Chapter 7: Chapter Seven: So Many Charts, My Eyes Hurt

            They all lowered their hands, and Lily gave them a tremulous smile. “Well, after all that, I need to use the privy. If you don’t mind, I’m going to step into the trees for a bit.”

            Leo nodded. Then Lily awkwardly climbed up the riverbank. Even though her legs were obviously paining her—she walked like an old woman—she said nary a word of complaint.

            “So, while Princess Pride is out watering the bushes, can you help me with my leveling up?” Leo asked, turning to Hugh.

            Hugh grimaced. “That’s usually a long-term process, carefully thought out and plotted by people to guide their lives. And I don’t really know much about abilities and magics, especially the ones elves get.”

            “Can I afford to wait? I mean, what does leveling do, exactly? Because your description of everyone heading for this hoard—as well as the goblins we just fought—convinces me I need something besides a rock in my arsenal.”

            “Ugh, it’s so annoying that you don’t even know the basics.” Hugh huffed as he lay down and then rolled onto his side.

            Leo circled his hand, motioning for Hugh to get on with it.

Hugh moved his head so that his draconic gaze met Leo’s. “Well, at its most basic, leveling is just getting a lot of magical energy—usually, but not always, energy from dead people’s souls—until you become more powerful. I guess a ‘level’ is just a way to express what happens when the magic within you reaches a point it permanently improves you. For most of us, it gives us magical abilities, one new ability per level. Some races get more, as a result of being highly magical. Like dragons. ’Cuz we’re better than you.”

Leo rolled his eyes.

Hugh continued. “Abilities have two basic types, at least at the low levels. You can get other types, like auras, when you’re stronger. But at these levels, the two types are either static boosts or powers you can activate with essence.”

Again, so much to unpack there. Just get the basics down.

            “Static boosts?”

            “Yeah, like more strength so that you’re always stronger. In your case, to help you dirt farm better.”

            Leo glared for a moment where he lounged near the river, then laughed. “Sure, plus two dirt farming. But really, I could actually become permanently stronger? Because this body feels like it gets hives whenever a gym is nearby.”

            “Well, that body looks like every other elf I’ve ever seen. Maybe you’re using it wrong?”

             “Maybe. But my other body, the human one, could have beaten this one within an inch of its life. I was a touch less agile, but far stronger and tougher.”

            “Huh,” Hugh replied goofily, his eyes crossed.

            Leo laughed again. “I can’t even with you.”

            “Can’t even what?”

            “Just a dumb expression from back when I was a teenager,” Leo said, waving Hugh off from further explanation before wincing and lowering his arm. “Okay, wisest of dragons, how do I level?”

            “Just pull your status sheet up, and there’ll be a prompt,” Hugh said, turning to gaze back out over the river in obvious boredom. “Then find and pick your coolest ability.”

            Ask stupid questions, win stupid prizes. I probably should have just tried that. It’s like every video game I’ve ever played.

            Leo pulled his status sheet up, and overlaying it was a prompt.

You have gained enough experience to level. Do you wish to level and pick your ability(ies) and stats now?

 

            Leo picked “yes” and a huge list appeared.

