[Avatar Class Obtained!]
[Avatar Level 1!]
[Skill – Expanded Link obtained!]
It was strange. I'd heard the same voice when I'd fallen asleep, but also when I had awakened. I guess that's because I had ignored it as I was slipping into unconsciousness.
Now that I thought about it, it made sense. This world's System is setup to award levels when people sleep. I bet that's probably so it can make alterations more easily. Sort of like mini-Trigger events. It might not be capable of a visual interface. Or at least such a thing isn't viable for one reason or another. So 'announcing' it both when someone falls asleep and wakes up means that they'll be more likely to get the information.
Let's see...
My character sheet is still garbled, and there were too many skills awarded for me to remember them all. This System must have...
Ah ha! There it is!
I can 'see' them in my mind.
Kinda.
I've never been particularly good at visualization. If someone asked me to picture something in 'my mind's eye', it was always indistinct. I've wondered if other people 'see' or 'think' differently than I did. I mean, obviously they do NOW, but how distinct was I before my Trigger?
I shook my head. I can ponder differences between myself and others, or Optimize and the System later. I have a new game to play, and the first rule to beating a game is understanding the rules.
Rule 1 - There's obviously a causal link between actions and levels. You plow a field, you become a [farmer]. I save a town, I become a [Hero].
Rule 2 - The skills I got seem to be roughly based on what I had done, same as the classes.
Rule 3 - You get the level ups when you sleep. Possibly. My sample size is too small for all of these. I'll need to ask someone. There's bound to be 'unwritten' rules that everyone knows.
Rule 4 - I can view my class and skills. Makes sense.
Rule 5 - The System announces the level ups verbally, but with a translation effect. Why? It imparts visualization, so it could do that as well. As a notification? Possibly. As a two-way communication? I wonder if I could speak with it via Tongue of Babel, or if that's even a good idea. Really, my own translation effect might be unnecessary.
What else? Nothing comes to mind. So how to maximize these rules?
Let's see.
Rule 1 is obvious. Do what you want to be better at. There has to be more of it than that. Same with Rule 2. If there are classes and skills, there must be classes and skills that are better than the rest. Aiming for those feels obvious.
I definitely need to speak with a native about leveling strategy.
Rule 3 seems exploitable. If level ups heal you or have any additional effects, I'll be able to take advantage of that since I can fall asleep at will. It might be beneficial to sleep in the middle of doing something in order to get a level up to help with the rest. That was assuming that a level up came. Alternately, NOT sleeping might result in a bigger reward. If the system considered 'active' time periods in its calculations, that might work. Thus, if fighting one army was impressive, then fighting two while spending all your time in between training would be more so.
Hard for others, simple for me. However, it has to be a strategy that has already been thought of. It's stupid not to read a rulebook before a game. You miss out on so many details.
Rule 4. Not much of a rule. Not much to exploit. Unless... I could somehow get an interface going and maybe a help screen?
Nah. That never worked with Optimize. So I can't expect any special advantages there.
Rule 5. Ears of Babel might give me a huge leg up here, but I need to be careful. I couldn't afford to start off on the wrong foot. Making an enemy of the System seems like a bad idea.
I tapped my foot on the floor. I don't think I came up with any good ideas aside from 'ask people who know more than I do'. Which isn't rocket science, but still has merit.
What can I do on my own?
Let's review my classes: [Wanderer], [Hero], [Artificer], [Avatar].
I bet [Wanderer] comes from moving around without a clear destination or goal. Might not be that common despite how easy it was to get. How many people wander around a world where monsters exist? [Even Footing] and [Lesser Endurance] have obvious, if minor, benefits. A smile came to my face. It might be hard to test [Even Footing], but I have a clear progression and timing of my 'Tired' debuffs. I can collect hard data on the effects of [Lesser Endurance]. That's much better than subjective estimation of how tired you are.
[Hero] must come from doing something heroic. Seems general enough. It must be a common class - especially with so many opportunities this world has. Fight undead to save a neighbor? That's heroic. Help defend your city during a siege? That's heroic.
