Chapter 4: Chapter Four

My destiny did await, but it had to stand in line. There was only one of the scanner devices so as we went down the line the rest of us talked to Beaker. It turned out most of us had heard of Beaker, or at least his accomplishments. The eccentric Enchanter had apparently created several products that were in regular use in the Conglomerate. Beaker explained that crafters could, for the most part, still gain stat points through crafting.

He smiled casually as he gestured to a few of his recent projects. "As you all know heroic cultivation, or Ascendant cultivation depending on your preference relies on performing great deeds. Since creating a product that sees heavy use is considered a great deed, it's possible to accrue stats in such a manner. Many a crafting genius has risen to power on the notoriety of their creations alone, remaining in the background personally so as not to draw attention."

Our humorless guide cut in. "Not many. Very few. Creating a device or concept that counts as a great deed is difficult. MOST crafters get out among the people and demonstrate their devices, which can give substantial returns. As you may know, Ascendant cultivation isn't linear. Especially after a rank up, stats become increasingly harder to gather. Larger and more impressive deeds are needed. Very few crafters who operate in the manner Beaker is describing reach E rank."

Beaker snorted. "Very few people reach E rank at all. It's no shame not becoming a powerhouse. The F rank is a respectable stopping point. A decent amount of Impact buys you a long happy life." At our surprise he turned to raise an eyebrow at our guide. "You hadn't started giving the speech yet so I assume you told them how stats work. Did you not mention the main advantage of Impact?"

The man looked annoyed. "No. I don't tell the newbies about that. It makes them rush their cultivation and unbalances their stats. But I suppose it's too late to avoid it now." He turned to look at the group. "As my colleague so helpfully pointed out, having a higher Impact does indeed protect you from the ravages of time. Somewhat. It's not exactly a clean comparison but the easiest way to think of it as that each rank up doubles your lifespan. Due to the exponential effects of stat values, the higher your Impact the more effective it is."

Jessie raised her hand, like we were in a class room, and I had to fight down a smile at how cute that was. "But, wouldn't Vitality increase lifespan? You said Vitality is life force right?" I paused. That was actually a really good point. I looked back to our guide, who was giving an approving nod, clearly impressed with the question. I hadn't even thought to question it, but Jessie had spotted that right away.

For the first time since I'd seen him the guide smiled slightly. "Well reasoned, but no. Vitality applies to healing, whether yourself or others. It prevents aging, but doesn't increase lifespan. Having a high Impact makes you live longer, having a high Vitality keeps you young while you are alive. We aren't really sure why it works that way honestly, but it's been proven that it does. Not many think to question that when first introduced to the concepts, however. I'm impressed."

Jessie lit up, her face flushing. "Oh, I was just wondering." She was distracted from her embarrassment though as the device finally made it's way into her hands. She swallowed hard, and looked at me. "Hope we both end up getting in!" She gave me a nervous smile then locked her hands around both of the grips and spoke the activation word that Beaker had given her. The screen lit up on the device, showing a version of the same screen I'd seen before with a few differences.

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