I woke up slowly, feeling more like my old self. I climbed out of bed and grabbed my armor, checking it piece by piece. I was happy to see that there were only some light scratches. I put back on my full kit, checking that everything was in place before I pulled up my level-up notification.

You have leveled up!

You have gained +2 to a physical stat of your choice. +2 free stats. +1 Ability Point.

Status

Name: Theseus

Race: Primae Sciurus [Primal Squirrelfolk]

Class: Fighter

Level: 2

Titles: Dungeon Delver, Progenitor

Health: 240/300 Stamina: 216/225 Mana: 200/200

Strength: 18

Agility: 19->20

Dexterity: 22

Constitution: 12->15

Intelligence: 20

Wisdom: 23

Skills:

Acrobatics level 2

Analyze level 2

Basic Greatsword level 5

Basic Leather Crafting level 2

Basic Spear level 1

Cooking level 6

Dodge level 4

Fire Resistance level 1

Harvesting level 1

Heavy Armor level 1

Meditation level 6

Natural Weapons level 4

Pain Resistance level 3

Ranger level 2

Weapons Crafting level:1

Abilities:

Armored Skin Level: 2

Charge level 4

Danger Sense level:3

Father Fall level 3

Tongues level: 2

Weapon Focus [Greatsword]

Spells:

Flame Breath level: 2

Imbue Natural Weapons level: 2

I opened the list of abilities I could put my point into. I groaned as I stared at the wall of text, willing it to change into something more manageable. The list disappeared before reopening. Now any ability that required you to have another ability before you could take it was set up to resemble a tree with the base ability set to the left and the abilities that required it to its right connected with a line. When an ability requires more than one ability, it would have multiple lines leading to it.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

I felt like an idiot for not trying to customize my system views before I added tabs to the list, breaking the abilities into groups based on the weapons or armor they could be used with. I added a general tab for abilities that could be used regardless of my equipment.

With the list finally not as overwhelming, I started by finding the ability I really wanted, Imbue Blade. It took a bit of time searching through the general tab before I found it. I was lucky that it was the second ability in its tree. The base ability was called Bond Blade, and it cost two AP [ability points] to learn it with Imbue Blade, costing another five AP. I headed downstairs and grabbed breakfast to think over the problem on a full stomach.

'I could save my points. With my stats, I'm already punching above my level, then adding in my spells and new equipment means I should be able to hold on picking for a bit. Maybe I'll get lucky and get the abilities from Beast Cores.'

With my mind made up, I got up from my table and headed over to the attendants, turning in my two quests from yesterday, getting three silver and five copper for my troubles. While I was there, I asked about training. There were two options. The first option was to go out back in the walled-off training yard that was free to all guild members. The second was to rent out time in a room with training dummies that would animate to fight against.

Wanting to save as much money as I could, I went with the training yard. I pretty much had the whole yard to myself with most of the adventures out of the city. I moved to an open space and pulled out my khopesh. I started with my grip. I knew I had been holding too tightly onto the blade. I adjusted my grip and tested it by slashing it down. I did this over and over, feeling my skill guide me until I finally got it right and was able to make my blade sing as it cut through the air.

Next, I worked on my swings. I had a little bit of knowledge here as I had spent more than I wanted to admit watching sparring matches as I saved up to join the HEMA group I was headed to when I died in my last world. I again focused on what felt right, trusting that my skill would guide me. I trained the six basic cuts I knew over and over. Low middle up, high right to low left, high left to low right, low middle up, reverse chop down, low right to high left, low left to high right, chop down, repeat. I moved so slowly, listening to how my body responded to the movements and adjusting until they felt natural. I changed up the order, chaining different strikes together until I was sure I could use the sword as it was intended rather than swinging it around like a stick.

I took a break and walked over to a well. I pulled up a bucket of water, pouring it over myself to cool down before I pulled up another bucket to fill my water skin after I drained it. I looked up at the sky, judging that it was early after. My stomach took that time to let me know it was time for lunch.

I pulled out a pound of rabbit meat and quickly tore into it before using the well to clean up. I moved to a new spot where I could sit down in the shade. It was time to see if I could customize or create new spells. The first thing I had to do before I could try was to check my flashing notification.

Congratulations, Basic Greatsword has leveled up. +1 to Strength.