I frowned. Did I steal experience and classes from other people? Is kill-stealing a thing here? That's something else to ask Seraphel.
[Famous Deed] and [Divided Reputation] sound like reputation mechanics. They also 'feel' off. Like they're a different color or source - but I couldn't put how they were different in so many words. It kinda felt the same way that Ears of Babel did when I tried to speak with Optimize. A sort of fundamental issue that I was incapable of parsing.
If there are skills that affect how people think, will Gamer's Mind protect me from such things, or make me more vulnerable? Hard to say. [Famous Deed] probably will help people recognize me, which isn't necessarily a good thing. [Divided Reputation], however, might be the perfect thing for keeping 'Kevin' and 'Pixel' separate.
[Artificer] is my highest level, and it's clear why. I'd used tech, or 'artifacts' I had made to wipe out the army yesterday. It must be the System's version of Tinker. I'm assuming its rare simply due to how few magical items I've encountered so far.
[Armed At All Times]? That sounds like Inventory, but with a different name. Let's experiment. I concentrated, and my Golden Gun appears in my hand, without using Inventory.
Well... that WOULD be an extremely useful skill, if I already didn't have something better. I try and put my weapon back by using the skill... no luck. So, strictly less useful than Inventory.
[Basic Repair]? I looked around the room before settling on my bed. It wasn't hard to make a small tear in my covers. I focused, and tried to use the skill.
Nope. Nothing.
I scratched my head. If [Artificer] is like Tinker, then do I need to manually do the work to get a benefit? Would it download instructions into my brain as to how to fix it?
I don't have a needle, so I tried tying the frayed threads together.
Nope. Nothing.
I frowned. Oh well, it doesn't sound like I'm missing out on much if I can't get it to work.
[Clean Materials]? I focused on the sheet again, but with a different skill in mind and... yes! A small amount of dust just vanished. Helpful? Doubtful. At least I'd got it to work.
[Detect Flaw]? I paused and focused again, and the feeling that my repair attempt is flawed came to mind.
[Basic Crafting]? I guess that's [Basic Repair] but for making stuff from scratch? I tore a corner completely off the sheet, no point in wasting it all, and started Crafting... uhm... I don't really have a Blueprint that takes such a small amount of cloth as the materials. Let's see, I want... thread.
The scrap vanished in a swirl of pixels, and I got a... blob in return.
Hmmm...
It's actually much thinner than it looks. The pixelation was hiding it, but it was all one long piece of string now.
Interesting. I don't have a blueprint for such a thing, and it did more than what I'd be able to accomplish by hand. Mainly, it had fused all the threads in the square together to make a singular long strand. That warranted more experimentation in the future.
[Basic Identification]? I focused the new skill on my thread and got... nothing.
I Observed it.
[Thread]
I suppose I should try Observing people to see if it helps there, but I doubt it will. That's not a 'crafting' use of it.
[Body of Stone]? Sounds great. Like I'm tougher. I'm hesitant to test it, even with Rapid Regeneration. I know that magic can bypass Gamer's Body, but it might not be able to get around this. I'm still going to focus on dodging instead.
[Basic Aiming]? I un-Inventoried the Golden Gun and pointed it at various objects. I guess that felt... smoother? I hate things I can't quantify.
[Reinforce Armor]? Is this (presumably) like [Body of Stone]? Is my suit tougher now? Or does it mean things I Craft will be tougher? Or will it only work with things I build with my hands? I can't test it quickly, and what would I even compare it against?
[Ambient Mana Gatherer]? It might be the most valuable skill, or the most useless. I don't know what mana is, nor do I know what to do with it. Cast spells? Craft magic armor? How much mana do I gather? Is it automatic? How do I sense mana? There are too many questions, and no answers.
Okay, time to consider my final class: [Avatar]. It might be unique, unless there are other extra-dimensional aliens empowering people that the System knows about - aside from Riley. Given both my status as a Parahuman, and Gamer's Body the class is fitting. The [Expanded Link] skill suggests it's due to the former, but it might also refer to my connection with my Breaker state. Once again, not much to test.
