Kedryn pulled up his status screen.

Name: Bei’Kedryn Serevlir (Royal Elf)

Age 19 Level: 3

Experience: 1050 Next Level: 2000

Health: 90 Stamina: 100 Mana: 170

Attributes

Strength: 10 Dexterity: 12 Constitution: 9 Endurance: 9

Intelligence: 17 Wisdom: 9 Charisma: 13 Chance: 10

Brands:

Passion Intellect Courage

Sacrifice Perseverance

Titles:

Bei (First Born) House Serevlir (Royal)

Languages:

Elvish (All Dialects) English

Skills:

Concealment: Lvl 2: +4% to concealment; +4% chance to identify suitable terrain.

Naturist (Natural Lore): Lvl 3 - +6% potency; +3% identification

Perception: Lvl 3 - +6% to perception

Quarter Staff: Lvl 1: 1% stamina reduction. +1% damage/accuracy.

Small Blades: Lvl 1: 1% stamina reduction. +1% damage/accuracy.

Abilities:

Passionate Growth

Specializations: None

Attunements:

Air: 0% Water: 0% Earth: 0% Fire: 13% (Sympathetic)

Light: 0% Shadow: 0% Astral: 0% Corporeal: 0%

A smile slowly crept across Kedryn’s face as he reviewed his status page. Not too shabby for someone who had literally been dropped into this world just a couple of days ago. It was plain to see he was tailor made to be a caster. A 17 in intelligence and a hefty 170 mana points? Regardless of any games he had played before, that was impressive. Not to mention his fire attunement was already at the Sympathetic rank.

Not that he understood what that meant specifically, but it had taken him two boons to get it to that level. That had to be good, right?

He had asked Riya about attunements earlier, but all she was willing to explain was that attunement level was a reflection of one’s mana resonance, whatever that meant. When he had pressed her on the subject, she had refused, saying she wasn’t qualified. His status page wasn’t that helpful either, which was frustrating. These early levels were essential in building a solid foundation. If only he had access to a wiki! Then he could properly prepare for each level of advancement.

Still, he was a gamer at heart and knew enough to know exactly what he needed at this stage of development. In a typical game he would have dumped his attribute points into intelligence and wisdom, laying the framework to be a powerful mage. It made sense, especially since he wanted to specialize in magic. But his aching muscles were telling him that might not be the wisest option at this juncture.

Kedryn winced as he shifted into a more comfortable position. He was utterly exhausted. They all were. But to his everlasting shame, of the three of them he had been forced to stop the most. While Riya’s previous rapid healing had bolstered his strength, it hadn’t been enough to help his endurance, which had remained at a measly 9.

His mind flashed back to the torturous trek back while carrying the star silver carapace. Sure, the unique properties of the metal had saved their lives. But the dang thing was heavy!

Going against his usual min-maxer strategy, Kedryn placed 2 points into endurance and 1 into strength. Sure he wanted to build himself into a powerful mage, but that didn’t mean squat if he died because of exhaustion first.

The change was immediate as the most incredible feeling ran through his sore body. Muscles swelled everywhere throughout his body before relaxing, the pain from their trek having vanished. Even his exhaustion evaporated!

He was about to allocate his remaining three points when two liquid gold eyes appeared out of nowhere.

“You allocated your points, didn’t you?” Riya stated, a hint of exasperation bleeding into the tone of her voice.

“Yes…” Kedryn replied, drawing the word out as he was caught off guard by the beautiful elf suddenly talking to him.

“You do realize,” she said, already rubbing her temples, “that your body was in the process of healing itself naturally from our excursion. Which means that any natural growth you may have gained is now wasted.”

“Oh,” was all he was able to get out. That… made sense.

“You are such a Mede,” she hissed. “Since you didn’t think to ask for help, can you at least tell me what you chose to do with your attribute points so I can tell you where you went wrong?”

