at the wolf again I have a rough idea of what I can extract from it and how to do it. I was about to try throwing a few punches to test the martial arts skill, but I stopped due to the pain in my left arm. Now, what should I do next? Not dismantling the wolf here would be a waste, but I need to wait for my arm to heal. Practicing is also out of discussion. Simply waiting here would put me at risk as the fresh smell of blood will surely attract other beast here soon. At the same time leaving here would lose me the wolf¡¯s corpse and will also pose the risk of beasts following my sent from here. I think that climbing on a tree and waiting is the best choice here. There I can review information about the martial arts stored in my A.I. database. It¡¯s not much as I¡¯ve downloaded just what was necessary as a form of recreation. If any being approaches, the A.I. chip should be able to detect it using my senses. Said and done, I jump on a big stable branch about 4meters above the soil. I should be hidden if anything comes for the wolf corpse. Now, it¡¯s a waiting game. Hmm, I should use the processing power of my A.I. chip on something. Ignoring it is a waste of resources. -Simulate scenarios of me fighting the lightning wolf. Using the information on martial arts in the database and anything new that I might have learned with the skill, generate the optimal fighting style against the beast. Consider different sizes for it and also the possibility of fighting more than one of them at a time. I sit and lean against the tree and focus, trying to understand the moves I¡¯ve used inside the simulations generated by the A.I. chip. It¡¯s only after two hours that I¡¯ve received a message from the A.I. chip.
Warning! Unknown organism is approaching the host¡¯s location at high speed. Calculations suggest that it¡¯s similar to the dire lightning wolf, but slower and smaller.
You have learned the [Meditation Lv1] common skill.
Spoiler: Status
Identity Stats Active Paths
Name Avitus Volten STR 224 [246.4] VIT 146 [160.6] Human 0.4%
Race Human AGI 285 [313.5] PER 367 [403.7] Otherworlder 1 1.2%
Sex Male DEX 312 [343.2] INT 348 [382.8] Apprentice Martial Artist 2.3%
Age 47 CON 186 [204.6] WIS 95 [104.5] Beast Dismantler 0%
Title Outsider END 96 [105.6] TLN 6 [ 6.6 ]
Affinities Resistances Titles Earned Perks
Lightning 96% Lightning 90% Otherworlder Lightningborn A.I. Chip
Mental 82% Pain 72% Outsider
Shadow 53% Mental 55%
Fire 38% Poison 52%
Spatial 8% Spatial 25%
Temporal 2%
Skills
Common Rare Personal
Basic Self-Regeneration Lv8 Fake Status Lv1 Quantum A.I. Processor Lv27
Basic Martial Arts Lv1 Basic Long-range Appraisal Lv1
Dismantle Lv1 Lightning Conversion Lv1
Meditation Lv1
You have 3.3 unspent stat points and 2 unspent path points.
Chapter 4 - Operation New Game? 4 As I opened my eyes, I¡¯ve received a notification from the system, but quickly dismissed it. I reposition myself so I can observe the wolf¡¯s corpse while staying hidden. Not even 10seconds after, I see a smaller wolf approaching. Well, smaller compared to the last one, it was still bigger than the wolves I knew. I first thought that it was going to eat his bigger counterpart, but what it surprised me as it started to howl just as it got near. I didn¡¯t have much time to decide my next move, as I heard other howls that seem to respond to the one it gave. I don¡¯t know why it howled, but it¡¯s almost certain that other wolves are heading here. Running away is the dumbest idea, as wolves will surely catch my sent. Staying hidden seems safer, but if they find me, I would lose a lot of time until they disperse. I want to practice what I¡¯ve simulated and dealing one or two wolf shouldn¡¯t be a problem. If I attack now and I manage to kill them as they come, it would be the best scenario as I will acquire fighting experience, progress my path, study their ability to produce lightning and get a lot of corpses to dismantle. I jump down from the tree and immediately charge at the wolf. I expected it to be startled and give me a free hit, but it instantly turned and lunged to bite me. Well, it was slower than the previous one so I had time to dodge sideways and jab at his neck. This time it went as predicted and it collapsed on the ground, giving me the chance to end its life.
You have killed a Lightning Wolf! You have earned 2.9 stat points!
Your skill [Basic Martial Arts] has leveled up!
I don¡¯t get to take even a breath as I already hear signs of other wolves approaching. According to A.I. chip, there are at least 3 of them. They are getting here faster than I anticipated, but 3 are still manageable. In the simulations I¡¯ve reviewed 2 is the most I can safely handle, but I was using the dire wolf as reference. Considering the speed of the incoming ones, they are normal lightning wolves. I take my guard and I see the first one approaching. It takes a quick look at the 2 corpses then it charges at me with hate in its eyes. I was a little surprised by its display of emotion, but quickly collected myself and dodged. I raised my right feet and gave it a downwards kick with all my strength. I hear the sound of bones breaking, but I quickly jump backwards and take my guard as the other 2 wolves already arrived. Both of them jump at me at the same time so I kick one of them in front of the other¡¯s bite. Just as I was about to finish them, I get a notification from the A.I. chip that 6 more are on their way here. The two wolves don¡¯t get take advantage of my surprise as one of them has his fangs buried in the other. Before they figure how to get out of their predicament, I step on its head, crushing his skull, then snapping the other¡¯s neck. I look for the one I kicked a few moments ago, before being interrupted, but it was lying on the ground motionless, probably dead.
You have killed a Lightning Wolf! You have earned 2.6 stat points!
Your skill [Basic Martial Arts] has leveled up!
[You have killed a Lightning Wolf! You have earned 3.3 stat points! You have earned a skill point!]
[You have killed a Lightning Wolf! You have earned 2.9 stat points!]
Before I get to celebrate my victory, I spot the biggest wolf I¡¯ve ever seen. It¡¯s at least double than a normal one, even bigger than a dire one. I panic a bit as I see its incoming speed, but it stops 5 meters away from me. It looks around until its eyes land on me. From its gaze I can sense anger and caution. Instead of charging at me, it just stood there, waiting for its pack. I consider my options as I see 2 more dire wolves approaching. Just as the biggest, instead of charging at me they stop a few meters away. Damn, this is not something I can fight safely. According to my simulations I stand only a 78% chance against 3 dire wolves, and considering the bigger one here it¡¯s probably even less. A few seconds later 3 more wolves arrive, and I¡¯m informed that 4more are on their way here. With a howl from the big one, that appears to be their leader, all wolves present start to encircle me. My chances of winning this fight are already below 20%, and they will continue to drop with each wolf arriving. I look around and try to pick out a target, as I need to quickly thin their number. Any direction I look there¡¯s no easy picking, not even the small ones can be attacked without exposing myself to another¡¯s attack. Fuck, they¡¯re way too coordinated. I suddenly hear the sound of electricity, so I turn around to see the leader wolf surrounded by it. Aaarrrgh! Out of the blue, I was stuck by what felt to be a thunderbolt. I don¡¯t even have time to comprehend the sudden pain as the two dire wolves lunge at me from different directions. I do my best to suppress the pain and roll dodge under one of them with a speed that even surprised myself. Taking advantage of my position, I kick it upwards with everything I got. Not even a second later, I jump back on my feet and focus. When I¡¯ve installed this enhancement, I never imagined myself using it because of its dangerous side-effects. Even so a small possibility of burning some neurons heavily outweighs outright dying. The world around slows down, as my brain starts operating at 10 times its normal speed. Ok, let¡¯s use this time to analyze the situation. I¡¯m surrounded by 9 wolves, 1of them being the leader and 3of them bigger than the rest. I can¡¯t be sure this is the complete pack so I can expect to see more coming. It¡¯s almost certain that I can¡¯t win the fight so I can try and run away. No, that¡¯s a sure way to die. Even if I can outrun them, my stamina won¡¯t last for much longer.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Maybe if I kill the biggest one, the others would be disoriented and some may even run away. The problem it¡¯s almost impossible to do so. It stays the farthest away and charging at it would give the rest a free shot at my back. That¡¯s not to mention that I¡¯m not confident of beating it in single combat. It¡¯s at least twice as fast as dire wolf and possibly twice as strong as well Fighting them all is also out of the question. I was able to dodge and counter now, but that was due to an unknown increase in my speed, probably generated by the leader¡¯s electric attack. In normal circumstances I would have barely dodged, ending vulnerable to a third¡¯s one attack. I can¡¯t fight and I can¡¯t run away, think, what can I do? I¡¯m currently damaged by the electric attack and I¡¯m not sure I can survive their next attack. I can make a suicide charge after the big one, but killing it would have no meaning if I die soon after. Any way I look at it, it¡¯s a dead end. I should have stayed hidden in the tree, the time lost can¡¯t compare to my life. Even if they somehow found me, they wouldn¡¯t be able to reach me at that height¡­ Wait, that¡¯s it! If I manage to get more than 10 meters off the ground I should be outside their range of attack. I can take advantage of their confusion, as they clearly didn¡¯t expect me to move after the leader¡¯s attack, let alone counterattack, and jump back up in the tree, then start climbing from there. My view gets back to normal and I instantly jump on closest branch that can withstand me. The wolves are still dumfounded by seeing their comrade sent flying, so none of them reacted in time to stop me. I don¡¯t lose a moment and continue my climb. Argh, damn! Not again! I almost fell of due to the pain but I continue to climb. When I get near the top of the tree I choose a more solid branch and stop there. I look downwards at the wolves and thankfully all they can do is surround the tree. Even the leader glares at me with hostility, but that¡¯s all it does. I¡¯m outside the range of his electric attack, or he can¡¯t use it anymore.
You have withstood a powerful lightning attack! Your lightning resistance increased by 2%.
You have killed a Dire Lightning Wolf! You have earned 5.3 stat points! You have earned a skill point!
Your skill [Lightning Conversion] has leveled up!
Your skill [Basic Martial Arts] has leveled up!
Your ¡®Apprentice Martial Artist¡¯ path has reached the 50% milestone! STR, CON and END base stats increased by 3 permanently. You have earned 3skill points!
Due to being used, pre-integration rare skill [Cognitive Overpower Lv.3] is now displayed in your status.
You have withstood a powerful lightning attack! Your lightning resistance increased by 1%.
As I let out a breath of relief, I¡¯m greeted by the blue screen with 5notifications. I¡¯m really thankful it waits until the end of combat to deliver them. My lightning resistance increased, but not even enough to reach 91%. Due to its increase in level I can deduce that [Lightning Conversion] was that saved me after being hit by that electric attack. I should have paid more interest to these 3 skills I¡¯ve received. Thankfully, I used one of them subconsciously, but I dread to think what would have happened if I didn¡¯t. To avoid such a situation from happening again, I take a look at the 2 skills I know nothing about. [Fake Status] seems like it will be important when dealing with other people, but it¡¯s useless right now. As for [Appraisal], I kind of understand what¡¯s supposed to do. I look at the big wolf and focus on getting more information about it.
¡®Alpha¡¯ Dire Lightning Wolf, unnamed, male, 127years old
Well, not exactly what I was looking for, but damn, you move well for your age, gramps. Ha-ha, great! Now I¡¯m making bad jokes in an attempt to escape reality. I¡¯m in another world, stuck up in a tree and surrounded by crazed mutant wolfs, that would kill a lion from Earth as an afternoon exercise. And on top of that I¡¯ve taken two hits from an electric attack I know nothing about. Now that I can properly think about it, I¡¯ve asked the A.I. chip and learned that I was struck with almost 10 thousands Volts. I shouldn¡¯t be able to withstand such an attack even with my enhancements, so I¡¯m thankful for the Systems assistance. Even so, it¡¯s not like the attack was completely negated, my whole body is hurting. My entire skin is completely red and I don¡¯t even want to talk about my hair. Going by the A.I. chip I should heal in less than one hour, but I will soon be out of energy. My body can regenerate, but it can¡¯t do that only by using air. I need to find food, proteins, or I won¡¯t be able to keep going for much longer. I sigh and open my Status, pondering about how I can get out of this predicament. Spoiler: Status
Identity Stats Active Paths
Name Avitus Volten STR 227 [249.7] VIT 147 [161.7] Human 1.2%
Race Human AGI 285 [313.5] PER 367 [403.7] Otherworlder 1 23.2%
Sex Male DEX 312 [343.2] INT 348 [382.8] Apprentice Martial Artist 73.8%
Age 47 CON 189 [207.9] WIS 95 [104.5] Beast Dismantler 0%
Title Outsider END 100 [110] TLN 6 [6.6]
Affinities Resistances Titles Earned Perks
Lightning 96% Lightning 90% Otherworlder Lightningborn A.I. Chip
Mental 82% Pain 72% Outsider
Shadow 53% Mental 55%
Fire 38% Poison 52%
Spatial 8% Spatial 25%
Temporal 2%
Skills
Common Rare Personal
Basic Self-Regeneration Lv8 Fake Status Lv1 Quantum A.I. Processor Lv27
Basic Martial Arts Lv4 Basic Long-range Appraisal Lv1
Dismantle Lv1 Lightning Conversion Lv2
Meditation Lv1 Cognitive Overpower Lv3
You have 20.3 unspent stat points, 5 unspent skill points and 2 unspent path points.
