Pov Zelia, Release Day
Slap Cheeks of red pulse through the fur on my face, focus starts waning again and I clap both hands over my cheeks, bringing a shhhh from the librarian in the back, ahh, I recoil a bit from the sudden intrusion into my spiking gay consciousness.
I jump up from my chair and bow at the librarian hurriedly, they walk off mumbling to themselves about kids these days.
Bleehhh... I slump back in my seat and sigh deeply. The first thing that came to my mind in the hastiest retreat of my life, was to find the safest place possible.
The library in the town was small but had a large number of books. Bookshelves were pushed together as much as possible to contain it all. Confined they all sit so closely together, bringing a certain kind of peace to my poor exacerbated gay heart.
I hadn't experienced such calm since I was a small child. The local library had weekend reading aloud for kids.
Dad brought me in every weekend and instead of listening to the reader spouting analogies of why you should be good girls and boys, I would roam the spaces, breathing in the atmosphere and absorbing the stories along the shelves, each book its own world.
Because of the increase in technology, libraries were made basically redundant, everything was on the net and readily available, not to mention the libraries that were not able to be saved at the time.
I still have my own small bookshelf at home with important works. You could still order books as paperbacks for a fee, but it was nothing like this, surrounded by knowledge seeping into the woodwork...
Nothing better to distract me from the sight of those hot abs and words that made me melt on the spot, as usual Lilia was dense as she was muscled, or pretending to be dense, which one would be worse?
Sighing again I finally emerge from my shell and my seat, distractions, distractions... Game face! I gently push my furred face up and my thoughts finally clear. I have reading to do!
…
Half an hour later I'm back at the small desk, an enormous stack of books surrounding me like a fortress of the mind. After a while of reading, I lean back in my seat puzzled, I can't help but say it out loud, "This is really a whole world... How is that possible?... The amount of information in these books, in all the books! every book in this library is full! A.I. technology was really what we needed to make the most amazing game in the world! Wan..." shivers go up my sides and I shake my whole body as if throwing water off my fur.
Banishing those thoughts to the back of my mind I pull out a few books on magic spells, my real goal here. I run through and cherry pick out some of them, pulling out a hide wrapped tome I bought at the shops as my first purchase.
The next few minutes are spent Inscribing the symbols and words of 2 offensive spells so that I can actually cast some damn magic.
Force Blast Level 1 (Common) - Blast Spell
Type: Non-Typed Offensive
Cost: 8 Mana
Effect: 3 Magic Damage
'The most common of blast spells, no elemental affinity but also the quickest'
Circle of Fire Level 1 (Common) - Trap Spell
Type: Fire Elemental ground trap
Cost: 14 Mana
Effect: 4 fire Damage
2 Burning Damage (2 second tick, lasts 6 seconds)
1 Foot Radius
'Watch your feet! you're stepping in the burn zone!'
Magic spells need to be in a book that can contain them, when said spell reaches level 10 you don't need a book to cast them as they are stored directly in your memory banks. Spells also change and get stronger per level although cost more magic, once your proficient enough you'll be able to change the difficulty, level, or size on the fly, sometimes it's more advantageous to cast a level 1 spell that only takes 0.5 seconds to cast as opposed to its 2 second level 5 variant.
Of course, having high dexterity makes the casting of spells faster, then there's combination spells and double casting etc. all handily written up in an easy to understand 20-page guide for Lilia to read through! Ahh I'm the best friend she could ask for.
Beginner Spellbook (2/5 Filled) (Common)
Spells
< Force Blast level 1 >
< Circle of Fire level 1 >
< Empty >
< Empty >
< Empty >
Effect: Intelligence +1
The real spells I want to learn don't seem to be in the library though... buffs, de-buffs and healing spells aren't common or part of any of the tomes here, instead I find mention in the town's history books in regard to a witch that lives deep into the woods. 'Witch in the woods' sounds like the perfect title for another smut novel! 'She gets visited by the muscled and tormented lumberjack woman!... mmnnnn AH! stop braaiinnnn, I have shit to do!!
As much fun as it would be to rain down chaos and destruction, being able to support my best friend was honestly my real goal in WAR. A new life for her, maybe she could even look at streaming if she got enough confidence!
