Not all Usurps had been successful, nor did all the High Elves Albert did manage to usurp give him bonuses that were worth killing someone for.
[Usurp unsuccessful.]
[Usurp unsuccessful.]
[Usurp unsuccessful.]
[Usurp successful. Speed attribute +0.5. Nature affinity increased.]
[Usurp successful. Durability attribute +0.5. Nature affinity increased.]
[Usurp successful. Speed attribute +0.3. Nature affinity increased.]
[Nature affinity increased to B+]
[Usurp successful. Durability attribute +0.3. +21 max mana.]
[Usurp successful. Speed attribute +0.2. +10 mana regeneration.]
[Usurp successful. Endurance attribute +0.5. True Shot level up!]
Skill level up!
[SPACE] TRUE SHOT 2
· Gently guide a projectile to increase the chances of hitting a target.
· The projectile can arrest its motion and change direction once.
[Usurp successful. Defense attribute +0.5. Forest Mimetics level up!]
Albert idly fiddled with Solid State Manifestation as he went through the notifications. In all fairness, he did not like the direction his life was taking as of late. Of all the things, the latest addition was the revelation that the system had finally started giving him actual bonuses for killing what, to Albert, amounted to people.
Plus, the system had grown so complicated he was losing track of it all. He needed to proceed to the next step of his plan, but he needed more time.
Time. It all came back to a matter of time.
And killing. Killing made the numbers go up. But killing… was bad. Right?
The idea of a runaway exponential growth curve made Albert’s mouth salivate. Now, this was the core of the problem. All this little game the system was playing amounted to goading Albert into gambling, and if anything, it seemed that Albert’s brain was already primed to develop a gambling addiction in the first place.
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
Still. What was killed was killed, and it made no sense to let it go to waste. Might just as well gain something from it.
***
The droplets of mana swirled and danced, moved by Albert’s power of will like water moved by a strong current. But mana was not water, nor was its movement a real current. Eventually, as he reached 2000/2000XP, he noticed that he could not force more droplets into the swirling motion that circled around his heart and knew that it was time to level up.
The system did not really explain how a level up worked. It mentioned a finalizing stage of the gathering of mana, but it lacked specificity. Still, Albert was not without ideas, mostly coming from the many cultivation novels he had consumed over the years as the genre had gained popularity online.
The idea was simple: compression of the chaotic mana into some form of more dense state. The droplets were something in the middle between a gas and a liquid, insofar as something made of mana could be called a gas or a liquid. Thus, the reasonable thing to do, also considering how they all circled around Albert’s heart, was to compress them all into a single layer. A thin film that completely covered his heart.
With an effort of pure will, the mana began to diminish in volume. It shrank, the flow becoming faster and more chaotic in the tighter space. It threatened to spill, to rip away from conscious control.
Pain, whenever the flow threatened to spill, flared inside Albert’s body. The places that hurt the most corresponded to some unknown correlation between mana, the astral representation of the body, and the real physical entity.
A thin film of sweat covered Albert’s furrowed brow. His eyes darted left and right without pause under the closed eyelids, following what his mind was doing in its attempts at keeping the violent magic under control.
But the more he tried the harder it became. Letting go was also not an option, because there seemed to only be Albert’s willpower preventing the now truly dangerous river of magic from spilling out and doing untold damage to his body. If the pain was any indication, he would probably survive but wish he hadn’t. To add to that, his mind supplied him with the idea that a failed level up would result into a flawed foundation or, god forbid, cripple him forever.
The only path was forward. Compress more, figure out a way to return the chaotic energies to order.
Wait.
To order? A thought struck Albert’s prefrontal cortex.
Order implies a pocket of computational reducibility, some underlying structure a system can be brought to that is less chaotic and has less information contained within it.
But magic… magic was the opposite, wasn’t it? Magic was utter irreducibility, the epitome of everything that is possible and still unknown. The very essence of that potential thing that could happen and be totally unexpected, out of bounds, in the part of the map where monsters lie.
Why would he ever want to try and tame it?
Make it more predictable.
Less itself?
Magic has no need for order.
Which meant that all forms of control must be loosened.
It was a gamble. One that could be dangerous, deadly even. The river of magic roared. It had to be done now though, there was no other option in the limited time Albert had. 2000 Fireball Units of mana were threatening to go ballistic if he tried to control them and failed.
Magic needed to be free to do what magic wanted.
Thus, Albert released all forms of control as he kept up the pressure.
And was rewarded for it.
Level up successful!
· +2 inventory slots
· +100 max mana
· +20 mana regen
· +1 to all attributes
NOTE: Perfect level up achieved thanks to a new, unique, understanding of the system!
· Mana affinity increased to [B].
Albert rose to his feet and stretched, flexing his muscles. Despite not looking any different, he felt the change in power, speed and sheer presence that a plus-one to everything gifted him with.
That was not all, however. Finally, he was one step closer to understanding the nature of the system itself.
A smile, a genuine one for the first time since the fight against the elves, crept on his face.
[Level: 2/20 – XP: 0/4000]