Once he resolved to tell Aloran, Dei took a moment to collect himself before saying “Alright, yea, you got it. I gained twenty Spiritual because I leveled up four times in my Profession, which is Mythical rarity.”

  “...Well, alright I guess.”

  “...”

  “What?”

  “No questions?”

  “Dei it’s rude to ask about things in someone's Interface when they clearly don’t want to share. I can see that you were hesitant to tell me even that.”

  Dei laughed. “Alright, you’re not wrong that I originally didn’t want to tell you, but I also need to tell you because I’d appreciate some answers about it as well. Are you okay with that?”

  “I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to help. My Profession is only Fabled rarity.”

  Dei quickly ran through the mental list of rarities in his head.

  ‘Common -> Uncommon -> Rare -> Treasured -> Epic -> Grand -> Historic -> Fabled -> Legendary -> Mythic. That means that his Profession is two levels below mine… huh, sweet.’

  “Even if yours isn’t as high tier, I’m sure you know a lot more about Professions and how to level them up. I only got the basic information about them from the System, so I’d appreciate a more advanced guide.”

  “I have to admit, I’m very curious as to what a Mythic Profession would entail if you really do want to share it. I think this is the fourth time I’ve ever encountered one, and the others were all rather… cagey. A lot older too.”

  “I really don’t mind. While I will tell you what the Profession is centered around, I can’t tell you how I got it for… reasons” he said, thinking about how he’d have to reveal that he’d stunned the System during their conversation. “Basically, it’s called Pondering Sage and I gain experience for thinking. Yes, that is genuinely what I do, but the issue I have now is that I get so little experience from thinking that, even after having it for months, it’s still level fifteen. It was level eleven until just a few moments ago.”

  “Hmm… I can see how that would both be incredible and an incredible problem.”

  “How so?”

  “Well you see, there are three deciding factors in how much experience something will require to level up. The first is, of course, the level. With this being your first Profession, this is actually the only thing that works in your favor because if you’d gotten it at level two or three hundred in your Profession evolution, I think you’d only have gained one or maybe two levels by this point. The other two factors that decide how much experience something requires is breadth and rarity. If something is super versatile, as your Profession is, it requires more experience to level up. Rarity is the same, where higher rarity Professions require more experience.”

  Dei nodded, “I sort of thought that would be the case, but it’s good to actually put it into words. What I need help with now is how, exactly, to get more experience. I’ve found that I get more experience for thinking about cosmic issues and figuring out cosmic mysteries but, as you can see, those tend to be in short supply. Are there any other ways to earn experience for it? Like, can I shunt experience from killing things off of my Class and into my Profession?”

  “Sadly not, but there are some tricks to leveling up in general that you probably haven’t taken advantage of, especially not for a profession. You see, in order to level up anything, it requires experience of course. This is true for Classes, Skills, and Professions. Depending on the situation, there are multipliers in place that help boost how much experience you get out of a certain action- if you put yourself in the right situation, you might be able to increase how much experience you get, per epiphany if you can time when you realize certain things.”

  “I see… so if I just don’t think too deeply about things until I have a couple of these ‘Multipliers,’ then I wont be at as much of a risk of running out of ‘big grand things to think about and earn me experience’?”

  Aloran chuckled, “I don’t think you’ll ever run out of things to think about, but yeah that's the gist.”

  “Alright, well what are they, how do I get these multipliers?”

  “There are four cases where experience- across your Class, Skills, and Profession- is boosted. Perceived Risk, Actual Risk, Will, and Variation. If you think something is dangerous, you will get more experience than normal while doing it, even if it’s actually not. If something is actually dangerous, then you’ll also get more experience, even if you don’t think it is.

  “Will is a bit more esoteric but can simply be defined as how you must actively focus on it. If you’re leaving a Skill on in the background without actually doing anything with it then sure, it’ll level up slowly, but not as much as if you sat down and did nothing but train the Skill. Even if you do the exact same thing, if your only objective is to raise its level then you’ll have more success.

  “Variation is sort of a newness bonus. If you do the same thing over and over again, you’ll get diminishing returns. In your case, thinking about the same topic over and over again won’t net you much, but if you flutter from topic to topic, you’ll get more,” he finished talking and gave Dei a moment to process what he was saying.

  Once more, all of this made sense, but having it laid out in front of him helped a lot.

  “If I were you” Aloran said. “Then I’d figure out something to think about, wait for your battle with whoever is chasing you, then- if you can- try and ponder on those mysteries during the battle. It’s going to be dangerous, but that’s your best shot at reaching level one hundred of a Mythic class within this century because, believe me, it will get harder to level up.”

  Dei sighed. “Easier said than done. Where am I going to find some grand mysteries to ponder before the fight?” he asked, knowing that Aloran would probably be his best bet.