Chapter 5 - Operation New Game? 5 I didn¡¯t pay too much attention to the messages earlier, due to obvious reasons, but now I see a new element here, skill points. Without wasting any time, I request an explanation from the A.I. chip, but, surprisingly, it got nothing on this topic. After a bit of thought I order it to re-download and scan the manual. Confirming my prediction this time there was some info on skill points.
Skills can be leveled up or bought using skill points. The price is not set and may vary from individual to individual. A skill point is earned after every 10 stat points the user got. Skill points can also be rewarded from the path system.
Well, this much was pretty predictable. The varying cost is interesting, but in System typical fashion, there¡¯s no details given on the matter. I wonder how can I use these points, but I soon find out that I have 2 new commands available. The strange part is that not only for leveling, but even for buying, I must use the skill¡¯s name, therefore I must know it beforehand. From what I¡¯ve seen, these skill points and the stat points are the only thing I can use to get out of my current predicament. A few minutes have passed, but the wolves show no signs of leaving. All of them surrounded the tree and are lying down, waiting for me to climb down. Even worse, their number increased to more than 20 now. I can try and jump to another tree, but even the closest one is too far away to reach its truck and I don¡¯t think that the branches at this height are sturdy enough to withstand the impact of such a jump. Not to mention the fact that the wolves will probably hear me and follow, ending up in the same situation just in different tree. My only option is to drive them away, but I don¡¯t know how I can perform such a feat. The way that I look at it, my only option out is magic. Yea, magic. I can try and throw braches at them, but that won¡¯t do much and there¡¯s nothing else to throw. Also outlasting them is out of the question. I have no food or water up here and with the intelligence displayed by their leader, I don¡¯t doubt that I¡¯ll see wolves taking turn to guard duty. So, I¡¯ve reached the conclusion that I need to rely on buying a skill from the System and the only one that comes to mind is magic. Now it only comes down to what type of magic to request. I should choose one from my affinities as it reduces the risks, even if it¡¯s by just a bit. I¡¯m very tempted to choose lightning, but I¡¯ll be screwed if the wolves also have high lightning resistance. I¡¯m not sure what magic relates to my mental affinity so I should wait on that one for now. I also have no idea about shadow magic, so I¡¯ll skip that one as well. This leaves me with fire, space and time. Time and space seem very tempting, but my affinity is quite low and they probably cost much more than the rest. So let¡¯s try with fire, hopefully I¡¯ll be able to use it to scare the wolves away.
You have learned [Basic Fire Magic Lv1] for 4skill points.
Your ¡®Otherworlder 1¡¯ path has reached the 25% milestone! TLN base stat increased by 10 permanently.
Wow, I¡¯ve expected a confirmation message, but it just took my skill points and gave me the skill. I would like to experiment more and learn what happens if you don¡¯t have enough points or if there¡¯s a way to learn how much a skill costs, but my skill points seem too precious for now. And there¡¯s the Otherworlder path, I don¡¯t know what I¡¯ve done to earn progression for it, but it seems that it increased to 32.2% when I bought the new skill. And that personalized reward is no joke, that or otherworlder travelers seem to lack magical capabilities as whole. When I focus to see what I¡¯ve learned, I¡¯m surprised to find that I know how to create fire out of thin air. It¡¯s very strange as I don¡¯t understand the process or anything, all I know is that chanting some strange words and controlling my mana in some way would create a ball of fire. I don¡¯t even want to think how absurd this is, it¡¯s like I am casting a fireball in a video game. I really want to try it out, but I stop myself and assign all my status points into TLN first. I get 14 added points in TLN, 8 for 1 stat point each and 6 more for 2 points each, and my total increases to 33. I¡¯m not sure what magic control is useful for, but it sounds like it will decrease the chances of the spell backfiring or missing the target so I have no hesitation in spending all my points. I descend a bit, trying my best to ignore the pain going through my body, until I find a spot from where I gave a clear line to one of the wolves. I position myself and extend my hand pointing towards the wolf and start whispering the chant. I watch with wonder as fire appears in front of my palm and keeps growing as I continue chanting. When I finish the chant, a ball of fire, the size of a basketball, is launched towards the wolf. Thankfully, it doesn¡¯t notice the fireball until it¡¯s too late. The wolf jumps on its feet, but is immediately thrown back on the ground by the fireball that crashed into it. Seeing that it¡¯s still not dead, I start chanting a second fireball in its direction. The other wolves all stand up, alerted by fact that their friend is suddenly burning on the ground. They look around until they spot me shooting a second fireball heading towards their downed companion. None of them knows how to react, looking at their leader for guidance. The giant wolf watches at its lying subordinate as it dies to the second fireball, then starts glaring at me. I respond to its glare by pointing my hand towards it and starting chanting again. When the fireball is launched, the leader easily dodges it, but the explosion hits another wolf behind it and is set on fire. The leader seems conflicted on what to do until it looks back at me and sees the fourth fireball incoming. It makes its decision and starts running away, followed by his entire pack.
You have killed a Lightning Wolf! You have earned 2.7 stat points!
I¡¯m afraid to stop chanting right now, as I don¡¯t know if interrupting the spell midway can have side-effects so I just launch it after them, even if I know it won¡¯t hit anything. I let a sigh of relief when they leave my senses¡¯ range. The leader probably understood that pursuing revenge here would leave them with more casualties than its worth. I¡¯m once again astonished by the level of intelligence and wisdom displayed by the wolf, but I¡¯m glad that it worked in my favor for once.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. As I start thinking about my next move, I realize that I have slight headache. I didn¡¯t have it before, so it was caused by me using magic. My assumption, based on the gamelike state of this world, is that I¡¯ve used some of my mana and until it replenishes this headache will continue. I¡¯m also still injured, so maybe I should rest until I heal and replenish my mana. No, I better move fast here. I still need to find food and water and I don¡¯t want to be here when another animal comes after the fresh smell of blood. Still when I think about it, I don¡¯t want to lose the materials that can be extracted from the dead wolves. Sure, the meat is the last choice if I don¡¯t find anything else, but their claws, fangs and hide can surely be useful at some point. I get down and head towards the first dead dire wolf. As I don¡¯t have a knife, I rip one of its bigger fangs and use it to start skinning. Sure, it¡¯s not the best tool, but being careful I manage to avoid being speckled by its blood. All things considered, my dismantling isn¡¯t great, far from it, but I manage to do it quickly so in about half an hour I should finish all 7 wolves.
Your skill [Dismantle] has leveled up!
Your skill [Dismantle] has leveled up!
Your ¡®Beast Dismantler¡¯ path has reached the 50% milestone! STR and DEX base stats increased by 2 permanently.
Thanks to this, I¡¯ve got better insight into how the skill system works. When my technique started to improve, my skill leveled up, more than doubling my progress. My speculation is that when the System detects an increase in proficiency, it brings the skill to a standardized level. I¡¯m also under double the effect of the ¡®Otherworlder¡¯ title, so I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s like this for everyone. Another thing I¡¯ve observed is that when my skill leveled up, I instantly gained 20% progress toward the path¡¯s completion. I¡¯m starting to realize how overpowered is the combination of bonus skill speed with bonus path progression speed. I am completing paths at 4 times the normal speed, if not even more. After I finished dismantling the wolves, I¡¯ve climbed back into the tree and dug a small hole into it. I¡¯ve then stashed the materials there, while leaving the meat outside. I¡¯ve hidden my stash with some leaves then marked a few trees around it using a wolf fang I¡¯ve taken with me. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll return in less than a few weeks, but the hide shouldn¡¯t deteriorate that fast. To be sincere, the only benefit I¡¯ve gotten out of dismantling them is path progression. Sure, at least the hides, if nothing else, can sell, but I haven¡¯t met any other human so far. I also thought that I can use the meat for an emergency, but I dropped that idea. Not only is wolf meat completely disgusting, it is also very unhealthy as if contains countless parasites. For now I leave this place in search for a source of drinkable water. I navigate through the forest while trying to make as little sound as possible and keeping my ears up for any sound of flowing water or any signs of possible prey. Well my A.I. chip is still way better at analyzing the small fluctuations picked up by my senses, so it was the one to inform me that I''m approaching a water source. 15 minutes and 6kilometes after I¡¯ve left the spot when I¡¯ve fought the wolves, I¡¯ve arrived at a small stream. And well, it also came with a pleasant surprise as a deer was already drinking water there. I carefully sneak up on it and throw the wolf fang towards its neck from 10 meters away. A moment later, I also sprint towards it. As it sensed the incoming projectile, it avoided instant death, but the wolf fang got stuck in one its front legs. Being injured, its speed was considerably lower and it didn¡¯t take me more 30seconds to catch up with it and end its life. Well, it would have taken me much less if roots wouldn¡¯t suddenly sprout out of the ground trying to make me trip.
You have killed a Juvenile Great Mountain Deer! You have earned 0.8 stat points!
I think that the roots were moved by nature magic casted by the deer, but it¡¯s just a speculation. Now that I think about it, neither it nor the wolf were chanting, but they were able to use magic. Well, I believe it¡¯s magic as I can¡¯t explain it otherwise. I really need to delve deeper into this in the future, casting without a chant seems too strong to pass by. After dismantling the deer, I make a campfire by gathering some dry wood and igniting them with a fireball. Well, the fireball might have been a little bit overkill, but no ¡®traditional¡¯ method that I know was able to ignite this wood. When the fire was strong enough I¡¯ve started roasting myself some venison. By the time I finished eating and drinking until I was full, the sky already began to darken. I jump up the nearest tree, find a relatively comfortable spot and lay down to take a short nap. Spoiler: Status
Identity Stats Active Paths
Name Avitus Volten STR 229 [251.9] VIT 147 [161.7] Human 1.4%
Race Human AGI 285 [313.5] PER 367 [403.7] Otherworlder 1 45.1%
Sex Male DEX 315 [346.5] INT 348 [382.8] Apprentice Martial Artist 66.9%
Age 47 CON 189 [207.9] WIS 95 [104.5] Beast Dismantler 58%
Title Outsider END 100 [110] TLN 16 [33]
Affinities Resistances Titles Earned Perks
Lightning 96% Lightning 90% Otherworlder Lightningborn A.I. Chip
Mental 82% Pain 72% Outsider
Shadow 53% Mental 55%
Fire 38% Poison 52%
Spatial 8% Spatial 25%
Temporal 2%
Skills
Common Rare Personal
Basic Self-Regeneration Lv8 Fake Status Lv1 Quantum A.I. Processor Lv27
Basic Martial Arts Lv4 Basic Long-range Appraisal Lv1
Dismantle Lv3 Lightning Conversion Lv2
Meditation Lv1 Cognitive Overpower Lv3
Basic Fire Magic Lv1
You have 3.8 unspent stat points, 1 unspent skill point and 2 unspent path points.
