-Day 5, Canaan, Daniel's POV-
"Well, this was unexpected." I thought, as I stared at the multiple screens I'd opened in front of me. Let's just say that training a skill for hours on end was quite effective.
Halberd (lv 26, 795/1.950 Xp)
-Knight 2 (+10% Halberd damage)
Unarmed (lv 25, 1.030/1.875 Xp)
-Striker 2 (+10% Unarmed strike damage)
Sword (lv 26, 150/1.950 Xp)
-Gladiator 2 (+10% Sword damage)
The Unarmed skill had given me a choice at level 10: Striker or Grappler. Considering that I had no idea on how to grapple, my choice was quite obvious. I also gained 2 levels through the bonus from skill leveling, bringing me up to 24. With the levels came also some extra stat points in all stats… except for AGI. That thing was starting to bother me something fierce. All my other stats had reached 20, or were almost there. And then there was my 15 AGI. I was going to go parkouring as soon as possible.
Still, it was finally dawn, and I was currently knocking on the forge's backdoor. The doors in this town were much taller than the ones back home for sure, reaching about 11 feet. I definitely felt puny compared to the dragons around.
While I was stuck in my thoughts, Vulcan opened the door and let me in. The heat of the forge was definitely not something I was looking forward to, but I could deal with it. I took off my cloak, and we got to work. Vulcan had taken an order from a nearby cheetah village, about 30 iron swords. While he let me keep the one I'd made, we still needed to make some more. My sword quality was alternating between common and uncommon evenly, probably because Vulcan was there to give me tips here and there.
It didn't take too much before my Weapons skill leveled up heavily. It reached level 9, but by that time we were already done with that order.
Vulcan worked fast, I tell you. Once we were done, he put the finished products away, and got to teaching me the best ways to forge stuff, allowing me to also start dabbling into some armor for myself. I must admit that my first work was of poor quality, even Vulcan admitted so himself. Thankfully, he was patient and showed me what I did wrong. Incredibly, my next attempt came out as uncommon! Thus, I now had myself a pair of iron bracers.
What a stroke of luck!
The remainder day was spent with Vulcan teaching me how a dragon's armor worked, what pieces it was made of, et cetera. One guard came by due to his helmet having been deformed because of an accident, but other than that, it was quiet. Most of Vulcan's work was either big orders which would be collected at a later date, or small repairs that were done in a matter of minutes. I was allowed an hour break for lunch time, in which I rushed to Arashi's place to remove the vis crystals from the arcane table, but other than that I spent my day in the forge. Only once it was nearing sunset we closed up shop and left. Directing myself to Arashi's house, I reread all the screens that greeted me once I stepped out.
Crafting: Weapons leveled up! (4 – 9)
Crafting: Armor leveled up! (1 – 2)
STR, VIT and DEX increased by 2 due to your grueling forging!
LUK increased by 1 due to forging an item above your level!
Due to learning from a much more experienced individual, Weapons, Tools and Armor increased by 3!
All of the level ups that should have been appearing while I worked came up only once I was done working. It was something new, certainly, but it was definitely useful. Plus, the new perk for the Weapons skill was nice.
Weaponsmith 1
-Allows the crafting of Common quality weapons more consistently.
In other words, if Vulcan wasn't there I would have been making Poor swords earlier, but now I could do Common even without him, and if he was there I could make Uncommon weapons. Maybe I would be able to make Rare weapons, like some of the things in his shop.
I hadn't expected it, but Vulcan had decided to pay me by the day. I didn't argue, of course, I just pocketed my 20 rupees and thanked him. I had Arashi explain to me how much a rupee was worth, and it was around two and a half times an euro.
So, the table was about 150 euro. Eh, not extremely expensive compared to some things I'd seen, but sheesh. Debts definitely weren't fun. Thankfully, Vulcan was quite generous in my daily pay, allowing me to pay off Arashi within two more days, maybe three, if I didn't get the chance.
Dinner was a quiet affair. While I didn't need to eat food that often, I forced myself to because first, it would be rude to decline. Second, I was a paranoid fuck and didn't want him to know my body's limits.
Finally, I was in my room once more, and this time I had an arcane table ready. It took a not insignificant amount of Gp, 40 of 'em, but I had managed to get my hands on the base needed to create a thaumometer.