  Luckily, he wasn’t wrong. “I might have some things that you could think about, but to make sure you won’t figure them out too soon, I’ll tell you about them shortly before it’s time for you to leave. Until then, I really do think you should focus on personal development at this time. From what I’m hearing, you have a ton of new tools which you still aren’t used to, and the potential to get a lot stronger as time goes on, without leveling up. I’ll give you more instructions to help you survive as the time for you to depart approaches, but until then, do you have any last minute questions? I will answer them as quickly as possible, and please don’t try and get stuck on any tangents. Take the answers at face-value, train some, then you can ask more later when you’re tired of training.”

  Dei wasn’t super happy with not being able to pick Aloran’s brain more thoroughly, but it made sense. If he wanted to maximize his levels, it seemed he needed to intently focus on training his Skills, rather than the passive training he’d been doing this entire time. Still, there were some short and sweet questions he could ask quickly, just to satiate his curiosity.

  “What’s the criteria for gaining Unnatural affinities? I feel like it should be impossible if it’s completely outside of a person's capabilities, but I myself have one in the form of a Soul affinity. How did I gain that despite it being Unnatural to humans? Because of the Void blessing, the Achievement you told me about, I’ll supposedly have a much easier time gaining the Void affinity, but I haven’t. How would I? It seems like a waste to not earn such a thing…”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “Every affinity has certain characteristics associated with it. To gain an Unnatural affinity, you need to embrace the characteristics associated with the affinity you want. For soul, one must be introspective and solitary, like the soul itself. Void is the affinity of ‘between states’ if that makes any sense. The exact reason people theorize it never forms any Convergences is because Convergences are static, they are not between states. Behavior associated with Void are people with clear divides in their personality- either those who thoroughly separate their work life from their home life or, in more extreme cases, those with multiple personalities. You likely do not form a Void personality because you are a cohesive whole of a person.”

  He wanted to question more about what it meant to be “between states,” but Aloran told him he needed to get to training. A question for later. Instead, he moved on to something else.

  “I’ve seen how Skills form on the soul, from my soul connecting with higher beings as the System inserts itself into the bond, but how does a Class affect the soul? Is it a System construct completely, or does it also partially exist outside of the Systems domain?”

  “Huh I… don’t know for sure? I honestly never considered a world without the System, so when you told me of your first life it was incredibly shocking, even if I didn’t show it. Still, I might have an answer for you- but I think it would be best if I waited to tell you. This can be one of the things you figure out during your battle, so you can gain more experience in your profession. When it’s time for you to leave, I’ll give you enough information to figure it out yourself.”

  A vexing answer, but it was for the best to wait anyway, so he didn’t bother to gain any information about it, instead moving on. “Contracts with affinities are called Attunements, yea? I attuned myself to Soul, that’s how I got my Connection ability, but it was my lowest affinity at the time and a major inconvenience. I basically weakened myself with a worse deal to simply survive. Is there any way to change my contract? Renegotiate it, or get one from another affinity?”

  “Ah, that is the question of the millennium isn’t it? It’s the exact dilemma that led to Harum the Infected. The short answer is no, there is no normal way to do so. The long answer? You’ve already traversed the Void once successfully, and you might very well be the first in history to do so without getting infected by a Void Beast. I advocate for you not to do that, because you’d need to feel the same level of rage you did last time to survive and, at that point, you probably won’t be thinking clearly enough to plan for the future but if you do, I’ll give you what little information I have on renegotiating your contract, based on the experiences of those who re-attuned themselves during Harums time.

  “After losing their attunement, those who used Harums spell on themselves were instantly forced into another meeting with the affinity they attuned themselves to the first time. During this meeting, they were able to advocate for new terms based on their new affinity strength, with a few stipulations. Firstly, they had to dedicate a portion of the Contract to re-gaining access to their previous gifted Skills, otherwise the affinity would have ripped the Skills from the users soul, something that would be lethal for you with how closely Connection is tied into you. Next, they were no longer entitled to fair terms- the affinity could be as brutal or demanding as it wanted to be, because the System was no longer regulating the Contract at that point.

  “This is where your Rights come in. If you ever do end up redoing your contract, I’m going to warn you- have a LOT of Achievements under your belt! You will want your Rights to be as strong as possible, or you will be turned into a puppet for Soul. practice this by negotiating with Gods, or perhaps Primordial Children. A being where you clearly have a weaker claim to the Contract. If you ever do succeed, please be careful. If you see yourself becoming forgetful and impulsive, please just kill yourself instead of letting a new Void Beast be born. If you aren’t consumed, I’d love to hear the story one day.”

  A lot to take in. He was hopeful at first because it seemed that Void was the key to potentially re-attuning himself, but it didn’t seem to be that easy. He had one single easy shot at a good contract in the eyes of the System, and he’d already used it up.

  Still, all hope was not lost. He had a lot of Rights, but he’d wait a while longer to act on them. He would get his connection with Soul as strong as possible before entering another Contract, and that gave him more time to get more Rights and, thus, a better deal.

