Bloom watched in awe as the writing on the spectral scroll vanished and new words were written.
::::
[Awakening process being altered due to race variation]
[Astral Current being tailored to awakening creature]
[Aptitudes being set]
[ERROR]
[Aptitude locked by unknown means]
[Removing lock]
::::
Bloom tilted his head in slight confusion as the writing continued to appear and vanish to then be replaced as the cycle continued.
::::
[All aptitudes have been lowered due to lock removal]
[Attributes being reset due to lock removal]
[Some skills have been replaced]
[Some skills have been removed]
::::
Suddenly, Bloom felt an odd tingle across his skin, before the feeling delved into his mind. He felt knowledge being rearranged in his brain. Even some being tossed aside entirely.
But then the spectral scroll vanished in a blink.
There were a few brief moments of darkness before another spectral item appeared before him. A large translucent book was sprawled out before Bloom. It then flipped open to the middle of the tome as both of the visible pages began to write themselves.
::::
Stats
[Malron "Bloom"]
[Level: 1]
[Health: 14/14]
[Mana: 46/46]
[EXP: 0/100]
[Profession: None]
[Strength: 8 (45%)]
[Dexterity: 11 (65%)]
[Constitution: 7 (60%)]
[Intelligence: 23 (20%)]
[Wisdom: 14 (50%)]
[Charisma: 11 (60%)]
***
Skills
[Evocation]
[Bound Stat: Intelligence]
[Rank: Beginner 1 (progression: 0.00%)]
[This skill dictates the effectiveness of channeling and controlling spells of the evocation school of magic.]
[Effect: Channeling spells of the evocation school is 3X% easier, where X equals skill level (1). Holding concentration on spells of the evocation school is 1.5X% easier, where X equals skill level (1)]
-
[Abjuration]
[Bound Stat: Intelligence]
[Rank: Novice 5 (progression 0.00%)]
[This skill dictates the effectiveness of channeling and controlling spells of the abjuration school of magic.]
[Effect: Due to your low rank with this skill, there is no benefit from casting spells of the Abjuration school.]
-
[Conjuration]
[Bound Stat: Intelligence]
[Rank: Novice 1 (progression 0.00%)]
[This skill dictates the effectiveness of channeling and controlling spells of the conjuration school of magic.]
[Effect: Due to your low rank with this skill, there is no benefit from casting spells of the Conjuration school.]
-
[Flame Tolerance]
[Bound Stat: Constitution]
[Rank: Apprentice 1 (progression: 0.00%)]
[This skill dictates your tolerance to heat, fire, and similar effects.]
[Effect: Damage caused from heat, fire, or similar sources is reduced by 2X%, where X equals skill level (1).]
***
Spells
[Dancing Lights]
[School: Evocation]
[Rank: Novice 1 (progression: 0.00%)]
[Cost: N/A]
[You conjure small orbs of light. You can control each orb's luminosity and movement individually. Due to the spells simplicity, this spell costs no Mana to use. However altering the luminosity of the orbs will cost 1 Mana.]
[Due to your low rank with this spell, you can only conjure one orb at low luminosity per casting of this spell. Luminosity cannot be altered.]
-
[Produce Flame]
[School: Conjuration]
[Rank: Novice 1 (progression: 0.00%)]
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
[Cost: N/A]
[You conjure a small flame in your palm of which you control the intensity of. The flame can also be tossed a short distance at foes. Due to the spells simplicity, this spell costs no Mana to use. However expelling the flame from your hand will cost 1 Mana.]
[Due to your low rank with this spell, the spell's damage is halved and the heat it emits is reduced.]
-
[Misty Step]
[School: Conjuration]
[Rank: Novice 1 (progression: 0.00%)]
[Cost: 15 Mana]
[You disappear in a gout of mist, only to reappear a short distance away. This spell is known for being quick to cast and get the caster out of a dangerous position.]
[Due to your low rank with this spell, you may appear several feet in a random direction away from where you intended upon casting this spell.]
