Chapter 009
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‘ ‘ for thoughts.
“ “ for speech.
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Jack followed Janus upstairs, into the throwing range. Janus sat on the floor cross legged and motioned Jack to do the same. Janus began:
“We are an ancient order of monks, from the time of The Divine Wars. Though we call ourselves as ‘monks’, we do not have a patron deity. We were founded on the principle of abhorring divine intervention in our world. When the Divine Wars started, Terra was devastated. We were formed in this turmoil, to limit the rampage of divinities.” Janus paused before continuing:
“We assassinated many paladins and even a few avatars. We appealed to the priests to pray to their gods to stop this war. However, it was too little and too late. Gaia woke up and went on a rampage submerging entire continents. This made the gods agree to a ceasefire. However, there were a group of gods only known as The Forsaken.” Janus paused and sighed.
Meanwhile Jack noticed that the version of history Janus was telling him was different from that of the lich. He guessed that the order lich was speaking about was the one connected to Janus. ‘Makes sense, I wouldn’t want new initiates to know how our group fucked up.’ Jack thought as he returned his gaze at Janus.
“The Forsaken were playing their proxy war here, and Gaia was killing all of us. We came forward and offered the agents of the deities our help in rooting them out. They were reluctant to accept help from the same group that had hunted them from the shadows. However, time was running out and we agreed to cooperate.”
“The first and the only time, we united with the agents of the gods and rooted out all agents of the forsaken. We used our considerable talents to make them betray their patrons. After the gods sealed the culprits Gaia finally returned to sleep.” Janus had a look of deep sorrow in his face as he continued:
“After dealing with Gaia, the divine agents started hunting us in revenge. We were nearly wiped out, and much of our influence was countered. We are a relic of what we were. Our goals have changed too. We now watch from the shadows, so that no deity oversteps its bounds. The grandmasters of our order guard the resting places of the forsaken, so that none may awake them.” Janus stopped his monologue and looked at Jack as if awaiting a response. Jack smiled ruefully and just shrugged. Janus continued:
“We seek the hidden truths of the universe, and knowledge jealously guarded by the divinities. Our goal is personal enlightenment. Each one of us takes a different path to enlightenment, and we do not shove our perception down others’ throats. All we do is strive to maintain balance. If faith weakens too much, who knows what madness the desperate gods will resort to? If faith is too strong, it won’t be long before we have The Divine Wars all over again.” Janus glared intently at Jack gauging his reaction.
“Now disciple, I will test your understanding of this world. Originally, you would have been a disciple for years, before coming at this stage. However, you have passed challenges which many have failed. Our order will be enriched with your perspective. Now what is mana?” inquired Janus.
Eating the lich spirit, had changed Jacks perspective on magic quite a bit. Having obtained spirit senses, Jack could literally see Mana everywhere. Life forms had the highest concentration of mana. The more intelligent and conscious the life, the more radiant was the glow of its mana. Jack pondered for a while before replying:
“Mana is consciousness. Spell casters use their will to shape mana into energy.” Heaing this janus chuckled and said:
“Oh? Interesting! Then what is stamina?” Janus asked. Jack was stunned. He decided to give the first answer he could think of:
“Uhh Stamina represents the physical energy our body has. IF we sue more stamina, we get hungry faster.” Janus smiled and the asked Jack:
“Then what about knights? Many of their weapon techniques use both mana and stamina to create devastating results on the battlefield. Also, sufficiently skilled hermetic spellcasters are thought techniques which burn through their stamina and reduce the cooldown time of their spells. What about them?”
Jack frowned. This seemed like a riddle. He had to be careful with his answer, or he would lose this opportunity. Jack was never very religious in real life, nor was he an expert in theoretical physics. ‘The answer has to be deceptively simple.’ Jack reasoned, else he wouldn’t have gotten this opportunity. Sighing, jack went into a light meditative trance. It was becoming a habit in game, whenever he wanted to ponder something deeply.
Jack reviewed what he knew about physics in real life. He was aware of mass energy equivalence, perhaps the most well-known consequence of the Theory of Special Relativity. Energy is equal to mass times the speed of light squared (E=mc^2). Before this theory, the scientific consensus was that mass and energy were separate quantities. Scientists had figured out converting energy from one form to another. For example, hydroelectric power plants converted the kinetic energy of flowing water into electric energy. But the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki proved that a tiny bit of mass could be converted into an obscene amount of energy!