  Aloran’s answer had somewhat distracted him, as it was a life changing revelation that he might be able to fix his contract, meaning that Dei forgot some of his other questions. He really should get to training anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal, but there was one more thing he wanted to ask before he started pushing himself.

  “Last question, how uncomfortable is it to sit in one place for a couple hundred years? I’d probably get a crick in my neck.”

  Aloran chuckled, but still answered in full. “I have no tactile sensory organs so… not uncomfortable at all. If I were human, I’d liken it to sitting in the same place in a pool of water for a long time. Eventually, the water around you gets to be the same temperature and you just don't feel anything.”

  “Well alright I guess. If I have any more questions I’ll ask them later. For now, I think it’s time I really test the limits of my Skills. I haven’t done that in a long time, as it just never felt safe enough.”

  “I won’t interrupt you then.”

  The process of testing his limits would be tedious, but it started with the few notifications he’d earned since getting back to Aloran’s cave.

  [Skill Leveled Up: Good Samaritan (52) -> (57)]

  That was pretty much it. After helping the Lorpees, he’d earned a burst of Kindness mana. When he saw their Anchor at the center of the Convergence, he chose to not take it- despite it being a rather strong artifact. He just didn’t need it, and felt it would be evil to take it, so when he left it alone, he’d earned another burst of Kindness mana. Taking all the extra mana he’d earned from the situation, he concentrated down into the already existing amount- Dei wasn’t letting the box hit its limit just yet… though he would have to soon, during his training. Either way, he now had a lot of very concentrated Kindness mana, which would hopefully help buy him more time to train.

  He could spare a point of highly concentrated Kindness to send a message to his mom.

  “Hello mom! I hope you and dad are doing well. I just made it back to the last place I saw you, and wanted to give you a bit of an update on myself. I’ve finally reached level one hundred and gained my first Class evolution. I hope you won’t mind, but I’ve decided to fully become a Slaughterer. I found a teacher as well to help answer some of the questions I’ve been building up, and it's nice to not stress over things I’ll never know”

  He contemplated whether to keep some things from her to make the message easier to digest, but after considering it, realized it would be funnier to play into the absurdity of the situation.

  “I’ll try to introduce you to him when we meet again. Apparently, he’s some kind of fallen God who’s resurrected himself into a garden. That’s crazy how it worked out, where you ended up putting me was actually under the domain of a slumbering God! He’s nice, and intends to help me build up my strength for the coming confrontation. Ah, yes, I forgot to say- I accidentally enraged a group of people by taking something I wasn’t supposed to. Not to worry! I have a Skill that lets me rebuild my body from scratch- it’s the same one that made me grow super fast, but I managed to merge it with another and now its a lot more powerful. I really hope you won’t mind that I’m closer to an adult now than a child. The God said that I’m closer to a Gem Dweller teen than an adult, but I think it’s a little absurd. I’m very tall right now, how much bigger can I get?

  “I wonder how tall you are… or dad for that matter. Either way, I actually just recently stabilized my soul after my body’s explosive growth, so I should be able to start growing again soon. I wonder how large I’ll get.

  “Oh yea, before I forget, I’m not a human anymore. I’m something called a Union? I tied my spirit to my body to get some ghost powers. It’s cool.

  “Anyway, love you mom! I hope I can see you again soon. Tell dad I love him too!”

  * * *

  Somewhere far above, Fou, Gor, and the two kids were out hunting. They’d sat inside all day and, even if they got piteous looks, they’d since decided it was time to get out and become active again. Their meeting with Justin helped renew their confidence that the situation would one day resolve itself.

  They didn’t hide their naked hatred of Iora, or anyone in general who didn’t believe them, but they couldn’t act on their beliefs.

  Fou and Gor both independently agreed that, should the chance arise, they would kill Iora. It was a guarantee at this point that she’d fucked up, that Dei wasn’t a monster. When that came to light, she was bound for execution and hollowing anyway. It might as well be them that threw the final strike.

  Killing a Shaman was no easy matter though, and the chance would likely never come until the Council appeared to finally put the ordeal to rest. They intended to ask to be the executioners to end her life.

  That was for another time though, Fou was brought back into the moment from her idle ponderings as a piece of Kindness mana made its way out of her Love affinity, making her mind light up with joy despite keeping her face neutral.

  After reading it though, she felt a vein bulge in her neck.

  ‘What the hell was I thinking? Leaving my boy on the body of a dead God? He said the God turned into a garden… I suppose I thought it was a normal garden? Oh Dei, you silly fool, please don’t make contracts with cursed Gods.”

  Gor noticed the slight tension in her and silently picked up where it came from, tilting his head in a questioning manner. She knew he wanted to know if it was good or bad news. She twitched a muscle, a sign they’d agreed upon in the safety of Justin's barrier before he’d left as they worked out some basic communication.

  “He’s your son,” she told her husband, indicating that Dei was doing something stupid again.

  Gor smiled brilliantly, and they continued the expedition in silence.