Chapter 2: ~Get Smart~
In order to get her mind off the fact that she may or may not have lost her mind, Sydney focused on the task at hand. Namely, how to alter gravity and life. Two primal forces that nobody has any right to be messing with. Her best guess for gravity was to begin reviewing her old physical science textbook. She had already tried to just imagine objects being heavier or lighter, and that didn't do a damn thing.
Life magic on the other hand was probably healing, at least, that's what she assumed it would be. Thanks to 'A Gamer's Body' her wounds, like the rat bites, would heal as long as her health regenerated. So it couldn't really hurt to cut herself a little and dump mana into the wound. As soon as that thought occurred to Syd, she pulled a pair of scissors out of her desk drawer and nicked a finger.
'Ow, ow, ow,' she internally shouted. 'Correction, it can hurt!''
Once more, Syd closed her eyes and found her center. Same as before, she could clearly sense the mana within her. Instead of snapping and leaving her body like it had when manipulating elements, the mana extended a thin tendril up her arm and into the wounded finger. As soon as she felt something happening her eyes shot open.
Instead of healing, it just got worse. The blood began to heat up and bubble painfully, causing her eyes to fly wide open. As soon as she panicked it shot out in spurts, like a small geyser.
A new Spell has been generated: Boil Blood!
Boil Blood Lv.1 ~ 0.38%Causes blood to boil painfully.-Mana cost = 30
-Cooldown = 5 Seconds
-Damage Modifier = Intellect.
A new Passive Skill has been generated: Blood Affinity!
Blood Affinity (Passive) Lv.1 ~ 2.37%Possessed by those who are naturally in tune with blood magic. Aids in the advancement and casting of all blood magic.-Control + 1%
-Mana cost - 0.5%
*Daa-da-da-dun!*
Quest Failed!
After the initial shock was over, and her floor had a small pool of blood soaking into the carpet, Sydney could only glare at the small plate of cookies that appeared in front of her. It would seem that she failed miserably...
The God of Execution, Slaughter, and Blood: Serve thy Master.The God of Blood, Shezmu, has felt your power through the ether of the multiverse. Pleased with your self mutilation, he has offered you a life of servitude. Accept this quest to become his avatar, it shall be your duty to spread glorious, bloody, violent carnage in the name of your god!
- Pledge your soul to Shezmu!
Completion award:
-Exp 200000
-Intellect + 100
-Wisdom + 50
-Soulbrand [Shezmu]
-Spell Tome: "Corruption Garden"
Completion failure:
-Shezmu's Curse
ConfirmDecline
By this point Sydney wanted to cry, really cry. Like just roll up into a ball and weep tears of frustration. This time it sounded like the quest wants her to be a serial killer, it wasn't bad enough that she already turned crazy, oh no, she had to go all homicidal maniac on top of it.
'Decline!''
*Daa-da-da-dun!*
Quest Failed!
Shezmu's CurseForsaken by the God of Blood. You are forever unable to harness blood magic.
One passive skill has been forgotten.
One spell has been forgotten.
Sydney spent the next half hour sulking while she ate her cookies. They were damn good cookies.
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Gravitational force = (G * m1 * m2) / (d squared)
It was a humbling experience for Syd, reading theories of gravity, peeking into the mind of a three hundred year old scientist. G, the gravitational constant. Gravity is everywhere, simple as that. The objects, m1 and m2. The attraction between any two objects, between their particles, their mass. Distance, d squared. Mind boggling to her, but not completely out there.
Intellect + 1
It wasn't the most popular theories that caught her attention in the end. It was the ones that couldn't be proven. You can't prove what you can't observe, after all. So here she was, pondering the existence of gravitons, gravitational waves, and what such things were theorized to do.
Gravitons were believed to be particles that caused objects to be attracted to one another. While it might be worth her while to attempt to create artificial gravitons, that seemed like a bit of a long shot. So here she was, attempting to sense gravitational waves, also known as gravitational radiation — gravity generated when an object is moved by external force. A 'lesson in futility', her father would call it.