Jack then recalled a few things about Quantum mechanics. Subatomic particles essentially existed in a probabilistic haze or a quantum wave function. The process of observing it, by a conscious observer, somehow ‘collapsed’ this wave function to an observable state. For example, the more accurately the observer tried to determine the position of a particle, the less accurately the observer knew about the momentum. There were many interpretations of this phenomenon in the scientific community, and many of them sounded quite weird. But it had many applications, the most important of which was the transistor chips! Without transistor chips, there wouldn’t have been integrated circuits, and hence no modern computers!
However, modern since had a very glaring problem. It differentiated qualitatively between matter/energy and consciousness. The typical materialist agnostic paradigm could not explain how gross matter can give rise to consciousness, nor that the quantum state collapse requires an observer who is conscious. Jack had a sudden epiphany.
‘That’s it! Matter, energy and consciousness are intimately linked! Modern scientists may not have developed the relationship between consciousness and energy, like they did for mass and energy, but experiments in quantum physics have proved time and again about the indispensable role of a conscious observer. I know what to tell Janus!’ Jack thought excitedly as he came out of his meditative trance. He smiled at Janus and said:
“Consciousness and physical energy can be interchanged. That is why some mages are able to use their physical energy to boost their consciousness for better spell casting. That is also why knights can channel some of their consciousness, into acts of physical energy.’ Hearing this Janus was surprised and chuckled before saying:
“Well done disciple. Energy, Consciousness and even physical matter are interrelated, though most do not realize this. Converting energy and consciousness into matter directly, if far beyond mortals, and has remained an exclusive domain of the gods. That is why healing magic is exclusive to the gods. There are a few exceptions in water magic, but even then they don’t heal per se. What they do is increase the natural regeneration of the body appearing to ‘heal’ it.”
Janus had a big smile on his face. He was shocked and pleased that a disciple could deduce the answer which took most years of contemplation and meditation. He cleared his throat and continued:
“You are deemed worth enough. We belong to the Brahman Sangha. Brahman is the unhanging reality amidst and beyond this world. Yes traveler, if you look for it, you will find its truth even in your world! It is not very easy to comprehend though! And Sangha is an ancient word for Order. I deem you wise and worthy enough to join our order. Will you accept the class of Bhikku?”
‘Finally the old man offers me his class. I sure hope this is good.’ Jack thought as he silently enabled all notifications. He wanted to see what bonuses his class exactly offered him. Jack was ready and said:
“Yes Janus, I will be honored to accept the class Bhikku, and join your order”
*Ding*
You have changed into the secret class Bhikku!
You have now lost the benefits and restrictions of the Novice Class.
*Ding*
Due to your class change, you gain the following benefits:
* You gain an additional +10 to max HP per level! (for a total of +20HP/lvl)
* You gain an additional +5 to max Stamina per level! (for a total of +15STA/lvl)
* You gain an additional +5 to max MP per level! (for a total of +10MP/lvl)
* You gain an additional +10 to max HP per point of Vitality! (for a total of +20HP/VIT)
* You gain an additional +5 to max Stamina per point of Agility! (for a total of +10STA/AGI)
* You gain an additional +5 to max MP per point of Intelligence! (for a total of +10MP/INT)
* You get a onetime bonus of +10 to all Basic Stats!
* You do not get any bonus or penalties to your skill experience.
*Ding*
Due to having the Enigmatic Wisdom Trait and obtaining the secret class Bhikku, your Mana Points and Stamina resources have combined to form the resource Prana Points (PP)!
* PP is calculated as the sum of MP+STA!
* PP/s is calculated as MP/s + STA/s!
* You can now use any skill consuming MP or STA by using PP at 100% of the MP/STA cost!
* However, any consumable recovering your MP or STA is only 25% as potent while recovering PP
*Ding*
Since you have obtained the special resource Prana Points (PP), Indomitable Will and Indomitable Body has merged into the special stat Indomitable Spirit!
