While walking towards the village I’ve seen in the distance, Elly informs me about all the classes and skills I currently have:
Wizard Growth Rates
30 HP, 47 MP, 24 SP, 4 STR, 5 DEX, 5 VIT, 8 MAG, 6 FTH, 7 WIL, 5 CHA Affinity Magic Rank 1
Able to use magic spells at rank 1 for every affinity the owner has.
(How are those affinities determined?), I ask.
Elly explains, (Your race-class combo gives you Lightning, Earth, Ice and Dark. Further affinities can only be obtained in exceptional cases. Mostly from class skills that enable magic of a single element.)
(Yeah, yeah, and my ‘Lost One’ title limits me to rank 1 anyway. So the restriction on that skill is moot. What other elements are there?)
She recounts, (I know of Fire, Water, Wind, Light, Holy, Poison, Curse and Space.)
(What? No time, peanuts or surprise elements? Lame), I look around, (So far I’ve only seen a handful of monsters in the vicinity. Do you think it is safe to test a spell on that lonely slime over there?)
Name
Too bad I don’t have fire magic.
Elly answers, (It seems so. From the information I have, in this world, slimes are on the low end of the power scale), Elly adds.
(Maybe but despite that, it still beats me in HP, SP and STR. And what is with those non-existent defense values?)
I can feel a shrug in my head, (Beats me, Jared.)
(Can you at least tell me what its [Acid Skin] does?)
Acid Skin
Passive
Contact inflicts 25% magic damage each second.
I breathe a sigh of relief, (Ok, so nothing to worry about.)
How do I even use magic? I point my hand in the slime's direction and try to will magic. It had worked with everything else so far, so why not? ...of course this time it doesn’t suffice.
(What do I need to do to cast a spell, Elly?)
The voice in my head enters tutorial mode, (You need to visualize the type of spell you want. First, pick the element, then a shape and finally a target, this can be either a creature or a spot in the area. Then you’ll automatically use the necessary MP and create the spell. For shapes you can choose from:
Bullet, a single projectile, 100 MP, 200% power,
Spread, a five projectile spread shot, 115 MP, 65% power each,
Lance, a piercing shot, 120 MP, 130% power,
Blast, a shot that explodes into a 7x7 DU area with 110% power, 145 MP
and Rain, which creates 2 minutes of rain over an area of roughly 100 DU diameter with 5% power per drop, 1000 MP.)
(Cut the DU crap, give me proper units!)
She scoffs, (10 ft or 3m diameter for the explosion, 130 ft or 40m for the rain.)
(I doubt power relates linearly to damage, otherwise rain would be super overpowered, at least in sieges.)
She warns me, (Maybe, but please don’t stupid a whole race into extinction just to find out how damage is calculated.)
(Got you, Muffin.)
Ok, so let's start with a single earth projectile.
crash
Just as I think about it a rock flies from my hand and smashes into the slime.
You’ve inflicted 505 damage to Baby Slime.
My MP has dropped to 1043/1143 and the slime is at 650/1155 HP.
Great, 2 shots are barely not enough to kill the weakest slime. Or maybe there’s damage variance and this was just a low roll.
crash
You’ve inflicted 505 damage to Baby Slime.
The second stone cannon leaves my test subject at 145/1155 HP. So that’s a no to damage variance.
The slime... slowly moves towards me. Like a molten pudding, it moves ever so slowly.
Instead of wasting another 10% of my mana pool on a measly slime, I decide to take a swing with the wooden staff. It is no club but I don’t want to be already half out of MP after one puny blob.
smack
You’ve inflicted 139 damage to Baby Slime.
Really? 6 HP left? And my SP has dropped to 526/556.
I take a few steps back to do some math. The slime moves so slowly it is almost pitiful. Glad I didn't take that option.
So that is 30 SP for 139 damage or 100 MP for 505 damage. 30% of the latter is about 150 damage. Somehow I feel like something is wrong. My MAG is about 30% higher but per MP/SP point I only get like 10% more damage, and I don’t even have the proper skill to get the full effect from the weapon...
(Why are you just standing there? Don’t you want to finish it off?), asks Elly.
I snap back to the conversation, (I was just thinking that my magic seems weak. I have a good deal more MAG than STR, am missing the skill to properly wield this weapon and point for point of MP or SP my spell only dealt like 10% more damage than the non-club.)
She surmises, (I can only guess but maybe it's burst damage vs sustained damage. Or maybe just range?)
(Uh, bows?)
She thinks for a moment, (True. Well, there are also utility spells or just area damage. Though it also comes down to how defense exactly affects the damage. The slime is basically defenseless. Against something with a higher level of defense the difference should be more in favor of the single big hit your spell delivers.)