Intellect + 1
Since slinging around mana wasn't helping, Syd, decided to look into what she assumed was the opposite of gravity, weightlessness.
Oh how wrong she was, there is no such thing, nothing in the universe is weightless. If it doesn't have weight, it doesn't exist. Microgravity, as the smart people call it. You never touch the ground because you're in constant free fall. The damn earth is spinning, curving away from you.
Intellect + 1
Gravity manipulation sounds dangerous, very painfully dangerous. Removing something from the gravitational pull of earth would probably send it flying at whatever the rate is that earth spins.
'Best not to fuck with earth's gravitational pull...'
Wisdom + 4
Syd was sort of confident that the goddess of gravity and mischief wouldn't send her on a wild goose chase here, so maybe she was just overthinking things. Maybe, the answer was as simple as creating small amount of artificial gravity, no, not creating gravity, but manipulating mass!
"Gravity magic is purely mass manipulation, isn't it?" she voiced her theory aloud.
*Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!*
A new Passive Skill has been generated: Gravity Affinity!
Gravity Affinity (Passive) Lv.1 ~ 0%Possessed by those who are naturally in tune with gravity. Aids in the advancement and casting of all gravity spells.-Control + 1%
-Mana cost - 0.5%
Quest Complete!
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
Intellect + 50
Intellect has risen above 50. The skill "Mana Affinity" has been generated.
Mana Affinity (Passive)Technique that allows the user to become more sensitive to mana and handle it better.-Mana regeneration + 10%
-Magic Attack + 5%
-Magic Defense + 5%
-Mana related skill effects + 30%
Wisdom + 25
Wisdom has risen above 50. The skill "Mana Regeneration" has been generated.
Mana Regeneration (Passive)An ability given only to those with a special heritage that allows faster mana recovery.-Mana regeneration + 100%
Lithriel's Favor [Blank Crest]In light of your preference towards nasuverse magic, Lithriel, has seen fit to give you a blank magic crest. While magecraft does not exist in this reality, perhaps future rewards could be given in the form of magecraft. Due to Lithriel's mischievous nature, this crest has been planted in the position of a tramp stamp.
As if getting spammed by windows wasn't enough, a huge book landed on her head knocking Sydney the fuck out.
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When Sydney first woke up on her bedroom floor she calmly cycled through all the notice windows, pointedly ignoring the ornate purple and steel encased tome sitting next to her. As soon as she read [Blank Crest] she freaked out.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes!" she shouted with reckless abandon.
"Honey," came her mother's amused voice. "I know it's fun, but try to keep the volume down."
The color quickly drained out of Syd's face, then, half a second later she was blushing something fierce. It would seem her parents had arrived home at some point during her 'nap'. Sure enough, the sun was setting, she'd lost at least three or four hours because of that damn book.
Glaring at the offender in question brought up a description.
Gravitas GrimoireAn ancient compilation of all known gravity spells, rituals, and tactics. This grimoire has been passed to well known magicians throughout all of time and space. When manipulating gravity beware of temporal distortions. Monsters, radiation, and demons have been known to spawn from temporal distortions.
'That doesn't sound ominous at all...'
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
With a ginger touch she picked the book up and flipped it to a random page. Well random until she saw a nude woman sketched on the page, she just had to read that. Of course, the first thing Syd found is a spell meant to keep breasts from sagging through the use of a perpetual localized field that alters the mass of one's assets.
Would you like to learn the skill?
ConfirmDecline
It took Sydney all of half a second to slam her hand on 'Confirm'.
You cannot learn this spell.Prerequisites-
-100 Intellect
-Gravity Affinity Lv.40
-Spell 'BMI Manipulation' Lv.70
Quickly backtracking to the beginning, she started flipping through pages again. On the seventh page, was the spell she wanted, no, needed. Changing your bodies BMI, or body mass index. Once again, when she finished reading the specifics, instead of trying to perform the actual spell manually, a window popped back up.
