《Quests of Silence》


 Their End is Where We Begin

    Their End is Where We Begin


    Magnus began to worry as he pulled the left cutting mandible of the lionant against his hip.  The man he tasked should have finished by now.  If he failed, all the work he did would be useless and the innocent deaths he could have prevented as he delayed would weigh on him forever.


    Still holding the six foot tall eighteen foot long lionant by the jaw, he kept his gaze on the trexxil preparing to charge him.  A tickle on his brain by his lightning pulse indicated that the behemoth snake would soon strike.  The Monsters were starting to understand his patterns and shortly he would be unable to dodge them any longer.  The blood soaking his clothing lent credence to his inability to stall for much longer.


    At last, the world mana that he had allocated for the man¡¯s task left him.  The man had completed his task and obtained the hundred gold coins that the world energy would spawn for him.  It had cost Magnus much for the little he needed done, and the man was now quite a bit richer.


    Momentarily.


    Now, Magnus just had to kill these three monsters and all would be prepared.  The dire wolf that circled the edges of the arena would not challenge him despite it¡¯s much higher level.  It could tell that something about him felt wrong and it had not survived as the beast of the arena by being foolish.


    A pulling velcro sound echoed when a rope of mana separated from his hand to his elbow.  No longer supported by the mana, his power over the lionant weakened and as it tossed it¡¯s head Magnus¡¯ feet broke from the ground.


    While being lifted, he infused the mana rope with a compressed ice short pulse and swung it through the lionant¡¯s jaw joint.  Although it did little damage to the lionant itself, it caused the joint to drastically reduce in durability and applied a freezing status.  A hard twist of the wrists as he pulled the jaw strongly against his hips snapped it cleanly.


    Unconnected to anything, he flipped end over end with the three foot long serrated jaw in his right hand.  After applying a small amount of soul mana to the jaw, a small thunder pulse to his extended left hand rotated him to face the approaching snake.  Head to the ground, bent legs to the air he jammed the lionant¡¯s jaw through the bottom of the attacking snakes mouth.


    The extra push from his attack flipped him a hairs breath over it¡¯s head, it¡¯s momentum and pain causing all fifty feet of it to slide forward.  Now parallel and facing the ground he readied his mana for a long pulse.  The snakes tail whipped about to hit him as it streaked past, and he thrust an open palmed strike at the oncoming blow.


    The crack of a whip by the tail as it hit him caused his health to deplete an additional thirty percent, if his counter attack hadn¡¯t landed he would have been dead.  But now the long pulse traveled up the length of the behemoth snake.  Bouncing against the armored skin and dealing massive internal damage.  When the pulse reached the lionant jaw, still buried in the snakes mouth, it began to shake.  Vibration increased until the durability hit zero, and it exploded.


    The shrapnel, mostly contained within the snakes mouth, caused the final fatal damage to it.  The snake now laid dead, mangled head buried in the sand as the rest of it¡¯s body continued to twitch.  The irritating roar of the crowd was muted for Magnus, only reaching him as an underlay to the sound of vibrating strings.


    Falling to the ground, he extended one hand downward to break his fall.  He lost track of the fight around him and almost missed the trexxil¡¯s charge.  Another minor thunder pulse flipped his legs over his center of mass.  Pushed only slightly out of the way, he hit the sand hard just as it¡¯s flared wings swept over him with the hum of vibrating feathers.


    Only a few of the iron hard razor sharp feathers had brushed him, but enough of the slash had hit to overcome his defense.  His health dropped under ten percent and the outer edges of his vision became coated in solid red.  Everything now tinted red, his vision had been imparied.


    A quick nature short pulse prevented his death from bleeding.  Deciding to finish the lionant while the trexxil prepared a new charge, Magnus lifted his right foot to pound down a land runners pulse.  As the wave rippling through the sand neared the lionant¡¯s front paws he dropped his right foot to the ground once more.  Warped directly under it, Magnus flipped his bent  legs over his torso and rotated his arms to prepare his lunge.


    Still roaring in pain from losing it¡¯s cutting mandible, the lionant never noticed he had moved.  Powering his hands with major thunder pulses, he prepared mana for an earthen short pulse to go into his combined feet.  Just as the lionant realized something endangered it, Magnus activated one of his thunder pulses.  Thrusting with massive speed as his knee stuck against it¡¯s neck, the lionant¡¯s four front paws rose from the ground until it lost out and landed on it¡¯s back.


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    Cutting the power of his unfinished thunder pulse caused him damage, but Magnus quickly flexed his core muscles to twist himself around.  Legs now facing downward just as lionant thudded to the ground, he activated the other thunder pulse.  Less powerful now, it still shot him downward at incredible speed.  Sensing danger, the muscles of the lionant body rippled as it tried to stand, but it didn¡¯t manage to do more half turn when Magnus hit.


    The power of the earthen short pulse turned his legs hard as diamond and massively increased his attack power for a few brief seconds.  Those seconds were enough.  Crashing on the lionant¡¯s neck, he traveled through it completely before slamming upon the sand floor.  The smash great enough to toss sand into the air and crater the ground where he hit.


    Although he climbed from the hole quickly, Magnus had still been splashed by some of the ant lions blood.  The acid in it¡¯s blood so potent that his health fell to three percent before the water pulse could shed it from his skin.


    Seeing the trexxil charging once more, Magnus had no time to recover.  Setting his feet widely apart, he leaned forward with his hands extended before him.  Wrists touching and fingers spread apart, he prepared to catch the trexxil and began charging mana for a nature-light omnipulse.  If he didn¡¯t finish this now, he would die.


    Jolting from the collision, Magnus feet left furrows in the sand as the heavy trexxil forced him back.  His defense not high enough, the damage increased second by second sending him ever closer to death.  A few short feet from the wall he released the omnipulse, hoping it enough mana had accumulated.  As the pulse shot down his arm, the trexxil sensed something wrong and attempted to retreat.  But Magnus would not let go and it only cemented it¡¯s doom.


    The pulse hit and the trexxil could only shudder as internal organs were disintegrated.  As the pulse reached it¡¯s skin, it¡¯s iron feathers stood straight out and vibrated against each other like a madman¡¯s windchime.  Unable to hold on any longer, the feathers exploded sending shards of iron everywhere.  Blood leaking from it¡¯s pores, it died staring at Magnus with red hate filled eyes.


    Weakened to under one percent of health by the shattered feathers, Magnus¡¯ skill Spit in Death¡¯s Eye activated.  Since the dire wolf had no desire to fight him, and Magnus¡¯ depleted mana would not recover for a long time, he also ignored the wolf.  Walking to the center of the arena to a cheering crowd, Magnus kept silent.  The whole time he had fought not a word had been said, but this silence was ominous.


    Reaching the center of the arena, the crowd that minutes before had wanted to see him die cheered for him to fight the wolf.  Instead, he took a crystallized mana stone from his soul and built a spell point around it.  Looking up at the City dweller¡¯s he despised, eyes promising only death, he activated the point releasing the stored mana within the crystal as a massive wave.


    Wave passing through the outer edges of the arena and continuing on, the crowd became deafeningly silent.  When the wave hit the resonant mana stones he had tasked the man with placing, they activated and began glowing as they leaked a light blue mist.  When most of the stones had cracked and gone dark, the spell circle Magnus had carved into the bones of the building activated.  Shortly, the eighth circle spell would go into effect.


    Filthy, bloody, burned and beaten, Magnus stared at the silent and apprehensive crowd, his anger burning uncontrollably.  His bone deep all devouring hatred for what these men and women had done would let him give no quarter.  Give no mercy.  When he had finished scouring this place from the earth, only the cries of their souls would echo the night.  This would be their graveyard.


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 Introducing Grand Planes

    Introducing Grand Planes


    IndentIn a small room, small but very well made and luxuriously furnished, there sat an old man.  Sitting near to the fire and appearing to be asleep, he looked Old, and from the air of him, getting older by the day.  The walls of the room had pictures that were clearly of the man with his family when he was younger.  But as the pictures got newer there were fewer people with him, until at last, he alone remained.  As the door to the room cracked open, the man snorted and sat forward on his recliner and said while still half sleeping, "It''s time," to the door more as a statement then as a question. Then louder, "Come in!"


    IndentThe door finished opening and a thin man stepped in.  With his enormously oversized thick glasses perched on his nose, he nodded his head.  The glasses slipped down his nose until with practiced ease that spoke of countless repetitions they were pushed back up.


    Indent"Yes. If we start moving now the studio will be ready for us before we start in ten minutes," clearly having heard him the first time.  "If we go over we''re going to lose the audience before we even begin."


    IndentAs he heaved himself from his chair, the gentleman spoke with mild irritation, "Fine. Fine. Grab my cane and we will get going."


    IndentThe lean man did as asked, and moved over to help his elder up.  Expecting and receiving the wave away the elderly gent held onto the chair arm as he got up before taking the cane.  Leaving the room behind his older companion, the thin man dressed in black slacks and a brown corduroy sweater shut the door firmly behind him.  When he did so, the room lights dimmed.  The paintings faded from the wall, and the fireplace turned into a radiator leaving only an old recliner and stark white walls in the room.


    IndentAfter he left the room, he hit a small button next to the door and said softly, "pickup in room eight," before flipping the sign on the door to empty.  Shortly, maintenance would be there to pick up the old chair to ship to storage before a quick cleaning would ready the room for a new occupant.


    IndentSwiftly moving down the hallway he caught up to the slightly stooped elderly man after a short moment, the man moving more at an amble than a swift walk.  Matching his pace, walking on the elders left side away from his cane, he appeared lost in thought and in no hurry to talk.


    IndentShooting a quick glance at him, the old gent asked gruffly, "Nervous?"


    IndentA slightly startled reply came, "A little Mr. Reynoulds.  I have not given an address to an audience this large since I finished my required speech class in college," and he quickly returned to brooding.


    IndentReynoulds put his cane down with slightly harder thump and said, "How many times have I told you to call me John, Mike."  He already knew what Mike''s answer before he replied, this being a long standing argument.


    Indent"When you stop paying my paycheck and letting me work with such cool toys, then I''ll go back to calling you John.  Until then, you''re my boss and I will respect your position."  Shooting a glance at John and seeing him mouthing along his argument he gave a slight smirk and added in a slightly softer tone, "if not your person."


    IndentA slight grin unseen on his face, John ignored the remark and said instead, "This door here?" having accomplished his goal of taking Mike''s mind off his upcoming speech.


    IndentEntering the room that said studio, Mike again held the door for John.  Taking a few steps in John looked around shaking his head.  A small room, just 12 feet by 12 feet, with the back half of it separated by a black wire mesh that had an odd shine to it.  Just inches in front of the mesh stood a small metal structure with a screen mounted onto it and a small orb on the top.  Directly in front of the stand, and straight in from the door, stood a thin podium that Mike moved around John to reach.  Looking over at John he said, "You should probably head to the back unless you want to be on camera," nodding at the screen with it''s rapidly falling numbers.  More swiftly than before, John walked towards the mesh and pushed through it as it parted around him like oil.


    IndentAs John disappeared behind the mesh Mike placed a cover over his ear and hooked his glasses into the cover.  As he pressed a small button in the center of the ear cover a small red light started blinking before turning a steady green.  As the ear cover went green, the screen in front of him flashed -Connected in- three times beneath the numbers that were rapidly nearing zero.


    IndentTaking a breath and letting it out just as the counter hit zero, Mike looked through his glasses at the newly changed room.  While the camera and screen that now showed Mike standing at the podium were the same, the rest of the room had changed.  No longer in a six-by-twelve half room, he now stood at the front of a large auditorium with nothing more that a few floating pictures to distract the audience from him.  And what an audience it appeared, not in density, for there were only a few that showed themselves.  These were the ones for whom it being seen at ''Events'' held import, otherwise their own followers would wonder where they had been.  The giant tattooed man at the back without a shirt.  The thin eldritch lady wearing an almost see through dress.  The gnome in a sweater vest with tufts of hair flying in every direction.  The skeleton with a crown and short shorts on.  The lizard man with his eyes moving independently of each other.  Dozens of ''characters'' who felt they needed to be seen at large events to be able to say, "I was there."  Likely, they would be at two or three other ''Events'' this same day.


    IndentBut to Mike, the important audience could be seen listed in his lower right glasses lens.  While the visible audience would bring some viewers with them, the ones that didn''t show themselves would be the ones that he needed to impress.  They would be the ones who would buy the first batch of the game and give the most important reviews.  Currently, the number sat at 14,789.  Heaving as small a breath as he could, Mike began.


    Indent¡±Ladies, gentlemen and others," looking momentarily at a large blob of slime, "Thank you for coming to this press release for Horizon inc. and the update on our newest game Grand Planes.  It has been a long time, but we believe that we have finally accomplished John Reynoulds challenge and made a game that will surpass the first VR platform and still reigning champion, Royal Rampage.  First a brief refresher on what brought us to this point."  Upon saying this he noticed the audience number dipped to 14,346.


    Indent"Decades ago the first VR games came onto the market and fell almost unnoticed into the gaming industry.  Clunky and simplistic at first they were simply a slightly more immersive version of what had come before. A slightly more personalized TF, moved to little more realistic Doom, each accumulated gear that somewhat worked but nothing that was genuinely outstanding.  Then came the capsule and Royal Rampage, and nothing was ever the same again."  The numbers dipped again to 13,638.


    Indent"For a long time we had known how to make our class 0 AI but they had drastic problems in them.  They lacked the flexibility in programming to allow them to function as all purpose autos unless their surroundings were closely controlled.  If this flexibility was added in, then even the slightest inconsistency between two AIs would cause the AIs to go into a spiral programming cycle.  With each trying to out-think the other until one of them burned itself out or collapsed into cascading error.  For a time, the consensus was that we would be unable to properly program working AIs that were not functionally crippled in what they could do.  We were still able to install a few into key places and with only one AI there were able to function better than their equivalent human operators, but they created their own problems and required massive amounts of power."  12,998.


    Indent"Then came the Royal Rampage''s AI and all that was known was blown up to smithereens.  With Royal Rampage, even time changed and here we first learned of how cognitive acceleration could be enacted through artificial intelligence.  With the knowledge that it was possible, many of the former games attempted to emulate it but only managed at most a doubling of cognitive acceleration and often with harsh side effects.  The sad truth is that after nine-teen years, we are only now able to surpass the reigning champion, Royal Rampage."  With that little teaser, he saw that the audience had perked up a bit and his number jumped to up to 13,286 as the first truly new information was released.  Not much though, as this claim had been said many times before.


    Indent"As of five years ago, Mr. Renoulds had known what Royal Rampage was, and had even played it a bit but was never truly interested.  It was only when he found out that the game was still far exceeding anything anyone else had made that his interest was pricked.  With VR technology seeping so quickly into people lives, why had no one managed to outdo the South Koreans.  And so, he issue his challenge, ''Give me an idea that will make me say wow.  An idea that is larger and deeper and more expansive and more Grand.  An idea that will surpass any platform before it, I will have it made, and you will receive a check for ten million dollars for your idea.''  Thousand upon hundred of thousand upon million of ideas came in; and after eight months of sorting and reading by hundreds of people, three checks were written."  Again there had been a small increase in the number; 14,290.


    Indent"The first check written was for the idea of VR size.  This idea came from Molly who stated that Mr Reynoulds was misinformed.  That Royal Rampage was not popular because it was a game, but that it was an entire unexplored world.  That if he wanted his platform to be better it couldn''t be just a game, and it couldn''t be just a world.  To be the best it needed to be an entire universe, a universe that had new rules to it that could be discovered.  For this to work, there would have to be fundamental differences between how the VR rules worked and how reality works.  And then, enable the users to explore this universe as completely as possible.


    Indent"To create this, we designed a platform in which more that just the world of Aedrath could be explored.  For this design to work, a person would have to be able to stay in Aedrath or move elsewhere with relative ease and still be able to have a fulfilling time playing in either area.  As such, the world of Aedrath has been made for those who wish to play more casually and still have an incredible time while moving to the Central Plane will be for those who wish to play competitively.  This is accomplished at level one hundred by use of two skill that are automatically generated, one that stops continued leveling and one that begins the trial to move the the Central Plane.


    Indent"If you choosing to move to the central plane, you are then able to enter into the hall of fame and have access to more options than you have in Aedrath on paths your avatar can take.  It is suggested that if you wish to be competitive that you move planes when you are level one hundred.


    Indent"But this is to be an entire world, and as such you will have to compete with all of the NPCs that exist within the Platform.  Being a player in this game gives you only two benefits over the NPCs in that you get to respawn when you die and you can record video of you game play from your capsule to review.  Other than this everything that you can do in the game the NPCs can do.  This will promote the idea that you are entering into a world that you need to explore, not into a game that you play.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Indent"The second check was written to Jeremy for his idea of variety.  He believed that the attraction of Royal Rampage was because it allowed a person to do almost anything they wanted.  From this a person could craft their own path, if they wanted it, and that path would both suit them and empower them.  He stated that if Mr Reynould wanted the greatest platform possible he had to make it so that everyone was as unique in his game as in reality.  If people believed that what they created in his game was truly unique to themselves, then they would value it that much more."  A short check of his display, Mike saw the number move up to 18,109.


    Indent"To advance this idea, most of the skill and class production is generated by an AI.  While there are many classes and skills that resemble each other, seeming only to have a small difference, these small differences create massive changes. Most of the classes that can be obtained can only be obtained if the correct skills have been learned to the appropriate level and various other requirements have been met. Only a few different types of classes correspond to how you advance in the planes.


    Indent"The common class is the most basic, and the one you must first obtain before you can even access your status screen.  Only three common classes exist: Mage, Warrior, and Rogue.  Just by the listing of their names you should be able to tell the major function of each class.  But that does not mean that further classes cannot be learned, just that your play style will be different.  For example, all three classes can generate a swordsman class.  This class would simply have large differences, a mage swordsman will focus on elemental attacks, a warrior swordsman will focus on raw power, and a rouge swordsman will focus on critical damage.


    Indent"As a person moves forward on their own path after obtaining their common class they will pick up many classes, some of which are much more difficult to obtain than others.  As such there are, with little variance, four types of classes that can be collected.


    Indent"The first is a generated class.  This is the simplest and most difficult class to obtain.  For a generated class you have no need to find an instructor, although it might be helpful, you simply need to have the required skills at an appropriate level and you will automatically get it.  For example, the swordsman class can be created simply by bringing your sword skill up to beginner level.  There are an uncountable number of this kind of class.  Any class can be made this way, and there is a great deal of importance in generating classes for greater power.


    Indent"The second type of class is the instructed class.  As implied, an instructed class can be obtained by having someone or something teach you the skills needed.  For many of these classes, they would refuse to even talk to you if you have not generated a required class for their skill as you would be too unreliable for them to bother with.  Almost all instructed classes are more powerful than the ones that can be easily learned through generation.  However, you can still generate an instructed class as long as you know how the class is created by your instructor.


    Indent"The third type of class is the hidden class.  A hidden class has to be accepted before it will show any information about itself, and if not accepted right away will often be unavailable latter.  The greatest difference is that a hidden class has no description and you simply have to hope that luck gives you a class that is useful to you.  It maybe something you want and give you an increase in power or it may actually weaken you, it''s simply up to Fate.


    Indent"The fourth type of class is an extremely rare subset of the hidden class and called a hazard class.  This is because a hazard class has a permanent alteration to it that has no possibility of removal with a better grade of class in the same category.  This change is normally associated with a great improvement one or two areas, but in many cases will be crippling to a given style of play.


    Indent"To show people how they are doing, the concepts of rank and grade have been added.  Grade is how good a class or skill can be.  They are as follow: basic, beginner, novice, initiate,  intermediate, advanced, expert, adept, guru, master, savant, grand master, and divine.  In most instances, a higher grade of skill or class will be an improved form of a lower grade one that only forms when all necessary conditions have been met.  Often this will lower the negatives or increasing the bonuses.


    Indent"Rank however is less nebulous.  Rank is the number of people still living who have obtained the grade of class or skill that you have or one that is higher.  This number is not only applies to skills and classes but also to quests.  In a quest, the rank of the quest relates to how many times the quest, or one of sufficient similarity, has successfully been completed.


    Indent"The third check was written for the idea of time.  This idea came from Himeko who stated that the real reason Royal Rampage became so pervasive throughout the fabric of society was because of all the extra time a person obtains by joining.  Even if a person did not care for the actual game play, the peripheral bonus of so much more time in a day made it uneconomical to go without.  As was once said ''ask me for anything but time'' and with Royal Rampageyou were able to gain so much more time.  Even if the average age of a person never increased, with moderate usage of Royal Rampage anyone could obtain more than an extra century of life.  For Mr Reynould''s to have any chance of success, the new platform would have to match or exceed the cognitive acceleration of Royal Rampage.


    Indent"With these directives from Mr Reynould, the design team began development four years ago.  The first major decision made was that only the most basic of outlines would be developed by humans, the majority of the work would have to be created by the AI.  With the continued inability to create a full class one AI, like in Royal Rampage, development went in a different direction.  Instead of one AI that determines everything, we proceeded to make it so that multiple AI could be linked into one overall matrix that resonated between the different AI.  The majority of this framework would rest upon three AI that balanced each other in the creation of Grand Planes.  With three separate node points, if two came into conflict the third would be able to break them out of their crashing decent.  This is the basic concept, actual implementation was a tad more difficult."


    IndentLooking at the audience, Mike saw that there were a few indications of amusement amount the audience.  Many of the visible people there were to one level or another well educated on the limits of class zero AIs.  The biggest being the difficulty of multiple AI working together.  If it had been as simple as needing a few checks on one another, there would have been far greater progress in other games.  His vagueness on how it was accomplished indicated that the implementation secret would be well guarded to prevent duplication.


    Indent"After approximately two years, we managed to get the AIs working in a stable configurations.  At this point the AIs: Fortuna, Grim, and Kratos, were working together and creating a resonance that enable a single user to reach a cognitive acceleration of four.  Over the next year we slowly added more AIs into the matrix founded by the Three, adding more depth and foundational steadiness until we hit what we believed to be an optimal stopping point with twenty four AI.  With this many there would be the smallest likelihood of a cascade failure that would crash the whole matrix."  A glance showed the audience up to 32,456 as interest grew.


    Indent"A year ago began the stress test for the game.  At this point the passage of time within Grand Planes was cranked up to a million to one.  For diagnoses the time was dropped to ten-thousand, a user could enter the VR at this level if only for one second at a time before developing problems.  The test only dropped back to a slower pace three days ago for a full diagnostic session to determine if there were any major errors that had been missed.  I am happy to say that none were found and the VR matrix is as rock solid as the day the test began.  When the full version of the game is released in six days, people will find that the cognitive acceleration is set to eight.  At this level the matrix will be able to support more than three billion users."  Mike''s audience members had jumped to 69,237 as people heard about the increased cognitive acceleration.


    Indent"To support this increase a new capsule has been created and has been in production for nearly six months now.  With time, it is hoped that the price of the new capsule will lower as the major component of it should be more economical to produce.  However, for the first batch of capsules only five-hundred-thousand have been made.  With additional orders placed, more shall be made available.


    Indent"And with that, all the new information for today has been released.  We here at Horizons wish you a Grand day."  As he finished talking the audience seemed to stutter in place for a moment before fading away.  Sighing, Mike removed the ear piece and stepped back from the podium, watching as John emerged from behind the VR mesh screen.


    IndentShooting a glance up at Mike, "Not bad," declared John as he walked toward the door,"Not bad," under his breath.  Leaving the room the two headed toward the double doors at the end of the hallway.  Passing through the doors, and there idled a limo at the end of the sidewalk, clearly waiting for John.


    IndentAs he entered the back of the limo John paused, turned to Mike and asked, "Do you think they bought it?"


    IndentAfter a moment Mike deliberately misunderstood and said, "Hopefully,  the numbers peaked near 75,000 live audience members so with a bit of luck opening day should see the half million copies sold.  With solid marketing over the next three months we should hit the fifty million needed to sustain it."


    IndentWith a look John stated, "That''s not what I meant and you know it."


    IndentTo which Mike replied, "Of course, it was only the truth.  It might not be the whole truth of why you would want it, but it was the truth.  It''s far easier to conceal things by just not talking about them."


    IndentJohn, nodding as he stepped into the limo, softly replied.  "As long as they don''t know."  With that, Mike shut the limo door and stood watching for a moment with sad eyes as the limo drove a tired John away.


    <hr />


    IndentMagnus had a problem.  It had taken him some time but at last he found the first checkpoint in his journey.  Unfortunately, upon finding it this had popped up.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    Warning!


    You are being offered a Hazard Class.  This class contains account bound changes.  Even after further class leveling and upGrading these changes will remain.  Unless certain, this change is not recommended.</td></tr></tbody></table>


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 Prelude 1: It Finally Came

    Prelude 1: It Finally Came


    IndentMattimeo Tackett was ecstatic.  It had been three days since he had completed his father''s challenge and today his very own capsule would arriving.  If he hadn''t thought it beneath his dignity, he would have bouncing from room to room like a giddy child being allowed into the candy store.  At five foot eleven and 210 pounds, the shopkeeper would most likely have been terrified of the madman.


    IndentMattimeo had always been a bit odd but nothing really set him apart until he hit middle school.  Then he had found his mother''s old books, actual paper-bound books, on the shelf in the library.  After reading through a few of the adventure stories, he had quickly been hooked and know what he wanted to be: a quest giver.  From Merlin to Gandalf to Pug, he saw these being of great power who stayed behind the scenes making sure that the hero could do what was needed.  Thus he decided, Mattimeo was going to be the one who put the sword in the stone.


    IndentHe didn¡¯t come to this decision instantly, over several years the idea fermented as he played many of the old school games that were available to those under sixteen.  Law prevented children under sixteen from accessing Royal Rampage out of fear that the cognitive acceleration would adversely affect brain development.  Many different companies stepped in to fill the VR access gap (and take the cash parents would spend to entertain them) this age group represented.  Mattimeo had played these old revamps but quickly lost interest in them when talking to someone in the next room was considered a quest.  To Mattimeo, a quest should be something that fell onto an epic scale, not the mundane.


    IndentIn his own way, Mattimeo could be stubborn about things that held his interest.  Not many things could hold his interest for long and so he flitted between activities.  Never staying on one for long enough to get much experience in it, just long enough to know he didn''t want keep doing it.  He had played chess, but only until he knew the basic movements and was never very good.  He had tried out for football, but never cared enough to play better than the reserves.  He took swimming lessons, and decided knowing how to go from one end of the pool to the other without drowning was enough.  But he never gave up on wanting to give quests, and this was quite the odd obsession to his father.


    IndentAfter he turning sixteen, he had tried out Royal Rampage.  It interested him at first, but with his dad unwilling to buy a capsule for his use he read forums to make his play time more efficient.  He found it possible to give quests in Royal Rampage, just not create your own.  Your could share the quests you got with others. Or, if you were of high enough rank in a government, you could give out city based quests.  These positions had long been taken over and were not really what interested Mattimeo, just the closest he could find.  Spending his pocket money in and out of capsule shops he never even reached level 50 in Royal Rampage before he finally lost interest.


    IndentAt sixteen and a half Mattimeo had more or less given up on the game.  Instead, he spent most of his time fiddling around with old video games or logging time with the Library of Congress AI.  Since so much of school had been moving to VR to save on costs, he only had to leave the house once a week to physically go to school.  The other four mandatory days of school were spent in the federal department of education''s AI that created a replica of the same schoolroom that he physically attended with the same classmates.  Not involved with Royal Rampage, his classmates and old friends slowly excluded him.  Not due to any malice, they simply didn''t have anything to talk to him about.


    IndentThen came the announcement for Grand Planes, and he knew in his bones that he had been waiting for this.  His dad even worked for Horizon in their power division, so asking his dad for one of the new capsules shouldn''t have been an issue.  His dad, however, had other plans.


    IndentSeeing his son motivated for first time in a while, he decided to try and capitalize on it.  So he made a deal with Mattimeo, "Okay my little mouse, I''ll get you a new capsule, but first I have a challenge you must complete.  You can call it a quest if you want," Matthias grinned a bit as he clearly knew of what his son obsessed over, "But if you don''t complete it I won''t get it for you."


    IndentMattimeo exclaimed without even thinking about it, "Done, I''ll finish your quest so fast you''ll lose what little hair you have left."


    Indent"Heh," Matthias snorted, "Don''t be going back on your word now.  For me to get this capsule for you, you have to fully fund four years of college with scholarships."  At that, Mattimeo went a little pale.  He hadn¡¯t been a bad student, he read too much to be bad, he had just been unmotivated.  Entering into his senior year of High School with a solid B- average, he found that not many big scholarships would go to such an average student.  Instead, he would have to apply again and again to lots of small overlooked ones in the hopes that enough would add up to fund him.


    IndentHe finished his father''s challenge, just barely, as he completed school.  With more than fifteen hundred applications, almost twenty a day for the first half of the school year, he got back positive replies from just twenty-five with five more pending his final exams.  He studied like mad, trying to bring his GPA up just that last little bit that years of negligence had lowered.  On pins and needles just a week ago, he waited for his final grade to be posted.  The last grade just high enough, his GPA boosted the final hundredth of a point he needed for the last scholarship and he sailed through by the skin of his teeth.


    IndentHappy that his son had funded his own tuition, Matthias gladly bought him not just a capsule but a high quality one.  With the basic version running at ten thousand dollars, Horizon''s new capsule started in the same price range that Royal Rampage started at.  But within two months better versions of the capsule became available, accommodating those with severe handicaps with the highest prices and greatest functionality.  Or lesser high quality models, models that left the user with much more choices of operation than a basic set.  At almost forty thousand dollars, this new capsule made an excellent graduation gift for his son.


    -|- -|- -|-


    IndentWith capsule arriving only a day after finals, Mattimeo did some long awaited research on Grand Planes.  He had been so afraid that he would fail his father''s conditions that only the stock photo for the game had been looked up before he moved all his effort to his school work.  He had a lot to catch up on before he jumped into the game and he wanted to be as ready for it as possible.


    IndentReading through the wikipedia as quickly as he could, he went looking for anything he could find on quests.  Quite a bit of information on individual missions, tasks, requests, and quests that different people had gotten could be found, but nothing about them being able to give quests.  Searching the long list of skill, he did find a few that increased or altered quest rewards, but again nothing about giving quests.  Undeterred and with little time left, he went over what some of the highlights had happened in the past year of play.


    IndentWhen the game had been released a year ago, the chief executive officer of Horizon, Mike Roberts, had left out much of the information a gamer would have liked.  With just the brief release he gave, nearly four hundred thousand copies of the new game had be bought.  Three hours after release, he already had complaints about Grand Planes.  When he had mentioned that players would be competing against the NPCs, people had not realized just how many they would be competing against.  One game day in, most of the players had obtained their common class.  And the rank that went with it showed a staggering number, 329,365,673,973.  Just one class had three hundred billion people already in it, putting the total population of Grand Planes close to a full Trillion.


    IndentThen the issue of races cropped up.  It had been known that the only starting race available was human, so it had been thought that there would only be humans in the starting areas of the game.  Not so, in the capital of one of the eastern countries it was pretty easy to see both elves and dwarfs. When asked about it, the only reply was that the elves and dwarfs would be the easiest playable races to unlock and that if you didn''t want to be a human just wait a few weeks.


    IndentHis prediction came true after just fifteen days.  One player had been dedicated to becoming a merchant and for two and a half game months had persisted in stalking a well known NPC merchant.  It had payed off in that he both got the class he wanted and with the class got access to the auction house.  Here he found that not only had the NPCs had been selling rare stuff off in Plutus approved auctions for millennia, they also accepted real world money as a valid currency.  Not only the dollar, but the yen, the won, the euro and many other real world currencies were accepted and used as just one more currency in the banking system.  There was a great deal of scarcity in the real world currency but some had already filtered into the human capitals.  Elsewhere in the game there were NPCs would buy things for cash, and this player had a pretty good idea that those things would be valuable.


    IndentEven more important to the first merchant was an item he saw in the auction, a two way pass to Elfhome.  Gathering funds from real life, he purchased the pass for three hundred dollars hoping that he would quickly recoup his losses with the bonus fame from being the first player to reach the land of the elves.  And he hadn¡¯t been wrong.  Taking the advice of the NPC merchant he had stalked, the merchant took a cartload of jewelry to the building with the gate.  He could only enter the building after he showed his access pass.  Entering into this busy place with his hand drawn cart containing every last copper he had earned in game, he walked through what seemed to be Grand Central Station. The sight people going in and out of multiple gates overwhelmed him.


    IndentWith his ticket presented, he walked up to a smaller gate covered in shifting vines and an energy wreathing within the gate moving like liquid silver.  With just a moments hesitation he walked through, a second later walking out onto a large tree.  More importantly to him was the box that appeared in front of him.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>As the first freeman to reach Elfhome you have gained instant acknowledgment from all that hear your name.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    IndentAnd the even more important notice that every player logged on or upon longin received.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Elfhome has been discovered, players may now start play as elves.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    IndentThe merchant became joyous.  The new fame should enable him to easily earn a large profit on his goods.  Unfortunately, the first guard he went up to trying to find a shopping district had no understanding of his words.  The only elves that spoke human were traders who frequently passed through the gate or those who studied languages.  Trying to sell his goods through these elves lost him all the bonus money his fame would have gained him.


    IndentPlayers who joined as Elves discovered that as Elves they had no problems understanding Elvish.  The AI that governed language translation had made all human language understandable to humans, but made other languages skill based to acquire.  As people who logged in literally one room away from each other could no longer understand each other, lots of players began attempting to pick up language skills whenever they could.


    IndentThe players who wanted to change their race faced a different kind of difficulty.  You could not simply delete your current avatar and start over.  Instead you needed to convert your avatar into an NPC, an act that could be accomplished through an in game item that could be bought for either gold or cash.  At this time, no one knew of a way to change race while still keeping your avatar.


    IndentA few days after Elfhome opened, Ardran the dwarf homeland opened to avatar creation.  The first player to enter Ardran was a beginner blacksmith who had a class based quest to seek help from a dwarf master blacksmith.  From the way the three races treated each other it could be seen that they had a pretty good relationship, if kept at a bit of a distance.


    IndentAround two weeks later, or four in game months, the first person entered into the hall of fame.  Minutes later, he posted in the hall of fame video postings.  As the first, his video of how he got to the central planes was viewed massively.  Even a year later this video still ranked in the top ten.  People had acquired the skill to reach the central planes more than two weeks ago, but no one had successfully used it.


    IndentCalled ''Ascension by Tribulation'' the skill created an area around the user in which others trying to buff or heal would rebound instead and entering would increase the difficulty.  Leaving the area would cancel the skill, while staying inside the area would create a trial that would last at most an hour.  If you failed the trial, it killed you and you lost five levels rather than the normal one.  Coupled with the skill proficiency loss, those who had rushed to level one hundred ran face first into a brick wall.  Mattimeo had watched the old video repeatedly as it highly interested him.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.IndentFilmed mostly from a second persons perspective, the player, named Serrel, began by stating that this would be his second attempt and that from the new information he had obtained, hopefully his last.  Hardened leather armor studded with metal points covered his torso.  A small shield on his left arm and a hefty spear in his right hand identified him as a warrior class player.  Walking a few steps away he cried out loudly,"Ascension by Tribulation!"


    IndentFor the next ten minutes, the previously clear blue day darkened as clouds converged overhead.  After fifteen minutes an odd green hued inverted four sided pyramid formed directly overhead.  Pointing down at Serrel, thunder rumbled and sparks could be seen rolling away from the pyramid slowly then returning at a greater speed.  Upon reaching the pyramid, the sparks converged on the tip charging with a crackling sound and with sudden speed leapt at the warrior.


    IndentThe lightning, although moving quickly, did not moving with lightning speed, simply very fast.  Shield raised over his head and crouching slightly at the knees, Serrel took the bolt without much trouble.  Quickly taking out a health potion, he downed it while still watching the clouds.  One side of the tribulation cloud had gone a little fuzzy and became visibly fluffier than the other three sides.  As the sparks once again surged away from the cloud, as fast and plentiful as they had returned the last time, Serrel took his stance once more.


    IndentHolding his shield over his head as an increased number of sparks returned, he could be seen to active a skill from the slight glow visible in the now shadowed area.  With a loud rumbling as the sparks returned to the tribulation cloud, a larger bolt of lightning fell upon Serrel.  The bolt, falling more quickly than the time before, left a short afterglow in the recorder''s video indicating a blinding effect along with the lightning.  When it cleared, Serrel was still visible but he could be seen discarding the broken bits of his shield, taking another health potion, and pulling  a larger shield than before from the ground.


    IndentAs sparks flew from the tribulation clouds, the sky darkened still further deepening the shadows where Serrel stood.  This time he had taken a different stance, with his spear pulled back ready to launch he waited on the returning lightning.  With the returning sparks, he once again glowed a faint blue color.  Just as the returning sparks found the tribulation cloud a quick motion from Serrel lofted his spear at the point of the cloud and ducked behind his full sized shield.  The lightning fell, larger than before, and disintegrated the iron spear.  But after the spear, it not quite as powerful a bolt and Serrel appear to be able to more easily shrug off the damage.  Even the glare diminished from before.


    IndentThe tribulation cloud seethed for a moment, only one side of the pyramid was clearly defined with the other three looking almost wispy.  As sparks seemed to circle the pyramidal cloud, the sky darkened still further until the area around Serrel became dark as night.  Shooting away with a roar of sound, the sparks rolled out to the far distance of the sky.  His shield matched with a newly equipped sword of clearly high quality, Serrel downed a last potion as the sparking sky returned.


    IndentThe returning lightning caused the tribulation cloud to begin to glow.  Shouting out his skill, but unable to hear it over the rumble of thunder, Serrel swung his sword at the cloud creating a sword wave with energy visible in the dark.  Part way up to the cloud, a massive sinuous electric snake struck down through it.  Upon impact with the energy wave it, nothing indicated that the skill had reduced the power of the bolt at all.  Reaching Serrel, the bolt was larger than his body and completely engulfed him in it''s blinding light.  With a sound that deafened the viewer and a light so bright it left the viewing screen blind for several seconds, one could not tell what had happened.


    IndentAs the blinding light faded, Serrel still stood. Drastic damage clearly evident on his shattered sword, the shield that partially disintegrated in places before the eyes, and his formerly pristine armor now little more than rags.  A disbelieving look on a face that now sported frizzy hair, he yelled something that couldn''t be heard over the ringing but was subtitled as ''I made it.  I lived.'' over and over again.  A moment later he looked up and saw the sky crashing down upon him.  The space created by the ''Ascension by Tribulation'' was now covered in what looked like a flashing green and purple tornado.  All the cloud cover that had been summoned by the skill was being sucked down into the area where Serrel stood creating a funnel.


    IndentAll the clouds now gone, the sky returned to a blue afternoon.  Not more than thirty minutes in total had passed.  However, the area where Serrel had had his tribulation was scoured of grass, and he was no where to be seen.  A few seconds later the video ended.


    -|- -|- -|-


    IndentAt the ring of the doorbell, Mattimeo ran from his room but his father had beaten him to the door.  With a kind greeting, Matthias directed the installation crew towards his son''s room in the back.  Since it would take about half an hour to set up, he only allowed his son to give the basics of where he wanted his capsule.  Knowing that his son would likely disappear completely for the next few days, he grabbed Mattimeo by the shoulder and steered him towards the kitchen for lunch.


    IndentAfter eating, Matthias extracted a vague promise from his son that he would join him for at least every other morning jog.  Letting him go, content that he would at least see his son every other day, he left him charge back toward his room as the installers started to leave the house.  Offering them a couple cans of soda pop that were gladly accepted, Matthias signed off on the paperwork.  No longer caring about any of this with his present in sight, Mattimeo simply drooled over his capsule.


    IndentWith his chest of drawers under the window straight in from the entrance, the inwardly swinging door covered half of his closet space.  The bed shoved into the corner next to the drawers and the small VR desk with his old gear now shelved on the top shelf next to the door meant the capsule was almost completely hidden from the door.  Crowded into the corner under a window and looking like a giant tilted egg, the black orb remained wedged into his room between his bed and the wall.  Connected to both his tower and the special new plug in his wall, the capsule¡¯s flashing on it''s face exposed the words, ¡®Profile updated. Ready to begin configuration.¡¯


    IndentQuickly closing the door, Mattimeo stripped down to his underwear and tossed his clothes at the drawers.  Smacking into the handles they fell unnoticed to the freshly clean carpet.  Taking the half step over to the capsule he tapped the front panel exposing it''s innards to the world.  Even after the panels slid to the side not much could be seen.  Just a small padded chair reclining at a soft angle and lots and lots of dark sand.  As he stepped onto the sand and swiftly took his seat he tapped a small button to close the hatch.  Wiggling a bit as he attempted to get comfortable, he ignored his goosebumps as the sand began oozing over his legs and slowly slithered up his torso.


    IndentAlmost completely covered in the micro-dust, only his face still exposed, a thin green light shined down out of the closed hatch and scanned his face from top to bottom.  Small blue lettering appeared on the lid in front of his eyes displaying, ''New user recognized, say begin to start configuration or stop to exit capsule.''  Preparing himself mentally for what he knew  was coming Mattimeo said, "Begin!"  Immediately he closed his eyes as the micro-dust closed over the rest of his face.


    IndentThe longest one second of his life later, he could see glowing words with his closed eyes, ''Configuration Initiated.''  The capsule had now tapped into his spinal cord, redirecting most of his brains signals through a small non-invasive patch on the back of his neck.  Monitored in minute detail by the micro-dust, the capsule now made certain of his essential functions such as breathing, heat regulation, and a beating heart.  Linked into the local emergency network, any medical emergencies would be diagnosed and an ambulance called before he could even detect it himself.  The micro-dust would ensure that his muscles did not become atrophied or that he would get bed sores over long periods of inaction.


    IndentThe connection also provided the ability to access VR in a way that was nearly indistinguishable from reality.  Or it would be, just as soon as the configuration of finished.  Barraged by numerous questions, some odd and some expected, the VR world around Mattimeo began to form.  ¡®Think of the smell of purple.  Think of the color fluffy.  Think of the taste of salt.  Think of the sound of rain.  Think of the sound of sunlight.¡¯  As the questions went on and on, the area around him began to take a familiar shape.  After a long five minutes, the final test was to simply wait as the capsule tested his involuntary reaction to stimulus.  A simulated rubber ball-hammer hitting his knee appeared so that he knew what was happening.


    IndentAs soon as the final test concluded, a brief message flashed, ''Now connected to your homespace.''  Looking around he saw the VR area that was stored on his tower with completely new eyes, literally.  Now that he was actually immersed and not using a Glass, his homespace was clearly flat and poorly programed in many ways.  With only a short thought about how he should redesign it sometime soon, he moved to his game corridor directly.  Passing by his arcade room, eyes locked onto the new door at the end of the corridor, he raced for the metal door with Grand Planes etched into it.  Entering in, he passed out of his own domain and into the game.


    IndentStanding on a thin metallic plank, Mattimeo was surrounded by an immense star field.  Awed by the view, he walked slowly to the other end of the platform to the waiting woman in white.  Floating a distance behind stood an imposing castle made of green stone.  Turning his attention entirely to the woman, she smiled at him and began.


    Indent"Welcome to the Grand Planes.  Before you can begin you need to set up your avatar.  First, what name will your avatar be known as?"


    IndentNot pausing for a second, Mattimeo answered, "Magnus."