Side Story 1 - Some Bytes In A Black Box After Avitus Volten, Droftachi¡¯s President and COO, along with his assistant were sucked into the dimensional rift, the crack in reality continued to grow, generating more power than the research base could store and use. At that time, Droftachi¡¯s Headquarters, the island it resided on and the military force surrounding it were all caught up in a huge explosion caused by the quantum energy overflow. All that remained from the huge base, spanning on over 2 square kilometers, and more than 100 military grade aircrafts and vessels, is a small black box now resting on the sea floor. For years to come, a recording will be heard from it. Dear Diary, today I¡¯ve¡­ no, no, no, NO Dammit, I sound like a sissy¡­ Name¡¯s Volten, Avitus Volten¡­ OK, screw it. Today I¡¯ve decided to keep something like an electronic journal. As for the reason I¡¯m doing this, well, it may sound stupid but I¡¯d like to think of it as a checkpoint system¡­ I sounded way cooler inside my head¡­ Well, the main idea is that if I ever stop, I¡¯ll listen to this recording then remind myself that I must do something better that was recorded at last point. This way I¡¯ll always go forward, I will constantly improve myself. By the way, this is the first recording and we¡¯re currently on the 3rd of May 2024. The first project that I want to embark on is a small game, a game that I¡¯d like to play myself. I just downloaded the latest open-software GameDevsUnited engine and decide that I¡¯ll attempt to make a RPG. As I¡¯m not¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ I¡¯ve finally completed it, but I¡¯ve realized 2 things. One, after all that bug testing I don¡¯t find the game as fun as I thought I would. Two, there are a thousand similar game to mine, some of them even better. Quite depressing really, but there¡¯s still the satisfaction of a completed project so I can¡¯t complain too much. Oh, and before I forget, this is the 7th entry on 23rd of June. I will take a small break to decide on the next project and then start it after my birthday. ¡­ I¡¯ve found the perfect idea, oh, and it¡¯s the 8th entry on the 29th of June. I will create a self-evolving game. This is the idea I¡¯ve come with after the discussion I¡¯ve had with my friends at my 17th anniversary. You know, like there¡¯s an a.i. that learns from its mistakes and starts playing a game better and better until it gets perfect. Why can¡¯t there be a game-making a.i. coupled with the self-learning one creates a perfect balanced system. All I need to do¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ 45th entry, 5th of January 2025. After letting the program run for the course of the holidays, I found out that it¡¯s not the resounding success I¡¯ve expected it to be. It successfully generated 1 mini-game, with a total playthrough of less than 4minutes. It¡¯s a goddamn good game, but it¡¯s too fucking short. When I¡¯ve given it the command to generate the best game it could in 2 weeks, I¡¯ve expected it to be at least 30minutes long. Now that I have an actual test I can roughly estimate the time in which it can create a game that size. I¡¯d only need to wait for about 2400years. You know what, I¡¯ll transform it into a virus. Yes, a virus. It will spread to new computers and use a part of the unused processing power from the infected computers to contribute to the creation of the perfect game. As compensation for using the other¡¯s resources, I¡¯ll make the game free. I¡¯ll also make the virus part self-developing, so It can learn to bypass anything that is created to block it and¡­Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Sorry, I started rambling, guess I was more pissed than I thought that the program I¡¯ve worked for more than half a year is unusable. Not only it¡¯d be immoral to create such a virus, it¡¯d also be illegal. ¡­ 46th entry, 10th of January 2025. I can¡¯t get the idea of making such a virus out of my head. Well, after some thought I¡¯ve reached the conclusion that all that processing power is wasted anyway, so why not put it to good use. Like creating the best game anyone can enjoy. Yea, I¡¯ll do that and I¡¯ll call it Project: Mario. Starting today¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ 178th entry, 24th of June 2027. I¡¯ve applied all the finishing touches. Seems I¡¯ve managed to complete it in time for my birthday. The hardest part was making it able to receive new orders from me without making myself a target by backtracking them. For what may I need to give it new orders? Well, let¡¯s just say it¡¯s payment for all the hard work I¡¯ve put into it. While its main goal, and, at the same time, its cover, remains to create the best game in the world, it will be able to allocate a part of the processing power to new projects if I tell it to. Tomorrow I¡¯ll go to an internet caf¨¦ and launch Project: Mario there. Then I think I¡¯ll take a break and enjoy my 20th anniversary. Then maybe I¡¯ll for other subjects that I could interest myself into. ¡­ 179th entry, 3rd of July 2027. Project: Mario is a huge success in more ways than I initially ever thought of. Yesterday, I laughed so hard. On the news there was an attempt to find out on what this ¡®new virus¡¯ is about and all they¡¯ve got was a pop-up saying ¡°It¡¯s me, Mario!¡±. Jokes aside, THE GAME is already up and running, its content is increasing faster than players can finish it. While I know that it will slow down as more content has an exponential growth in processing p¡­ And I¡¯ve found what I want to do next, quantum physics. I know, but I swear it¡¯s not completely random. I feel like I¡¯ve hit a barrier with a.i. programming as I do not have enough power to take it to another level, so I¡¯ve found the perfect solution, the quantum computer. It also has an exponential growth in processing po¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ 194th entry, 26th of October 2027. I¡¯m starting to understand quantum physics to the point where I can come up with new theories. But here¡¯s where I¡¯ve hit a wall, I have no way to make experiments. Even if I am to use Mario for simulations I still need a lot of experimental data. If I am to buy equipment and materials for such experiments I need a lot of money, money that I don¡¯t have. My only project so far that can generate money is Mario, and that¡¯s a free ticket to jail. I think I will start a company specialized in programming. I already have experience programing Mario and I believe I can make some a.i. that I can sell. I have no naming sense, so don¡¯t expect something great. As a side-note I¡¯ve also started THE GAME and while I¡¯m not as entertained as I thought I¡¯d be, I still enjoy playing it for 1-2hours a day. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ 256th entry, 4th of September 2028. Today marks the day of Droftachi¡¯s first product launch, and also for its second, third and fourth. More are to follow soon after. None are coded by me thou. I¡¯ve realized that coding manually would be a huge waste of time as I can make a self-evolving a.i. that does that for me. The processing power needed for it to start working is insane, that¡¯s no problem for me. Although I hate relaying on Mario so much, I¡¯ll use it until I have a better alternative. Speaking of Mario, THE GAME officially has the highest player count online since 2 months ago. People started realizing the connection between Mario and THE GAME, but there¡¯s no proof and it¡¯s not like most of the people actually care. And speaking of THE GAME, its VR version is almost complete. The complete VR capsules released half a year ago were a monumental success, so it¡¯s only natural that the world¡¯s most popular game needs to be ported as well. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ 289th entry, 2nd of July 2029 As I promised, I completely stopped playing after my birthday. I¡¯ve been playing THE GAME on VR for too long as I didn¡¯t had much to do and I was waiting for fund to accumulate in order to start researching into quantum physics seriously. Droftrachi earned more money than I initially thought it will and I already have more than enough to buy some private labs. I will also use this chance and move to Western Europe. All European countries became closer and there¡¯s free trade and no borders, but Russia doesn¡¯t like that at all. Their influence in Europe decreased considerably and their President declared that he will ¡®remedy¡¯ that. That said I feel like it¡¯s safer to get as far away from them as possible. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ 302th entry, 9th of March 2030 I haven¡¯t been updating my journal as often as I used to. My program lately was experimenting, running simulations and sleeping on repeat. But I¡¯m close, I¡¯m very close. The secret to quantum physics is the quantum energy, as I¡¯ve called the theorized energy existing in the inter-dimensional space separating parallel universes. We don¡¯t have access to this space, but I¡¯m almost sure that an inferior version of this energy exists all around us. This energy can be perceived only by equipment based on it, resulting in a loop. I found the way of breaking this loop, I¡¯ll create the first tool capable of harnessing this energy and using it, without knowing of its existence. It¡¯s like having a flashlight with empty accumulators work, because it¡¯s in a room with supposed static electricity. It sound far-fetched, but all the research data and all the simulations point towards it having a 97,8% chance of working. I can¡¯t even imagine in how many ways this type of energy can be used. The Thank You, The Future And The Poll Hi, everyone. I want to take this chance to thank you for following this story and for the support you''re showing me and share a few words and thoughts with you. This story started as a ''story that I would like to read'', but a few chapters in and I was already losing my motivation. That''s when I came with the idea of posting it online. That''s why,if any of you felt like the title is subpar, that''s because it was a last-minute addition (and because I really suck at naming). Getting back on track, as I saw the way-above-expectation receive my novel got, I got fired up once again and continued writing new chapters. As of now, I have 4(and 1/4) more chapters written, but I need to look over them at least once or twice before I can post them. With a bit of luck and hard work, I''ll be able to post 5 more chapters before Monday. After that, I will try and keep a rate of 2-3 new chapters per week. I won''t give any guarantees thou, as some chapters might require more work than others and I might be busier in some weeks. All said and done, I want to interact more with my readers so I''ll start by having a pool for what you want to see in the next side-story. Also, because I felt that I needed toshorten the part explaining how the System works, as it slowed down the flow of the story too much, some details missing might create misunderstanding or might make it seem like they were intentionally hidden. As such, at the end of the next arc, I might do a Q&A if you guys have any questions and post them in the comments (I''ll skip them if those things might lead to spoilers or if they were really intentionally hidden).Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Once again, thank you for your support and have a nice day. Chapter 6 - By Storm And Thunder 1 Although I¡¯ve said that I need only 30minutes of sleep, I¡¯ve slept for almost 2 hours. I could have had the A.I. chip wake me up earlier, but I¡¯ve felt that I need a bit more to recuperate from the events that have taken place. Now that I¡¯ve calmed down, I can make a cold analysis on what happened during the day. I¡¯ve made a lot of stupid decisions, and that is unlike me. I can say that I¡¯ve acted reasonably well until I¡¯ve made the obvious mistake of attacking the wolf. Even after I¡¯ve heard the other howls, I continued with my plan. I¡¯ve moved based on two assumptions, the pack would be like 8-9wolves and there shouldn¡¯t be more than 2or 3 dire ones. Of course, both of them proved to be wrong and I almost lost my life there. Then after I was already in a desperate situation, I¡¯ve gambled a lot by using the System, but I really didn¡¯t had much choice there. Then we come to the second glaring mistake, I should have just left the wolves¡¯ corpses there. Sure, I¡¯ve gained quite some progression for my path, but I exposed myself to a lot of danger and I¡¯ve lost a lot of time. I got lucky that I¡¯ve found water and food so fast, but those 40minutes could have meant the difference between life and death. After analyzing my actions, I feel very strange as there¡¯s no way I would make such questionable decisions. And the biggest problem is that I can¡¯t pinpoint the reason for it. Was I too affected by the fact that I lost my base, even thou I¡¯m presented with an even bigger opportunity? Do I subconsciously believe myself as being in a video game and acted as such? Whatever the reason is, I need to be more careful. There¡¯s absolutely no need to rush. I can bid my time and understand the situation. My current lifespan exceeds 500years and I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll find ways to improve it even further on this planet. It¡¯s just a guess, but I think that this VIT base stat is referring to the lifespan and it can be increased through some paths. In a way it feels like I¡¯m playing a realistic VR survival RPG on hardcore mode, this world really makes me feel like that. I want to ¡®level up¡¯ and gain stats and skills as fast as possible, but dying would mean end game, literally. I can just take it slowly and enjoy myself, like I¡¯m in a well-deserved holiday. For now, I should finish my current paths and start new ones, gather stat points and gain a better understanding of how magic works in this world. This fire magic got me very excited, but no matter how much I use it I don¡¯t seem to level it up, which adds points to my theory that I need to gain proficiency and understanding to level up a skill instead of just spamming it. Two hours passed after the sun downed, so there¡¯s very little light, but that isn¡¯t a problem for me. As long as there¡¯s even a bit of light, I¡¯m able to see like during the day. The temperature also dropped by a significant amount, but it¡¯s nowhere near close to affecting me. According to the A.I. chip the temperature is still barely above 10¡ãC. I can use the night to my advantage and hunt animals that are sleeping or those aren¡¯t used to fighting in these conditions. As the night is still young, I can also use this time and train in martial arts. I don¡¯t have a weapon, so I can only rely on my body for now and I can use the A.I. to simulate the most optimal moves for me to use. For now, I would like to experiment a bit to see if I can level the [Basic Martial Arts] skill even outside of combat or if I can at least increase my base stats this way. In the worst case scenario, I don¡¯t get anything from the System, but my moves will improve and I¡¯ll be able to use them more fluidly in an actual fight. Finding a place where I have about 4meters radius for maneuvering, I start my training. I start by doing some warm-up, followed by different moves simulating dodging and counterattacking in combat situations.
Your skill [Basic Martial Arts] has leveled up!
Close to the end of my training I receive the message I¡¯ve been waiting for. This once again verifies my theory about how the skill system works. Also my [Apprentice Martial Artist] path is just a bit above 95%. From what I¡¯ve seen 80% comes from leveling [Basic Martial Arts] 4 times, about 10% comes from fighting and the rest from physically and mentally training. I head to the stream once again. This time I only drink a bit of fresh water to refresh myself, then I throw some water on me to get the sweat off. I really dread to think what would have happened if I had clothes from before the self-cleaning fiber was created. Well it¡¯s not literary self-cleaning, but the dirt and any other unwanted element can¡¯t stick to it. I can spend the rest of the night training, but I want to do a bit of hunting and exploration. After I¡¯ve refreshed myself, I start heading towards the mountain. I had the idea of leaving marks to find my way back to the stream if I need it, but my A.I. chip can create the perfect map of the places I¡¯ve been to, so I don¡¯t have to worry.
Warning! Unknown organism is stalking the host from behind. Caution advised!
