He closed off the menu, saving the thought of evolution for later, then lowered his gaze to the Usage rights button.
[Lock Usage: Select the checkpoint’s public usage limits.]
[Public: All drifters can access everything in the essence store.]
[Limited: Other drifters cannot access the limited section from the store and can revive and evolve as they wish.]
[Restricted: Other drifters cannot access the store. Revive and Evolve options are still allowed.]
[Private: No other drifters can access this checkpoint.]
Limited access… that one suits me the best. Theron exhaled as he selected that option, relieved. The Elite aspect core was, amongst all other things, the one he wished to get the most, considering he had an elite waiting in his compendium and a possible stronger bear waiting in the tutorial zone. He closed the menu again, then zoomed on the evolve option.
[Evolution, listed below are aspects ready to be evolved.]
[Common aspects do not have access to fusion customization. You can only evolve from the list given below.]
Nice to know, I guess? This means elite aspects had other means of getting stronger.
[Horned gray Brute Dire wolf.]
[Metal-clawed bear.]
Let’s see Borys’ option.
[Evolution options.]
[Common path.]
[Rank 2: Giant Metal-fisted Bear, grants bonus stats: +5 Might, +5 Toughness. Growth/level: Might +4 might, +4 toughness, +2 resistance, +2 free attributes/ level. Grants a new ability: Metal strike. Summon slot cost: 2]
[Metal Slam[Melee]: Slam an area ahead of the bear, dealing 1x[1.2x] might as damage. Cooldown: 10 seconds.]
Ah… here we go. 2 summon slots for each… that means I need one more slot stone to summon both Lux and Borys.
[Fusion path]
[Based on compatible combinations from other aspects of the same rank.]
[Rank 2: Tusked Metal-clawed Bear, grants bonus stats: +5 Might, +7 Toughness. Growth/level: +5 might, +3 toughness, +2 resistance, +2 free attributes/ level. Grants a new ability: Tusk Charge. Summon slot cost: 2]
[Tusk charge[Melee]: Rushes toward the desired spot. Deals 40%[50%] might as damage to enemies along the path. Cooldown 20 seconds.]
[Rank 2: Sable Metal-clawed Bear, grants bonus stats: +3 Might, +7 Speed, +2 Toughness. Growth/level: +4 might, +4 speed, +2 Toughness, +2 free attributes/ level. Grants: Hunter of the night. Summon slot cost: 2]
[Hunter of the night[No affinity]: Increases might, speed, toughness, and resistance by five during nighttime. Being in darkness does not trigger this effect.]
That makes sense. The panthers are way stronger at night. The image of a speedy black bear roused some excitement in Theron’s heart, but all-in-all, the role he imagined Borys having would be as a front line-tanker, capable of unleashing hell toward anything courageous enough to step nearby it. Monsters would only get more threatening moving forward; a balanced party was essential for his survival. In that sense, the tusk metal claw would be best suited for a tank role. However, the sable variant still possessed quite a chunk of health, and he had free attributes to bolster its might if he needed to.
Also, the fusion path seemed to carry an extra two attributes upon evolution, but two points mattered little in the long run—with their growths/level being the same—so he shouldn’t hinge his decision based on that alone.
Shit, it’s hard to decide. Let’s see Lux’s options.
[Evolution options.]
[Warning! The aspect needs to be alive to be evolved. Only displaying evolution options.]
[Common path.]
[Rank 2: Full-grown horned Gray Brute Dire wolf, grants bonus stats: +2 Speed, +8 Magic. Growth/level: +3 might, +2 speed, +1 toughness, +4 magic, +2 free attributes/ level. Grants a new ability: Horn pulse. Summon slot cost: 2, Changes affinity from Melee to Magic.]
[Horn pulse[Magic]: Consumes 1 mana, charges up a magical bolt that shoots out from the user’s horn. Deals 1x[1.2x] ice element damage. No cooldown.]
[Affinity: Magic, prefers to use magic, weaving it between its assault. Increases effectiveness of [Magic] tagged abilities by 20%, increases mana regeneration by 20% of max mana/ hour. This change is reflected in the ability description.]