Jack was confused about the trait ’Enigmatic Wisdom’. He browsed his notifications to find that he had gained it, while answering Janus. ‘So the old man’s annoying questions caused me to gain a new trait huh? Let me see what it is about.’ Jack thought as he summoned system help.
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Enigmatic WisdomTrait------
This trait exhibits your immense potential to think and act using knowledge and insight from beyond worlds. This facet of your nature is a puzzle to even the most learned. Successful utilization of this trait to gain an understanding of enigmas can grant you various boosts. However be careful who you reveal your insight to, certain factions may have negative reactions.
Jack felt that the description was quite vague. ‘So usually a newly initiated Bhikku doesn’t gain Prana Points? I bet the “certain factions” who will get butt hurt are the churches. PP seems like a double edged sword. I can use it to fuel either Magic or physical exertion, but 25% recovery potency of consumables looks like a pain. I also have to be careful that if I use all my PP firing spells, I will barely able to move and vice versa.’ Jack thought as he analyzed the consequences of having a shared MP and STA pool. He was however, immensely pleased about Indomitable Body and Indomitable Mind merging into Indomitable Spirit. That meant a single stat would provide resistance against ALL status ailments. Also, grinding it will be a lot easier! Jack disabled all notifications except alarm and viewed his Status:
STATUS WINDOWNameJackClassBhikkuRaceHumanGenderMaleLevel33 (04.94%)Fame / Infamy20 / 0TitlePackrat, Vermin ExterminatorCONDITIONHP3230/3230HP/s3.7791/sPP4665/4665PP/s40.9735/sSpirit Energy0/110SE/s- 0.9% current SE/sSatiety / Thirst89% / 89%Weight Limit18.5/168Active EffectsControlled Breathing (Intermediate lv2)BASIC STATSStrength84Vitality90Dexterity86Agility88Intelligence133Willpower131Free Stat Points165SPECIAL STATSLuck10Endurance73Sustenance61Balance64Flexibility62Concentration118Wisdom114Indomitable Spirit35Elemental AffinityPhysical16%Soul12%Elemental ResistancePhysical3%Soul2%
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SKILL LIST
Ambidexterity (Trait)
Enigmatic Wisdom (Trait)
Spirit Senses (Trait)
Mana Control (Beginner Lv 1: 00.00%)
* Imbibe Projectile (Beginner Lv 8: 28.16%)
* Mana Identification (Beginner Lv 4: 02.13%)
* Mana Repair (Beginner Lv 4: 61.26%)
Meditation (Intermediate Lv 6: 02.63%)
* Meditative Stasis (Trait)
* Controlled Breathing (Intermediate Lv 2: 46.13%)
Spirit Eater (Beginner Lv 1: 00.00%)
* Eternal Rest (Beginner Lv1: 00.00%)
Survival (Beginner Lv 4: 16.12%)
* Danger Sense (Beginner Lv2: 21.34%)
* Survival Cooking (Beginner Lv 4: 53.15%)
* Survival Stealth (Beginner Lv 3: 15.63%)
Thrown Weapon Mastery (Intermediate Lv 2: 69.38%)
* Improvised Missile (Trait)
* Axe Throwing (Beginner lv 5: 87.34%)
* Boomerang Throwing (Beginner Lv 9: 12.25%)
* Chakram Throwing (Beginner Lv 6: 67.34%)
* Dart Throwing (Intermediate Lv 2: 15.27%)
* Javelin Throwing (Intermediate lv1: 29.54%)
* Knife Throwing (Intermediate Lv 1: 27.78%)
Unarmed Mastery (Intermediate Lv 3: 14.23%)
* Opportunistic Brawler (Trait)
* Mana Fists (Beginner Lv 8: 86.23%)
* Mana Gloves (Beginner Lv 3: 21.16%)
“Now that you are a Bhikku, you will refer to me as Master Janus!”
“Yes Master Janus.” Jack replied respectfully.