Leveling Options, Level Two [pick three]
Body
Improved Strength, Rank I	+4 Strength
Improved Agility, Rank I	+4 Agility
Improved Dexterity, Rank I	+4 Dexterity
Bestial Endurance, Rank I	+4 Endurance
Bestial Toughness, Rank I	+4 Toughness
Bestial Senses, Rank I	+4 Perception
Improved Appearance, Rank I	+4 Appearance
Improved Health, Rank I	+8 base Health
Improved Stamina, Rank I	+8 base Stamina
Play Dead	Spend 1 essence and life functions will drop to the point that they are not detectable to the naked eye for up to 10 minutes.
Heal	Spend 1 essence and heal 4 Health to self or others by touch.
Brutal Reaction	Spend 2 essence. Gain brief speed, doubling physical movement rates, including attack, for 6 seconds.
Regeneration, Rank I	Spend 2 essence. Gain 1 health till max per 6 seconds for 1 minute.
Second Wind	Spend 1 essence. Gain 8 stamina.
Subtle Shift	Spend 2 essence and maintain for 1 essence per minute. Features subtly shift to look like a different person—only cosmetic features (skin tone, wrinkles, etc.)
Sleepless, rank I	Require only 4 hours of sleep per night.
Body Affinity, Rank I	+1 Body affinity.
*Kinesthetic Learner	Gain 1 additional Body ability at Level 10, and every 10 levels thereafter. May only be taken at Level 2, 11, 21, 31, or 41, and it only applies to the 10th level thereafter. Rare ability—result of Natural talent and at least 1 perk that adds to Strength, Agility, Dexterity, Toughness, or Endurance. +25% to occult skill gain rate.
Mind
Improved Intelligence, Rank I	+2 Intelligence
Illusionist, Rank I	Spend 1 essence. May hold for 1 drawdown (1 less maximum mana so long as power is utilized.) Create a cat-sized image with only visual components.
Audible illusions	All illusions may have audible components as well.
Conceal Self	May radically change your own appearance and clothing at will. This also provides +2 appearance. This is a mind-affecting ability and may be resisted by anyone with bonuses against mind-affecting abilities.
Mind Blast, Rank I	Spend 1 essence and do 2 (modified by all magic and mind altering effects) psi damage to any visible target that has a mind within 100 feet per point of occult.
Telekinesis, Rank I	Spend 1 essence and move a single object up to 10 feet away per occult at speeds up to 30 miles per hour. If attacking, does 1 base damage. Damage, speed, and weight modified by magical and telekinesis altering abilities.
Analyze	Spend 1 essence and gain a basic readout of any creature or item that does not possess anti-divination magic. Gain knowledge of basic Health, Stamina, Essence, and rough capabilities and weaknesses.
Telepathy, Rank I	Spend 1 essence, and 1 essence per 10 minutes, to use telepathy with any one person within 10 feet per point of occult.
Tongues	Spend 1 essence, and 1 essence per 10 minutes, to speak any natural language. This is a mind-affecting power and will not work if the target can’t receive telepathy.
Mind Affinity, Rank I	Gain +1 Mind affinity
*Cognitive Learner	Gain 1 additional Mind ability at Level 10, and every 10 levels thereafter. May only be taken at Level 2, 11, 21, 31, or 41, and it only applies to the 10th level thereafter. Rare ability—result of Natural talent and at least 1 perk that adds to Intelligence or Perception. +25% to occult skill gain rate.
Soul
Soul of Magic, Rank I	+2 Magic
Natural Leader, Rank I	+2 Charisma
Improved Connection, Rank I	+4 connection
Improved Capacity, Rank I	+4 capacity
Shield, Rank I	May spend 1 essence and gain a 4 hit point shield that lasts for 6 seconds.
Barrier, Rank I	May spend 1 essence and gain a 2 hit point shield that lasts for 1 minute.
Talk Down	The wielder may spend 2 essence and make a contested Charisma check against the target’s highest Intelligence, Magic, or Charisma score, with the defender getting any bonuses against mind-affecting powers. Success will calm the target so that they won’t initiate or continue aggression, unless harmed or witnessing others they care for being harmed.
Soul Affinity, Rank I	+1 Soul affinity
*Empathetic Learner	Gain 1 additional Soul ability at Level 10, and every 10 levels thereafter. May only be taken at Level 2, 11, 21, 31, or 41, and it only applies to the 10th level thereafter. Rare ability—result of Natural talent and at least one perk that adds to Charisma or Magic. +25% occult skill gain rate.
Wyld
Bestial Strength, Rank I	+4 Strength
Bestial Agility, Rank I	+4 Agility
Bestial Endurance, Rank I	+4 Endurance
Bestial Toughness, Rank I	+4 Toughness
Bestial Senses, Rank I	+4 Perception
Were Form, Rank I	May spend 1 essence, and 1 essence per every 6 seconds, to assume a partial were form. Gain +4 to Strength, Agility, Endurance, and Toughness for the duration of the ability.
Resilient, Rank I	Gain back 1 Health per ten minutes at no cost.
True Grit	Wound penalties to accuracy, dodge, and Stamina recovery are halved
Wyld Affinity, Rank I	+1 Wyld affinity
Animal Companion, Rank I	Gain an animal companion. That animal gains +2 to all physical stats. “Animals” includes any magical beast less than Level 6 for this power.
Metal
Armored Skin, Rank I	+2 armor score for natural skin. Your skin has a slight metallic sheen.
Light, Rank I	Spend 1 essence, and do 4 (modified by all magic, Metal, and light altering effects) light damage to any target hit with a ranged accuracy roll at +60% accuracy.
Coordinator’s Boost	Spend 1 essence. Target ally within 10 feet per occult gains +60% accuracy and +20% Critical Chance against any target hit by an ally for the next 12 seconds.
Natural Merchant, Rank I	Gain +20% more from selling goods than normal based on Charisma and business score.
Natural Organizer, Rank I	Gain +20% more productivity from any business with less than 100 (+10% per Business and Leadership skill level) people.
Skilled fighter, Rank I	+20% bonuses from all weapon, armor, and shield skills
Item Mastery, Rank I	Gain 1 additional non-artifact item use maximum
Soul/Wyld
Familiar, Rank I	May bond a single familiar. This familiar has half the level of its master and is a sentient magical beast.