The book I was gifted specified that a thaumometer was an extremely important tool for all thaumateurghs: mainly because it allowed its user to recognize the different types of vis contained in common objects. Those same types of vis that were used also for alchemy, but that could wait…at least until I had a place of my own. Plus, for alchemy I'd need a crucible. To use a crucible, I needed fire. The floor was wood. Nope!
Nonetheless, back on track. The basic form of a thaumometer consisted of a hexagonal lens with a golden frame all around it. At its longest it was about 7 inches, allowing me to actually see through it while keeping it a respectable distance away from my face.
I placed the lens in the middle of the arcane table, and placed, like always,` the six crystals needed. I then had to leave the thaumometer to absorb the vis for about eight hours.
Welp, I just set a reminder on my phone and went back to training.
-Day 6, Arashi's house, Daniel's POV-
My full night of parkour in an ID was extremely fruitful. I almost fixed my AGI problem, bringing it to a respectful 19. My DEX increased by 1 too, but that wasn't so important. What was important was that I finally had my own thaumometer. Keyword being had.
-Earlier in the morning-
It was about half an hour before sunrise, and my phone had rung, alerting me that my thaumometer was ready. I returned inside, and picked it off the table.
*ding*
Thaumometer (intricate, rare)
DUR: 10/10
A vis-infused lens which allows the user to study the ambient vis.
*ding*
You obtained an item that can upgrade a spell! Do you want to combine [Thaumometer] and {Observe} to enhance the spell's effects?
Y/N
I blinked.
I blinked twice.
"Eh, what the hell."
I pressed yes. The thaumometer burst into golden dust, and was absorbed into my skin.
*ding*
{Observe} was upgraded! Additional info: Aspect gained!
Wanting to try it immediately, I Observed my arcane table.
*ding*
Arcane table (complex, rare)
DUR: 60/60
Aspects: Arbor(15); Instrumentum(12); Praecantatio(5)
A normal wooden table with vis channels burned into it. It can be used to infuse objects with vis.
So, my Observe could now show me also the vis aspects present in different items. I was curious if it worked also on living beings… but I still couldn't Observe any adults! Well, Observing people seemed to be giving a lot of Xp to the skill, so… might as well check on anyone that I saw. At least some should have been in my range.
With newfound speed I ran all the way to the forge, arriving just on time.
Thus went the day, with Vulcan lecturing me in forging and maintenance, and having me creating some simple tools to test my understanding of his teachings. It was during my hammering of a hammerhead (heh), that someone entered. A lot of people, considering the multitude of steps I could hear.
Vulcan asked me to lend a hand to bring the swords we'd made yesterday on our client's cart, thus I picked up a barrel and followed. Once I placed my barrel on the cart, I turned back to get back in, when I ran into someone. Someone I really didn't want to meet ever again.
"You again?!" We both yelled, incredulously. Staring at me was the same asshole that greeted me on my first day in this fucking world!
I popped an Observe immediately, hoping that he wasn't too much of a problem.
*ding*
Cyros Alastor - Vengeful One (-50 REP with everyone friendly to ?, +50 REP with everyone who dislikes ?)
Race: Cheetah (+1 DEX every two levels)
Lv: 15
Hp: 130/130
Mp: 50 (locked)
STR: 15
VIT: 13
AGI: 17
DEX: 16 (23)
MAG: 5
LUK: 9
Aspects: Intelligentia(25); Ordo(6); Victus(22)
Born from a mother with no mate, Cyros was forced to watch a horrible occurrence between two cheetahs that were so very close to him. The scene stirred a seething fire within his depths, causing him to walk the path of revenge against one of those cheetahs. Since revenge is all he has been training for, it is the only thing he cares for, leaving him with little personality.
Skill: Divine magic leveled up! (13 – 14)
"Well, I had a right to be scared of him almost a week ago, but now... heh."
I decided to see if he would still be an asshole to me.
"Quite the surprise to see you here, I'll admit. So, how's things been for you this last week? Oh, it seems that in your hurry to lug me around back then you forgot to tell me your name," I extended a hand towards him. "I'm Daniel. Hope you got over whatever it was that made you act like a cunt back then."
I always enjoyed bewildering people, and this time was just as enjoyable.
"Cyros, you know this being?" The other Cheetah asked. Observe time!