“Now you should strive to have a real in-depth understanding of the relation between energy and consciousness. Once you reach a sufficient understanding, you will unlock your Prana. The path of each Bhikku to access his Prana is different. However mastering meditation, is deemed as the bare essential. It is a hard to walk the path of a Bhikku. Only when you have unlocked Prana, can we move on with your training. Now go forth worthy initiate! Master meditation, and unlock your Prana!” Master Janus finished dramatically. Jack cleared his throat and said:
“Master Janus? I have already unlocked Prana Points. It is essentially MP + Stamina right? So what do I do next?” Master Janus was shocked. A new initiate Bhikku had unlocked Prana? How the hell in the name of Bhraman did he manage it? Even if he was an extremely talented traveler, it was impossible to master meditation in such a short while! It was barely 49 days since Jack was born. After some akward silence, Janus sighed and said:
“While I am happy you have obtained a sufficient understanding to unlock your Prana so quickly, I am honestly at a loss about what to teach you. You already know Mana Manipulation and Meditation. Your mastery of them will come with time and practice…”
“But Master Janus, all I know about mana is how to punch with it! Can’t you please teach me how to shape Mana some more? Or should I seek Madam Curie for more Arcane Knowledge?” Jack inquired. Janus looked irritated at the mention of Madam Curie, but said:
“I could teach you a few things I suppose. A force bolt is almost useless for long range damage, but it can be useful to trip charging foes and keep them at range. Which was the other affinity you have gained?”
“I gained affinity to soul. And I can always use void, I suppose.” Jack replied. Janus looked interested at the mention of Soul Affinity.
“Soul Affinity is interesting. We will deal with that later. For now try to channel force mana in your palm and launch it at the dummy.” Master Janus said as he performed a force. Jack concentrated on the ambient mana near Master Janus’ hand. He could see an orb of force mana forming in his palms. Around his forearm, Jack could see mana in the pattern of a spring. Master Janus was restraining the orb of force, and compressing the string around his forearm. He then let the orb go, and it shot like a bullet to collide with the dummy.
“Remember to propel your force bolt with mana and not just manifest and throw it. You can give your bolt a basic push with mana. However, it is more efficient if you have enough control to launch it from a compressed mana spring. You can also try rotating the bolt for more accuracy. This basic projectile technique works with most basic elements. Soul and light are notable exceptions. So once you master this basic bolt shaping, you have a staple with you when you gain other affinities.” Master Janus explained.
He then motioned Jack to try it. Jack tried to imitate Master Janus. He could maintain an orb of force on his palms. However, he had problems generating a mana spring to propel it. After a few attempts, Jack changed his approach. Insteadof trying to push the bolt backwards on the spring and then releasing it, Jack created the orb of force and pushed it with his mana spring spring, holding the orb in tension. When he could no longer hold I he released the tension on his force orb and it shot and hit his target dummy.
It was no way near as powerful, or as fast as Master Janus’ force bolt, but at least he had got the basics down. Master Janus then instructed him to practice till he could cast it faster. Then Master Janus instructed to add a rotational component to his force bolt. Jack was then made to practice till he could cast a force bolt with rotation, under a fraction of a second. Finally, Master Janus was satisfied with his progress. Jack also asked himself to be excused for dinner at the library, but Master Janus told him to join himself and Theon.
After dinner, Janus and Jack left the outer city gates and went towards the wood. Master Janus said that he didn’t have the soul affinity himself. But he knew the basics of creating a basic offensive soul spell. Janus then instructed Jack on the theory of creating a basic soul attack spell called Soul Strike on route.
“Soul magic is a lot more volatile than other affinities. To create soul strike, you essentially need to create temporary unstable entities and instruct them to seek a target. This takes quite a bit of willpower to perform. Your target needs to have some level of consciousness for this to work however. For now try creating small unstable entity made up of soul mana and just releasing it towards the sky.”
Jack attempted to create those unstable entities, but he failed miserably in the first few attempts. He then repeated the process, but also imagined imbibing the entities with rage. They were created, but were too unstable and didn’t leave his palm, exploding in it instead. He then tried creating blobs of soul energy and imagined hunger. He willed the soul entities to seek consciousness and devour a part of it. Jack was successful in this attempt. The blobs of soul amna, shot up and arced downwards and hit Janus.