    IndentUnperturbed by the swiftness of his answer, the woman moved on.  "There are currently four raced unlocked for you to choose from.  Would you like to begin as Human, Elf, Dwarf, or Beastman?"


    IndentMattimeo thought for a bit longer this time.  Beastman had just been unlocked in the last month and the players that switched said that while their physical abilities were much greater it had become nearly impossible to gain skill levels in magic.  Since it was the same, if not as extensively, for Dwarfs, Mattimeo''s preferences were between Human and Elf.  With the elfish bonus focusing on dexterity rather than magic, he answers, "Human."


    Indent"Where would you like to begin your journey?"


    IndentExpecting to not be given the option of changing his appearance at the start from his reading, it still disappointed him a bit.  He had wanted to make himself look older and have a long white beard to look more wizardly.  But until he could find an in game appearance changing item, he was stuck with his own look.


    Indent"A small town with a library, please."  It had also been indicated in his research that being vague on this step could be important.  It had not been fully corroborated, but the rumor circulating was that the more random an answer you gave, the more likely you could get higher grade skills quickly.


    IndentWith a slight bow, the woman said, "Thank you for joining us freeman.  Please have a Grand time."  Having heard the official phrase in several different places before he knew he would hear it again.  It annoyed him a bit but seemed to be a working marketing strategy.  So he just ignored it as best he could and hoped he would keep hearing it over and over.


    IndentThe lady took a few steps back from as the star field began to rotate and enclose him.  Closer and closer it whorled and as it began to grow brighter he closed his eyes.  It became so bright that even with his eyes closed he could see the veins on the back of his eyelids until it suddenly went dark.


    IndentHoping he to finally begin, he started to crack an eye open.  Just as the light cleared and he began to relax and explore he heard a horrifyingly terrible sound.


    Indent"SSSSHHHHHRRRRIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!"  Clasping his hands over his ears, he tried to figure out who was skinning a cat alive so he could beat him over the head.  Looking around in dismay he wished that it had been a wished that it was as simple as a cat being tormented.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">PREVIOUS CHAPTER</a></td><td width="25%">Back to Main Page</a></td><td width="25%">NEXT CHAPTER</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 Prelude 2: Earplugs are Wonderful

    Prelude 2: Earplugs are Wonderful


    IndentMagnus had appeared a moment before, but now he was stooping over with his hands clasped to his ears in pain.  Several townsfolk looked at him in pity but no one attempted to help the slightly overweight newcomer.  The clothing that he spawned in didn¡¯t most clearly set him apart from the others, the lack of earplugs did.


    IndentLooking around the square he saw his tormentors.  Bards, dozens and dozens of bards.  And not just any bards, but horribly terrible beginner bards that barely knew how to play their instruments.  It would not have been so bad if just a few were missings notes or making a scratched string.  But nearly all of them were making some kind of mistake every third note, and with so many so close by the cacophony deafened in it¡¯s intensity.


    IndentLooking around the square for his escape two things came to his immediate attention, the gate and the large building just to the south of the square.  At three stories tall and with the symbol of a note posted just above the entrance, the building labeled -Bard Academy- perfectly complimented the town gate -Welcome to Bardstown-.  His hands still clasped over his ears, he fled west deeper into the town.


    IndentStepping past a lutenist just as one of his strings snapped and by a red headed flutist whose flute looked to have cracks on the end causing a squealing with every note,  Magnus reached an area of safety with lower decibel.  He kept his hands over his ears because as he went farther away from the academy the playing got worse.  No longer content at just one missed note every three, the torturer¡¯s now were unable to even keep the instruments from destroying themselves.  After the third bard spontaneously caused his pipe to explode, Magnus began to believe he had made a horrible horrible mistake.


    IndentLuckily, the size of the town meant he didn¡¯t run long before he spotted the Mage¡¯s guild.  With the symbol of the glowing staff, the building did not even feel the need to give itself a title.  Pushing through the two sets of double doors, Magnus found blessed quiet.  As the second set of doors shut with a click, Magnus heaved a heartfelt sigh of relief.


    IndentLooking around the smallish room, the walls he could see were made of a dark stone there seemed to be have some kind of quartz embedded into the walls.  Dominating the center of the room sat a massive wooden desk with an elderly lady sitting behind it just looking at him as though she expected him to disappoint her.  Deciding to hurry before he being yelled at by the white haired woman, Magnus swiftly walked up to her and babbled quickly, ¡°I want to join the Mage¡¯s guild.¡±


    IndentWith a blink that managed to convey surprise, the lady looked him up and down.  ¡°Huh, you must be a freeman.¡±  And then she went silent, simply giving him an odd look.


    IndentEven though he was beginning to be impatient, Magnus¡¯ curiosity prodded him into asking, ¡±How did you know that?¡±  He looked down at himself and saw¡­ himself.  A little overweight but nothing outstanding.  The beginner cloths he had on were not that different from what he saw both the townsfolk and playing bards wearing on his flight to the Mage¡¯s Guild.  As such, he found himself a bit concerned on how the woman in her blue robe could immediately peg him as a player.  He had a momentary thought that some kind of magic existed that all NPC¡¯s had to identify the players.


    IndentStraightening up her back, ¡°Easy enough, most people bring their children into one of the three guilds to get a status plate by the time they¡¯re fifteen or sixteen and just leaving puberty.  Not after they are clearly an adult.  It is, afterall, very difficult to get them apprenticeships without one.  I suppose you could just be incredibly lazy or negligent but you already answered me.¡±


    IndentA slightly slack-jawed look on his face, Magnus tried to quickly move on, ¡°Okay, can I join the guild please?¡±  Hopefully politeness would work where directness hadn¡¯t.


    Indent¡°Yes, yes, just show me your basic magic and I¡¯ll get you registered and a status plate in the wink of an eye.¡±  And with that, she went back to staring at him with an expectant look.


    Indent¡°Uhm, I haven¡¯t learned any magic yet.  I thought I needed a status plate to learn it?¡±


    IndentAs the woman sputtered in incredulity, a snicker built into a full throated laugh behind him.  Turning, Magnus saw that in the corner of the room sat a middle aged man in a green robe. With thin black hair and a full bushy black beard, the man actually had his head thrown back in laughter.  A wave of his hand summoned Magnus over to the table against the wall.  Sitting on the closest chair to the man as he wiped his eyes of tears, Magnus decided to wait since the woman behind the desk still sputtered.


    IndentLooking past Magnus he called, ¡°Oh cut it out Madeline, it¡¯s not that surprising.  He clearly just got here.¡±  Turning back to Magnus he gave him an assessing look, with a nod, he decided to teach him.  ¡°Basic magic, just like basic might and basic precision are learnable without a status plate.  Madeline is just put out because this is rather common knowledge.  Oh yes, I¡¯m Gerald by the way, a Mage of Wind.¡±  He then raised an expectant eyebrow at Magnus.


    IndentWithout a pause Magnus answered, ¡°I¡¯m Magnus, and yes, I just arrived about fifteen minutes ago.  Will you teach me basic magic so that I can get the status plate?¡± a slightly hopeful grin on his face.


    Indent¡°Sure,¡± Gerald assured, at which followed a ¡°Gak!¡± from Madeline that Magnus did not respond to having decided to ignore her for now.  ¡°But you will have to do something for me first.¡±


    Indent¡°Name it,¡± dared Magnus, who immediately regretted it as Gerald gave him a mischievous grin.


    IndentHanding him a single piece of parchment, ¡°I need you go go to the library and look for the book ¡®The Founding of Bardstown¡¯ and bring back the reason the town was started and by who.  The fun part is that the library is on the north side of the town square and has a rather irritable librarian.  Have fun.¡±  Still with his mischievous grin he shooed the now pale faced Magnus toward the door.


    IndentAs he steeled himself to leave, a cough from Madeline waved him over to the desk.  Without saying anything, she handed him a pair of earplugs before going back to her work.  Suddenly willing to give Madeline the benefit of the doubt, Magnus pushed open the guild doors with his elbows as his hands were busy putting the earplugs in.


    IndentNo longer in the constant pain of his first trip, Magnus found himself able to gawk at the town.  Cobble stone roads and red slate roofs made the place picturesque.  Most of the buildings seemed to be made with dark stone embedded with quartz.  This created a large degree of uniformity that made Magnus grateful for the signs depicting various businesses along his slowing route to the town square.


    IndentStopping one building away from the town square, next to a building marked with a quill, Magnus could now feel the bards playing just before him.  Just knowing how bad they were, even though he could no longer hear them as clearly, made him a bit weak in the knees.  Delaying the inevitable, he looked for the library on the north end of the square hoping to find the fastest path there.


    IndentWith six roman columns bracketing the three sets of doors, the black and grey building squatted on the entirety of the northern part of the square.  It was also clearly labeled with ¡®LIBRARY¡¯ on the wall above the doors.  A bit miffed that he had missed the building when he first arrived, he had a sudden thought.  What if the library closes soon.  As the sun crept farther into the afternoon sky, he made his move.


    IndentDashing past the lutenist that now played with three broken strings, he ran for the library doors.  Now in the midst of the bards, the earplugs could no longer keep all of their playing out.  Passing a bard still trying to play a burst drum, he approached the library door at a speed faster than he had ever gone before.  Just before he reached the doors he slowed down, the doors opened outward.  Then had to duck to the side as a body crashed through the door at head height.  Slipping in through the door that had been opened he heard a bellow, ¡°And stay out!¡±


    IndentSlipping his earplugs out at the silence of the library, Magnus looked back through the door to see what had happened.  Clearing the second set of doors by a good ten feet, the body of the man who had flown through the door was now tangled with the flutist with the crack flute.  The man seemed to be stunned, the flutist appeared to still be trying to play even though she had been bowled over and currently layed on her back.


    Indent¡°Pay up, I told you she would be the one who would get hit,¡± came from Magnus¡¯ left.  As he backed away from the well dented doors, he glanced at the speaker and saw two elderly balding men sitting across from each other at a checkers table.  Putting his back to the door he looked around the lobby.  The checker players were in an alcove to his right and to his left a small room with ¡®Washroom¡¯ printed over their arch could be seen.


    IndentFor a second Magnus was mystified, during his research Mattimeo had come across the information that there was precisely zero reasons for bathrooms in Grand Planes.  A step into the room and he saw exactly what had been advertised, three sinks with water running out of spickets for people be certain of clean hands.  Just in case, he quickly ran his hands under the ice cold water and dried them on the provided cloth towel.


    IndentBack in the lobby, he continued his inspection with the desk and the librarian.  Sitting behind a mammoth sized desk whose top loomed five feet off the ground, the woman who sat behind it extruded a terrifying aura.  Her brown hair rolled up into a bun, small spectacles perched on her nose, and a grey sweatervest almost unnoticeable next to her most prominent trait, her arms.  From a distance of ten yards, her arms looks like they were bigger around than Magnus.  Rippling with muscle, the bare arms bulged out from the sweatervest making it look like a muscle shirt.


    IndentThe librarian staring at the new arrival intently, Magnus slowly began his way up to her desk as though approaching a dangerous animal.  Seeing a small sign posted under her desk he gladly took the diversion offered.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    Library rules


    No Eating


    No Drinking


    No Loud Noises


    No Writing on Library Books


    No Fire of Fire Magic


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    IndentJust below, a paper that had been tacked into the iron plate had handwriting on it, ¡®ABSOLUTELY NO SINGING, HUMMING OR MUSIC PLAYING!¡¯  Now directly in front of the librarian he asked as meekly as he could, ¡°I¡¯m supposed to find the book ¡®The Founding of Bardstown¡¯ and copy down some information.¡±  With that, he brandished his now somewhat wrinkled paper and pencil, hoping to get by without harm.


    IndentA brawny bicept flexed, a fist with scarred knuckles rose, and a thumb pointed toward the small opening that the desk cover.  ¡°Check the catalogue.  Use one of the free tables.  Don¡¯t break the rules.¡±  Squinting her eyes and towering forward, ¡°Especially mine.¡±


    IndentRapidly nodding his head, Magnus fled the librarian¡¯s glare as quickly as he possible could.  On a three foot shelf attached to the end of the desk sat an enormous book.  Currently opened about a third of the way into the book he started immediately trying to find what he needed.  Quickly determining that it books were listed in alphabetical order, he flipped to the F section.  Running his left index finger down the page until he found the title, he moved his right index over to the required book: History section, Shelf F-2.3.


    IndentA bit stumped he decided to just go with it and walked into the library proper.  An immediate change from the gloomy lobby.  Brilliantly gleaming light streamed down into the proper.  Instead of a stone ceiling, some kind of near-transparent glass with a slight blue tint to it covered the entirety of the rest of the library ceiling.  In front of him were a few rows of low shelves, they sat only three feet off the ground and had scrolls in them.


    IndentWalking through the low shelves Magnus reached the tables that the librarian had mentioned.  Six tables about ten feet long and four across were set in two rows of three with a three foot gap between them.  Four of the spots were already taken, the books piled in front of them indicating long time study.  Hoping that none of them had the book he looked for, he took a fleeting look at them and noticed that they seemed to mostly deal with songwriting.


    IndentLooking at the large bookshelves that ran from about five feet away from the back of the tables to nearly a hundred and fifty feet at the end of the room.  Doing a quick and dirty calculation from what he saw on one shelf, he estimated that the fifty foot by hundred and fifty foot room section contained nearly 5000 books.  Noticing that there could be no traveling from one row of shelves to the next except at the ends, he knew he couldn¡¯t afford the time it would take going down the wrong row.


    IndentCounting sixteen row of books with two along the walls, he walked down the ends checking the placemarks posted on them.  A few of them he thought might be interesting: Magic, Tales, Fiction, Fighting, Basic Knowledge, but he didn¡¯t have time for them today.  Judging by the way the light poured down from the ceiling he had at most three more hours before he would be sitting in the dark.  Worried that if he didn¡¯t complete Gerald¡¯s task today he might get another more difficult one to do tomorrow, he broke out into sweat.  Gerald¡¯s evil grin just made him believe he would do it.


    IndentFinding the history section, Magnus moved down it swiftly, easily determining the cataloging system. Employing little yellow papers with capital letters and a number next to them on the top shelves you could find the listed bookcase.  On reaching the F-2 bookcase halfway down the row, he made a guess and started looking on the third shelf from the bottom.  Only three of the forty books on shelf had titles on the spines.  As such, he had to pull each of the books off in order to look for a title page.  Doing this he quickly noticed the problem, nearly half the books were improperly shelved.


    IndentFive minutes of frantic searching later the book remained unfound.  Just to be thorough, he began checking the contents of the shelf both above and below the third shelf.  Pulling another book that might be useful from the upper shelf, he became disappointed when he couldn¡¯t find his book on any of the three shelves.  Walking back down the row he paused when he reached the Bs.  Stopping to take a quick look at the first few books at the beginning of the B-1, he found a book called ¡®Conditions of BardsTown¡¯ that might be useful.  Magnus thought himself incredibly lucky when he found ¡®The Founding of Bardstown¡¯ just a few books away from it.


    IndentFinding a seat at an empty table Magnus began on the required book, and quickly found out why the people already there had chosen the seats that they did.  The ceiling let in light pretty well but had carvings and had not been made to an exacting standard.  This isn¡¯t very noticeable until you start to try to read something and see several different variations in light intensity on a single page.  The people that had gotten there first took the seat that had the fewest differences in light throughout the day easing eyestrain.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    IndentWith his inner clock telling him he had taken twenty minutes just getting the books, he had only a bit more than two and a half hours left.  The task seemed easy enough now that he had the book, who founded Bardstown and why.  But Gerald had been acting sneeky, somewhat like a few of his teacher in highschool who had said they wanted one thing but would never give full points unless the student could expand into a related area.  So he planned on doing precisely that,  exactly what he needed and then some extra.  Magnus¡¯ hoped that this would increase his intimacy with Gerald that might lead to a quest down the road.


    IndentLimited in time, he began by flipping through the book and skimming over the pages to see what he could take in at a glance.  The book seemed rather thick compared to the ones in his father¡¯s library, but had a much smaller number of pages due to the thickness of the parchment.  The most difficult part in reading it was the handwriting.  While most people¡¯s handwriting had begun to be phased out with the advent of computers, VR had made the written word more popular.  It still could not be as precise as the typed letters but had a much more personal touch to it.  But when he compared even his own below average ability to the crabbed writing in the book, he felt like an accomplished scholar in his own right.


    IndentSkimming through ¡®Founding¡¯ with a more in depth read on the sections he needed took forty-five minutes.  Magnus decided to move onto ¡®Conditions of Bardstown¡¯ as being more relevant than the book on which building went up first.  Getting to the section that described why it was that so many of the bards in town were disasters as musicians, he felt a little pity for them and even more for what would happen to him in the future.  Giving the book as much time as he thought he could he looked to the ceiling.  The little moving circles had distracted him a bit but he estimated that he still had an hour left to finish writing a one page paper.


    IndentTaking the quill pen in hand and biting his lip for a moment, he considered his task.  With just one page, he had to be both concise and get in both the required info and the extra credit he wanted for the work.  Assembling the information in his mind and the books opened to the related pages, Magnus began to write.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Bardstown¡¯s founding began two hundred years ago when the queen wanted her nation of Doria to be known as the most musically inclined of the west.  Therefore, the bard academy was set up on the outskirts of the capital city of Varta, but soon the queen began to hear many complaints.  The funding the crown had given to the project brought in many applicants, many of who had no experience and were terrible in the craft.


    To appease her subjects, the queen chartered a town far to the west where a natural abundance of null-sound crystals were found near the surface recently.  Here a smaller academy was to be set up for those without previous musical knowledge.  Once a month, a caravan would travel from the capital to Bardstown to deliver bad musicians and return to the capital with those who have graduated to poor musicians.  This led to the greater acceptance of Dorian musicians.


    The only real losers were the permanent residents of Bardstown.  The badly playing musicians would practice with desperation all the time, they too wanted to get away from the bad music and back to the capital.  Once the bards were just starting to getting to be tolerable, the good ones would leave and a new batch of bad bards would arrive.


    This led to many of the residents creating an unofficial town just outside Bardstown and only migrating back one week a month for official business.  This town holds many people who have support jobs but don¡¯t need to be in the town everyday.  The common practice of the owners and workers of everyday businesses has become to work in the unofficial town and travel the short distance in every morning.


    ¡®Reference: The Founding of Bardstown, & Conditions of Bardstown.¡¯</td></tr></tbody></table>


    IndentMagnus would have prefered to write more, just to be on the safe side, but the unfamiliar quill had taken more time to use than expected.  He started to use it just like a normal pen from high school VR class and got a large dark splotch on the top of the paper.  After that he used great care in his writing, and sent up a prayer of thank that he hadn¡¯t spilled when he had been looking for the books.


    IndentNow taking his time to carefully ink down each word, he realized that he would shortly have a problem.  Two paragraphs in, the quill started to run out of ink and Gerald had not given him an inkwell to go with the quill.  By the time he finished the barely legible references at the bottom, he felt as though he had to beg the quill into giving up the last of it¡¯s ink.


    IndentPicking the paper up cautiously, he blew softly on the still drying ink.  Due to the low quality of both the ink and the parchment, his written letters had begun to spread out giving them a bloated look.  Luckily they were still legible.  After lifting the paper over his head to look, he became gladdened that he hadn¡¯t thought to try and write anything on the back. Bleeding through in many spots, he thought that if he knew how to read mirrored writing his report legibility improved from the backside.


    IndentAfter using a dirty cloth that rested at the end of the table to clean his mess, Magnus stretched his arms over his head to relieve himself of his cramps.  Having finished just before the sun went down, he felt quite pleased with himself.  As the sunlight  reflecting down on him turned a deep dark red, the librarian boomed out, ¡°Library closes at sundown!  Make sure your gone by then!¡±


    IndentSeeing the four others gathering their things but just leaving the books they had used where they were, Magnus followed suit and left the three books on the table.  Walking past the mammoth sized desk he noticed that everyone seemed to be congregating in the foyer behind the final set of doors.  He grimaced, thinking that this was because everyone wanted to delay walking out into the cacophony that continued in the town square.


    IndentAs Magnus fumbled with his paper and quill to get out his earplugs, one of the old checkers players turned to look at him.  ¡°Hey! new guy.  You don¡¯t need to worry about them there plugs.  You¡¯ll be fine in a minute.¡±  Having delivered his sage advice, he turned back to the outer doors and with the last fading of the light pushed them open.  Into silence.


    IndentExiting the building and looking at all the people packing up, or sweeping up, their instruments Magnus must have had a confused look on his face.  Seeing this, one of the scholars spoke up, ¡°A few years back the town council decided that anyone who kept playing after dark without special permission would be refused service.  Since the bard trainees do want to eat without hunting down their own meals, and like sleeping inside, it¡¯s pretty well followed.  Right at the end of the day they especially don¡¯t want to get caught when a lot of the governmental places close down.¡±


    IndentEnlightened by the information, Magnus begins to sprint out of the square.  He had just realized that he had no idea if the mage guild closed now as well.  Racing past the auburn haired flutist he exited the square to the east.  Jetting past the person lighting the few streetlamps, he reached the guild in under a minute.  He pushed against the door with his shoulder, but it was locked tight.


    IndentHeaving a sigh, Magnus took a step back and saw Gerald grinning at him from the bench directly to his right.  Telling him with a smirk, ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure if you would make it but decided to give you a couple minutes.¡±  After waving at the seat next to him, Magnus went and sat down with relief.  His hand held out, he placed the paper directly into Gerald¡¯s hand.


    IndentRaising his right index finger and saying, ¡°Glow,¡± a small orb of light appeared on the tip of Gerald¡¯s finger.  The report in his left, he took a minute to read while Magnus calmed his beating heart.  A satisfied look on his face when he finished, he turned to Magnus and concluded, ¡°Better than I expected.  Come on back to my place and I¡¯ll treat you to some supper and show you how to use basic magic.¡±


    IndentAt that his stomach rumbled, but with a spring in his step Magnus followed Gerald as he began to amble further east.  Almost to the edge of the city he turned to the north at a small two story cottage, again made of a dark stone with null-sound crystals embedded into it.  Key now in hand, he went through the door into the dark home.  ¡°Just a moment and I¡¯ll have the lamps lit.¡±  As he proceeded to walk around doing just that, the room revealed itself.


    IndentLeft of the door a set of rickety stair led up to the next floor, cupboards could be seen resting within the framework.  Right of the door expanded a small living room made smaller by the papers and books that were strune about.  Two comfortable looking recliners sat next to the window, an end table between them.  An unlit fireplace extruded from the middle of the east wall, a desk to its right, and a tall bookcase between the desk and the south wall.  Between the three book covered stands and the back wall covered in shelves crowding the room, it surprised Magnus how well Gerald could get to the hanging lamps.


    Indent¡°Just grab a seat and I¡¯ll get you a bowl for my stew,¡± he commanded before moving through the door into the kitchen. Rather than sitting, Magnus began looking at a few of the papers that were sitting on the stands.  The rather clear handwriting seemed to be talking about the lung capacity of various monsters and ways to disrupt breathing patterns.  A notation at the bottom of the page was scrawled more harshly than the rest, ¡®Don¡¯t attempt to steal the breath from a golem!¡¯ at which he could only blink.


    IndentSetting the paper down as Gerald reentered with a large steaming bowl of soup in each hand.  Opening his mouth to ask about the paper, he changed his mind as his stomach rumbled after smelling the food.  Sitting down in the chair closest to the door, he dug in with relish as Gerald did the same from the other seat.  Mattimeo was no connoisseur of food, but he could tell a well made dish from a bad one.  As Magnus, he thought that the beef stew was good and homey, if not up to the exotic tastes that other VR immersions had been known to provide.


    IndentStomachs now satisfied and bowls stacked on the end table, Gerald turned his attention more closely to Magnus.  ¡°Do you know what you want to do?¡±


    IndentA bit surprised by the question, Magnus decided to answer truthfully.  ¡°I want to be a person who gives out quest.  I don¡¯t want to be the person that saves kingdoms, I want to direct the people that can save it to where they need to be.  I think magic is the most likely route for me to be able to do this.¡±  Intentions stated, he settled deeper into the chair to watch Gerald.


    IndentThoughtful look on his face, he relaxed in quiet for a few minutes before saying with certainty, ¡°Can¡¯t think of anyone who would be able to teach you want, but I¡¯ll keep it in mind.¡±  Focusing on the deflating Magnus he continued in his serious tone, ¡°Any more immediate plans, like where you plan on sleeping or earning money to eat with?¡±


    IndentLightly shaking his head, Magnus replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t have any real plans.  I thought that after learning some magic I could hunt down some low level animals and sell their hides for money.¡±  Seeing Gerald shaking his head he waited for what he would say.


    Indent¡°Maybe in a normal town that would have worked, but in Bardstown there isn¡¯t any money to be made it that.  The majority of the residents are those beginner bards and the little money they have tends to go to meals.  The free meals at the academy aren¡¯t very good, but they¡¯re better than you¡¯ll be able to make any time soon.  Food provided to them is contracted out to nearby huntsmen or they might have left the area entirely.¡±  Looking a bit more closely at Magnus, he ask a pointed question, ¡°Do you even know what you have with you?¡±


    IndentRealizing he had never checked, he looked through the small pack he had attached to his back.  A slightly disgruntled look on his face he replied, ¡°Ten copper coins, ten pieces of hard tack, a canteen, and one loaned quill pen.¡±  His research had let him know that trying to call out for an inventory would be useless.


    IndentAfter a moments thought, Gerald asked, ¡°Are you opposed to doing some scribe work?  What you did for me was good enough that I could recommend you to Vanessa, the owner of the scribe shop that does a good bit of work.  That would give you the chance to learn a few skills before you venture out looking for adventure.¡±


    IndentMagnus didn¡¯t rush and gave it a few minutes thought.  He had planned on spending some time in the library anyway and Gerald spoke with certainty about the town.  He had just finished with his high school life and now he was being offered a job doing essentially the same kind of thing.  But without a clear next step, it both gave him something to do and might advance him closer to his goal.


    IndentComing to a decision after weighing the options, he answered with a simple, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll try that for now.¡±


    IndentNodding at his choice, Gerald sprang up, ¡°Thats great.  Lets head to the backyard and I¡¯ll show you how to do some basic magic.  You can keep practicing after I go to bed.  If you get tired you can sleep on one of the chairs, it¡¯ll slid back far enough that you can sleep in it.¡±  Walking away he muttered under his breath, ¡°I¡¯ve certainly done that often enough.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">PREVIOUS CHAPTER</a></td><td width="25%">Back to Main Page</a></td><td width="25%">NEXT CHAPTER</a></td></tr></tbody></table>


    <hr />


    Magnus¡¯ Journal:  Stat entry part one


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Stat types


    Acquired stat (gain through exercise)(A/N if you have read stellar transformation think external expert)


    Obtained stat (gained through class and quest and deed)


    Distributed stats (From leveling and freely allocatable points from tasks and quests)


    A generated stat (G) must be earned before it will show up on the stats screen.  If not yet earned items with that stat bonus will be useless.  Some classes generate a stat upon earning the class.  All stats after primary stats are considered generated.


    Base stats (Distribution never available)


    Primary stats (Distribution available after attaining status plate)


    Secondary Stats (Unable to be distributed to before Trial of Fire)


    Tertiary Stats (Unable to be distributed to before Trial of Void)


    Quaternary Stats (Unable to be distributed to before Trial of Power)

 Prelude 3: Yay, magic! Yay? magic...

    Prelude 3: Yay, magic!  Yay? magic...


    IndentFollowing Gerald through the door, Magnus passed through the small kitchen. Little more than a stove with a pot on it near the back wall and a few cupboards that probably held his dishes filled it.  At least it was clean he thought as he passed out the backdoor.


    IndentLooking at the fifteen by fifteen foot walled area, it gives the impression of a Japanese rock garden.  The walling surrounding the yard had been constructed of the dark stone with null-sound crystals in it.  At nearly six feet in height, it created a bit of privacy from the neighbors.  Raked sand covered most of the ground.  The exception being the large smoothed boulder in the middle of the yard and the two well tended trees against the far corners.


    IndentFollowing Gerald¡¯s footprints in the sand, Magnus found him standing on the far side of the smoothed boulder.  It had been worn level on the back area, creating a cleft at the right height for sitting.  Walking up next to Gerald, he could see two moons in the starry sky framed by the trees.  The larger one glowed a green color and dominated more of the sky than earth¡¯s moon.  A short distance away the smaller one glowed a metallic bronze.


    IndentTurning to Gerald, he saw him grinning at his look, ¡°Yup, had it made just for this view.  But lets get started.¡±  Taking his left shoulder in a firm grip, he put his left hand thumb upon Magnus¡¯s forehead.  Gerald closed his eyes for a moment and Magnus thought he felt a slight tingling sensation around it.


    IndentOpening his eyes and Gerald let go and pronounced, ¡°You¡¯re good to go, you have got enough mana to start.  What your going to need to do is move the mana into an outstretched hand and then, with intention, define what you want it to do.  First though, you¡¯re going to need to contain the mana in a ball just past the edge of your finger.  Just focus on getting the mana out to the end of your hand for now.  I¡¯ll help you a bit on your first try.¡±


    IndentMoving over to stand shoulder to shoulder with Magnus, Gerald put one hand on his head and one hand wrapped around his wrist.  His grip now firm he said, ¡°Okay remember this feeling and try to replicate it.¡±  At that, a tingling sensation started at the top of Magnus¡¯ head and traveled down his arm.  Not just tingling, he could feel something flowing down his arm and causing the sensation.  After reaching the palm, it felt like a slowly inflating ball rested in his hand.


    Seeing the wonder in his pupils eyes, Gerald knew he had succeeded and let go of his head, keeping his hand on Magnus¡¯s wrist.  His mentor no longer guiding it, the tingling sensation left his arm but the baseball sized mana orb till wiggled around in his hand.  Magnus looked to Gerald for help.


    Indent¡°The mana is now out and you have created your first focus point.  You need to keep your concentration on the point to maintain it¡¯s form.  If you don¡¯t, the point will disperse and cause you damage since you are still connected to it.¡±  Magnus quickly refocused on the ball.


    Indent¡°As you concentrate on the focus point, imagine with intent that a ring is expanding outward from the center.  Once you have that image clearly in mind, let go of the orb and move your arm slowly back.¡±


    IndentInstructions in mind, Magnus tried to alter the orb.  Image of the ball still fixed in his mind, he changed how he thought of it to that of a balloon.  The inside could not fill with air, but with the light blue glow of a misty mana.  Then, he directed the mist to the center point of the orb before expanding in a ring as told.  Slowly moving his hand back, it felt like pulling some kind of rubbery string away from the orb.  Feeling his student move, Gerald guided his hand a short distance away as the thread grew thinner until it snapped.


    IndentMagnus looked more closely at the area where he could still feel the orb, waiting for something to happen.  After five seconds, he thought that something had gone wrong when he could no longer feel the orb.  About to ask Gerald what happened, his gaze caught on where the orb had been.  Where the orb had been now sat a small slightly gleaming spot.  At just a little more than twice the size and twice the brightness of a firefly, Magnus had made his first magic.


    IndentAfter a minute, the glow faded into the darkness, Gerald spoke up to the grinning Magnus.  ¡°Congratulations, not everyone can get it on their first try.  Now you have to do it on your own.  A few things to remember and I¡¯ll leave you to your practice.  One, you don¡¯t naturally regenerate mana yet so when you run out you¡¯ll want to sit down on the rock and rest for about ten minutes.


    Indent¡°Two, the rebound from failing to properly make the focus point will give you a bit of damage and stun you for a while.  I expect you will be hit by it several times before you fully get the hang of it.  It shouldn¡¯t be too much of a big deal as you don¡¯t have the mana to keep practicing and sitting on the rock will restore the little health you lose.


    Indent¡°Three, I¡¯m going to be up about an hour before sunrise to make myself some breakfast before heading back over to the mage guild.  I¡¯ll wake you if you went to sleep, or come get you if you¡¯re still practicing.  After you get your card, I¡¯ll introduce you to Vanessa and let you get on with your day.¡±


    IndentHe started to turn away but hesitated for a moment, ¡°Don¡¯t try to do anything besides expelling the mana from the focus point yet or you cause yourself some real hurt.¡±  The last of his advice delivered, he left his pupil to his practice.


    IndentAs Gerald disappeared behind him, Magnus considered his approach.  Basing it on the steps, he need to be able to move the mana down his arm, form the mana into ball, and then cause the mana to expand in a ring.  Since he couldn¡¯t do any of the later steps without the ones before it, he had clearly defined his order of practice.


    IndentStarting by trying to feel the mana where Gerald had rested his hand, he found that he couldn¡¯t even find the mana.  Closing his eyes, he focused on the feeling in his head, trying to reclaim the tingling sensation.  Ten minutes of frustration later, a small tingling on the top of his head.  Elated, he lost focus and it disappeared.  Success giving him renewed confidence he looked for it again.


    IndentAfter five minutes the tingling restarted.  Maintaining his concentration on the feeling, he followed the thread that linked the small patch of tingle to him.  With mental hands lightly holding the thread, Magnus followed it a short distance down.  An odd feeling putting his hand inside his head, but he could now mentally walk around the inside of his skull.  Just under the top of his skull dipped a cavity.  Disturbed by the feeling of massaging his brain, he none the less mentally explored the inside of his head.


    IndentAnd there was¡­ nothing.  Ridiculous, he had been called empty headed before, but still...  Carefully following the thread, he reached the end and stumbled on a shallow divit.  Passing his finger over it, he could feel some kind of liquid almost filling it but couldn¡¯t affect it in any way.


    IndentLetting go of his focus and opening his eyes, the slight tingle vanished from the top of his head.  He had found his mana pool, and wished his mind didn¡¯t seem quite so empty.


    IndentHis self discovered knowledge in hand, he started again by trying to pull from where he thought his mana pool existed.  A mere second later, he began to feel the tingle at the top of his head again.  Sighing in relief at his success, he let the feeling fade away and reached up with his real hands to massage his temples.


    IndentResting for a moment, he continued.  Bringing the mana back to the top of his head he started moving it around.  Luckily he accomplished this easily.  He quickly noticed that while it had less difficulty, the tingling had spread all over.  It had gotten part way down his biceps and spread out until it covered nearly circled his arm in spots.  A bit concerned by this, he slowed down his playing and concentrated the mana into a thinner area.


    IndentExtending the stream all the way to his palm he could feel a difference in the amount of mana remaining.  Sloshing the mana on the way down his arm had caused some of it to dissipate, and now not much lingered when it reached his hand. Deciding to try again, carefully this time.  He pulled back on the mana stream rather than letting it go.  It appeared to help a bit as he could feel his mana pool refilling, if not as much as it had been before.


    IndentStarting over again, Magnus moved the mana from the top of his head down his arm in as continuous a stream as he could.  Poorly formed and slow, and yet much less of the mana had been dispersed.  Enough mana now remained at his palm and it was time to start the second stage.


    IndentPulling the mana into his upturned hand, he immediately noticed that it just evaporated into the air.  Pausing for a second, he imagined a thin balloon resting on his hand just above where the mana ended.  The new construct fixed firmly in his imagination, he began to slowly fill the balloon with the mana.  Glad it had worked, Magnus continued filling the balloon more and more.


    IndentJust as the balloon reached the same size as demonstrated, a catastrophic failure.  Mana seemed to pop out in a spherical shape before snapping back down onto his hand.  Grimacing in pain, Magnus found that he couldn¡¯t move his arm at all and could feel that the mana he had been moving down his arm now evaporating into the night air.  Only after fifteen seconds had passed could he once again move his arm.  With his mana so low, he sat back against the rock to wait.


    IndentLeaning against the surprisingly warm stone, Magnus gazed upon the heavens.  The moons had moved farther to the west than when he had last looked.  The amount of stars in the sky was incomparable to what he had seen on Earth.  Nightlight provided by only lamplight, and that little light pollution could not fade away even the dimmer stars.  He sat back for a bit, simply enjoying the moment.


    IndentTime passed, and when he took a mental once over he could feel that his mana pool had filled.  Standing back up, he began his practice from the top.  Gathering the mana and easing it down to his palm took less time now.  Yay practice.  Imaging the balloon again, Magnus made certain he concentrated on the outer shell as it filled.  After it had reached half the size as Gerald had demonstrated he stopped.


    IndentCarefully, he tried to stop the flow of mana from his pool.  He thought it would be easy but couldn¡¯t quite do it.  Splitting his concentration away from the mana balloon to focus on the connection to his mana pool, it popped again.  Stinging as if his knuckles had been smacked by a ruler, he again couldn¡¯t move his arm.  Less mana infused this time allowing the stun to dissipate after a couple seconds.


    IndentAnother difference to try, cutting the mana thread before starting the mana balloon.  Pushing the mana out to his palm Magnus paused and held the mana where it rested on his arm.  With a mental shove, he severed the connection at the top of his head.  Immediately, the thread started to unravel and evaporate into the air.  Panicking, he tried to make the balloon and push the remaining mana into it but only ended up expelling the mana as mist into the air.


    IndentAs the last of the mana thread vanished, Magnus expelled a breath of exasperation.  No way it should be this hard this early in the game so what am I missing?  Not coming to any immediate answers, he resolved to just keep banging his head against the wall.  Not literally of course, he didn¡¯t actually like pain.


    IndentSettling his thoughts he went through his updated list of what he needed to do.  Pull the mana out of his mana divit, move it slowly down his arm to his palm, fill an imaged balloon with mana, separate the mana balloon from his mana stream.  The last trial had shown that he needed to keep the mana stream connected to his divit or it would dissolve before he could do anything.


    Indent¡°Rub my belly and pat my head at the same time. Got it,¡± Magnus whispered to the night sky.  Pushing the mana out of his pool, it now flowed with remarkable ease down to his upturned palm.  Again, a balloon formed and he began to push mana into it without too much problem.  When it had reached the size of a grape, maintaining his focus on the balloon, he left go of the connection to the mana pool.  Retracting quickly, the mana stream contracted until the end of it rested on his palm with a physically felt impact.


    IndentNot yet willing to celebrate, Magnus slowly eased his hand down feeling the mana extended from his palm to the orb thinning.  After a moment, the thread of mana released from his palm and snapped to the balloon.  Still feeling it floating there, Magnus wait¡­ and waited.  When a minute had passed he could feel the orb shrinking and just fizzling out.  Unsure why it hadn¡¯t worked, he had to guess at either undersizing or underfilling the balloon.


    IndentRecreating his pattern, he formed his mana stream and pushed it to his palm.  Expanding the imaged balloon to be about as large as a baseball, Magnus could feel a difference between his orb and the one Gerald demonstrated.  It... squished.  Releasing his mental hold on the start of the stream, it once more retracted quickly down his arm.  When it hit his palm, instead of impacting lightly the hit created a violent reaction in the balloon.  Vibrating and wiggling all over, no longer did Magnus have the ability to control the balloon.  And it popped.


    IndentFeeling as though he had been bitten by a wasp, Magnus waited out the stun on his arm with an air of irritation.  Fading into a harsh tingling, once more he could move his arm.  Sitting back on the rock with an empty mana pool, Magnus considered what to do next.  Why was it that his balloon had popped.  It sustained itself with despite the wiggling before.  Realizing that before there had been a much thicker skinned ball, not a balloon, when first created caused him whack himself in the forehead.


    IndentLeaning back on the cooling rock, hands crossed behind head, he looked at the sky.  The moons had moved behind the leftmost tree leaving him in dappled light.  He had been concentrating so hard on his goal he hadn¡¯t even noticed the diminishing light, or the cooling air.  Slightly chilled, he found himself glad for how warm the rock remained.  After a moments rest, he prepared to begin again.


    IndentMoving the mana down to his palm, he quickly began building a mana orb again.  This time, he formed a much thicker skin to fill, a quarter inch thick rubber tennis ball rather than the skin of a balloon.  Filling it to baseball size, Magnus leaned back in anticipation of being wrong as he released the start of the mana stream.  Impact, and only a little vibration could be felt squirming over the surface of the orb.  Relieved, he slowly lowered his hand until the thread pulled from the mana ball.


    IndentWaiting, and waiting for the orb to do something Magnus grew impatent.  Two minutes had passed and he could still feel where it floated but nothing happened.  Moving his hand closer to it he could even feel the tingle, he could not touch it but it clearly lingered.  Inspecting it closer, he closed his eyes to sharpen the feeling of his hands.  Waving his hand all over it, he could tell that it slowly shrank.  There, at the small portion near the back where the thread had whipped back to it, he sensed a slight difference.  Very lightly he could feel the mana flowing out like air from a leaky tire.


    IndentNot as frustrated now that he had found a problem, he prepared to begin again.  Push the mana, inflate the ball, make sure the ball has a thick skin to it.  Swiftly moving to the next step, he moved his palm a shorter distance away from the floating mana ball.  Now instead of just pulling back to thin the stream to a thread, he concentrated on moving the stream away from his hand.  After a few seconds, Magnus could tell that it grew thinner and thinner until it released from his palm.  Without as far to go, Magnus imagined it hit with a bloop not a splash.


    IndentBacking away he could tell that there were now two balls of mana floating next to each other.  Pausing while the new orb floated, he checked the older ball.  Much smaller now, it still leaked.  Passing his hand over it,he could feel barely any tingle.  Even as he thought of it, the ball faded from his awareness.


    IndentBut the new one still just floated there, doing the exact same thing that the previous ball had done.  Checking it, Magnus found that, again, from a small distortion mana flowed out.  Much more slowly, but still flowing.  Now stumped, he went back over what had been done the first time.  And proceeded to facepalm himself again.  He forgot to make the mana expel itself from the center point out.  Gerald had even reminded him of it before he went in for the night.  How forgetful could he be in one night.


    Indent¡°Oh well, I¡¯ll just blame it on beginning in a new world.¡±  Starting again, he proceeded through his routine until he had the mana ball resting in his palm.  Now from the center he began moving the sparse mist outward until it expanded in a ring.  Splitting his concentration, he held the expulsion of the ring in mind while lowering his hand.  Disconnecting the stream, he stared at the ball expectantly.  As the ball vanished from feel, his hope rose.  But still nothing.


    IndentMoving his head so close his eye almost rested where the mana ball had been, he noticed a slight glow.  If it hadn¡¯t been so dark it would have been missed.  Less than half the glow of a firefly, it existed for only a few seconds, but Magnus had completed his first solo spell.  Happy now, he knew he just had to practice to get the light up to a level that Madeline could actually see in the daylight and he would be ready to go to sleep.


    IndentFirst though, he would have to sit back down and wait for his mana to refill.  Propping his back against the now cool rock, he watched a few clouds wafting between him and the stars.  Not seeing the moons anymore, Magnus knew that more time than he thought had passed.  Still, with nothing to do but wait he started drawing his own constellations in the sky.


    IndentStanding and stretching, he hoped he prepared for the last time.  After following his routine, he quickly had the ball resting on his hand.  Not starting to expand the mana out yet, he pushed more and more mana into the ball while maintaining it¡¯s shape.  As more went in, the skin of the ball began to wiggle and jiggle until Magnus thought he might not be able to contain it.  Releasing the starting point of the thread, he closed one eye and turned his head away as the impact hit the ball.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.IndentNot feeling any additional vibrations, he sighed in relief at not being hit by rebound again.  Refocusing on the ball, he started to push the mana out in a ring.  Keeping his impatience in check, he severed the stream from his hand and waited for an effect.  As the ball vanished, he had to look oh so closely to see the small amount of light.  While the glow lasted almost three minutes, it had become even dimmer.