It wasn't as large of an improvement as I was hoping for, but it made sense. I was refining everything I knew instead of pushing myself. Next, I figured I would try to work my fist spell into something more useful now that I wouldn't be fighting tooth and claw. I had two ideas that might work with the spell as it was.

I started by casting the spell as I typically would, trying to get a better feel for the spell. When I thought I had it, I tried my first test. I willed my mana into the muscles in my arms, focusing on making them stronger. The spell didn't respond at first. I could feel pressure building just behind my eyes. I slipped into meditation and tried to picture the spell. A spell form slowly unfolded in my mind. It was a simple thing with lines connecting runes.

I traced the lines of the spell to the runes. It was as if I could almost make out what each rune was meant to do. I shook my head, breaking out of my meditation. I would have to learn more about spell construction and runes before I could create custom spells. I was betting if I stayed a beast, I'd have an easier time making spells but be limited to a single element.

With the roadblock of needing to learn about spells, forms, and runes getting in my way, I got back to my feet and headed over to the archery targets. I started with the targets that were about ten yards away, putting arrow after arrow down range. I adjusted between shots to get closer and closer to the bullseye with each arrow. Once I ran out of arrows, I collected them and went again until I could reliably hit with the second of four rings. After three hours of practice, I realized I never analyzed my bow and decided to fix that after I checked my notification.

Congratulations, you have learned Basic Archery. EXP has been awarded for learning a skill without a trainer.

Hunter's Bow

Common Item

Damage +10

I grunted, seeing the stats. It wasn't great, but I wasn't a great shot, and it worked well enough as a way to get some ranged damage in before I got into melee range. I didn't even look at my dirk's stats, knowing it was probably better than my first sword. I collected my arrows one last time before stuffing my bow back into my inventory.

I rolled my shoulders, getting the tension out of them before I made my way out of the guild and into the city. I was tempted to stop at a few stores that looked to be run by wizards but held off for now. Instead, I made my way to a store with a quill and a book on its sign. I forced myself to walk up to the clerk. The clerk was a kind-looking older female feline beastfolk. She put a ribbon in the book she was reading and set it to the side.

"Hello, what can I help you find today?" She asked.

"Hello. I need something that will help me learn to read and anything you have on spell construction." I said.

She tapped her fingers on her desk before nodding.

"Those are two very different things. Let's start with your first request. There are a few options for you, but I think the one that will help the most is learning the calligraphy skill. It's a bit of an odd phenomenon where anyone with the calligraphy skill learns to read and write any language they speak, as you can't do one without the other. Next, I could recommend a few books regarding your other request, but they can get quite pricey. How much are you willing to spend today?" She asked

"I'd be willing to spend twenty gold." I winced as I gave the number, but I knew I could always get the money back by delving more.

"I'd recommend 'Zimari's Primer to Spell Craft' and 'Gelenor's Runic Encyclopedia.' While other primers go more into the theory behind spell crafting, Zimari prefers to deal with the more practical aspects. Both are used heavily in the training of spell casters of any type and, as such, are relatively cheap at five gold each. With the standard trainer's fee for teaching you Calligraphy, your total comes to twenty gold even." She calmly explained.

I had to remind myself that it was an investment, I had plenty of gold left, and I'm not a dragon who hoards gold as I handed over the twenty gold. She smiled softly, took the money, and pulled it into her inventory. She then walked around her shop and grabbed two slightly battered books that looked to have twenty pages between them, maybe, bringing them over to the desk. She set them down next to me. After a heartbeat of awarded silence, a notification popped into my vision.

Hana would like to teach you the Calligraphy skill. Accept? [Yes/No]

Congratulations, you have learned the Calligraphy skill.

I felt something building inside my head before it all clicked into place. How to hold the quill, how each letter should look, all the tiny little rules that came with any written language, and of course, how to make it look pretty. I shook my head lightly to clear it. I felt something hot trickle out of my nose. I whipped away the tiny amount of blood and smiled warmly at Hana.

"Thank you, Hana. Have a great rest of your day." I said.

"You're welcome. Enjoy your new books." She replied.

I scooped the books into my inventory and headed back to the guild. Once there, I quickly headed up to my room. I tossed armor and clothes onto the desk, stripping quickly. With that done, I took a bath before I crawled into bed and opened Zimari's Primer to Spell Craft. It was time I got to work learning about how to create spells.