*ding*
Milo Ardhanari - Cannon Fodder (+5 VIT and LUK)
Race: Cheetah (+1 DEX every two levels)
Lv 16
Hp: 170/170
Mp: 40 (Locked)
STR: 15
VIT: 17 (22)
AGI: 16
DEX: 14 (22)
MAG: 4
LUK: 14 (19)
Aspects: Intelligentia(25); Tutamen(12); Victus(22)
Milo has always been a guard for as long as he can remember, and he's happy with his lot in life. He enjoys being inconspicuous, and being just a face in a platoon suits him perfectly. He still has a defensive streak, being always willing to defend the innocent.
I could respect wanting to live a calm life (Kira much?), but having a title called 'cannon fodder'? Sheesh. Actually…I had no title except for 'The Gamer' and 'Heir to the Netherworld'. Neither of which I'd done anything to actually deserve except accepting Loki's offer and being born in the first place!
Bah. Whatever.
"Yes, I do… somewhat. We've met about a week ago," Cyros turned to me. "and what are you even doing here? This is a town of dragons, not apes."
I gave him my usual deadpan look, and answered in what was possibly the flattest, most unamused voice ever.
"I live here, nitwit. It's not written anywhere that only dragons can live here. And I'm not an ape, in case your eyes are that bad."
I'd like to point out that since I just came out of the forge, I was cape-less. Thus, my not-apelike face was visible to everyone.
Surprisingly enough, Cyros kept his cool somewhat, and just snorted in my face. He then climbed up on the cart, and both him and Milo left.
As we watched them leave, Vulcan nudged me. "C'mon, time to close."
I blinked. "Already?" It was barely noon.
He nodded. "Aye. 'S Loredas, we work only half a day today. 'N don't bother coming tomorrow."
With that, we cleaned up and went our separate ways. I'd almost forgotten it was the weekend. Nothing much had changed, except another DEX due to handling small stuff a lot, and two levels to Tools, bringing it up to 7. My pay was 15 rupees this time, by the way.
Thus, I had one and a half days free on my hands. And only one way I could think of occupying that time: training. The only problem with it was one: I couldn't do it while Arashi was waiting for me. I resolved to just go back and decide then. I really needed a cloning spell or something.
"I'm back!" Man, did I feel Asian saying it. At least it wasn't in actual Japanese.
"Fuck you, where's my money?" Arashi answered in a tired voice.
"You'll have it within next week," I answered while going back to my room. Might as well read some more.
As I couldn't practice alchemy (couldn't make a crucible), I moved on to the following chapter: auromancy. Basically, it was spellcrafting. Firstly, I needed a foci, which I made simply with a stick and an aqua vis crystal. Then, came the hard part: I had to actually cast the spell.
I was currently inside an empty ID, and was contemplating how to converge vis of different types in my foci. Doing what I thought could work, l tried to project my mana outside of myself slowly, making it exude out of my hand. Slowly, I made the mana crawl trough the stick into the crystal, and in the meanwhile I kept the concept of water firmly in my mind, trying to force my mana to take on the qualities of water.
I succeeded, somehow, as I could feel the mana stick to the crystal easily. Then, came the second part of the spell: the effect. This one was easy, as all this spell was supposed to do was create a jet of water. Thus, I gave my mana the properties of movement, motus. I covered the aqua mana already inside the crystal with the motus mana that I'd created, and then let it go outwards.
The spell worked somewhat, but instead of a burst of water into one certain direction the water went everywhere. It wasn't even that much water, maybe a cup.
*ding*
Skill branch gained: Auromancy
Skill gained: Aqua Magic
Spell created: Drizzle (novice, min 10 Mp)
- A light sprinkle of water. Useful for staying fresh.
At least it was progress. Nevermind the fact that everytime I did something new with magic I ended up doing something stupid, and nevermind also the fact that my eyelid was twitching from a combination of annoyance and disappointment.
I was perfectly calm.
"MOTHERFU—"
xXxXx
We have censored the following scene due to extreme and prolonged vulgarity.
xXxXx
"—AND FUCK ME TOO, BECAUSE WHY NOT?! IT'S NOT LIKE I WANT TO MANAGE A SPELL AT THE FIRST TRY OR ANYTHING—"
xXxXx
Let's wait a bit longer, shall we?
xXxXx
I held my 'wand' tightly, focusing on the mana inside it. Last time I just let the mana go outwards, but this time I tried to only let it go on one side. I did it. The stream was shaky, and it lasted at most two seconds, but it worked!