When I¡¯ve almost reached the steeper part of the mountain, an unexpected message came, putting me on guard. I¡¯ve been careful and made almost no sound, but not only was this ¡®stalker¡¯ able to detect me, I wouldn¡¯t have detected it without help. I focus all my senses, but I can only estimate its position. I continue to walk until I hear the some leaves¡¯ rustle, helping me pinpoint its location. I instantly charge towards in an attempt to make my enemy reveal itself. When I get close, I¡¯m forced to stop my charge as a huge black monster leaps towards me. I barely manage to dodge its claws by jumping back, but an electric attack still strikes me. Fortunately, it¡¯s not very strong and I¡¯m able to endure it without losing focus or receiving any real damage. Still I dread to think what would have happened if I took that claw head-on, I would have probably been struck by an aftereffect close to the ¡®Alpha¡¯ wolf¡¯s thunderbolt attack. I take a moment and examine my opponent. Its body resembles that of a panther, but it has 6 huge sharp bones coming out of it, a pair on each side and the last two sprouting out of its back. The bones give a metallic feeling, and combined with their form, they resemble curved swords pointing backwards. Even with the bones almost doubling its width and increasing its height, the panther still has an aerodynamic form. The bones as well as its claws and fangs have electric sparks coming out of them, reminding me of the first wolf I¡¯ve fought, but on a completely different scale. The bones give it a natural defense similar to that of a hedgehog, completely protecting its body. There¡¯s no point where I can strike without entering the range of its fangs, its claws or its bones. The beast doesn¡¯t give me time to even think of a plan as it already attacks again, this time charging to bite me. I roll sideways, as a simple sidestep would have left me in the bones range. Even being at half a meter away from them, I¡¯m still affected by the electricity discharged by the bones. Considering its speed and defense, I once again feel like I¡¯m in a fight with no chance of winning. Recognizing this, I jump in a tree and start climbing, but shortly after I hear a sound behind me. When I look back, the panther is also claiming by sticking its claws inside the tree bark. As it¡¯s faster than me, I forced to jump backwards as I have no way of defending up here. While thinking how to reduce the falling damage as much as possible, I see the creature jumping after me aiming to strike me midair. I realize that I have no way of dodging this time so I cross my arms to guard the rest of my body.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Its claws strike me, leaving deep marks into my forearms and propelling me even further. The attack leaves a strong electric current making me unable to land properly. I land on my left arm, breaking it to the point where I¡¯m not sure if I can use it for the rest of the fight. I can¡¯t even waste a moment to the pain, as I¡¯m already forced to roll again in order to evade the monster¡¯s next charge in time. Before it gets to charge at me again, I manage get back on my feet. As I see it charging at me again, I realize that my speed and power are once again increased after being hit with electricity, probably due to the effect of the [Lightning Conversion] skill. This gives me an idea. At last I have a plan that gives me a chance in this fight. A very risky one indeed, but considering the alternative is death, I¡¯ll gladly roll the dice. When the panther nearly reaches me, I simply sidestep a bit, allowing its bone to enter into my left shoulder. I endure the powerful electricity going through me and attempt to channel it into increasing my power. After half a second of charging, I knee and jab its neck with all the power I¡¯ve got. For the first time in this fight, the panther takes some real damage and falls on the ground. I don¡¯t waste the opportunity and use the wolf fang to pierce its eye. The beast roars in pain and tries to attack me, forcing me to leave the wolf fang stuck in its now empty socket. After I dodge its desperate attack, I manage to kick it on the face, forging the wolf fang to penetrate further. Unfortunately, it doesn¡¯t reach the brain and before I can give a second push, I¡¯m forced to retreat in order to avoid the next attack. Immediately after, I hear the sound of electricity greatly intensifying reminding me of how the leader wolf charged his attack. Remembering that attack, I try to attack it in order to interrupt its charging attack. But instead of the predicted attack, the panther charges at me with an unbelievable speed, I¡¯m not even able to block this time, so I take a clean hit from its claw. This time it leaves two huge claw wounds into my chest and launches 8 meters backwards. The electric aftereffect completely paralyses me and I crash into the ground. I open my eyes, which I involuntarily closed during the impact, and panic as I¡¯m not able to move and the monster is walking here to finish the kill. No, it¡¯s not walking, its speed considerably decreased and there¡¯s no electricity coming out of it anymore, probably a side-effect of using that attack. But I¡¯m unable to take advantage of its state as my body is lying on the ground, paralyzed by the electric current still flowing through it. I activate the [Cognitive Overpower], as the System called it, and watch as the panther speed slows to that of a snail. I ignore it and close my eyes once again, focusing my entire on controlling the electricity going through my body. I concentrate on its flow and try to redirect it outside of my body. The electricity is a wild unstoppable force, but as humans have proven, it can be controlled like any other force of nature. It¡¯s so called ¡®unpredictability¡¯ was only due to our inability to understand atoms in the past. As I remember everything I know about electricity and how to control its flow, I feel the strange energy coming out of my brain and rearranging my cells in a way that allows me to control the electric flow in my body. Seconds, which felt like hours, pass, and I open my eyes once again. Instead of discharging the electricity, I¡¯m fully able to use it to my advantage. The panther fangs are already less than a few centimeters away from my neck. While it still moves in slow-motion, I raise my right hand and use it to strike the panther¡¯s head with such a force that I penetrate its skull and destroy its brain. Then time starts flowing normally again.
Your [Basic Martial Arts] skill has leveled up!
You have completed the [Apprentice Martial Artist] path! AGI, DEX and VIT base stats increased by 3 permanently. You have earned 10 path points!
Your ¡®Human¡¯ path has reached the 10% milestone! You have earned 5 path points!
Your ¡®Otherworlder 1¡¯ path has reached the 50% milestone! You have obtained the [Automatic Translation] rare skill. You have earned 5 skill points!
You have withstood a powerful lightning attack! Your lightning resistance increased by 1%.
Your [Lightning Conversion] skill has leveled up!
Your [Basic Martial Arts] skill has leveled up!
Your ¡®Otherworlder 1¡¯ path has reached the 75% milestone! TLN base stat increased by 10 permanently.
Your [Lightning Conversion] skill has leveled up!
You have killed a Mutated Lightning Padrenth! You have earned 16.1 stat points! You have earned a skill point!
Your [Cognitive Overpower] skill has leveled up!
Your [Lightning Conversion] skill has achieved a breakthrough! You have obtained the [Basic Lightning Magic Manipulation Lv1] rare skill. Your lightning affinity increased by 50%. Your lightning resistance increased by 50%.
You have completed the ¡®Otherworlder 1¡¯ path. Your [Otherworlder] title has been upgraded. You have earned 20 path points!
Your ¡®Human¡¯ path has reached the 25% milestone! All base stats increased by 2 permanently. You have earned 5 path points!
Spoiler: Status
Identity Stats Active Paths
Name Avitus Volten STR 233 [256.3] VIT 153 [168.3] Human 33.2%
Race Human AGI 292 [321.2] PER 369 [405.9] Beast Dismantler 58%
Sex Male DEX 321 [353.1] INT 351 [386.1]
Age 47 CON 192 [211.2] WIS 97 [106.7]
Title Outsider END 103 [113.3] TLN 30 [48.4]
Affinities Resistances Titles Earned Perks
Lightning 98% Lightning 95% Otherworlder Lightningborn A.I. Chip
Mental 82% Pain 72% Outsider
Shadow 53% Mental 55%
Fire 38% Poison 52%
Spatial 8% Spatial 25%
Temporal 2%
Skills
Common Rare Personal
Basic Self-Regeneration Lv8 Fake Status Lv1 Quantum A.I. Processor Lv27
Basic Martial Arts Lv6 Basic Long-range Appraisal Lv1
Dismantle Lv3 Lightning Conversion MAX
Meditation Lv1 Cognitive Overpower Lv4
Basic Fire Magic Lv1 Automatic Translation MAX
Basic Lightning Magic Manipulation Lv1
You have 19.9 unspent stat points, 7 unspent skill point and 42 unspent path points.
Chapter 7 - By Storm And Thunder 2 I just stood there. After dying, the panther collapsed to the ground, but my hand still remained in the same position. Even if I wanted to move, my body wouldn¡¯t have followed. I simply stood there for half an hour until reality finally sunk in. I survived. I fought an impossible battle and won. I gambled my life in a crazy plan and succeeded. I stared death in the face and laughed at it. The last one is a bit exaggerated, but that¡¯s exactly how I feel like now. There was also the fight with the wolves, but I didn¡¯t come as close to death as I did just now. Almost mechanically I try to take the wolf fang to start skinning the beast, but the fang breaks before being able to get it out. I rip one of the panther¡¯s fangs and resume my initial movements. I carefully dismantle the beast in an unusual silence. There is no sound, the forest is completely silent. Only moon is shining upon me as if it is watching me. My every move is accurate as I perfectly skin its black hide. My strikes are precise and I separate its additional bones from the rest. Its fang feels like an extension of my body as I keep cutting until previous mighty beast is separated into a pile of meat, a pile of bones and a pile of claws and fangs.
Your skill [Dismantle] has skill has achieved a breakthrough! STR and DEX base stats increased by 3 permanently.
You have completed the [Beast Dismantler] path! STR and DEX base stats increased by 2 permanently. You have earned 10 path points!
The new set of messages finally wakes me up from the trance and I breathe a long sigh. This is probably how a soldier feels after he survives a frontline battle. Sure I¡¯ve killed both the wolves and the deer before. But it all felt different. Sure, I was in danger when I was surrounded, but I had a way out. Now I couldn¡¯t run, I had to fight to the death and I had to risk my life in order to win. I didn¡¯t move in time there or if my plan would have failed from the beginning, I would be the one on the floor, being eaten by the beast just as I dismantled it right now. The simple realization that my life would have ended in a forest who-knows where, without anyone knowing about it, filled me with dread. But there¡¯s also another feeling. The feeling of accomplishment. I¡¯ve done what I¡¯ve deemed impossible. As I said previously, I feel like I¡¯ve stared death in face and laughed at it. That¡¯s why I skinned it so carefully, I wanted a trophy. I wanted something to remind me of my victory. I wanted to remember this feeling. I want to have this feeling again. My thoughts are in a complete disorder so I look over the messages received from the System to distract myself from them. And oh boy, there are a lot of them. I¡¯ve completed all my paths except for the ¡®Human¡¯ one. I¡¯ve received some base stats, but what I¡¯m happiest about is that big increase in TLN. I¡¯m also exalted to see those 50path points waiting for me. And there¡¯s also that breakthrough thingy. Both skills that had a breakthrough are now at MAX and don¡¯t have a level displayed anymore. There¡¯s also the new skill [Automatic Translation] that¡®s also at MAX. This poses a lot of new questions about the skills, but unfortunately I don¡¯t have the answers for them and neither does the re-downloaded manual. I open the available paths and I find some new ones there. I once again narrow the list down to the choices that interest me.
Path Name Description Type Cost
Otherworlder 2 Arriving in a new world, you are getting the hang of what you need to do in order to survive and thrive. Other 10
Apprentice Hunter Braving the wilderness, you now learn its rules. Tracking, stalking, killing and dismantling beasts will now become your daily routine. Profession 10
Forest Forager The forest is an unknown for many, for you it¡¯s a gold mine. Avoiding dangerous beasts, you find all its natural resources. Profession 2
Apprentice Cook Anyone can roast a piece of meat. You take the step further to ensure that it¡¯s safe and tasty. Profession 3
Magic Scholar 1 Magic is full of wanders and unknowns. You learn its language and seek to understand its power. Profession 10
Magic Inscriptioner 1 Understanding the power of magic, you engrave its language into runes. Profession 25
Martial Artist 1 There are many weapons in the world. You chose the most reliable one, your body. Combat 10
Apprentice Lightning Mage Magic has many shapes and forms. You chose to wield the wild power of lightning. Combat 20
Lightning Warrior Harnessing the power of lightning and wielding it inside your body, you strike your enemies with overwhelming speed and power. Combat 50
Apprentice Space MageThis tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Magic has many shapes and forms. You chose to wield the unknown power of space. Combat 50
Apprentice Mind Mage Magic has many shapes and forms. You chose to wield the manipulative power of mind. Combat 25
Apprentice Fire Mage Magic has many shapes and forms. You chose to wield the destructive power of fire. Combat 5
Apprentice Nature Mage Magic has many shapes and forms. You chose to wield the wild power of nature. Combat 10
Forstgol 1 Very similar to normal humans, Forstgols chose the forest as their way of live. You follow their path, becoming one with nature. Racial 10 (5)
Lightningborn 1 Very few in number, Lightningborns are humans who can control the lightning as natural as breathing. You follow their footsteps in order to wield their power. Racial 20 (10)
At this point I¡¯m seriously considering picking the ¡®Lightning Warrior 1¡¯ path. I¡¯m almost sure it¡¯s related to the [Lightning Conversion] and that one saved my life three times already. My only hesitation is that I believe I should learn to generate lightning on my own before picking it. If I don¡¯t pick it, ¡®Otherworlder 2¡¯ is a sure, so spatial magic is out once again. Well, I think that almost all combat paths are out as I decided on ¡®Apprentice Lightning Mage¡¯. As I said, I want to learn to generate lightning before picking ¡®Lightning Warrior¡¯ and this is a sure way to do so. That¡¯s without mentioning my lightning affinity that¡¯s nearing 100%. I¡¯ve also very tempted by the ¡®Lightningborn 1¡¯ path, but I¡¯m not sure how racial paths affect me and I¡¯d like to leave it until I gather more information on the topic. This leaves me with 22 points for a profession path, just 3 short of the ¡®Magic Inscriptioner 1¡¯ sadly. I would have picked it has a chance to get rid of the chant. Fire magic was unusable in the last fight as there was no way I would have 10 seconds to just stand and chant. Foraging and cooking are more a quality of live improvement, so I can put them aside for now. ¡®Magic Scholar 1¡¯ would probably help me improve knowledge of magic, while ¡®Apprentice Hunter¡¯ would help me with finding monster faster. Both of them are very useful in my situation. It¡¯s basically better understanding of magic against more stat points. Well, as I¡¯m also picking a mage path let¡¯s go with the scholar.