I hype myself up and hurriedly start putting the books back on the shelves. It would be awful to leave all this work to just one librarian. As I start leaving, I watch her cast a spell on a stack of books and they zoom off into the library to find their place... Oh... I leave quietly with a tinge of blush on my face, magic yes of course... Well... helping is its own reward!?
I pull out the town map and organize the best approach to the witch's house, leaving town by the west entrance. I follow a path into a dark forest, the dark forest according to the book I read.
The first sign of 'trouble' is a squelching sound emerging from a rustling bush, ahh a classic, flipping open my Beginner's Spellbook to my first inscribed spell.
I make the symbol for my first spell in the air and feel it form, looking around and making sure that the area is empty, phew, "By the power invested in me! FORCE BLAST WAN!" I yell in the most magical girl tone I can muster.
A see-through ball of magic with a blue tinge launches itself out of the floating symbol at the slime, hitting it squarely in its center. I see the number 5 float above it as it's slapped backwards and deflates, defeated.
"Hah you thought you could attack me! I am the one that will bring your demise! Ahaha wan!" I make a pose with my left arm to my side and my right pointed at the poor slime as my laugh resonates through the forest, just had to get that fantasy out of my brain, phew.
Notifications
{ 5 Damage to Slime }
{ Slime Defeated }
{ 50 Exp received }
{ 550/1000 until next level }
I quickly check my interface and line the damage calculations up with my character profile... Force Blast damage is calculated off the Intelligence stat which is 15 + 1, with the extra 1 Intelligence being from the book.
Damage is generally calculated as (10% x STAT) x Damage plus anything from titles and equipment unless stated otherwise. This means that having lower than 10 points in an offensive stat usually denotes your character as an all-round class than a combat specific class as you would be doing less damage.
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Status Interface
Name: ZelAwoo
Level: 1
Race: Lupine
Gender: Female, She/Her
Max Health: 45
Max Mana: 155
Max Stamina: 54
Points remaining: 0
Strength: 4
Dexterity: 6
Constitution: 5 (7)
Wisdom: 20 (22)
Intelligence: 15 (16)
Charisma: 4
Luck: 2
I squat down and inspect the creature carefully, using a stick to poke around its gelatinous body. I find some coins inside it as well as a monster gem. I also get a pleasant surprise!
< Ability Acquired - Inspect (common) >
Inspect Level 1 (Common) - Active Ability
You can see a small amount of information about a creature or object
'The most basic of basic skills, if you don’t have this are you even looking at the world?'
Ahh I didn't think I'd get it on my first try, it must be because my Wisdom is so high, heh I'm a genius for going this build if I do say so myself, my tail wags pleased back and forth.
Inspect Level 1
Type: Basic Monster
Name: Common Field Slime
Threat: Threat Level F
'If possible we would have given it no threat, But you could still get yourself killed if you fell asleep in a field'
Huh... that's not as much information as I'd like, but I should get levels on it soon enough! once it gets to max level it should evolve into < Analysis > which means I'll get to see health, resistances, drops etc. Well... depending on how much higher level it is. The ratings go from F to SSS depending on a variety of things like levels and abilities so even if something is quite a lot higher it could have no abilities and so is still a lower rank.
I really hope that Lilia read all the documents I sent her last night... there were too many though so I couldn't send it to her messages, ugh I should have just sent her the links and not to her storage box! Does she even check that?!
Groaning to myself I notice more rustling coming from the forest, damn I really shouldn't have been making so much noise... well more practice, I guess.
Pulling out my { Beginner's tome } again this time I flip it to the second page, using my hand I make symbols again, different ones and it floats effortlessly in the air, "Circle of Fire Wan!" A see-through fire circle about half a meter across with patterns all around the edges and a bonfire looking symbol in the middle appears near the body of the dead slime.
I prepare myself by flipping back over to the first page and writing the symbol in the air, a howling comes from the forest this time as a rabbit leaps out and instantly turns into barbeque amidst my flames.
"Aahh! I'm sorry BunWan!" At least it will be tasty... Nono if there's one howl there might be more than one wolf! Stop tempting me, I want to howl back!!