Would you like to learn the skill?
ConfirmDecline
*ding*
A new Sustained Spell has been generated: BMI Manipulation!
BMI Manipulation (Sustained) Lv.1 ~ 0%Allows the caster to alter their body's natural body mass index.-Range = 1%
-Mana cost = 3 mp/sec
Sydney dashed to the bathroom and hopped on her scale. As soon as it read 112 lbs she shuffled off and let it reset. Activating the spell and dropping her BMI 1 %, she stepped back on. Sure enough, she weighed a bit less.
No longer was Syd thinking of weighing less or having perky breasts forever. She had read what the spell was designed for, what the creator had in mind. They had never quite reached their goal, but by the gods were they close. Flight, the crazy mage who made this spell wanted to soar through valleys and mountains unrestrained.
Things were different here, she knew that with just a bit of tech, and a high enough skill level... Surely someone who weighed about thirty pounds could find a way to fly. That's assuming that there isn't an actual flight spell somewhere in the Gravitas Grimoire.
After messing around for a few minutes to get used to the odd feeling, she pulled up her status screen to check on her mana and mana regeneration.
Name: Syndra Shyael
Class: The Gamer
Level: 11Health 80/80
Mana 440/780Strength: 8
Vitality: 8
Dexterity: 10
Intellect: 78
Wisdom: 53
Luck: 13Points: 40
Money: $372
From the fact that her mana was dropping, she could tell that there wasn't enough regen going on. Thinking of what intellect and wisdom do brought up the windows for both attributes.
IntellectIncreases your avatar's ability to use Magic. Higher intellect will result in a boost to memory and comprehension.Effects:
Increases maximum mana. [10/1]
Increases magic attack.
Reduces chances of magic being resisted.
WisdomIncreases your avatar's ability to recover from fatigue. Higher wisdom will result in better critical thinking and intuition.Effects:
Increases health regeneration. [5.3% / min]
Increases mana regeneration. [12.19% / min]
Sydney let out a pained laugh when she read the wisdom description. BMI manipulation was taking 3 mp/sec so 180 mp/min. Her regen is only doing about 95 mp/min at the moment. So the question is whether she should boost her maximum mana to raise the regen bonus, or boost the regen rate itself.
After deciding not to over think it since either way will get her closer to what she wants, Syd opened her status back up and dropped 23 points into intellect.
Name: Syndra Shyael
Class: The Gamer
Level: 11Health 80/80
Mana 440/1010Strength: 8
Vitality: 8
Dexterity: 10
Intellect: 101
Wisdom: 53
Luck: 13Points: 17
Money: $372
*Ding!*
Intellect has risen above 100. The skill "Mana Mastery" has been generated.
Mana Mastery (Passive)An ability wielded by those who are exceptionally talented at wielding raw mana.-Doubles base mana conversion ratio for intellect.
-Mana + 10%
-Magic Attack + 5%
-Magic Defense + 5%
Sydney had a feeling she'd get another passive for breaching the hundred intellect threshold, so she wasn't surprised at all. Without wasting any time Syd quickly looked at her new max mana and did the math.
Name: Syndra Shyael
Class: The Gamer
Level: 11Health 80/80
Mana 238/2222Strength: 8
Vitality: 8
Dexterity: 10
Intellect: 101
Wisdom: 53
Luck: 13Points: 17
Money: $372
Syd was very happy to see that she'd overshot her goal by quite a bit. Also, she was scared with the sudden realization that she'd just calculated everything in her head. A few days ago there was no way she would've known that her current mana regen is just shy of 271 mp/min. Not without a calculator at least.
Speaking of being smarter than she should be, Sydney suddenly realized that she'd lost sight of her original goal in all of this. The purpose was to get stronger so she doesn't get killed. At some point she had gotten off track — Syd was blaming goddesses for that.
