I take the back stairs up to the top level of the Emporium’s living quarters and wander into my room, floorboards creaking on my way. It’s a lovely old building, and it is old, even though it’s not styled the way I’d expect. It doesn’t have the dark narrow hallways and steep staircases of four- or five-hundred-year-old homes in Europe, and there are far more windows to let in natural light—and, somehow, it’s not any more drafty than my art deco condo in Los Angeles.
It’s all magic. They say that magic is fading, but from my perspective, there is magic all over the place: enchanted light sconces that come to life when you’re in proximity, hot running water, toilets. It’s not modern by any stretch of the imagination—there’s no electricity or telephones or computers or Internet, there’s no central heating. But it’s also not bathing with a washcloth and porcelain bowl in my bedroom. Usually.
Shutting my door, I cross to the fireplace and pick up a long narrow stick off the small mantle. I whisper the right words and tap it to the fresh logs that the housekeeper, Almira, puts in there daily. There may not be electricity, but it’s probably the fanciest living situation I’ve ever had.
The logs blaze easily, warmth biting back the chill that settled in the room while I was out. The room is a little smaller than my bedroom at home, but not tiny, probably twelve-by-twelve with a roughly full-sized bed, a dresser and tall wardrobe, and two bedside tables—one that’s stacked high with history books I’ve slowly been making my way through—each with a magical lamp.
The outside wall has three windows, the middle with an abstract stained glass design that casts colored light onto the wood floor. Each of the other rooms has the same. The view isn’t especially great, just the rooftop of the next building over and the narrow walkway along the side of the arcade, but it faces west and gets a lovely view of the sunset sky.
I pull the long velvet curtains for privacy and a little extra warmth before grabbing a change of clothing and going down the hall to the washroom off the privy. I draw a shallow bath to rinse off so I don’t smell bad for dinner, and then change into clean clothes: fresh undergarments, a pair of black trousers, and a fitted black top that laces at the neck and has black embroidery on all the edges. I think of it as my serious rogue outfit because it reminds me of most of Tyrus’s clothing, though his typically has even more elaborate embroidery.
Returning to my bedroom, I fold up my dirty clothes and set them aside. Almira will do something with the laundry, which may be actually washing it or may be magic—I know Flynt has a spell that cleans things, she might as well—and then I settle on my bed.
Time to [Level Up].
I think up my [Personal Profile] first to see where I am.
> [Keira, Hunter Elf: Urban Ranger]
> [Level: 3]
> [Reputation: Noted]
> [Defense: 13]
> [Hit Points: 26 / 26]
> [Experience: 1070 / 2200]
> [Stamina: 100 / 100]
> [Essence: 0 / 0]
I’m still not clear what [Reputation] really does for me, but it moved from [Rookie] to [Noted] immediately after we said yes to the Z offer. It’s also nice to see that my [Hit Points] total has increased by another twenty-five percent. I’m still squishy beyond all imagine, but feeling a little beefier.
My [Stats] are the same as they were walking into all this, but won’t be for much longer given [Level 3] is one of those magic levels where you get a shiny new point. I won’t have another of these until [Level 7], then again at [Level 13], if I remember right.
> [Stats: 1 Point Remaining]
> [Nimble: 5]
> [Mind: 3]
> [Strength: 3]
> [Fitness: 3]
> [Sage: 5]
My [Abilities] also have new points to assign, lending to my earlier theory that it’s every other level—though it could also be linked to [Stats] increases, which would be irritating given how infrequently those happen.
> [Abilities: 5 Points Remaining]
> [Athletics: 1 of 8]
> [Charisma: 1 of 8]
> [Insight: 1 of 8]
> [Lore: 0 of 8]
> [Mount: 0 of 8]
> [Perception: 1 of 8]
> [Skullduggery: 1 of 8]
> [Stealth: 1 of 8]
> [Survival: 1 of 8]
> [Weapons, Melee: 1 of 8]
> [Weapons, Ranged: 2 of 8]
Five points is good. [Abilities], if I remember right from my character creation, are not one-to-one. Each rank costs progressively more. So the question is, what do I assign to what—or, do I save for the next time when I have more buying power?
But I should probably decide my [Stats] first. I think those can impact some [Abilities].
I pull up my [Skills] menu, just to get the full lay of the land before making decisions. I expect to see some more points and I’m not disappointed as a ‘3’ waits for me, just like last time. [Skills] are one to one, so I don’t need to even think about saving those. Hm. Still a bunch of [Locked Skills], though.
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> [Skills - 3 Points Remaining]
> [Long Bow: 3 of 10]
> [Locked Skill]
> [Locked Skill]
> [Dagger: 0 of 10]
> [Light Armor: 1 of 10]
> [Locked Skill]
> [Ranger: 2 of 10]
> [Locked Skill]
> [Locked Skill]
> [Locked Skill]
So what am I going to do.