-
[Shield]
[School: Abjuration]
[Rank: Novice 1 (progression: 0.00%)]
[Cost: Proportional to damage]
[You can form a protective shield of dense magic to protect yourself from physical force. However a strong enough force can break the shield, wasting away your magic.]
[Due to your low rank with this spell, this spells efficiency has been halved.]
::::
Bloom looked in awed confusion at the text as it finally came to a halt. It was an odd feeling, looking at so many words that- while he understood the words themselves- he didn't know what they corresponded to.
He could assume his 'stats' were simply attributes about himself given a value. Like his height or weight. But he didn't know if they were necessarily good or not.
His strength was a mere 8. Which he didn't assume to be very good, he'd never taken pride in his physical abilities by any means. If they were better he might have joined the spell jousting team during his first or second year at the college.
On the other end of the spectrum, his intelligence was at a 23. While, again, he had no one to compare it to the number seemed relatively high. At the very least it was the highest of his stats by far.
But then another question crept into his mind. "What are those percentages?" He mumbled to himself.
Suddenly, pages began to turn in the spectral book he held.
At last the pages stopped as more words began to scribe themselves within the tome.
::::
[Tutorial, section 2 (stats), subsection 6 (aptitude)]
[Next to your stat value is your aptitude percentage. Your aptitude for a stat dictates the amount of EXP you gain for skills bound to the given stat. 100% is considered the average for most creatures.]
::::
Bloom's eyes widened at the final sentence of the text. None of his stat aptitudes were even close to 100%. The closest there was to 100 was his dexterity; that was far from his highest stat.
He shook his head. He'd have to worry about that later.
The next question on his mind was answered as the book flipped a few pages and more words began to form.
::::
[Tutorial, section 3 (skills), subsection 3 (rank)]
[The rank of a skill dictates its usefulness as well as your proficiency with the skill. When you gain a skill it will begin at Novice 1, the lowest rank. As you use your skill and learn more about it, the skill will increase in rank. There are 9 levels within a rank. Once the level of a rank is increased beyond 9 the level will reset to 1 and the rank will increase. The ranks are as follows:
• Novice 1-9
• Beginner 1-9
• Apprentice 1-9
• Student 1-9
• Journeyman 1-9
• Expert 1-9
• Master 1-9
• Grandmaster 1-9
• Sage 1-9
::::
As soon as Bloom had finished looking over the text, the book suddenly slammed shut, startling Bloom who jumped in surprise.
The book then burst into small faint blue sparks before disappearing.
Just like that, Bloom was left in darkness again.
He waited a few seconds, part of him expecting another spectral from to appear. When one didn't he held up a hand as a small glowing orb began hovering a few inches above his palm.
"That was... strange." Bloom muttered to himself as he looked about the ruins.
The light spell in his palm wasn't as bright as the stone he had grabbed before. But at least now he could look around without immense pain all over his body.
He was standing in a large flat room. There wasn't any furniture within the ruins, demolished or otherwise. However there were eight pillars on either side of the room. Their tops were broken off or partially covered by the icy ceiling above.
The floor was a mix between shattered tile and flat stone with large chunks of earth, dust, and snow scattered about.
The next thing Bloom noticed was the cold. He was freezing. Absorbing the 'Archean Stone' has fixed his body and cured the frostbite on his body. But he doubted it made him immune to getting frostbite again. Or at the very least, falling into hypothermia.
Bloom closed his hand as the orb of light flickered out, shrouding him in darkness momentarily. He then clasped his hands together before blowing into them. As he opened his hands a small flame flickered to life in his palms.
The flame wasn't large, only about twice as big as a candle flame. But the most important part of the spell was it's warmth.
It was by no means the heat of a campfire, but I still warmed Bloom's body as he held the flame closer to him.
After a moment of warming himself, he looked around the room for an exit.
Most of the walls were thick panes of stone and ice. But there was an opening on a far wall; One of the walls that was part of the original building and hadn't yet been encased in frost.
Close to the base of the ruined wall was a hole, just large enough to crawl through. While it wouldn't be comfortable, it's not like Bloom had many other options.
Keeping the warm flame close to his chest, Bloom began to squeeze through the hole in the wall.
