The conversation stopped there, and I was able to turn my attention to the shit-ton of notifications I had been ignoring while Rav periodically shot ‘Arcane Bolts’, as he called them, off into the distance.

[You are under the effect of Leadership Aura. Extra effect resisted!]

[Congratulations! You risked the essence of your existence for the good of another! Reward hidden.]

[Congratulations! Skill levels gained: Transfuse Energy +2 (7); Energy Manipulation +2 (5)]

[+1 Will - You’ve done something you weren’t capable of.]

[+1 Perception - You’ve seen something few others have.]

[Note: Experience gains are based off risk and difficulty.]

[Note: Some Primary Skills only rise under specific circumstances.]

...

Good fucking lord.

While I appreciate that the game’s logic rewards me for ‘selflessness’ even though I totally had an agenda, I had no idea it was so risky. Damnit. So if Rav fucks up a spell, it probably explodes in his face or something. Big deal, it’ll regenerate. But if I fuck up? I apparently risk my ‘essence’. What the fuck would happen then? How close did I come to *not existing*?

I… have never been so motivated to train in my life. I don’t know why my Energy skills don’t have a tooltip like the Tamer skill did… in fact, none of the others do, but maybe eventually it will? The issue there is that I’ll have to keep sticking my neck out toward a blade I can’t see and don’t understand… with my immortal soul as collateral.

I mean, not literally… but maybe literally.

I *really* don’t like not knowing. I wish I could call the Guru. It was such an asshat, but I would deal with the devil just to get some knowledge.

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I’ve been put in so many tricky situations with Energy that the related skills have leveled up like mad.

I peruse my stats page:

Name: Amadeus

Power: -90

Fragments: 5

HP: 33/33

H Recovery: + 5.75 / hour

Stamina: 33/33

S Recovery: + 11.5 / min

Energy: 21/31

E Recovery: + 3 / min

Primary skills:

Dexterity 18

Strength 22

Endurance 23

Toughness 23

Intelligence 27

Perception 24

Will 3

Secondary Skills:

-Active

Transfuse Energy [Active] (7) Move Energy through physical contact into living objects.

Imbue Energy [Active] (2) - Move Energy through physical contact into non-living objects.

Energetic Attack [Active] (2) - Attempt to destroy the spirit of a target using your own as a weapon.

-Passive

Energy Manipulation (5) Medium - general ability to move and understand Energy. Improves through use.

Combat Proficiency (1) Hard - General combat ability. Improves through not using it in training/combat.

Cold Resistance (2) Medium - General resistance to the effects of cold.

Tamer (1) ??? - Rare skill. Tame and forge bonds with monsters.

 Hand to Hand Proficiency (1) Hard - Unarmed competence. Improves through practice using the body as a weapon.

Peripherals:

Dominations - 14% Cathid

Exhaustions - 2

Inventory:

Basic Clothing (cloth); stick; 5 flowers each (red, green, blue, yellow, orange, purple). 5 Bon nuts.