You¡¯ve started the ¡®Otherworlder 2¡¯ path.
You¡¯ve started the ¡®Apprentice Lightning Mage¡¯ path. You have obtained the [Basic Lightning Magic Lv1] common skill.
You¡¯ve started the ¡®Magic Scholar¡¯ path. You have obtained the [No-Attribute Magic Language Lv1] common skill.
That''s rather disappointing. I thought there would be a universal language of magic, but it doesn''t appear to be the case. Also, there seems to be a no-attribute type of magic as well. And, as expected, the [Automatic Translation] skill doesn¡¯t apply to magic languages. There¡¯s a lot to do, but for now let¡¯s return to the stream I¡¯ve found before. Sure, I can find a new source of water nearby, but I have a vague feeling that closer to the mountain I am, the stronger the beasts are. And I really don¡¯t want to meet another one like that. But before returning, I once again stash my prize into a in a tree hollow and hide it with some leaves. I keep its two biggest fangs with me as a replacement for the wolf fang I¡¯ve lost. As I depart, I realize that I¡¯m already hungry. After that battle, my self-regeneration probably used a lot of my resources. Remembering the shape I was in, it¡¯s hardly believable I can move right now. My left arm also healed a bit, but still hurts like hell when I try to move it. When I¡¯m near the spot where I¡¯ve found the stream, I start taking a detour in search of an animal to eat. Almost 20 minutes later, I finally find signs of one, but I¡¯m disappointed to find that it¡¯s just an owl. Well it¡¯s free stat points so I shouldn¡¯t complain. I get close and while still hidden, I try the lightningbolt for the first time. I start to hear lightning around me and exactly 10 seconds after I¡¯ve started the chant, I see the owl struck by a lightning that seems to have appeared from my palm. It¡¯s very weird as I wasn¡¯t touched by even a bit of electricity. What¡¯s even weirder it¡¯s the sense of familiarity I¡¯ve felt with the process, as if I could create the same effect even without the chant, but not quite there.
You have killed an Owl! You have earned 0.2 stat points! You have earned a skill point!
Well, it seems that it was a normal owl, but those stat points add up so I can¡¯t complain. I give a look to the charred corpse, then I immediately turn away and continue my search. Almost 10 minutes later, the A.I. chip finds a rabbit nest. Just as I hear the notification, I turn and head towards its location. I spot 5 rabbits sleeping in some tall grass and I approach carefully to avoid waking them up. I consider using magic, but I¡¯d like to avoid completely burning my meal. When I¡¯m close enough, I throw the two fangs I have. I also leap immediately after, but all I can do is sit and stare. Three rabbits ran away with an unimaginable speed, easily surpassing that of the panther.
You have killed a Lightning Rabbit! You have earned 3.7 stat points!
You have killed a Lightning Rabbit! You have earned 3.9 stat points!
Well that was¡­ wow. There is still static electricity left in their wake. I can understand those ridiculous stat points gains. No wasting any more time, I pick the two I¡¯ve killed by impaling them with the panther fangs and head towards the stream. I get there, wash myself, start a fire and cook my meal. After I finish, I climb up a tree and position myself so I can sleep. Normally I don¡¯t need so much sleep, but right now I¡¯m both physically and mentally exhausted by the events that happened this night. Spoiler: Status
Identity Stats Active Paths
Name Avitus Volten STR 238 [261.8] VIT 153 [168.3] Human 43.5%
Race Human AGI 292 [321.2] PER 369 [405.9] Otherworlder 2 0.4%
Sex Male DEX 327 [359.7] INT 351 [386.1] Apprentice Lightning Mage 0.2%
Age 47 CON 192 [211.2] WIS 97 [106.7] Magic Scholar 1 0%
Title Outsider END 103 [113.3] TLN 30 [48.4]
Affinities Resistances Titles Earned Perks
Lightning 98% Lightning 95% Otherworlder Lightningborn A.I. Chip
Mental 82% Pain 72% Outsider
Shadow 53% Mental 55%
Fire 38% Poison 52%
Spatial 8% Spatial 25%
Temporal 2%
Skills
Common Rare Personal
Basic Self-Regeneration Lv8 Fake Status Lv1 Quantum A.I. Processor Lv27
Basic Martial Arts Lv7 Basic Long-range Appraisal Lv1
Dismantle Lv3 Lightning Conversion MAX
Meditation Lv1 Cognitive Overpower Lv4
Basic Fire Magic Lv1 Automatic Translation MAX
Basic Lightning Magic Lv1 Basic Lightning Magic Manipulation Lv1
No-Attribute Magic Language Lv1
You have 27.7 unspent stat points, 8 unspent skill point and 12 unspent path points.
Chapter 8 - By Storm And Thunder 3
¡­eep! Beep! Beep! Good morning!
Ugh¡­ oh yea, I¡¯ve set up the A.I. chip to wake me up if I am to sleep more than 1 hour. I really want to sleep more, but I don¡¯t need to, and I¡¯ll destroy my sleep schedule. It was 20 years ago when I¡¯ve started training in polyphasic sleep, reducing my sleep hours to 3 per day. This was further halved by the genetic enhancements 5 years ago. With the ones I have now, I doubt I need even 1 hour per day, yet I¡¯ve slept 3 hours if we are to count the ones from after the sunset. I don¡¯t feel fully refreshed yet, but that¡¯s no wonder after all that happened. Almost 6 hours have passed since the sun set, so it should be a bit past midnight, going by Terra¡¯s clock. What could have been inside my mind when I¡¯ve ventured towards the mountain by nightfall? There¡¯s no way I would have made such a decision with a clear mind. I¡¯ve already established that this world closely resembles a video game. In any video game the deeper you go in a forest the stronger the enemies will be. Yet, without any care in the world, I went straight to the point that screams ¡®here be staying the final boss¡¯. To make matters worse, I¡¯ve done that when I¡¯m barely able to fight a few trash mobs in the middle of the forest. I know that I sound a bit absurd right now, but even if I didn¡¯t thought this way, the chances of finding civilization are infinitely higher if I search outside the forest. That¡¯s definitely better than searching atop a 5kilometers tall mountain. This begs the question, why did I go that way? Did my thirst for adventure cloud my mind? Was I tired and didn¡¯t consider my options clearly? Were my thoughts somehow manipulated? In every way I look at it, the last option becomes more feasible. I¡¯ve experienced critic situations before, and, even if I was emotionally shaken, I didn¡¯t lose my calculated mind. Every decision I¡¯ve ever made always considered the benefits and the risks. My night adventure loses in both of these categories. Sure, it ended well in the end, but I had no way of knowing that when I¡¯ve decided to head for the mountain. Now comes the big problem, if my thought were altered, who did it? The biggest suspect is the System. Sure, there can be a mind mage or whatever but neither I nor the A.I. chip detected anything strange. I dread to think there¡¯s a person who can pull such a feat. This leads to the question, if the System did it, what did it stand to gain from it? I¡¯ve already established that if it wanted to kill me it could have done so in many other easier ways. Does it want to prevent me from meeting with other humans? Did it know how my excursion will end up? If it did, what was its goal? Why would it pay attention to me? So many questions and I have no way to find the answers. Well, I do have a way, but it¡¯s a crazy gamble. Focus, Avitus! If I am to succeed, I mustn¡¯t let my thought deter for even a second! The plan it¡¯s simple, I will kill myself. If the System has plans for me, it will find a way to stop me. If it doesn¡¯t, or if my thought were controlled by somebody else, well¡­ let¡¯s just say that I would rather die than being a puppet in somebody else¡¯s plan. I get the padrenth¡¯s fang out of my pocket and reinforce my conviction once more. I raise my hand and exhale a long breath, I¡¯m going through with it. I reinforce my grip on the fang and aim for my heart. 3, 2, 1, go!
Due to your actions, hidden perk ¡®Protagonist¡¯ is now being displayed in your status. You are more likely to end up in interesting scenarios. You are more likely to survive in life or death scenarios.
When the fang was only a few millimeters away from my hearth, I¡¯ve received a perk from the System. Or more accurately I¡¯ve been revealed a hidden one. Still, my gamble paid off and I¡¯ve got a ton of useful information. First of all, even if the System probably knew as well as I did that a heart strike wouldn¡¯t kill me, it chose to confirm my suspicion rather than having me be heavily injured. Yea, of course I wasn¡¯t gonna kill myself, it was just a rouse. If there was someone else besides the System, they wouldn¡¯t have known that my body can survive without my heart long enough for it to regenerate. Hiding this information from my thoughts and making it seem like a genuine suicide attempt, might have forced them to act. Heck, there might be someone controlling the System that didn¡¯t had time to review my body condition due to my fast acting. But, fucking hell, what the fuck is this? Is the fucking System toying with me? Protagonist? Really? At least I know now for sure that the System is interested in me and is stealthy messing with my thoughts. But why? The ¡®Protagonist¡¯ perk is basically saying survive and amuse me. There¡¯s no way such a rigid A.I. will act with that line of thought. Is there really someone behind the System? Or it has other plans and is just telling me ¡®survive and improve¡¯? Or more likely ¡®experience what this world has to offer¡¯ than ¡®improve¡¯. But once again, why? There are too many questions and too little answer. I don¡¯t like this situation one bit, but I can¡¯t do anything about it, which frustrates me endlessly. At least now I have an explanation for everything that happened until this point. Instead of my errors of judgment, the System probably guided me is critical scenarios with high risk and reward. It¡¯s unclear if it knew that I would end up ok, but I don¡¯t want to fall into the thinking that it will get me out of any dangerous situation. Now that I know about the System¡¯s shenanigans, maybe I can avoid having my thought influenced again. This might help me avoid trouble in the future.
Warning! Unidentified humanoid appeared 30meters away from host¡¯s position. No prior signs detected. Caution advised!
Sigh, and here¡¯s the System saying ¡®if you don¡¯t want to seek trouble, I¡¯ll bring it to you¡¯. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. I want to run away right now and be done with it, just to spite the System, but I¡¯d pass a chance to interact with a human from this planet. Dammit, I hate the feeling that I¡¯m playing into someone¡¯s tune right now, but this situation is too favorable to throw away. There¡¯s also the problem of the language barrier, but that¡¯s probably why I received the [Automatic Translation] skill not even 3hours ago. Well, charging in without any information isn¡¯t an option I¡¯d ever take, so let¡¯s just observe for now. Having made my decision, I hide myself atop the branch and wait. I really want to see who was able to sneak so close to me without the A.I. chip noticing beforehand.
Two more unidentified humanoids appeared in the same spot. No prior signs identified. Caution advised!
Ok, this is more than a mere coincidence. 3 people sneaking so close, then throwing their cover in the same place doesn¡¯t seem like a possible explanation. Is it teleportation? If so, why did they come separately? What is so important in this place that required the attention of at least 2 individuals with the ability to teleport? ... Please don¡¯t tell me that I¡¯m their target. Hiding even better and raising my alert level to the maximum, I look towards the spot indicated by the A.I. chip. A few seconds later, a beautiful girl in a very elegant and eccentric blue dress, comes into my view. What stands out about her, except for the clearly out of place clothing, is the pair of thin translucent wings on her back. If they weren¡¯t moving like she was trying to take flight, I would have thought that they are part of the dress. Taking a better look at her face, fear and desperation are apparent. Combining that with her tears, she looks like she is running for her life. I don¡¯t get any time to speculate about what she¡¯s running from, as two jet black full body armored guards wielding giant golden ornamented spears appear behind her. From the looks of it, she is just a bit faster than her pursuers, as their armor is greatly slowing them down. ¡°Damn, the bitch brought us to the main plane! No wonder I feel so weak!¡±(Armored man 1) ¡°Shut up and focus! We¡¯re in the forest surrounding the Lightning¡¯s God Mountain, if we encounter any monster here, we¡¯re done for. We need to kill the princess and return at once.¡±(Armored man 2) Seeing that they are being outrun, the two chasers chant some strange words and a part of their armor is dropped, leaving them in a chainmail. Not having the helmet anymore, I get a better look at the two men. One is looking like he¡¯s in the end of his forties, while the other seems to have barely reached his thirties. What¡¯s strange about them is that they also have a pair of wings on their back. Leaving the bulky part of their armors behind, their speed instantly triples and they catch up to the running princess almost immediately. When she¡¯s about to be stricken by the spear of the older man, she turns around and throws her necklace. Barely leaving her hand, its crystal cracks and shatters, creating a strong force that blew off all 3 of them. The girl ended up hitting the tree in which I¡¯m in, wounded to the point where she clearly can¡¯t continue running. The other two were also wounded by the sudden explosion but they are able to quickly get back on their feet. The girl kept crying and screaming, as the two guards approached her. ¡°Why? Big brother, where are you? Please, help me! Big sis, what happened to you?! Big sis¡­ Please, help! Anybody, please! PLEASE HELP ME!¡± As the guard raised his spear once again to end her life, the princess let out a last cry of desperation. Guess I¡¯ll play along with the System for now.