Spell created: Water Gun (novice, 15 Mp)
- Attribute: Water
- Creates a weak stream of water.
- DMG: (MAG/2) + 'Aqua Magic'
xXxXx
Skill: Manipulation leveled up! (8 – 10) (You skipped a couple steps there)
That spell, while weaker than my Mana Blast currently, would grow much easier, as it seemed like all the Auromancy branch was practical, not theoretical. Or at least, Aqua was, so by logic... And speaking of, FUCK YES! I was one step closer to doing magic without using these stupid foci! The double level up was probably due to the fact that I managed to manipulate my mana outside of my body.
Nonetheless, one more bonus objective completed. It had taken me only around an hour to get to this point, so I chose to go a bit further too. I had a cloak that enhanced the magical abilities of my dark, shadow and death magic, so...
Time to make a dark-elemental Water Gun!
The most help that I could get from the book was that the 'Dark' element was more akin to 'corruption'; as such the vis that constituted it was 'vitium'. Shadow, instead, was 'tenebrae', as in, 'absence of light'. Death was just that, death. It translated to either 'mortuus' or 'exanimis', depending on whether it related to killing stuff or reviving the dead.
The spell was a success! I gained the branches Vitium, Tenebrae and Mortuus easily, and their spells were actually awesome.
Mudo (novice, 20 Mp)
- Attribute: Dark
- Shoots a bullet of dark mana that has a very small chance to instantly kill an enemy when it hits. Sticks to the skin of the enemy, damaging them continuously. Damage stacks.
- DMG: (MAG + 'Vitium Magic')/3 every second.
- Lasts: 'Vitium Magic' seconds
xXxXx
Blind (novice, 10 Mp)
- Attribute: Shadow
- Throws a clump of shadows to blind the enemy. Deals no damage.
- Duration: 'Tenebrae Magic'×2 seconds
xXxXx
Drain (novice, 15 Mp)
- Attribute: Death
- Saps away the target's Hp and gives half of it to the user.
- DMG: ('Mortuus Magic'% of target Hp) + MAG
While the damage calculation for Drain was weird, it wasn't too complicated: for example, if I used it right now on an enemy with 1000 Hp, they would lose 1% of their Hp, in this case 10, and then to that you'd add my MAG, thus making the base damage 30. Of which, 15 would go to me, refilling me. And with the cloak's effect, the damage rose to around 34, thus netting me 17 Hp.
An extremely handy skill, especially at a higher level. Potentially, I could just spam that and kill anything when I'd get Mortuus at about 100. But that was a long way to go. And while I could cast the spell, the skill wouldn't get any Xp since I needed to use it on an actual enemy.
...speaking of.
"Help."
The screen appeared before me, and I immediately typed out my question.
'What is the boss rank?'
I should really have asked that earlier, but my dumbass got distracted by other things.
Query: What is the boss rank?
Answer: The boss rank is the indication of an enemy's place in the hierarchy of the dungeon. The ranking is as follows:
No rank: cannon fodder
Rank 3: mini-boss
Rank 2: Field boss
Rank 1: Dungeon boss
Rank EX: Dungeon god. Don't even try to fight it. Leave before it spawns, for the love of everything.
"...Wow. Ok. So, the dreadnaught was just a mini-boss... it did mention that when I killed it. maybe I could try my hand at a Field boss? Nah. Not yet." I wanted some more options in my arsenal first. And higher stats, in everything. That, or someone to help me, and that wasn't really a viable option.
I popped out of the ID, and went downstairs, to avoid arousing Arashi's suspicion. It would be awful if he went upstairs and saw that I wasn't present.
-Night of Day 6, Canaan, Tundra's POV-
The being that helped us lived in the town now. It had done so since he helped us. I wanted to meet him again, to walk up to him and just... talk. But I couldn't bring myself to do so. What would I even say? Would he even want to talk to me? Last time he was nice, sure, but it could have just been because the guards were there. I didn't even know why I wanted to talk to him!
...the past few days, I didn't manage to sleep well. All I could think of was... what if he wouldn't have arrived? What if I didn't decide to help? What if the apes would have been smarter and circled us while we were busy? What if, what if, WHAT IF?!