 

            By Jove that’s a huge number of abilities!

            Leo examined the top of the list and then scanned down. As he did so, his head dipped about forty-five degrees.

            “A lot of magical options?” Hugh asked after a few minutes of silence. He had gotten bored and gone to splash at the edge of the river.

            “A ton,” Leo muttered. “I’m a bit overwhelmed. This is all real?”

            “Of course it’s real…” Then he stared at Leo. “How many magics do you have?”

            “Five,” Leo said. “Bod—”

            “Five!” Hugh exclaimed. “By Merdrek’s Teeth, five magics?”

            “Yeah…”

            “Figures,” Hugh said, his eyes wide. “Of course you do. And you don’t even know how rare that is, or how powerful that makes you, you pissant dirt grubber. Everybody gets amazing magic except poor Hugh, who didn’t even get normal Storm dragon magic.”

            “Stop feeling sorry for yourself and just tell me,” Leo said, exasperated. “That’s the easiest way. How rare is it?”

            Hugh settled back down, one eye ridge furrowed. “Well, most mortal races have one magic each. Like ninety percent of everyone.”

            “Okay…?”

            “Almost the entire remaining tenth has two. So, like, ten percent. And then a tenth of that have three, so, like, one in a hundred.”

            Leo did the math in his head. “The chance of having five magics is one in ten thousand?”

            “No,” Hugh said, staring over Leo’s shoulder. “To get to more than three magics is like one in a thousand each time. Four is one in a hundred thousand. Five is one in a hundred million, like one in a continent. And there has only been one six-magic person ever, Angeline.”

            “In other words, there are probably only over eight hundred people with as many magics as I have? One for each of the truly ridiculous number of continents the world has?” Leo asked, fascinated. “That’s why I’m so rare?”

            Hugh snorted. “I guess that is one way to look at it—you do have eight hundred or so peers.”

            “And it makes me super powerful somehow? Because I haven’t really been feeling my strength, you know? We’ve run, like little girls I might add, from every single fight we’ve been in at this point.”

            Hugh snorted again. “I guess that’s true, kinda. Although we did do a lot of damage first in both cases. Still, you have a way of putting things in perspective, friend Leo. And I guess I was overhyping it. Most people only get one ability per level, like I said, so I guess five magics isn’t that much better than one magic. But a lot of rarer and stronger magical abilities only exist for dual and tri-magic individuals. Although a lot of rarer abilities also exist for people with higher magical qualities and good perks as well.”

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            “Are there four-magic abilities?”

            “No idea,” Hugh said.