You have killed a ¡®Royal Guard¡¯ Lightning Fairy! You have received 78.3 stat points! You have received 4 skill points.
Your skill [Basic Martial Arts] has leveled up!
Your [Otherworlder 2] path has reached the 25% milestone! TLN base stat increased by 20 permanently.
Spoiler: Status
Identity Stats Active Paths
Name Avitus Volten STR 238 [261.8] VIT 153 [168.3] Human 43.5%
Race Human AGI 293 [321.2] PER 369 [405.9] Otherworlder 2 26.8%
Sex Male DEX 327 [359.7] INT 353 [386.1] Apprentice Lightning Mage 3.5%
Age 47 CON 192 [211.2] WIS 98 [106.7] Magic Scholar 1 0%
Title Outsider END 103 [113.3] TLN 50 [70.4]
Affinities Resistances Titles Earned Perks
Lightning 98% Lightning 95% Otherworlder Lightningborn A.I. Chip
Mental 82% Pain 72% Outsider Protagonist
Shadow 53% Mental 55%
Fire 38% Poison 52%
Spatial 8% Spatial 25%
Temporal 2%
Skills
Common Rare Personal
Basic Self-Regeneration Lv8 Fake Status Lv1 Quantum A.I. Processor Lv27
Basic Martial Arts Lv8 Basic Long-range Appraisal Lv1
Dismantle Lv3 Lightning Conversion MAX
Meditation Lv1 Cognitive Overpower Lv4
Basic Fire Magic Lv1 Automatic Translation MAX
Basic Lightning Magic Lv1 Basic Lightning Magic Manipulation Lv1
No-Attribute Magic Language Lv1
You have 106 unspent stat points, 12 unspent skill point and 12 unspent path points.
Chapter 9 - By Storm And Thunder 4 What should I do? ... I really can¡¯t decide! I have so many choices, but all of them feel strange. Should I pick the black one? It¡¯s elegant and inspires maturity, but I feel like its color doesn¡¯t fit such a happy occasion. Should I pick the pink one? It¡¯s almost the opposite of the black one, so it would have been perfect if not for the fact that it will make me look childish. *Knock knock* ¡°Your Highness, are you finished? Do you need anything?¡±(???) ¡°Yes! Martha, get in here right now! I can¡¯t decide on which dress to wear tonight! What should I do? ... And just how many times did I tell you to simply call me Iz?¡±(Iz?) The door opens and Martha comes in. Martha has been my personal maid for as long as I can remember, but, maybe because the small age gap, I¡¯ve always regarded her as my best friend. She is only 20years older than me so she¡¯s been serving as my maid as soon as she was able to transform. ¡°Your Highness, you are fully aware that I¡¯m not in position to call you by your nickname. Also, I clearly remember that Your Highness was very excited for this event and ordered 20 custom-made dresses. Isn¡¯t any of them to your liking anymore?¡±(Martha) ¡°It¡¯s not like anyone will hear you in my room and I also gave you permission to do so. If there¡¯s someone who has a problem with that, tell me and I¡¯ll bully them into oblivion! Besides, I feel like all of them have a flaw that would make me look silly! There¡¯s no way I can screw up today!¡±(Iz) ¡°Your Highness, it¡¯s not fair to punish people for doing their job properly, I am a maid and you are a princess, I don¡¯t have any right to use your nickname. In my humble opinion, the princess should try the dress received as a gift from Her Highness the Queen one year ago.¡±(Martha) ¡°Uggh, there¡¯s no way I¡¯m wearing blue, Aniza wore it at her coming of age, people will think I¡¯m just trying to copy my sister!¡±(Iz) ¡°My dear, nobody will think of you as such! And you know, you haven¡¯t worn it once since I have it to you. Mommy will cry if her little Izi ignores her so much.¡±(The Queen) ¡°MOM! I told you to stop calling me so! I¡¯m 30years old from today, you can¡¯t threat me as a little girl anymore.¡±(Iz) ¡°How fast my little baby has grown up! I feel like yesterday you were just a little pixie flying around the palace while all the servants were chasing you.¡±(The Queen) ¡°Of course! When you¡¯re a 3000years old hag, a few years don¡¯t even re¡­ ¡±(Iz) SLAP! Ouch, lightning carrots, the witch really sent me flying. My poor cheeks, that hurts! Ug-uh, why are you even getting angry?! I¡¯m just speaking the truth! Even if you look like you¡¯re in your hundreds, it doesn¡¯t change this fact. Even Martha barely surpasses her annoying smirk. This is so unfair! ¡°That¡¯s no way for a lady to talk! Where did you learn such words?! Apologize to your mother!¡±(The Queen) ¡°No! You apologize to me for calling me a baby! And unjustly hitting me!¡±(Iz) ¡°That¡¯s no way to behave in front of your mother that worked so much for your party tonight. Maybe I should just cancel it¡­¡±(The Queen) ¡°I¡¯m sorry, mother! I was just joking... Yes! I was just joking with you. You know very well how much I love you and how much I appreciate you for tonight¡¯s party.¡±(Iz) My mother¡¯s face relaxes considerably, even if she tries to look like she¡¯s still angry. Ha-ha, you¡¯re not fooling me! She then crouches down next to me and gently touches my cheek. Her hand start emitting a weak light and my pain disappears. ¡°Offf, my dear daughter, I will forgive you, but you have to wear the dress you received from me tonight. And I¡¯m not taking no for an answer!¡±(The Queen) Nooo, that was her plan all along! She tricked me so easily! As if! There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to listen to you like that! Now, I¡¯m finally an adult and I will make my own decisions. ¡°Uh-uh, but, mommy, the¡­ ¡°(Iz) ¡°No, my dear, no one is going to compare you to your sisters! All three of you are unique in your own ways and all three of you are just as beautiful!¡±(The Queen) Sigh, I¡¯m not winning this one. I bet that this witch isn¡¯t going to back down no matter what. At least now I know what to wear. Oh, lightning carrots! It¡¯s already so late, I must hurry or I¡¯ll be late for my own party. ¡°Now enters Third Princess Eaizbelle Thunderroar!¡±(Announcer) I muster my courage and start walking as the doors open. Just as I step into the ceremony hall, I¡¯m greeted with the thunderous sound of hundreds of claps overlapping. This is it, my greatest day! Today, I¡¯m finally an adult! All this people came here to celebrate my coming of age! I¡¯m so happy right now, I feel like crying! No, I can¡¯t do that. I¡¯m an adult now, adults don¡¯t cry. I look through the guests until my eyes finally land on my family. My father and mother are cheering loudly with a proud smile on their faces. My older brother is standing to the right of my father also bearing a proud expression. My little brother is also present, although he can¡¯t transform as of now, so he¡¯s still in his pixie form, buzzing around. My oldest sister looked at my dress then gave me a pitying look. She knows! Aniza also eyed my dress, but she gave me a reproachful look instead. No, I was forced to wear this! The old witch threatened me! I swear! The claps come to a stop and everyone is looking at me with expectant eyes. Don¡¯t do that! You know I¡¯m not good with this type of things. Lightning carrots, what should I say? This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Thank you everyone for coming today! I¡¯m deeply moved by your cheering! For everyone to remember this day, I want to share the happiness that I¡¯m feeling right now with all present here. This will be the greatest party to be ever know in the all the realms!¡±(Iz) I know, I¡¯m supposed to give a serious speech here. But, but, I¡¯m really not good with this kind of things. Lightning carrots, now my parents look at me with reproachful eyes. Actually, take that you old hag! Zorld and Zeira are barely able to contain their laughs, while Aniza¡¯s look turned into one of slight sadness. Ainzfel is still buzzing around without any care in the world. At least my speech was well received by the guests as they started clapping with renewed vigor. And I really wasn¡¯t kidding when I said that I¡¯ll have the greatest party. I want everyone to remember this day forever! The day I¡¯ve officially became an adult. As the clapping starts dying down, I descend from the podium and head towards my family. My father starts scolding me seriously. Hey, it¡¯s my birthday and I get to do what I want! I really hate long boring noble speeches and I¡¯m not about to give one myself. Speaking of long boring noble speeches, it¡¯s their turn to take the podium and give their congratulations. Ugh! Please end it faster so the true party can start! ¡°Please welcome the hero of Reinfall and High Court Magician, duke Yeiro Arhains.¡±(Announcer) ¡°We have all gathered here to celebrate an event that ¡­¡±(Boring dude 1) ¡­ ¡°Please welcome the ¡°Invincible Tornado¡± and High General of our Turazdia Kingdom, Duke Seiron Wildstorm!¡±(Announcer) ¡°I feel much honored to be present at such an important event¡­ ¡±(Boring dude 2) ¡­ Ugh! I feel like it will never end. I really wanted to have a memorable party but everyone is staying in small circles, drinking wine and discussing boring stuff. To make it worse there¡¯s the occasional ¡®important dude¡¯ that takes the stage and talks for minutes on end about ¡®how happy they are to be here¡¯ and ¡®how happy they are for me¡¯. I would normally appreciate their congratulations, but all these old foxes don¡¯t mean a word of what they say. As proof of that, all of them look at me like I¡¯m a spoiled child. I¡¯m an adult now. ¡°Please welcome the new raising star of our kingdom and captain of the Royal Guards, son of duke Seiron, Feidan Wildstorm!¡±(Announcer) Finally, someone who isn¡¯t an old geezer. Far from it, this guy isn¡¯t even 100years old and is already one of the strongest men in our kingdom. Aniza likes to talk about him a lot. From what I¡¯ve understood, his farther has been training him from when he was just a pixie. Now he is unmatched in spearmanship and his magic knowledge rivals that of a court magician. Let¡¯s hope that at least he can spice up the atmosphere for a bit, or at least make a sincere congratulation. ¡±Ladies and gentleman that have gathered on this joyous occasion, I want to use this opportunity to not only congratulate the royal family but also deliver more good news. All the drinks in this room have been poisoned! From today onwards, the Wildstorm family is the new rulers of this kingdom! Rejoice as your only way of survival is pledging yourself to us.¡±(Feidan) What? Has he gone crazy? I wanted a bit of spice-up for the party, but I didn¡¯t expect him to make a complete clown of himself. Silence falls into the hall as everyone is confused if we should start laughing or not. ¡°AAAAH!¡±(???) I hear some screams from behind me and when I turn around I end up screaming in horror as well. My father! NO! My fath¡­ My father¡¯s head¡­ It isn¡¯t on his shoulders anymore! NO! WHY?! My father who¡¯s been talking with duke Seiron until now has been cleanly beheaded. NO! This isn¡¯t happening! NO! NO! NO! FATHER! ¡°Dear guests, for too long we¡¯ve been complacent and basked in our past glory. 1000 years ago the lightning fairies ruled over this entire plane and we were feared in many others. Now, this period of peace left us as a shell of our former selves. Our military force isn¡¯t even half of what it was before, our plane is now plagued by two other kingdoms ruled by those who should have been our slaves and our position in the Fairy Council is nothing more than a laughing stock! No more! The Wildstorm family has decided to take the matters into our own hands and bring our race to their rightful place!¡±(Feidan) Just as he finished his speech, my view starts spinning! What is happening? I look around and see the other guests panic as they also have trouble standing. The panic only grows as we realize we can¡¯t use healing magic to remove the poison. No, we can¡¯t use any type of magic. Why? Is this poison?¡± ¡°As many of you have realized already, this poison is a special one that locks your mana inside the brain, rendering your magic useless. You might fell a bit dizzy as a side-effect. Oh, and you¡¯ll also die in about 20minutes. Do not worry thou, the guards are on their way here and they are equipped to help you in case you decide to join us in our quest to rebuild this kingdom!¡± It is at this moment that a strong booming sound resounds, shaking the entire palace. As I try to locate the origin of the sound, I spot my mother surrounded by a powerful radiant aura. Lightning wildly dances around her as she roars with a thunderous voice. ¡°THIS IS ENOUGH! AS THE QUEEN OF THE LIGHTNING FAIRIES AND CHOSEN OF THE LIGHTNING GOD, I¡¯LL END THIS MADNESS RIGHT HERE AND NOW. WAR DOESN¡¯T MAKE US BETTER! IT ONLY MAKES US WASTE ENDLESS LIVES FOR A FOOLISH DESILLUSION! BUT YOU KNOW THIS VERY WELL, SEIRON! YOU DON¡¯T LEAD A RIGHOUSS CRUSADE, YOU ARE JUST THIRSTY FOR POWER! FOR THE FURUTE OF MY PEOPLE, I¡¯LL END THIS HERE EVEN IF I HAVE TO GIVE MY LIFE FOR IT!¡±(The Queen) The royal guards start pouring into the hall and try to attack my mother, only to be instantly charred by the lightning surrounding her. My mother doesn¡¯t even pay attention to them as she focuses on casting a powerful purifying spell to save everyone present here. Just as she¡¯s about to finish, she falls on one knee, revealing a demonic black dagger impaled in her back, aimed at her heart. WHY?! WHO?! There¡¯s only my sister and my little brother behind my mother. Why is this happening? This doesn¡¯t make any sense! Please, mother! You were so cool a second ago, there¡¯s no way a single dagger can take you down! Mother, please, be safe! I, I, I don¡¯t want this! No! Why is all of this happening?! ¡°As the last thing on today¡¯s agenda, I want to publicly announce my engagement with Princess Aniza Thunderroar! May the gods watch over us!¡±(Feidan) Spoiler: Status Fairy Queen