I didn't have an answer. Star didn't feel that much better, and I could tell. I could hear her shuffling around at night, since our rooms were next to each other. That night, she would keep turning, and turning, and sometime in the middle of the night she decided to sneak into my room. She probably thought I was asleep, but I actually slept even less than her.
I was feeling like crap. I had killed, too! Ancestors, I killed them. I knew that I would need to do that eventually, as no dragon ever managed to live without fighting, but... I was just sixteen! How many dragons could say that they killed someone before even becoming an adult!? And it wasn't just me! Star did so too, and she was Fourteen! And Pyra, she's thirteen! Ancestors, she was thirteen. What did they ever do to deserve that! What did I do?
Then, I saw that being, Daniel, I heard dad call him. He looked perfectly fine. As if nothing went wrong. Did he really not care? Or maybe it was just a mask? Was he as traumatized as us? I wanted to know, I needed to know! I needed answers!
"What's the matter, bud?"
I stumbled in confusion. I hadn't expected anyone to be outside at that hour! I looked around, and there was Daniel!
"You want to talk about it?"
He was just there, in front of me! He wanted to talk to me, too! I could ask him anything, but...
"No, just couldn't sleep."
...I chickened out.
Yet, he didn't let me go that easily.
"I can tell that's not true, you know. You're not that good at hiding your emotions. I mean, sure, you can't sleep and that's obvious, but there's something much worse bothering you, isn't it?"
I really wanted to tell him! I wanted him to know what it was like for me, I, I...
"...I'm confused."
"About what?"
"A lot of things. About why they wanted to take Pyra, why us, why you helped us, why do I feel so bad after what happened, why did the girls even have to witness that! It's all such a mess..."
He nodded. He wasn't even looking at me anymore, his eyes staring into the void just like mine. After a while, he spoke again. "Sometimes, things just are. There's no point in thinking them over, because there's not much to think about. They happened, and that's the end of it. Although...they wanted to extract your mana."
"What?"
"Your mana. Your sister's mana. Pyra's mana. They wanted it. You weren't the first they targeted. They've caught around a dozen dragons and killed them for it. Maybe you could have survived...that's the worse alternative. Some mental scars are probably much better. I wouldn't know."
"Why wouldn't you know?"
"I have no such scars, and I probably never will. I have a spell of sorts, etched into my mind. I can't ever be consumed by emotions. I can laugh, I can cry, but...never to the same extent as everyone else. I miss my family, you know."
I blinked at the sudden change of topic, but stayed quiet.
"They're so far away...I could talk to them, if I wanted, but...what would I tell them? 'Hi, I'm the son you thought was dead, I'm stuck somewhere filled with dragons, I don't know if I'll ever get home, bye'?"
"We both have it rough," I chuckled.
"Damn straight," he sighed. "I'll probably never understand what you feel like, but you can still talk to me, if you want. As long as it's not while I'm working."
"You have a job?"
"What did you take me for, a worthless bum? Of course I do. I work at the forge."
"Good for you."
"Yeah, but now—" he got up "—it's time for you to get home. I can't help with the nightmares, but they're just that, nightmares. They can't hurt you. Plus, there's guards all around, you can trust them to keep the apes away. Plus, I'm here too."
-Daniel's POV-
As I looked at Tundra walking away, I understood why the game wanted me to not use an ID tonight. While I'd wasted some time where I could have grinded levels, I managed to help him a bit. That was worth it.
Quest complete: Lending an ear
Rank: E
Objectives:
-Wander around the town
-Calm Tundra's worries (+500 Xp)
Bonus:
-Give Tundra some more insight about you (+100 Xp, Tundra is more likely to help you when you'll need it)
xXxXx
Gained: +600 Xp
Daniel leveled up! (24 – 25) You gained 5 Stat points! +1 STR! +1 MAG!
The Xp was nice too. Still, I had about four hours of time to kill. Might as well try the mini-boss of the ape ID.
There was the bitch. I was hiding behind a building, while the mini-boss was wandering around the street, probably searching for me.
Ape commander (+15% DEX, VIT, AGI)
Lv: 15
Hp: 190/190
Mp: N/A
STR: 20
VIT: 19 (21.8)
AGI: 17 (19.5)
DEX: 19 (21.8)
MAG: 0
LUK: 0
Boss rank: 3
Aspects: Bestia(15); Telum(10); Perditio(20)
A platoon commander. A bit smarter than your average ape, but still stupid. It likely has fleas.