With 8 points in magic, this evolution granted Lux access to its mana… A different option, for sure, and one that gave Theron access to another source of damage, increasing the range of enemies they could handle. The treants, as bulky as they were, might be weak to other sources of damage. After all, none of Borys’ claws made much impression on that thing; only when he added his necrotic touch did it stir and crumble. Also, with its decent might growth, its crushing bite wouldn’t be a waste at higher levels.
[Fusion path]
[Based on compatible combinations from other aspects of the same rank.]
[Rank 2: Iron-tailed Sable wolf, grants bonus stats: +5 Might, +5 Speed, +2 Toughness. Growth/level: +3 might, +5 speed, +2 toughness, +2 free attributes/ level. Grants a new ability: Hunter of the night. Summon slot cost: 2]
[Hunter of the night[No affinity]: Increases might, speed, and resistance by 5 during nighttime. Being in darkness does not trigger this effect.]
[Rank 2: Metal-fanged Brown wolf, grants bonus stats: +5 Might, +2 Speed, +3 Toughness. Growth/level: +5 might, +1 speed, +4 toughness, +2 magic, +2 free attributes/ level. Grants: Embolden fangs. Summon slot cost: 2]
[Embolden fangs [Melee]: Buffs the aspect’s fangs, sharpening their edges, increasing damage by 30[36%] of the aspect’s might. Lasts 1 minute. Cooldown: 10 minutes.]
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Not too interesting. Both the Fusion paths sound similar to the bear’s options. Theron hummed as he sat, mulling his options over again and again. At this moment, he had scant ways of hurting the treants with his party composition, so the magical horn pulses option appealed the most in his mind. Of course, he’d love to acquire an elite aspect, but with the sky-high price of 3000 essences, he’d have to wait a little longer.
Unless… what if he obtained an elite core somewhere in this wilderness? Wouldn’t that be a dream? Theron shook his head before closing his eyes and shutting the menu off, then glared at the free reward option.
[Free reward. Select one of the following.]
[Treasure map—a map leading to the location of a hidden area, filled with a rare treasure. Treasure is only accessible with this map in hand.]
[Aspect core-common x6]
[Minor healing potion X12]
[1000 essences.]
What?
Although the 1000 essences drew his interest, his mind failed to distract itself away from the topmost choice. A treasure map—with potential rewards far superseding its peers—but he had to contend with whatever dangers lurked behind that potential. This reward meant nothing unless he acquired said treasure—doubtless defended by some monstrosity, if he went by cliches—a stark contrast to the other options.
With a hopeful glare, he zoomed into the [crafting] option.
[Crafting: Equipment]
[Sable cloak of the night: increases stealth during night-time and lowers monster aggro at all times. Requirements: 3x R-1 Metal-bladed Dark panther materias, 1x Metal-bladed Dark panther(elite) materia. Costs 500 essences.]
[Bear’s cloak of courage: Increases the odds of you being targeted by monsters. Requirements: 3x R-1 Metal-clawed bear materias, 1x R-1 Metal-clawed bear(Elite). Costs 500 essences.]
[Forest tiger’s breeches: Reduces damage from the poison ailment. Requirements: 3x R-1 Green forest tiger materias, 1x R-1 Green forest tiger(Elite) materia. Costs 300 essences.]
[Boarskin gloves: +3 toughness when equipped. Requirements: 3x R-1 Forest black boar materias, 1x R-1 Forest black boar(Elite) materia. Costs 300 essences.]
Sable cloak… Theron had confidence that the first option was the best of the bunch. To reduce the chances of him being targeted was crazy enough, especially since he’d left the tutorial zone—losing access to the aggro protection was a massive blow. The costs did err him toward saving this choice for later, the elite materia being one of them, but he saw little reason not to go with this option. The rest of the equipment might find some use later—but the lack of the elite materias requirement rendered their purchase inaccessible.
Okay. I’ll think more about it later. Let’s see the quests,
Next, and the last thing on the list; [Quests]. Naturally, Theron never thought he’d come upon this word within this queer world. A small part of him appreciated that games were a part of his life before the bomb detonated. Had it not been that way, he wouldn’t be able to catch on to the terms and system as sharply as he did.
[List of available quests.]
[Universal]
[Defeat the World Trial.]
[Clear all quests]
[Individual - unknown quest will not show.]