            “So, really, having five magics doesn’t make me super powerful. It just makes me extremely versatile, and maybe slightly more powerful?” Leo asked. Figures.

            “Yeah, I think that’s a better way to put it.”

            Leo groaned. “All right, well, what abilities should I take?”

            “Abilities?”

            “Yeah, I get three.”

            “Three?” Hugh parroted.

            “Stop repeating what I say and just tell me why that’s weird!” Leo said, exasperated again. “Pretend you’re a workplace safety video and give me the incredibly dry version!”

            “What in the…?”

            “Never mind,” Leo said. “Just please explain.”

            Hugh scratched his scales. “Sure, buddy. Calm down. You get one ability per level, normally. You must have some amazing perks. Three, well… That’s an actual, real increase in power.”

            “I only get three abilities for Level Two, I get one for the other levels. So I need to make this good. What should I take?”

            “I have no idea. I have Earth magic, not whatever-you-have five magics!” Hugh said, returning the snark. “And, on top of that, I level a lot slower than you, on account of my magical nature. I will most likely just wait till I age to gain more power—it’s easier. I mean, after I get the hoard, of course.”

            Huh… That seems like a lazy and terrible decision, considering his goal of keeping said hoard, but get through this first and talk to him about that later.

            “Okay, how should I decide how to level up?”

            “Well, whatever you select opens up new powers in the future. So, if you take, for example, Earth magic hardening powers, you get more advanced versions, or odder ones, like maybe spikes on your skin or something. Just find things you think are really cool and think about where they might lead so you can get a powerful build.”

            Leo examined the list again. “What does ‘occult’ do for me? And what is it?”

            “It’s a skill, like sword use, but it’s for using magic powers.”

            Interesting…

            “And affinity?”

            “It’s a focus on a single magic, improving that magic. But your Magic stat sets the maximum affinity you can normally have. And think about your perks. You should always lean into abilities provided by your perks.”

            “Thanks.” Leo pulled up said perks.

Birth Perks
Race: High Elf	-2 to base Strength, Endurance, and Toughness stats +2 to Agility and Magic stats base Increased chance for Being magics and Wyld magic. Gain an additional ability at Level 2, 10, and every 10 thereafter from one of those magics if possessed. Lifespan average of 400 years. Maximum of 3 perks positive and negative each, with standard chance of inheriting or acquiring at birth.
Rank: Natural	May obtain Level 80 without ascension, access to extremely rare or upgraded magical abilities.
Graceful Body	+4 Agility, +2 Dexterity, +4 Appearance
Predator	+4 Agility, +10% critical chance, +.5 critical modifier
Line of Stardew	+4 Magic. Always start with Wyld, gain 1 additional Wyld ability at Level 2. Auras for Wyld are gained 10 levels earlier and this can exceed maximum level. Two higher maximum Wyld affinity.
*Genius	+10 Intelligence, increase magic ability access. May gain +2 maximum Mind affinity.
*Being Arcane	With the appropriate prerequisite abilities and stats, upon obtaining Level 30, may gain any or all of the Arcane abilities: Kinesthetic, Cognitive, or Empathetic.
*Aura Mastery	May gain auras as if 10 levels higher, including access to auras that are beyond maximum level once reached.
Acquired Perks
Low-Self Esteem	-2 check to resist despair effects. Failure, especially significant failure, can lead to further negative perks.

 

            So, I can clearly gain increased power to Mind magic, and my Genius ability would synergize well with rapid gain of Occult skill… Perhaps I should focus on either psionic damage or Telekinetic damage? I could also get Cognitive Learner and really work the Mind magic angle… those would also synergize extremely well with the occult skill gain.

            But then he examined his Stardew Line and elf stats. He would have to pick one of his abilities in Wyld, but he gained Wyld affinity easier on the flip side of the coin. And Soul adds to the Magic stat. And what is ‘Arcane’? Each of the Arcanes listed—Kinesthetic, Cognitive, and Empathetic—is clearly tied to Body, Mind, and Soul magic, especially with the ‘Learner’ abilities.

            “What’s arcane, Hugh?”