Expectedly, the other side of the wall wasn't any brighter then the inside of the ruined building. As such, he didn't see when the floor suddenly slanted downward, causing him to begin tumbling downward.
The flickering flame in Bloom's palm quickly extinguished as he began to tumble down the slope of ice.
The slide didn't last as long as Bloom expected it to as, after only a few seconds, the ice suddenly became stone and Bloom skidded to a halt with a tumble.
Bloom stood up and began dusting off the ice shards from his robes. "Going down is the last thing that I need." Bloom grumbled as he held out a palm for an orb of light to begin illuminating the area.
Bloom turned back to where he'd slid from. A curvy slope of ice inclined upwards to meet the hole in the wall he'd crawled out of.
Looking forward he saw a cavern in a mix of stone and ice.
There was only one way forward. He had no idea if it even led to an exit. But where it led couldn't be worse then where he was now. Right?
Bloom began to take a few steps forward when a small burst of light appeared in front of him as yet another translucent scroll appeared before him.
"Wait, again?" Bloom asked himself as words began to appear on the parchment.
::::
[You have gained a quest]
-
[Quest: Out from Rubble]
[You have found yourself with a deep, dark, and cold cavern. Find the way out and survive to tell the tale.]
[Reward: 500 EXP, +1 Stat points, +1 Skill Points]
::::
"A quest?" Bloom asked himself as he looked through the writing on the scroll.
The writing was a little reassuring. At least it meant that whatever was making these scrolls and books believed he could get out of the cavern. But the sentence about 'surviving to tell the tale' was a bit less assuring.
Then his eyes fell upon the rewards. He was about to mouth his confusion when the translucent book appeared before him before flipping open to a random page within its center.
::::
[Tutorial, section 4 (quests), subsection 1 (overview)]
[Quests are a periodic occurrence throughout your time bound to the Astral Current. Quests vary widely on design, difficulty, and rewards. However, the greater the difficulty of a quest, the greater the reward.]
-
[Tutorial, section 4 (quests), subsection 3 (rewards)]
[Quests grant rewards upon their completion. While quest rewards vary, they will often grant experience (shown as EXP), Stat points, Skill points, or Aptitude points.]
-
[Tutorial, section 5 (progression), subsection 1 (EXP)]
[Each level has an EXP threshold in order to reach the next. The threshold increases each level. After your level increases you will be granted with 1 Stat point, 1 Skill point, and 1 Aptitude point. Rewards for level increase will rise once level reaches a certain threshold. EXP can be gained by either completing quests or eliminating other creatures. The amount of EXP gained from killing creatures varies widely based on the creature.]
-
[Tutorial, section 5 (progression), subsection 2 (points)]
[There are 3 types of points used to increase a certain aspect of yourself. Stat points can be used to increase any of your stats by 1 per point used. Skill points can be used to increase the level of a skill or spell known by 1 per point used. However, some skills or spells cannot be forcefully increased in rank via this method. Lastly are aptitude points which can be used to increase the aptitude for one of your stats by 1% per point used.]
::::
As soon as Bloom finished reading the last word, the book silently slammed shut and burst into blue sparks that quickly faded in the air.
While the idea that he wouldn't be as weak as he was forever was a relatively nice thought, his mind crawled at the idea of him 'eliminating creatures' for EXP. Did that mean he would need to kill others to gain large amounts of EXP. He'd never killed before. The closest he'd ever gotten was defending himself in a life threatening situation when he'd been attacked by a wolf not too far from his home. Even then he managed to run away with a few scraps and bruises.
Bloom nearly smacked himself on the cheek. No. He didn't have to kill anything. Assuming the quests he was given didn't amount to harming anyone; and there wasn't any form of penalty for refusing a quest, he could simply do the quests that were generally simple to complete and gain the rewards that way. Regardless, he would still become better at magic eventually regardless of if he was 'bound to the Astral Current' or not.
With a wave of his hand Bloom caused the scroll to burst into heat-less sparks and fade away as he continued his trek deeper into the cavern with nothing but the light in his palm to guide his way.