    IndentResentfully, he kicked at the sand causing it to shoot away before showering down.  About to do it again just to relieve his stress, he slowed kicking the sand lightly.  In the small divot caused by his kick, he once more kicked the sand hard.  Smiling at the showering sand, he began preparing newly inspired.


    IndentBall filled to capacity and wiggling violently in his hand he started expelling the mist ring from the center with as much force as he could manage.  He couldn¡¯t tell much from little reaction for his effort, but he could tell that something moved more quickly.  Holding his breath, he waited for five seconds before the ball vanished.  Not needing to look closely now, the ball had burst into a light as bright as one of Gerald¡¯s lamps.  If only for an instant before quickly fading away.


    IndentDetermined to get at least one more in before going to sleep he prepped again.  Jiggling ball in hand, he started expelling the mist from the center quickly but without as much force as before.  Releasing the thread and stepping back, Magnus waited with anticipation.  Five seconds after release the ball vanished.  In its place sat a small light, glowing about as much as a small candle without the flickering.  Satisfied when it went out after ten seconds he turned in for what little remained of the night.  Collapsing onto the chair, he fell into sleep immediately.


    -|- -|- -|-


    IndentWaking up to loud noise and the smell of bacon an hour or two later, Magnus stood up and stretched before wiping off his drool.  Mattimeo sleeps light, but he still didn¡¯t hear Gerald come down the stairs, he did however hear the banging of pots and pans from the kitchen.  About to move toward the kitchen door, it slammed open and light invaded the room.


    Indent¡°Aw, you¡¯re already awake,¡± Gerald said as he brought two earthen plates filled with bacon, eggs, and toast into the room.  After giving Magnus his plate and setting his own on the endtable, he went around lighting three lamps.  ¡°I see you gave up on getting that spell to work and went to bed.¡±


    Indent¡°No, no.  I got it to work and went to sleep.¡± Magnus stated around a mouth full of eggs. Seeing Gerald¡¯s disbelieving look he continued, ¡°Here, I¡¯ll show you,¡± and sat up from the chair as Gerald sat down in his.


    IndentPutting his plate down he extended his hand out to arms length and started the routine he had made last night.  Moving the mana out of his head, down his arm, and to his palm took about a minute.  Forming the wreathing ball and filling it took another.  Getting the mana inside the ball to start expelling from the center and pulling back his arm another. Severing his connection, he sat back into the chair


    IndentAs he picked his plate back up and started shoveling food back in his mouth, the spell activated.  For a brief count of two, three, four seconds, where Magnus had placed his orb a point of light glowed at a level just barely visible with the brightly glowing lamps that had been lit.  Turning for praise from his mentor as he crunched on piece of bacon, he saw Gerald staring at the spot with somewhat wide eyes.


    Indent¡°Uhhhh, good job Magnus.  I didn¡¯t actually expect you to do so well.¡±  And with that he went back to eating as though nothing had happened.


    IndentBut Magnus had become a bit suspicious and just stared with a clearly questioning look.  After a moment of ignoring it Gerald cleared his throat and continued.


    Indent¡°What I taught you was a bit more difficult than you absolutely had to learn.  I wasn¡¯t sure if you would manage to do it and had prepared the easier way for you to complete the test.  But it¡¯s better that you managed to do it the way you did.¡±  He stopped there with a slightly guilty look on his face that he swiftly tried to turn blank.


    Indent¡°Uhh huh¡­¡±  Magnus now gave Gerald the evaluating look his teachers had given him whenever he tried to get out of trouble.  Sweating just a bit, Gerald quickly shoved the last of his food into his mouth and took Magnus¡¯ plate.  Moving like the wind he pushed through the kitchen door and back out again shooing Magnus with his hands at the front door.


    IndentLast piece of bacon in hand, he walked out to the edge of the street noticing it had just enough light to start seeing some definition in the buildings without the streetlamps.  A click from behind told of the door being locked and Gerald once more by his side.  Not saying a word, they moved toward the rising sun down until they reached the mage guild building.  Pausing out front, he turned to Magnus with an I¡¯m-getting-away-with-something look on his face.


    Indent¡°I just remembered, I have a wyvern I need to go look in on today.  Urgently.  Just show Madeline your spell and she¡¯ll have you set up in no time.  Oh, and here¡¯s a letter,¡± shoving said letter into Magnus¡¯ hands as though he had tossed a hot potato.  ¡°Just go to Vanessa¡¯s shop, it has the quill out front and sits just a little bit outside the town square, and give her the letter.  She¡¯ll put you to good work.¡±  Without another word he turned and sprinted like he stole something up the road leaving Magnus wondering if he would be in some kind of trouble.


    IndentStaring in mild disbelief, Magnus felt like he should say something or go after him but heard a click from the door of the mage guild.  Turning, he saw Madeline opening the door to start the day.


    Indent¡°Come in quick before the newbies start playing,¡± Madeline stated before quickly backing away from the door.  Just as the door finished closing and Magnus still debated if he should go after Gerald, the first rays of sun rose above the horizon.  And the playing started.  Softly at first, but with a building roar.  So Magnus hastily got over his indecision by bolting for the mage guild door.


    IndentDoor clicking shut and silencing the noise, Magnus look to Madeline as she had just sat down behind her desk.  Moving to her, he said, ¡°I¡¯m ready to show you my basic magic now,¡± with a wry grin on his face.


    IndentLooking a bit embarrassed, the old lady said, ¡°Sorry about yesterday.  Most people know what they need to do ahead of time and I was just surprised.  The few freemen that have come out this way don¡¯t really like to come into town but the rumors that I had heard were that they were at least somewhat knowledgeable.¡±  This last said with a raised eyebrow.


    IndentNow, Magnus looked embarrassed.  ¡°I might be a bit odd as the information I looked up was more pertaining to what I wanted to learn than the basics that would be most useful.  I figured I would just learn the basics when I got here.¡±


    IndentMadeline paused for a moment to give him a disapproving look before shaking her head and saying, ¡°Oh well, this just mean I¡¯ll have to guide you by hand a bit more than most.  Lets get to it, show me your basic magic.¡±  Sitting forward in her chair she had look of happy anticipation on her face.


    IndentHere goes nothing, and Magnus began his well worn routine.  Tingle from the top of his head, down his arm, and to his palm.  Form the ball and fill.  Getting the mana inside the ball to start expanding from the center, pulling back his arm and severing the connection.  Taking a little under three minutes to do it, the pride Magnus felt in his accomplishment clearly visible.  Until he looked up.


    IndentMagdeline glared at the door with glowing red eyes.  ¡°Gerald didn¡¯t leave town did he, I was wondered why I didn¡¯t see him come in with you.¡±  The very air in the room seemed to hold its breath to keep from angering her further.


    IndentHer eyes were giving him the creeps and so he replied softly with a great deal of respect, ¡°No ma''am.  He said something about a wyvern.¡±  Deciding to take his cue from the mighty rabbit, he froze in place before anything happened to him.


    IndentSighing, she sat back in her chair and muttered, ¡°What''s done is done.  I can always skin him alive latter.¡±  Tapping her chin with a pencil a few times, she came to a decision.  ¡°Okay, you¡¯ve passed.  I¡¯ll get your status card ready.¡±  As she began shuffling around the tension in the room evaporated like it had never existed.


    IndentPulling a small silver plate about the size of a credit card from a drawer on the left of her desk, she dropped it in front of him with a metallic clink.  Pulling a knife from her other desk drawer she said, ¡°Now you need to bleed.¡±  Then blinked at him as he backed away from the crazy lady with a knife.  ¡°Oh come on, it¡¯s just a drop.  Stop being such a wimp.¡±


    IndentTentatively coming closer, he reached the desk an arm that flew out and grabbed his hand in an iron grip.  Turning it over, Madeline made a swift slash on his index finger before he understood what was happening.  Squeezing the finger with one hand, she placed the knife back down on her desk.  A single drop of blood fell and landed on the silver plate.  That done she let go of his hand and Magnus quickly put it in his mouth to suck the sting away.


    IndentPlate in her hand, Madeline fiddled with it and with an object on her desk that Magnus could not see but was now too timid to ask about.  Tossing the card up on the desk she said, ¡°It should be good to go.  Just need to run the final check and your status plate can be used.  Place it in the slot on the tablet.¡±  Saying so, she reached out and slid a small part of the wooden desk forward, exposing a stone plate the size of a piece of paper with a slot at the top.


    IndentDoing as told, he quickly placed the card into the slot to avoid her irritation.  A brief hum, and then his status appeared on the stone.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Status</td><td width="25%">Skills</td><td width="25%">Circles</td><td width="25%">Inventory</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">NAME</td><td width="25%">Magnus</td><td width="25%">Soul</td><td width="25%">Mortal</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Race</td><td width="25%">Human</td><td width="25%">Alignment</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Class</td><td width="25%">None</td><td width="25%">Title</td><td width="25%">None</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Basic Stats</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">Experience</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">86/100</td><td width="25%">Mana</td><td width="25%">73/100</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">10/10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Hunger</td><td width="25%">3/100</td><td width="25%">Thirst</td><td width="25%">3/100</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Physical Offense</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">Physical Defense</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Magical Offense</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">Magical Defense</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Primary Stats</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">Vitality</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Agility</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">Luck</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Intellect</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">Willpower</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Provender</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">Quenching</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Energy</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Resistances</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">None</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Traits</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Human</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Buffs</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">None</td></tr></tbody></table>


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    IndentLooking at a similar stone displaying his results on her desk Madeline muttered, ¡°Good. Good.  Everything seems normal, nothings been messed up yet.¡±  Then with a demand that echoed loudly in the silent room, ¡°Move on to the next tabs, just pausing a moment in between.¡±  Then looked back down clearly expecting him to follow her orders.


    IndentNot having any backbone in the face of her demands, Magnus complied without a whimper.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Status</td><td width="25%">Skills</td><td width="25%">Circles</td><td width="25%">Inventory</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''2''>Name</td><td width="25%">Grade</td><td width="25%">Level</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Fade to the World</td><td width="25%">Basic</td><td width="25%">Basic 1</td></tr></tbody></table>


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Status</td><td width="25%">Skills</td><td width="25%">Circles</td><td width="25%">Inventory</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Formations</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">None</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Spells</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">None</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Perpetuals</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">None</td></tr></tbody></table>


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Status</td><td width="25%">Skills</td><td width="25%">Circles</td><td width="25%">Inventory</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Soulbound</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Name</td><td width="25%">Quality</td><td width="25%">Rarity</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Ichy Flaxen Underwear</td><td width="25%">Common</td><td width="25%">Basic</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Status Card</td><td width="25%">Common</td><td width="25%">Basic</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Equipment Effects</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Equipment</td><td width="25%">Boost</td><td width="25%">Amount</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>None</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Time</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Year</td><td width="25%">Month</td><td width="25%">Day</td><td width="25%">Time</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">50126</td><td width="25%">Joy</td><td width="25%">Sixday</td><td width="25%">Morning</td></tr></tbody></table>


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    Indent¡°Good.  Good.  And expected.¡±  She said as the different screens rolled by in front of her.  Looking up at Magnus with a predatory look in her eyes she directed him, ¡°Okay perform your basic skill a time or two and you should then have it listed.  No need to let your work go to waste.  Then I¡¯ll tell you why everything you were just taught was wrong.¡±  Sitting back in the chair, she calmly waited for him to comply.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">PREVIOUS CHAPTER</a></td><td width="25%">Back to Main Page</a></td><td width="25%"> NEXT CHAPTER </a></td></tr></tbody></table>


    Magnus¡¯ Journal:  Stats entry part two


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Basic stats (can¡¯t distribute points)


    Level [a value of strength of the soul]


    Experience [how close you are to increasing your soul¡¯s strength]


    Health [how much damage you can take]


    (G)HP regen [regen of hp in battle, 5x outside of battle, 20x when resting]


    Mana [how much magic you can do]


    (G)MP regen [regen of mp in battle, 5x outside of battle, 20x when resting]


    Stamina [base 10, how much physical activity you can do]


    (G)Stamina Regen [regen of stam in battle, 5x outside of battle, 20x when resting]


    (G)Qi [current value of martial energy]


    Hunger [base 100, increases over time, nearing max gives status ailments]


    Thirst [base 100, increases over time, nearing max gives status ailments]


    (G)Move speed [maximum movement speed(m/s), alters based on weight being carried]


    (G)Attack speed [maximum number of times attacking per sec, base altered by weapon]


    Offence [personal attack value, with attack value of weapon gives damage]


    Defence [personal armor value, with armor value where hit gives protection]

 Prelude 4: Paper, Pen, and Headache

    A/N:  If you start reading this and think it''s awfully familiar, it is.  I decided to write a less dry beginning so you will need to go back to the first thread if you want a new part to the story.  This pushed all the rest of my threads down by one, but I haven¡¯t made any changes to the meat of the story.


    Also, the poll indicated to me that not many people liked my indenting or justifying of paragraphs.  That will no longer be added in future chapters and at some point I will probably go back and edit them out of the older ones.


    <hr />


    Prelude 4: Paper, Pen, and Headache


    ¡°Wrong?¡± squeaked Magnus.


    ¡°Oh, it won¡¯t be all bad.  You will get your class.  There will just be some consequences from not learning your skills in the right order,¡±  Chided Madeline as she crossed her arms.  ¡°Now put your status card away and get on with it.¡±


    Confused, Magnus asked, ¡°If I learned the wrong skill, couldn¡¯t you just teach me the one I needed to learn before you gave me the status card?¡±


    Blinking, Madeline replied, ¡°I could have but thought that this would be more interesting.  And now it¡¯s too late to change your mind.  If you attempt to learn the skill before using the one you already learned, you will have issues.  Now stop stalling and get on with it.¡±


    Left with no choice, Magnus sighed and began his now familiar ritual only to be interrupted by a clearing of the throat.  She nodded her head at the tablet, ¡°You forgot something.¡±  His status card remained lodged in the desk.


    Hastily he plucked it from the slot, and had no idea what to do.  Wide eyed and a questioning look on his face, he turned to Madeline for help.  Exasperated she directed, ¡°Just move the card to your soul.  It has already been personalized by your blood so you shouldn¡¯t have any trouble.  Just put it a little above your stomach and pull it in.¡±  She finished by making a slurping sound.


    Still confused but following directions, Magnus pulled the card in toward his stomach.  No longer did the card gleam pure silver, now it had interlacing rings of red all over it.  Once it pressed against the bottom of his sternum, he thought, No way this works, as he pulled with not just his muscles but with his mind.  And it worked.  The card disintegrated into light and flew into his body.


    Somewhat discomforted by the feeling, he wanted to ask Madeline why he felt like he had just eaten till he was sick.  But when he looked up and saw the old lady with her arms crossed, he decided to get straight to earning the skill.


    Rapidly he put out his hand and pushed the mana down his arm.  In his haste he slopped more than his practice normally produced and the tingling spread over half his arm.  Quickly he formed the mana ball and started to fill it. Severing the connection to his mana pool he resisted fumbling the ball as the stream impacted his palm.  Causing the center of the mana to start expanding, he pulled back his hand.  Again, haste caused sloppiness and he bumbled over this last step.  Wincing as the thread of mana snapped painfully against his palm, he placed his hand under the opposite armpit as he waited for the skill to activate.


    It had only taken him two and a half minutes to do finish this time, but while watching he could see that the glow barely existed this time.  Luckily it passed whatever system check was needed as after the glows faded he heard a sound.


    DING!  DING!  DING!


    Three windows popped up before his eyes.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    A new skill has been created!


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Spell Point</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grade</td><td width="25%">Basic</td><td width="25%">Cost</td><td width="25%">10 mana</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">Basic 1</td><td width="25%">Experience</td><td width="25%">0/10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Rank</td><td colspan=''3''>4,375,128,905</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Initiation</td><td width="25%">150 sec</td><td width="25%">Activation</td><td width="25%">10 seconds</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Effect</td><td width="25%">30 sec</td><td width="25%">Cooldown</td><td width="25%">30 sec</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Manual creation of a point of bound mana that can be shaped into a spell.  Most basic of spell forms and the foundation on which all spell casting rests.  A maximum of 10 mana can be used.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    A new skill has been created!


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>As Within, So Without</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grade</td><td width="25%">Basic</td><td width="25%">Cost</td><td width="25%">20 mana</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">Basic 1</td><td width="25%">Experience</td><td width="25%">0/10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Rank</td><td colspan=''3''>1,875,123,603</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Mana calls to mana.  By condensing personal mana within your body you draw ambient mana to you.  The amount that condenses works on a 4 to 1 ratio of personal mana to ambient mana.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    A new class has been created!


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Stumbling Mage</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Grade</td><td colspan=''1''>Basic</td><td width="25%">Main Stat</td><td width="25%">Mana</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Rank</td><td colspan=''3''>267,338,148,275</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The mage is one of the three most basic classes.  Earning this proves and perpetuates an affinity with mana.


    +20% skill experience when using mana based skills


    +All skills beginner and below are unlocked and can be leveled to Beginner 9


    +Basic mana skills can be leveled to Intermediate 1</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Modifier</td><td colspan=''3''>Stumbling</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>In trying to move too quickly you have begun tripping over your own feet.  Learn how to walk before you try to run.


    +20 skill experience to basic skills


    -95% skill experience to all other Grade skills</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Looking through the windows that popped up, Magnus felt pleased with himself until he got to the class window.  As it faded out of existence he could only blink dazedly at what had happened.  His research had shown that modifiers could greatly affect how well any given class or skill did, and the incredible effort getting rid of them took.


    Impatiently tapping a finger on her arm, Madeline inquired, ¡°Well, what did you get.¡±


    Coming out of his daze he replied, ¡°Spell point, as within so without, and stumbling mage.¡±  Looking more intently now as he had hope Madeline¡¯s response would bring him hope.


    Madeline let out a long stream of air from pursed lips as she stared at him with kind eyes.  ¡°It¡¯s better than I had feared.  Gerald didn¡¯t ruin your future at least.¡±  Magnus restlessly tapped his foot upon the ground as he waited for what else she would say.


    After an agonizing wait as she moved paper around her desk, she continued.  ¡°You¡¯re lucky that the modifier is so kind.  Not only does it more or less tell you exactly what to do, it will help you do it.  Far too often a modifier will be permanent or increase the difficulty of obtaining what is needed to repeal it.¡±  Shuffling around in her center desk drawer she pulled out a dark grey rock, cubic in shape and only just able to fit in the palm of her hand.


    ¡°This is handwavium,¡± she explained as she dropped to rock in front of Magnus with a thunk.  ¡°If Gerald hadn¡¯t been such a dingbat about teaching you, he would have just given you a bit of this to practice moving your mana.  You would have been done so much faster.  Hum¡­  You should probably tell me what it is you did to learn these skills.  It¡¯s not something that is easy to learn.¡±


    A bit miffed at being ordered around again, Magnus complied as he hoped she would help him.  ¡°After supper, Gerald took me out to his backyard and showed me how to do the spell point by putting his hand on top of my head and directing the mana down to my hand.  After succeeding in creating it on the first try he went to bed and I practiced until I could get it to work consistently.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t do much until I followed the tingle on my head inward and explored a bit.  I found a divot that had liquid in it and from that was able to move the mana down my arm.  After some trial and error I got the spell point to work.  I think it took about six or seven hours in total.  I¡¯m not sure since time seemed to pass by easily¡±


    Madeline looked at him with pitying eyes. ¡°When you say you moved the mana down your arm, were you following the mana or the tingling?¡±


    Magnus had to think back, when he had been moving it which did he center on?  ¡°I think it was both, but more the tingle.  I could feel something flexing under my skin but thought it was more my muscles than anything else.  When the arm-falling-asleep feel spread out, I clearly focused on trying to contain it.¡±


    Compassion in her voice, Madeline bluntly told him the problem.  ¡°The tingling you were feeling wasn¡¯t mana, it was mana evaporating from your body as you tried to use more than you could control.  Pointedly, your Willpower is too low to work with as much mana as you were pushing around.  That was causing you to grey and feel the tingling sensation.¡±


    At his blank look, she looked down and muttered more to herself than him, ¡°Right, you¡¯re a complete child on a lot of things.¡±  Lifting her head and holding eye contact, she continued.  ¡°You were killing yourself.  When a person, animal, beast, or monster dies the mana that had been locked in their body comes loose and evaporates.  When the ambient mana is in a chaotic state, for example if there is a battle going on, the mana can¡¯t evaporate out of the body until it settles.  But when it can, the mana leaves and destroys the body as it does so.


    ¡°After enough of the mana leaves, the entire body will collapse into a grey dusty ash that quickly spreads and is devoured by the ambient mana.  That is where the term greying or dusting comes from.


    ¡°When you felt the tingle along your skin, that was mana that you couldn¡¯t completely control spilling from your grasp and evaporating.  As it evaporated it was causing you damage.  If you weren¡¯t such a low level and you had more mana than health it would have been possible to kill yourself doing that.¡±  She had started working herself into a louder voice.


    ¡°And entering your mental space, not just without any knowledge of what you were doing but without any guidance.  Yeash, if you had managed to spill any mana from your pool you would have had evaporating mana in your head.  While greying your arm is bad, greying your head would be fatal.  The screaming agonizing, ¡®oh gods oh gods kill me now¡¯ kind of fatal.  Although in your case you might have survived since there doesn¡¯t seem to be anything in your head!¡±


    Nearly shouting now, eyes glowing red again, and veins popping on her forehead, Magnus wisely decided not to comment on how he had not found anything in his head.  He didn¡¯t have any desire to have Madeline directly angry at him instead of just generally angry at what he had foolishly done.


    Half standing and almost bellowing Madeline finished, ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m angrier at Gerald for teaching you in such an idiotic way or at myself for thinking he would do something the easy way!¡±  Slamming her fist on the desk, everything on it jumped into the air before falling back down.  Having finally run out of steam, she fell back and covered her eyes with both hands.


    A moment passed, then another.  Still emulating the mighty rabbit, Magnus made no effort to interrupt Madeline¡¯s attempt to regain her composure.  At last, she breathed out a long, slow breath from the deepest depths of her lungs, ¡°Ok.  Go ahead and pick up the handwavium, I¡¯ll make sure you can at least start in the right direction.¡±


    Grateful for the distraction, Magnus grabbed the rock and started examining it.  Not perfectly cubic as he first thought, lumps and dips covered the surface of the stone.  It felt heavier than a baseball but not nearly as heavy as a normal rock of the same size.  Stroking the bumps and divots with his thumb, the rock gave off a well polished quality.  When moving over the straight planes of the rock, it felt closer to that of glass.


    As Magnus rested the rock in his hand the strangest feeling began where the rock touched him.  Something was being pulled from him, but it did not have the same sensation as when he made the spell point.  Not sure what to do, he stopped resisting and let the rock pull from him.  And it began to glow.


    Softly at first, almost invisible in the daylight, it grew and grew.  It went from being a dark grey to brightly gleaming.  Looking directly at the stone he could tell that it emitted light, but the hand holding it reflected none of the light.  That¡¯s not how light works, Magnus thought to himself.  Now thoroughly confused, he had no choice but to look to Madeline and hope for a calmer person.


    Fortunately, she only had a hand covering her mouth while her eyes were grinning.  ¡°That handwavium stone is keyed to light, just like your spell was, and is a training tool for manipulating basic light mana.  While it¡¯s pulling from your personal mana it¡¯ll glow.  But it¡¯s still your mana.  If you concentrate you should be able to tell what is going on and be able to replicate it without needing the stone.¡±


    ¡°But why is it glowing, I haven¡¯t done anything and the light is all wrong?¡±  Magnus pleaded for understanding.


    Frowning as Magnus had ignored her directions, she still answered, ¡°It¡¯s glowing because handwavium pulls personal mana out and uses it as it¡¯s structure dictates.  That''s the whole reason it¡¯s called handwavium.  If you wave your hand over it, it will pull out your mana and give you an effect.  It won¡¯t last for long after you put it down, at that point it¡¯s no longer connected to you and your personal mana.  Then the mana is used up and it goes inert again.


    ¡°As for why the light is weird, handwavium is selfish.  It wants mana and it doesn¡¯t like giving it out.  When something is lit up by light mana, particles of light mana expand out from where it is activated.  As the light mana hits other mana, most often pure mana, it causes the effect of light to continue on.  The light that is created is normal light, not light mana.  But again, handwavium is selfish.  When the light mana is created it starts to expand outward, but after it bounces around and hits near the outer edge the stone reabsorbs it.  Since it¡¯s reabsorbed there is no interaction with the outside to have an effect on and only the light mana within the stone glows until the mana is completely consumed.


    ¡°Now start concentrating on what you¡¯re doing and figure it out!¡±  Her eagerness at teaching a subject she loved could not withstand the testiness she felt at his stalling.


    Guiltily he went back to studying the rock.  It still pulled something from him, he assumed that it was his personal mana from the explanation he had just gotten.  He could sense the trickle that flowed from his hand into the stone but he had difficulty following it back.  Not having any other idea, he fell back on what he had done before: looking in his mental space.  Closing his eyes he took a single step into his mental space.  But getting hit upside the head with a stick stopped that idea.  Where did she get the stick?


    ¡°Did you not hear what I said just five minutes ago about the dangers of messing with your mental space.  Are you trying to kill yourself?  This is not that hard child, just concentrate on what is happening in the handwavium and try it yourself.¡±  The glare in her eyes would brook no disobedience in this and the lump on his head ensured his compliance.


    Eyes wide open, he studied both the rock and his mana.  First his mana.  By focusing he could sense the mana just a tiny bit, and could tell how much nicer it followed directions than the mana he had used in his spell point.  It was the difference between the friends dog that would sit in your lap to be petted and the dog that ignored you unless you had doggie treats.


    Experimenting a bit, he lifted the rock up off his palm with his fingertips.  No longer could he feel it moving out of his palm, now it flowed from his fingertips. Able at last to feel it in his body, he concentrated on following the gentle flow.  It flowed not just under his skin as he had first thought, but weaved within and throughout his bones.


    Wondering, he twisted his hand and set the handwavium down on the desk.  Immediately, the flow cut off and he flinched in anticipation of impact.  Pleasantly surprised to go without the recoil, he had no appreciation of the snort from across the desk.  Ignoring Madeline, Magnus marveled at how easily the mana could be influenced.  By pushing just a little bit at where he thought his mana pool would be, all the mana along the path to his hand echoed his push and moved.  Exerting a little more effort, he focused this to his fingertip and could perceive a ball of liquid mana resting on the tip.  Slurping it back in with a small effort, a grin lit his face at his newfound painless ability.


    Leaning his face close to the handwavium he placed just his index finger against the stone.  Immediately, the dimly glowing stone began brightening until it reached the same intensity of glow as before.  Staring with unblinking eyes gave no insights, so Magnus relaxed his focus.  Now concentrating on his mana, he could sense it even within the stone.  The stone acted more as an extension of his hand than as a separate object.


    Pinpointing his focus on where his mana began to vanish he could at last sense it changing.  As his mana flowed toward the center nothing happened to it, but once it reached the core he lost his connection to it much like when his spell point would activate and disappear.  Exerting his will to move the mana around a bit before the core absorbed it he could perceive the change.  As it passed through his own mana, it streaked outward both expanding and radiating.


    Lifting his finger, Magnus considered what he had been doing with the mana mist in his spell point.  He pushed it so that it would work instead of just sit there inert.  Unnoticed, the handwavium dimmed until only a grey stone remained.  With Magnus¡¯ focus now on his index finger, he puddled a small bit of his mana onto his finger.  It couldn¡¯t be that easy, he thought.  But decided to give it a try.


    Taking just a bit of the pooled mana, he gave it a slight push outward.  Without delay, the tip of his finger began to glow.  Not a lot in the sunlight, but far more than his bungled spell point had glowed.  Expelling more mana in greater amounts with quicker speed, the tip of his finger rapidly began to light up the entire room.  As he pushed evermore mana out he started to become dizzy but ignored it.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    DING!


    ¡°No! Stop! Wait! Slow down!¡± Madeline bellowed.  But it was too late.


    Glow extinguished from his hand, Magnus collapsed backward onto the cool stone floor.  Fingers clutching at his head in anguish, he could do nothing more than groan with his eyes squeezed tightly shut.  The pounding in his head made every sound magnified a hundredfold, especially the scraping sound of a chair being pushed back against stone flooring.  Even Madeline¡¯s footsteps reverberated in his head loudly, and clearly moved away from him.


    ¡°Ak, stay right there dingbat.  I¡¯ll go get something for your head.¡±  This she called over her shoulder as she moved deeper into the backroom.  After clanking and rattling some pots, a small eternity passed before she shuffled back his way.  ¡°Sit up and drink this, it¡¯ll help.¡±


    Left with no choice and willing to try anything to get rid of his headache he began laboriously shifting until he could at last sit up.  Still not opening his eyes, he held out his hand.  Instantly Madeline placed in his hand the cup handle, and he moved it to his mouth.  Sipping the slightly warm mint tea, he could feel a slight deadening to the pain.  Not gone, but not the axe to the head it had been.


    ¡°Just stay sitting there until your headache goes away.  Then we¡¯ll talk about what just happened and why you¡¯re an idjit.¡±  Her voice moving as she meandered around the desk before falling into her chair.


    Left hand resting against his forehead as he leaned hunched over, Magnus despaired over what had been happening to him lately.  Never had he had so much difficulty at what he attempted before.  Maybe I should just quit. No no, I just got this game and if I stopped playing it after Dad spent so much on it he would skin me alive.  Besides, he still hoped to find a way to give out quests.  He decided he just needed to be more careful for the time being.


    After a short time had passed, about seven minutes, his headache vanished.  Magnus sat up straight in surprise.  Instantly, the constant pound of his headache had disappeared and that¡¯s not how headaches work!  Popping his eyes open, he immediately saw a new window.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    A new skill has been created!


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Glow</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grade</td><td width="25%">Basic</td><td width="25%">Cost</td><td width="25%">10 mana</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">Basic 1</td><td width="25%">Experience</td><td width="25%">0/10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Rank</td><td colspan=''3''>85,423,875,140</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Initiation</td><td width="25%">1 sec</td><td width="25%">Activation</td><td width="25%">0 seconds</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Effect</td><td width="25%">1 sec</td><td width="25%">Cooldown</td><td width="25%">10 sec</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The most basic use of light mana, the area light mana covers will glow.  When a continuous stream of mana is supplied to the skill the light will glow brighter.  Area of effect is 1 cm^2.  Cooldown will go into effect after mana is no longer being supplied.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Waving the window away and clambering up from the floor, he set the cup on the desk and gave Madeline his best one eyebrow lift.  ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re feeling better,¡± she replied calmly as she put away a bit of paperwork.  Leaning forward she placed her elbows on the desk and clasped one hand in the other.  Looking Magnus straight in the eyes she said, ¡°But you really need to look before you leap.  It would help keep you from running head first into walls.¡±


    Mildly depressed by her words he responds, ¡°I think I realized that already.  Now what was the wall I just ran into?¡±


    Madeline answered in a calm even tone, ¡°Mana exhaustion.  It¡¯s what happens when you run your mana down so much and it has greater effect the faster the depletion.  You probably had about half your mana left and burned through it all in just a couple of seconds.  In the first stage you get light headed.  In the second you begin to lose your balance.  Once you hit zero you get a debilitating headache that won¡¯t go away until you entirely restore your mana.¡±


    Magnus could only nod his head.  He had clearly acted like a child with a new bag of candy and stuffed them all into his mouth at once.  And then got the resulting pain to go with it.  If he had instead gone slowly, he would have noticed something was wrong when he got light headed and have asked about it.  I¡¯ll have to be smarter in the future.


    Seeing Magnus¡¯ understanding, Madeline let it go.  ¡°Moving on, you got your skill.  Correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the name it displayed was Glow.¡±


    ¡°Oh good, I was afraid for a moment you would get another weird skill but that¡¯s the normal one.¡±  Now rustling through her drawer, she started pulling out rocks before thumping them down on the table.  Not long after she had eleven more rocks lined up in front of her.


    ¡°Okay, which element do you want to to try next?¡±  A mischievous grin now lit her face as she had a student to train and he had nowhere to run.


    The grin on her face looked incredibly similar to the one Magnus had seen on Gerald.  By thinking of him, he realized that he might have a get out of jail free card.  Pulling out the letter Gerald had given him, he tremblingly interrupted, ¡°I actually have something else I should do.  Gerald told me to visit Vanessa to earn some money doing scribe work.¡±


    Paper snatched from his hands, Madeline glanced over it in disappointment.  ¡°That is actually a good idea.  Damn, thought I would get to teach you uninterrupted.  Oh well, come back after sundown and I¡¯ll treat you to some supper.  I¡¯ll keep the doors open so don¡¯t be too long.¡±  As she started putting the rocks away, Magnus escaped through the doors.


    Too quiet to hear through the doors, even if he hadn¡¯t been putting in the earplugs, Madeline murmured, ¡°To bad my brother didn¡¯t tell you not ask for Vanessa.¡±  Turning her attention inwards, she grinned maniacally as she plotted what she would do to Magnus on his return.


    -|- -|- -|-


    Standing in front of the scribing store, Magnus delayed as he worried over what might happen next.  So far, every time he did what Gerald had suggested it either ended up with him in pain or scared for his life.  Hopefully this time it would be different since Madeline had also told him that it would work out.  Gathering his courage, he went in.


    His first step in he immediately noticed a difference.  The sun had risen high into the sky but Magnus hadn¡¯t realized it in the Mage¡¯s guild because of the lighting and his own glow.  After putting his earplugs into his pack, he found that he couldn¡¯t see anything.  The windows at the front of the store should have given more light into the room but had some film laying over the top of them drastically reducing the ambient light.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be with you in a second, or a minute, or whenever,¡± a gravely voice called out of the darkness.  Eyes starting to adjust, Magnus could at last look around.  The door he walked in sat in the middle of the storefront, to his immediate right and left were the windows covered in shelves filled with paper.  Moving over to look at them, he could see the writing on them that indicated they were order forms or requests for information.  The sheets on the west window contained requests that had yet to be fulfilled, the sheets on the right held finished requests.  While the west wall shelving overflowed with requests, the east wall held very few and so let in a little light.


    Between the window of the west wall and the door squatted more shelving filled with paper.  It had very poor quality paper that sold for three coppers.  Magnus now knew how much the paper he had written on was worth.  The other side of the door contained a shelf full of quills.  And now he understood why his report had actually worked out.  The quills cost three coppers and had the label of ¡®chicken feathers magicked to hold one page worth of ink¡¯.


    Behind Magnus a voice cleared before speaking in a monotone voice, ¡°You¡¯re a new face.  Too late in the month to be a bard student but no one else would wear such bad clothing if they didn¡¯t have to.  You seem to be the new guy Victoria was talking about though, so you can tell me your name or I can just call you new guy.¡±  His offer not idle, he would willing to rename him new guy to save on the effort.


    Turning, Magnus approached the counter that the man stood at and examined him.  Shorter than himself by half a foot and¡­ pudgy was the kindest word.  This man clearly enjoyed eating, and eating well.  A black beret adorned his head of thinning black hair, the hat to cover his growing bald spot.  A black shirt with rolled up sleeves worn under an unbuttoned black leather vest.  Loose black cloth pants were tucked into heavy black boots.  He dripped apathy with his sweat and you just hopped to not get any on you.


    ¡°I¡¯m new, but my name is Magnus.¡±  Trying out a new tactic, he held out a hand to shake.  Which only got a disinterested stare before he lowered it.  Instead he grabbed the letter out of his bag, armoring himself before continuing.  ¡°I¡¯m supposed to give this to Vanessa.  Gerald told me it might get me a job doing scribe work.¡±  And stopped, as the previously lethargic man was now glaring with squinted eyes at him.


    ¡°I¡¯m VAN,¡± emphasis clear even without raising his voice, ¡°and don¡¯t forget it.¡±  Snatching the letter from his hand with movement quicker than Magnus thought he could exert, Van opened it and started reading.  Irritation already fading, he held up a piece of paper, ¡°You wrote this?¡± Folded within the letter had been his report for Gerald.  At Magnus¡¯ nod, Van went back to reading.


    A few seconds later he had finished.  ¡°Passable,¡± he directed to Magnus with barely disguised contempt.  ¡°You¡¯ll have to do better if you want any of the more important jobs.  Till then you can pull the easy jobs off the west window and I¡¯ll register it.  When you finish you can bring it to me and I¡¯ll pay you if its good enough.  This is your take for this one.¡±  Handing him two copper coins that varied in shape and size, Van clearly didn¡¯t want to talk to him anymore.


    Walking to the shelf, his thumb rubbing the coins he considered the differences from the coins he knew .  They were significantly heavier from the small coins he had in his pack.  One had a 5 and one had a 10 stamped into them.  The five was about the size of a quarter but nearly twice the thickness of the smaller coin.  It also had a hole that the smallest copper coin could fit through in the middle.  The ten, half again as wide as the five but as thin as the one, had been shaped into a square.  Weighing them in his hands, Magnus could tell that the coins were valued by weight, the five and ten respectively that much more than the one.  Not wanting to hold onto the coins, he placed them in a inner pocket of his pack.


    Now free to look over the requests, he flipped through them trying to find something that would interest him enough to do research on.  Almost three-fourths of them seemed to be ¡®copy the musical score from such-and-such¡¯ or ¡®find information about the Bard whatshisface who died three hundred years ago¡¯.  Ignoring these as boring, he eventually made his selections.


    Pulling two he liked, he stepped over to Van.  After Van cleared his throat again, ¡°You need to buy at least the most basic piece of paper and a quill or you¡¯ll have a hard time completing it.  Or not any harder, if you fail it anyway.¡±  Van had gone back to being morose after his brief irritation over his name.


    His dreams of flowing riches now crushed, he picked up two sheets and quills sighing as almost everything he had earned from his previous work vanished.  Now trudging his way back, he stopped to look at some of the other things on display.  A quill and inkwell, labeled as good for fifty pages, would cost a silver.  Higher quality paper, the kind suitable for books, cost twenty-five coppers a sheet.  And then Magnus had to pause, he had not expected to see that here.  Flabbergasted he considered the label:


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Magical Pen</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Rarity</td><td width="25%">Basic</td><td width="25%">Quality</td><td width="25%">Fine</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Cost</td><td width="25%">1 Gold</td><td width="25%">Durability</td><td width="25%">50</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Created by a master and enchanted by his apprentice, this pen will never run out of ink.  Instead, it will consume mana to produce ink in the tip of the pen at a rate of 10 mana per minute.</tbody></table>


    Heavy footsteps from behind indicating Vans approach before he stopped next to Magnus.  ¡°Yeah, that is a good pen.  Steel tipped point and having been gone over by an excellent craftsman-mage with darkness and earth attributes.  It will drip ink forever, as long as you have the mana to provide it.  It¡¯s even at an incredibly low price.  Too bad it will ever break it if they can¡¯t repair it.  And I can¡¯t sell it for less without taking an even heavier loss.¡±  He pauses to sigh again.  ¡°We~ll, lets get you registered,¡± and ambles back to the counter.


    A last longing look at the pen, pens were so much easier to write with, he dragged himself away and over to Van.  Van had pulled a large ringed binder and a stamp out, and waited patiently for Magnus to reach him.  After he took the orders he spoke without inflection, ¡°Two basic writing tasks will earn you thirty-two coppers.  It has to be finished within three days, by the end of the week, to be completed successfully.  If your work is not good enough, which it probably won¡¯t be, I won¡¯t take it and you¡¯ll have to try again.  A five copper per task collateral is required up front.  If you haven¡¯t completed your task by the end of the week they won¡¯t be returned.  Do you acknowledge and accept these terms.¡±


    Eerk, that would be almost every bit of money Magnus had on him.  Three coppers left would be unlikely to get him a meal, but Madeline had said she would feed him supper.  If he worked quickly he could make the money back, but something seemed off.  ¡°Thirty-two coppers?  I thought it was fifteen coppers a task.¡±


    ¡°Yes, except you took two tasks and that gives you more money per task because of the added difficulty.  At most you can earn twenty coppers a task when you take five or more tasks but failing to turn one in fails all the tasks.  Thats why most of my scribes will take one area of specialty and master it.  Then they don¡¯t have to go hunting for more books and waste their time.  Do you want to disappoint me on these two or not?¡±


    ¡°Okay, what do I need to do?¡±  Magnus replied as he didn¡¯t really have other options.


    ¡°Just hand me your status card and your money and I¡¯ll take care of it.  It¡¯ll be twenty-two copper for everything.¡±  As Van looked on expectantly, Magnus slung his pack in front of him and pulled the coins out.  Just three left, I¡¯m so poor.  The status card took him a minute before he remembered how he placed it the first time.  Reversing direction, he put his hand on the bottom of his sternum and mentally pushed out.  Luckily, it worked and he didn¡¯t feel the fool.


    Placing it all on Van¡¯s counter he watched as the coins disappeared into puffs of light as Van grabbed them.  He then put Magnus¡¯ card into the top of the stamp.  Order sheets now bound within his book, ¡®Thump Thump¡¯ and it was done.  Passing the card back to Magnus he shoved it back into his stomach feeling discomfort as he did.  A second later a window popped up.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    A new task has been accepted!


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody>[tr][td4]Basic Scribework (2)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Difficulty</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">Cost (Refundable)</td><td width="25%">10 copper</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Reward</td><td width="25%">32 copper</td><td width="25%">Time</td><td width="25%">3 days</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Two writing tasks have been accepted.


    Copy pertinent information from ¡®Why dwarfs are short¡¯.


    Record the names of all characters in ¡®The troll who ate¡¯.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    His ear plugs now set, he left thinking to himself, This shouldn¡¯t be too hard.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">PREVIOUS CHAPTER</a></td><td width="25%">Back to Main Page</a></td><td width="25%"> NEXT CHAPTER </a></td></tr></tbody></table>


    <hr />


    Magnus¡¯ Journal:  The World part one


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Aedrath (base starting world for humans, dwarves, and elves) has the same gravity as earth.   It is however much bigger with an outer radius of 41500 km making Aedrath 6.5 greater in radius than earth.  With a circumference of 260000 km and a surface area of 21.6 billion square km, Aedrath¡¯s size is 43 times that of earth.


    The difference in size is of course because of mana.  Aedrath is shell of rock 400 km thick around an incredibly massive pulsating core of mana.  If one were to try to reach the center, after traveling downward about 175 km, you run into the first obstacle.  A 50 km section of incredibly dense, and valuable, rocks and minerals.  This section was approximately 1800 km thick at one point, but the opposing forces of gravity and mana have condensed and distilled it into only the strongest of materials.  In this layer where mana pushes out and gravity pushes down, few things can survive the pressure.


    Should you succeed in passing through the Middle Fifty, with it¡¯s twists and turns and sideways gravity, and reach the reverse side a new problem emerges.  No longer do you climb and dig down, now you must climb up.  The further you go, the more force the mana will exert upon you.  If you should manage to reach the underside of the shell, you will have found the world of the elementals.  Briefly.


    Now unprotected by the rocks, the undiluted power of Aedrath¡¯s mana core will impact upon you.  The smallest flares of power are strong enough to atomize a level 800 warrior.  The largest, a ponderous mass that approaches slowly but expands into and all encompassing area so wide it becomes unavoidable.  Will then crush you into the thinnest of flat-cakes.