Jack apologized earnestly, and Janus told not to worry, and that it was the intended effect. “You see once you release it, it will hit the nearest target. It takes a lot of willpower and concentration to make it hit your intended target. Now let us find a pack of wolves. They are weak, around lv15. I will keep them occupied, while you release multiple soul strikes and hit ONLY the wolves. Soul strike is no use if you hit your ally in the heat of battle. It is however the fastest homing spell to shape.”
Janus then tracked a pack of wolves, and proceeded to harass them. Jack then cast multiple soul strikes consecutively, willing them to feed only the wolves. He wasn’t very good at controlling them. However, his soul strikes were shrugged off by Janus without any problems. They practiced overnight on packs of wolves, until Jack could control his soul strikes. Jack also practiced void bolts.
Once Master Janus was satisfied with Jack’s casting speed and accuracy in mana bolts and soul strike, it was time for breakfast. Jack reviewed the skills he had gained. Even with his high intelligence and wisdom, each void bolt damaged a wolf for half of its HP. Jack was a bit disappointed at this, those wolves were only Lv15! While walking towards Rotang, Master Janus reassured Jack that, his cast time of these basic spells was under 0.5 seconds. Most hermetic analogs took 1.5 to 2 seconds.
Master Janus pointed out that, Jack could shoot his bolts and soul strike almost constantly. Hermetic mages had to worry about cooldowns, and thus cycle multiple spells, whereas priests had to recite a prayer to channel their spells. If enemies did enter melee range, void and force blasts from his mana fists would be enough to finish or distract them. His HP and physical stats were much closer to a melee warrior than a pure mage. Furthermore, PP had a much higher base pool and regeneration as compared to MP, so he could barrage his opponents with these spells for a lot longer, than mages with similar stats.
Master Janus also said that there were disadvantages. He couldn’t learn AoE spells of the bat. He had to tier-up his Mana Manipulation to Intermediate at least. (Jack didn’t tell his master that he had Mana control…it would raise uncomfortable questions.) Also, if Jack used all his PP casting spells, he won’t have any PP left for running, or even walking! He couldn’t also become a Mana Potion junkie as they would only very inefficient to restore PP.
‘Not having to worry about Cool down seems awesome! If I train correctly, I can spam void bolts and soul strikes like an archer spamming arrows! Have to be careful to manage my PP though. I should practice more so that I can cast these spells with both hands simultaneously!’ Jack thought as he summoned the information on the new spells he had learned.
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Spiral Mana BoltBeginner137.18%
This is a basic long range single target spell moving in a straight trajectory. Your mana bolt rotates to its target, increasing its damage and accuracy. Imbibing your bolt with different elements can have special effects. You can currently imbibe your bolt with the following elements:
Force (100% PP Cost)
Void (110% PP Cost): 5% of the damage done reduces the target’s MP
Current level effects:
Costs 31 PP.
Does 110% Magical Attack as elemental damage.
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Soul StrikeBeginner118.21%
This is a basic soul attack spell. You create homing mass of soul energy, which seek out and harm its targets. This cannot affect inanimate targets.
Current level effects:
Costs 42 PP.
Creates one homing mass of soul energy
Each homing mass does 105% Magical Attack as Soul damage.
After having breakfast in game with Master Janus and Instructor Theon, it was time for Jack to have dinner in real life. He asked to return to his world saying he will return in 4 to 8 hours. Master Janus told him to take his time, as he had to catch up on his sleep anyway. With the basics of Mana Bolt and Soul Strike down to muscle memory ingame, Jack logged off.
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A/N: This concludes the training arc! Jack has gained his class, quite a bit of useful skills and a couple of mid-range basic spells!
If someone can better explain the quantum physics part, please do so, and I will integrate it into this chapter! Understanding quantum physics is hard as it is... and I had to translate it into English, which is not my native tongue!
Guys, from now on chapter rate will be slowed down to perhaps once per week. This is because:
* I just have the bare-bones plot ready, unlike the training arc where I had almost all the details my head!
* I started reading Mother of Learning, and oh by it is SUPERB!
* I am also started playing an RPG called Lords of Xulima (its on Steam). Fans of First Person Turn Based Dungeon Crawlers like Wizardry and SMT can find it interesting!
Next chapter onwards, Jack is finally free to explore the world of Asunder Online!
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