The observable universe which was recorded upon Earth by the humans which lived there was a very different place than the observable universe of the other creatures on the planet. In the same way, the true breadth of reality was so far from the understanding Earthlings had confirmed that contact with the Greater Connection was tumultuous.
This is often the case. Prior to the System’s arrival upon a planet, subtle influences leak through the veil into the new section of existence. These dreams, epiphanies and ideas are a part of the preparation into the wider truth of things. By layering the collective consciousness of the unseeded worlds with concepts from within the Tree’s reach, there was less turmoil when meeting the other peoples and beings which had made a place for themselves upon Yggdrasil’s branches.
The first stage of what is known as The Shift is the most deadly by far. The worlds that the Tree touches are filled with power causing them to grow in unpredictable ways. To accommodate the changes, the planet itself is changed greatly. The beings upon the world often won’t notice this in the initial days as the ecology of the world changes even more dramatically. The introduction of mana into the cycle of a world brings with it the monsters.
Mana-gorged and warped for it, becoming a monster is the opportunity for any creature below a certain level of sentience to grasp at the chance for growth. The System is not only for the chosen few, after all. It graces every living being in one way or another. While a mouse might not use System Windows like a person, it can gain levels in the same way. Creation or destruction. For there is nothing more blessed than the renewal inherent in these actions.
Part of the issue for a newly touched world is that the beings there are rarely inclined to much creation. The Tree itself helps with this in various ways, from the currency it creates at will to the looting system. Inefficient when compared to manually taking the valuables, however. Once industry returns to the world in a serious way, the first stage is considered over. This usually takes a few months to half a year of survival. Due to the aggressive nature of the Earth humans and the technology of their weaponry, some areas are being subjugated quickly.
Phase two, where the dominant life can begin to assault the dungeons, is on course to begin in two to three months. No impressive deviations noticed.
Report on the Integration of new sector (JMC642) by Observer Tyvalirt S.
“Another boring post,” Tyvalirt complained as he posted his report and closed his eyes. While shutting them did not remove all of the background noise from the world below, it helped to dampen their connection a little. Just once, Tyva wanted to be the one to get a Guardian. Then they would be able to sail all the way to the higher branches. “Not bloody likely,” they snorted, dropping into their inner world with practised ease, ignoring the world below while they continued to cultivate the Gardens of Joy.
They could afford to ignore the world for a bit now their task was done, right?
—
I was having the time of my life, and having to stop myself from being an absolute bully within the forest. I noticed fairly quickly that defeating something under my level had increasingly pointless gains, so the challenge was to find things which matched my rising strength. I didn’t think the number I was shown by the System mattered so much as the danger. A level one dragon would give more experience than a level one hundred tree.
Not that I had found any dragons, which despite my “title” I would have definitely avoided. If my new strength was anything to go off, a dragon was an existence of terrifying power. Nothing had stood up to a Dragonburn-infused Mana Bolt yet. If I wasn’t so sure the ratman would have an answer for it, I would have tried to throw one at him already. I chided myself each time my thoughts began to lean in a cocky direction.
I had taken more than a few injuries, though none of them slowed me down for longer than a minute using Meditate. Still, none of those enemies were as strong as Master Thorn. To that end, I was looking for something to test myself on. Naea said it was pointless to fight without mana, but I needed to know what my new benchmarks felt like. Strong as my magic was getting, it flowed through the body, and knowing oneself was the path to true understanding.
It was either Aristotle, Buddha or Bruce Lee who said that, and I didn’t have the internet to check my source. In the effort of knowing myself, I opened my System Windows, which I was calling my status screens.
Character Window
Name
Grant Kaeron
Race
Earth Human
Title
Dragon Slayer
Level
15
Health
75/75
Mana
120/120
Attribute Window
FP:0
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Strength
11
Recovery
15
Resilience
11
Dexterity
12
Agility
12
Perception
14
Power
16
Regeneration
19
Command
24
Health
75/75
1.5 per minute
Mana
120/120
19 per minute
Respectable, I told myself. Not that I had anyone to compare myself with but still. Four levels, and each of them gave me more than double the effective attributes than I had received without the Aspect. Four points in each of the five draconic attributes, and then seven free points per level in total made me feel very powerful. For the free points, I had a few areas I wanted to make myself strong, given the choice. As the much-hoped for healing skill never materialised, each level I placed two points into Recovery. The Attribute had doubled in four levels, and the effects were amazing.
