The next months were mind-meltingly boring. He managed to gain a bit more progress in [Wireframe] by running more courses, but other than that, nothing compared to that one wild night out. Every full moon he was to be taken to a cave where golems go to meditate. Here, he could shift into that form without fear of harming anyone.
It was soooo, boring!
Soon enough, the eve of his 7th birthday arrived. Luckily it was nowhere near a full moon. His parents stayed up late with him, his mother cooked a large meal, mostly meats and a few local vegetables.
[Warning, system unlock authorized. Pending, standby… Null Authorization. Error, command returned Null, please select command]
He figured that name hack would cause not a small degree of chaos in the unlock process. A few months back he learned that the system chooses one’s class and while he was not too happy about that, he suspected he’d not have that problem. He perused his options. He had a few, rather bland options: [Mage] [Battle bard] [Chef] [Ranger] [Archer] [Rogue] [Warrior] the system classified these as base classes. [Please select a base class. Depending on your actions in life, this class will evolve to fit your lifestyle and choices. The possibilities are infinite in the great system!]
Null had already put a lot of thought into this, he wanted guns, he wasn't into the whole sword and shield thing and he for sure wasn't going to be a chef. He pondered [Archer] but that felt wrong somehow. Archers are skilled marksmen, but he was not a long distance shooter. Sure he could ring steel at a few hundred yards, but that was so boring. He checked out [Ranger] details.
[Ranger: a mid ranged specialist splitting focus between survival and melee that blends ambush and up-close combat.]
There was no doubt this was the right choice. He willed his selection of [Ranger]. An ominous fanfare played as a light enveloped him. His parents’ eyes gleamed with anticipation and awe at the over the talk spectacle and he was lifted off his feet and twirled around in the air by an invisible force. His face exuded the expression of the phrase ‘unimpressed.’
“Oh Null, you received a combat class from the great system! How unique!” his mother all but squealed. “What is it?” she shouted over the din.
He started at her, or at least tried to as he continued to spin in the air. The fanfare subsided, but he continued to spin silently.
“Uh…”
His father glanced nervously at his mother. The fanfare restarted, looping back to the beginning.
“Null, you have to announce your class.“ his father shouted.
“Oh, uh, it gave me the [Ranger] Class.” Null said hurriedly, eager to have his feel back on solid ground.
His mother let out an excited yelp just as the music cut out abruptly, adding to the overall strangeness of the occasion. He fell to the ground clumsily. As he recovered, a series of bright flashes assaulted the somewhat flabbergasted family
[Level up! Level up! Level up! Level up!...] The system droned on turning Null into a flickering strobe light until it finally settled on [Level up! You are now level 10 (60%). Congratulations, please assign level points. Level points may be applied to health, mana, or stamina at a conversion rate of 1:5 points or they be converted to essence level racial abilities. You have 30 points remaining. 1 point is equivalent to 10% of ability or skill progression]
Before he could overthink, Null dumped 5 points into [Wireframe]
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
[Wireframe Ability reached 100%. Please choose an evolution: Deep Place- Transport yourself to a pocket dimension and tinker. Time in this area renders you invulnerable to the effects of the outside world, but costs 30 mana/per minute. Reality Transference- Bring creations to the physical world. Mana cost is commensurate with the complexity and environmental compatibility of items transferred. Trans-dimensional Shift- Wireframe mode remains the same, however items created can be stored as two dimensional markings on your body for a large initial mana cost and brought to the physical world at a smaller mana cost. Shift Mana cost is commensurate with the complexity and environmental compatibility of items shifted. Item creation is limited to empty space on the body.]
True invulnerability was obviously the best choice, but that mana cost meant that he needed to dump countless points to boost his mana pool, wisdom and intelligence. That wasn’t really worth it, when he considered, he may be able to hide for ten minutes or so. [Reality Transference] had an obvious exploit of being able to cheaply create products that he could sell. He could really wreak havoc on the local economy with that evolution. But he is a ranger, not a merchant. Technically he might be able to do something similar with that last one, [Transdimensional Shift]. The items created probably stayed with him if they needed to be shifted to and from states, but he could still generate objects that made crafting easier. This was much more combat focused. He made his selection.
[Wireframe has evolved to: Wireframe, Transdimensional Shift]
Lost in the moment, Null didn't notice the inquisitive stares of his parents. They clearly saw the signature flash associated with leveling, but that many?
“It’s a long story,” he said helplessly. His father’s gaze narrowed.
He dumped a few points into mana and health, then returned to his character sheet:
Stats
Name: Null
Age: 7 (total 41)
Class: Ranger
Level: 10, 60% (15 level points remaining)
Health: 65 Mana: 35 Stamina: 50
- Physical
- Strength: 11 (+3)
- Agility: 28 (+5)
- Endurance: 20 (+5)
- Mental
- Intellect: 10 (+2)
- Cunning: 10 (+2)
- Resolve: 10 (+2)
- Spiritual
- Intelligence: 11 (+2)
- Wisdom: 10
- Willpower: 10 (+2)
- External
- Charisma: 10 (+2)
- Luck: 10 (+2)
Abilities:
Full Moon (+10 to all stats during a full moon) 25%
Walking Hibernation (Hibernate while still awake. Regenerate 10% slower, but you no longer need to be in a resting state to activate.)
Wireframe, Transdimensional Shift (Create a simulation mindspace to test out crafting concepts, store items on skin as markings to be deployed at a variable cost to mana) 0%
Skills:
None
Soul Marks:
Chimeric Origin (???)
Resistances:
System Tech Dampening Disabled (Unrestricted wireframe shifting)
Race: Half-Vulupursyd
Titles
- Puma Checker: 5% stat boost advantage to predators and ambush beasts.
- Prodigy: You have slain a monster at least 25 levels higher than you. You gain essence at a rate of 2% faster than normal.
Null decided to save the remaining 15 level points; he didn’t want to be too impulsive in spending them until he learned more about his [Full Moon] state. Interestingly, it appeared that that weird resistance now had an explanation. A smile spread across Null's face.
Bang, bang. He thought to himself as a wicked smile grew across his face.