(And if it isn’t that at a minimum I’ve ways to use two resource pools for attacks; I doubt a fighter class would have a way to turn MP into damage.)
Elly says, (We’ll hopefully find that out soon. Now please take out the slime first before it makes its way over here within the next twenty minutes.)
smack
You’ve inflicted 139 damage to Baby Slime and defeated it.
No item was dropped.
Huh? No exp readout? (Do I not get exp for beating monsters?)
Elly gloats, (You do, you’re currently at 4 exp.)
(What? I’ve burned 200 of my 1143 MP and 60 of my 556 SP for one! one measily exp!? How the hell does anyone ever beat 1000 monsters to reach level 2!!)
She explains, (With passive exp gain from daily chores and proper learning of course.)
(Ok, hold up. How do you know all this? I thought you only had access to MY memories and knowledge, Elly?)
She answers, (Close, I also hold the information of what is considered ‘common sense’ in this world. Technically I can also speed-read through all the information provided by the help menu and Gzeph’s notes. However, I refuse to take that learning experience from you since it should provide a sizable chunk of exp. By my estimate there should be enough to get you to level 5 or 6 at least.)
(Fine, that’s a reason I can get behind. Speaking of exp, does the 50% penalty from the ‘Lost One’ title only apply to monster kills or those other exp sources as well?)
Miss teacher elaborates, (Only monster kills. If you had other exp modifiers they would also only count for that.)
(Good, so it is not a complete death sentence. What other skills do I have to work with?)
Elly explains, (The remaining wizard skills unlock at wizard level 5 and 15. Until then I have no information on them.)
(Seems like I should be going for wizard 5 before anything else. If I gain additional classes I’ll probably rush them to 5 as well. Or 15 depending on where I’m level-wise at that point.)
Silver Elf Growth Rates
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14 HP, 17 MP, 5 SP, 1 STR, 2 DEX, 1 VIT, 3 MAG, 3 FTH, 1 WIL, 2 CHA Fire Weakness Stealth
Passive
The owner is harder to detect, especially in dim-lit areas.
Does not protect against magical detection. Cure Magic Rank 1
Able to use curative spells at rank 1.
Basic cure magic costs 500 MP per use, single-target only.
Healing effect can freely be split between HP and status damage.
A̵̛̲b̸̻́ŝ̵̖ǫ̷͝l̷͚̋u̸̥͐t̸̫͘ḙ̷͆l̷̩̈y̷̛ͅ ̶͈̚u̶̡͌s̴͈̍e̵̻͋ḻ̴̓e̸̜͗s̸̥̚s̵̨̈́ ̶̝̕f̷̞̓o̶͉̿r̴̮͠ undead.
This is a bit more to take in, (I feel like I’ll need [Stealth] a lot, especially to feed.)
Elly offers an alternative, (I propose instead to approach an influential group or organization and reveal your ‘Lost One’ title to them, then negotiate regular blood donations. According to the information we were given, just the fact alone that the gods send you puts you at almost the highest social standing.)
(No, too risky. The people don’t know that this is their last chance of getting outside help. It is very likely that they won’t take too well to a ‘monster’ like me, even if I could convince them that I tell the truth. It doesn’t take many dissatisfied people to decide that they’d rather off me and wait for the next ‘Lost One’. And revealing that their creators have to abandon them will only cause chaos.)
Looking at the second skill I can only frown, ([Cure Magic] is yet another case of bugged-out text. Though I can guess that this just originally meant that it can be used to hurt undead if the user chooses.)
She can't disagree, (I have no information that contradicts this assumption.)
(And status damage refers to the ‘strength’ of a status effect?)
I can feel a nodding something in my head, (Exactly.)
Vampire Growth Rates
5 HP, 4 MP, 4 SP, 1 STR, 0 DEX, 0 VIT, 1 MAG, 0 FTH, 1 WIL, 0 CHA Undead
Passive
Gain weaknesses to fire, light and holy damage.
Gain resistance based on skill’s level to ice, dark and poison damage and effects.
Breathing is no longer necessary.
Unable to produce biological children.
Healing effects from hostile sources will be harmful instead at four times the original strength but subject to WIL.
Exposure to sunlight will inflict (20 + highest class level + highest race level) damage per second. Vampire Hierarchy
Passive
Attacking another owner of [Vampire Hierarchy] increases attack power and status rates by 50% for each rank the owner is above the target.
Rank order goes: ghoul < vampire < vampire noble < vampire lord < progenitor Sleepless
Passive
Unable to sleep.
Prevents all magical forms of sleep.
