The Under-Kingdoms were slower to answer the call, but dwarven greed eventually won over ancient enmity, and they flocked to the banner under elvenkind. The dragons of the mountains and the sky, understanding the threat the Mage-King possessed, grudgingly promised aid, though in their pride they would suffer none to command them.
— On the Cataclysm by an unknown Quassian Schor, circa 103 AC.
I awoke to the pleasant aroma of pine and lemon blossoms as I slowly opened my eyes, feeling both fearful and optimistic about what was in store for me. All around me were featureless ft pins of endless green that met the azure horizon somewhere in the far distance. This would become a problem when I eventually decided to leave my pce of retive comfort. However, that was a concern for another day. For now, I had five fish to fry.
The bibsi were now one level lower than me, making them retively easy prey. My strategy was a simple one: distract some of them, take down one, and retreat as quickly as possible back up the hill. It was a tactic I had used countless times in my gaming days to clear areas teeming with powerful enemies. The problem was that I had no baseline to work with to gauge my retive strength in this brave new world.
I needed to gain a better understanding of the rules governing this world. It was imperative to uncover how to improve my skills, as this directly impacted my survival in both the immediate and long term. Would focused practice and repetition enable me to advance them? The fact that the bibsi I had identified were all at level one indicated the possibility of more formidable monsters out there.
Like in fiction, I tried shouting “log out,” and “disconnect,” once even yelling, “Alexa, log me out,” willing myself out of my newfound world with pure force of will. It quickly became clear, however, that this was not a virtual reality—or at least there was no way for me to confirm it.
With my experiments complete, I resolved to spend the rest of the day working on improving my skills and spells in any way possible.
As I walked over to the stone altar, I couldn’t help but notice the chunks of meat had become putrid and malodorous. I hurled them as far as I could down the hill, away from the nearby pond. It seemed I would have to feed both my bodily hunger and my desire to increase in power with the lives of a few more of the fish creatures.
Creeping confidently along the edges of the pond with my newfound stealth, I channeled my built-up frustration against these low-level creatures that had dared to harm me. Like an animal that had been beaten too many times, rage filled me as I lured the creatures in small groups towards me. I ambushed the slow and the weak as they retreated back to their side of the water.
My spear felt steadier in my hand, my attacks more calcuted and precise, as I struck at them from my hiding pce among the rushes. I would violently thrust, pierce, slice, and bludgeon the unsuspecting bibsi until I received a notification of their demise. Butchering only what I needed for the day, I consumed my morning meal slimy and raw. Half-forcing each piece down my gullet as quickly as I could, I was ever watchful against attack.
On my third ambush, I failed spectacurly. Hit in the face by one of their water balls, I felt nothing before a second cannoned into me full on the chest, making me drop my half-spear in the shallow waters. I fumbled, searching for it in the cool waters, gasping all the while in agonized breaths. Half-blind with pain, my questing hands found the familiar wooden haft, and I beat a hasty retreat.
As I fled, I received another ball of water to my back that took out another chunk of my Health and caused me to scream. Healing myself, and determined to reach level three, I ventured back again, albeit more cautiously.
After a few more hours filled with pain and death, I was granted the much-anticipated notification:
You have reached level 3
3 unassigned attribute points
1 unassigned skill pointt
In the bottom-right corner of my vision, the writhing, shadowy tendril returned, obscuring a few of the numbers before blossoming into a cascade of indecipherable digits. A short countdown appeared, and the numbers began dropping with each beat of my heart.
NINE… EIGHT… SEVEN…
Panicked, I willed all of my unassigned attribute points into Constitution.
SIX… FIVE…
A surge of energy rose from my stomach to all of my extremities, leaving a feeling of exhiration. My breath came a little easier, and the chill of the cold waters through my sodden robes seemed more distant.
THREE… TWO…
With scant seconds to think and choose, I quickly looked within myself, searching for the presence of Heal and focusing on it. The countdown ended, but in my haste, at the same time I had selected Constitution for improvement I had also foolishly cast Heal, despite already being at full Health. I did not know what would happen if I did not allocate my points before the countdown ended, but I felt the price for learning such knowledge would be too steep.
“A waste,” I cursed quietly as I checked my Status, confirming the changes to my character.
STATUS
Calling: %^& Level 3 Acolyte of Avaria
Strength: 9
Dexterity: 10
Constitution: 15
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 9
Charisma: 8
Luck: 11
SKILLS & PROFICIENCIES
Pain Nullification (lvl.1)
Power Strike (lvl.1)
Endure (lvl.1)
Stealth (lvl.1)
Rest (lvl.1)
Backstab (lvl.1)
Dodge (lvl.1)
Polearms (lvl.1)
SPELLS & MAGIC
Heal (lvl.2)
Rust (lvl.1)
Identify (lvl.1)
GIFTS
Curse of Entropy: -20% all starting attributes.
Experience to next level 220/364
Health: 29/29
Stamina: 24/24
Mana: 5/7
My Health had risen to a staggering twenty-nine points and my Stamina to twenty-four. Also, I could now increase the power of my spells and abilities by leveling up. I whooped for joy, the sense of accomplishment banishing my recent brushes with death and unbridled, unceasing violence. I posited that I would gain Health for each level regardless of my Constitution, and I vowed to test this theory on my next level promotion.
Bolstered with renewed confidence and seeking more gains, I cast Identify on the rge, flowering tree in front of me.
Aeyory Tree
???
The result was less remarkable than I had expected. Apart from identifying the name of the tree, I realized that magic was no substitute for basic human observation. With four Mana points left, I decided to cast Identify on another object close to me, which ended up being the fallen statuette lying at the feet of the stone altar. The now familiar—yet still uncomfortable—sensation of Mana flowed around and then out of my body towards the object.
Statuette of Avaria
???
Again, the spell gave me little that I could not have deduced on my own. Growling in frustration, I cast the spell again in my mind, focusing now on the bzing sun high in the sky. The name of a star roared across my vision like an exploding supernova.
Sahel (Star)
#d...Dur......Ma..1110011100
This was followed by an infinite stream of numbers and raw data that flooded the hollows of my mind, threatening to tear it asunder with its scope. Clutching my head in agony, I screamed once more to the heavens in a primal, bestial shout of the purest pain.
When it was finally over, I found myself on the ground, rocking back and forth while clutching my knees to my chest. Somewhere amidst the pain and shock, the thought, Why didn’t Pain Nullification work? repeated itself in rhythm with my rocking. Despite the foolishness of it, I cast the spell once more, this time at the stone half-spear to my left. What did a little more pain matter anyway?
Broken Half of an Ancestor Spear
Durability 27/53
I smiled a crazy grin of the mad and the broken as a notification fshed across my vision before the pain and exhaustion took me once again.
You have gained 1 Intelligence.
You have learned Identify (lvl.2)
I grinned at my bitter triumph. I had succeeded in increasing the level of the spell.