 Prelude 5: Chewing, Books and Circles

    Prelude 5:  Chewing, Books and Circles


    Magnus closed the library doors on the sound clogged town square with relief.  Earning his class and new skills took more time than anticipated.  After the stop at Van¡¯s store, lunchtime had already arrived.


    A quick check of his status menu showed him up only ten hunger and thirst points.  Knowing that his hardtack remained in his pack, Magnus looked for a place to eat.  While his hunger didn¡¯t need filling, he normally ate lunch and had no intention of quitting anytime soon.  On the right, where the checker players sat yesterday, rested a closed door he had missed.


    Pushing inside, he found a small room with a single table pushed against the outer wall.  Against the middle of the inner wall squatted a stone oven.  Next to it water flowed from a faucet in a never ending stream.  I wonder where all the water comes from? pondered Magnus.  Leaving his thoughts for another time, he sat and pulled up his bag.


    One piece of hardtack now in hand, Magnus viewed his lunch with disgust.  A swift rapt upon the table showed the hardness of the bread.  Giving in to the inevitable, he set his teeth to nibble the edge.  Achieving nothing, he clamped his jaw against it more tightly and began twisting.  A great effort later, a small chunk had detached and could now be chewed.  And chewed.  And chewed.


    Five minutes of chewing later, Magnus swallowed.  So dry as it crawled down his throat, he started choking.  Rushing to the tap, he stuck his head under it and gulped as much water as he could.  Glowering at the dreaded bread still sitting on the table, he resolved to start working.  After filling his canteen he put away the hardtack.  Magnus refused to let any of his minuscule resources go to waste, and then left.


    Starting toward the library proper, his feet diverted him to the washroom at the librarians glare.  Minuscule dirt removed from his hands, he moved past the desk.  Although she didn¡¯t appear as monstrous as the day before, he still had no desire to find himself the object of her irritation.  Stopping at the catalogue, Magnus flipped to ¡®Troll who ate, The¡¯ and found it¡¯s listing in history.  A bit surprised at the category, he flipped to the back to find his second book.


    With few listed W titles he quickly scanned down the list.  But Magnus could not find ¡®Why dwarfs are short¡¯.  Confused, he ran his finger back through more slowly this time, sure he had just missed it.  Still not finding it, he decided to take the next logical step.  Ask the librarian.


    Hesitant steps leaving him in front of the desk, he queries the librarian.  ¡°I¡¯m trying to find the book ¡®Why dwarfs are short¡¯ but can¡¯t find it in the catalogue.  Do you know where it is?¡±  Not for a second did he think that the library wouldn¡¯t have the book.


    The book she had been reading crashed down as she dropped it.  Contemplating Magnus, she measured out her words.  ¡°Subtitles not listed.  Check stacks.¡±  Lifting her book in one hand, she had delivered all the help she would give.  How helpful, thought Magnus as the sarcasm dripped down his brain.  Choosing to take the easier step first, he goes searching for a troll.


    Passing around the desk, Magnus dismissed the new person looking through the low shelving.  The four scribes were still working at their customary tables and a new person being there didn¡¯t seem odd to him.  He had work to do and moved into the stacks on the history section.  Down and down the row he walked, pass the Fs he had been at yesterday.  All the way to the last three towering bookcases.


    Streaking a bit of caked on dirt off a book with a finger, he grimaced before taking a large breath.  Holding it, he shifted his shirt so he could hold the sleeve and swipped as many of the spines as he could reach.  Out of breath, he ran back up the row to gasp in clean air.  Not quite making it, he began coughing up the dirt he inhaled.


    Glad he didn¡¯t have allergies in Grand Planes, he watched as the dust drifted in the sunlight.  When enough had settled, he lifted his shirt collar over his nose to breath through.  Looking at his work, he felt dismay.  While the dust no longer covered them, less than thirty had titles on the spines.  What is with people not labeling their books?  Not letting it disturb him, he started pulling books down to look through.


    As he had noticed yesterday, only every other one was correctly shelved.  Mathematics for Warriors, Formation of the Empire, Tales of the Dimspire, UpGrading and You, Eating Bat Wings.  All of them he pulled off the case in discomfort over leaving them misshelved.  And then he found ¡®Table of the Elements, or Why the World Wants to Kill You¡¯.  Hum, this must be a subtitled book.


    It was a thin book, half as thick as his pinky and stuffed between two heavy books.  The other books were normal and made of paper.  But just by opening to the title page he found this book had pages of metal.  Hammered into a thin sheets, the painted and engraved words were art.  In the library, he had yet to see anything that could match it.  Curious, he flipped it open.


    A large table sat in the middle of the folded out page.  Drawn with machine like precision, Magnus stroked his fingers over the page.  He could easily feel the slight indents where the arrows connected the orbs.  Turning to the next page, Magnus received a surprise.  Every book before now he had been able to read, but this one came to him as only squiggles.  Unable to read it, he could only assume a different race had written it.


    It was an interesting mystery, but not what he had gone to the library looking for.  Putting it down on his stack of misshelved books, he returned to his search.  It remained hiding on all the first case.  And the second case.


    Three sets of books teetered behind him, but Magnus could only smile.  On the bottom shelf of the final case, he had found his troll book.  Now he just had to decide what to do with the rest.  Not wanting to leave them on the floor, he gathered his courage.  His trudging footsteps echoed as he walked down the row.  As he neared the end, a high pitched scream of terror rang out.


    Reaching the row''s end, Magnus came to a screeching halt.  The librarian had lifted the new person to his tippy toes with one arm.  Her hand gripped under his shoulder as she dragged him away from the tables, musical score spilling where he sat.  ¡°I tell them and I tell them and they just don¡¯t listen,¡± she muttered at a low rumble.


    Reaching her desk, she grabbed his belt with her other hand.  A three sixty spin, his unheld arm extended way out, and release.  Still screaming, he flew over her desk and covered the twenty feet to the doors in the blink of an eye.  Arm covering his head, he bashed through the doors briefly letting in the noise from the square.  ¡°And stay out!¡±


    Putting his book on top of the others, he felt a great deal of fear but continued anyway.  After reaching her desk, a cleared throat grabbed her attention, turning her toward him.  Voice cracking in nervousness he asked as quickly as he could.  ¡°Didyouhaveacarttoreshelvebooks?¡±


    Still glowering she replied, ¡°Not paying.¡±  Her intimidating gaze remained focused upon him.


    ¡°Thats okay, it¡¯s just bugging me.¡±  This time he managed to calm down a bit.


    An eyebrow raised, she flipped open a cabinet door on her desk.  Reaching in she pulled out the heavy wooden cart and shoved to toward him.  ¡°Return before leaving.¡±


    Rushing away as fast as the cart would allow, he pulled it all the way down the history aisle before collapsing.  Leaning his back against the cart, he breathed in and out through his mouth, trying to lower his heartbeat.


    DING!


    <table><tbody><tr><td>A new Primary Stat has been generated!</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    Courage


    Even in the face of overwhelming power, you stand tall.


    Effect of Debuffs reduced.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Wah!?!?  The stat was not something normally gained in a library.  Most people earn it by repeatedly fighting higher level monsters after they impose a fear status.  But the system had detected his great fear and determined he met the qualifications.  Unsure if he should be pleased or insulted, he ignored both possibilities and started loading the cart.  He wanted to do his scribe work today, but wouldn''t fail to keep his word and reshelve the books.  Especially when her displeasure could get him tossed out of the library.


    Not wanting to spend forever at this task, he sorted the books into what he thought were their different categories.  Looking closely, the cart could just fit down the aisle.  In a few places he had even bumped against extruding books and knocked them to the ground.  Climbing over the cart, he picked them back up from where they had fallen.  At this point he didn¡¯t even care what the titles were and just wanted them out of his way.


    Going back for the cart, he placed a third of the books in the history section as he pulled it along.  No longer powered by adrenaline, the cart had become a cumbersome mass to pull.  Straining and tugging and swearing under his breath, he at last got it out of the row.  Shoving on the side, he got it twisted and aimed for the next row.  Learning from his mistake, he no longer pulled but pushed.  His legs quivering as he rested his back against the cart, he shoved again and again.


    After putting two thirds of the books away, Magnus received an unexpected reward.


    Ping!


    <table><tbody><tr><td>+1 Willpower</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Invigorated by his reward, he continued with cheer.  Willpower is one of the most important stats to a mage.  It¡¯s value determines how much mana a person can use without damage.  While Magnus did not have this exact reasoning in mind, he did know the value of achieved stats.  Even if you die, achieved stats won¡¯t diminish.  Their utility is only offset by the difficulty and pain in earning more of them.


    Grunting and shoving he kept going through sheer stubbornness.  Of the sixteen aisles, Magnus needed to go down ten.  He did not leave the cart at the end of a row and take just the books down the row.  Instead, he pushed it all the way down to the end and back around the aisle.  The elation from his previous achieved stat had yet to wear off and he hoped for a stamina gain.


    Repeatedly, he had to stop to catch his breath for several minutes.  With only ten stamina he ran out of steam quickly.  And without stamina regeneration he required rest.  Even then, his muscles ached until several minutes passed and he could stand again.  Magnus felt disappointment when he finished and no more increases had chimed in.


    Ready at last, he parked the much lighter cart next to the table where he set ¡®The Troll Who Ate¡¯ down.  The two books from yesterday still sat on the end, even the distorted light was the same. Pulling his new book in front of him, he examined it carefully.  A tad larger than a standard 8x11 sheet of paper and more than an inch and a half thick, he could feel the heft of the book.  Individual pages were of higher quality than the three copper sheets, but only just.


    Flipping through, Magnus saw that pictures covered half the pages.  It¡¯s a children¡¯s book.  Not willing to do a bad job, he read it through paying careful attention to the pictures along with the words.  Beginning with, ¡®A long time ago in the far reaches of the frozen north...¡¯ the book told of, Shearmer, a knight in shining armor.  At the bidding of King Johanson he had traveled from town to town slaying monsters.  Especially any strong monsters forced from their collapsed dungeons.


    When Shearmer reached the village in the farthest reaches of Efrhar, instead of a welcome he found only shattered remains.  Searching the rubble, he found the lone survivor, Crale, laying on deaths door.  With little power in healing, he could only push back the man¡¯s pain long enough to get his story.


    Days before, a dungeon that had gone undiscovered had collapsed and released powerful monsters.  As the closest population, the monsters immediately attacked.  Several waves of ice wolves and ice troll dealt massive damage to their defenses.  But the villagers pushed back against them.  Until it showed up.


    Trosidole, a boss ice troll approached only after minions exhausted the defenders.  Thinking they had won, the village had started to celebrate.  Then Trosidole¡¯s powerful roar left them all afraid, from the mightiest warrior to the least, all felt fear.  Still they fought.  But a troll greatest weapon is not it¡¯s strength, it¡¯s regeneration.  Unable to deal enough damage to kill it, the defenders collapsed from despair.  Crale had been unconscious for the end, but what Shearmer saw made him realize that had been a mercy.


    Crale had been a captain of the guard, but when hit into a nearby building it fell upon him.  That wouldn¡¯t have stopped him normally, but the ice trolls blood had splashed him.  In a potion, troll blood is helpful.  Splashed over a surface it causes it to freeze.  The troll''s blood had affected his legs and when he crashed into the wall they shattered like glass.


    Having heard of the famous knight, the guard begged Shearmer to kill the monster with his dying breath.  Honor demanded acceptance, but as he tracked it he found two more towns in ruins.  Finally catching up at the third town, the now haggard knight immediately jumped into battle.  After a long battle, Trosidole understood it¡¯s danger and fled.


    How it killed earned it the nickname of Troll who Ate.  Anton, fire mage of the village is the last known person to talk to Shearmer.  He headed north to defeat the monster but wanted his king to know what had happened immediately.  With the town destroyed, a rider would need to go to the next closest town and send word.  He however, was going after the troll.  And was never heard from again.


    DING!


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    A new skill has been created!


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Reading (Passive)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grade</td><td width="25%">Basic</td><td width="25%">Cost</td><td width="25%">1 stamina</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">Basic 1</td><td width="25%">Experience</td><td width="25%">0/10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Rank</td><td colspan=''3''>735,533,972,113</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Effect</td><td width="25%">10 minutes</td><td width="25%">Cooldown</td><td width="25%">0 sec</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Reading shows your new thoughts aren¡¯t as new as you thought.  At current level, all books of Basic Grade are readable.  Only languages that are known can be read.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    As the window faded, Magnus felt disappointment.  He had anticipated getting the skill, he just hoped for one without cost.  While needing stamina would slow him, it was nothing compared to the cost of a warrior skill.  The description though, that caused him to think of the metal book.  The title was in human, so maybe it¡¯s just a higher grade book.  His curiosity satisfied, he returned to the book.


    Wow.  That¡¯s a picture book but not a children¡¯s book.  Moral of the story, everyone dies.  Mild disbelief at the morbidity of the story, he still had all that he needed for his task.  Shearmer, Johanson, Crale, Trosidole, and Anton.  Putting them all to paper he went to check to see if his task had updated.


    Status window brought up the pages from before, but nothing about his task.  Trying to summon a window, he mumbled to himself, ¡°Quests... Tasks... Show Quests¡­ Tasks Appear¡­¡±  But nothing seemed to work.  Exasperated, he looked to the heavens for answers.  Seeing how little time before sunset remained, he started hunting for his missing book the hard way.


    Not able to think of anything more productive, he just pushed the cart down one row and started pulling books.  This time he went down the fiction section.  Few of these books had been pulled recently, and the dust covering them was thick.  Only a few of where out of place: American history, Fifty States and Capitals, To Kill a Mockingbird.  All from a fictional place without magic.


    ¡°Library closes at sundown!  Get your stuff and get out!¡±  Her voice loud even as far back as Magnus had walked.  He hadn¡¯t gotten more stats, but knew it was only a matter of time.  Stopping by his table, he dropped the few mishelved books off.  Leaving the cart at her desk gained him only a grunt in reply.  His second day at the library done, he planned to go talk with Madeline.  He also wanted to explore some, but vividly remembered eating hardtack.


    Traveling the crowded streets, Magnus reached the Mage guild to see Madeline waiting at the doorway.  ¡°Come in, Come in.  We have much to do.¡±  He walked inside as Madeline locked the door by dropping a wooden beam across it.  ¡°Follow me and don¡¯t touch anything, we¡¯ll just eat out in the testing area.¡±


    Passing behind the desk, they followed a short cluttered hallway toward the back.  Various robes and capes were strune about the hallway with gems glittering upon them.  Peering in the different rooms, Magnus saw one filled with scrolls and books.  Another was filled with wands and staves, and a third with a kitchenette.  As Madeline turned into the kitchenette, she waved him toward the back.  ¡°Just go on out and pick a bench to sit on, I¡¯ll be there in a minute.¡±


    Leaving the building, Magnus explored the new area.  Next to the door sat two benches, one to the left and one to the right.  Next to the benches and against the building, sat two sets of wooden racks.  To the left, the rack held many many wooden wands while the right rack held staffs.  Dozens and dozens of each.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    For the staffs, he could see several embedded pebbles, always of the same color.  A section in the middle had leather binding for grip.  The top of the staff curved down and over a gem.  The top held a slightly larger stone than the wands.  A second stone was set a short distance above the grip.  He could not see the bottom of the staff that had been placed within the rack.


    In the wands, the tip held a single polished stone.  A small speckled stone, the biggest no larger than a quarter inch in diameter.  Looking at them, you could tell the stones held little value but had been maintained carefully.  The main wooden part expanded out from the rock, where it fixed the stone in place.  Extending approximately a foot from end to end, the grip had a diameter closer to an inch.  No wand had ornamentation, but all had been carefully sanded and oiled to take away any splinters.


    Attempting to pick up one of the wands, Magnus pushed against an invisible barrier.  Not seeing any glass, he could only conclude that some protective magic blocked him.  Continuing his exploration, he moved to the center of the grounds.  Kicking his feet against the dirt, he uncovered a carving in the stone beneath.  Bending down, he wiped away more of the dirt to be sure of it.


    Looking at the ground closely, he found dozens if not hundreds of indentations indicating circles.  They weren¡¯t large, but a person could stand in one without trouble.  Looking up, he saw walls like those in Gerald¡¯s back yard, but larger.  The two side walls held doors, but the back wall had targets.  A single large red and white target dominated the middle.  Surrounding it at various heights were more targets, each a different set of colors.


    Sitting down on a bench, Magnus leaned back against the building and contemplated his next move.  He would need to log out for at least a few minutes soon, but time didn¡¯t press upon him too urgently.  The forums indicated you could go three or four days in game before you would get booted.  Mostly for bathroom breaks.


    Covered in microdust, a person wouldn¡¯t get bedsores and would get some exercise.  It also controlled his various health functions, and wouldn¡¯t let him come to harm.  But despite it¡¯s protections against sweet, microdust is still electronic equipment. And getting it wet, no matter the source, could cause catastrophic failure.  The recommended tactic was to log out once every night to take care of business.


    The door next to him popped open with a bang, startling Magnus from his thoughts.  ¡°Here we go, a meal for the hungry before we begin training.¡±  Although worried about the training comment, he drooled over the smells from the plate.


    Rice and dumplings, with something gooey that tasted of a tangy squash.  Finishing quickly, he put his plate down next to him and pulled out his canteen.  Washing it all down with water, he decided to wait for Madeline to finish.  After all, he didn''t want to be rude.  Ruminating on his day, he kept returning to the difficulty of finding the book and the unhelpfulness of the librarian.


    ¡°What¡¯s on your mind now?¡±  Madeline¡¯s question boomed in the silence startling Magnus.  ¡°When boys as young as you start brooding it¡¯s either because went wrong, or a girl caught their eye.  So tell this old lady about your day and maybe I can help you with the problem.¡±


    Caught off guard, he answered none the less.  A bit disjointed in explanation, he spoke of the different things he did since leaving the guild.  He finished with, ¡°And I don¡¯t know how I¡¯m going to find that damn book by the end of the week.¡±  Turning to Madeline, his eyes widened in shock.  She clutched her side with one hand and had the other covering her mouth.


    Tears leaking from closed eyes she could only gasp out. ¡°HeHe¡­ Courage¡­ HeHee¡­ I can¡¯t believe¡­ You¡¯re killing me kid¡­¡±  Irritated at her laughter, he crossed his arms and grumped while Madeline recovered.


    ¡°Oh child, I haven¡¯t laughed like that in forever.  Thank you.  Courage¡­ Heh.¡±  Standing up, she waved a hand and the plates floated up before gliding down to the ground.  Further in they sank as a few brown motes of light floated up from where they dissipated.  Disappearing completely into the ground she wiped her hands together and turned to Magnus.


    ¡°I keep forgetting how new to the world you are child.  Sit up straight now, and I¡¯ll tell you and easier way to find the titles of the books.¡±  With word that she could save him time in the library, he forgot his irritation and riveted his attention upon her.  ¡°All people and objects in the world emit a low level of mana.  A simple eye skill allows you to see some of this mana, and interpret it through your status card.  That¡¯s why most books don¡¯t have a title on their spine.  All you need to do to learn this skill is move some mana into your eyes.  It might take a few minutes to set in, but you shouldn¡¯t have any trouble learning it.¡±


    Taking her at her word, he bore down and pushed a small amount of mana into his eyes.  Looking down into his eyes, Madeline said, ¡°A bit more.  A bit more still, you¡¯ll need to use all the mana you can safely control to get it.  Don¡¯t go over though, just let it sit until it activates.¡±  More and more he pushed in, feeling the pressure building within his eyes.


    Uncomfortable with the sensation, he held on for a minute.  Then a second, blinking as his eyes watered.  All at once, the pressure vanished.


    ¡°Good, it looks like it set in,¡± Madeline congratulated him.  ¡°Do that a few more times and when the skill generates you won¡¯t have as much difficulty.¡±  Looking up at her as she bustled off, Magnus saw her name floating above her head.  As she moved just a short distance away it faded out.  Happy at having a new skill to play with, he pulled a quill from his bag.  Looking at it for a moment caused a new window to pop up.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Feather of a Chicken</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Rarity</td><td width="25%">Basic</td><td width="25%">Quality</td><td width="25%">Common</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Durability</td><td width="25%">1</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>A quill made from a chicken feather.  This quill has enough ink for one page of written work before greying.</tbody></table>


    Heh, now I can just look at the books and their titles should pop up.  Magnus felt quite happy until the window faded from view.  He glared at the quill again but nothing happened so he pushed mana into his eyes again.  Holding the mana in place didn¡¯t put as much pressure on his eye this time.  That or he just didn¡¯t feel it as much.  When it activated, he held up the quill and the window popped up again.


    ...56...57...58...59...60.  And the window vanished.  It was indeed the skill he needed, but it only lasted for a minute.  If it took him two to three minutes to active and only lasted one, he would need to run down the shelves to just scan them all in time.  And he didn¡¯t know how well it would show subtitles without practice.  Not have any better skill to use, he moved the mana to eyes once more.  And this time succeeded in gaining the skill.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    A new skill has been created!


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody>[tr][td4]Observe</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grade</td><td width="25%">Basic</td><td width="25%">Cost</td><td width="25%">10 mana</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">Basic 1</td><td width="25%">Experience</td><td width="25%">0/10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Rank</td><td colspan=''3''>973,224,573,748</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Initiation</td><td width="25%">30 sec</td><td width="25%">Range</td><td width="25%">1 meter</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Effect</td><td width="25%">60 sec</td><td width="25%">Cooldown</td><td width="25%">10 sec</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The most basic of eye magic, this skill allow viewing of basic information.  If an item has already been identified, or it has been listed it a shop that information can be displayed.  Also shows peoples names if they don¡¯t have a privacy skill active.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Ak, I was afraid of that.  The skill window showed his problem, the short effect time.  But now that it was a skill, he could level it and hopefully extend the time of effect.  Finished now that he had it, he went searching for Madeline.  He didn¡¯t have to look far as she had returned with a broom and worked to clear a circle of dirt.  Curious, he walked up to her to see what she was doing.


    As he neared, she turned and looked at him.  ¡°Good, it seems you obtained the skill.  I figured I would show you one of the easier spells since you obtained spellpoint.  And show you why it was the completely wrong order to get.  I don¡¯t think you can learn it now, spells are beginner grade and your class modifier will hinder you.  It should still give you something to look forward to.¡±


    Finished cleaning the circle, she nodded to him and walked toward the wands.  As she left, Magnus knelt down to study the circle.  More complex than he initially thought, it was not just carved into the ground.  Oh, a carved groove did cause a circular indent.  But the metal that laid within had gone unnoticed before.


    Swipping his finger along the metal he could tell it hadn¡¯t been poured in, it felt more like the stone had grown around it.  Considering what Madeline had just done with the plates, that was entirely possible.  There were also etchings across metal itself, but without any discernible pattern to them.


    A cough shot him to his feet.  Madeline stood right behind him with a wand in each hand.  Blushing at her raised eyebrow, he kept silent and didn¡¯t embarrass himself further.  ¡°It¡¯s good you¡¯re curious, but it¡¯s far too soon to need to learn about those permanents.¡±


    Handing him a wand she continued without teasing him further.  ¡°Here you go, this is a training wand.  At this point in their training, people  who want to spellcast learn one or two basic spell, then work on leveling them to an effective point.  Your class will keep you from this as the experience needed to earn a skill is also increased.  Unless you want to repeat it fifty times or more.  I¡¯ll show you how it¡¯s done first, and then you can try.  After you play with it once or twice, we¡¯ll get you the basic skill you¡¯ll need.¡±


    Waving him away with her hand, she stepped within the circle.  ¡°I don¡¯t need the circle myself, but it helps  correctly shape the spell.  All I¡¯m going to do is push the mana down the wand into the rock.  If it was a good wand it would be an actual gemstone, but it¡¯s just a training wand.¡±  Putting her words to action, she stretched out her arm at the giant target.


    ¡°Now I¡¯m going to drop my control a lot so that you can see it.  Any time you see someone using a skill that''s glowing, it¡¯s just releasing excess mana.  They either can¡¯t control as much as the skill requires, or their proficiency with the skill is bad.  Someone who has mastered a skill will be able to do it without losing any excess mana.¡±  As she said that the stone on the tip of the rod lightly glowed red.


    ¡°After the rock takes the mana, you continue putting mana into it, but drag it upward.¡±  As she did so, a streak of light followed upward from where she put the wand.  An orb of red light hovered at the point she started the wand.


    Beginning to circle the orb with her wand she spoke. ¡°When you start your circle on this spell it is important to remember the right hand rule.  Always cast attacking spells in a counter-clockwise motion and buff spells in a clockwise motion.  If you do the opposite, you¡¯ll hit yourself or buff your enemy.¡±  Her wand circled the center, when it reached the top she dropped it down to the point.


    ¡°After you finish a spell, you always want to return to the point of origin to close the circle.  Not closing it is what you do when you¡¯re casting spells of higher circles.  After you bring it to the origin point, you say the name of the spell and withdraw your mana.  Fire!¡±


    As she pulled the wand away it no longer glowed, but the circle did.  Etched in the air like the longest lasting sparkler, it floated but did nothing.  And then the circle streaked like water through paint down into the center orb.  Once a red line reached the orb, a bit of flame lep out toward the back wall.  As more hit the orb, the jet of flame grew wider, until it tapered off into nothing.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to say the name of the skill, it just helps with intent.  If you take the time, you can even get a skill for wordless evocation.  You just need the Willpower for it.  This is just a first circle spell, and it¡¯s one of the more damaging ones too.  That¡¯s why many learn it right away.  I¡¯ll give you a try or two to get the feel of it, and then we¡¯ll get you started on learning the basics.¡±


    Thrusting the wand into Magnus¡¯ hands, she pushed him into the circle.  ¡°I¡¯ll set up some lights, so put what I showed you into practice.¡±  With this said, she began walking around behind him, a different wand out.  A she made her circles, they were not cast directly in front of her.  Instead, she angled her arm straight up over her head and motioned counter-clockwise circle.  ¡°Light,¡± she said under her breath.


    As the center pulled the white glow of her circle inward, a slight pop sounded before a glowing orb of light emerged.  Floating eight feet above the ground, the orb illuminated much of the training grounds well.  Moving from the left corner of wall and building, she went to the right side and repeated the process.  While she proceeded, she watched as Magnus attempted his first fire spell.


    Standing inside the circle, Magnus had been reviewing what needed to be done.  Satisfied that he wouldn¡¯t set himself on fire, he began.  The mana easily flowed out and into the wand, it traveled down into the stone and pooled.  Still feeling it¡¯s link, he pushed more and more into the stone.  Just as he began to fear he would fail, the mana in the stone changed.


    Still connected, but no longer residing in the stone.  The mana had formed it¡¯s own skin and a thin line connected to the stone in the wand.  Pulling the wand upward, he could see a spell point hovering.  Near disbelief at the ease of creating it, Magnus stopped inputting mana for a moment.  The connection between the wand and the point thinned until it became nearly invisible.


    Catching his mistake, he immediately pushed more mana down the wand.  The surge thickened the connection to the point and he began moving the wand.  Facing more difficulty than expected, he continued circling with the wand.  Mana output varying as he wobbled along, the circle thinned and thickened throughout his motion.  In parts, he had thrust the wand too far forward and in others too far back.  But he had made it.


    Dropping the wand down to the spell point, he called out.  ¡°Fire!¡± and jerked the wand back toward his chest.  His spell complete, he worried as the circle of red sparked far more than Madeline¡¯s example.  But at last, the glow began to drip toward the middle.  When it hit the spell point, flames began to spray out.  Much wider and not as concentrated as before, the flames only reached halfway to the target.


    As more and more drops hit the spell point, Magnus couldn¡¯t help but notice that much fewer fell.  As they hit, they did not build upon the previous one.  Instead,  they spread out at slightly different angles and only overlapped near his spell.  Not nearly as precise a strike as Madeline¡¯s, flame had gone everywhere and vented the spells power where he wasn¡¯t aiming.


    ¡°Not bad for a first try,¡± Madeline called from behind.  ¡°You can get much better with practice and that will help in future spell casting.  But now it¡¯s time to start on basic magic.¡±  Disappointed he  only got one shot today, he walked slowly to Madeline to find out what he needed to do next.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">PREVIOUS CHAPTER</a></td><td width="25%">Back to Main Page</a></td><td width="25%">NEXT CHAPTER </a></td></tr></tbody></table>


    <hr />


    Magnus¡¯ Journal:  Death


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>In Grand Planes, death is to be avoided.  It seems like it should be self explanatory, but magic complicates it.


    When you die, you enter a state of incapacitation.  Your soul floats above your body and can watch what happens a short distance around you.  A free floating soul can even communicate with other nearby souls, especially the recently deceased.  If battle still goes on around, this time period can be extensive.


    But once battle ends, the connection between the soul and the body begins to dissolve.  And once all connections are gone, the soul leaves the body and the body greys.  If however, someone with a skill to reattach the soul to the body is close by, the person won¡¯t be true dead.


    But that first death is when experience is lost.  1%, or more accurately lvl/100 rounded up to the next whole number.  So a lvl 0 can¡¯t lose levels, but everyone up to lvl 100 loses 1 lvl.  If a person is revived and killed, and this is done again and again(ie. in the middle of a giant long lasting battle) then massive lvl lose can occur.  Not all the way to lvl 0, it seems to cap a 20% of your initial lvl.


    And you also lose skill experience.  On death, all experience that has been obtained for the current level is lost.  If you die again without gaining anymore exp, a whole skill level is lost.  Again, this won¡¯t go on forever.  When you hit the lowest level of the current lvl grade you can''t lose any more.  ie:  a beginner lvl skill can¡¯t lower into the basic levels and a novice lvl can¡¯t lower into the beginner lvls.  A rumor, no proof positive, is that a skill at lvl 10 that hasn¡¯t upgraded in lvl also can¡¯t be lowered below lvl 10.

 Prelude 6: One of Each

    A/N:  <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>My appologies for the long delay.  I didn''t end up writing more than a few hundred words a night recently and then ended up with a larger info dump than I had intended.  Oh well.


    Some may have noticed that I have a cover page now.  I''m quite satisfied with my first attempt at using photoshop.  The larger image can be found Here</a>.


    When I read the ending of my last chapter, I disliked it.  So I wrote a bit more.  It can be found both on the last chapter and in the spoiler before the new prelude.


    P5 added<b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Thrusting the wand into Magnus¡¯ hands, she pushed him into the circle.  ¡°I¡¯ll set up some lights, so put what I showed you into practice.¡±  With this said, she began walking around behind him, a different wand out.  A she made her circles, they were not cast directly in front of her.  Instead, she angled her arm straight up over her head and motioned counter-clockwise circle.  ¡°Light,¡± she said under her breath.


    As the center pulled the white glow of her circle inward, a slight pop sounded before a glowing orb of light emerged.  Floating eight feet above the ground, the orb illuminated much of the training grounds well.  Moving from the left corner of wall and building, she went to the right side and repeated the process.  While she proceeded, she watched as Magnus attempted his first fire spell.


    Standing inside the circle, Magnus had been reviewing what needed to be done.  Satisfied that he wouldn¡¯t set himself on fire, he began.  The mana easily flowed out and into the wand, it traveled down into the stone and pooled.  Still feeling it¡¯s link, he pushed more and more into the stone.  Just as he began to fear he would fail, the mana in the stone changed.


    Still connected, but no longer residing in the stone.  The mana had formed it¡¯s own skin and a thin line connected to the stone in the wand.  Pulling the wand upward, he could see a spell point hovering.  Near disbelief at the ease of creating it, Magnus stopped inputting mana for a moment.  The connection between the wand and the point thinned until it became nearly invisible.


    Catching his mistake, he immediately pushed more mana down the wand.  The surge thickened the connection to the point and he began moving the wand.  Facing more difficulty than expected, he continued circling with the wand.  Mana output varying as he wobbled along, the circle thinned and thickened throughout his motion.  In parts, he had thrust the wand too far forward and in others too far back.  But he had made it.


    Dropping the wand down to the spell point, he called out.  ¡°Fire!¡± and jerked the wand back toward his chest.  His spell complete, he worried as the circle of red sparked far more than Madeline¡¯s example.  But at last, the glow began to drip toward the middle.  When it hit the spell point, flames began to spray out.  Much wider and not as concentrated as before, the flames only reached halfway to the target.


    As more and more drops hit the spell point, Magnus couldn¡¯t help but notice that much fewer fell.  As they hit, they did not build upon the previous one.  Instead,  they spread out at slightly different angles and only overlapped near his spell.  Not nearly as precise a strike as Madeline¡¯s, flame had gone everywhere and vented the spells power where he wasn¡¯t aiming.


    ¡°Not bad for a first try,¡± Madeline called from behind.  ¡°You can get much better with practice and that will help in future spell casting.  But now it¡¯s time to start on basic magic.¡±  Disappointed he  only got one shot today, he walked slowly to Madeline to find out what he needed to do next.


    Prelude 6: One of Each


    As Magnus walked over, he saw Madeline setting up a table up next to a bench and placing handwavium stones upon it.  After sitting, he tossed the wand onto the table and whacked his forehead against the table.  ¡°What was the point of learning spell point?¡±  His one experience with casting spells by wand had proven the difficulty of manual casting.


    ¡°Heh, heh.¡± Madeline chuckled softly.  ¡°I did tell you it¡¯s not the first thing your supposed to learn.  But there is a reason to learn it.  A wand can only form a spell point for the type of circle crafted into it.  A first circle wand can¡¯t cast second circle spells and a second circle wand can¡¯t cast first circle spells.  The¡¯re also limited in what type of mana they can use.  You saw how the stone immediately converted your mana into fire mana.  If you wanted to use a different type of spell you would need to have a different wand.  Or one that has several stones in it.


    ¡°But creating a wand with multiple stones is incredibly difficult.  It¡¯s a bit easier with staffs, but only a bit.  And that difficulty increases the price.  You also have to train yourself to be able to use the different stones with consistency.  It¡¯s far from impossible, but tends to be expensive.  This leads most spellcasters toward focusing on one or two elements.


    ¡°By creating a manual spell point, you can determine the mana composition when you create it.  It takes more willpower, but you don¡¯t need to haul around dozens of wands.  Most learn it only after they are able to cast fourth or fifth circle spells.  Then they can get rid of their lesser wands and staffs and still be able to cast lower circle spells.  It takes tons of work to be able to cast higher circle spells with spell point.  If I¡¯m being generous, Gerald taught you the skill so that you would be able to cast high circle spells without a wand sooner rather than never.¡±


    When Madeline had been silent for several moments, Magnus lifted his head from the table.  The red pressure spot now swelling his forehead went unnoticed.  Madeline had arranged thirteen pieces of handwavium on the table and the formation seemed familiar to Magnus.  Squinting his eyes at them, a lightbulb went off in his head.  ¡°The table of the elements,¡± he blurted out.


    ¡°Very good.  I see you did some reading in the library.  Hopefully you can complete your library training before too long.  That will certainly help you.¡±  At Magnus¡¯ confused expression, he had only planned on using a library for info on quests, she laughed.  ¡°You didn¡¯t know?  It''s not true for all libraries, but most are built to help improve magic stats.  In a basic library, the three primary stats Intellect, Willpower, and Concentration are much easier to achieve than anywhere else."


    Madeline fell silent for a brief moment.  "Time to start," and turned back to the table.  She tapped the topmost stone.  ¡°Light, as you have already found, is the mana of expulsion.  When using light mana, it will emit a white glow.  Light mana is a secondary element to fire.¡±


    Picking up the stone below, she handed it to Magnus.  ¡°Fire is the mana of alteration and is a primary element.  Destruction, or heat is the easiest form of alteration and the most used.  Do not be mistaken and believe that to be the only thing it does.  Using fire mana creates a red glow.¡±


    Feeling his mana pulled once again, Magnus swiftly attempted to find what his mana changed.  As he held it, he could tell the temperature of the rock increasing but none of the heat transferred to his hand.  Delving into the mana flow, he could sense that the mana entered the core.  Then, it began vibrating as it pushed outward.  Putting the stone down, he prepared to try it himself.


    Only for Madeline to interrupt.  ¡°This time, don¡¯t try to burn yourself out.  It should take about fifty mana to generate the skill.  You lost mana casting fire and from what the handwavium used.  After you get the skill you should have at least ten mana left.  Don¡¯t be an idjit again and go over.¡±  Her warning delivered, she leaned back and waited for him to continue.


    Shaking off her worries, he focused as he did earlier in the day and pooled some of his mana onto the palm of his hand.  Concentrating, he tried vibrating the mana.  At first nothing happened, so he pooled more mana into his hand.  Now when he vibrated it, the surface of the mana shivered, part of the pooled mana vanished, and his hand warmed a small amount.  Continuing to push mana into the area of vibrating mana, the new mana replaced the old as fast as it vanished.


    He kept adding more mana to his hand, much slower than with the light mana.  This time his hand warmed fractionally and the heat began spreading.  After almost a minute had passed he began to grow light headed.  Luckily, seconds later the sound he had been waiting for made itself known and he immediately stop supplying mana.


    DING!


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    A new skill has been created!


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Warmth</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grade</td><td width="25%">Basic</td><td width="25%">Cost</td><td width="25%">10 mana</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">Basic 1</td><td width="25%">Experience</td><td width="25%">0/10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Rank</td><td colspan=''3''>123,625,477,121</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Initiation</td><td width="25%">1 sec</td><td width="25%">Activation</td><td width="25%">0 seconds</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Effect</td><td width="25%">10 sec</td><td width="25%">Cooldown</td><td width="25%">10 sec</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>No gloves necessary!


    The most basic use of fire mana, the area affected will become warm.


    When a continuous stream of mana is supplied to the skill the heat will be continuously emitted.


    Area of effect is 10 cm^2.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Magnus placed a hand to his head as he felt a loss of balance and the beginning of a headache.  He felt happy from remaining upright but didn¡¯t feel comfortable with the dizziness.


    ¡°Good, Good,¡± Madeline told him.  ¡°You need to learn this next part quickly before your mana recovers naturally.  Look at me and imitate what I show you to do.¡±  Magnus cracked his eyes open and glanced to the side.  Madeline directed his attention down toward her hands.  Her knuckles pushed against each other without force and her forearms formed a line parallel to the ground.


    ¡°After you take this position, pull just the slightest amount of mana back from the tips of your hands.  This will move all the mana in your mana channel back.  Then just rest for a minute.¡±  Following her instructions, Magnus felt a touch of discomfort in his hands as he did so.


    Madeline continued, ¡°After a few moments, you should feel the mana in your hands refilling.  This is from pulling pure ambient mana into your system and refilling the emptiness in your hands.  This occurs naturally when you rest, but instead of just your hands it comes in through your entire body.¡±  As Magnus continued his effort, Madeline relaxed and refocused on the table.


    After touching the blank space in the middle, ¡°Pure mana or non-elemental is basic mana.  It is the mana of existence and flows through everything and everyone.  It is this mana that empowers every impossibility of the world.  There is no stone here because Pure mana does not in itself do anything.  If you can feel your mana, you only need to intend your mana to do something and it will do it.¡±


    Sitting back, she continued talking to him.  ¡°After you refill your pool, you should get the skill.  Don¡¯t worry about absorbing too much mana.  It¡¯s not possible this way.  And while it¡¯s not much now, it will be more beneficial than resting after practice.  Along with being faster, meditating like this can refill mana even if the nearby mana is turbulent.¡±  Having said her fill she closed her eyes and waited.


    Magnus began the newest ordeal thinking it would pose no trouble.  And discovered the greatest difficulty in boredom.  Just sitting still waiting for the mana in his hands to refill, and waiting and waiting.  Then pulling the mana back just the slightest amount and starting all over again.


    His impatience growing, he attempted to pull more mana back.  His fingers immediately went numb.  I¡¯ll just wait it out.  It¡¯s not that bad and it should go away as the mana returns.  But they stayed numb.  And the numbness began to spread up his hands.  Worried that mana had not returned to his hands, he pushed the mana down his arms until just the the ends were without mana again.  And noticed that he had to send more mana down than he had pulled up.  Sighing with irritation, Magnus continued his monotonous actions.


    It wasn¡¯t just that holding his arms out in an awkward position cramped his muscles in an odd way.  It wasn¡¯t just that he had to concentrate on the feeling in his hands and pull only after enough had filled.  It was that it went on and on.  But Magnus persisted.  Madeline hadn¡¯t directed him wrong yet, and he felt sure this would help.  Eventually.  After eternity stretched on for almost twenty minutes.


    DING!


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    A new skill has been created!


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Mana Recovery</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grade</td><td width="25%">Basic</td><td width="25%">Cost</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">Basic 1</td><td width="25%">Experience</td><td width="25%">0/10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Rank</td><td colspan=''3''>390,367,935,823</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Initiation</td><td width="25%">5 sec</td><td width="25%">Activation</td><td width="25%">25 seconds</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Effect</td><td width="25%">0 second</td><td width="25%">Cooldown</td><td width="25%">600 seconds</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Recovers mana without rest.


    1 mana recovered every 10 seconds.


    Maintained skill continuously recovers mana. </td></tr></tbody></table>


    At long last he had generated the skill, and how underwhelmed he felt.  Magnus had hoped that his efforts would at least get him a skill that added a percentage of mana, but would take what he could get.  As his level in the skill increased, he felt certain that this method would surpass just resting.  As he flapped his arms to relieve the cramps that had formed, Madeline noticed the disturbance and returned her attention to him.


    ¡°You got a skill, correct?¡±  She asked.  At his nod, she leaned toward the table and considered which to give him next.  Shaking her head left to right, she at last settled on the center right stone.  Tapping the rock, she spoke before handing it to Magnus.  ¡°The second primary element is Wind.  Wind is the mana of movement and it glows green.¡±


    The rock settling into Magnus¡¯ hand caused him surprise.  Resting on his hand, he could feel that it had the same weight as the last rock.  And until his mana began infusing it, nothing changed.  But as more mana became active, the rock moved far more swiftly than should be possible.  Magnus couldn¡¯t help himself and began moving the rock around in circles over the table.


    ¡°Ahem,¡± Madeline cleared her throat to get him back on track.  He slowed his play but focused on her when she continued.  ¡°In this case, the mana is causing the handwavium to move more easily.  It isn¡¯t lowering it¡¯s weight, it is amplifying any movement the rock takes.  Something little children like to do is skip wind handwavium down roads like tossing pebbles across ponds.¡±


    Returning to the next step, he concentrated on what the mana within the stone was doing.  The mana danced.  It bounced around inside the stone, but unlike with light mana it never kept going in a straight line.  Instead, it would whirl first in one directions then in another.  No two particles of mana travel the same path as any other.  But as far as Magnus could tell, none would ever collide.


    The freedom and joy of this simple pleasure brought a smile to Magnus¡¯ face.  Putting the stone down, he attempted to recreate what he had felt.  Pulling the mana around an upraised finger, he thought hard about what to do with it.  Discarding the idea of placing it within his body, he began to whirl it away from the finger.  Not taking at first, he pushed harder.  And it took.


    A puff of air burst from his finger.  Gently putting more mana around his finger as some vanished, he became at ease with the action of ¡®dancing¡¯ his mana.  The flow of air became less jerky and smoothed into a gentle breeze.  When the skill tone sounded, he didn¡¯t even want to stop.


    DING!


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    A new skill has been created!