[Tutorial zone]
[Defeat 10 Ghostwood treants(3/10)]
[Complete all elite aspects in the tutorial zone. (1/4)]
[Complete all hidden events in the tutorial zone. (2/4)]
[This zone]
[Complete all aspect progress in the Ghostwood forests. (Common monsters).]
[Complete all hidden events in the tutorial zone. (0/4)]
[Complete all lairs/caves in the Ghostwood forests. (0/4)]
[???] - encounter more monsters to unlock more quests.
[Completed - you can select the options below to receive their rewards.]
[Evolve an aspect into rank 2: +1 summon slot.]
[Clear a lair: 500 essences.]
[Clear a hidden event: +1 common essence core.]
World trial… clear all quests? Feels like a game… Theron shrugged his pointless comparisons aside, opting to zoom on the things directly benefiting him straight away, and that came in the form of the summon slot reward.
Now, he could have both Lux and Borys out at the same time once he evolved both. A surge of emotion boiled from within, refusing to relent until he let out a tiny chuckle. Three shifting of his gaze later, he earned rewards from all the hard days he’d gone through.
With all the information presented, Theron took a few minutes to ponder things over once more. A path seemed evident in his mind; to purchase one evolution and use both Lux and Borys for the rest of his run in this zone—then, to save 3000 essences and summon an elite. Both sounded feasible in his mind. A short moment of quaint silence urged him to rethink the second option; mainly, was the panther an elite he wanted? After all, the boar, the wolf, and the bear elites still eluded him; god knows what abilities those possible alternatives had. With the limited stock of elite aspect cores, Theron needed to exercise utmost caution for that choice.
###
[One of your aspects is now rank-2. Aspects cannot gain experience from monsters below their rank. You can only summon aspects in their highest evolution form. No duplicate aspects are allowed.]
A dark-furred bear roared amidst the swaying trees of teal, its red eyes frowning at the empty distance and brandishing its pristine claws. Be quiet, Theron chuckled behind it, patting it gently. Trailing close beside him, hawking over their figures with watchful eyes, twirling its excited tails, was Lux; well, the evolved version of Lux with its horn extending way past its head, twice the length of its fangs. It cooed as it quiesced behind Theron, eyes half-open, enjoying the breeze. Its fur appeared fuller, jiggling along with the gusts of wind. “I missed you, man,” He gave the thing a gentle ruffling, to which it responded with a lick on his face.
Naturally, this decision set him back 200 essences for the purchase of an evolution stone and the rights to another revival.
Theron shifted his eyes aside, draping the sable cloak around his neck, enjoying what little warmth it gave him. Cinching the clasps, he opened his evolved aspect’s status pages, mouth open in half disbelief about the gulf between the rank two monsters and their rank one counterpart. Lux’s mana jumped to 10 after he allocated its extra points to its magic.
Full-grown horned Gray Brute Dire wolf | Health : 15/15 | Mana : 10/10
Level: 5 | Next 600 xp
Rank: 2 | Max Level 10
Mana cost: 6 | slot cost: 2
Element: Normal | Affinity: Magic
Class: Wolf | Type: Beast
-Attributes-
Free points: - (+2/level)
Might: 18 (+3/level)
Speed: 16 (+2/level)
Magic: 10 (+4/level)
Toughness: 8 (+1/level)
Resistance: 2
-Abilities-
Crushing bite
Horn Pulse
Ten mana… so… Ten casts of horn pulse, and it regenerates 20% of its max mana per hour. Not bad, not bad.
Theron scratched his head, then closed its status, opening Borys’ new evolution in its stead.
Aspect - Sable Metal-clawed Bear | Health : 38/38 | Mana : 0/0
Level: 5 | Next 600 xp
Rank: 2 | Max Level 10
Mana cost: 7 | slot cost: 2
Element: Normal | Affinity: Melee
Class: Bear | Type: Beast
-Attributes-
Free points: - (+2/level)
Might: 32 (+4/level)
Speed: 12 (+4/level)
Magic: 0
Toughness: 22 (+2/level)
Resistance: 7
-Abilities-
Embolden claws
Hunter of the night
A whistle trilled as he browsed through its new page. From its evolution, this thing breached the 30 attribute line on might, with its health stat inches away from 40. No doubt Borys’ darkened fur would carry him in this precarious forest, and after regarding its increased might and height again, he closed its status page along with a satisfied grin.
Now… onto the treasure map… and the treants.