Another physical fighter. Time to pull out my new strategy.
A quick casting of Blind confused it, followed up immediately by Mudo.
One second. -11 Hp.
And another Mudo, so it went to 22.
I just cast four Mudos and let them do their job. It took about six seconds for the ape to die. Mudo FTW!
Mini-boss: Ape commander Lv: 15 killed!
You gained 1875 Xp, 300 Gp!
No loot? Lame. Well, at least that was a good amount of Gp.
-Day 7, Arashi's house, Daniel's POV-
I was currently sitting in my room, thinking back to what I'd told Tundra last night. Should I call them? I'd been debating for a while now, and even came close to doing it more than once, but... I was scared. How would they react? Would it be better if I let them see me? Should I...
I was about to put away my phone, but stopped.
"Fuck it. I need this."
I unlocked the screen, and called. No more overthinking.
The phone rung once...
Twice...
Thrice...
"Whoever this is, wherever you found this phone, please don't call this number again—"
"Mom, it's me! Daniel!"
"...Daniel? Impossible. My son is long dead. Please stop with this stupid prank."
"Mom, it's been what? A week? Did you seriously kill me off in such a short amount of time? You should now I'm made of sterner stuff than that!"
"It's been seven years. Whoever you are, if you don't stop I'll call the authorities."
"WHAT! Alright, I've got it. Back when I was eight, I ate a whole pack of chips for dinner and vomited all over the bed that night. Only you and I know that."
"D-Daniel? Is that really you?"
"Yeah, mom. It's truly me. I didn't know it had been so long for you. It's only been a week for me."
"I can tell that your voice is about the same as last time I heard you, but how is this possible?"
I took a moment to ready myself. I would have to tell the whole truth to them.
"Ok, let's see if I got everything: you, your father, and all in the male side of his family is part demons, you've learned how to become a full demon —even if a low-class one— and it's all thanks to a power that makes your life a game, which you gained thanks to a god called Loki. The same Loki that ripped you from home, and sent you on another world populated by dragons and lots of other things, without even telling you of the time discrepancy."
"Yep, that's about it. It's bullcrap, but it's my life now."
"And what are you planning to do? I doubt that we'll be alive by the time you manage to get back."
"Well, I guess—"
*ding*
Message from: Loki
Hey, it's your fault that it took you so long to call home! In my defence, the phone had a magical matrix in it that would sync whatever world you're in to your world's. Had to call in a favour for this. That's one you owe me.
"—Alright, I guess that the problem was already solved. Basically Loki did some magical stuff with the phone, that synced the time flow of these worlds, and will do the same as long as I call you for every other world."
"So, I'll be actually able to hear you more often now?"
"Well, often is relative, considering that I didn't call for seven years on your line."
"Daniel..."
"Yes mom, I'll call."
"Good boy. Now, do you want to tell me how you spent this week of yours?"
I spent hours talking to my mom, and then my father and sister. Seven years had really taken their toll on them. I'll admit it was freaky to hear my sister as thirteen. I remembered her as a little kid, and now she was a teenager. I know that kids grow fast, but that's way too much.
With a lighter heart and more determination than ever, I concentrated once more into my training. Half of the day was gone, but I didn't give an absolute damn. It was time to pass to the last chapter in the book, Goleomancy. With that I should be able to take on much more powerful enemies. At least in theory.
For making golems I'd need one Cognitio vis, one Victus vis, and four Motus vis. Down the drain went another 12 Gp.
With those materials, I built a body for my golem made of dirt... didn't have any other materials at the ready. I left a hole of about three inches (bit over 7.5 cm) in the head, forearms, shins, and chest. Inside those holes I put respectively the Cognitio, Motus and Victus crystals.
"I wonder what kind of magic I could make with Motus. Maybe telekinesis? Could I adapt it to being cast without foci? I really want to become an esper, if only to fuck around with people."
Back on track. I proceeded then to cover the whole golem's body with Salis Mundus, and read the 'incantation'.
"Golem, isti surge et creator vestris parere!"
From what I remembered of Latin this was definitely butchered to hell and back. Or maybe it was a whole other laguage reminiscent of latin? Considering that the book was a gift by Loki, it was possible. Who knew where in the multiverse he got it from. As I finished the incantation, the golem shuddered and started moving, rising up from the lying-down position I'd built it in at first. Once it was on its feet, I both observed it and Observed it.