So, time to take a step back and consider what I needed to do next. Speak with Seraphel. Ask about levels & leveling strategies. Ask about reputation mechanics. Ask about crafting skills. Ask about mana.
I nodded my head. That sounded like a plan.
Earlier...
Ser Dalimont, [Knight] of the Thronebearers, servant to her Highness [Princess] Seraphel du Marquin, and loyal protector of the Eternal Throne of Calanfer watched the cities defenders prepare themselves. As much as it shamed him to admit it, Calanfer would fair poorly against a siege of the undead.
The truth was that his country's power did not come from its military. Calanfer survived by treaties, negotiations, and the occasional political ploy. He was a [Knight] and did not participate in the worst underhanded tactics, but he also wasn't blind to their occurrences.
The people of Afiele were far better suited to this sort of battle than he was. They had special classes, skills, and equipment for dealing with undead monsters. The Thronebearers, on the other hand, were commonly regarded as one of the weakest orders of knights in Terandria. It stung his honor, but it was true.
Still, he wished he was at the outer walls. Fighting the good fight. Protecting the innocent. But his place was by his princess's side, and her place was in the palace - at least for now. One way or another, their time in Afiele was drawing to a close.
Soon, there would either no longer be a city or the army would be destroyed. In either case, Seraphel's presence would no longer be tolerated.
At least the foreigners hadn't been exposed to her sharp tongue, or at least had taken no offense.
It was true that the [Singer] had saved them all from the foul [Witch]'s schemes. To think that she had to power to lay low one of the most feared villains of all time! The question was what would happen next.
Mage Kevin possessed an artifact of un-paralleled defense, yet he was nowhere to be seen. Had he fallen? Run away? Been cut off from returning to Afiele?
Dalimont didn't know. He also didn't know if Kevin had delayed the army at all. Had they been granted additional time to prepare the defenses? Were there less undead attacking them than there had been at the start of the day?
Dalimont gripped the sword that hung by his side. It would not do to impinge the honor of another without cause. It also was a distraction he couldn't afford. It would be best for him to conserve his energy. The assault could last for days or even weeks.
That was when the cone of brilliant golden fire blossomed in the sky!
The purifying flames swept through the undead army and left naught but destruction in their wake!
What manner of ally had arrived to save them? Dalimont's position from the mansion's balcony did not afford him the ability to see. The cone was obviously emerging from a single point that was circling the city, yet he could not discern its origin.
The light was too bright! It was difficult to even look at it, much less pierce the darkness beyond it.
Still, there was only one creature that possessed such power.
A being of myth and legend.
A dragon!
...Dalimont shook his head. No. That might have been the case far in the past when Dragons had ruled, or when the Dragonthrone was created. Now? Now it seemed that he had once again managed to underestimate the [Archmage].
Seraphel enjoyed the look on her friend's face. It had been a long night, but Cara was still clearly in shock.
"How is that possible?" The dark-haired woman was pacing back and forth. "I get super science BS and all of that, but the power to do something like that without magic?"
The princess smirked. "What was it you once said to me? Oh, yes. 'Seeing is believing.' I'm honestly faintly surprised at your reluctance. It was a short while ago that you explained 'Super Heroes' to me. Does Pixel not conform to the stories your world tells?"
Cara stopped and rubbed her temples. "No. No. It's not that." She sat down next to Seraphel on the sofa. Unrefined posture. What she'd called 'slumping' before. Her casual air was one of the things that the [Princess] had grown to appreciate. "You see, there are different levels of superheroes. Like..." She made a waving motion with her hand. "Like street level, then city level, then disaster level, then planetary level."
"Oh?" That sounded interesting. "Please, do tell."
Cara crossed her arms. "It's not like I was a big comic book geek or anything. Plus, they're fiction, you know? And from another Earth." She sighed. "Well, I guess the basics might still be the same. Street level means people at peak human. They deal with gangs and stuff. Can fight, like, a crowd by themselves, but they don't have anything, y'know, SUPER human. City level is the same, just with an increased scope." She took a deep breath. "The most famous one of that level is Batman. He's this billionaire playboy, but not really. It's a cover. But it means he has money for gadgets and trainers and stuff. Goes around, scares criminals, fights a clown. Lowish key stuff. If he fails, then at worst a city dies."