I am squishy, and while I can keep up with the party, I’m definitely the slowest and weakest. So things that could effect my [Hit Points] and [Stamina] would be good.
[Fitness] maybe? That’s always a good bet, isn’t it?
I feel pretty [Nimble], and I like to think my [Mind] is pretty good. I’m not sure how [Sage] really fits in considering I have no idea what is going on, ever. [Strength] would be nice, but I seem to draw my bow pretty heavy as it is, and I don’t feel the need to be able to break someone’s jaw or anything like that.
[Fitness]. That feels like the best option. So I add my point there. Upon exiting, I immediately feel better than I ever have in my life, and checking my profile, my [Stamina] has increased by half to [150] and it’s added seven [Hit Points] to bring me up to thirty-three. It didn’t impact any of my [Abilities] scores, but that’s okay, I wouldn’t trade this feeling for anything. I feel like I could run a marathon, and cardio is traditionally my hell.
I turn to [Skills] next and put two points to [Long Bow], which then unlocks a new skill. [Magicked Arrow].
What… The moment I question, a message box pops up.
> [Magicked Arrow. The ability to harness Essence to imbue an arrow with an arcane effect. The amount of Essence you have access to will increase with every one point you spend. You will be able to select one arcane effect to become known to you for every two points you spend. You have the ability to learn additional arcane effects from proper teachers throughout Qeth without spending skills points.]
Magic. I could do magic.
I was going to put a point into [Ranger] to up my hit points a little more, but this feels too good to pass up. I have to, right? Though, according to the explanation, I won’t have access to any spells until the next level when I can spend a second point in it.
Okay. So that’s for next time. Let’s keep the [Ranger] point plan and take on magic in the next round. Hopefully it won’t be too long.
The point in [Ranger] ends up increasing my [Hit Points] to forty-one. It still feels extremely low, but it’s better than I was: far more than three times where I started out.
Now for [Abilities]. Five points. What do I want?
The way I’ve come to reason it, the [Long Bow] skill improves how I use that particular item; I suspect it’s the way that I aim and the power that each shot can have, which then impacts the damage it deals. The [Weapons, Ranged] ability, meanwhile, lets me use any ranged weapon to some degree and, I suspect, increases the distance I can use it. That’s a good thing to have. But upping that from two to three will take three of my points. I’m already putting a lot into my fighting skills. So, maybe something else?
I’m definitely putting two points into [Perception]. That’s always a good [Skill] to have and has to be able to positively impact my shooting somehow. I think I’ll put one point into [Mount]. It’ll probably be a waste, but I don’t know where the Z organization will have us going, and I don’t want to be the only one who can’t ride whatever it is that we’d be riding. That would be a little embarrassing.
My remaining two points I decide to put in [Athletics]. I’m not entirely sure what [Athletics] means in this context, but it can’t be a bad thing to have; I imagine it encompassing things like swimming, climbing, swinging on ropes, and basically anything vaguely P.E. related. I think about putting it in [Stealth], but I’m not exactly wearing heavy armor here—plus, I’m an elven ranger—so how loud could I really be?
Settled, I take a look through my new “character sheet”, for lack of a better term.
> [Keira, Hunter Elf: Urban Ranger]
> [Level: 3]
> [Reputation: Noted]
> [Defense: 13]
> [Hit Points: 41 / 41]
> [Experience: 1070 / 2200]
> [Stamina: 150 / 150]
> [Essence: 0 / 0]
> [Stats:]
> [Nimble: 5]
> [Mind: 3]
> [Strength: 3]
> [Fitness: 4]
> [Sage: 5]
> [Abilities:]
> [Athletics: 2 of 8]
> [Charisma: 1 of 8]
> [Insight: 1 of 8]
> [Lore: 0 of 8]
> [Mount: 1 of 8]
> [Perception: 2 of 8]
> [Skullduggery: 1 of 8]
> [Stealth: 1 of 8]
> [Survival: 1 of 8]
> [Weapons, Melee: 1 of 8]
> [Weapons, Ranged: 2 of 8]
> [Skills:]
> [Long Bow: 5 of 10]
> [Magicked Arrow: 0 of 10]
> [Locked Skill]
> [Dagger: 0 of 10]
> [Light Armor: 1 of 10]
> [Locked Skill]
> [Ranger: 3 of 10]
> [Locked Skill]
> [Locked Skill]
> [Locked Skill]
I regret that original point I put into [Charisma], which may have been put into better use elsewhere—though for all I know that’s what helped me fall-in with my party to begin with.
I also probably should have put something more into [Light Armor] to try and increase my [Defense] effectiveness, but too late now. Next time. Or maybe Flynt can help me find a beefier leather vest in the shop that could help. Or a ring or bracelet or something like in D&D.
Okay. That task is done. I’m clean. I’m warm. I’m officially [Level 3]. Let’s eat.