            “What? I have no idea what that means.”

            Joy.

            This is the basis of my entire powerset on this world, and maybe once I get back to Earth, but I’m supposed to just make this choice half-blind?

            My gut is telling me that the arcane is important, but all it says is ‘prerequisite abilities and stats,’ with no explanation.

And do I want to lean into a magical build and remain kind of pathetic physically forever, or go for hybrid? I mean, if this were a game, I’d go for a min-max build, but since it’s my life, I feel awkward about having a pathetic body forever…

            Leo went over his choices and perks again. One ability had to be Wyld… Perhaps I can split the difference and take a stat gain as well, but… wait a minute.

            “Why are they called ‘Level Stats’ and ‘Non-Level Stats,’ Hugh?”

            “Because every time you level, you can add two points to one of your Level Stats, dumb-dumb. Why else would they be called ‘Level Stats’?”

            Son of a…

            Leo mulled everything over. I want to become a powerful Mind mage. I think I want the Telekinetic abilities more than the Mind-frying ones. Feels like I’d be a badass Jedi, and moving stuff with my mind has a lot of other applications, like in construction. Maybe I’ll get to use my civil engineering degree after all. And for sure I am going to want analyze.

            Leo was tempted to take those abilities now, to give him more of an edge in this world. But in his heart, he knew he couldn’t pass up the powerful long-run build. In order to be the best I can be, I should take two of the three Learner abilities and also take a single Wyld ability. I should take Mind, to focus on it, and Soul so I can get the magic-increasing powers. And in both cases, they do add to the gain of occult skill as well.

            But what to take for the Wyld ability…

            I would like to bond with Mystical Wolf Buddy, if I see him again. It would be awesome to have a battle dog, both here and back on earth.

            And the breaking of the nature pact is sad, and feels important, somehow.

            None of this helps me here and now, but my gut tells me it’ll be key to a powerful build in the long run.

            Leo made his selections and pulled his status sheet up again.

Leonard Emmanuel Evans
Level One	Body, Mind, Soul, Wyld, Metal
Health	10	Stamina	9	Essence	10
Level Stats
Strength	8	120 base pound-lifting capacity, -10% melee damage, -6% running speed
Agility	20	-50% enemy hit chance, +50% hit chance with all weapons, +18% running speed, +.5 critical modifier
Dexterity	12	+10% base success for crafting and physical skill success rate, 20% chance to raise base weapon damage roll by one step
Endurance	8	-2 base Stamina, -20% Stamina Recovery Rate, -20% base Health Recovery Rate
Toughness	10	+0 health, +0% base health, +0% base stamina
Perception	10
Connection	10	+0% Essence Recovery Rate
Capacity	12	+0 base essence, +0% base essence
Appearance	14	Handsome
Non-Level Stats
Intelligence	20	+100% skill acquisition rate, may gain rare and difficult skills.
Magic	16	+24% Magic Effects. +1 Maximum affinity.
Charisma	10
Luck	10	The Fates neither dislike nor care for you.
Secondary Stats
Birth Perks
…		…

 

 

Skills	Level	Effect
Athletics	12	+36% to run speed, +12 to check to climb or avoid obstacles Level 10 Special Skill: Burst Fighter: For up to 6 minutes, all stamina expenditures are halved.
Business	2	+6% to expected income, and -2% to expected costs, for operating any business
Dodge	8	+24% to dodge incoming attacks
Instruction	4	+2% increase in learning rate of someone learning from you per point of difference in your skills
Melee Weapons	1	+1% to hit and damage with any handheld weapon
Mixed Arts Fighting	8	+16% to hit and damage with fists, +8% to dodge, +4 to trip, pin, or incapacitate and avoid the same.
Natural Sciences	19	Extremely detailed understanding of the non-magical components of the world and how they work.
Research	8	+16% base rate to discover information in archives, +16% to daily chance to discover something new while researching, modifying Intelligence rate
Seduction	1	People find your attempts to seduce them 2% more favorable than baseline, compared to what they are looking for

 

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