Kedryn winced. He had spent hours wracking his brain trying to think of something, anything, to talk about with the Riya that might not be construed as him being a jerk like he had been before. Attribute allocation would have been perfect! How was it that every time he tried to do something right, he messed it up?

After a moment of stunned silence, Riya shook her head and started to back away.

“Wait!” Kedryn blurted, his mouth working of its own accord as his mind remained frozen in panic. Did she think he was trying to ignore her? Or worse, outright dismissing her? That wasn’t what he wanted her to think! “I… I put my points into stamina and strength! I was about to put the remainder into wisdom to up my mana regeneration. Oh, and at least one point into chance! I mean, I have points automatically allocated into dexterity, intelligence and charisma, so, naturally, I wasn’t able to choose where those went. But you would know about that already, wouldn’t you.”

He was rambling. No, it was much worse than rambling. His mind had shut down completely and he was word vomiting the first things that popped into his mind. He could clearly see what he was doing, but why couldn’t he stop himself? He had to think of something else. Anything that would at least make him look like he wasn’t some sort of moron.

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“Do you want me to heat you up some beetle meat?”

Kedryn’s voice trailed off as he took in the looks Riya and Glade were giving him. Both had very different expressions. Riya had a more contemplative look while Glade was giving him a look like a spectator watching the Titanic sinking.

Why in the world was he acting like a noob?

“Those aren’t… bad choices,” Riya finally said, settling back down next to him. Wait, that had worked? As the knot in his gut relaxed ever so slightly, Kedryn fought his initial impulse to raise his arms in triumph. “And yes, some warmed beetle meat would be far more appetizing. Thanks for offering. Maybe we can go over your choices while we eat?”

Kedryn was already in motion, digging out a couple of beetle steaks before his brain caught up to him.

“That sounds great,” he responded nonchalantly, purposefully slowing down to match his tone of voice.

“I’d like to specialize as a caster,” he continued as casually as he could while he ignited a small ball of flame in one hand. He then skewered the meat, which was really difficult one handed, before holding it over the fire. “At least that’s what makes the most sense with my stats. That and I’m already at the sympathetic rank in my fire attunement.” Best to point out his strengths as often as possible. That should impress her, right?

Riya visibly winced, causing Kedryn’s stomach to drop. What had he said wrong?

“It's because of my high intelligence!” he blurted, his mind panicking yet again at her negative reaction. “I have plenty of mana, but my mana regeneration rate is terrible, which is why I was about to put some points into wisdom. I already upped my endurance and strength because I ran out of steam so quickly against the slimes. That and I was the one who slowed us down on our return trip. The extra points in those stats should let me move farther and faster so you and Captain Glade aren’t waiting on me.”

“We can talk about your… attunement later,” she said slowly, a look of confusion flitting across her face. “And unless you also have a water attunement, I’m uncertain how someone would even have steam to begin with, let alone lose it. Still, I’m glad to see you actually thought through your choices. I was worried you were going to throw your attribute points into areas that didn’t make sense.”

Kedryn’s emotions swung in the opposite direction as he beamed at her praise. Well, praise wasn’t quite the right word, but he’d take it! That and he would have to be extra careful on using any colloquialisms in the future. Running out of steam? Of course she wouldn’t understand that.

“In my culture, gaining a level is a momentous event,” Riya continued. “It is a time to celebrate the individual’s personal advancement as well as the strengthening of their House. After the festivities though, the one who has gained a level is to meet with the Council so they can receive guidance on their path of advancement.”

Kedryn gave Riya his undivided attention. This insight into the daily life of her people was not only fascinating, but it might provide some insights into their leveling system.

“Of everyone amongst my people, I am the least qualified to help you along your path. Not only am I underage and inexperienced, I’m still a seedling. Not to mention my path is… unique.”

“What more can you tell us about the process?” Glade asked, choosing to join the discussion. Part of Kedryn was annoyed that his commanding officer had decided to inject himself in their conversation. But it was only a small part. The rest of him sagged in relief that someone other than him would be asking the questions. Hopefully, he wouldn’t feel quite so stupid with Captain Glade there to help carry the conversation.