It was nearly impossible to get tired, even running at my full speed. With three points in Agility and Dexterity, that full speed was getting impressive, too. After running into more than one tree, I decided to always keep my Perception above my Agility. My experience with the Aspect skill and being unable to follow it had bothered me too, so I wasn’t upset to place four points into the attribute. My arboreal collisions swiftly declined in instance rate.
The remaining ten points were placed into Command and Regeneration. With the new skill doing a lot of the heavy lifting Power would accomplish, my biggest drains right now were on my mana pool. Having a larger reservoir which filled quicker was exactly what I wanted when I pressed myself to ask. While I was capable of fighting with strength, speed or magic, I knew which I preferred.
The feeling of a Mana Bolt crackling in my grip was just the beginning. Knowing that, how could I not keep following the alluring path of mana? The complete safety of removing something’s torso from a distance was also a factor. Other than Naea, everything in the dungeon was trying to kill me. Though, if they couldn’t find me, the other monsters were good enough apparently.
More than once I had interrupted a battle between an Attack Animal and a Sundercat, or found one of the two humanoid creatures wrapped in the clutches of an Ent. Considering I had been assaulted more than once while fighting, I had quickly lost any ideals about honour amongst the monsters here. After the first gang up where an Attack Animal, an Ent and a Sundercat all put aside their differences to try and rip me apart together I was over it.
There didn’t seem to be more biodiversity than that in the forest, but I was wary of creating expectations.
Skills
Mana Bolt (Level 2)
Common
Manasight (Level 2)
Common
Heavy Blow (Level 2)
Common
Sprint (Level 2)
Common
Meditate (Level 2)
Common
Stealth (Level 2)
Common
Tracking (Level 2)
Common
Mental Fortress (Level 1)
Uncommon
Dragonburn (Level 1)
Rare
Skill levels, like my own, also seemed to grow more when under duress. I had tried activating Mental Fortress a few times but without a psychic attack to defend against, I could sense it did nothing but waste mana. Bringing the other skills to level two had increased their effects, but not in ways which were particularly noticeable compared to my Attribute gains. I was faster while using Sprint, but how much faster the skill level made me was hard to tell. What I had noticed was that a layer of intricacy was added to the skill upon levelling. Not enough to push them up a skill stage, though.
At this point, all they seemed to do was let me add more mana, but who knew how it would go in the future? Naea did, actually, but she wasn’t allowed to tell me and I didn’t ask. As the levelling speeds were slowing on the prey I had found so far, I was looking for the border. A combination of gut instinct and Tracking told me that just walking in any direction would do, so I kept walking in a straight line from Clive’s. I could feel the change in the air before I saw the next zone.
Humidity gave way to a purer heat. Brutal and dry, even with my advanced Attributes I began to feel uncomfortable even before dropping to the sand below. In a clear, circular cut, the ground fell away for a few metres. The geography didn’t make much sense, but that was hardly the only thing which was weird in the dungeon, after all. Further than my eyes could see, golden plains of sand with large dunes extended. For a few minutes, I simply sat in the heat and watched the sands.
There wasn’t even a hint of movement below me, no breeze, no visible creatures, even the sun in the sky was basically stationary. In the time I had been in the dungeon, it had moved to the opposite point in the day, a late afternoon sun now rather than an early morning one. Time was passing in here, just slowly. I wasn’t excited for the nighttimes in this place, which would seemingly last a week or more. Although, now I thought about it, maybe that would be the time to brave the desert.
I hopped down to double check it was out of my reach, and the scorching sands confirmed I was not ready. My dress shoes were destroyed, unable to keep up with the force I could output. I was sure they would have melted in this sand anyway, as I leapt up onto the dirt wall and clambered back up. While blowing on my scalded feet, I shook my head. This wasn’t going to work.
I had levelled as much as the forest was likely to push me before Master Thorn. It was possible, though, that there were fights to be found in the desert that would bridge the gap between myself and the infuriating rat. I turned around, wondering if Naea had left the body of the last enemies uneaten. The Attack Animals had slimy, pudgy skin but the Sundercats…
Maybe it was time to start learning a trade.