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Joyful Gust</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grade</td><td width="25%">Basic</td><td width="25%">Cost</td><td width="25%">10 mana</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">Basic 1</td><td width="25%">Experience</td><td width="25%">0/10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Rank</td><td colspan=''3''>92,465,779,427</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Initiation</td><td width="25%">1 sec</td><td width="25%">Activation</td><td width="25%">5 seconds</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Effect</td><td width="25%">10 sec</td><td width="25%">Cooldown</td><td width="25%">20 sec</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>


    A light gust of air is ejected from the applied area.  Capable of blowing dust around.


    When a continuous stream of mana is supplied wind will be continuously emitted.


    Starting point of area of effect: 10 cm^2. </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Modifier</td><td colspan=''3''>Joyful</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Love of the wind¡¯s playfulness increases it¡¯s ease of use.


    -20% Willpower needed.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Magnus wasn¡¯t sure if he should laugh or cry.  On the one hand, he obtained a useful modifier.  On the other, it only meant he could blow a bit more dust around.  Oh well, I¡¯ll just accept it as good.  Turning to Madeline, he could see the smirk but it couldn¡¯t lower his mood.


    ¡°Okay, regain your mana and we will start on the next one.¡±  That did deal a blow to his happiness.  Sighing, he still put his knuckles together and started pulling his mana before Madeline pipped up.  ¡°You could just say the name of the skill to activate it.  It won¡¯t earn as much experience but since it¡¯s registered in your status card it won¡¯t take as much effort.  And you would stop pouting.¡±


    Pouncing on her words, Magnus immediately said in a clear voice, ¡°Mana Recovery.¡±  Since his hands were already knuckle to knuckle, a slight bit of mana pulled back without his interference.  So much easier! Magnus thought to himself.  Magnus had found the ¡®secret¡¯ of system assist.


    Seeing his relief, Madeline couldn¡¯t help but try to throw some cold water on him.  ¡°By using a registered skill this way, you won¡¯t gain as much skill experience as if you did it yourself making it harder to level.  It can also be damaging to do it this way if something disturbs you.  Definitely don¡¯t let yourself get accustomed to using it on battle skills or your enemy will know what you¡¯re doing and plan accordingly.¡±


    Not letting her get to him, Magnus just kept smiling.  After a soft sigh, ¡°Heh,¡± escaped from Madeline¡¯s mouth before she settle back to wait with a smile.  Time passed and Magnus let his mind wander over different things.  After about ten minutes had passed.


    Ping.


    His mana filled and he received a notice.  I¡¯m definitely only going to use the skill this way.  Definitely.  He turned to Madeline with an expectant expression on his face.  ¡°How many more do I need to learn?¡±


    ¡°Hum... oh, one of each.¡±  Madeline casually dropped her answer, and Magnus felt only a little letdown.  I knew it would take a good bit of effort, but with the bad Modifier I have to endure it.  If only Magnus had been able to get Joyful Mage, he would have been so much happier.  Too bad.


    Madeline moved the wind stone back to it¡¯s position and tossed Magnus the lower stone.  ¡°The third primary element is Water.  Water is the mana of deflection and it glows a dark blue.¡±  Concentrating on the rock, Magnus wondered what would happen this time.


    As the handwavium consumed his mana, the rock became damp and slippery.  Feeling his hand covered in water, he slid the rock onto the table.  Wiping his hand on his shirt, he realized nothing was on it.  Remembering her earlier explanation on how handwavium is greedy, Magnus refused to turn his head and see Madeline¡¯s expression.  Instead, he put his hand on top of the stone to feel it¡¯s mana flow.


    Like the wind mana, it moved within the rock.  Unlike wind, it moved in a circular motion and every bit followed the one before.  Slowly, placidly, it moved with unstoppable calm.  Around and around it goes.  Understanding some of it''s properties, Magnus took his hand off the rock and pooled mana into his hand.


    Focusing, he began to move the mana around and around.  Looking at his palm, his chin began to rotate in time with the clockwise motion of the mana.  When at last all the mana flowed around in his palm, it began to activate.  Slowly, a drop of water formed in the center of his palm.  As he pulled more mana into it¡¯s flow, the water began to build up.


    When the water covered his palm, he began to wonder what he should do with it.  A scraping sound caused him to look up.  Madeline had pushed a small cup over to him.  Grateful, he tilted his hand over the cup and poured the water in.  Still continuing his swirling, the water began dripping off his palm and into the glass.


    DING!


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    A new skill has been created!


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Drip</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grade</td><td width="25%">Basic</td><td width="25%">Cost</td><td width="25%">10 mana</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">Basic 1</td><td width="25%">Experience</td><td width="25%">0/10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Rank</td><td colspan=''3''>154,784,333,425</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Initiation</td><td width="25%">10 seconds</td><td width="25%">Activation</td><td width="25%">1 second</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Effect</td><td width="25%">Permanent</td><td width="25%">Cooldown</td><td width="25%">60 sec</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The most basic use of water mana, create a small amount of drinking water.


    When a continuous stream of mana is supplied water will be continuously created.


    Create 10mL of water for 10 mana.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Magnus stared at the cup, only a little water had filled it.  Maybe two ounces at best.  Not sure what to do next he turned to Madeline.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who made it, you can drink it.¡±


    Picking up the cup, he swirled the liquid around in it.  What¡¯s the worst that could happen? and tossed it back in one swig.  Immediately, he wanted to spit it back out.  But bit down and swallowed in one hard gulp.  Gah! Magnus cried in his mind.  The water had no bad taste to it, it was just at body temperature.  Rubbing his mouth with the back of a hand, he sent a reproachful glance at Madeline.


    Brushing his concern away with a chuckle, she returned the water stone to it¡¯s place.  A raised eyebrow reminded him of what he needed to do.  ¡°Mana Recovery.¡±  At his words, Madeline picked up the left stone while they waited.


    ¡°The fourth, and final, primary element is Earth.  Earth is the mana of structure and it glows brown.¡±  That last bit of explanation wasn¡¯t needed as she tossed the handwavium from hand to hand.  It did seem to be her standard spiel about mana, making Magnus wonder how many times she had taught this before.


    ¡°Mages who want to defend against damage from enemies and guard their friends often specialize in earth magic.¡±  Madeline spoke softly, not to Magnus, but to her memories.  ¡°The earth mage¡¯s moto: ''Here I stand, I will move no farther''.  Never backing down unto death.  They believe the earth will sustain them until the end.¡±  As Madeline continued quietly remembering, Magnus  respected her silence.  Even he could tell he shouldn¡¯t interject.


    Ping.


    As he relaxed his hands and set them onto the table, Madeline reverently set the stone into his hand.  A clear difference from before, the stone had gained weight.  Delving into it, his mana showed him a geode of mana.  Small cubic crystals grew from one stone to another to another.  Setting it down on the table for a moment, he waited until the glow faded.  Picking it back up, he watched as the cubes reformed and the mass of the stone increased.


    Puting the rock back in it¡¯s proper place on the table, Magnus considered his next actions.  Not wanting to activate the mana on his hand, he picked up the cup.  Holding the bottom of the cup on his palm, he pooled the mana around the base.  After covering the whole base, he started altering the mana into cubes.  Stacking cube on cube, little one next to big.  He formed his cubes up into the cup.


    Time passed, and Magnus started to believe he had miscalculated.  But at last, the mana began to activate.  With his elbow propped on the table, he balanced the increasing weight of the cup in the air.  As the earth mana farthest from him consumed itself, he pushed more mana into the base of the cup.  A steady trickle flowed out for quite some time when he got the skill notice.


    DING!


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    A new skill has been created!


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Heft</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grade</td><td width="25%">Basic</td><td width="25%">Cost</td><td width="25%">10 mana</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">Basic 1</td><td width="25%">Experience</td><td width="25%">0/10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Rank</td><td colspan=''3''>112,368,623,480</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Initiation</td><td width="25%">30 seconds</td><td width="25%">Activation</td><td width="25%">3 second</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Effect</td><td width="25%">30 seconds</td><td width="25%">Cooldown</td><td width="25%">120 sec</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The most basic use of earth mana, increase the mass of an affected area.


    When a continuous stream of mana is supplied increased mass will be maintained.


    Increases mass by 20% in an area of up to 300 cm^3.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    With the skill obtained, Magnus set the cup down with a thump.  It¡¯s weight still being a bit heavier than expected.  Seeing Madeline lost in her thoughts, he got started on the most boring part.  ¡°Mana Recovery,¡± Magnus said softly, and settled in to wait.


    As he came close to replenishing his mana, Madeline shook herself out of her stupor.  An assessing look at Magnus, she resumed to her lesson.  ¡°You already have fire¡¯s secondary element, light.  The next element is sound.  Sound is wind¡¯s secondary element.  Sound is the mana of compression and it glows orange.¡±


    When magnus finished and placed his hands back on the table, she dropped the stone into his hand.  Moving it from hand to hand, he couldn¡¯t see any difference.  It did glow orange, but not knowing what else to do, he raised an eyebrow at Madeline.


    ¡°Try dropping it,¡± was her only reply.  Okay, why not.  Putting word to action, he dropped it from a few inches above the table.  He didn¡¯t want to break the handwavium and had no idea how fragile it might be.


    ¡°Boom!¡± the sound the stone made when hit was much louder than it had any right to be.  His eyes climbing into his hairline, Magnus picked up the rock newly intrigued.  As he focused on the mana, he could see it  draw toward the center in an unpatterned mass.  It didn¡¯t do anything but as the rock pulled more mana from him, the mana in the center condensed.  Tapping the stone against the table, he could feel all the mana jump outward before slowly filtering back to the center.


    Immediately knowing what he wanted to do this time, he coated his thumb and two fingers with mana.  Condensing the mana particles, he could still feel that it covered the same area.  Near the outer edges the mana was less dense, but highly concentrated close to the center.  At last it activated, and with a grin on his face, he snapped his finger.


    Crash!  Crash!  Crash!  Crash!  Crash!  Crash!


    ¡°Enough already!¡± Madeline cried out.  ¡°You don¡¯t have to keep making noise, you just need to concentrate the mana.  Yeash, now you know why new musician¡¯s love using sound mana.  It makes them loud, but definitely not better.¡±  Chastised at the comparison, Magnus quieted while maintaining the mana flow.  A short while later, the new skill announced it''s arrived.


    DING!


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    A new skill has been created!


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Intensify</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grade</td><td width="25%">Basic</td><td width="25%">Cost</td><td width="25%">10 mana</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">Basic 1</td><td width="25%">Experience</td><td width="25%">0/10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Rank</td><td colspan=''3''>92,366,276,385</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Initiation</td><td width="25%">5 seconds</td><td width="25%">Activation</td><td width="25%">1 second</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Effect</td><td width="25%">10 seconds</td><td width="25%">Cooldown</td><td width="25%">20 sec</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The most basic use of sound mana, increase created sound in an applied area.


    When a continuous stream of mana is supplied the increase will be maintained.


    Increases noise created by 50% in an area of up to 20 cm^3. </td></tr></tbody></table>


    Magnus placed his hands together to recoup his lost mana,  ¡°Mana Recovery.¡±  A short time later, he became uncomfortable.  Madeline stared at him and he had no idea why until she spoke.  "Since you don¡¯t need to concentrate on the skill, do you have any questions?"


    Magnus thought quickly, ¡°What would a normal person be doing at this point?  I mean, someone who hadn¡¯t stumbled.¡±  He only had mild curiosity, he just wanted some relief from the boredom and the staring.


    ¡°Hum," Madeline started slowly.  "After getting a status card, they  return to their chosen profession''s teacher to further their skills.  After people earn their status card, they can start on their adult lives and enter into their own contracts.  If when they were younger, they trained for a job with their parents, they often return to learn more skills from them.  This keeps a career in the same family for generations, each refining the skills of the last and creating dynasties.


    ¡°For crafting positions, the mage class is less sought after.  They can¡¯t keep up with the sheer quantity of items a warrior makes and they don¡¯t create the masterpieces that rogues manage.  Instead, they create items with additional effects on them, especially items with elemental attributes.  This does tend to lower the absolute ability of the items.


    "They also help with precise control.  A blacksmith shop with a good fire mage will have very consistent products.  A mage can magically make the fire and then directly manipulate it.  After that, he doesn¡¯t have to worry about varying temperature damaging the product.


    ¡°Most mages will chose to learn a few spells right away.  They get them for protection but never need to practice them.  For them, it¡¯s unnecessary to learn how to kill but it is always a good idea to learn how to defend themselves.  After learning a first circle spell or two, they move on to apply themselves to other classes.  But for a mage that wants to fight, be it adventurer, wanderer, guard, or soldier they go far deeper.


    ¡°Because of their higher need for mana, heavy spellcasters are almost always mages.  Warriors and rogues who learn spellcasting tend to be battlemages.  They specialize in first through third circle spells that have lower mana requirements.  They run right up to the enemy and blast them at short range.  The mage spellcaster will specialize in one or two elements and learn as high a circle spell as possible.  This will allow their superior mana to fully display itself with massive power.¡±


    Ping.


    ¡°The final fallback for mages, no matter how poor a mage they are, is as an infuser.  Life in most places leans heavily on sigils, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen the water taps at the library.  A sigil created by a signmaster  has a permanent magical effect.  But only if supplied with mana.  An infuser supplies that mana.  It is probably the lowest, most boring job a mage can do.  But it does pay consistently.


    ¡°I would continue, but first, on to the next one.¡±  Madeline had noticed how Magnus had relaxed and put his hands down.  She reached and picked up the bottom most stone to drop in his hands.  ¡°Darkness is water¡¯s secondary element.  Darkness is the mana of absorption and glows black.¡±


    Before Magnus could to interrupt, Madeline continued.  ¡°Yes, I know that sounds odd but it using darkness mana will cause black light to glow.¡±  A click of the teeth sounded as Magnus closed his mouth.


    Holding the handwavium, Magnus felt his mana drawn in but couldn¡¯t see anything more than a slight darkening on the stone.  Seeing his confusion, Madeline prompted, ¡°Look at it¡¯s shadow.¡±  Putting the stone down, he rested one finger on the top.  The two floating light orbs clearly lit up the area.  But the darkness stone cast a darker shadow than his hand.


    Checking how the mana flowed, he couldn¡¯t help but think of a sink drain.  At the outer edges, the mana slowly swirled much like the water stone did.  But closer in, it drained with increasing speed toward the center.  Magnus wanted to make a sucking sound, but refrained.


    Placing his right hand straight up and down on the table, he pooled mana on his palm.  He swirled it inward, spinning more and more before it activated.  Making sureto maintain the mana flow, he peered at the effect.  To the left of his hand, the shadow remained the same as before.  Mostly lit but in some shadow.  To the right, his hand cast a far darker shadow.  Okay, I¡¯ll just chalk it up to magic and move on.  Magnus had grown tired and didn¡¯t want to worry about the oddities at the moment.


    DING!


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    A new skill has been created!


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Shade</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grade</td><td width="25%">Basic</td><td width="25%">Cost</td><td width="25%">10 mana</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">Basic 1</td><td width="25%">Experience</td><td width="25%">0/10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Rank</td><td colspan=''3''>102,364,783,401</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Initiation</td><td width="25%">5 seconds</td><td width="25%">Activation</td><td width="25%">5 second</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Effect</td><td width="25%">20 seconds</td><td width="25%">Cooldown</td><td width="25%">60 sec</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The most basic use of dark mana, increase consumption of light in affected area.


    When a continuous stream of mana is supplied the increase will be maintained.


    Increases shadow created by 25% in an area of up to 10 cm^2.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    After placing his fists together once more, ¡°So what can I use that for?  Mana Recovery.¡±


    ¡°Basic skill, of all types, all far less powerful than their upGraded counter parts.  But for this skill, most will use it to cover their eyes in bright sunlight.¡±  Oh Goody, Magnus thought, I¡¯ve created sunglasses.


    Continuing with his question from earlier, Magnus inquired, ¡°So how do non-spellcasting mages fight?¡±


    Madeline collected her thoughts for a moment before replying.  ¡°That depends on what position they take in  formation.  You should know that the three basic position are Guardian, Damage Dealer, and Buffer.¡±  As Magnus pretended he had already learned it, Madeline lifted a knowing eyebrow at him.


    ¡°A mage in these position will focus on the magical aspect of each.  A mage guardian will block magical damage more easily than his counterpart.  A guardian typically uses a large or great shield, and a mage guardian will enhance this by applying a mana shield on top of it.  They don¡¯t wear as heavy armor to lower mana usage, so they never have as much armor.  To make up for the lack of mass, they turn to earth magic to keep from being knocked around.


    ¡°A mage damage dealer will deal magic damage.  They apply mana on attack skills that rogue or warriors would use stamina for.  This alters the effect from physical to magical damage and normally sets it up with an elemental attribute.  The most common DD positions cover the three basic ranges are categorized as swords, spears and bows.  When a mage is any of these classes their basic attacks will be physical, but their skills will be magical.


    ¡°A mage buffer is the most needed and will buff or debuff with mana based skills.  They apply buffs to allies that increase their damage by or defense against a particular element.  They can also boost stats for a short time, but the most important thing a mage buffer can do is refix a soul.¡±  This last got Magnus'' wandering attention to refocus.


    ¡°Oh yes, few parties are willing to go without a good soul fixer.  When in battle, no matter how good you are, you will inevitably take damage.  After you take enough, you will be ¡®Dead¡¯ but your soul is still present in an incapacitated form.  If a soul fixer can get to you in time, they can reattach your soul after healing your body.  Since soul fixing skills are almost exclusive to mana, a mage that doesn¡¯t learn a single fixing skill is considered a failure.


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    ¡°Spellcasting mages easily fall into both damage dealer and buffer categories.  This is what makes them the primary choice for mages who want to go adventuring.  Being able to fill two positions well is a blessing.¡±  Madeline became quite long enough Magnus started to speak.


    Ping.


    As Madeline saw him bring his hands back down, she picked up the leftmost stone and placed it in front of Magnus.  ¡°Soul is the mana of connection.  It glows purple.  Called death mana for a time after the plague of necromancers, it is properly known as soul mana.¡±


    Magnus input mana for a time, but couldn¡¯t find any difference in the stone.  Picking the stone up to check  closely, he felt a slight difference.  Looking under the stone, he couldn¡¯t see any difference.  But he felt something had changed.  Putting the stone back down next to where it had originally been, he began to delving into the mana.


    While his mana flowed to the center, he could find minimal mana inside the stone.  Only a thin line that stretched from the center out to the edge.  And then continued straight out.  It only went a few inches away, straight to the place he had originally put the rock down.


    Picking the stone up once more, he moved the stone around.  The stretching line would always point to the same spot on the table.  At last, Magnus put the handwavium back down onto the spot that the line came from.  When the both ends of the line were within the rock, the line thinned and most of the mana flowed into two orbs.  Now, one orb of mana stayed in the center, and the second orb moved around it connected by a thread.


    Placing the stone on the table, Magnus immediately pooled some mana into his palm and tried to form the orbiting mana points.  With more difficulty than he thought it would take, he got two connected and circling orbs.  He felt the continuous loss of mana, but once again couldn¡¯t tell if anything was happening.  Dropping his hand to the table, both points went with him.


    Next, Magnus tried ejecting one point then the other from his sphere of influence.  A minor effort later the floating point had left, and the center orb had stretched into a line.  Moving his hand to the side the line stretched thin, but he could feel the direction the line pointed.  Simply holding the magic, he waited until a skill formed.


    DING!


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    A new skill has been created!


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Pointer</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grade</td><td width="25%">Basic</td><td width="25%">Cost</td><td width="25%">10 mana</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">Basic 1</td><td width="25%">Experience</td><td width="25%">0/10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Rank</td><td colspan=''3''>67,529,237,093</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Initiation</td><td width="25%">20 seconds</td><td width="25%">Activation</td><td width="25%">5 second</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Effect</td><td width="25%">25 seconds</td><td width="25%">Cooldown</td><td width="25%">30 sec</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The most basic use of soul mana, get direction to a floating point.


    When a continuous stream of mana is supplied the line will be maintained.


    Maximum distance detectable: 2m.


    A maximum of 1 floating point can be set.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Now I can find my lost keys.  ¡°Mana Recovery.¡±  Magnus didn¡¯t know what use this new skill would have, but he had a distracting thought.  He connected this thought to Madeline¡¯s earlier explanation.  ¡°Is soul magic used for quests?¡± he asked.


    The question momentarily threw Madeline.  She had dangled the plague of necromancers in front of Magnus because she wanted to answer that question.  Gathering her thoughts together, she rose to the challenge.  ¡°Yes and no.  When you say quests, you have to be careful about what you¡¯re talking about.


    ¡°There are tasks, which are contracts with other people.  You formed one with Van when you took the scribing jobs.  When you gave him your status card, the stamp wrote the contract with magic into your status card and onto your soul.  It is the most secure way of ensuring contract fulfillment.


    ¡°Created by a signmaster, the stamp uses soul magic.  It wouldn¡¯t stick to a status card and connect with your soul otherwise.  A signmaster that makes task stamps is specifically called a taskmaster and must have a license to make the stamps.  These licenses are only given out by the empire.  Anyone found making them without the empire¡¯s approval is¡­  deterred.  Violently.¡±


    Magnus interrupted here.  For a moment, he had imagined rows people in a basement making stamps.  All dressed in white skull masks and capes.  But he didn¡¯t ask about that.  ¡°Why would the emperor care about tasks?¡±


    Not disturbed in the least, Madeline quickly answers the question.  ¡°Because that is where the empire get¡¯s it¡¯s money.  In towns, the only way to be able to take part in official business is through tasks.  There is some leeway with smaller stuff.  But if you want to secure your expensive items, you bind a person¡¯s soul with a contract.  That way it shows up in any disputes and proves yourself innocent of wrongdoing.  People being people, there are always disputes over who was supposed to do what but tasks minimize confusion.


    ¡°Back to the topic.  Tasks use only a little soul mana, and are more job contracts than anything else.  The use of soul mana does help enhance your level, but only a small amount.


    ¡°Missions are similar to tasks in how you obtain them, but rarely reward money.  They also tend to be much more difficult than tasks.  A special stamp is used, different than for tasks, and completing it will earn you experience.  After you confirm a mission completion, you have to take your status card to a mission tablet.  You can find them around most towns near gates and center plaza.  After placing your status card in a tablet, it determines the value of the mission and awards the corresponding experience.¡±


    Pausing, Madeline fell silent for a minute.  ¡°But I don¡¯t think you were talking about those?¡±  As she looked at Magnus he shook his head.  ¡°I didn¡¯t think so.  You were talking about Quests.¡±  The capitalization sounded clear in her tone.


    ¡°Quests fall into an entirely different category.  A Quest is not given by any person, and at the same time any person can given them.  When the universe looks down and decides something needs to be done, quests emerge.  This uses what is called universal or world mana and imprinted directly on your soul.


    ¡°Outside of how quests use a different type of mana, I don¡¯t know much of anything.  Oh, I¡¯ve heard some rumors and theories from people, but nothing I would trust.  The truth of it is either hidden well, or is unknowable.  The power that comes from quests though, it¡¯s something else.¡±  Madeline fell silent again, reminiscing on the past.


    ¡°So, more rewarding than missions or tasks then?  It  sounds like you have seen quests yourself.¡±  Magnus curiosity had him fully intent on what her answer would be.


    ¡°Yes, I have received four quests over the years.  I only completed one, and two of them I outright refused to attempt.  You never get quests for simple things, only things that most would find impossible.  And deadly, can¡¯t forget deadly.¡±


    Ping.


    ¡°But the reward for completing a quest is given to you directly from the universe, just like it gives the quest itself.  It can be surprising to have gold, or a weapon materialize in front of you when you finish.  And a massive increase in level of course.  But it looks like you¡¯re ready for the next element.¡±  Having seen his relaxing hands, she reached up and started to take the next stone before pausing.


    ¡°The last four elements are the tertiary elements and they are both different and the same as the others.  They combine from two adjacent primary elements to form a new type of mana.  They are their own separate manas, but they don¡¯t show up naturally unless two bits of primary mana collide.  This is most often seen when two leylines meet.  If two lines of mana of opposing type collide, they don¡¯t form a new type of mana.  Instead, they cause each others mutual destruction.  For example, fire and water mana don¡¯t combine.  They reduce each other in a one for one ratio back into pure mana.


    ¡°But this is for natural mana, not personal mana that you have absorbed.  With personal mana, it¡¯s just arduous to get opposites to cooperate long enough.  As long as you can keep the two type from destroying each other you can create skills using opposite mana.  However, getting it wrong hurts you with a much greater damage.¡±


    At last, she tapped up the top right stone.  ¡°Metal is the mana of order and glows grey.  It is tertiary to earth and fire.  Most smiths, miners and those who do anything with metal will want to use this type of mana.¡±  Finished, she dropped the stone into Magnus¡¯ outstretched hands.


    Immediately, he could feel a small difference from the other stones.  Flipping the stone over, he tapped it against the table.  Ting.  Ting.  He heard it only slightly, but the reverberation sounded... off.  Different from that of a normal rock.  He wasn¡¯t completely sure, he hadn¡¯t tested the other rocks for their sound.


    Delving into the mana flow, Magnus found a mass of points within the stone.  He had to put it down and let it lose the stored mana before he could make sense of the chaos.  A few moment later, the glow had diminished and Magnus put a finger back on top of the rock.  As the stone absorbed new mana, he watched as it formed.  Small dots of mana connected by threads of mana patterned into triangles.  Then, after adding more mana, the pattern expanded outward over and over again.


    Putting the rock back into it¡¯s place on the table, he picked his glass up once more.  Pouring his mana out of his hand and around the cup, he waited until after covering the cup.  Then, Magnus began ordering the mana into points.  Condensing a little of the mana into a point, then expanding a thread to make another.  And another.  When he had formed a large triangle out of ten individual points, the mana activated.  Now he just kept pouring mana into the skill.  Magnus understood the pattern and knew he just needed to wait.


    DING!


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    A new skill has been created!


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Stiffen</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grade</td><td width="25%">Basic</td><td width="25%">Cost</td><td width="25%">10 mana</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">Basic 1</td><td width="25%">Experience</td><td width="25%">0/10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Rank</td><td colspan=''3''>78,830,573,009</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Initiation</td><td width="25%">10 seconds</td><td width="25%">Activation</td><td width="25%">5 second</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Effect</td><td width="25%">20 seconds</td><td width="25%">Cooldown</td><td width="25%">20 sec</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The most basic use of metal mana, increases armor value.


    When a continuous stream of mana is supplied the increased armor will be maintained.


    Max area covered: 15 cm^2


    Amount of armor increase: 0.1</td></tr></tbody></table>


    That could be useful, at least at higher levels.  Magnus had begun to see a difficulty with the basics spells, but asked Madeline just in case he was mistaken.  ¡°Mana Recovery.  Is it just me, or do these basic skills seem¡­ even more underpowered then you would initially think.  I¡¯m considering the fire spell I used earlier.  I had no experience using it and it produced lots of flame for, what, twenty twenty-five mana?¡±


    Madeline gave him an judging look.  He might be smarter than she first thought.  ¡°Yes, basic spells or skills have much lower effects.  It¡¯s because they only use stats from the basic stat pool.  These are not as powerful because they don¡¯t have the bonuses that primary stats would apply to the skill.  When you cast the fire spell, it didn''t just consumed your mana.  Your Intellect stat also enhance the effect.


    ¡°This is how skills are graded.  Basics skills only use basic stats.  Beginner skills use a primary stats.  Novice skills use two primary stats.  And Initiate skills use three primary stats.  The more stats applying an effect to the skill the more powerful, and higher grade, it is.  But higher grade skills are much harder to learn, control,  and level.  If you build a good foundation of basic skills, higher level are easier to learn.


    ¡°The fire spell you cast is a good example.  You never learned any fire magic before you cast it and you don¡¯t understand fire magic.  If you learn basic fire magic to a high enough degree, you can earn the fire mastery skill.  You can¡¯t do this with true spells because the wand did the mana conversion for you and you never manipulated the fire mana itself.


    ¡°Any other questions?  Maybe about something that was said that bothered you today.¡±  Madeline hadn¡¯t given up on getting Magnus to ask about her dangling topic.


    Magnus thought back and a light bulb went off over his head.  ¡°You¡¯re right, there is something I wanted to ask you about.¡±  Madeline¡¯s eyes lit up, at last she could expound upon a favorite topic.   ¡°Why is the librarian so unhelpful?  I thought she would point me in the right direction for my book but she barely bothered to answer my questions.


    Magnus'' question dashed her hopes.  If it wasn¡¯t so undignified, she would have smacked her forehead against the table.  Sighing, she considered his questions before answering.  ¡°It¡¯s not Victoria¡¯s job to help you.  A librarian''s job is to protect the books.


    ¡°You have been in Van¡¯s shop, you know how expensive even cheap paper can be.  Along with the material cost, and the cost of writing and binding the book, the lowest cost is fifty silvers.  And a better made book will cost more, much more in some cases.


    ¡°It¡¯s only a basic library so you won¡¯t see any expensive books.  But the library still has more than five thousand gold invested in it¡¯s books.  A librarian is there to make sure the books don¡¯t get damaged and that they don¡¯t get stolen.  The kingdom would rather spend money paying someone to make sure the books don¡¯t walk off than buy the books over and over again.  Also, Victoria doesn¡¯t like most people.¡±


    Magnus fell silent as he considered Madeline¡¯s words.  It did make sense to have a guard on the books.  All the books he had flipped through were handwritten so didn''t run through a printing press.  Maybe in some places but none that had reached here.  That meant each book would be unique.  Or unique-ish.  Scribe skills and magic might adequately replace the printing press.


    Ping.


    Magnus dropped his hands once more to the table.  Dismissing Madeline¡¯s previous words, especially those last ones, he waited on the next step.  As Madeline passed him the upper right stone, she spoke.  ¡°Lightning is the mana of separation and glows yellow.  It is tertiary to both fire and wind.  Those who focus on lightning mana work toward speed.¡±


    Magnus held the stone in his hand and stared.  In different spots around the rock burst short strobes of yellowish light.  They arced only a short distance and lasted the briefest of moments.


    Checking the mana¡¯s characteristics, Magnus followed the mana flow into the stone.  As his mana flowed almost to the center, it dispersed into two lines.  The lines ran parallel to each other with a thin space between them.  As more mana entered each line, the line lengthened.  After reaching the edges of the stone, the lines spread outward.  No longer two parallel lines, they became two circles with an empty plane between them.


    But the mana didn¡¯t always stay on apart.  Occasionally, there would be an imbalance between the two sides.  The stone wasn¡¯t perfectly circular after all.  When the difference in mana reached a certain point, small streams would jump from one side to the other.  When this happened, a little mana moved to the lesser side.  And a larger chunk of mana consumed itself.  The biggest conclusion Magnus drew from this was to maintain a balance of mana.


    Placing the rock down,  Magnus brought mana into his palm once more.  He felt pretty sure of what this basic magic would end up as but had no other choice.  His palm facing up, he began to shape the mana.  Slowly, he thrust two lines of mana up from his outstretched hand.  Once the lines reached a handspan above he began to feel difficulty in continued lengthening.  Instead, he carefully expanded the lines into circles across from each other.


    After the mana had neared the width of his palm, the magic activated.  No longer needing to maintain his care in shaping, he held the image and added more mana after the old depleted.  While doing so, he watched as the thin hairs on his arm began to stand up.  A slow progression continued down his arm as more and more hair stood out straight.


    DING!


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    A new skill has been created!


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Static</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grade</td><td width="25%">Basic</td><td width="25%">Cost</td><td width="25%">10 mana</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">Basic 1</td><td width="25%">Experience</td><td width="25%">0/10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Rank</td><td colspan=''3''>64,428,068,076</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Initiation</td><td width="25%">10 seconds</td><td width="25%">Activation</td><td width="25%">5 second</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Effect</td><td width="25%">Permanent</td><td width="25%">Cooldown</td><td width="25%">30 sec</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The most basic use of lightning mana, create a static charge in the affect area.


    When a continuous stream of mana is supplied the static will be continually created.


    Max area covered: 15 cm^2</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Facing the music, Magnus dropped his hand.


    Snap!


    $@#*!  Magnus never did like getting shocked.  Oh goody, my very own pair of fuzzy bunny slippers to drag across the carpet.  In the end, the skill had done what he thought it would.  After all, lightning ended up being electrical in nature.  While shaking his hand to relieve the sting, he glared over at Madeline.  Her silence possible only by covering her mouth to keep from laughing.


    ¡°Hurumph.  Mana Recovery.¡±  A bit irritated from being the laughed at so much, Magnus considered his next question carefully.


    ¡°If you had any questions, maybe about something that I mentioned already tonight, now would be a good time to ask.¡±  Madeline still wanted to lecture on the plague of necromancers but didn¡¯t want to just come out and say it.


    ¡°There was one thing,¡± Magnus said with a puzzled look on his face.  Madeline¡¯s hope rose.  ¡°You mentioned it earlier and I didn¡¯t catch it at the time but now it¡¯s bugging me a bit.¡±  Madeline prepared her answer, ready for his question.  ¡°What¡¯s the difference between an adventurer and a wanderer?¡±  And her enthusiasm crashed to the ground.


    ¡°Hah¡­  There¡¯s not a lot of difference between them.¡±  She started without any energy in her voice.  She fell silent to think.  Silent for so long, Magnus wondered if she would ignore his question.  But after several minutes she answered.


    ¡°Adventurers and Wanderers are two of the four combat guilds.  They are also the two that see the most combat and so have the greatest potential for leveling.  And dying.  Both focus on the elimination of monsters from the world.


    ¡°Adventurers are the ones who venture into dungeons to kill the monsters before the dungeon collapses.  This offers them the opportunity to collect good drops from  monsters.  It also weakens any later spawned monsters when the dungeon eventually fails.


    ¡°Wanderers do what their name implies, wander.  Rather than searching for monsters in a dungeon, they search for monsters that roam the land and threaten people.  Wanderers tend to travel in smaller groups.  After ejection from their dungeon, monsters don¡¯t stay together in high concentrations.¡±  By the time she paused here, she had regained her energy and talked with more animation.


    Magnus had read it earlier, and Madeline just confirmed something he felt unclear about.  So he asked, ¡°What do you mean by dungeons collapsing?¡±


    Madeline¡¯s mouth had opened to continue her instruction, but closed it at Magnus¡¯ interruption.  The disruption in her train of thought irritated her and caused her to pause a breath before answering.  ¡°Dungeons collapsing means dungeons collapsing.  They only last so long, normally between a few weeks and a few months.  After which they close and force any monsters or people within out.  It¡¯s sometimes hard to find dungeons before they close.  Those that go unfound spew monsters out the entrance.  Any other interruptions?¡±


    Ping.


    Madeline had asked the question so blandly that Magnus quickly shook his head in negative.  That tone he had heard before, shortly before someone gave out a tongue lashing.  ¡°Nope, I¡¯m ready for the next element.¡±


    As Magnus placed his hands back onto the table, Madeline gave him ¡®The Look¡¯.  He understood that he had irritated Madeline and didn''t say anymore to avoid upsetting her.  Luckily, the repentant tone in his voice mollified her enough that she made no comments.


    A long slow sigh later, Madeline picked up the next stone.  ¡°Ice is tertiary to wind and water.  It is the mana of restriction and glows teal.¡±  And dropped it in front of Magnus.


    Picking the stone up, Magnus waited as his mana flowed away from him.  When the rock began to glow, he slid it around in his fingers.  It didn¡¯t feel cool like he had expected.  Instead, the stone slid through his fingers more easily.  The only thing Magnus could guess at was a reduction in the rock¡¯s friction value.


    Checking the mana, he felt surprise at the structure.  It was almost identical to that of the metal stone.  Small points of mana had formed in a large array with the triangle as it¡¯s base.  The only difference was the disconnection between the points.  Now free floating points, no thread formed between each point.


    After placing the rock back in it¡¯s place, he pooled mana into his palm.  Erecting one point of mana after another above his palm, he kept expanding and expanding the mana until the mana activated.  Now, only needing to maintain the mana flow, Magnus felt the effect.  As his mana went into effect, the air over his hand cooled and fell drifted down.


    DING!


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    A new skill has been created!


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Cool</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grade</td><td width="25%">Basic</td><td width="25%">Cost</td><td width="25%">10 mana</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">Basic 1</td><td width="25%">Experience</td><td width="25%">0/10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Rank</td><td colspan=''3''>75,983,186,474</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Initiation</td><td width="25%">15 seconds</td><td width="25%">Activation</td><td width="25%">10 second</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Effect</td><td width="25%">10 sec</td><td width="25%">Cooldown</td><td width="25%">25 sec</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The most basic use of ice mana, lower temperature in the affected area.


    When a continuous stream of mana is supplied the temperature will be further lowered.


    Max volume: 20 cm^3</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Hum, I wonder if the difference from the stone¡¯s effect is because I didn¡¯t form it on a solid surface.  Or because it was in a volume instead of a surface.  Or because¡­  Magnus would have had these thoughts earlier, but he had lots of other distractions on his mind and didn¡¯t pay close attention.  He placed his fists together, ¡°Mana Recovery.¡±


    A new thought skittered across Magnus¡¯ mind.  I wonder how close Mana Recovery is to leveling up?  I thought I would have gotten a notice, but maybe I just missed it.  Putting thought to action, he called up his softly skill.  ¡°Show Mana Recovery.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''2''>Mana Recovery</td><td width="25%">Basic</td><td width="25%">Basic 1</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Hasn¡¯t leveled yet¡­ but I thought it would at least tell me how close it is to leveling.  Or give more details on what the skill does.  Maybe this will work.  ¡°Show Mana Recovery details¡­  detail Mana Recovery¡­ show Mana Recovery specifics.¡±  It had frustrated Magnus when it did not worked with his task and it frustrated him again now.  He let out a long sigh, he would just have to look it up on the wiki later.


    A snort came from his side, ¡°What are you trying to do now?¡±  Magnus hadn¡¯t been as quiet as he thought and Madeline noticed.


    ¡°I was trying to bring up my skill to see how far I had to go before it leveled.  But I don¡¯t know the right command to show it.¡±  He would have continued, and maybe asked her, but she started to cackle.


    ¡°Oh, child,¡± Madeline spoke as she wiped her eyes, ¡°why would think you could do that?¡±


    Magnus did not want to just say, ¡®because it¡¯s a game¡¯ and scrambled for an answer.  ¡°Because I have a status card?¡±  His experience with the creation of last few skill had shown that information was available, he just didn¡¯t know how to get to it.


    Trying to let him down gently, Madeline replied calmly.  ¡°Yes, you have a status card.  But it¡¯s only a basic plate.  Did you think I had you put your card in the skill tablet for no reason?  A basic status doesn¡¯t have all the extra bells and whistles and costs a lot as it is.¡±  Nope, she absolutely would not laugh.


    ¡°Costs a lot?  I never payed for anything.¡±


    ¡°Of course not.  The empire pays for basic status cards when you can earn your first class.  It¡¯s why I made sure you had the right skill before I gave you the one.  If you couldn¡¯t meet the requirement you weren¡¯t eligible for a card.¡±


    ¡°So there are other classes you can start as besides mage, warrior, or rogue?¡±  Magnus panicked a bit.  If he had known there were other basic classes, perhaps one related to quests, he would have tried to get that instead.


    ¡°Of course there are other classes.  The basic three are just the most diverse in ability.  From them you can learn nearly any advanced class.¡±


    Whew, if I can learn any class then I don¡¯t have to worry about missing my chance, Magnus thought.


    Madeline kept talking, ¡°The other classes tend to be both difficult and highly specific to different sects.  The three are based around stamina and mana.  I don¡¯t know of all the hidden sects but the few I have met base themselves around the other basic stats.  Bloodbound focus on health.  Streaks focus on movement speed.  Hunger powers Devourers.  Blasts use skills based in offence.


    ¡°The reason the empire doesn¡¯t sponsor them is because they are too specific in skills.  The bloodbound, for instance, can¡¯t use any mana skills at all.  Streaks have ridiculously low strength, to the point that few can even carry anything.  They are incredibly good at the one thing they do.  And nothing else.  But the one thing they do have has allowed them to survive, if not prosper.  But since they don¡¯t conform to the empires rules, they have to buy their own status cards.¡±


    When Madeline fell silent, Magnus thought for a time before asking his questions.  ¡°So, how much does a basic status card cost?  And what do the extra bells and whistles for a status card both do and cost?¡±  Magnus had come to the conclusion that an add on for his status card would enable him to see his skills.  He had mild curiosity over the cost of a status card.  And that, only for if he found that to give quests he would have to start over in a hidden sect.


    ¡°There is a bit of variation between statuscrafters, but the average tends to be about ten gold for a basic card.¡±  Magnus jaw fell at the sum.  Grand Plane¡¯s currency was similar to most VR games:  10,000 copper = 100 silver  = 1 gold.  If he managed to complete five basic scribe tasks a day, and didn¡¯t spend the money on anything else, it would still take years and years of work to earn.  And without the skill card, he couldn¡¯t even get that work.


    Madeline remained silent as Magnus contemplated the enormity of the cost.  ¡°There are a few extra pages most people try to get for their cards.  A task page for what work they are doing is the first for many.  It lets them see what jobs they have agreed to, it¡¯s wording and due date.  With it, they can see what they have when away from a task reader.  It also boosts the number of tasks and missions they can accept from three to four.  It¡¯s relatively cheap at just one or two gold.


    ¡°The next page some get is a windows option page.  It lets them manipulate how the status card displays different things.  When it will make notifications.  What it will notify you about, you will find that many of it¡¯s notifications can get annoying.  It also gives you the ability to share what your status card contains with other status cards.  This page costs between ten and twenty gold.


    ¡°Then there are a few cheapish pages that guild specific occupations will buy.  The ones I know most of are the monster index and the item indexes.  They combine with observation skills and help identify creatures and objects.  There are a few other pages in this ranges but you would need to ask a statuscrafter about them.


    ¡°Few people will bother to get any of the expensive pages.  Unless they desperately need it or have gold to throw away.  It¡¯s simply cost prohibitive as the next cheapest page is more than a hundred gold.  Fast equip allows soulbound equipment stored in your soul inventory to be directly equipped.  A Detailed Skill page gives the same advanced notification you receive when first learning a skill.  It costs more than four hundred gold.  Skill manipulation allows for minor alteration of registered skill effects and costs a thousand gold.  The two communication pages, written and spoken, allow you to talk and write to other status cards that have those pages and you have registered.  They cost more than I even want to contemplate.¡±


    Magnus was flabbergasted.  ¡°Why do they cost so much?¡±  Some of these function were basics to any game, but Grand Planes made it so difficult to get them.


    ¡°It¡¯s what status cards are made of and the rarity of people able to do the work.  Even your basic status card has a fleck of mithril in it.  That combined with the work of a statuscrafter is what made it possible to personalize and bind the status card to your soul.  Now, you have to enhance the status card to add extra pages.  You can reduce the cost a bit if you get the items yourself, but only a little as someone still has to refine them.¡±


    Ping.


    Magnus was about to ask about other ways of seeing these pages.  After all, the tablet in the front desk would allow him to see his skills so there must be others for the other pages.  But he only had one skill left to learn before he would be able to move onto better skills and just wanted to get this part over.


    Not even waiting for Madeline this time, Magnus reached over and took the bottom left stone.  Madeline gauged him with a knowing look in her eye and a smirk on her lips.  But just said her usual spiel.  ¡°Nature is tertiary to water and earth.  It is the mana of divergence and glows dark green.  When you attempt to learn a skill, use this seed.  It¡¯ll be helpful in the future.¡±  So saying, she dropped a small flower seed in front of him and left him to his exploration.