Seraphel nodded. That would be what? A silver or gold level adventurer? "Do super heroes work by themselves?" Most adventurers did not, and most wouldn't fare well against an entire gang of [Thugs].
Cara shrugged. "Outside of teamups, yeah. There are groups of them, like the Avengers, but they still have their own movies. It's only when a higher level threat comes along that they work together."
Seraphel nodded again. Very similar to adventurers, but more like each super hero was a group unto themselves. "And 'disaster level'?"
"That's like Iron Man. ANOTHER billionaire playboy, but for him it isn't an act. At first. He got kidnapped and had to MacGyver some armor." Cara tilted her head. "I guess the main difference is firepower and range. Iron Man can fly in his suit and go anywhere, but he couldn't do..." She motioned to the window. "That."
"And your countries allow super heroes to cross their borders so easily?" Seraphel asked. That could be potentially troublesome.
"Eh." Cara frowned. "The FICTIONAL countries aren't okay with it. Like, that's what the next movie was going to be about. I didn't get a chance to watch it because... you know, but it had heroes fighting heroes. Of course, the whole thing is some supervillain's plot. Or something."
"I see." Seraphel felt the adventurer comparison still fit. They wandered from one country to another, and most rulers saw them as a beneficial force - depending on the group itself. "And planetary level?" If street level were Gold, and disaster level were Named, what would the planetary level equivalent be?
Cara smirked. "That's people like Superman. Invincible. Always holds back when dealing with gangs or other supervillains, but gets to go all out when an alien invasion happens.
"Ah." Those who rose up during a cataclysm. "So Pixel is one of those?"
"I don't know!" Cara stood up and threw her hands in the air. "You saw the same thing I did! He killed, no, he VAPORISED how many undead in a minute? That's... That's..."
"Could this, Super Man, do the same?"
"It depends on the movie." Cara paused. "God, I've seen clips of the old Superman movies, but I'm not sure what they're really about. But, yeah. Probably. Superman is the strongest. Heat vision or ice breath. The fact that they're undead would mean that he wouldn't have to hold back." Cara bit her lip. "Probably. Like I said, all of that is fiction."
Seraphel arced an eyebrow. "Yes, just like magic and zombies are also fiction in your world. Accuracies aside, it is useful to know a [Bard]'s tale instead of nothing at all." The question was, how could she use this to help Calanfer? That's what her mother would want. Her father would probably worry about associating with a potentially volatile element, no matter how strong.
There was a knock on the door. "Enter."
Dame Leana entered the room and bowed. "Your Highness, breakfast is ready."
Seraphel nodded. "Thank you." She saw the [Knight] hesitate. "Is there anything else?"
"Yes." Leana looked... embarrassed? "Mage Kevin is already attending, but Ser Aldric never reported him re-entering the mansion."
Interesting, but not surprising. Kevin had already demonstrated his ability to teleport. Avoiding his rightful accolades must be a super hero tradition. The 'secret identity' custom.
Seraphel let out a sigh. She could see the appeal.
Cara brooded all through breakfast. She was tired from staying up all night, and was a little cranky. The odd thing was that she KNEW she was wrong for the way she felt. If she had to put it into words, it was like she'd been lied to.
But that was the thing, the only lying had been her to herself. Or her world to her. Or her preconceptions to her. What was the word for the opposite of being disillusioned? Illusioned? Hopeful?
See, the whole thing had happened back on Earth. Her Earth, not Kevin's. Well, it probably happened on Kevin's too. They had humans, and it was humankind that Cara had a problem with, but not with all of them. Not even with most of them. Really, it was just with their leaders.
The Irish had a... bone to pick with leaders. Cara had grown up there, and the terrorists/liberators were one thing. The leaders of Ireland and England were another. She had finally decided that anyone in power was full of crap because only people full of crap wanted to be in power.
