No matter how tired I got, and how much I enjoyed the physical process of sleeping, I could never seem to do so for very long in the new world. Fall asleep readily, but wake up six hours later, and I can’t go back to slumbering. The crappy bedding may have had something to do with it, but the bigger reason was that the world still seemed like a strange place.

Exploring the unknown, and learning why things were; these were central tenants to many VR games for many years. Being transported to Derriad fulfilled many of the criteria that made games interesting. A sense of actual danger lurking about helped fuel my desire to learn as well.

Keep sleeping to a bare minimum, such a thing can be done at any time. These short days needed to be packed full of discoveries and optimization—powers of Underworld that dwelled within me, what is your limit? What can I extract from this world using your abilities?

A chillingly clear sky hung overhead like obsidian. The sun had not yet risen, and before everyone got out of bed I wanted to try and see what my Levels had awoken. Running to the edge of the forest, giddy with anticipation, the grave shadows loitered about with the pack zombies.

The first of the grave shadows, hovered about the goblins threateningly, but remained unable to do anything. Slashing out at the air, churning the topsoil around the zombies, torn up ground led right to their feet before pulling away. Curiouser and curiouser; I had made no explicit mention of not attacking the zombies, so the fact that the spirit showed restraint was a positive. In fact, given that it looked like it very much wanted them deader than they already were, it seemed an unstated desire overpowered it. It wouldn’t be too big of a loss if they had died—however if marginal preferences could overpower it, that could only be a good sign.

Glad that worrying over such tripe would be unnecessary, I quickly set about trying to at least discover my new spells before morning came.

What sort of spells fit with my proclivities? Information gathering spells were always solid, but I also tended towards variety, so it wouldn’t make sense for me to endlessly get those. Utility spells were some of my favorites, especially since with creativity they could have combative use as well. , , as well...I had a multitude of those, though their uses didn’t overlap much, getting one of those wasn’t out of the question. Currently my DPS sufficed, but in game terms it would be on the weak side. Using pure damage spells as utilities was more fun than the other way around, but it may not have been the best in terms of progression. I was totally lacking in augmentation spells, but those depreciated in value quickly at lower levels. Illusion magic...that was definitely towards the top of the list, and I had none of those.

To my dismay, did not manifest. This result didn’t surprise me too much—after all, it would only affect my zombies and not myself. I wouldn’t gain much without a zombie nearby, only the current situation really called for me to desire it.

, , , , I went so far as to try out , which thankfully also resulted in nothing. Illusions would not be cast today. Many other satisfactory spells existed, so I remained undiscouraged.

Trying a few utility spells, I went through ,, and before I put my hands to my mouth to whistle. A horse popped into existence, thin and ethereal. Lacking the substance expected of it; laying a hand on its flank confirmed the horse was still wholly tangible. On the other hand, the steed didn’t appear as capable as it ought to have been.

an okay-ish spell for the wizard who adventures solo. For those who don’t recognize the benefits of dumping at least a few stat points into physical traits, summoning a horse was a cheap and effective way to travel across the vast lands of Underworld in the lower levels. It slightly improved with a higher Intelligence score, however fundamentally, it was just a horse. Only able to traverse land, with no exceptional abilities, and vulnerable to many of Underworld’s terrors.

The actual spell popped up rather frequently in the world as well, so picking it as a spell from leveling up was doubly foolish.

In-game it would be a terrible spell, but I consoled myself that in this world, without knowledge of how to acquire magic outside of leveling up, and the size of the country with benign wildlife(in comparison to Underworld), conjuring up a few horses served me much better. In fact, given the upcoming journey, it was doubly easy to see the benefits of in the new setting.

Yes, this spell certainly will not be as disappointing as I once imagined. I shall be the grand mage of horses, archmage of equines. This is not a depressing spell at all.

Crossing my fingers, I prayed in the hopes that my level had actually gone up enough to attain another spell. Losing count over the big battle, I still had a sneaking suspicion that I reached Level 20 at some point during the chaos. After all, even going by conservative estimates, with a minimum experience gain of one, the ridiculous numbers of the goblins had been in a class all their own. So I continued to try out more potential magic.

Trying out some potential damage dealers, , , , , I went through a long list of types and their variants. Spells were innumerable in Underworld, and despite the variety, most still were focused around dealing damage. If I learned a spell I had forgotten about, or just didn’t think to try, that would have been terrible; but testing them all would take too long, even if each only took a moment to go through.

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Slightly cringing, I almost started hoping that instead of getting another spell, I was only Level 19. There were several augmentation magics that wouldn’t be too disappointing, and since Derriad differed from Underworld by such a large margin, that would certainly make many of them more effective. The dice were already thrown, I just needed to look at them—no point in putting it off further.

and luckily had no effect, and the same went for the skill enhancement series. Physical augmentations were out, mental improvements didn’t stick, thematic lighting and visuals worked, no improved senses, various resiliences were lacking…

Crickets started chirping in the background as I froze up. There were no crickets as far as I could tell in Derriad; that would be the spell.

, one of the most fun and useless spells around. Meant for...actually other than for kicks, I don’t know why it was added into the game. Capable of shifting the lighting by a fractions, helping your cloak billow, adding small sound effects and the like, there really wasn’t much purpose to it. Most every magic user in Underworld learned it, serving as an iconic spell which marked you as a true caster—that is, as slightly eccentric.