    Once again, finding what effect his mana had on the stone took time.  Magnus could feel mana flowing but couldn¡¯t see any change.  He almost gave up and immediately went to testing the mana formation when he paused.  The surface of the stone had changed slightly.  A small bump had formed on the stone and ever so slowly it grew larger.


    Happy enough with this observation, he delved into the mana¡¯s structure.  As the mana flowed out from the center in a single thick line, it split in two.  But the two new lines did not completely separate from the original.  Instead, they traveled out from the center line at an angle from each other.  And then split again.  Each time the new lines would be thinner and thinner until when the lines reached the edges of the rock they were hair thin.


    Placing the rock back in it¡¯s place, Magnus prepared to cast his final magic.  Taking Madeline¡¯s advice to heart, he put the seed in his hand before pooling mana around it.  This will most likely make the seed grow, Magnus thought to himself.  Enough mana now pooled in his hand, he began to form it.  First gathering it into a thick line traveling up from where the seed rested.  Then, part way up splitting the mana in half.  Then half again, and again.  As he neared the end of his little remaining patience, the mana activated.


    No longer concentrating on the mana flow, he looked to see what effect as he poured more mana into his construct.  And saw nothing.  The seed just sat on his hand doing nothing.  His mana acted different as well.  Instead of a constant flow, he felt the mana build then reactivate then build again.  It wasn¡¯t the continuous flow of the other skills but seemed to work fine.  I just hope the seed isn¡¯t dead.  Afterall, Magnus had no idea if the skill would end up radically different if he first attempted it on a dead seed rather than a living one.


    After what seemed like forever, he got the notice for which he waited.


    DING!


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    A new skill has been created!


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Plant Growth</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Grade</td><td width="25%">Basic</td><td width="25%">Cost</td><td width="25%">10 mana</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">Basic 1</td><td width="25%">Experience</td><td width="25%">0/10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Rank</td><td colspan=''3''>37,273,899,217</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Initiation</td><td width="25%">10 seconds</td><td width="25%">Activation</td><td width="25%">10 second</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Effect</td><td width="25%">60 sec</td><td width="25%">Cooldown</td><td width="25%">180 sec</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Basic use of nature mana, increase the growth speed of living beings.


    When a continuous stream of mana is supplied growth buff will stack.


    Maximum stacks: 5


    Increase in growth rate: 10%


    Entire being must be within mana area.


    Max volume: 20 cm^3</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Modifier</td><td colspan=''3''>Plant</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Growth restricted to plants.


    +40% growth rate per stack.</td></tbody></table>


    Hum¡­ thought Magnus before he spoke aloud.  ¡°So did that take care of my class modifier?  Shouldn¡¯t I have gotten some kind of notifications if it worked, or will it not because of my basic status card?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what kind of status card you have.  If you have a class change you will know it.  But to get your modifier replaced, you need to level one skill of each element up to Beginner level.  When you do that for each you will get rid of your bad modifier.¡±  What a pain, thought Magnus with a sigh.


    Magnus was about to ask her a final question, but she had a glimmer in her eyes that frightened Magnus.  He almost refused to ask, but had no real choice.  ¡°How long will it take to level them all to Beginner.¡±


    ¡°Oh, not too long.¡±  Madeline grinned at him manically, no longer trying to hide her mirth.  ¡°With your bonus experience from the modifier and your class it shouldn¡¯t take too long.  No more than about.... a hundred and twenty thousand mana or so.¡±


    Magnus brain stuttered to a stop for a long moment in time.  ¡°Wha¡­ wha¡­ WHAT!?!¡±


    <table><tbody>[tr]<td width="25%">PREVIOUS CHAPTER</a></td><td width="25%">Back to Main Page</a></td><td width="25%">NEXT CHAPTER</a></td></tr></tbody></table>


    <hr />


    Magnus Journal: Skills part 1


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>There are four periods to any skill or spell.  Initiation, activation, effect, and cooldown.


    Initiation is the time between starting to move mana or stamina to the point of the skill and having enough there to use.  This is more prominent in mana based skills than in stamina based skills


    Activation is the period of time between having enough mana to use the skill, and it going into effect.  For example, after casting a spell and closing the spell point.  When this happens the mana remains floating in the circle.  After the proper time has passed it Activates.


    Effect is the period of time in which the skill will remain active.  This varies between different skills and how powerful an effect they have.  Most easily seen with buffs.


    Cooldown is the period of time after either activation or effect before a skill or spell can be initiated again.  This is more prominent in stamina skills than in mana skills.


    For some skills, notably passive skills, there is little to no initiation or activation times.


    For other skills, called spamables, there is little to no cooldown period.

 Magnus Journal (Abridged), Not a chapter

    Recently, rather than work on my story and finally get around to developing some plot, I have been working on what I wanted to do with the game world.  Little of what I''m posting here would have anything do do with the story line but much to do with world building and may crop up in the story.  And so, I decided to post some of what I have been working on.  If you hadn''t noticed before this is supposed to be the MC''s journal about what he finds with the world (also known as my cheat sheet to go back to when I don''t remember what I originally meant).


    Disclaimer:  I fully reserve the right to completely alter any of this if plot demands it, or I just don''t like the feel of the numbers anymore.


    Stats


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Stat types


    Acquired stat (gain through exercise)


    Obtained stat (gained through class and quest and deed)


    Distributed stats (From leveling and freely allocatable points from tasks and quests)


    A generated stat (G) must be earned before it will show up on the stats screen.  If not yet earned items with that stat bonus will be useless.  Some classes generate a stat upon earning the class.  All stats after primary stats are considered generated.


    Base stats (Distribution never available)  ratio


    Primary stats (Distribution available after attaining status plate)


    Secondary Stats (Unable to be distributed to before Trial of Fire)


    Tertiary Stats (Unable to be distributed to before Trial of Void)


    Quaternary Stats (Unable to be distributed to before Trial of Power)


    Basic stats (can¡¯t distribute points)


    Level [a value of strength of the soul]


    Experience [how close you are to increasing your soul strength]


    Health [how much damage you can take]


    (G)HP regen [regen of hp in battle, 5x outside of battle, 20x when resting]


    Mana [how much magic you can do]


    (G)MP regen [regen of mp in battle, 5x outside of battle, 20x when resting]


    Stamina [base 10, how much physical activity you can do]


    (G)Stamina Regen [regen of stam in battle, 5x outside of battle, 20x when resting]


    (G)Qi [current value of Qi energy]


    Hunger [base 100, increases over time, nearing max lowers various stats]


    Thirst [base 100, increases over time, nearing max lowers various stats]


    (G)Move speed [maximum movement speed(m/s), alters based on weight being carried]


    (G)Attack speed [maximum number of times attacking per sec, alters based on weapon]


    Offence [personal damage value, with attack value of weapon gives damage]


    Defence [personal protection value, with armor value where hit gives protection]


    Accuracy


    Crit Damage


    Natural Mana regen rate:   120 sec /mana


    Natural Health regen rate: 120 sec /mana  (6 sec/ mana when resting)


    Natural Stamina regen rate: 360 sec/stamina (9sec/ stamina when resting)


    Natural Mana/Stamina movement 1 mana / second


    Natural Hunger increase: 30 min/ hunger


    Natural thirst increase:   30 min/ hunger


    Natural Movespeed: 8 meters/sec ~17 miles per hour


    Natural skin attack value: 0.2


    Natural skin armor value: 0.2


    Might stats


    [spoiler]


    Offence: Strength(STR) increases physical offence at a rate of 1:1  Brawn increases PO at a ratio of 1:2 and clout increases physical offence at a ratio of 2:1.  Force will increase offence at a rate of 1:(STR/250).


    Strength affects weight a person can carry in lbs.  Below 5x their level of strength a person can carry and equip anything without penalty.  Above 5x and below 10x their movement speed lowers, at 5 it decreases by 10% and before 10 it lowers by 50%.  Above 10x and below 15x a person has lowered attack speed ranging from a decrease of 10% at 10 to a decrease of 50% before 15.  Above 15x and below 20x a person has both movement and attack speed lowered and enter an encumbered state.  At 15x move and attack speed is lowered by 60%, at 20x they are reduced by 95%.  At 20x, a person is no longer able to attack.


    Stamina consumption is also increased based on amount carried.  Under 5x no penalty, over 5x and under 10x it increase to 50% increased consumption, from 10x to 20x it increases to 100% increased consumption, over 20x stamina consumption increases by 2x for every additional 10x increase in weight to stamina. ie: 20x weight 2x stamina, 30x weight 4x stamina, 40x weight 8x...


    The encumbered state increases the ease in which a person can be knocked down.  When encumbered a person will have a great difficulty in standing after being knocked down.


    Lifting weight is separate from carrying.  Amount able to lift is equal to (STR) kg.  Lifting amount counts equipment and adds to carry weight at a 2x amount.  When lift value is exceeded, you suffer the immobilized ailment.  Lifting and Carry weight do not include the weight of the person unless under increased gravity or similar effects.


    Brawn lowers the effects of individually weighted objects.  Each point of brawn lowers the effective weight of every object carried by modifier (1 / (1 +(SQRT(Brawn * STR/1000000)))).  Brawn also increases accuracy by 2 per point.


    Clout creates aoe damage outside of a physical attack at a range of about (Clout/1000) meters.  Clout damage is equal to (1 - (.9^(SQRT(Clout * STR/25000))) of the physical attack.  Aoe damage is explosive.


    Force will ignore p.armor by a modifier of  (1 - .9^(SQRT(Force * STR/25000)).  The natural knockback will also hit for (SQRT(Force * Brawn / 1000000)) meters.  The full effects of force can only be seen when attacking at full strength attack speed with no noticeable armor penetration or knockback at under 50% attack speed.


    Strength [effects damage of physical weapons, increases offence stat]


    Sec-Strength


    Brawn [reduces effects of weight in objects]


    Clout [deals aoe physical damage in an area around attack]


    Tert-Strength


    Force [lowers effects of opponents p.armor, knockback]


    Power


    Health(HP) is the amount of damage a person can take before dying.  It is increased by Vitality(VIT) at a ratio of 1:10, constitution at a ratio of 1:1, Physique at a ratio of 1:5, and by Build at a ratio of 1:(VIT/25).


    Constitution also generates the HP regen stat.  Interval of regeneration is 120 * 0.5^(Vit/1000) seconds.  Regeneration amount is (1 +SQRT(Constitution/10)) hp.


    Physique lowers the penalties associated with stacking multiple types of armor.  Reduction of lost stats from multi-stack penalty decreased by modifier (1 / (1 + (SQRT(Physique * VIT / 1000000)))).   Increases Physical Defence stat at a ratio of 1:2


    Build will also decrease the move speed loss of being over-weighted by modifier  (0.9^(SQRT(Build * Physique / 25000))).


    Vitality [increases HP base by 10 per stat]


    Sec-Vitality


    Constitution [generates HP regen, 1hp per stat]


    Physique [lowers penalties of armor, increases defence stat]


    Tert-Vitality


    Build [greatly increases hp with bonus dependent on vit]


    Physical Defence: Endurance(END) increases physical defence at a rate of 1:1, Toughness at a ratio of 1:2 and Fortitude at a ratio of 2:1, Tenacity at a rate of 1:(END/250).  As previously mention, Physique increases Physical Defence by 1:2.


    Endurance has two additional effects.  It lowers pain felt when damaged by the value, ie when hit with 20 damage and having 10 endurance it will feel as painful as 10 damage.  Minimum pain reduction is to that of being poked firmly.  Second effect is lowering the potency of side effects of health depletion.


    Toughness amplifies the armor modification value by modifier  (1/(1 + SQRT ( Toughness * END / 1000000)).


    Fortitude increases value of natural armor to (0.2 + Fortitude/1000) and applies to both pArmor and mArmor.  Also increases the armor value of worn armor by a modifier (1 +SQRT(Fortitude * END/1000000).


    Tenacity creates an undead state that enables you to keep moving your body after death by (0.9^(Tenacity * END / 25000)) minutes before incapacitation.  In this state stats are modified by (1 - (1/(1 + SQRT( Tenacity * Fortitude / 1000000))))).


    (G)Endurance [lowers pain felt, increases defence stat, lowers effect of low hp]


    Sec-Endurance


    Toughness [Lowers armor modification value]


    Fortitude [increases natural armor, armor of equipment]


    Tert-Endurance


    Tenacity [movement while incapacitated]


    Resilience


    Precision stats


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    When a person attacks with a skill, they get a small notifier of where the attack should go in the form of a small dot (aimpoint).  This dot is the center of their aimbox.  It appears at the beginning of initiation as a black dot that moves around depending on where the person is trying to aim.  At the end of the initiation period going into the activation period, the dot will flash red at the final point and fade away.  The aimbox is the area around the dot that the skill can actually go toward and is not displayed.


    Accuracy(ACC) increases Offence by (Accuracy/4 -Offence) if > 0.  Accuracy also alters the size of the aim box on all skills and attacks.  Modifier (ACC/Offence) for hit box size.  Limiting size ACC = Offence/2 and hitbox double in size, ACC = 4x Offence and hitbox fourth the size.


    Effective accuracy is separate from Accuracy and has an effect on aim box size.  Base aim box size is based on movespeed and attackspeed being applied at full power, or the value given in a status window.  Effective accuracy reduces this size by moving and attacking slower.  The modifier is applied at (0.5^((max attack speed - current attack speed)/max attack speed) * (0.5^((max move speed - current move speed)/max move speed)).  It should be noted that skills that boost move speed or attackspeed over base value will increase the size of the aim box.  ie: not moving will shrink aimbox size in half, slow attack speed can also decrease aimbox.


    Agility increases Acc at a rate of 1:1, Finess increases Acc at a rate of 2:1, Flexibility increases ACC at a rate of 1:2, Dexterity increases Acc at a rate of 1: (AGL/250).


    Agility(AGL) also increases the ability to control movement of the body precisely especially at higher speeds.  This aids in dodging by thin margins.  To be able to run without the possibility of misstepping/ tripping a person needs (Movespeed * 2) in agility, lower levels of agility decrease correct placement of limbs.  To run at full speed and have full attack control requires Movespeed*5.  In between 2x and 5x a person will have more limited possibilities of attack.  Agility greater than 10x movespeed will enable acrobatic feats while attacking.  Acrobatic definition applied liberally.


    Finess increases movespeed above base to (Base + (SQRT(Finess * AGL/10000)) m/s.  It should be noted that move speed acceleration is approximately 10 * STR/(Total mass in kg) m/s^2, total mass includes both the mass of the person and everything they carry regardless of weight reduction.  High momentum with stops faster than max MSA will cause internal damage proportional to total mass and speed change.  This partially includes falling damage.


    Flexibility creates the ability to alter the direction of a skill while in effect by (SQRT(Flexibility * AGL/1000000) degrees per second.  This alteration is from the current position of  the skill activator as the point of origin.


    Dexterity increases the ability to move stamina through a person¡¯s body to a given point at a rate of (1 + SQRT(Dexterity * Flexibility/1000000) stamina per second.  This lowers the initiation time of stamina skills.  Dexterity also lowers the knockdown and knockback effects by a factor of (0.9^(SQRT(Dexterity * AGL/ 25000))).


    Agility [accuracy at higher speeds and with skills] (smaller hitbox)


    Sec-Agility


    Finess [Generates Move speed]


    Flexibility [ability to alter skill endpoint during effect]


    Tert-Agility


    Dexterity [lowers physical skill initiation time]


    Deftness


    Criticals are created by attacks dealing damage of high enough value on an area of weakness in the target.  These areas of weakness are were various ailments can be inflicted when hit there.  In humans: head for dazed, throat for silence, and joints for impaired move and attack speed.  The difference between a critical hit a decisive hit is that critical hit ailments will fade with time while decisive hits need to be healed to be revoked.  Not to be confused will fatal blows that deal instant death.  Ie, head blows: critical = dazed, decisive = concussion, fatal = death.  Most decisive blows are revoked by death.


    Bonus damage dealt from critical hit 25%, luck increases chance at ratio of 5:1 percent, Chance increases it at ratio of 4:1 percent, Intuition increases it at ratio of 3:1 percent and Fortune increases it at ratio of 1:(Luck/10) percent.  Crit damage modifier = (1.25 + (Luck/500) + (Chance/400) + (Intuition/300) + (Fortune * Luck /100000))


    Luck also has the benefit of increasing the number of drops from killed monsters by Base * (1 + (Luck/1000)), and increase the rate that higher tier rarity items drop by modifier (Base * (1 + (Luck/100000))).


    Chance increases the length of time an ailment lasts to Base * (1 + SQRT(Chance * Luck / 1000000).


    Intuition increases the chance of inflicting an ailment by modifier (base ailment chance * (1 + SQRT(Intuition * Luck/1000000))) = chance of ailment affliction with required damage.


    Fortune lowers the effect of critical damage by modifier 0.9^(Fortune*Luck/25000).


    Luck [increases damage of critical hits, random chance favors you)


    Sec-Luck


    Chance [increases ailment duration]


    Intuition [increases ailment chance]


    Tert-Luck


    Fortune [lowers damage taken by critical hits](crit damage can be < base damage)


    Damage-Over-Time (DOT) is not reduced by armor values and unless it is elemental is not affected by attributes.  Resistance can lower the DOT damage by modifiers (0.5^(Resistance /100).  Reflex can increase DOT damage by a 5:1 ratio percentage, Swiftness by 4:1, Quickness by 10:1, and responsiveness by 1:1.  Modifier of (1 + (Reflex/500) + (Swiftness/400) + (Quickness/1000) + (Responsiveness/100)).


    Reflex also enables the changing of aimpoint during activation by (Reflex /1000) degrees per second with the current position of the activator as the point of origin.


    Swiftness lowers the period of DOT damage (time between consecutive damage points) by modifier (1 / (1 +SQRT(Swift*Reflex/1000000))) for your attacks.


    Quickness generates the attack speed stat.  Increases this stat by modifier Base * (1 + SQRT(Quickness * Reflex / 1000000)) att/s.


    Responsiveness increases the recovery rate of skills, lowers cooldown by modifier 0.9^SQRT(Response * Reflex / 25000).  Increases the amount of time for which  DOT is applied by modifier (1 + SQRT(Response * Swiftness /1000000)).


    (G)Reflex [alter endpoint of skill during activation]


    Sec- Reflex


    Swiftness [increases dot damage, more frequent damage]


    Quickness [Generates/Increases Attack speed]


    Tert- Reflex


    Responsiveness [lowers cooldown of skills, length dot is applied]


    Reaction


    Magic Stats


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Mana(MP) is the amount of mana a person stores within their mana pool and can use before running out.  It is increased by Intellect(INT) at a ratio of 1:10, Acumen at a ratio of 1:1, Insight at a ratio of 1:5, and by Guile at a ratio of 1:(INT/25).


    Acumen also generates the MP regen stat.  Interval of regeneration is 120 * 0.5^(INT/1000) seconds.  Regeneration amount is (1 +Acumen/10) mp.


    Insight lowers the initiation time of magic skills by increasing the flow rate of mana through a person¡¯s body.  Modifies as (1 + SQRT(Insight * INT/ 1000000) mana per second.  A skill that requires 100 mana will take 100 seconds for enough mana to be available naturally.  With a mana flow rate of 2, 50 seconds would be removed from the initiation time.  This time does not include how long it takes to shape the mana before it can be activated.


    Savvy will ignore mArmor by a modifier of  (1 - 0.9^(Savvy * INT / 25000)).  The natural knockback of magic will also hit for (SQRT(Savvy * Insight / 1000000)) meters.


    Guile lowers the opponent''s ability to regenerate health, mana, and stamina for ( SQRT(Guile * Acumen / 100000) minutes after they are hit.  The activation is dependent on a minimum value of damage dealt to activate.  After going into effect, their ability to regenerate is lowered by modifier  0.9^(Guile * INT / 25000).


    Intellect [increases mana by 10 per stat, increases damage dealt by spells]


    Sec-Intellect


    Acumen [generates Mana regen, increases mana regen]


    Insight [lowers initiation time of spells]


    Tert-Intellect


    Savvy [creates knockback, mArmor penetration]


    Guile [lowers opponent regeneration rates]


    Magical Offence increases magical damage, magical damage is most easily recognized if it consumes mana to initiate.  Willpower increases mOffence by 1:1, Knowledge increases 1:2, Determination by 2:1, Resolve by 1:(WIL/250)


    Willpower(WIL) also signifies the amount of mana/stamina that can be safely controlled.  More M/S than this amount can be used but will be lost.  Between 1x and 2x of WIL 10% of M/S will be lost per minute, at 3x- 5x 50% of total M/S will be lost per minute, at 5x+ all M/S will be lost after 1 minute.  This loss is continuous over the minute.  Mana loss will lower available hp, Stamina loss will lower available mp.


    Knowledge increases the ease at which new skills can be made and makes it easier to tier up  skill. Number of times in a row needed to learn a new skill is reduced by modifier (1 / (1 + SQRT(Knowledge * Willpower /1000000))) and rounded up to the nearest whole number.


    Determination increases the range at which personal mana can be extended before it dissolves into ambient mana.  All personal mana extended beyond this point instantly disperses.  Base value of 1 cm from closest edge of a mana channel.  Determination increases the range to (0.01 + SQRT(Determination * Willpower / 1000000)) meters.  Shaped mana can be extended beyond the distance that personal mana can go.  Personal mana that extends beyond this range while still inside the body causes damage when evaporating.


    Resolve increases the duration of effect on active skills.  Modifier (0.9^ (-SQRT (Resolve * WIL / 25000))


    Willpower [capacity of mana/stamina controllable]


    Sec-Willpower


    Knowledge [skill formation]


    Determination [distance from skill start]


    Tert-Willpower


    Resolve [increases time of effect of skills]


    Magical Defence: Concentration(CON) increases magical defence at a rate of 1:1, Focus at a ratio of 1:2 and Resolution at a ratio of 2:1, Intent at a rate of 1:(CON/250).


    Concentration also lowers the effects of low mana.  Each point of concentration is considered equal to having an extra point of mana left in the mana pool.  Having a concentration equal to 20% or more of total mana will stop all effects.  One point of concentration is enough to prevent incapacitation from no mana.  This effect decreases over time if mana is not replenished.  Every minute in which mana remains on zero concentration is lowered by 1 until mana is returned to max.


    Focus increases the speed and accuracy of shaping mana/stamina into it¡¯s proper form for skill activation.  This lowers the time it takes for skills to activate.  Modifier (1/(1 +(SQRT(Focus * Willpower / 1000000).  A side property is an increase in volume any give point of mana can fully occupy by Modifier (1 +Focus / 1000).


    Mana channels start at approximately 1 centimeter in diameter and rests between the bones of most limbs.  They connect into the mana pool at the persons head from the inside of the main spine bone.  Smaller mana flows spread out from the main channels along arteries and veins.  Mana in these smaller paths form stamina and can no longer be use as personal mana.  The small size of the main mana channels combined with the natural distance personal mana can be shaped is what causes damage when more mana than will power available is used and subsequently lost.  When stamina is overused and lost it pulls from the mana channels lower available mana even though the mana is not converted to stamina immediately.


    Resolution increases the diameter of mana channels by (SQRT(Resolution * Will / 1000000)) meters.  When the size of a mana channel is increased beyond the skin it pushes away ambient mana until an orb is formed as a single all-encompassing mana channel that is called a mana aura.  Unless specific skills are used, the mana of the channels are the same density of nearby ambient mana.  A person''s sensitivity to alterations in the ambient mana is proportional to mana channel surface area exposed.  A hostile skill that passes through the outer boundary of the mana aura will have it¡¯s offence lowered by (Resolution / 100) for both physical and magical.  Please note, mana aura is different from aura but have much in common.


    Intent increases and lowers the effects of skills passing through mana aura boundary as recognized by the mana aura owner.  A hostile skill has it¡¯s effect lowered by modifier 0.9^(SQRT(Intent * Will / 25000) after passing through the mana channel.  An allied skill will be increased by 0.9^(-SQRT(Intent * Resolution / 25000)))


    (G)Concentration [lowers effect of spell/skill rebound, lowers effect of low mana, m def]


    Sec-Concentration


    Focus [forming mana, activation]


    Resolution [mana channel size]


    Tert-Concentration


    Intent [increases effect power]


    Other General Stats


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Skills earn experience through repeated use of the skill.  Each tier of a skill requires double the effort per point of experience compared to the last tier and higher grade skills have higher base requirements.  ie: Basic magic at basic level takes 100 mana per exp point, at beginner 200 mana, at novice 400, at initiate 800¡­


    Diligence increase the rate at which skill xp can be gained.  Base / (1 + other bonus + Diligence/1000).  Diligence is often earned by production class due to their higher number of skills and amount of effort needed to earn a single xp point in those skills.


    Acquired stats are earned through effort and it takes x amount of work for each increase.  It takes more effort for each additional point of that stat.  A person who places freely distributed stats from leveling up will have as much difficulty in earning an additional acquired stats as if all of their stats had been acquired.  This also increases with stat bonuses from equipment.  Acquiring stats in a training hall is separate from this calculation because it works as a spell that forces acquisition of stats.


    Perseverance lowers the number of stats when calculating how much effort is required to earn an additional stat.  Total stat being acquired - (Perseverance * Diligence / 5000) = stat level to be acquired.


    Discipline stores a portion experience lost to death that doubles the amount of experience gained until the experience captured is gone.  Total exp storable = Discipline * Diligence.


    Earnestness increases the experience gain of the soul from all sources.  Exp modifier increased by 0.9^(SQRT(Earnestness * Diligence / 25000)).


    (G)Diligence [increases rate of skill xp gain]


    Sec-Diligence


    Perseverance [increases rate at which Acquired stats are earned]


    Discipline [Lowers xp loss upon death/incapacitation]


    Tert-Diligence


    Earnestness [increases rate of character xp gain]


    Validation


    When facing opponents of a higher level there is a nerfing effect in place.  A hidden value, call it the under level (u-lvl), is the difference between your level and the hostile¡¯s level.  Modifier (1 + (underlevel / (Your lvl + hostile lvl).  This modifier applies to total offence and defence in addition to all skills in relation to this specific opponent.  This modifier goes into place against the lower lvl of the two, ie you for a positive value them for a negative.


    A secondary effect of underlevel is fear ailment.  When under fear, a person is unable to initiate skills.  When fighting higher lvl opponents a fear check rolls once every 10 seconds.  The fear ailment has a possibility of being applied at (u-lvl / character lvl)% for 10 seconds.


    Courage alters the u-lvl by directly adding to the person¡¯s level.  u-lvl = Character lvl + Courage - Opponent lvl.  U-lvl minimum by this method is 0.


    Bloodlust has the opposite effect against monsters.  The effective level of opponents is decreased by (Courage * Bloodlust / 1000).  This works against both higher and lower lvl opponents.  Bloodlust can lower the opponent¡¯s level at most half of their lvl.  ie: a lvl 500 can only be lowered to lvl 250 by bloodlust.


    Defiance increases skill effect when facing higher level opponents.  Skills effects are increased by modifier (1 + SQRT(Courage * Defiance / 1000000)).  Defiance does not boost skills against lower level opponents.


    Bravery increases the gain rate of skill and character xp against higher lvl monsters.  Modifier to ( 1 + (Opponent lvl / Character lvl) * (0.9^(SQRT(-Courage * Bravery / 25000))) for character xp.  Skill xp bonus of (1 + (Opponent lvl / Character lvl) * (SQRT(Bravery * Defiance / 1000000))).


    (G)Courage [lowers penalty of underlvl from higher lvl monsters]


    Sec-Courage


    Bloodlust [lowers ability of lower lvl monsters]


    Defiance [raises skill effects against higher lvl monsters]


    Tert-Courage


    Bravery [Increases gains of fighting higher lvl monsters]


    Quart Courage


    Ferocity


    Fighting Spirit


    When fighting in a group the experience from kills is distributed based on how much damage was done by who.  If a person in the party takes action during the fight they gain from a pool of 50% of the experience the creature could give.  If they took no action, either beneficial to the party or detrimental to the enemy, but are in the party they gain 10% of the experience from the enemy.  The leader of the party has an additional pool of 10% experience gain.  ie: a monster that can give 10 xp is killed, everyone who attacked it gains 5/(number of people attacking) xp and everyone who didn¡¯t help at all gains 1/(number of people doing nothing) xp with the leader getting an additional 1 xp.


    When the leader of a party has a leadership value lower than the members of the party, xp is distributed by pool 20% to all, and 10% to the person who dealt the killing blow.


    The maximum size of a party is six.  Seven people cannot join a party, instead the party has to be split up into two separate parties, one of which is subordinate to the leading party.  This is called a raid.  Experience from a raid is the same as if a the different parties in the raid were individual people in a party(raid) but scales up and down depending on leadership.


    A raid can¡¯t distribute exp up from a subordinate party if the leading party leadership is less than the number of people in the parties under their control.  Instead, the xp gain is stopped at the party level and does not benefit the other parties in the raid.  ie: a raid with 6 members requires the leadership of the leading party to have 6 leadership stats and a raid with 36 members requires 36 stat points in the leadership party.  The leadership stats can be distributed across the entire leadership party, not just the leader alone.  If the leader of a subordinate party does not have enough leadership points then none of his party members can receive experience from other parties in the raid even if the raid leader party has enough points in leadership.  This extends upward from raid level, to troop level, to Company level and beyond.


    Command increase the xp gain of those within your party who work as designated by the leader.  Command increases the gains of the party within their individual pool up to (SQRT(Leadership * Command / 100000) exp.  This cannot exceed the total of the pool they are part of.  ie: 5 people are drawing from a pool of 5 xp, they can each gain a maximum 5 xp.  This works per individual case of earned xp, not total xp from a fight.


    Control increases the effect of activities that have been designated by the leader.  When the leader has designated it, the power of the action is increased by modifier (1 + SQRT(Control * Leadership /1000000).  ie: formations, attacks, skills...


    Authority increases the power of combinations of actions between different people/parties.  Successful combinations have their effect increased by (0.9^(-SQRT(Authority * Control/10000)).  Failed combinations have penalty effects decreased by modifier (1 - 0.9^(SQRT(Authority * leadership / 25000)).  Most common penalty effect is damage.


    (G) Leadership [increases max party members and groups useable]


    Sec-Leadership


    Command [increases xp gain of those who follow your commands]


    Control [increases effect of actions you have commanded]


    Tert-Leadership


    Authority [increases effectiveness of combo skills of your party]


    While mana is the basis of all magic skills, stamina is the basis of physical skills.  Stamina is the muscle fibers of your body absorbing mana to replenish and strengthen itself.  After it has been absorbed, it can no longer be used like mana.  Instead it increases the capacity of physical action.  With stamina, a person can run faster, lift more, hit harder, and do more.  But stamina does not throw out sword blasts, that is exclusive to mana.  Instead, a skill like Blow that uses a great deal of stamina greatly enhances physical attack at the cost of lost energy in the muscles that were used.  Stamina is replenished by mana being pulled from mana channels by arteries.


    Stamina is increased by Energy at a rate of 1:1, Vigor at a rate of 10:1, Persistence at a rate of 5:1, and Indefatigable at a rate of 2:1.


    Vigor generates the stamina regen stat. Interval of regeneration is 360 * (1 / ( 1 + SQRT(Vigor *Energy/1000000) seconds.  Regeneration amount is (1 +SQRT(Vigor/100)).  Regeneration is distributed in 1 stamina increments.


    Persistence lowers the effects of low stamina.  Each point of Persistence is considered equal to having an extra point of stamina left.  Having a Persistence equal to 20% or more of total stamina will stop all effects.  One point of Persistence is enough to prevent incapacitation from no stamina.  This effect decreases over time if stamina is not replenished.  Every minute in which stamina remains on zero Persistence is lowered by 1 until stamina is returned to max.


    Indefatigable lowers the amount of stamina used in skills and activities.  Non-skill stamina consumption is lowered by modifier (0.9^(SQRT(Energy * Indefatigable / 25000)).  Skill stamina consumption is lowered by modifier (1/(1 + SQRT(Persistence * Indefatigable / 1000000))).


    Energy [how much physical activity can be done, creates stamina base]


    Sec-Energy


    Vigor [generates Stamina regen stat]


    Persistence [lowers effect of stamina exhaustion]


    Tert-Energy


    Indefatigable [lowers consumption of stamina]


    Hunger is the basic value that is diminished by eating.  Hunger at 100% of max: continuous damage as a percentage of health, at 90% stamina unable to be replenished, at 80%  continuously rumbling stomach and the stomach aches for food.  Hunger increases at a base time of 1 point every 900 seconds, or 15 minutes.  After using 25 stamina, hunger will increase by 1 point.


    Hunger is increased by Provender at a rate of 1:10, Sustenance at a rate of 1:2, Nourishment at a rate of 1:1, and Satiation at a rate of 1:5.


    Sustenance lowers the effects of high hunger.  Each point of Sustenance is considered equal to having one less point of hunger.  Having a Sustenance equal to 20% or more of total hunger will stop all effects. Sustenance lowers the damage done by modifier (1/(1+(SQRT(Provender * Sustenance / 1000000)))).  Each period in which hunger would increase but is maxed lowers the sustenance value by 1 until hunger is lowered to 0.


    Nourishment increases the amount of stamina used to increase hunger to (25 * (1 + SQRT(Nourishment * Provender / 1000000))).


    Satiation increases the time period between hunger increases.  900 * (1 + SQRT(Satiation * Nourishment / 1000000) seconds.  Satiation also increase the bonus effects of eating by modifier 0.9^(SQRT(Satiation * Provender / 25000)).


    Provender [increases max hunger value 1:10 ratio]


    Sec-Provender


    Sustenance [lowers effects of high hunger points]


    Nourishment [increases stamina used for hunger]


    Tert-Provender


    Satiation [Longer time to increase Hunger points, base 900s]


    rationing


    This is the basic value that is diminished by drinking.  Thirst at 100% hallucinations and decreased mana over time, 90% Mana unable to be regenerated, 80% unable to talk.  Thirst increases at a base time of 1 point every 900 seconds, or 15 minutes.  After using 250 mana, thirst will increase by 1 point.


    Thirst is increased by Quenching at a rate of 1:10, Moisturization at a rate of 1:2, Desiccation at a rate of 1:1, and Hydration at a rate of 1:5.


    Moisturization lowers the effects of high thirst.  Each point of Moisturization is considered equal to having one less point of thirst.  Having a Moisturization equal to 20% or more of total thirst will stop all effects. Sustenance lowers the mana lost by modifier (1/(1+(SQRT(Quenching * Moisturization / 1000000))).  Each period in which thirst would increase but is maxed lowers the Moisturization value by 1 until thirst is lowered to 0.


    Desiccation increases the amount of mana used to increase hunger to (250 * (1 + SQRT(Desiccation * Quenching / 1000000)).


    Hydration increases the time period between thirst increases.  900 * (1 + SQRT(Hydration * Desiccation / 1000000)) seconds.  Hydration also increase the bonus effects of drinking by modifier 0.9^(-SQRT(Hydration * Quenching / 25000).


    Quenching [increases max thirst value 1:10 ratio, thirst base 100]


    Sec-Quenching


    Moisturization [lowers effects of high thirst points]


    Desiccation [lowers mana used for thirst]


    Tert-Quenching


    Hydration [Longer time to increase thirst points]


    Class based stats (stat is needed by specific class before class can be obtained)


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Anger is the Berserker classes active skill consumption stat.  Anger also increases personal offence by 1 per point.  Anger can be created by taking damage greater than 1% of Maximum health.  Each damage that is higher will increase anger by 1.  When not fighting anger will decrease at a rate of 1 per 30 seconds.  Anger creates a blood red glow in the eyes.


    Maximum anger is formed at a rate of 1:1 by Rage, 1:2 by Fury, and 1:3 by Madness.


    Fury increases the amount of anger that is generated for each attack.  Anger generated per damage greater than 1% = (1 + SQRT(Fury * Rage / 10000)).


    Madness lowers damage taken and increases offence.  Damage taken is reduced by (Current Anger * SQRT(Madness * Fury / 100000)).  Offence is boosted by modifier (Max Hp / Current Hp) * (1 - 0.9^(SQRT(Rage * Madness / 25000))).


    (G) Rage [increases damage as damage is dealt and done] (listed value is max)


    Sec-Rage


    Fury [increases the speed at which max rage value is attained]


    Tert-Rage


    Madness [increases the offence, lowers damage]


    ruthless


    When a person attacks with a skill, they get a small notifier of where the attack should go in the form of a small dot (aimpoint).  This dot is the center of their aimbox.  It appears at the beginning of initiation as a black dot that moves around depending on where the person is trying to aim.  At the end of the initiation period going into the activation period, the dot will flash red at the final point and fade away.


    Detection is the ability to see an opponent''s aimpoint.  A higher detection rating increases the possibility of seeing the skill¡¯s aim point.  Detection is increased by Perception at a rate of 1:1, Discernment at a rate of 1:2, and Astuteness at a rate of 1:5.


    When seeing a skill point with detection, the flash of red as the skill moves from initiation to activation is seen as a blue orb.  The size of the orb is in relation to a base size of 20 centimeter diameter.  This size is altered by the modifier (Damage / (100 * Detection)).  The orb emits the same amount of light no matter the size so a large orb will have very low visibility while a small orb will have high visibility.  This illumination will not be more than the red flash of light the opponent could see.  Base distance this can be seen from is 1 meter.


    Perception increases the distance at which an aim point can be seen.  A aim point can be seen at a maximum of (1 + Perception / 25) meters away.


    Discernment enables the seeing of initiation mana/stamina being gathered as a silver/gold glow in the area it is being gathered.  In order to see this glow, the person must be within perception range of the initiation point.  The visibility of the glow brightness is modified by ((Mana or stamina of skill used) * (SQRT(Discernment * Perception / 100000))) from a base brightness of one candle.  This is not to be confused with the glow that can be seen on activation with inefficient skills.


    Astuteness shows the path of effect skills are taking along with a damage value that the skill will do.  This also shows where approximate aim is for non-skill attacks.  Base size of skill path is 1 meter diameter.  Size is altered by modifier (0.9^(SQRT( Astuteness * Perception / 25000))*(Damage/Detection of skill).  Skill damage is shown during initiation with an accuracy of (SQRT(Astuteness * Discernment / 1000000)) * (Detection / Damage).  ie: a value of .5 would be within = or - 50% of the actual value while 1 or higher would be the exact value


    (G)Perception [increases distance of observation]


    Sec-Perception


    Discernment [see initiation]


    Tert-Perception


    Astuteness [skill paths, damage of skill]


    Sense


    Artistic classes (painter, sculptor, dancers, musicians...), create products that give a bonus from seeing them.  Ownership is not required.  The Art stat is needed to increase the bonuses from seeing an art production more than the base amount, ie other art classes will receive higher bonuses from seeing artwork.  Quality of production caps at Fine for those without art stat.  Two artworks that has bonuses to the same stat will only be applied by the artwork that has the higher stat value first.  If the higher value stat times out first, the second one is applied until it runs to the end.


    Maximum possible stats obtained for a given production is increased by art at 5:1, Charisma at 20:1, Allure at 10:1.  This value is for total of all stat bonus possible in both production and obtaining.  Actual stat max possible is depending on Quality and Rarity of the artwork.


    Charisma increases the length of time that see an artwork is extended for.  Time of effect is increased by modifier (1 + (SQRT(Art * Charisma / 1000000))).


    Allure increases the distance from the artwork at which one can be to obtain the bonus from the artwork.  The base amount depends on the size of the product and if the is an unobstructed view of the piece.  Distance from piece increases by modifier (0.9^(-SQRT(Art * Allure / 25000))).  Allure also decreases the amount of the artwork needed to be seen to receive the bonus by modifier (1/(1 + (SQRT(Allure * Charisma/1000000)))).


    (G)Art [Increases power of skills and products of art]


    Sec-Art


    Charisma [increases time of effect from artwork]


    Tert- Art


    Allure [increases distance at which artwork is effective]


    Honor is used by classes (knights, paladins, justicers) that require the person''s word / name be recognized in order to have a bonus.  Ie: honor is a recognition that when a person says he will do X, he will do X.  Honor is one of the duality stats and can be permanently lost due to actions.  Failing to follow through on what has been will dishonor a person (A/N: Think order vs chaos).  The biggest difference between honor and belief(see below) is that honor is an accumulation from all interactions while belief applies one on one.


    Honor stats create an increased base in intimacy with others.  Honor increase it at a rate of 5:1, Glory at a rate of 4:1, Dignity at a rate of 4:1, Chivalry at a rate of 3:1.  When these stat are in their dual form, the intimacy is reduced.


    Honor creates an invisible aura that surrounds the person at a base size of 1 meter radius.  Honor increases the distance that the aura extends to (1 + Honor / 25) meters.  When a party member enters the aura, he will have his offence and defence increased by (Honor / 200) up to a maximum of 2 times his personal offence/defence respectively as long as the person with the aura is also a party member.  Dishonor has the same distance, but lowers opponent¡¯s offence/defence.


    Glory increases the personal offence/defence of the aura bearer dependent on how many allies stand within his aura.  His O/D is increased by (SQRT(Honor * Glory / 1000)) for each ally within the aura range.  Shame also increases the aura bearer¡¯s personal O/D value, but for each enemy within his aura.


    Dignity and Crassness increase the rate at which Honor and Dishonor are created, and more importantly lower the rate at which they can be lost.  Each instance of honor production is increased to Base * (1 + (SQRT(Dignity * Honor / 100000))).  When honor would be lost, it is altered to Base * ( 1 / (1 + (SQRT(Dignity * Honor / 100000)))).  For the dual stats, substitute their opposite.


    Chivalry increases the experience earned from all quests by a modifier of (0.9^(-SQRT(Chivalry * Honor / 25000))).  Rudeness increases money earned from quests by a modifier of (0.9^(-SQRT(Rudeness * Dishonor / 25000))).  Chivalry also increases all stats of those standing within the honor aura by (SQRT(Chivalry * Glory / 10000)) stats for all stats of the aura bearer at up to 10% of the aura bearer¡¯s stats.  Rudeness also decreases all stats of enemies standing within the dishonor aura by (SQRT(Rudeness * Shame / 10000)) stats for all stats of the aura bearer at up to 10% of the aura bearer¡¯s stats.


    (G)Honor/Dishonor [raises trustworthiness/intimacy value with people]


    Sec-Honor


    Glory/Shame [increases personal power]


    Dignity/Crassness [alters the rate at which honor stats can be changed]


    Tert-Honor


    Chivalry/Rudeness [increases quest rewards, stats]


    Reputation


    Buffs are positive enhancements, while Debuffs are negative enhancements, of a person that last of a given amount of time.  These can be applied through many different means, from looking at art to eating food to activated skills.  A buff/debuff will typically increase/decrease 1 to 5 stats.  A person can have multiple buffs/debuffs but can only have one from each type in effect at a time.  The others still remain for however long their timer lasts but you have to switch over to them for them to go into effect.  Switching like this requires a minimum cooldown of 60 seconds.


    Belief is an evaluation of how much beings believe in you and has a connotation of good, ie: your alignment is positive.  When you obtain enough belief from a being, or set of beings, you can activate blessings based on their characteristics.  Dread is the duality of Belief and is associated with evil (ie: alignment negative) and is concerned with how much others fear you.  When enough dread is obtain from a being, or group, you can activate curses based on the characteristics of those who dread you.  You can¡¯t have both dread and belief.