*ding*
Unnamed golem – Dirt (+5% VIT and STR)
Race: Golem (+1 VIT per level)
Lv: 4
Hp: 50/50
Mp: 10 (Locked)
STR: 6 [6.3]
VIT: 1 (5) [5.25]
AGI: 3
DEX: 3
MAG: 1
LUK: 6
Aspects: Terra(15); Cognitio(10); Motus(20)
A golem made of dirt by Daniel Samuels. It is clumsy and brittle. It has a decent amount of intelligence, and understands basic commands.
The golem was tall about five feet (1.5 meters), and its only defining trait was the very soft glows coming from the activated vis crystals: grey for its limbs, red for its chest, and light pink for its face. Everything else was brownish-black.
*ding*
Skill: Golems gained!
Skill: Golems leveled up! (1 – 2)!
Apparently it was listed as a crafting skill, and...oh fuck. It was another Manipulation.
I hanged my head in exasperation. Why me?!
In the end, I managed to pull myself together and look at the bright side: I'd understand this thing inside and out by the time I was done with it. Actually...
Query: How do I level up the 'Golems' skill?
Answer: This skill will increase along with your proficiency in creating golems. The more complex the golems, the higher your skill will be.
So, in other words, I needed to do some complicated shit. Nothing new. What could I do? A rock golem? I had the crystals, but I needed the rock. Where in the hell would I get it anyway? I'm no miner.
*ding*
You have created an artificial being! Do you want to synchronize your mana with it?
Y/N
"...Help."
Query: What does it mean 'to synchronize my mana'?
Answer: Mana synchronization is best explained as a sort of 'party system'. You can only do this with artificial beings you made, i.e. golems, familiars, homunculi, etc.
Synchronized beings will be able to level up, but their points will be yours to spend. They won't be able to increase their stats easily either. While possible, it will take as much effort as any normal being. Only the Gamer is exempt from this.
Mana synchronization takes a big toll on someone's energy, and as such you will be limited to one extra being for every 100 levels. I.E. now you can do one, at lv 100 you'll be able to do two, at 200 three, and so on.
While there were a lot of limitations, it was still very good. Although...
Query: Is mana synchronization permanent?
Answer: No. The synchronizer can cut off the synchronized at any time. The synchronized's level and stats will stay the same, too.
In that case... some extra help wouldn't be unappreciated. I could get the golem to be much stronger than me, then kick it out of the party, letting it deal with powerful enemies, and allowing me to deal the final hit. As it would be outside of my party, only I should get the Xp.
As I pressed yes, I felt a big chunk of my mana fly out of me, and into the golem. Its 'skin' became more even, and it also got about an inch (2.5 cm) taller.
*ding*
Unnamed golem – Mana infused dirt (+15% STR, VIT, MAG)
Race: Golem (+1 VIT every level)
Lv: 4 (0/800)
Hp: 50/50
Mp: 10/10 (+1 Mp/min)
STR: 6 [6.9]
VIT: 1 (5) [5.7]
AGI: 3
DEX: 3
MAG: 1 (1.1)
LUK: 6
Aspects: Terra(15); Praecantatio(10); Cognitio(15); Motus(20)
A mana-infused dirt golem. Still brittle, but it can be fixed. It has a potential for magic, but no way to use it as of now. It is slightly intelligent, and understands less complex commands.
I pursed my lips at seeing the Xp requirement: double what I needed at that level. Another problem, it seemed. Oh, well.
I opened the quest log, and stared at the On becoming a mage quest... it had no time limit, and I could turn it in whenever. I did finish the book already... bah. Alchemy didn't really intrigue me from what I'd read. Although, I didn want to learn runes. Could be very useful.
I turned in the quest.
Quest complete: On becoming a mage (1/?)
Rank: F
Objectives:
-Read the book 'Thaumaturgy for dummies' (+100 Xp)
Bonus:
-Follow the book's instructions (4/6) ('Enchanting made easy', +2 Skill token, ×5 spell upgrade scrolls, project: Mind Core)
Gained: +100 Xp, Book: 'Enchanting made easy', +2 Skill token, ×5 spell upgrade scrolls, project: Mind Core.