Adds passive HP, MP and SP regeneration of (0.07% of max + skill level / 20) per minute. Disguise
Concentration or 2000 SP upkeep
While active your outward appearance is changed into a desired form.
The total mass of the new form can at most deviate by 10% from the initial form.
Cannot be used to create appendages or organs not normally part of the species.
The changes are real and not an illusion.
Changing too far from your original form can be painful.
Does not affect stats.
(The [Undead] and [Disguise] skills are half a rule book by themselves but look more or less as expected. That said how exactly do skill levels rise?)
She tells me, (Skill levels are equal to the sum of levels from races and/or classes that add them. Imagine there was a class like ‘Death Knight’ that also gave you [Undead] then your [Undead] skill level would be level of ‘Death Knight’ plus the level of ‘Vampire’.)
(Ok, got it. So I need to watch very carefully which classes I level in what order to keep the sunlight damage to a minimum.)
Elly explains, (I don't think that matters too much. You'll last about a minute without healing, plus minus a few seconds won't change much. Also, you have your sun cloak. You should be fine.)
(Maybe, but it is still something to keep in mind. The races don't seem to add much in the way of stats or skill scaling per level so I don't see why I should accelerate the sunburn rate more than necessary. About this [Vampire Hierarchy]... if I hit a ghoul I get +150% damage and when I anger a progenitor I’m 50% extra fucked?)
She agrees, (Exactly.)
Thinking about it [Disguise] could get very kinky if I ever get a girlfriend. Eh, wishful thinking.
Wait, I never turned the disguise on since waking up – better hide my fangs and turn my eye color blue again.
([Sleepless]... regeneration of 0.07% per minute sounds pitifully low, how long is that for a full recovery?)
She quickly calculates, (Right about a full day.)
(At least it seems to scale well with all forms of max HP increases. How does it interact with the 20% penalty from the title and costs from upkeep skills?)
She explains, (It operates on the current maximum so indirectly they also reduce the regeneration rate.)
(Shit. Next class?)
Vampire Noble Growth Rates
3 HP, 0 MP, 1 SP, 0 STR, 1 DEX, 0 VIT, 0 MAG, 0 FTH, 0 WIL, 1 CHA Unnatural Claws
Active, alternate weapon attack
The owner can generate artificial claws, e.g. by lengthening fingernails.
You’re always proficient in attacks made with them.
Claw attacks do not count as unarmed attacks and add (MAG/4 + skill level) to attack power. Embrace
Active
Draining blood from a victim can transform them either into a ghoul or with multiple applications into a proper vampire, user’s choice, defaults to ghoul.
The transformation warps the victim’s personality to fit to their new form but does not affect loyalty to the user.
The victim retains levels in each class to a maximum of this skill’s level. Beast Killer
Passive
Increase damage dealt to beast type creatures by 1% per skill level. Intimidation
500 SP upkeep
Project aura of hostility around the user.
Affects every creature that can see or “feel” the user.
Targets that have a level of this skill’s level or below are automatically frightened and take 5% social damage; other targets may be affected by fear at a rate of 25.
As for all mind-affecting ailments, circumstantial modifiers to the infliction rate may apply.
(I probably won’t get to use [Unnatural Claws] often. It would be a dead giveaway.)
(The bonus attack is currently less than your staff anyways, Jared.)
(263 over 4... so 65 against 70, yeah, true. But maybe it will eventually even outclass a legendary weapon?)
The voice in my head has no clue, (No idea how strong those can get.)
(I think Eva said they’d be around 40-50 levels worth.)
She goes silent for a moment, (If I calculate with 50 levels of the highest STR classes... you’d outclass them after about 2000 MAG. Not sure you can ever reach such a high level.)
(I can’t? Didn’t we already conclude that leveling any class or race raises stats?)
(Yes, so?), Elly asks confused.
(Jeff and Eva told me that I can get a maximum of 10 classes and 2 races, let's ignore the latter as they seem to give very little. Wizard adds 8 MAG per level? Let's aim a bit... a lot lower and say my average class only adds 5-6. The two devas weren’t really sure what the level cap here is but supposedly it's at least 100. Let's assume I’ll only get to 40 in each class, that is still about a 2000-2400 stat increase.)
She agrees, (Under the given assumptions the math works out. It becomes increasingly clear to me that these monster classes aren’t ‘balanced’ for use by normal people.)
(I don’t mind that little bit of cheating, they come with enough drawbacks of their own...)
I read over [Embrace] a couple of times. But the conclusion stays the same, (Yeah, I will NOT use [Embrace]. We already have enough problems, risking an additional zombie apocalypse is out.)
I check the next skill, ([Beast Killer] looks normal for a change; I guess werewolves get holy damage on their claws so the eternal fangs vs fur war can continue to be a draw.)