    A Blessing/Curse is a subset of Buffs/Debuffs that have a limited number of uses but no time limit.  When a blessing/curse is activated, it will consume belief/dread of the one using it.  The blessing/curse is characteristic of the blesser/curser and the maximum effect of the blessing/curse is determined by the power of the one the belief/dread is from.  ie: a sword god blessing will increase the power of a sword strike while a farmer¡¯s blessing will increase the effect of food at a much smaller amount.  Belief earned from the farmer can¡¯t be applied to the sword god¡¯s blessing and vice versa.


    After obtaining enough belief from a single source, a blessing skill can be formed.  The most common source for this is from gods.  This is why having a high Faith with one god will not allow you to have skills from another god without also earning belief from them.


    Belief/dread does not have a regeneration rate and can only be obtained through actions.


    Maximum belief/dread storable for Faith/Terror is a ratio of 1:5, for Hope/Enmity 1:2, for Devotion/Malice 1:5, for Conviction Malevolence 1:10.


    Faith/Terror increases the amount of time that buffs/debuffs last by modifier (1 + Faith / 1000).


    Hope/Enmity increases the effect of buffs/debuffs and blessings/curses by (1 + SQRT(Faith * Hope / 100000)).


    Devotion/Malice increases the amount of belief/dread received by modifier (1 +SQRT(Faith * Devotion / 100000)).


    Conviction/Malevolence lowers the belief/dread cost of skills by modifier (0.9^(SQRT(Conviction * Faith / 25000))).


    (G)Faith/Terror [value others place on you, buff time]


    Sec-Faith


    Hope/Enmity [buff effect]


    Devotion/Malice [belief production]


    Tert-Faith


    Conviction/Malev [belief reduction, ailment reduction]


    Humility


    Threat or hate is a function of prioritizing who is causing you the most trouble.  This is done automatically and produces a red outline around the opponent that is only visible to you.  A higher threat creates a brighter red glow.  This holds true for both people and monsters.  The more a monster threatens you the brighter it will be outlined.


    Guardian classes (Warden, protector, shield bearer...) have more extensive outlines for threats.  This not quite aura will obscure the threat value of allies behind you if they don¡¯t have a high threat value leaving them untargeted.  When an ally or an ally''s attack passes through the guardian¡¯s outline, a portion of the threat value is redirected to the guardian reducing the threat value of the ally/ally¡¯s skill passing through his outline.  At most, one point of threat is passed to the guardian per ally every ten seconds.


    The maximum additional threat a guardian can accumulate from others increased by Cover at a rate of 1:1, Shelter by 1:2, and Bulwark by 2:1.


    Cover increases the size of the guardian¡¯s threat outline.  Base size is 1 centimeter and each point of Cover increases the size by 1 centimeters.  Outline size = (1 + Cover)cm.


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.Shelter increases the guardian¡¯s defence by (Threat * (SQRT(Shelter * Cover / 10000))) points.


    Bulwark increases the defence of allies who pass threat on to the guardian for (Bulwark * Shelter / 5000) seconds.  Their defence is increased by (0.9^(-SQRT(Bulwark * Cover / 25000)).


    (G)Cover [increases size of threat outline]


    Sec-Shelter


    Shelter [increases defence in relation to increased threat]


    Tert-Shelter


    Bulwark [increases ally defence]


    Safeguard


    Concealment is the basis of stealth classes.  Each point of concealment creates a smudge around the person, as though the surrounding area blended inward upon them.  The amount of smudging is dependent on the total amount of concealment currently active.  Maximum amount of concealment is increased by Stealth at 1:1, Anonymity at 1:2, and Secrecy at 1:3.  Concealment increases at a rate of 1 every ten seconds when the person is still.


    Concealment can¡¯t be maintained/ is broken if the concealed¡¯s movement speed is higher than 1 m/s or if they attack.  Concealment is also reduced if within range of a person with Detection stats.  When the ratio of (Detection / Concealment) is greater than 1 concealment will have a decay rate of losing 1 point every 30 seconds.


    When a person has threat, they can¡¯t earn any concealment points.  This can be rectified by killing the being who is threatened or by leaving the area of that being.  The base distance for most 1st order monsters is 10m, 2nd order 20m, 3rd order 30m.  A more intelligent being, or one with special characteristics, will have a higher distance at which one must travel before they can start losing threat.  After out of this distance, threat will reduce by 1 every 30 seconds.  This can be lowered if the being can¡¯t detect you within this range.


    Stealth increases the offence value of the person attacking when they voluntarily break concealment by (Stealth / 100) for one attack.


    Anonymity lowers threat production.  Each action that would produce threat is lowered by (Anonymity * Stealth / 5000) to a minimum of 1.


    Secrecy lowers the distance at which the threat will begin decay and increases the rate at which distance will lower threat.  Distance is lowered by (Secrecy * Anonymity / 5000) cm to a minimum of 5 meters.  Amount of threat lost is increased by modifier (0.9^(-SQRT(Secrecy * Stealth / 25000)).


    (G)Stealth [increases ATT when breaking concealment]


    Sec -Stealth


    Anonymity [lowers threat accumulation]


    Tert-Stealth


    Secrecy [lowers distance to threat aggression]


    Invisibility


    Merchant classes (shopkeeper, roaming, bulk¡­) deal in currency.  Currency is an object that is traded for other objects/activities as a replacement marker for the value of the object/activity.  ie: coins in the mortal plane, inkwells in the Central Plane.  A merchant can store more currency within their status card for Money at a rate of 1:10, Wealth at 1:20,  and Affluence at 1:25.  It doesn¡¯t matter what value the currency has, just that it is currency.  Barter items don¡¯t count.


    Consumable items are the area of merchant specialty.  These are items that have a limited number of uses and they are gone.  ie: potions, pills, scrolls, throwing objects are the most noteworthy.  The effect of consumable items are increased by Base * (1 + (Money / 10000) + (Wealth / 7500) + (Affluence / 5000)).


    Wealth increases the time of effect and time before degradation of consumable items to (1+(SQRT(Wealth*Money/100000))).  Degradation reduction is only in effect for items that are within personal range of (Money / 500) meters.  Degradation can be considered durability loss due to time, ie: food rots, metal rusts¡­


    Affluence increases the amount of experience earned for selling items and increases the number of uses for spell consumable items.  Experience is increased by modifer (0.9^(-SQRT(Affluence * Money / 25000).  Number of uses is increased to (1 + (SQRT(Affluence * Wealth / 5000))).  ie: a weight lowering spell consumable can be used multiple times before burnout.


    (G)Money [generate currency storage ]


    Sec-Money


    Wealth [Increases consumable effect time]


    Tert-Money


    Affluence [increases xp gain for sale profit, number of uses]


    Prosperity [???]


    Martial arts classes use the consumable resource of Qi.  Qi is formed an inch or two below the belly button called the dantian.  Each point of Qi is created through the combination of mana and stamina.  One point of Qi takes 1000 mana and 100 stamina to create.  The initial speed it can be formed is 10 mana a minute and 1 stamina a minute.  A full point of Qi doesn¡¯t have to be made in one session, it can be made over several.  Interruption while forming Qi will cause damage and negative status effects.


    Qi movement through the body is instant.  Qi can be used to replace mana or stamina in skills and is moved from the dantian through mana channels.  This can cause the skills remaining initiation and activation time to become zero.  Each point of stored Qi will increase offence and defence by 1.


    The maximum amount of Qi is formed by the Dantian stat at a rate of 1:10.


    Breath increases the speed of changing mana and stamina into Qi.  The amount that can be changed per period is increased to (10 + ( Breath / 100)).  The period of time is reduced to (60 * (1 / (1 + (SQRT(Dantian * Breath / 100000)))) seconds.


    Flow increases the efficiency of creating Qi.  The mana/stamina requirement is reduced by modifier (0.9^(SQRT(Flow * Dantian / 25000)).  Natural attack power, for both pAttack and mAttack, is increased by (SQRT(Flow * Breath / 10000)).


    (G)Dantian [generates Qi base stat, max capacity for Qi is 10x value]


    Sec-Qi


    Breath [increases transformation speed of mana/stamina to Qi]


    Tert-Qi


    Flow [increases the efficiency of qi transformation, natural attack]


    It should be noted that many of the natural boosts from stats will be replaced by either active or passive skills.  ie: the heavy mover skill (str, str, mvsp) will allow one to pick up more weight at a lower stamina cost and move at a higher speed.


    Items


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Equipment items can have stat bonuses that are equal to at max half the value of the level of the equipment.  Level of equipment is determined by rarity values of materials used to make it.  This level requirement is character based and not skill based.


    If a person is trying to use an item or equipment for which their level is too low, they can still use it if they meet all stat and grade requirements.  They do not however receive any stat boosts from the item.  All basic stats and extra effects are lowered to (character level/item level)%.  If the requirement is for a higher soul than possessed character lvl is 0.  Stat boosts from equipment do not apply to stat requirements for equipment.


    Quality (needs to meet the requirements to be of greater quality, may have more of less quality)


    Stats value determined by how well it was made.  Quality is based on highest Rarity material value and stats of that rarity.


    Common (Grey) low base stats, no bonuses


    Uncommon (white) clearly higher base stats


    Fine (Blue) 1 bonus stats of 1-10% item level


    Rare (Orange) 1 bonus stats of 10-20% item level


    Epic (Yellow) significantly higher base stats 2 bonus stats of 20-30% item level


    Legendary (green) Major increase in base stats 3 bonus stats of 30-40% item level


    Artifact (black) Massive increase in durability 4 bonus stats of 40-50% item level


    Divine (purple) Max base stats, 5 bonus stats of 50% item level


    Epic quality and higher items are named.  Unique items are one of a kind.


    5 bonus stats should be considered the maximum number of stats a single item can have.


    Rarity (what materials a given item were made of and ability to give non-stat bonuses)


    For equipment and weapons (other items have different rarity bonuses dependent on item):


    Basic base stats only (Armor/Attack, durability, accuracy, all personal boosts...)


    Beginner ailment affliction rate boost


    Novice Direct damage type increase/decrease


    Initiate DOT damage type increase/decrease


    Intermediate elemental damage/protection


    Advanced Stat theft (temporary) [mana steal, health steal, stamina steal¡­]


    Expert elemental affinity


    Adept Useage lvl decrease


    Guru imbued skill


    Master True damage/protection


    Savant elemental absorption


    Grandmaster percentage stat increase


    Divine skill level increase


    Special other than listed above, normally specific to quests


    In the mortal plane, metal materials are as follow (with a comparative for other material usage):  copper (1-25), iron (25-100), (Steel 100-250), black iron (250-400), titanium(400-550), adamantine (550-800), Ohricalcum(800-1000).  1000+ materials are considered mythological (ie: rainbowicorn farts, and tears of fallen stars)


    Grade in items is the effective level of skill needed to use said item. Not many items have a grade, and are able to be used without a specific skill. (ie. sword mastery/handling)  The grade tier of the item cannot exceed the rarity of the item.


    Extra effects (bonus lightning damage, manasteal, lifesteal, hp-regen...) are added dependent upon skill level, type of blacksmith, and rarity of material.  Crafter must know the skill to add skill boosts.  Extra effects that are emplaced during crafting process are not enchantments.  Enchantments that are added to items with same extra effect have increased power but can destroy the item.


    Soulbound items can be made through use of mithral or extensive time of use creating a bond between a person and the item. Soul storage is only up to the same amount of item level as the soul/character level.  An infinite number of level 0 items can be stored.  A level 100 soul can store one lvl 100 item, two lvl 50 items¡­  As many items as wanted can be soulbound, but it doesn¡¯t guarantee item storage.


    Item sets can be created that link up (for a magic circle) to increase base item stats, but the different set items must be physically connected.  Greater than 2-4 items in a set can increase base stats by a value, greater than 5 items in a set can increase base stats by a percentage.


    armor slots: Hands, arms, body, head, waist, legs, feet.


    Weapons: stats are only increased when in use, not when being carried


    Accessory spots (only in effect if armor allows space): rings, neck, bracelet, ankle, waist, eyes, earrings, mouth, shoulders, back(cape/cloak), and underwear.  These are not considered part of equipment for multi armor stacks.


    Armor


    Armor is classified by the way it is made, but the classes are known by the material it is normally made of.  Cloth armor is made by enhancing each thread as it is woven into the armor or material.  Leather armor is enhanced by the fluids that harden the raw material.  Heavy armor is enhanced by inscribing into the material directly.  A single piece of armor can be of multiple types of armor if multiple processes are used.


    Unarmored flesh can be enhanced in armor value through certain class skills and magical tattoos but at base take full damage from all types.


    Cloth armor has  high magic stats.   low weight.  Will often have penalties for might stats.  Will often have bonuses for mana.  low armor high m.armor.  10% increase in stamina consumption.


    Leather armor has high precision stats.  Leather armor has no affinities.  Middle weight.  Will often have penalties for magic stats.  Will often have bonuses for health.  mid armor and m.armor.  25% increase in stamina consumption.


    Heavy armor has high might stats, and has high weight.  Will often have penalties for precision stats.  Will often have bonuses for stamina.  high p.armor low m.armor.  50% increase in stamina consumption.


    When multiple sets of armor are worn on the same part (ie: head, arm, body¡­) the bonus stats (not basic such as p.armor or defence value) is maximized from one armor type.  If two are stacked and one gives +25 STR and the other gives +20 STR, only the higher stat value is applied.  This is calculated after the penalty.  Basic stats are additive assuming that the attack hits the outmost layer and the inner layers both cover the area affected.


    A maximum of three sets of armor can be stacked, with a penalty.  Each set imposes a 50% reduction in increased stats from the armor above it and 10% reduction in the armor below it.  If armor is stacked three times, bottom applies stats at 80%, the middle applies stats at 45%, and top applies stats at 25%.  Penalties associated with the armor are applied in full, but only for the maximum value and isn¡¯t additive.


    With two armors, the bottom stats are applied at 90% and the top armor stats are applied at 50%.


    Armor of a single type can only be worn once in the same equipment spot.


    When multiple sets of armor is worn, the outer layer will take the more durability damage.  Outer layer takes 100%, middle layer takes 50%, inner layer takes 25%.


    Some bonus effects of armor can lower the durability of armor when it activates if the armor going into effect is an inner layer of armor.  This will also lower the power of the bonus effect as part of it is discharged into the outer layer of armor.


    Elemental Mana


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Pure Mana (Transparent/light blue) Existence [diamond]


    Fire (Red)  Alteration  [ruby]  (vibration)


    Wind (Green)  Movement  [emerald]  ()


    Water (Blue) Deflection (Reflection/Balance)  [Lapis Lazuli]  (twin spirals/ yin yang symbol)


    Earth (Brown) Structure [Tiger¡¯s Eye] (geode squares)


    Lightning (Yellow) Separation [citrine]  (separate planes)


    Ice (Teal) Restriction (combined movement) [sapphire] (ordered sphere expand to connection)


    Nature (Dark Green) Divergence (fractals) [agate]  (fibonacci formation)


    Metal (Grey) Arrangement/order (patterned) [spinel]  (Points connected by lines)


    Light (White) Refinement/ Expulsion [opal]  (expanding from center)


    Sound (Orange) Compression [spessarite garnet]  (collapsing to center)


    Darkness (Black) Absorption [onyx]  (spiraling into center)


    Soul (Purple) Connection  [amethyst]  (two linked points)


    Mana forms it¡¯s natural state (Pure mana) and simply floats around waiting to be absorbed or used.  In certain places the environment (ie: inside a volcano) will convert the mana out of its natural pure mana stat and into the one that is applied by the environment.  This can also happen on a smaller scale (a campfire) with an associatedly lower amount of mana being converted.


    When enough mana is converted in an area, the further conversion of mana will push the already formed mana away.  This does not tend to spread outward evenly, instead it will flow where there is a lower density of mana, be it ambient pure mana or other types of formed mana.  These flows are called ley lines and are most easily formed by primary type mana.  Ley line mana can also be absorbed by mana stones.  When opposite ley lines connect (ie: fire and water, light and dark¡­), they mana locks.


    A locked particle of mana, being ¡°heavier¡± that all other types of mana, will fall against the pressure that mana outputs when there is large quantities of it.  When a locked particle of mana collides with another locked particle of mana, two new particles of pure mana are emitted.  This can happen ten times before the locked particle is exhausted and no longer emits new mana.  The most common point in the mortal plane for lock particles is the center of the world.


    When non-opposite leyline mana connects they don¡¯t lock.  As long as the streams are not of the four primary mana types, they can coexist before the split apart.


    Mana can be converted from one form to another, excluding non-elemental that does this naturally, at a cost of half efficiency with direction and fourth efficiency against direction.  Shortest pathing to calculate, conversion is direct, there is no actual conversion through the steps.  i.e. light mana can be used in place of dark mana at a ratio of 512 to 1, hence why it isn¡¯t really done outside of places consisting of near pure mana of one type.


    Areas with high concentrations of singular types of mana will enhance the power of that mana while lowering in ability of others.  Standard mana is pure mana with negligible bits of formed mana.  As such, in areas where one particular mana is formed from half the ambient mana, other types of mana will only be powered at 50% efficiency and speed while that type will have a boosted formation speed and effective power of 150%.


    Element relations


    Elements that are strong against another are from the element to the element.  Elements that are weak are arrow pointed to them. (ie: water is strong against earth and sound but weak to wind and light.  It should be noticed that primary and tertiary elements do not directly conflict with each other despite the possibility that their effects do (ie: fire and ice mana don¡¯t have any interactions but fire will melt ice).  Generally, the effect of a primary mana will hurt the effect of the nearest tertiary mana effect.


    Damage


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    damage types:  blunt, piercing, slashing, internal, explosive


    Elemental (see magic chart)


    Dot: bleed, burn(fire/acid), poison


    special: fall, doom, soul death


    environmental: drowning/choking, heat/cold, crush/pressure


    Blunt: attack does even damage in an area ( area is of moderate size compared to target)


    Piercing:  attack does damage at a single point (area is of small size compared to target)


    Slash:  attack does damage along a line


    Internal:  attack hits inner organs/matter of target


    Explosive:  attack does diminishing damage in an area (lower away from center)


    Bleed:  does continuous damage over time and diminishes as time passes.  Related to: hemorrhage


    Burn:  does continuous damage over time and leaves a weakened area and status ailment.  Related to: acid, incineration, melt, immolation


    Poison:  does continuous damage over time at a constant rate.  Related to: Venom, toxin


    Fall:  single time damage that does more damage when greater weight is carried, final hit speed determines damage.  Related, momentum damage


    Doom:  Deals increasing damage over time until death (1, 2, 4, 8, 16¡­) damage is highly based on first tick


    Soul Death:  attack that destroys the soul leaving no chance of resuscitation after death.  Most commonly seen with tribulation attacks


    Choking: seen when no air can reach the lungs (ie: space or filled with water), continuous damage until air is obtained


    Temperature:  Either too hot or cold will create status ailment that lasts after leaving the area that applied the effect (ie: colds, frostbite, heatstroke, dehydration¡­), heavy enough effect can cause repeated damage.


    Pressure:  when the inward pressure (normally air pressure) is increased or decreased drastically damage is taken once (afterward choking damage is normally applied)


    Damage modification is based on outer armor type and damage type.  (lower is better)


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Modification(%)</td><td width="25%">Blunt</td><td width="25%">Piercing</td><td width="25%">Slash</td><td width="25%">Internal</td><td width="25%">Explosive</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Unarmored</td><td width="25%">110</td><td width="25%">100</td><td width="25%">100</td><td width="25%">90</td><td width="25%">100</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Cloth</td><td width="25%">90</td><td width="25%">100</td><td width="25%">110</td><td width="25%">110</td><td width="25%">90</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Leather</td><td width="25%">100</td><td width="25%">80</td><td width="25%">70</td><td width="25%">120</td><td width="25%">120</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Heavy</td><td width="25%">130</td><td width="25%">70</td><td width="25%">70</td><td width="25%">130</td><td width="25%">100</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Substitute Physical or Magical subtypes for offence, defence, armor and attack.


    Class bonus can be both positive and negative.


    Damage =total offence * total attack * masteries +skill damage


    masteries = [(1 + damage type master) * (1 + weapon mastery) * (1 + magic mastery)...]


    total offence = (offence + skill offence) * (1 + damage type mastery) * (1 + accuracy boost)


    Accuracy boost = ((Accuracy - Offence )/( 2 * Offence)


    total Attack = (weapon attack + skill attack) * (0.5 + class bonus)


    protection = (total defence * total armor + skill protection) * (protection modifier)


    total defence= (defence + skill defence) (1 + damage type resistance)


    armor# = armor of equipment * (0.5 +class bonus) * armor type mastery


    total armor = armor(heavy) * (MAP) +armor(leather) * (MAP) +armor(cloth) * (MAP) +unarmored


    Damage taken = (damage * damage modification) * (1 + Crit mod)  - protection + true damage


    Multi-Armor Penalty(MAP) depends on layer of armor.


    Elemental


    elemental damage = Damage * affinity power


    Affinity Power = (affinity + skill affinity) * (1 + class bonus) * element mastery


    elemental protection(+) =  protection * elemental defence * (protection modifier)


    elemental protection(-) =   protection / |elemental defence| * (protection modifier)


    elemental defence(+) = (2 * affinity strong - 2 * affinity weak + affinity) * (1 + class bonus) * (1 + elemental affinity resistance)


    elemental defence(-) = (2 * affinity strong - 2 * affinity weak + affinity) * (1 + class bonus) / (1 + elemental affinity resistance)


    e.damage taken = (e.damage * damage modification)  - elemental protection  +true e.damage


    Elemental damage can be physical or magical.  As such, magical and physical elemental damage and protection must first go through their respective calculations.


    e.defence(+) is used when affinity value is > 1, e.defence(-) is used when < -1.  When |e.defence| < 1, e.defence is ignored and base protection is used.


    e.protection(+) is used when e.defence value positive, e.protection(-) is used when negative.


    a negative affinity power will prevent the usage of elemental skills of that element.


    Souls


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Mortal  [Lifespan of 80-100 years] 5 stats/lvl


    Ascension of minor Tribulation  (Move to Central Planes)


    Forged (lvl 100) lvl 1 shown [Lifespan pause of ~100 years] 6 stats/lvl


    Trial of Fire [ can lvl skills below expert and below]


    Tempered (lvl 10,000) lvl 100 shown [lifespan pause up ~150 years] add secondary stats


    Ascension of Major Tribulation  (Move to Greater Planes)


    Seeking (lvl 100,000) lvl 1 shown [Lifespan pause of ~200 years] 7 stats/lvl


    Trial of Void


    Immortal (lvl 10,000,000) lvl 100 shown [Lifespan pause infinite] add tertiary stats


    Ascension of Greater Tribulation  (Move to High Plane)


    Pure (lvl 100,000,000) lvl 1 shown 8 stats/lvl


    Trial of Power


    Divine (lvl 10,000,000,000) lvl 100 shown [add quaternary stats] can¡¯t be killed unless soul death


    Ascension of Godhead (Move to Vast Plane)


    Deity (lvl 100,000,000,000) lvl 1 shown  10 stats/lvl


    Because of the widely fluctuating lvls, people are also know by what order they are: lvl 1-9 are 0st order, 10-99 first order¡­  Anyone who has a deity soul is a minimum of 11th order.


    A person that goes from a higher plane to a lower plane has a soul type of returnee.  A Tempered returnee might have an effective level of 10000, but can only apply power at a level 100. Someone going from a higher plane to a lower will have exp penalty applied as though they were in a lower plane.  It is noteworthy to mention that returnees are highly sought after to defeat because they will give exp 100 times more than their level would indicate.


    The exp required for a soul to level up is the level being attempted squared minus the level at squared.  (( Next lvl ) ^ 2 - (Current lvl) ^ 2 ) * Soul Factor.  Soul Factor for mortal is 10.  Forged and tempered 1k, Seeking and immortal 1m, Pure and Divine 1b, deity 1t.


    Experience earned from killing a monster is equal to (SQRT(Monster lvl / ((Monster lvl + 1)^2 - (Monster lvl)^2))).


    Infant -> Child - > Young -> Mortal


    Young soul


    can easily learn skills


    can¡¯t lvl skills


    can¡¯t lvl up


    soul automatically moved to mortal after puberty and all skills lost


    can achieve stat, but at a reduced rate until reaching mortal


    first successful skill attempted after becoming mortal is registrable on status card


    Races / Traits


    Basic mortal race traits


    Human +10% effect to light skill greater than lvl intermediate 1


    Dwarf  +10% effect to earth skills greater than lvl intermediate 1


    Elf  +10% effect to wind skills greater than than lvl intermediate 1


    Beastman +10% effect to physical damage skills greater than lvl intermediate 1


    Fae  +10% effect to non-elemental magic greater than lvl intermediate 1


    Spirit +10% effect to soul skills greater than lvl intermediate 1


    Gnomes +10% effect to metal skills greater than lvl intermediate 1


    Shades +10% effect to darkness skills greater than lvl intermediate 1


    Orcs +15% effect to might skills greater than lvl intermediate 1


    Mer +10% effect to water skills greater than lvl intermediate 1


    Avian +15 effect to flight skills greater than lvl intermediate 1


    Automatons +10% to lightning skills greater than lvl intermediate 1


    Frostborn +10% effect to ice skills greater than lvl intermediate 1


    Troll +10% effect to nature skills greater than lvl intermediate 1


    Bonair  +10% effect to sound skills greater than lvl intermediate 1


    Human  (10hp, 10mp, 1 stamina, 5 free)


    Dwarf   (10hp, 10mp, 1 stamina, 5 free)


    Elf    (10hp, 10mp, 1 stamina, 5 free)


    Beastman  (10hp, 2 stamina, 5 free)


    Fae   (5hp, 5mp, 0.1mp regen, 1 stamina, 5 free)


    Spirit  (5hp, 25mp, 5 free)


    Gnomes (5hp, 5mp, 2 stamina, 5 free)


    Shades (10hp, 10mp, 10 hunger, 5 free)


    Orcs  (10hp, 1 stamina, 1 Offence, 5 free)


    Mer  (10hp, 10mp, 10 thirst, 5 free)


    Avian (10hp, 0.1 Movespeed, 1 stamina, 5 free)


    Automatons (15hp, 5mp, 0.1 mp regen, 5 free)


    Frostborn  (5hp, 5mp, 0.1hp regen, 1 stamina, 5 free)


    Troll  (10 hp,  0.1 hp regen, 1 stamina, 5 free)


    Bonair  (5hp, 5mp, 0.1 attack speed, 1 stamina, 5 free)


    Human: if you don¡¯t know what a human looks like...


    Dwarf: shorter and wider than humans, tend to dig cities downward


    Elf:  taller and thinner than humans, tend to build upward


    Beastman:  Have fur and many subspecies of beasts, ability to transform from a humanoid to more fully animalistic


    Fae:  vestigial wings that allow for the collection of mana, vary in size from tiny to giant


    Spirit:  partially transparent, able to pass through physical objects


    Gnomes:  small in stature, gnomes are considered twitchy by other races


    Shades:  Two dimensional (stupid jump puzzles)


    Orcs:  Taller than elves wider than dwarves with thick leathery skin and tusked teeth,


    Mer:  gills


    Avian:  Don¡¯t have arms have wings.


    Automatons: not made of flesh and blood but metal and oil


    Frostborn:


    Troll:  similar in size to Orcs or larger, ability to naturally regrow lost limbs


    Bonair:  humanoid with extra organ along arm that connects to lungs allowing exhaling through these organs.


    Classes and skills


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Common classes


    Warrior (tendency to stamina skills)


    Rogue (tendency to speed and criticals)


    Mage (tendency to use mana)


    No class is exclusive to a common class.  A warrior blacksmith will focus on creating many swords of slightly above average power.  A rouge blacksmith will create many low and a few highly powered.  A mage blacksmith will create normal power with extra effects.


    higher grade classes skills depend more heavily on higher grade stats


    acquiring a class normally requires certain precursor skills of the class before attaining


    i.e. the beginner swordman class requires sword handling to beginner lvl 1


    Many times a lower grade class that is needed for multiple higher grade classes will restrict a person to just one of those higher grade classes.  i.e. two sword schools will not teach the same student their skills or have incompatible skills that prevent learning the different skills.


    Max level and grade of skills are increased/unlocked by higher classes of same pathing


    Grades Stats


    0    Basic Basic


    1    Beginner 1 Primary


    2    Novice 2 Primary


    3   Initiate 3 Primary


    4    Intermediate 1 Secondary


    5   Advanced 2 Secondary


    6    Expert 3 Secondary


    7    Adept 1 Tertiary


    8    Guru 2 Tertiary


    9    Master 3 Tertiary


    10  Savant 1 Quaternary


    11  Grandmaster 2 Quaternary


    12  Divine 3 Quaternary


    A skill can have at most 3 stats, and must use a base stat for cost if an active skill.  (ie: str+str+str, int+will+con, str+offence+Force


    A skill or class with a good modifier will be better than one with higher grade but bad modifier at the same experience level.  When tiering up a class or skill modifier can change depending on actions undertaken.


    skills and spell have four stages


    initiation [time it take to begin]


    activation [time it takes skill to form]


    effect [time skill is working]


    cooldown [minimum time between activation end and initiation start]


    There are four periods to any skill or spell.  Initiation, activation, effect, and cooldown.


    Initiation is the time between starting to move mana or stamina to the point of the skill and having enough there to use.  This is more prominent in mana based skills than in stamina based skills


    Activation is the period of time between having enough mana to use the skill, and it going into effect.  For example, after casting a spell and closing the spell point.  When this happens the mana remains floating in the circle.  After the proper time has passed it Activates.


    Effect is the period of time in which the skill will remain active.  This varies between different skills and how powerful an effect they have.  Most easily seen with buffs.


    Cooldown is the period of time after either activation or effect before a skill or spell can be initiated again.  This is more prominent in stamina skills than in mana skills.


    For some skills, notably passive skills, there is little to no initiation or activation times.


    For other skills, called spamables, there is little to no cooldown period.


    Skills fall under 3 categories: generated, derived, and sub.


    Generated skills can be learned without any requirements of a skill and simply need to be done repeatedly in order to form the skill.  A teacher can correct the way a person learns the skill to make it easier to learn.


    When a skill reaches a bottleneck point, normally at the boundary of level tiers, a derived skill will be needed to break the bottleneck.  This is not the rule for all skills but happens most frequently when going into Intermediate, Adept, and Savant levels.  Some skills will never require a derived skill to level, some skills will require multiple derived skills.  Derived skills are most often needed for the more powerful skills.


    Additionally, not all derived skills require only one precursor skill.  Some require multiple precursor skills.  More exotic derived skills can require specific skills from widely ranging stat types.  This is where basic classes that have well defined skill sets, and clans that have their own history of what skills lead onward, have the advantage.  Derived skills are of the same or higher grade than the precursor skill.  Rarely a derived skill can be generated separately from its precursor.


    A subskill is a skill that can be easily learned after a precursor skill has been learned to a certain level.  Using a subskill will add experience to its precursor skill at a lower rate, ie: Slash will add low exp to sword handling and normal exp to itself.  This is especially helpful with passive precursor skills.  Subskills normally have the same grade or lower than the precursor skill, but can be of higher level than the precursor skill.


    When a skill levels and reaches the point of tier up, it requires a change to advance.  The change is normally one of intensity, duration, cost, or area of effect.  Occasionally a skill can have multiple possible changes but each different one will require different derived skills.  Some skills have only one possible change on tiering up, ie reading going up only allows reading higher grade books.


    Skill notation: Skill = general, Magic consumes mana, techniques consume stamina...


    Groups


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Guilds (systematic official groups)


    Mages guild (for magical nature, sub guilds include wizard, enchanter, magician¡­)


    Warriors guild (for melee nature, sub guilds of guardian, berserker, Knights¡­)


    Rogues guild (for precision in nature, sub guilds of archers, assassins, acrobats¡­)


    Crafters guild (for maker of equipment, sub of blacksmiths, tailors, bladesmith¡­)


    Adventurers (for dungeon crawlers, provide dungeon related missions)


    Scouting guild (for the Explorers, sub guilds of thieves, wanderers¡­)


    Guild of Arts (for makers of art, sub guilds of sculptors, dancers, bards¡­)


    A town must have a mages, warriors and rogues guild to gain a charter, these guilds are where status plates are distributed


    Guild Members have ranks, both personal and overall, for the area the guild is ranked by (ie: human guild don¡¯t compete against elf or beastman guilds). There is some acnolegment of accomplishment across different areas.  The person has a rank within the registered chapter house, and a personal overall rank rank.  A lower number indicates that a person has done more of value than people below them, ie: a task completed gives a point value.  Some tasks can only be accepted if you are of high enough rank or have a high enough number of points.  Guild chapters also tend to have extra bonuses for high ranking members as added perks.  What needs to be accomplished is different for each type of guild.  ie: crafters guilds require x number of an item to be made while adventurers guilds give points for clearing dungeons.


    Family (small tight knit groups)


    Group of people that are able know the general location and status of other family members from their house.  Can break the link only at the house that hold the status plate link.


    Clans (long term groups that share, noted for in clan schools)


    Clans know the general location and status of lower tier clan members through same magic of Families on a larger scale.  Must be at the clan base to accept membership and set up status plate communication.  Most clans have formed a name for themselves by great actions in the world.


    Schools (Have at least a single skill they teach)


    A group whose members have the ability to pass the same skills, and normally a class, onto other people.  A school will often have a rivalry with another school of the same type of class.  Schools can also have a status plate connection, unable to break from distance.


    Groups for fighting


    These groups are normally combined using a common method of connecting status cards for distribution of experience.  A leader must be designated in each of these groups.  The leader can be changed or kick out any member of the party when not in combat.  A member of the group can leave the group at anytime not in combat.


    Party (group of two to six people for minor work for a short time)


    Team Subset of party, a team is a party registered within a guild for group activities over a longer period of time.


    Raid (group of between two and six parties for greater dungeon clearing)


    Troop (group of between three and six raids with a minimum of 70 people)


    Company (group of between 3 and six cohorts with minimum of 300 people) requires a Lord¡¯s authority and leadership skill of captain or higher


    Battalion (group of between 3 and six companies with minimum of 1200 people) requires a Baron¡¯s authority and leadership skill of lieutenant colonel or higher


    Regiment (group of between 3 and six battalions with minimum of 4000 people) requires a viscount¡¯s authority and leadership skill of colonel or higher


    Brigade (group of between 3 and six regiments with minimum of 20,000 people) requires a Counts authority and leadership skill of brigadier or higher


    Division (group of between 3 and six brigades with minimum of 100,000 people) requires a Marquis¡¯ authority and leadership skill of general or higher


    Corps (group of between 3 and six brigades with minimum of 500,000 people) requires a Duke¡¯s authority and leadership skill of two star general or higher


    Army (group of between 3 and six corps with minimum of 2,000,000 people) requires a  Prince¡¯s authority and leadership skill of three star general or higher


    Front (group of between 3 and six corps with minimum of 10,000,000 people) requires a Monarch¡¯s authority and leadership skill of four star general or higher


    Theater (group of between 3 and six fronts with minimum of 40,000,000 people) requires a Emperor¡¯s authority and leadership skill of Marshal


    Creatures and Dungeons


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Animals [basic form of creature]


    Beast [mana altered animal that has increased natural traits]  ie size, speed, power


    Magical Beast [mana altered animal with fundamental nature change] ie hellhounds, thunderbird


    Monster [being created by a dungeon out of mana]


    There are four grades of creatures, basic, named, champion, and boss.  Named gives a 125% multiple, champion 150%, Boss a 200% bonus to stats.  Titan and tyrant monsters are special.


    Dungeons are formed when enough mana has collected into mana stones in a small area.  This causes a warp in the area that forms a link between the physical planes and the elemental planes.  When this happens the mana near the mana stones, that are now in a sub-plane that exists outside of the physical plane and the elemental plane, will mix into monsters.  The plane that is linked is dependent on the type of mana absorbed by the mana crystals.  While here, the mana crystals will release the mana they have collected and that mana will be ¡°eaten¡± by the monsters or absorbed by the linked elemental plane.  When all the mana in the crystals has be released, the dungeon will collapse forcing all of the physical matter (including the created monsters) back out into the physical plane it came from.


    Dungeons last between three weeks and three months before closing at which time any monster that have been spawned and not cleared will be forced to leave the dungeon into the wider world.  Dungeons are evaluated based on the level of the closest monsters to the entrance.  Few Dungeons have more than three types of monsters and a boss or champion monster.


    Beasts and magical beasts can obtain sentience after reaching the needed order.  The timing is dependent on the base type of animal and how much mana has altered them from the base.  Monsters only have a semblance of sentience if named or higher, can interact but follow a larger instruction set they can¡¯t deviate from.


    Beasts and magical beasts learn skills through ancestral heritage.  They can be taught by others of their own kind but it is unlikely.  They can also go through ascension but not before becoming a champion, it will happen at random times depending on strength and beast type.


    Monsters cannot learn new skills but can increase power of the ones they have.  Named monster have slightly higher skill levels.  Champions have higher skill levels and one or two different skills.  Bosses have skills of higher level and grade than their counterparts along with extra skills.  Additional special types include: titan, tyrant, imperial, destroyer, and others.


    Animals/beasts have an animal soul (different from a mortal soul), monsters have a mana core.


    Training


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Warrior training (trains primary might stats and high amount of stamina)


    basic training hall [+40 str & vit, endurance, 100hp, weapon, bracers]


    beginner training hall [+60 str & vit, fortitude, might skill, weight bracers]


    novice training hall [+100 str & vit, Brawn & Physique, might skill, weight bracers]


    initiate training hall [+ clout & constitution, might class, weight bracers]


    Rogue training (trains primary precision stats and moderate amount of stamina)


    basic obstacle runner [+40 agil & luck, reflex, +1 msp, ankle bracelet, boots]


    beginner obstacle runner [+60 agil & luck, quick, prec skill, gloves]


    novice obstacle runner [+100 agil & luck, flex & intuition, prec skill, gloves]


    initiate obstacle runner [+ finesse & percp, prec class, gloves]


    Mage training (trains primary magic stats and low amount of stamina)


    basic library patronage [+40 int & wis, concentration, 100mp, library card, mana stone]


    beginner library patronage [+60 int & wis, reso, magic skill, library card]


    novice library patronage [+100 int & wis, insight & knowledge, magic skill, library card]


    initiate library patronage [+ acumen & judgement, magic class, library card]


    The training equipment gained (bracers, ankle bracelet, library card) are special equipable items that lower the person¡¯s stats the amount that had been gained through this special training.  This keeps normal acquisition of stat from being massively more difficult.


    Circles


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Formations occurs when beings that naturally emit mana are set into a configuration that activates a natural magic circle.  Minimum number needed for a circle is three with small bonuses.  No personal use by anyone in the formation is needed but at least one of them needs to know the formation.  Formations are part of the reason military forces are stronger having all been taught the same system of formation.


    Permanents absorb ambient mana to create an effect.  An official city is a formation set in a way that depletes nearby mana to cast a continuous keep away spell.  This causes only low level (dependent on size of city) animals to remain near cities.


    Spells require mana to be imbued but the imbuer doesn¡¯t have to know the spell.  After charged with mana the spell can be activated.  Normally requires a mana stone as focus.  Knowing a circle spell means you can create an object that after mana is added will produce the effect.


    Quests


    quest are system recognized assignments that are displayed upon offering through your status plate. experience is also given through the status plate and as such cannot be obtained before a common class is gained. max of three slots without a quest skill.


    mission (gives xp on completion, most often obtained from official guild jobs completion will give both xp and points toward increasing a person''s rank in the guild, must return to guild to finish)


    task (gives money or items on completion, can also be called a job or work, tends to collection, must return to task giver to complete)


    request (gives good xp and miscellaneous other on completion, can be initiated by non-officials and don¡¯t need to return to request giver to complete unless so specified)


    quest  (gives massive xp, high quality items, and sometimes money on completion.  can be initiated by non-officials and the quest giver may be required to join you.  completion of quests do not require returning to the quest giver unless specified to do so.)


    Death


    After any creature, monster, NPC or player dies, their body will remain until five minutes after combat ends.  During this time, skills that salvage parts from a dead body, ie skinning, removing meat, stealing equipment, can be used.  If one isn¡¯t used, there is a random evaluation of what can drop.


    After the five minutes have passed, the body will turn to grey and wisp away like ash floating above a fire.  Soulbound items cannot be dropped.  How said being was killed will affect some drops, ie decapitation will be more likely to leave a skull than a leg bone if either are a possible drop.


    On death, a person¡¯s status plate registers who or what contributed damage to that person¡¯s death.  This information is relayed to the linked status plates the persons common class guild hall and any school, family, or clan of which they are a member.


    If a person has contributed to another¡¯s death, a notice of killing will be linked to their status plate.  After a certain number of killings, a blood red diamond will float over their head that is visible through Observation.  This can be removed through completion of dangerous missions and general monster kill until it goes away.  The person will still have a killer¡¯s mark on their status plate unless removed by a guild or going through ascension.

 Prelude 7: Dust and Nowhere

    ¡°Oh, not too long.¡±  Madeline grinned at him manically, no longer trying to hide her mirth.  ¡°With your bonus experience from the modifier and your class it shouldn¡¯t take too long.  No more than about.... a hundred and twenty thousand mana or so.¡±


    Magnus brain stuttered to a stop for a long moment in time.  ¡°Wha¡­ wha¡­ WHAT!?!¡±


    <hr />


    Prelude 7:  Dust and Nowhere


    Magnus started shouting this time, ¡°What do you mean a hundred and twenty thousand mana is not very long!¡±  He began to froth at the mouth and would have continued, but ¡®The Look¡¯ that Madeline gave him froze the frantic rabbit.  So he continued in a calmer manner, ¡°I only have 100 mana and it takes ten seconds to recover a single point of mana with Mana Recovery.  Just sitting and resting for ten minutes would be faster.  So just recovering 120,000 mana would take a minimum of¡­¡± Magnus paused as he tried to do a quick and dirty calculation in his head.


    But Madeline cut him short, ¡°Two hundred hours, yes, I know.  But it¡¯s still much faster than without your class increase.  Instead of one experience for every hundred mana or so, it will only take seventy mana per experience.  Much better than the 180,000 mana it would take someone without your advantages.  No more complaints,¡± she said, a stern look on her face.


    Magnus slowly nodded his head as he mulled over what Madeline had said.  Sure, 120k mana was a lot but it was only two thirds of what it could have been.  The only major set back was how little mana he had in comparison.  ¡°Is there a way to increase how much mana I have in my pool?¡±  He started when he looked up, finding that Madeline had picked up the table and the stones, walked to the door and put them away.  All without him noticing.


    Madeline did something to the back door and a thump could be heard from inside.  Turning to Magnus, she answered his question as though talking to a little child.  ¡°Yes.  Just more of what you¡¯re doing in the library will increase your mana pool.  You can also level up and enjoy a small increase.  Or you can continuously use mana skills and eventually achieve a few extra Intellect points that will increase your pool.  There are a few items you could buy that would increase it temporarily, but none that you could afford right now.¡±


    Shuffling across the ground, she kept talking as she approached the side door.  ¡°It¡¯s a bit late to get a room at the inn so you can stay here tonight.  Although as freeman you might not even need to sleep.  I suggest you keep practicing your magic at every chance you get.  For your book problem¡­ try looking in the magic section first.  If you come by around noon tomorrow I might have some lunch to share.¡±  With one hand holding the door open, she turned her head toward Magnus.  ¡°Night,¡± she said gently, and left.