Identity Stats Active Paths
Name Tereza Thunderroar STR 743 [2500] VIT 2468 [6000] Divine Fairy 97.9%
Race Divine High Lightning Fairy AGI 1158 [5000] PER 198 [1000] Chosen of the Lightning God 3 46.1%
Sex Female DEX 534 [2000] INT 3756 [12000] Queen 9 88.9%
Age 3926years CON 1004 [5000] WIS 4200 [15000] Supreme Lightning Mage 2 24.2%
Title Chosen Of The Lightning God END 234 [1000] TLN 5604 [20000] Great Storm Mage 3 74.8%
Affinities Resistances Titles Earned Perks
Lightning 100% Lightning 100% Chosen Of The Lightning God Magical Being True Lightningborn
Wind 96% Mental 89% One-Man Army Magic Prodigy Fast Learner
Light 67% Poison 79% Tyrant Queen Limit Breaker Manaborn
Fire 39% Pain 48% Ruler of all Lightning Fairies Blessed by the Lightning God Ancient
Water 32% Wind 45% Kind Ruler Ascendant Seeker of War
Spatial 3% Elemental 20% Wielder of Cursed Lightning Lightning Flash
Spatial 20% All Resistant Redeemed
Temporal 10% Divine Being Windborn
Seeker of Peace
Chapter 10 - By Storm And Thunder 5 ¡°Aniza, my dear, foolish daughter, know that as your mother, I can¡¯t blame you for following the way of your heart and that I still love you¡­¡± Mother, who¡¯s barely supporting herself on one knee, speaks while she¡¯s on the verge of crying. Why, Aniz? Why have you betrayed our mother? Why have you betrayed us? Your love? Does that man mean more to you than your family? ¡°But it¡¯s also a mother¡¯s duty to punish her children when they stray off the correct path!¡± As mother said that, she raised, removed the dagger form her heart, then turned around and slapped Aniza, sending her flying through the window. Mom¡­ ¡°It¡¯s no use ¡®Your Majesty¡¯, that dagger is the legendary ¡®Betrayer¡¯s Last Kiss¡¯, crafted personally by the last wielder of the sin of Envy at the end of his life. Not even you can remove its curse. My Queen, you¡¯ve became weak since you became a mother. Blindly trusting your back to someone, a thousand years ago, you wouldn¡¯t have made such a foolish mistake.¡±(Seiron) ¡°My ¡®Trusted General¡¯, I really pity you, for you won¡¯t ever experience true happiness. It¡¯s true that in your eyes I may have gotten weak. It¡¯s true that I can¡¯t remove this curse, and I know I won¡¯t live for much longer. BUT DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE ME SO MUCH! THERE¡¯S NO WAY I¡¯M MAKING THIS EASY FOR YOU, BETRAYER!¡± With mother¡¯s shout, the earth began to shake once more, this time even more violently. The walls began to crack and the roof is blown off, revealing a furious storm outside. The entire sky is black, tornadoes are forming everywhere and the sound of thunders echoes through the entire plane. The duke reveals an uneasy expression and for the first time since the beginning of his speech, Feidan lost the smirk on his face. Black lightning starts to descend striking all the guards present and mother blinked near the duke striking with a spear that appeared in her arms. No, she charged towards him, lightning is still present in her wake. The duke tried to guard himself, but he lost an arm and was pushed to the end of the room after the impact. Feidan wanted to intervene, but he was also blasted away with a powerful black lightning that erupted from mother¡¯s hand. Just as I begin to calm down a bit, happy that mother is pushing them back, she falls once again on her knee. ¡°My children, your mother has failed! She can¡¯t protect you any longer¡­ Zorld, come here, let your mother give you one last gift.¡± A bright light enveloped all 4 of us and the poison loses its effect. The sudden change causes me to start coughing. When I look back at mother, she is whispering something in my brother¡¯s ear and she gives him her bracelet. A golden lightning then strikes him, but leaves him unscathed. ¡°Now, leave! I¡¯ll do my best to hold them back enough for you to escape! Please, live! Live and know that your mother always loved and will always love you. Bear the Thunderroar name with pride and seek your happiness.¡± ¡°No! Mother, I¡¯m staying with you, I don¡¯t want to leave you alone. You¡¯ll get better! I know you will! Let me help you somehow!¡± Just as I tried approaching mother, Zorld picked me up and started running. Zeira also picked up the confused Ainzfel and followed us. Are we really abandoning mother like this? Can¡¯t we do anything to help her? Why is this all happening? ¡°Izi, I know you are sad, but now is not the time for crying. Hold your tears and be strong. Be strong for mother and survive. Don¡¯t let her sacrifice be in vain!¡±(Zorld) ¡°But, but¡­ I understand. Put me down, I can run as well.¡± ¡°Zorld, I know that we¡¯ll be faster if you¡¯re carrying her, but you won¡¯t be able to respond if anyone attacks us. I think it¡¯s better to let her run on her own.¡±(Zeira) ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m so happy to see you! What is happening? The whole palace is crumbling, all the guards are running left and right, but nobody is telling us anything!¡± Just as Zorld puts me down, Martha appears from behind the corner. I¡¯m so glad that at least my dear friend is safe. She can escape with us now. Just as I rush to hug her, Zorld beats me in speed and strikes at her heart¡­ ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Iz. There¡¯s a coup going on. We can¡¯t trust anyone but ourselves.¡± ¡°WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! Martha is my friend, there¡¯s no way she¡¯d betray us! Quick, we¡¯ve got to heal her! We can¡¯t let her die here! There¡¯s no way I¡¯m abandoning her too¡­¡± I look towards Zeira as she watches with an undecided expression. She¡¯s the best of us at healing magic, if someone can save Martha, it¡¯s her. Just as I¡¯m about to start crying for her help, Martha interrupts me. ¡°I see¡­ *cough* *cough*¡­ I was a spy all along. Iz, don¡¯t worry about me and run, the others will heal me.¡± What?! Martha was a spy, no! That¡¯s not possible! How can this be?! I turn towards Zorld that speaks with a heavy expression. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Iz, you have every reason to hate me, but we need to run now!¡± Hate you, why? Didn¡¯t she just confess? I don¡¯t understand. I struggle to keep such thoughts to myself and follow Zorld and Zeira as they start running again. On our way we meet two pair of guards, but my two older siblings are able to dispatch them. In almost no time, we are able to reach the palace exit. ¡°There they are! Quickly, kill the royal children! Don¡¯t let them escape!¡± But, instead of the moment of relief we were expecting, we are met with a whole platoon of the royal guards. ¡°Damn! Zorld, keep them out for a bit! I¡¯ll open a portal towards another plane, there¡¯s no way we¡¯ll be able to leave the city with this pursuit!¡± Just as my sister finishes speaking, she already starts chanting. Zorld, also, doesn¡¯t waste a moment and blocks the exit. What am I supposed to do? I¡¯m no match for a single royal guard! Even my brother can barely defeat 3 of them. There¡¯s no way he can stop more than 40 of them for long. Maybe I can slow them with wind magic. I¡¯ll create a barrier around us. By stopping them at the palace entrance, Zorld is able to buy 30 seconds and a portal appears beside Zeira. Just as I see it I rush inside of it. ¡°Zeira, I¡¯ll keep them from following you. Take care of Iz and Ainz for me. Catch this and keep it safe, mother told me to give it to the guardi¡­¡±
Due to special circumstances, your ¡®Princess¡¯ path has been forcefully canceled. You have received the ¡®Fallen Princess¡¯ title. You will receive massive bonuses if you reclaim your kingdom.
My brother said something, but I wasn¡¯t able to hear all of it as I already entered the portal. I also received a notification from the System, but I quickly dismissed it. I suddenly fell way heavier as I find myself landing in a forest. I turn around and look towards where I came from, waiting for my siblings to appear. But, after 5 seconds, instead of my sister, I see 2 guards come through the portal. Lightning carrots! Why? I immediately start running, trying to get away from them. My speed is way too slow compared to normal, but it seems that they suffer from the same thing. ¡°Damn, the bitch brought us to the main plane!¡± ¡°Shut up and focus! We¡¯re in the forest surrounding the Lightning¡¯s God Mountain, if we encounter any monster here, we¡¯re done for. We need to kill the princess and return at once.¡± Lightning¡¯s God Mountain?! Main plane?! No wonder our speed dropped so much! And no! Don¡¯t kill me, just go back already! Just as I was about to get more confident about my escape, the two drop their armor and they catch up to me almost instantly. What should I do?! The necklace! It contains a trace of mother¡¯s magic. I can overload it and use it to gain some distance! *boom* Ouch! That was not supposed to explode so fast! Lightning carrots! What should I do?! I can¡¯t run anymore. I¡¯m not sure I can even stand! Please, I don¡¯t want to die! Sister, what happened to you? Why didn¡¯t you come as well? How were the guards able to enter the portal? I can only watch in horror as the two guards approach me and one of them starts raising his spear. I don¡¯t want to die! Please! ¡°Why? Big brother, where are you? Please, help me! Big sis, what happened to you?! Big sis¡­ Please, help! Anybody, please! PLEASE HELP ME!¡± Just as the guard is about to strike, a silver-haired wingless fairy lands behind him, beheading him with a clean strike while he fell. Where did he come from? Who is he? ¡°Who are you?¡± The other guard beat me to it and asked him, while rising his guard and taking a defensive stance. The older guard showed a bit of fear in his expression, but quickly hid it. ¡°Me? Oh, please don¡¯t let me bother you. I¡¯m just a traveller coming here to collect some free stat points, please excuse the intrusion.¡± Not losing even a second, the stranger started chanting a basic lightningbolt. Why would he expose himself to danger for weak spell? The guard also notices and takes advantage of the moment by charges at him. There¡¯s no way he¡¯ll finish the chant in time! The stranger watches with a relaxed expression as the guard approaches him, and, just as he¡¯s about to be stricken, he stops chanting, let¡¯s himself be hit by the full rebound and stabs the guard in the neck with an unbelievable speed. It wasn¡¯t even a millisecond as he closed more than 1 meter and killed the guard. I really want to appraise him, but I don¡¯t have the long-range version yet. I still need a bit more skill points, uggh! I inspect him more as leisurely he washes his hand of blood in a nearby stream. He seems to be quite young, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s even 100 yet. He is quite handsome, but what stands out the most about him is his clothing. His clothing is really strange. I mean like really, really strange. On his top he has a black shirt with claw marks on going from bellow his shoulders to his belly. The shirt itself is very thin and rigid and seems to be made from an unknown material, but it doesn¡¯t provide any protection. And don¡¯t get me started on his trousers that seem to be made of black bricks. They are also thin and rigid, but this time I¡¯m not sure how resistant they are. Wait! He¡¯s looking over here! What should I do? Should I simply thank him and ask for help? There¡¯s no way I can survive on my own. Still in a relaxed manner, he picks up a spear and heads over here. ¡°Ugmm, hel¡­¡± ¡°So, young princess, how many stat points are you worth?¡± Spoiler: Status Eaizbelle
Identity Stats Active Paths
Name Eaizbelle Thunderroar STR 76 [120] VIT 103 [150] Lightning Fairy 26.9%
Race Lightning Fairy AGI 112 [200] PER 30 [50] Lightning Mage 2 18.3%
Sex Female DEX 95 [130] INT 127 [250]
Age 35 CON 45 [80] WIS 63 [150]
Title END 20 [40] TLN 240 [350]
Affinities Resistances Titles Earned Perks
Lightning 97% Lightning 92% Fallen Princess Magical Being Lightningborn
Wind 24% Poison 20%
Light 18%
Skills
Common Rare
Advanced Appraisal Lv7 Lightning Magic Lv3
Meditation Lv5 Lightning Magic Language Lv12
Basic Lightning Magic Lv9 Basic Lightning Magic Manipulation Lv2
Basic No-Attribute Magic Lv5
Basic Wind Magic Lv3
Basic Light Magic Lv2
Basic Spearmanship Lv1
Basic Swordsmanship Lv2