I accepted it all, making a mental note to give the new book a look later. For now, I took out the project and skill upgrade scrolls.
Project (unique , N/A)
Aspects: Herba(5); Instrumentum(5)
This project teaches how to create a Mind Core. It can be learned only if you have the appropriate skill.
Required Crafting: Golems lv: MAX
Level max. Motherfucking level max. Great.
Skill upgrade scroll (unique, N/A)
Allows the upgrade of a spell into one of higher tier.
Warning: while the spell effect increases, so will the cost. A 20 Mp spell will become 40, then 80, and so on.
Now that was more useful...not now though. I'd use it only when I had enough Mp for it. I'd say about 50 MAG would be good. Time to step it up. With my current Mp regen I'd be able to use my Overdrive for 25 minutes before having to recharge. I'll start using it again as much as possible. The continuous should power level my MAG something fierce. Might as well cut it off from my schedule, as I could do it in the day. One more day to level grind.
I turned back to my golem, thinking back on what to do with it...
Query: Can golems be placed in the Inventory?
Answer: Yes, as they are not living beings. Be warned: if you put living beings in the inventory, they will die.
Welp. I picked up the golem at slammed it into my inventory. I'll admit that that thing was heavy as fuck. About 60 kilograms (130 lbs).
"You've been surprisingly quiet today."
"I was working on something."
"Care to elaborate?"
"You'll see when it's done. It's not that amazing, anyway."
"Hm."
Other that that, neither of us said anything during dinner. I had the feeling that Arashi didn't like me much...can't fault him. I'm kinda hard to deal with. And the fact that he probably viewed me as more of a mission then just someone he lives with wasn't helping.
-Day 8, Morning, Canaan, Daniel's POV-
I was finishing up an enchantment I learned from my new book, a simple Defence Boost on my bracers, when I received a message.
Message from: Zilan Astaroth
I hope this thing works. You all are in deep trouble. I reached our base last night, and gave my report. This morning, multiple platoons were mobilised. About 100 apes are coming. They'll reach Canaan in about five days, since it'll take a bit longer due to supplies and whatnot. They'll attack at night. This'll be all from me for now. Got to go.
Crap. Crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap CRAP!
I only had five days to get strong enough to survive the attack! I should probably increase also my Golems skill in order to make something more serviceable. Probably rock should do it. Guess I would have to reveal some things to Léi. If anything, she seemed wise enough to listen.
Hallo everyone! Xeno here with a new chapter! As always, I'll try to be brief. First, thanks again to Shadowfire Angel for being my beta. Second, I want to thank every one of my readers. You're all great people!
Now, as some of you will have noticed, some of the things I put in the Thaumaturgy book was blatantly ripped out from the 'Thaumcraft' mod for Minecraft. Yes, I'm kinda lazy. But to be honest, only the basic stuff will be pulled out. As it is, I haven't really gotten to the deep of it, so a lot of knowledge I would need for copying the mod... isn't there. Thus, I will complete that with my own ideas, speculations, and choices. In other words, some stuff you may expect to find in Thaumcraft may not be here, while other things will be. A good example would be the fact that Daniel uses his own mana for Auromancy, when in theory he is supposed to use the ambient vis. Also, the difference between essentia, aspects, vis... is bullcrap in my opinion.
TL;DR: If you know Thaumcraft, you can forget it: the thaumaturgy here is different.
Now, onto answering your reviews!
The Silent Insomniac: Yeah, I can see how the story would give that impression, but I assure you I'll do my utmost to work this story well. For Arashi... he doesn't like Daniel all that much, but considering the situation, he decided to give him a pass. For the cast... I plan on having a couple of other characters pop up, but none that will join Daniel as a 'party' of sorts. Of course, Sora will come, and come hell or high water, you all will get him. It will take a while, though. Just wait until we start going on the offensive. If I misunderstood the question, then you might want to hear that yes, this world itself is something of a training pen for Daniel. The main story will be another world. But before we get there, there's a bit of fuckery to do.
PsycoDragonKiller: Yes. All the Yes. And since you seem to like SMT, you'll love what I have planned for one of the future arks.
Spyro fanboy: Maybe... you will have to wait a while to see it though. As Daniel said, he needs his own place before trying out that... and other stuff.
Ethhar: All I could tell you is written in the A/N proper.
That's it, y'all! See you in two weeks!