    Confused by her sudden exit, Magnus checked his status screen and saw just how late it had grown.  His research had prepared him for what he needed to do next, he just wasn¡¯t as prepared as he thought.


    ¡°Fade to the World,¡± Magnus called out.  A few seconds later, Magnus fell to his knees and planted face first into the ground.


    Or rather, his avatar did.  There were two ways to logout of Grand Planes.  The first was the mandatory emergency log out that could be activated by moving the eyes focus to the bottom left corner of the eye for a few seconds.  This had the penalty of not removing the body from play.  The second is the skill he had just used that would cause the body to disappear over an hour long period.  If damaged, this time it would restart.  Magnus clearly hadn¡¯t understood what would happen if he didn¡¯t brace his body first.


    -|- -|- -|-


    Mattimeo stepped out a door in his homespace.  And quickly felt his newest problem.  Racing to the front of his virtual home, he crashed through the outer door and into darkness.  The lid of his capsule popped open, but he he couldn¡¯t free himself yet.  As the microdust dripped away, he had to wait until it cleared most of his body or the capsule wouldn¡¯t work correctly upon his return.  Taking no more than ten seconds to pull away, an eternity passed for Mattimeo.


    At last released, he sprinted out of his room as his belly jiggling and gooseflesh covered exposed skin.  Slamming the bathroom door shut, he found relief.  Mattimeo had just discovered what everyone found on their first log out.  While in game, the capsule disconnects you from feeling the normal condition of your body.  But that doesn¡¯t mean the body''s normal processes stop.  And the first feeling that everyone gets on their first return is¡­ dramatic.


    Relaxed now, Mattimeo returned to his room for clothes before going in search of food.  Although just short of two days had passed in game, little more than five hours had passed in reality and supper time had arrived.


    As he walked into the kitchen, he saw his father relaxing in his chair with a book.  ¡°Up kind of late aren¡¯t you dad?¡±  Mattimeo asks this before the old old clock began to chime the six o¡¯clock hour.  He put some soup onto the burner and pulled out the peanut butter and a slice of bread.


    Matthias, after pushing up his glasses, waved the blank sheet of paper at his son.  ¡°Yeah, I just got immersed in your game manual.  I never actually looked into the game in depth before.¡±  A self deprecating grin plastered itself on his face.  He did work for the company that made the game.  Stretching as he stood, Matthias let out a large yawn.  ¡°But you¡¯re right, it¡¯s time I got to bed.  Have fun with your game.¡±  Leaving his stuff lay, he walked to his room.


    Waiting on his food, Mattimeo grabbed his dad¡¯s glasses and the book he had been reading.  With the glasses down over his eyes, he could see the book printed on the smart paper.  He flipped to the front and found the title, ¡®Grand Planes Instruction Manual.¡¯  Huh, I never really looked into this since they never tell you anything anyway.  As he flipped through the pages, he felt vindicated.  The first hundred pages alone dealt with diagnosing problems with your capsule.  And almost all of them said, call Horizon and a crew will come out to take care of it.


    He had given up on this book when he saw how little information it held compared to the far vaster content of the wiki.  But with nothing else to do while eating his supper, he flipped farther through the manual than ever before.


    Most, he had found through the wiki.  The basic knowledge the book contained hadn¡¯t been in as concise a package, but he had found most of it.  Unfortunately, he skipped past the short section on accessing the tutorial this time as well.  He did find a general map of the human lands that Horizon had made for the beginning players.  The map hadn¡¯t been updated since the start so all the new places weren¡¯t shown and it held no interactivity for Mattimeo.


    I must be far to the west.


    Finding one section he could use immediately, he shoveled down the last of his supper in his mouth and dropped his dished in the sink.  As he returned to his room, he covered an escaping yawn.  His body was not tired, but Mattimeo had accumulated a full days mental fatigue and he felt it.


    He quickly checked the filter on his capsule, not really expecting much to be in it but trying to get into the habit.  Stripping once more, he got back into the capsule¡¯s chair and suffered through the slow creep of the microdust.


    Again within his homespace, he walked to the end of the hallway to the Grand Planes door.  Instead of going through he tapped his index finger against the etched title of the door.  A window popped up before him and he gladly changed a few settings.  Now, when he logged out of Grand Planes he wouldn¡¯t stop in his homespace and would directly exit the capsule.  The bonus being that the micro dust would begin slithering away more quickly.


    Once more unto the brink, thought Mattimeo in good cheer as he stepped through the door.


    -|- -|- -|-


    Once more surround in an starry night sky, this time without a green castle or pretty girl nearby, a window appear without fanfare for Magnus.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Materialize at your last position ( 0 )


    Materialize at the nearest respawn point ( 0 )</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Still wanting to experiment a bit, and not having anywhere else to go, Magnus clicked for his last position.  Ugg, thought Magnus as he rubbed his face, not understanding why it hurt so much.  He had materialized upright and had no idea of the hour his face spent pressed down into the ground.  Deliberately ignoring it, he tried to guess the time based on how long he had been in the real world.  Not quite half of an hour translated to almost four hours in game.  Madeline¡¯s light had dispersed but the moonlight fell bright enough to see the approximate location of stuff on the training ground.  By rough guestimation Magnus figured it to be better than halfway through the night.


    He did plan on sleeping in game but diverted himself into practicing at least a little bit of his new magic.  Running over what he had learned in his mind he picked out Warmth to be his first target.  With the night air beginning to get colder, it would both help with advancing his skills and warding off chill.


    Wanting to know how the system assist worked, he began experimenting with it.  ¡°Warmth,¡± Magnus called out fully expecting nothing to happen.  And he was right.  Just what I thought, there is no way this could be easy.


    Taking his next step, he drew a sliver of mana out into the palm of his hand.  ¡°Warmth,¡± he called again.  And again, nothing happened.  More and more he kept pulling mana out, ¡°Warmth.  Warmth.  Warmth.¡±  At last, he found the lower limit of the system assist and the mana began vibrating itself before activating.


    The amount of mana was not the normal 10 points of mana he could control, but not a lot less.  Call it eight mana.  But the effect fell much much smaller.  Still pouring his mana into continuing the effect, Magnus could tell that while the warmth covered his palm it didn¡¯t even reach the base of his fingers.


    Just enough mana to get the skill to activate and there is less than a quarter the effect.  Magnus had stumbled onto a significant part of the world, variability of strength.  Just as tossing a stone and pitching a stone will send the stone different distances, so too will changing the amount of a resource you put into a skill.


    Starting to feel light headed, he stopped the flow of his mana and sat on the bench.  Placing his fists together with tiredness in his voice he started anew, ¡°Mana Recovery.¡±  He regretted it right away as without anything to concentrate on he felt the weight of his day fall fully upon him.  Che, I¡¯ll just do one more test and try to fall asleep.


    Sitting on the bench, Magnus found himself staring into the night sky once more.  Watching and waiting as starlight drifted down from above and the small moon chased the larger.


    Ping.


    At last.  Magnus cracked his fingers in preparation.  First, he pooled as much mana into his palm as he could easily contain.  Then, feeling himself at his limit, he pushed more mana out.  Now he could feel a portion of the mana dissolving into the night but he made sure he reached at least fifteen points of mana.  ¡°Warmth,¡± he called out.  The skill activated, transforming the mana.


    Still maintaining mana flow, Magnus considered the effects carefully.  The boosted mana had increased the heat output around his hand a little bit.  It covered the same amount of area, all of his hand, that it had with a standard amount of mana but was just enough warmer that he could feel the difference.  Hum, I wonder if the extra mana actually made it warmer or if there is just a bit thicker air pocket being warmed over my hand.


    Feeling his mana nearing bottom, he left go of his experiment to seek sleep.  He now had more questions and few answers but put them all out of his mind as he sought dreamland.  Even the hard bench he chose to lay down on couldn¡¯t keep him awake.


    -|- -|- -|-


    A corpse laid in the coffin in front of him.  The book in his hands would ward it off and so he read to the corpse.  Faster and more desperately he read.  But each time he looked up, the body had decayed a little more.  He had to finish.  Just a little farther and maybe this time¡­


    Thump!


    Magnus woke abruptly from his dream when he fell off the bench face first into the ground.  While unpleasant, it certainly woke him up.  Rolling the rest of his body onto the now cold ground he stared at the sky as the sun began chasing the stars away.  He knew the taste of his recurring dream, all its ups and all its downs.  But he pushed it from his mind.


    Getting up, he could feel the hardtack digging into his back from where they rested in his satchel.  Checking the contents to make sure nothing had broken in his fall, he left.  Stretching as he walked, bones popping from his awkward sleeping position, he made his way out into the streets.


    Magnus torn into a piece of hardtack as he walked around the different musicians that had begun setting up.  A bit easier to chew¡ªsleeping on it had softened it enough¡ªand finishing a piece lowered his hunger by the time he reached the library doors.


    As the sun crept over the horizon, the library doors unlocked, and the square began filling with sound.  Call it a warm up, or scales, it fell a bit higher on the musical scale than white noise but far from anything professional.  Or even amateur level.  The first beginnings of elementary recorder practice.  And all who could bolted through their doors before the noisemakers started in earnest.


    The last of the half dozen escapees through, the doors closed behind Magnus and rendered blessed silence into the room.  He wanted to start immediately in order to finish his task quickly, but shadow still reigned within the main hall and he needed to wait.  Instead, he entered the food nook and used his filched cup to lower his thirst.  He watched through the window for a moment as the light kissed the aspiring bards of the square.


    After washing his hands, Magnus once more walked toward the stacks.  Not taking the cart with him this time, he sought only the book he needed for his task.  Although a bit dim, the slanted crystal of the ceiling cast enough light downward that he could see the books.  I should really learn Madeline¡¯s light spell, that would be really helpful.  Magnus placed another task on his to do list for just as soon as he got rid of his modifier.


    ¡°Observe,¡± he spoke softly after moving a small amount of mana to his eyes.  Glancing toward the nearest shelf, no longer did the books show nothing.  Now the problem fell into the too much information category.  Window on top of window appeared, drowning each other out and blanketing Magnus¡¯ view.  Disoriented, he took a step back--his butt hitting the closest table--and the information windows vanished.


    Glancing down the row, he approached the magic section that Madeline had mentioned.  With no better leads, it wouldn¡¯t be any worse than flipping a coin elsewhere.  Windows flashing into existence and dissipating just as quickly he found the right area.  By pressing his back against the opposite bookshelf he could manage the number of windows that appeared.  Just in time for them to all fade away.  ¡°Observe,¡± he muttered.  Then moved mana to his eyes and muttered it once more, now with a note of irritation in his voice.


    Testing his resolve, he held rigidly still as the mass of windows popped up again.  Magnus found that as long as he held still they wouldn¡¯t shift around.  Oh so slowly, he turned his head left.  Equally slowly, the windows the the left of the top one began came to the front of the stack.  He couldn¡¯t see it under all the windows, but as the center of his view fell on the book that one would come to the front of the cascade.


    By inching his eyes and trying to read the words on the window without moving his eyes, he could ever so slowly read the titles of the books.  Taking his time, Magnus could barely read the title of each book.  A few books in, and the task began to feel neverending when his skill faded once again.  ¡°Observe,¡± he called out in frustration.  And then put mana into his eyes and tried again.


    This process repeated itself until he had read part way through the first row of titles only a single shelf.  At that point he began to feel lightheaded--a sign of his depleting mana.  Ignoring it, he clenched his jaw and spat out, ¡°Observe.¡±  Woozy now, he pushed through trying to finish this one row as the windows began to sway in his view.


    Reading far slower now, he found himself only two books short when the skill ran out... again.  Grinding his teeth he pushed to complete this row, ¡°Observe.¡±  Nearly blind by the resulting headache, he view his last two titles through squinted eyes.  Seeing that the blurs were not the words he sought, Magnus collapsed directly onto the ground.  Brow furrowed and eyes closed, he clasped his hands together, ¡°Mana Recovery.¡±


    The pain went away after a minute or two and Magnus opened his eyes.  A sound echoed from the back of his head and a new window popped up.


    Ding!


    <table><tbody><tr><td>A new Primary Stat has been generated!</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    Concentration


    Relentlessly pushing through mana induced pain, you seek.


    Magic Defense increased.


    Effects of low mana decreased.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Well, that should help with one problem anyway.  Magnus had thought himself a good, even incredible, reader.  But with the method forced onto him by circumstance, he had barely finished a single row of books in ten minutes.  At this rate, the five rows on this shelf would take him an hour to just read the titles.  And this excluded the amount of time it would take him to recover his mana.  Glancing down the now towering row of bookcases, he despaired of ever even finding the right book.


    Ping.


    No choice, I¡¯m just going to have to hurry as much as I can.  Luckily or not, Magnus¡¯ stubbornness had kicked like mule.  Rather than giving up and looking for a better method, he decided to ram his head into the wall until it shattered.  His head or the wall, either would work.


    ¡°Observe,¡± he obstinately muttered as he stood up.  Being too far forward, a massive wall of windows covered his view until he backed up.  Less carefully he went for speed in his reading.  Rather than fully comprehending each title, he looked for keywords.  Specifically, he looked for Dwarf but still picked up the gist of the title.


    Magnus found that by squinting his eyes he could block out most of the distracting windows and increase the number of titles he could read each skill use.  When mana depletion forced him to the ground once more, he had looked over another two rows.  He felt his dismay anew at how badly misshelved the books had become.  If anything they were worse than he had initially thought.


    He cleared his mind of these thoughts during his recovery time to focus on how far he had gotten in his primary task.  After using the observe skill thirteen times he had been forced to stop.  He knew that observe cost ten mana and he only had a hundred.  I must be naturally regenerating mana, just not very fast.  The reason for his confusion fell to the ambiguity of his status screen.  Because the mana regen stat wasn¡¯t listed yet, Magnus thought that he wouldn¡¯t regenerate any mana until he managed to get the stat.  Luckily, he proved himself wrong.


    Ping.


    On and on he continued.  Magnus thought it might be easier to pull a book off the shelf and look at it, but he wasted a full cycle when he couldn¡¯t see where to put the book down.  If he had continued with that method he would have gone even slower.  Instead, his single-minded pursuit managed to finish the full bookcase in an hour.  By immediately activating Mana Recovery after the thirteenth observe went into effect, Magnus optimized his time: 13 minutes of observe and 8 minutes of Mana Recovery.


    He made a single attempt at using observe and while maintaining recovery, but juggling the mana for the two skills was beyond him.  And the system assist canceled mana recovery when he tried to use it for observe.  Showing a bit of forethought, he attempted this only after he nearly filled his mana pool.  Otherwise the ten minute cooldown on mana recovery would have pained him immensely.


    Six hours passed this way and Magnus still hadn¡¯t found the book he wanted.  He did pull two books to read later as their content interested him, but no book about short dwarves.  It neared noon, and Magnus sat on the ground recovering.  At this hour, the dappled light from the ceiling fell into distinct patterns on the ground around him.  Even as he watched, the spots became more and more defined.


    Standing up, Magnus looked up and down the row.  Everywhere the light had changed from mismatched irritation to slowly spinning circles.  Big circles surrounded little circles connected to adjacent circles.  Outward it spread.  Just from where he stood, Magnus could see the light casting hundreds of circles onto the ground.  And then they began to dissolve and blur into obscurity.  Solar noon had come and gone.


    The rumbling of his stomach prioritized Magnus¡¯ attention.  Remembering Madeline¡¯s offer, he left the library after dropping off the two books onto his desk.  Putting in his earplugs as he left, he called out a distraction from the remaining noise as he left, ¡°Status.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Status</td><td width="25%">Skills</td><td width="25%">Circles</td><td width="25%">Inventory</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">NAME</td><td width="25%">Magnus</td><td width="25%">Soul</td><td width="25%">Mortal</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Race</td><td width="25%">Human</td><td width="25%">Alignment</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Class</td><td width="25%">Mage</td><td width="25%">Title</td><td width="25%">None</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Basic Stats</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">Experience</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">100/100</td><td width="25%">Mana</td><td width="25%">100/110</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">10/11</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Hunger</td><td width="25%">28/100</td><td width="25%">Thirst</td><td width="25%">35/100</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Physical Offense</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">Physical Defense</td><td width="25%">1</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Magical Offense</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">Magical Defense</td><td width="25%">4</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Primary Stats</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">Vitality</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Agility</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">Luck</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Intellect</td><td width="25%">11</td><td width="25%">Willpower</td><td width="25%">11</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Concentration</td><td width="25%">4</td><td width="25%">Courage</td><td width="25%">1</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Provender</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">Quenching</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Energy</td><td width="25%">11</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Affinities</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">None</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Resistances</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">None</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Traits</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Human</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Buffs</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">None</td></tr></tbody></table>


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    Huh, I never even noticed all the increases.  Trying to remember when he earned the additional stats distracted him from the noise raining down on him until he reached the mage guild.  Stepping into the blessed silence, he found himself unsurprised at the lack of customers.  There hadn¡¯t been a single person in the streets outside of those ¡®playing¡¯ instruments.


    Having heard the door close, Madeline shuffled out from the back room.  ¡°Oh good, I wasn¡¯t sure if you would remember to come for lunch.¡±


    A beat later, Magnus responded with a grin, ¡°Lunch always gets my attention.  Especially when my only other option is hardtack.¡±


    Eyes twinkling in humor Madeline retorted, ¡°Ooooh, looks like someone found his cheek.¡±  More calmly she continued, ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re more than a shrinking flower.  They always end up irritating me more than jackarses.  And they make such a racket when you start really training them.¡±


    A cold drop of sweat ran down Magnus¡¯ back as he considered her words.  The implications for his future if Madeline truly got interested in training him left him speechless.


    A snort from Madeline broke Magnus¡¯ befuddlement.  ¡°Sit down in Gerald¡¯s normal spot, he won¡¯t be in for a few days while he¡¯s hiding.  I¡¯ll bring the food out.¡±  She returned to the kitchenette from which the scent of food drifted.  Magnus hesitated before sitting down.  He had a desire to go help Madeline carry the food, but a greater desire to not see what she would do if he didn¡¯t follow direction.


    Shortly after he sat, Madeline shuffled back out, dishes floating along beside her like well trained puppies.  Leaning back in the chair, he tried to give the impression that he had not been on the verge of disobedience.  He was unsure of his success when he heard the low chuckle coming closer.  Trying for distraction, he asked, ¡°How are you floating them?¡±


    As the plates came to a rest in front of them, Madeline began explaining.  ¡°It¡¯s a Novice skill that I developed a long time ago.  It¡¯s not very powerful compared but it is useful and low on mana usage.  By combining an inverse earth gravity spell and a wind movement spell, I don¡¯t have to worry about being able to carry things.  Although fine control is beyond it.¡±


    Before Magnus could contemplate the implications of this, Madeline¡¯s next action befuddled him.  After covering the air in two spots above the table with her hands, stone grew down from her fingers.  A few seconds only and two brand new glasses had been formed.  Just to be sure, Magnus pulled out the cup from yesterday and put it next to the new one.  They were in fact identical.


    A short burst of laughter from Madeline startled him, ¡°You kept that thing.  Hahaha¡­ such a silly child.¡±


    Pulling his ragged dignity around him, Magnus asked pompously, ¡°And just why am I silly, madam?¡±  This only made her laugh harder, but at least now he had created it purposely.  Seeing that she wouldn¡¯t be answering soon he began eating the bean¡­ something.  He could tell the food had beans in it but other than that, nada.


    Her laughter calming, she finally gave Magnus an answer.  ¡°It¡¯s silly because it¡¯s worthless to carry around.  The skill I made it with isn¡¯t permanent, that would take far too much mana.  I doubt that one will last more than another few hours before dissolving.  If you had any liquid in it when it went.. hehehe.¡±  Rather than continue, she just shook her head and ate her lunch.


    It didn¡¯t take long for either to finish the food.  And after pouring some tea from a pot into both their cups, he waited a short while in contemplation.  He didn¡¯t want to just ask for more help finding the right book, it might trigger Madeline¡¯s interest.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Just as the quiet began to grow uncomfortable for Magnus, Madeline broke the silence.  ¡°Go grab the book on the counter, you¡¯ll find it interesting.¡±  With no reason to complain, and a stomach full of gratitude, he jumped from his seat and brought it back.


    Sitting the brown book down on the table in front of him, he considered it carefully.  It fell onto the thinner side compared to all the books he had seen in the library.  The edges of the cover had been wore glossy from frequent handling.  Flipping it open, he was unsurprised to see no title but was surprised as he tried to read farther in.  Nothing more than squiggles appeared, it was as legible as Japanese cursive to his English skills.  He lifted an eyebrow in at Madeline, but she just ignored it.


    Knowing full well what to do, he had just been avoiding it, he stated, ¡°Observe.¡±  Nothing appeared with the book open so he closed it.  And up popped a window.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Beginner Earth Mana


    A continuation of Basic Earth Mana: Why dwarfs are short.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°At least I know what to look for now.  I take it this book requires a higher level of reading to understand.¡±  At Madeline¡¯s nod, he asked the question that had been bugging him.  ¡°Why is it that some writing requires a higher level reading skill.  It doesn¡¯t make any sense.  If you can read one thing in a language you should be able to read something else.  Well, maybe not always, but you should at least be able to read the letters.¡±


    No longer in a mood to talk, Madeline¡¯s explanation fell short on details.  ¡°It¡¯s the difference between reading and Reading, just as there is a difference between writing and Writing.  It¡¯s the use of stamina that changes how the words are perceived.  And there are other effects at levels higher than basic.  You can find the specifics later if you¡¯re really interested.  Now shoo, you have a task to complete if you want to sleep on something better than the ground tonight.  Come see me at lunch again tomorrow.¡±


    Alarmed, Magnus looked at the sky.  Seeing that the sun had only moved a little farther, he thought he had plenty of time.  Confusion plastered itself on his face, but Madeline just waved him at the door as she floated the meal away.


    Magnus called out before he exited, ¡°See you tomorrow?¡± his continued bewilderment over his dismissal clear.  Putting his ear plugs back in, he ran for the library to minimize his exposure.  Through the plugs, he thought it might have been a little better than yesterday.


    Among books once more, he checked the catalogue first to be sure.  Listed between Basic Air Mana and Basic Fire Mana, Basic Earth Mana sat unassuming.  Clearly not mocking him, no not at all.  But Magnus had already passed both the B¡¯s and the E¡¯s in the stacks.  Crossing his fingers he walked far down the row until he reached the M¡¯s near at the back.  Sniffling in the dust he kicked up, he found the M section.  ¡°Observe,¡± and thumped his head against the bookcase.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Dusty Book</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°This place must hate me,¡± Magnus could see no other explanation to the massive appearance of all the unhelpful windows.


    Magnus began wiping the dust encrusted book covers with his hands, and the windows began to change slowly away from Dusty Book to actual titles.  Wait.  Didn¡¯t I just learn a skill that¡¯s perfect for this.  Muhahahaha.  Moving mana to his palm, he called out his skill with joy, ¡°Gust.¡±  Whush.  It didn¡¯t travel far but cleared enough of the book of dust to see the title of the book.


    Although much faster and cleaner than swiping with his hands, a lot of dust began floating in the air causing him to sneeze again and again.  Losing mana quickly, he still managed to clear the whole case with one use of the skill.  Unfortunately, he never noticed a mass of dust bouncing around behind all the windows obscuring his view.  A single step fell in the wrong place, and the dust burst in all directions unheeded.  Some of this dust clung to Magnus¡¯ pants.


    With the case clear, Magnus stop his mana flow and backed up two bookcases to get out of the settling dust.  Nearly depleted, and suffering from the newest imposed headache, he sat down and started mana recovery.  Calm, he watched the falling dust.  Until a small window appeared.


    <table><tbody><tr><td> +0 experience</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Huh, how did I¡­ Magnus never got to finish his thought before the sound of an eruption burst out in front of him and dirt crashed over him.


    Coughing as he stood up, he watched bewilderedly as the mass of dirt in front of him shifted and spread.  A shadow blocked out the light, causing Magnus to turn.  The mountain of muscle loomed over him with a hand reaching out before grasping his head.  Too surprised to run, the librarian lifted him one handed until he met her eyes.  ¡°Don¡¯t.  Kill.  Dust.  Bunnies.¡± she growled out before tossing him into the dust.


    Struggling up and out took Magnus time.  Enough time that Victoria had returned to thrust a broom metal dustpan into his hands.  ¡°Clean up or don¡¯t come back.¡±  She stomped away revealing a wooden barrel to toss the dust into.  Victoria must have been feeling kind that day, she didn¡¯t immediately throw him out.  That or she didn¡¯t want to clean the dirt up herself.


    Not wanting to get banned from the library, or beaten by Victoria, he started immediately.  Push the pan into the knee high pile of dirt and lift.  Watch as half the dust floated up up and away.  Pour a little dirt into the barrel.  Repeat.  An hour later, so much dirt had been dropped into the barrel that it had grown heavy enough that Magnus could no longer shift it.  A barrel that had almost completely filled until Victoria came and replaced it with a new one.  Lifting the old one to her shoulder, she just gave him an evil eye that sent shivers up his back.


    His problem now was all the dust wouldn¡¯t cooperate and go into the barrel.  For every panfull he lifted, half of it ended up in the air and not the barrel.  A flash of inspiration, that he quickly dampened after remembering his last idea.  Moving cautiously this time, he placed mana into his hand before transferring a bit toward the pan grasped in his hand.  ¡°Static,¡± he hoped this worked as he continued to feed his skill magic.


    Shoveling slowly into the now ankle high dust, he pulled up steadily¡­ and the dust drifted slightly before sticking to the pan.  Relieved, he tapped the pan on the barrel dropping all the dust in.  Worried it would just pop back out, Magnus looked in.  Pleasantly surprised, the dust had stuck to bottom and collapsed together into a much smaller pile than had first been there.  He hadn¡¯t even thought about it in his haste before, but there had been much more dirt tossed into the first barrel than should have fit.  I¡¯ll just blame magic and not worry about it for now.


    Working steadily for an hour, then two, he managed to get most of the dust off the ground and into the barrel.  He could only use static for under two minutes before exhausting his pool.  Although the effect would last for a bit longer before losing charge.  A ten minute cooldown on Mana Recovery, and unaware of his natural mana regen, meant he had a lot of magic down time that he spent sweeping the dust into a smaller pile.  While it didn¡¯t go as fast as if he could static the pan, he still made progress.


    When Victoria came back, his mana had fallen again so he was sweeping.  Looking around, no display of surprise was seen even though he finished in half the time she thought it would take him.  Only saying ¡°Good enough,¡± she took everything back with her, leaving Magnus to his own devices.


    Looking up, Magnus could see the sky begin to cloud over.  A mere two hours remained before sunset and the sky looked like rain would end his light sooner.  Hurrying, Magnus grabbed Basic Earth Mana.  He had found it while cleaning by accident, the title easily seen on the spine without dust concealing it.  A small bit of luck had gone his way, four of the basic mana books were filed under the mana section.


    As he walked to his table, he tried to remember his exact task with this book but mental fatigue from the day had caught up with him.  Unable to see his task here, he winged it in his hurry.  Reasoning that a supposedly easy task needing only one sheet of paper, the information he looked for must be related to the title given.  He had been asked for info about ¡®why dwarfs are short¡¯ not about earth mana.  So that¡¯s what he looked for.


    Not a large book, he flipped through the majority of it and found himself unimpressed.  Most of it was about either what earth mana is and how to form it in different ways, or about how different sized grains of dirt work.  Switching between how earth smells, tastes, feels, looks, sounds, reacts¡­ the book went on and on without tell about how to use it.  Almost at the very end, in a small blurb Magnus found the section on dwarfs.  Trying to hurry as clouds began to block his little remaining light, he summarized.


    [indent]After accumulating of high amounts of earth affinity using earth mana lowers a person¡¯s height.  Dwarves have a natural alignment with earth mana, this is why they end up shorter than humans but have the same weight.[/indent]


    Magnus had finished.  He didn¡¯t know if it would be good enough, but after putting away his stuff he ran for the front door.  It should be a good hour before the sunset began but the oncoming storm already blocked the light enough to make it difficult to read.  Nearly leaving, he paused to put his earplugs in when he saw that the swarm of bards played on.  He almost could have gone without as the gusting wind blew most of the sound away.  Almost.


    Running to the Scribe shop, when Magnus opened the door, the wind yanked it into the wall.  Pulling the door closed again took all his strength, and cut off all sound.  Having been closing up in preparation for the storm, Van lazily confronted Magnus.  ¡°No, you can¡¯t get out of your task even if you can¡¯t find the right books.¡±


    ¡°I actually want to complete my task,¡± said Magnus tiredly.  At this point, nothing could faze his exhaustion as he pulled out his work.


    Raising an eyebrow, Van took the two sheets of paper from Magnus¡¯ grasp.  ¡°Huh, it¡¯s sloppier than I normally accept.  I should make you redo it¡­¡±  Van¡¯s statement turned Magnus pale with despair.  There was no way he could pay for the materials again.  ¡°But I¡¯ll let it slide this time.¡±


    Magnus drooped with relief and collected his money, a large 25 coin, three 5s and two ones.  Bringing him up to a to total wealth of 45 copper coins.  The joy of being rich filled his heart.


    ¡°Now get out, I¡¯m closing up before the storm gets here.¡±  Van manhandled Magnus to the door before pushing him out.  The door slammed shut as Magnus picked himself up, the thud of the bar audible.  Which caused Magnus to look around, there were still people out making noise when he went in not ten minutes ago and light still shown.  But now, all the bards ran for the main music hall.  Stepping out into the middle of the street as the wind died down, he looked to the sky.


    Turned crimson in the sunset, large boiling thunder clouds descended from the north.  The wind returned with a vengeance, whipping dust and dirt into Magnus¡¯ eyes as he placed an arm over his eyes to block it.  With the first splatters of rain falling around him, he raced for the inn resting just a few doors down.  In the moment it took to get there, the rain had gone from sprinkles to a pounding downpour.


    With a slam, the door blocked out the fury of the storm.  Taking the three steps down, Magnus entered the main hall of the inn.  Lit by a hearth at both end and a few candles bracketed along the walls, the room held deep shadowy alcoves and poorly lit tables.  As he stepped into the darkened room, the clerk at the entrance evaluated him.  A woman in her late twenties with dark hair past her shoulder blades, she kept a professional smile on her face but didn¡¯t think highly of Magnus.  Dripping onto the dirt floor, he ask the clerk as politely as he could in his weariness, ¡°Hello, how much for a room?¡±


    The clerk sniffed at him, clearly looking down on his unkempt appearance and dust ridden, worn, dirty cloths.  ¡°A room cost a 50 copper a night.  If you just want a spot in the common room, it¡¯s 15 coppers.¡±


    Taking no offence at her tone, Magnus pulled out his 25 copper coin and left a finger on it.  ¡°How much to get a bit of food.¡±  His own voice flat, no longer trying to be nice but the smells coming from the kitchen behind her enticing his stomach.


    ¡°A bowl of gruel is 5 coppers and if you don¡¯t return the bowl it¡¯s a 15 copper charge.¡±  Clear in her implication that she thought he would steal the bowl if he could.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take one then,¡± he said as he let go of the coin.  With another sniff, she took his money and pressed a small button causing a bell to ring behind her.  When an sweaty old bald man in an apron stepped out from the kitchen, ¡°Gruel,¡± is all she said.  Grunting, the man left for a moment before returning to plop it down onto the counter.  Sliding a 5 copper next to it, she told him, ¡°Just take an alcove that¡¯s unoccupied.¡±


    His eyes adjusted to the dark, he looked around the room.  There were six alcoves, four next to the stairs leading upstairs on the south and two on the north side.  Between to the northern alcove and the exit was a small unoccupied stage.  Two long wooden tables sat in the middle at which a pair of men played cards near the middle.  The alcoves were three foot deep and six feet wide and had cloth hooked to the side that if released would separate a person from the rest of the room.  The one closest to the upper level stairs had a person sitting in it and he concentrated on mending a worn travel cloak.


    Moving to the alcove in the south-west corner, Magnus dropped into a padded bench and found a fold out table to pull from the wall.  The gruel sloshing around in his bowl, he realized he didn¡¯t have any utensils to eat it with.  Pulling a piece of hardtack from his satchel, he used it to scoop the steaming mush.  This had the added benefit of softening the hardtack into a more palpable biscuit.  Finished, he needed something to do.  He had at least a few hours to kill before he should try to sleep.


    Faced with downtime, Magnus could have joined the two playing cards but chose to grind his skills.  The gruel had not lowered his thirst, so he started with Drip.  By placing his mana over the bowl, the liquid he formed fell directly into the bowl.  When he depleted his mana, he began mana recovery.  Minutes later and his mana pool refilled, Magnus used Cool on the little bit of water in the bowl.  When finished, he drank it before waiting for his mana to recover naturally and he could start over.  He found that by resting, his natural mana recovery almost matched that of his skill, making him wonder why he used the skill at all.


    A few iterations of his cycle and no longer thirsty, he played with the bowl and water.  Switching between Cool, Warmth, Static, Heft, and Pointer he started to get a better handle on manipulating his mana.  Though he hadn¡¯t done anything dramatic, he still improved his control remarkably.


    While he had been playing, two more guests had entered the inn, both men leather faced from working long hours outside.  They were treated to the same professional courtesy from the clerk as they took the alcoves against the north wall and dropped the drapes immediately.  But when it began to get late, the crashing of metal against the door could be heard even where Magnus sat practicing.  Looking up, he saw three people enter the inn.  Rain dripping from heavy brown cloaks, they held the fabric away from their bodies, and flickering firelight revealed the people beneath.


    The first, a handsome man the same age as Magnus came in wearing a metal chest plate.  The water dripped from a sword buckled to his waist onto the metal of his boots plinking in a steady rhythm.  He prowled directly to the counter, armor clanking, before crashing to a stop.  His back ramrod straight, he would not bow to exhaustion until he was finished and not a moment sooner.  He immediately confronted the clerk about a room.


    The second, a rugged man in dark leather and a quiver strapped to his back, was a younger than the first and bore a familial resemblance.  Only a step behind, he stood directly behind the first, guarding his back, and scanning the room for threats in a brief glance as he fiddled with the pommel of a knife.  When his gaze met Magnus, he promptly dismissed him as undangerous.  Satisfied that there would be no problem, he relaxed while waiting for the first to conclude his negotiations.


    The woman followed behind them and didn¡¯t flip up her hood but locks of light brown hair fell out.  Just a glimpse showed her enchanting figure draped in a green gown.  Waiting as the first man talked softly to the clerk, she drooped with exhaustion and leaned forward against a thick wooden staff.  Magnus didn¡¯t know it, but these three would be very important to him later, much later.


    The clerk clearly treated this party much better than any other guest even as muted as they were where Magnus sat.  After an armored gauntlet tossed a coin onto the counter, the three walked up the creaking stairs.  The clerk gestured over the cook who had been playing cards and spoke quickly to him.  A short time later, they both took trays of food up to the new guests, ceramic bowls glinting mockingly.  Hah, to have money is always better than to not.  Not wanting to see more, Magnus dropped the curtain and put up the table.  After curling up on the skinny bench, he found a thin sheet and pillow to lay his head on.  ¡°It can¡¯t get worse, tomorrow will be better,¡± muttered Magnus in naive hope.  Resolving to put forth more effort the next day, he fell asleep.


    -|- -|- -|-


    On the outskirts of Nowhere, a town created to exploit the long depleted salt mine centuries before, a rash of buildings had been erected.  Fence surrounding the whole area at a mile out from the center and the occasional heavily armed patrol could be seen driving past.  The massive building displayed only three stories on the secluded premise.  Unassuming, only the guards indicated the buildings importance.  It¡¯s only identification a laser engraved logo on the front door.  Horizon Remote.


    The three above ground floors held common offices, tinted sapphire alumna windows allowing vision of the area around.  The offices and desks, while filled with only a low murmur, held focused people.  They were responsible for monitoring the progress of the players and events in Grand Planes.  There was little they could do to effect the game but were able to view any changes imposed by the AIs.  And they took their responsibilities seriously.


    On the first subfloor, things changed drastically.  No longer a cubicle farm, this floor was stark and sterile, holding only a single small desk manned by imposing bulky guards at both ends.  Blunt harsh lighting illuminated the concrete corridor between the two.  If someone accidentally came down the wrong stairs to reach this place, they would be quickly directed out.  Branching off from the hallway were rooms holding hard men willing to do great harm to any who trespassed on their territory.  At the far end, an elevator waited.


    Taking the elevator down past two hundred feet of reinforced concrete, you would reach the only floor that elevator went to.  Another corridor appears, this one enforcing a clean zone.  Destroying any electronics you might have on you, drawing away dust, body scanned, fingerprinted, and brainscaned.  By the time you reached the farthest point the scans would be able to tell what you had for breakfast three weeks ago and what adult beverage you last had to drink.  Taking the final elevator down in a clean suit, you would pass another two hundred feet of reinforced concrete specially designed to shrug off anything short the direct strike of a hundred kiloton bomb.  While your stop is here, the foundations of the building continue down and down, until at last landing on bedrock.  This building would go nowhere under any circumstances.


    This final floor held the most important resource of Horizon, the AIs and all the processing power needed from Grand Planes.  A vast room filled with molycirc, the miracle material making AIs possible.  A combination of processor and solid-state hard drive, a single square foot plate of poor quality molycirc could replace the computing power need to process a Exabyte of information a second.


    Molycirc held an interesting, and frustrating, property.  A single production mistake anywhere in the whole plate would cause it to fail.  Each layer, the thickness of a single molecule, had to be made separate from every other layer.  Melded together with microbots, the molycirc was connected one layer at a time.  The better fit each layer, the better the quality.  A standard quarter inch thick square foot plate took a month to complete if it was rushed and an excessive number of microbots were used.  And if a single mistake occurred during connection it would go unnoticed until the first activation.  At activation, a charge is sent through the plate, a final melding of all the individually layers, drawing them together.  A slightly misaligned layer, a single microbot stuck and left behind, and power would build in that spot.  And the fragile molycirc would burst into flames and melt into a scrap.


    Luckily, much of the process was automated.  You simply supply the pre-programmed microdust with the needed layers and waited. Still expensive, you had to make these larger plates in a clean room or a single fleck of dust would cause problems, a single square foot plate could cost as much as a hundred thousand dollars.  And in this room, a single six foot tall rack held ten molycirc plates.  A single rack stood six feet tall, two feet wide, and a foot and a half deep.  And it abbuted the rack next to it.  And it to the next.  On and on in a row, broken only by support beams until it neared the end of the room 1800 feet away.  Not a single row, but 450 rows.  Almost four million of these plates resided on these shelves, and they represented well over 400 billion dollars worth of investment.  And these plates were just the test plates used to maintain the world of Grand Planes.  They were not close to being enough for the brains of the AIs.  Instead, these were held at the far end.


    There stood a massive black cube of seamless molycirc eight foot in each direction.  It glittered in the light with a smoothness created by the perfectly formed edge, not a single molecule extended out past the edge.  The corners were so sharp that if it wasn¡¯t encased in a vacuum sealed container accidentally brushing an edge would slice through bone as easily as a hot knife through butter.  Encased in transparent sapphire, the block stood visible testament to the ability of Horizon.  Never before had this large of a single piece of molycirc been successfully made.  Easily worth a hundred billion alone, a similar case sat to either side.


    But this one had a small etching on the corner, Fortuna, for this was the brain of one of the three main AIs of Grand Planes.  A small insignificant section of this mass of processing power held the essence of her being and projected her personality.


    Fortuna, a primal god of creation and destruction, sat within her jade palace on the highest plane of existence in Grand Planes.  Able to see anything, able to hear everything.  And in vast part ignored.  But occasionally, ever so occasionally for the size of what she watched, a small action, an indiscreet word, would hold her attention long enough to distract her from her normal work maintaining the balance between fate and chance.  This brief temptation of interest, this moment of distraction would alter the order of everything.  From highest deity to lowest bug, a shift would occur focused down upon her interest.  Of particular interest were the doings of the unpredictable freemen.


    The briefest of whispered sound drift within the marble halls of Fortuna¡¯s Palace demanding attention. ¡°At least it¡¯s dry.¡±  ¡°It can¡¯t get worse.¡±  ¡°Nothing exciting ever happens.¡±  ¡°What could go wrong.¡±  Only a little of the processing diverted for a fraction of a moment.  And oceans shifted, massive floods of mana poured out creating a new volcano, a star in a nearly uninhabited system went nova.  A book fell unnoticed from a shelf, a wheel axle bent, a scale fell into the dirt, a coin fell heads instead of tails.  But her focus would quickly be diverted by a new morsel.  While the ripples of her power never grew much beyond the one who tempted her, the wheels of Fate began to roll.  Sooner or later, events would bear down on them and a person could only hope to not be crushed.


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    <hr />


    Magnus¡¯ journal:  The world part 2


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Aedrath, although larger than Earth, has a much smaller axial tilt.  This leaves a much smaller difference in seasonal temperatures and weather.  Average highs will only differ by about 20 degrees centigrade from summer to winter.  Daylight will have a similarly smaller variance between seasons.  Until environmental mana comes into play.  Environmental mana is normally primary elemental mana that is formed by the alteration of ambient mana into a specific element due to the natural formation of a terrain feature.  ie: a volcano can create fire mana, forests nature, oceans water...


    Areas that have high concentrations of an elemental form of mana will have compounding effects on the environment.  ie: the high amounts of fire mana created in a volcano will in turn raise the temperature higher than would be associated with on earth.  Then there are the exceptions, or areas in which formed mana has been trapped by the pressure of the overall environmental mana and creates a small zone in which the alternative environment holds sway.  Case in point, a small area near the north pole has a high concentration of fire mana that made an oasis in the frozen waste.  This also pushes the nearby mana denser than elsewhere expanding the overall effect in the pressure zone.


    This zoning effect created by a major terrain features determines the differences between areas.  Creatures and monsters that are raised in an environment with a majority of a single type of mana will evolve it a path that is dependent on that type of mana.  The normal process of this mana is to build up until a point of it can overcome the walls pure ambient mana.  When it finds this outlet, the now higher pressure of ambient mana will begin to squeeze this elemental mana into a stream that flows out until it encounters an object that can store it.  This stream is the beginning of a leyline, and the storing point is a ley-node.


    While most of the time terrain features that can form environmental mana are widely dispersed, rarely two will be near each other.  If the two features are compatible and the pressure of ambient mana pushes their buildup toward each other before creating a leyline, a new new environmental mana will be formed.  ie: two fire feature can create environmental light, a fire and earth can create environmental metal.


    If the two are opposing manas, there will be a point at which the two environmental mana¡¯s first connect.  This point will form lots of locked mana that slowly falls.  Since more locked mana will be produced, new ambient mana will be formed in this area.  When this happens there will be higher pressures of pure mana, until the two zones of mana can breakout in a different spot.  This will tend to be cyclic after the locked mana reduces, the ambient mana pressure will lower in this area once more allowing the two to collide.


    If the two areas of mana are neither compatible nor opposing, the the area will best be described as chaotic.  Since the mana is neither changing nor being consumed the mana will fight each other for dominance.  As objects in the area absorb a little of one type or the other there will be sweeping changes that disrupt all kinds of skills and formations in the area.  Because of this, if an area is found that has three or more terrain features, the best advice is to leave.  And quickly.