Without wasting another moment she quickly sifted through the pages of her grimoire. If she didn't have time to learn something that could kill, she would at least get a spell to slow things down so she could run away. Sure enough, on the fourth page there was a complicated diagram with the description 'Gravitic Ring'.
Would you like to learn the skill?
ConfirmDecline
*ding*
A new Active Spell has been generated: Gravitic Ring!
Gravitic Ring (Active) Lv.1 ~ 0%A spell that increases the mass of all objects within an area to significantly reduce speed. The closer an object is to the center, the greater the effect.-Size = 8m.
-Mana cost = 40
-Duration = 30 sec.
Sifting through the familiar rush of information as it hit her was becoming easier, probably because of intellect. Even as she began to understand exactly how the spell worked, her mind focused outward as well, she could smell dinner cooking. Her stomach took that moment to let its displeasure at being ignored known. All she'd had to eat today were 'Katie' and goddess cookies.
Sydney got up and rubbed the bridge of her nose again, she'd made a lot of progress, nothing she could complain about. A bonus was that none of it, well almost none of it was dangerous. She'd have to figure out what it takes to get bloodstains out of a carpet floor later, in fact, why the hell didn't she just cut herself in the bathroom?
Shaking her head in resignation, Syd made her way out the door and down the stairs. Going down the stairs almost became a problem when she got hit with a double whammy. Gravity affinity and BMI leveling up at nearly the same moment. The windows were still taking some getting used to.
As soon as the windows appeared her mind went through some rapid calculations on reflex, it was that moment she realized that casting 'Gravitic Ring' every thirty seconds as well wouldn't drain her dry. That would push her mana regen almost to the limit, but not quite. Not being one to waste an opportunity, she sifted through the spell's information and cast it on her bedroom upstairs.
After she fired 'Gravitic Ring' off, Sydney entered the kitchen. Standing together as usual when they cook was her mother and father. One chopping vegetables while the other rests her head on his shoulder. It was moments like this that caused Syd to crave her own heated romance, boy did that turn out wrong.
"Mom, dad," she began, "how was work?"
Her father's head of messy black hair swiveled a bit to the right, no need to disturb his wife. "Same old, same old."
"What ya' cookin?"
"Ratatouille, hungry?"
Sydney blanched. Logically speaking, she knew that ratatouille has nothing to do with rats, but... "Not really, I already ate before you guys got home."
Her father nodded his head and went back to chopping tomatoes.
Formulating a plan in her mind was surprisingly easy at this point. "You know our neighbor, the one that lives behind of us?"
Her mom's long brunette locks shifted for a moment. "Mrs. Snow?"
'Katie Snow a.k.a. Riley Tombs,' Syd mentally scoffed. "Yeah her, once in a while I see her working out. I was thinking of asking her to teach me a few things. Would you mind if I bothered her?"
Her dad added his two cents. "It can never hurt to ask Syndra," he playfully remarked.
Syd's forehead met the dinner table she was sitting at. "Mom told you I asked about that, huh?" All he did was bob his head up and down in response. "I can understand mom being on pain relief drugs while I was being born, but why were you high too?"
A rueful chuckle resounded throughout the kitchen. "Your mom isn't just a beast in the sack, she broke me fucking hand while you were still in there."
*Daa-da-da-dun!*
You have sensed a massive amount of Killing Intent!
Syd quickly attempted to wipe that last sentence from her mind only to realize that her memory was a shitload better than it used to be. With a pained sigh she excused herself, abandoning her father to his imminent doom. "I'm gonna go see Mrs. Snow, bye!"
The sickly sweet voice of Syd's mother trailed after her. "Take your time honey, a few hours at least..."
Sydney decided that she would do just that, take her damn time.
Wisdom + 1
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Name: Syndra Shyael
Class: The Gamer
Level: 11Health 80/80
Mana 2222/2222Strength: 8
Vitality: 8
Dexterity: 10
Intellect: 101
Wisdom: 54
Luck: 13Points: 17
Money: $372
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