So, on opening day, I had already spent almost half of my creation points. That was from the change in operating system, and getting two beast packs. That wasn’t even considering everything else I may need. Why was everything so expensive around here? “Alright Helios, I got everything I needed so far. Anything else you’d recommend?”
“The only other thing I’d recommend is magic packs. While they are not needed per se, I still recommend having it.” His footsteps receded as he spoke. More than likely he was heading back towards his tree. Honestly at this rate, I think he might just be a tree hugger.
“Magic, huh. What is magic exactly?’ On Earth magic was always some esoteric force used in video games to denote the supernatural. But it never existed as far as I knew. I could be wrong though, since everything I thought I knew turned out to be wrong.
“Well, that is a complicated answer. Fundamentally, mana is one of the core forces of the universe. While the specifics of it are far too complex to break down. Essentially, when you purchase it and give it to your species, it allows them to manipulate it.” His tone became a little more scholarly, and excitement crept into it. Perhaps my new companion was a philosopher of sorts? Oh well,in due time, we can figure him out.
“Helios, I hope you realize how troubling this is all to me.” The words left my mouth with a sigh as I stared at the search bar. Really, coming to terms with how little you actually know is frustrating. Even more so knowing that my life is was a lie.
“It’s alright, Kairos. Just take your time.” His reply was absent minded as the sounds of ruffled leaves filled the air.
Yeah, he's right, I should just take my time for now. I typed, ‘basic magic bundle’ into the search bar, intent to only find the most basic of magic types. There was a lot there that I had to unpack, and rifling through esoteric types would only frustrate me more. However, what came up was equally annoying.
As magic is undetected in your inventory, you must purchase an interior magical system. Whatever magic system you select, it will come with a basic bundle. At your level, the following is available to you.
Runic Magic: Magic is funneled through the power of runes. Each must be hand carved and carefully written, lest there be severe side effects.
70 creation points
Wild Magic: Mana is a force of nature, and can not be restrained. A spell may cause a fire to break out one time, while recanted the same way, it could cause a flood. This type of magic casting is unpredictable.
50 creation Points
Geometric Magic: Using various shapes, mana can be channeled to specific effects through specially designed shapes.
75 creation points
Scrollmagic: The power of the universe is too strong for any mortal to contain. Instead, it is inscribed upon paper, and destroyed upon casting.
45 creation points
Ritualistic: The act of using mana is careful and filled with preparation, It can take minutes, hours, or even centuries of planning. Yet when used, it can sunder even a planet.
70 creation points
Cultivation: Mana is an energy that can be gathered over time. But first it must be pulled in, purified and contained. The effects this has on the body is relative.
250 creation points
Motion Based Casting: Mana is summoned based on the movement the body takes. Whether its fingers, or a derivative of. Or the swinging of arms and legs.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
100 creation points
Alteration: Magic is casted with foci attached to the body. From gems, tattoos, or even replacement body parts.
100 creation points
Focal Magic: Unbidden magic is channeled through focai. With various effects able to be achieved through time and practice:
80 creation points
Spoken Magic: The power of magic is controlled solely through the spoken word. However, the act of spoken magic is as old as the universe and the words of power are not merciful.
150 creation points
Summoner Magic: Mana is contained within beings that do not exist in this plane. The summoner must call into the void, but be warned. The void will answer you.
100 creation points
Silent Magic Casting: This form of magic is limited solely by the user's imagination. But the more complex spell, the more mana that is needed. Overdrawing could result in the user's death.
150 creation points.
This list was staggering! There were so many options, and all of them seemed like such great picks! This was a nerd's wet dream and I was all for it. But there were two things stopping me recently. One, I had zero clue what to pick, and two, I didn’t have enough money to buy all of it.
Even though I told myself I was going to take it easy, I might slip up here. I’ll have to set a budget, though. At most, I’ll only choose a few to start, and come back later since there doesn’t seem to be a limit to what I can buy.
The worst part was going to be deciding which I should buy. I started from the top of my list and worked my way down. I think runic based magic would be a good starting pick. It was an interesting class of magic and would serve me well in the future. So, I selected it, and moved down to the next one. Wild magic, while it could be useful, I didn’t want to trust the randomness of it, so I’ll pass over it for now.
Geometric, on the other hand, was an instant purchase from me. There was something about it that was just interesting. I mean, drawing various shapes and watching the magic unfurl was a childhood dream of mine. So, with no further hesitation, I selected it and dropped it into my cart. The next three I saw the value in, but I couldn’t afford to take them. Scroll based magic would come in handy for many things. But, for now, I’ll do without. As for ritualistic magic, while yes, I consider that the foundation of any magical abilities, again, I already selected some stuff, and I wanted to buy one or two of the big ones.
Cultivation was also pretty cool. As an avid reader, I appreciated some books from that genre, and while I had nothing against it, again, I was saving up for something else. In the future, I would buy this without a doubt. I just hated how expensive this all was. Really, if I had the money, I’d buy all of this, and put it on my world like some kind of arcane pack rat. But alas, Alpha is a cruel boss who only gives me pittances.
With a heavy heart, I struck motion based magic out of my choices. While I had a tingling sensation that it would be a lot like a few anime I watched when I was human, I couldn’t bring myself to justify it when there were other options. So that left, alteration, focal, spoken, silent, and summoner.
Alteration was okay. The idea of someone altering their body to cast magic was pretty cool. The sheer amount of variability with that was staggering, but compared to the others, that was lacking. Next up, for focal, that one I could get behind. That would mean they would need wands, staves, and stuff like that. Which was yes, a thousand times yes. So I selected it.
A quick glance over to my cart showed me I was about to spend two hundred and twenty-five creation points. Which would leave me with four hundred and some odd at the end. That meant really, I could only get one more magic system after this to make sure I had a cushion afterwards.
So my last pick was between spoken, silent, and summoner based magic. Each of them was perfect in their own ways, and I wanted all of them. But I couldn’t do that right now. So, which? Did I want them to speak like a dragon born? Or cast fireballs with their minds? Summon creatures from ethereal planes of existences? I could ask Helios what he thought was best, but at the same time, I wanted this to be my choice.
I think the best option for now would be summoner based magic. While I would give up two superb sources of magic casting, I would get a hybrid of each with a summoner. In the end though, it didn’t really matter. I could go back later and get the other two.
Once I selected the magic system and purchased it, I shot a glance towards Ouradia. While I wasn’t certain, it seemed like the planet had settled down mostly, which meant that it was about time to seed life! This was the part I’ve been waiting for and I was so excited!
“Alright Helios, magic is secured, monsters have been bought, a new OS installed, and a world just about ready. What next?” I pulled away from the console before the desire to buy more things crept into my fingers and had me spend more money.
“Now, we should be ready to seed life. The first step is to open up your menu, and find the fast forward function. This is a creation mana specific skill however, since you are messing with the flow of time, so take it easy.” As he spoke, he pulled away from his tree and made a quick gesture for me to follow him.
I bobbed my head and followed him to the window that overlooked the planet. What was once a green luscious planet was covered in brilliant spots of red and raging storms. It was a shame that the transformation destroyed so much. In the end, however, it should be worth it.