Chapter 11 - By Storm And Thunder 6 When I suggested that I can kill her at any time, I did so to intimidate her and negotiate a better reward for me saving her. Sure I¡¯m interested in gaining stat points, but I won¡¯t go so far as to start killing people for them. Alas, my threat backfired and she started crying and pleading. I needed to calm her down, so I told her that I might spare her life if she tells me how she arrived near ¡®my base¡¯. Once again, she took me by surprise and started a 30 minutes narrative, instead of just the part I was interested in. At least listening to her story wasn¡¯t a complete waste of time. First of all, she calmed down significantly and doesn¡¯t seem as scared anymore. I¡¯ve heard that getting the story out helps a lot in getting over it. Secondly, I now know that I won¡¯t receive any reward for helping her. I might get one for her capture, but meeting with those Wildstorm seems like a bad idea. Thirdly, I got a lot more information about this world. Fairies actually exist, there are multiple planes and magic might be more powerful than I initially thought. But now the problem is what I should do with this girl. If I am to help her, there¡¯s nowhere I can drop her off. She would be just a burden through my journey, one I can¡¯t and don¡¯t want to have. The problem is that if am to leave her alone, she would surely die. I can end her misery right now so she won¡¯t have to suffer, but something is off. Was the System goal just giving me some stat points? It¡¯s true that I already earned more than 160 and I might some more for the princess, but I can¡¯t help but wonder if there isn¡¯t something else I can do here. I can get more information out of her beforehand, but I would feel like I¡¯ve lost even my last bit of morality if I am to just interrogate her, then kill her off. ¡°Uhmm, excuse me for asking, but what kind of fairy are you? I¡¯ve never seen someone without wings. Are you a mutated species?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a human. But more importantly, what do you know about mutated species?¡± ¡°My mother always told me to never pick more than 1 racial path at a time. Later, I¡¯ve wondered why so I¡¯ve read a book about it. Having more than 1 racial path might cause a mutation. This would grant you a lot of benefits in short term, but will greatly limit your potential to improve further. All base stat gains would receive a 90% penalty and most other racial paths will be locked.¡± Damn, that was too close of a bullet I¡¯ve dodged there. Why isn¡¯t something so important written in the System manual?! Well, she appears very proud of herself for knowing this, so it might not be common knowledge. Anyway, she talked like the System features are the most obvious thing in the world. Combining this with the fact that a monster had the ¡®mutated¡¯ tag, it is safe to assume that all living beings of this world are connected to the System. ¡°I see. Thank you, I didn¡¯t know that. Getting back on topic, have you ever heard about humans?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve read about them before, but you¡¯re the first one I¡¯ve ever seen. I know that most of them live in the main plane, that they have short lifespans and that they are ¡®normal¡¯ beings.¡± ¡°¡®Normal¡¯ beings?¡± ¡°Yes, most races living in the main plane are ¡®normal¡¯ beings. Just as most races living in the lightning plane are magical or elemental being. We, fairies, are magical beings as well.¡± ¡°I see. Is this related to loss of stats you¡¯ve suffered when you entered the main plane?¡± ¡°Not entirely. For example even if I am to go to the water realm, I would still lose most of my stats. It¡¯s more like every plane has its own set of rules. In the lightning realm everyone with fewer than 80% lightning affinity faces restrictions. In the main plane, we, fairies, if un-contracted, lose 80% of our stats.¡± ¡°What do you mean by un-contracted?¡± ¡°It was discovered that we can form 2 types of contracts that allow us to come into the main plane without restrictions. My mother told us that, in her youth, she traveled the main plane under a ¡®partner¡¯ contract, but she never went into details¡­¡± I think I¡¯m starting to understand the System¡¯s intention. Still, I need to be careful when touching this subject. Her eyes were sparkling when she started talking about her mother traveling the main plane, but her look turned into one of sadness at the end and now she seems on the verge of crying again. Let¡¯s help her by changing the subject. ¡°I see, so what¡¯s the other type of contract?¡± ¡°The ¡®familiar¡¯ contract.¡± ¡°And what¡¯s the difference between the two?¡± ¡°They are very different. First of all, the type of contract is automatically decided by the difference in power. If the fairy is weaker, the contract is ¡®familiar¡¯. If the power is similar, the contract will be ¡®partner¡¯. If the fairy is stronger, the contract is ¡®mentor¡¯, but this type doesn¡¯t remove the restrictions of the plane. Then there¡¯s also the fact that in ¡®familiar¡¯ contract, the restrictions are lifted only for our pixie form, while ¡®partner¡¯ only remove them in fairy form.¡± She seems to be very proud of her knowledge, asking her questions seems like an easy way to get her out of reminiscing about her dead mother. ¡°Interesting. What does this contract entails?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ there was something about distance and something about mana transfer, but I don¡¯t remember the exact details. I¡¯m sorry. Are you perhaps interested in forming a contract with me?¡± Still, she is no encyclopedia, so I can¡¯t expect her to answer all my questions. But I have to give her a point here, I¡¯m interested in this contract, mainly because of two reasons. One, removing her restrictions would at least allow her to fend for herself, so I¡¯ll gain a free guide. Two, I¡¯m 90% sure this contract is what the System intended from the start and I might receive surprise bonuses. Of course, if it¡¯s too troublesome or if this contract imposes annoying restrictions upon me, I¡¯ll just go with the original plan and be done with this. ¡°Yes, I was touched by your story and I was thinking if I can help you somehow. In this place, even my life is in danger, so I cannot afford to protect you in your current state. So, I thought that I should at least remove the restrictions for you, if I can.¡± ¡°Ug-uh¡­ thank you¡­ I really thought my life would end here¡­ but you saved me¡­ and now you offer to help me. I¡¯m not sure if I can even repay your kindness.¡± And here she is, forgetting that I threatened to kill her not even an hour ago. She probably shrugged it off as a joke. Well, that¡¯s for the better. I prefer her following me out of gratitude than out of fear. Now, to the important part. ¡°So, how do you actually form a contract?¡± ¡°Hmm, if I remember correctly, one of us needs the [Contract] skill.¡± ¡°Do you have it?¡± ¡°No, and I only have 9 skill points left. I¡¯m sorry.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
You have learned [Contract Lv1] for 13 skill points.
¡°No problem then, I just bought it.¡± A skill like this is bound to useful in the future as well. I don¡¯t have any skills I aim for at the moment, so buying it is a no-brainer. ¡°Wow, you¡¯re willing to spend 50 skill points just for helping me?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I got lucky and it was less for me.¡± ¡°Really?! I¡¯m sure that [Contract] is at least a middle tier rare skill, you must have a good affinity towards it.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see. First of all, you must agree to start contract with me.¡± ¡°I do.¡±
Contract type: Master-Familiar Master: Avitus Volten(Human) Familiar: Eaizbelle Thunderroar(Lightning Fairy) 1. The master and the familiar mustn¡¯t be more than 2.43 kilometers apart at any given time, or all contract¡¯s benefits would be temporarily canceled. 2. The master must provide his familiar with 10% of at least his mana all the time. 3. The contract can be canceled at any time by either the master or the familiar.
At first glance, the contract seems quite bare, but this is just its skeleton. I can continue to add clauses, and only the final version will be presented to her for a final approval. As it is now, the contract is balanced, maybe a bit advantageous for her. It won¡¯t stay so for long, if I am to help her, I would like something in return. I¡¯ll make sure that she fulfills her duty as a guide for me in this new world. Also, I want to make sure that she can¡¯t betray me. I don¡¯t see her doing that, but it¡¯s better to be safe than sorry. Also I want to avoid a case in which she endangers me unknowingly by disclosing important information. I have two titles that might be dangerous to reveal and in the future I might have a lot of secrets, especially if I am the follow the same path I did on Earth. She likes to talk a lot and is very na?ve, and that works against her, as evidentiated by telling me her story. ¡°I finished the contract. Eaizbelle Thunderroar, do you agree to become my familiar under these terms?¡±
Contract type: Master-Familiar Master: Avitus Volten(Human) Familiar: Eaizbelle Thunderroar(Lightning Fairy) 1. The master and the familiar mustn¡¯t be more than 2.43 kilometers apart at any given time, or all contract¡¯s benefits would be temporarily canceled. 2. The master must provide his familiar with at least 10% of his mana all the time. 3. The familiar must answer her master¡¯s questions. 4. The familiar cannot lie to her master. 5. The familiar cannot, unless specifically ordered to, hurt or endanger her master directly or indirectly. 6. The familiar cannot divulge any information about her master without permission. 7. The contract can be canceled at any time by the master. 8. At the time of the contract¡¯s cancelation, the familiar will forget everything about her master. 9. Clause 6 can be annulled at any time by the master.
Looking over the terms, I didn¡¯t miss a slight hint of surprise and displeasure on her face, but it was quickly was quickly replaced by a look of determination. After reading the whole document, she turned toward me and nodded. ¡°Yes, I accept Avitus Volten as my master under this terms!¡±
Eaizbelle Thunderroar has become your familiar. Your maximum mana and your mana regeneration are decreased by 10%. You have obtained a 5% temporarily bonus to TLN. Your lightning affinity is temporary increased by 50%. These effects are lost is you are too far away from your familiar or if the contract is cancelled.
Your lightning affinity is over 99%. The Lightning God has shown interest in you. You may now attempt his trial in order to receive his blessing.
Hmm, that¡¯s quite unexpected. I mean sure, the bonus is nice, the loss of maximum mana is what I expected from the contract clause, the regeneration loss is a bit inconvenient, nothing special thou. But what¡¯s with the Lightning God. I¡¯ve heard the guard talking about the Lightning God¡¯s Mountain before, but I didn¡¯t expect this god to be real, let alone show interest in me. And I bet that I must reach the top of the mountain or something in order to take his trial. ¡°Hey Izi, what can you tell me about the Lightning God?¡± The princess seemed to be focused on her notifications as well, and was startled by me suddenly calling out to her. She looks a bit absentmindedly at me, then she starts tearing up a bit. Damn! Her family used to call her Izi, the nickname she liked was Iz. I had the A.I. chip record her story, but I paid attention only on the bits I was interested in. Should have reviewed that part before calling her, not after. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, that was unthoughtful of me. Should I call you Iz from now on?¡± ¡°No, you can call me how you like. I need to be strong and¡­ug-uh¡­ and¡­ move on and live my live happily, just as¡­ my mother wished to!¡± This girl! Her line would have been so much cooler if she wasn¡¯t sobbing while saying it. The contract forbids her from lying, so those must be her true thoughts. Still, I would really be downplaying her conviction if I were to keep calling her by that childish nickname. ¡°So, Iz, what can you tell me about the Lightning God?¡± ¡°The Lightning God is one of the higher gods, and he is the main deity worshiped in the lightning plane. He has very little interest in the affairs of his followers and he values power and potential over anything else. He rarely gives his blessing, but everyone who received it had a great impact on history. From mother¡¯s stories, I¡¯ve heard that she became his chosen on that very mountain.¡± Looking towards where Iz was pointing, my suspicions were confirmed. If I am to undertake his trial, I must climb up there. But do I want to do so? That blessing sounds very temping, but I don¡¯t like the idea of becoming someone¡¯s lackey. If this blessing comes without any strings attached whatsoever, I¡¯m definitely climbing that mountain. ¡°Uhm¡­ excuse me, but how should I call you¡­?¡± ¡°I¡¯m used to being called director or Mister Volten, but the first one is no longer valid. You can go with either Mister Volten, or master as per our contract.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have a nickname?¡± ¡°I do, but I¡¯d prefer you not using it.¡± ¡°I understand then. Do you want to take the trial as well, master?¡± ¡°I¡¯m at least interest in it. What are the responsibilities of a blessed or of a chosen?¡± ¡°Most gods require their chosen to spread their name, but mother said that the Lightning God told her that it¡¯s the god¡¯s job to choose the right person to represent them.¡± Seems like we have a new destination. Spoiler: Status
Identity Stats Active Paths
Name Avitus Volten STR 238 [261.8] VIT 153 [168.3] Human 43.8%
Race Human AGI 293 [321.2] PER 369 [405.9] Otherworlder 2 38.2%
Sex Male DEX 327 [359.7] INT 353 [386.1] Apprentice Lightning Mage 47.2%
Age 47 CON 192 [211.2] WIS 98 [106.7] Magic Scholar 1 0%
Title Outsider END 103 [113.3] TLN 50 [73.6]
Affinities Resistances Titles Earned Perks
Lightning 99% Lightning 95% Otherworlder Lightningborn A.I. Chip
Mental 82% Pain 72% Outsider Protagonist
Shadow 53% Mental 55%
Fire 38% Poison 52%
Spatial 8% Spatial 25%
Temporal 2%
Skills
Common Rare Personal
Basic Self-Regeneration Lv8 Fake Status Lv1 Quantum A.I. Processor Lv27
Basic Martial Arts Lv9 Basic Long-range Appraisal Lv1
Dismantle MAX Lightning Conversion MAX
Meditation Lv1 Cognitive Overpower Lv4
Basic Fire Magic Lv1 Automatic Translation MAX
Basic Lightning Magic Lv1 Basic Lightning Magic Manipulation Lv2
No-Attribute Magic Language Lv1
You have 191.2 unspent stat points, 3 unspent skill point and 12 unspent path points.