“I can only share a little as my own experiences weren’t… ideal,” Riya grimaced. “For the most part, it's all ceremony. Congratulations are expressed, each elder has a turn to drone on about the importance of serving the greater whole, stuff like that. The first time I leveled I stood in front of everyone for over an hour doing nothing but listening to boring speeches. Then, you reveal your status page. That’s when the real debate begins, which can last as little as a few minutes or has been known to last days-”

“Why so long?” Kedryn interrupted. “It makes sense to get advice, but days seem a bit excessive.”

“I swear, you are worse than my sister,” Riya sighed as she grabbed one of the beetle steaks. “Your job right now is to listen. With any luck, you might learn something.”

“As I was saying, the ceremony can last up to several days…”

Kedryn opened his mouth to ask a question. Riya’s hand blurred so fast he barely registered the movement as she smacked him upside the head. Her dexterity had to be insanely high if he could barely track the strike.

Riya arched an eyebrow, challenging him to ask another question.

Glade snagged the other piece of heated food, leaving Kedryn to warm up a third piece.

“As I was saying, the ceremony can last up to several days. This is dependent upon a variety of factors, to include the person’s level, what path of advancement they follow, the needs of the House, and most importantly, the officiating elder.”

“What’s a path of advancement? That sounds like a lot like xanxia…” Riya’s hand blurred again, smacking him upside the head.

“Will you stop that?” Kedryn asked, rubbing the spot she had struck a second time.

“Stop me!” Riya challenged. “Or be quiet and listen.”

“Sorry,” he said, ducking his head just in case she struck him again. Was it just him or was Captain Glade fighting back a smile? It had to be his imagination. That man never smiled. “I’ll be quiet now.”

“Doubtful,” She muttered, “but we can only hope. As I was saying, there are many factors that determine the length of the meeting. My first time was exceptionally long because I am the First Daughter of the Ki. Everyone wanted to incur favor and advocate for me to apprentice with them. The debates between the council elders can be fierce, especially for the gifted. I remember when Val, my sister, gained her first level. They debated for three days on what was best for her path. Mine lasted… significantly less than that.”

She paused, looking out into the grotto as if haunted.

“You have to understand, advancement is everything on Veil. It determines the quality of your hunters, farmers, warriors, alchemists, and laborers, to name but a few. The more talented you are, the more resources and knowledge you’re given. That first meeting with the council determined my mana processing technique...”

“What do you mean by a mana processing technique?” Kedryn blurted out around a mouthful of food. He couldn’t help himself. This sounded important.

Riya sighed deeply, bringing her attention back to Kedryn and Glade.

“It's exactly like it sounds. It helps you break down ingested mana into something that you can either use to refill your mana points, expand your mana channels, and in rare cases, helps with increasing your attunement. You must have something similar in your home world, otherwise any mana ingested would run rampant in your bodies doing all sorts of damage.”

Glade and Kedryn both looked at each other, then at Riya.

“There’s no such thing as mana on Earth,” Glade said with a shrug.

“Yeah, this is all new to us,” Kedryn responded. “Well, newish. I’ve read a lot about cultivation and played several games that incorporate those principles into their mechanics…”

“Corporal,” Glade said, drawing the word out.

“Shutting up now sir,” Kedryn replied, taking another bite of the rubbery meat. When was Captain Glade going to let him share what he knew? He had so much to contribute to this conversation.

Kedryn stopped chewing as he turned his attention back to Riya, whose look of growing horror made him wonder if they were about to be attacked.

“No mana…,” she whispered. What followed was not so quiet. “Which means you’ve been eating Magma Beetle meat for the last two days and you haven’t processed any of it!?”

By the end of her sentence she was nearly screeching. Riya’s hand blurred, faster this time. Instead of hitting Kedryn’s head, she smacked the food out of their hands.

“You’re poisoning yourselves!”