It was one, huge, corrupt mess.
Perhaps that's why she actually liked Seraphel. Not that monarchies were a better system of government, but the [Princess] didn't seek power. That counted for a lot.
Of course, it just meant that someone else who was willing to hire [Assassins] or start a war would wind up ruling instead.
Si vis pacem, para bellum.
So that was why she was angry at Kevin for lying to her, despite the fact that everything he'd said so far had been proven true. He was from a different Earth. He was a Superhero. He could single-handedly take on an entire army of the dead.
Cara had accepted these facts, but she hadn't believed them deep down inside. Her inner thoughts were where she would cynically take apart what people said. She stored it. She examined it. She prepared for disappointment when their lie was ultimately revealed.
In her defense, 'Pixel' HAD taken his sweet time. How had that happened? Had he somehow MISSED the swarm that had covered the horizon? Had he been showboating? Was it all just a plan to swoop in at the last minute and save the day?
That was, at least, something that Cara could understand. Like a sports athlete. Sure, they weren't fundamentally bad people, but they sought glory all the same. Even Kevin had said that the Superheroes of his Earth were the same. Publicity events. Marketing. An entire organization seemingly devoted to PR.
Thus, the lie had been formed. Kevin was a Superhero, but he was also full of crap. Well, not FULL of crap. HIS Earth had sent him to help, which was more than she would ever expect from HER Earth. So, half-full of crap, or a quarter-full of crap.
He'd go out, play the game, do the good deed, save the city, but he'd come back and expect praise. Move up to the 'good' end of the table. Become famous.
Heck, she couldn't have blamed him if he had done exactly that. He had a sister out there somewhere possibly. If Cara was in his shoes, she'd have played it up for all the fame and fortune she could, just so she could accomplish her goal.
She'd already done exactly that. It was why she was a [Pop Star].
But NOOOOOOO! Kevin hadn't done that. He hadn't even come to reassure Seraphel or brag about his accomplishments to her! He'd somehow snuck back into his room and went to bed before coming down to breakfast like nothing had happened!
Not that it took a genius to figure out how the Superhero with the personal teleporter had gotten back inside the mansion.
So there it was. Cara KNEW that she'd judged him harsher than he'd deserved. She KNEW that her feelings of... contradiction were all on her. She KNEW that... but it didn't make her FEEL any better. At best, all it did was increase her own self-loathing.
Well, enough of that.
She put her silver utensils down, and stood up. "Kevin, can I speak with you privately. Please?"
The Superhero looked up at her then back down to his half-finished black food. "Sure, Cara." He shrugged and stood up. "Let's go back to my room."
We entered my room and Cara locked the door behind us. I paused for a second before realizing it was a habit she'd picked up from the other people of Noelictus.
**Cara is nervous.
**Cara is angry.
**Cara is sorry.
I usually didn't get that many emotional notices from non-parahumans. While my Shard could pick up what regular people were feeling, it wasn't nearly as precise compared to those the Shards could monitor directly. Cara's emotions had been growing stronger all throughout breakfast. I wasn't sure why, but it was likely my fault.
There was no point in further speculation since she was undoubtedly about to tell me something.
She brought her hand up and rubbed the back of her head. "Here's the thing. I have something you need to read." She looked me in the eyes. "I was going to hold off on bringing it up until the undead army and Ailendamus were dealt with, but..."
"But now the army's gone."
Cara nodded her head. "Right. And I don't think Ailendamus is going to be much of an issue either. Even if they go ahead with their invasion plans..." She made a vague gesture to the side. "You have the bigger stick."
"That's fair enough. One crisis at a time." I smiled. "Plus, we've only just met."
Cara rolled her eyes. "True." She then locked eyes with me. "Okay, here's the deal. Seraphel has this communication scroll." She held up her hands about two feet apart. "It can be used to talk with people all over the world, just as long as they have one also and some other magic... stuff." She took a deep breath. "[Mages] in this world can do the same thing. Send messages that is. The Mage Guild and the Runner's Guild deliver them, with the expected rules and BS and what-not."