The dark horse of all spells, not fitting into the usual theme of the game only served to entrench its popularity. A reality of gore and suffering, topped off with archmages bending the already unstable fabric of the universe for the sole purpose of making themselves appear more entertaining. Other than an incredibly tiny bonus to interactions with the small number of non-hostile NPCs you could interact with, it did nothing. Underworld of Armok was a game in the end, and people played it to entertain themselves. Why not pick out a patently ridiculous spell?

A dismal reason for someone who no longer exists in a video game. Nevertheless, I couldn’t be called wholly unhappy with the results. After all, impressions were quite important to do correctly, and meant there never had to be a moment when I didn’t appear as a fabulous GENTLEMAN ADVENTURER.

and . I watched the surrounding grave shadows carefully, because it sure felt like I was using all of my mental fortitude to keep myself from being cripplingly disappointed. Oh sure there may have been innumerable spells which would be a thousand times more useful than these, but I could make do with it. It’s not like the selection could have been influenced in any case. No point crying over spilt milk.

“*Okay then!*” I clapped my hands together in a false sense of cheer, with amplifying the sound. “*How about I try testing out what perk I gained. None of those are total duds.*”

Compared to magical spells, the current perks I had access to only numbered around a dozen. I sighed in exasperation. My enhancement for Level 20? [Comprehending Death]. There just had to be something trying to nerf my abilities. I couldn’t think of any other explanation that would result in me getting exactly the wrong power every step of the way. Sure you could consistently roll 1s for a whole session, but at some point you start to suspect the dice are loaded.

At least in this case it seemed like the dice tipped over to a 2 instead of a straight up fumble.

[Comprehending Death], much like [Soul Preservation], mostly displayed its worth as an enhancement for other abilities and a stepping stone for further on. Part of the {Ancient Memories} tree, it improved the insights one had when dealing with the undead. When using {Ancient Memories} the results were unintelligible to some extent, however like I had done down in the goblin’s treasure cavern, some practice and mental flexibility would diminish this. Being able to do so on your own without any aid is difficult in practice, which is where [Comprehending Death] came into play.

Although it only affected the dead, in Underworld, almost the entire world was composed of souls or spirits. Working strongly on those that had yet to become incorporated into the realm, and weakly on objects, [Comprehending Death] helped ferret out secrets more effectively. On top of that, it added a slight bonus to certain aspects of spiritual manipulations.

Those may not have had great use to me at the moment, but just one step up from it stood [Eyes of the Dead] and [Reaper’s Speech]. Also weighted more towards the utility aspect of things, though I dared not challenge the church to a mano a mano, as long as I traveled freely, non-combat spells would likely shine much brighter. [Eyes of the Dead] allowed for seeing through my minnies(although it would require another perk invested in [Spiritual Detachment]), which I was quite keen on getting. [Reaper’s Speech] would be of dubious usefulness in a country where the only undead I had yet to see were my own, but it also came with a nifty control bonus. In game it could improve their mental capabilities and devote more processing capacity to each mook—I was curious as to how that would manifest in the real world, but more importantly if I were to ever come across other undead, I would be able to negotiate with them.

Further down the line, it led to [Shinra], [Fate of Death],  the Disruption of the Rivers series, which in turn led to [Ersetu], really all sorts of good things required it. Along with the bonus to interpreting souls and spirits it gave me, my satisfaction could come in a cleaner fashion, the benefits much more direct. They didn’t exactly come as grandiose and obvious as something like [Soul Crystallization] would have, but it was enough.

To make use of it before heading back, I activated {Ancient Memories}; though it was a passive, I had more or less tuned the noises it made out to concentrate better. With [Comprehending Death], communing with the grave shadows should help enlighten me, particularly about the aggressive spirit’s personality.

“*Yoohoo, get over here.*” Superficially calling it over, the first grave shadow floated over, kicking up a cold wind where it passed. Messing with my ponytail, I ordered the winds suppressed and the gusts turned biting and whistling, but shrank in size. There was a conservation of ominous energy about it—not literally, but close enough. “*So who are you?*”

Without the previously referenced [Reaper’s Speech], talking to the undead served no purpose. Though given how intent based ordering them around was, clarifying my wishes through speech probably helped.

Putting my ‘ear’ for {Ancient Memories} forward, I listened in. Cold fire babbled frantically pausing to forcibly spit out every other word. [Comprehending Death] worked obviously; understandable, the original intent was still present. Striking through what was present, and writing in comprehensible ideas above it. It couldn't be called true understanding or knowledge, but it served as a sufficient interpretation.

A clear desire for vengeance against those who killed her kin, the shame of defeat, the despair of being locked within the skull for indeterminate ages. The spirit retained her individuality despite the trials, and now free it was time to pay back the havoc.

Or so would be the plan if not restrained by my own will. Slightly sated by the massacre of yesterday, in time Grave Shadow seemed to realize that she was not totally free. Showing a great deal of intelligence, in the end she was limited by her form and unable to recognize anything other than the fact she could not exact further revenge.

There were other feelings I could not detect, buried beneath the hatred towards the goblins. Discovering those would wait for the future, for now confirming the loathing and primary emotions were enough. Grave Shadow was more or less incapable of more refined thoughts at this point anyhow.

The fact that I needed to depart from this area gave a wistful feeling; the spirit likely wouldn’t be able to accomplish her goal any time soon. Well, it’s not like she was going to die before then, I’d be careful. If Ria continued longing for home, we would return to Salt Village one day.

Not for a long time though. Having finished up discovering what my various abilities were, I headed back to the village to spend some of my last few days there.