(Sorry, I have no data on this), she sighs.
(I think you take me too seriously sometimes. As for [Intimidation]... the heck is social damage?)
Elly lectures me, (You know how physical damage is just STR vs VIT or magic damage is MAG vs WIL if you get down to it? Social damage is CHA vs CHA. Nothing more to it.)
(And for the level check it sums up all race and class levels?)
She agrees with my assessment, (Pretty much.)
(Ok, so this will stay a low chance passive fear effect for a few decades – and from then on it will tickle trash mobs. Great! Exactly what I ever wanted! For now, it's trash but in two to three thousand years it may become an auto-win button. Wait, it doesn’t even say that it only affects enemies... which makes it even worse. So many duds so far... )
Vampire Lord Growth Rates
2 HP, 1 MP, 1 SP, 1 STR, 0 DEX, 0 VIT, 1 MAG, 0 FTH, 0 WIL, 0 CHA Enhanced Regeneration
Passive
Increases rate of existing HP, MP and SP regeneration effects by 30%. Ageless
Passive
Ageing is stopped. May slowly revert negative side effects of high age.
Skill owner has eternal life unless they are actively destroyed. Familiar
Active
Can designate a ‘willing’ (e.g. charmed) target (up to 1 per skill level, max 20) as a familiar.
The opinion of a familiar on their master can not drop below friendly.
For the purpose of giving an order to a familiar, the user’s CHA is doubled.
User can share one (two at skill level 20, three at 35) of their skills with their familiars.
This choice of shared skills is the same for all familiars and can’t be changed.
The familiars’ copy of a skill is always at level 1. Greater Vampiric Bite
Active/Passive
User can choose to either amplify the pain inflicted by bloodsucking tenfold or turn it pleasant.
Biting itself is no longer automatically lethal.
(So with [Enhanced Regeneration] I've full recovery over 20 hours instead of 24?)
Elly quickly calculates, (18.5 hours.)
([Ageless] is the whole reason I went with vampire lord... I swear, Jeff, if this skill’s effect is as bugged as the [Cure Magic] description you can kiss your universe goodbye!)
(I’ll ignore this statement and ask you to move on, Jared.)
(And [Familiar] is how you get Renfields... creepy shit... add a charm spell to get them friendly for a moment and they’ve already lost...)
(Luckily, you don’t have access to a charm effect... yet), Elly's voice loses confidence.
(Hey, whose side are you really on now, Elly?!)
Shit, I’m getting bad vibes from [Greater Vampiric Bite].
(By my understanding, a basic vampire can be ‘human friendly’ if they stick with animal or monster blood. Not sure if they’d ‘want’ that if I understand the [Embrace] skill right. Then if they accidentally get their hand on a nobility title they can now only live on human blood but if I understand the implication of [Greater Vampiric Bite] right they always kill when feeding until the next promotion.)
(I understood it the same way), Elly agrees.
(Now I’m sure by the time they reach the lord rank they no longer care about the friendly neighborhood vampire option... Shit, why did I even have any hope? We’re talking about a monster race here... still kinda hurts though...)
Elly sounds a bit sad, (Sorry. I don’t know how to comfort you right now...)
sigh
(That are all skills?)
She tells me, (For now yes. You’ll get more when you add another class or one of your classes reaches levels 5 and 15. Races give all their skills upfront.)
(So the max list of skills won’t be a wall of text but still pretty long.)
Elly elaborates, (And technically titles are just standalone skills but at least they don't show up in the [Appraise] spell.)
(Got it, got it. But I need a break from info dumps for now.)
She agrees, (Sure thing. Anything else you want to discuss or do during the remaining 15 or so minutes until we arrive at our destination?)
(Unless you’ve something that needs to be addressed yesterday, I’d like to just digest all the info you just gave me.)
Elly responds. (No such thing. Can we at least turn some music on? I’ve got nothing else to do.)
This is a strange question, (We have access to music?)
She sounds excited, (Yes, second row, 18th tab.)
I look at the indicated tab, there really is a personal jukebox.
(Won’t that tip anyone off to my presence?)
She consoles me, (No, this is just for you and me.)
(Ok, and where does that music come from?)
She answers, (Oh, I installed that earlier while you scienced that slime. So far I’ve added about 15% of all songs you’ve heard in your life. I’ll try to get the rest from your memories during some downtime. Though the quality may be limited to how well you listened back then.)
(Heck, yeah, screw free [Appraise], THIS is the way! Got some AC/DC in there?)
WELCOME TO THE...
(Maybe turn the volume down a little bit.)
After some time I can finally see the village entrance. There seems to be some kind of commotion...