…
"Ugh I made it..." The forest trail was long, and the number of creatures varied, more slimes, wolves, bunnies... Even a little bear! No magical creatures thankfully, although from the book about the Witch her cottage marks a zone into worse things, the last bastion into a darker world.
The Witch is a protector, a teacher, and an outcast of the village all in one!
The cottage ahead is like something from a dream, rows of flowers line the path and the whole area has opened up from tight darkened trees to rays of sunshine.
A young human girl is sitting in a chair dozing off under the sun with a large traditional witch’s hat on, seeing me she stands up and bows, introducing herself "Hello felloe apprentice, ai'm Margie O'Hallow, have ya been asked tah deliver or ask of somefin from me mistress??"
Puzzled I realize she's looking at my accessories, "oh no no I'm sorry I'm actually one of the immortals, seeking guidance under your mistress. I learnt about her from the town's history and would love to speak with her wan!'' Surprised, she brightens up further and starts dashing around me looking me all over "My! that explains how lovely ya are, yer absolutely perfect, ai've heard the stories and tales of yah comin but gosh!!" Blushing at the compliments and lack of personal space.
A bang at the door comes from behind her, a gorgeous middle-aged witch, twirling fire red hair coming down to the floor, and a bosom as big as pumpkins, comes out and whaps the young witch on the head, "what did I say about personal space mar! Apologies young pup she is lovely but ever so dull."
"Oh! no no that's okay thank you for coming out to see me, if possible, I would like to learn some spells, as you know we immortals have the magical capacity to be able to cast spells without years of accumulated knowledge, of course with payment and my greatest thanks mistress wan." I bow low to the ground for a few seconds before raising myself back up.
She eyes me passively before nodding and going back into the cottage, bringing out an old thick book with pages stuck haphazardly in all ways.
"mmnn there's too many interesting spells! I only meet the requirements on 6 or 7 of them... okay which 3, which 3…
After an hour of talking about what kind of spells I would like, I walk away with my beginner’s tome filled to the brim. If I wanted any new spells, I would have to remove one, level a spell to max or buy a new book with larger capacity.
Weight of Sins Level 1 (Common) - Curse Spell
Type: Curse De-buff Magic
Cost: 12 Mana
Effect: Increase character weight by 30%
Reduce Character movement speed by 20%
'Your mind is slipping, and I can see what’s holding you back!'
Endless Courage Level 1 (Common) - Curse Spell
Type: Curse Buff Magic
Cost: 18 Mana
Effect: Damage of character increases by 20%
Character comes under the { Arrogant } effect
'Your so close to the verge of winning, what is wound or 6'
Burn at the Stake Level 1 (Uncommon) - Curse Spell
Type: Fire Curse Area Affliction
Cost: 25 Mana
Effect: 3 Burning damage as long as inside area or upon entering area, occurs every 2 seconds, lasts 6 seconds.
2 Foot Radius from the center of the stake.
'Feel the wrath of my ancestors, we may be at peace now, but I can feel them burning still!'
Perfection! 3 support spells that can be used for de-buffing, buffing and area control. I will be the best support for Lilia possible!!
Witch spells require a casting implement like a witch’s staff or broom, something of the like, I know there was a staff seller in town so I can pick one up before I log off for the night...
I thank the Mistress and bow again, before I can move backwards, she pulls me in for a hug smothering me and pats my head, "If ye need my services again I'll be moving to the Central Kingdom of Ambrosia in the magic quarter, I'll be taking over my friends store since she got summoned to the grand coven, stay safe young pup!"
Letting me go I gasp, gay panic running through my system, I try to dash out of the clearing "Yes yes! I'll be sure to visit!" My legs feel like crumbling rocks as I stumble down the lovely garden walkway, my face only ever being so red from a few very tense, sexually charged, dummy-Lilia moments.
…
By the time I'm back in town I'm level 5 and ready to at least take a nap if not absolutely crash! The sun is starting to go down and the lights in town make a pretty line around it all. Just before closing I'm able to find the staff shop and buy a < Sage's scepter > a scepter with a head on the end of it for smacking with, just in case!
The sun goes over the treetops, sitting down on a bench facing the sunset, I wish Lilia was here to watch it with me...
At least there's always next time.