"And she used this scroll to speak with her country?"
Cara shrugged. "Probably. I mean, I would, but that's not the point. The thing is that there's this magical academy that's like Hogwarts or something. People go there from all over the world to learn magic. Seraphel's sister, uhm, Vernoue or something wanted to go there but there's a political aspect." She waved her hand. "Or something. My point is that unless you're a [Mage] directly sending a message to another [Mage] then Wistram is involved. They take the message spells and send them to the local guild and scribe them."
Ah, I think I see where this is going. "And Seraphel's scroll technically contacts this school?"
Cara blinked. "No. Not usually. Royal secrets and stuff. But it CAN message them if she, I dunno, 'tunes' it the right way. She's a [Princess] so Wistram would take her seriously, but we didn't tell them that. She sent some vague-ish messages with some oblique references to Earth and got a reply back. Anyways, to make a long story short - here."
She handed me her phone.
I looked at the screen as I took it. "I don't recognize this application, but I'm guessing it's for sending messages?" I scrolled through the text some. "And you're 'Humble Actor'?"
"That's right." Cara moved around to my side. "There's someone else from Earth at Wistram calling himself 'BlackMage'. He's supposedly getting their help to try and send us home."
"Supposedly?"
Cara glanced at me before shaking her head. "Just read it. It'll be faster than me trying to explain it and you reading it anyways."
I nodded. "Okay." I started scrolling through the texts while I put my thumb against the phone's port. My Babel Perks allowed me to communicate with it far quicker. I also wanted to examine Cara's Earth's software. I un-Inventoried a thumb drive and copied the OS over - making sure to not include anything personal. I didn't want to invade Cara's privacy, so I didn't read any details apart from the chat log.
*Pity negated by Gamer's Mind.
*Sadness negated by Gamer's Mind.
I frowned.
*Anger negated by Gamer's Mind.
This was bad. The text chain Cara had been a part of referenced a previous contact attempt - where BlackMage apparently had worked out a way to send a cell phone signal magically. It wasn't a bad idea in and of itself. In fact, I had been thinking of doing something similar with my Babel Perks - just on a much smaller scale. As potent as they were, planet-wide communication was beyond them.
No. The idea wasn't bad. Heck, I wouldn't even say it had been poorly executed. The problem was that some of the 'Earthers' had been compromised. Their phones stolen - or worse. The other tidbits like [Hero] being a rare class and that magic could find people by their names didn't seem as important compared to the fact that the people I was supposed to rescue were already being hunted.
I handed Cara back her phone and started rubbing my temples. "Let me see if I got this right. BlackMage called a bunch of people from your planet. Except people from THIS planet impersonated some of them."
Cara nodded. "Kent Scott."
I rubbed my chin. "At least. He was the most obvious, but there could've been others. Knowing a movie title doesn't mean anything if the phone's owner is around to ask."
"That's a good point." Cara glared at her phone before putting it back in her pocket. "Personally, I'm not sure I even trust BlackMage or Wistram."
"Oh?"
Cara shrugged. "Seraphel has told me about it. They claim to be open to all, but its more Nobles than not. They're also corrupt."
I raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"One of their leaders is 'The Archmage of Terandria'. As in, he's the Archmage of this entire continent." She scowled. "In reality, he's in Ailendamus' back pocket. Bought and paid for."
Oh. "I see. So I take it you don't plan on taking BlackMage's offer?"
She shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know. You read that I was a [Pop Star], right? Well, I was thinking of using that to find other people from Earth and protect them."
"How?"
Cara sighed. "I hadn't gotten that far yet. Plus, it'd be premature to make plans while in the middle of a war."
I nodded. "True."
She continued. "Still, Wistram might be on the up-and-up. They are famous, and have the best [Mages]. If anyone can get us home, aside from you, it's them."
"You have a point." I thought for a moment. "I think I'm going to pay them a visit at some point."
Author's Note: The phone conversations Cara showed Kevin happen in Interlude 2 & 3 of The Wandering Inn.