Clearstar lets her perception extend outwards, hitting the boundaries of the pocket world. She felt the immortal’s own sense brush her own before she withdrew the probe. A young immortal, then. Freshly ascended… but I still wouldn’t be able to beat him even if I were at my peak.
“You would not understand, honored one. Even immortals dare not alter the flows of Time.”
The immortal’s eyes flash white. He snorts. “And you, a mortal, do dare?”
“Yes,” she responds simply. “You have no records of me because technically, our sector has yet to be integrated. Soon, at the next solstice, no?”
“You should not know that.”
“I don’t understand why my knowledge, or lack thereof, should concern you.”
“The safety of this plane concerns me. As do you, by extension.”
“I cut my journey short by a full three realms in order to return here. You think that I wish to harm our plane?” Clearstar continues, softer. “This is an opportunity of lifetimes. A forced timeline branch, now, done from years in the future—”
The immortal cuts her off. “An opportunity for this plane indeed.” This is way above my paygrade. “You can do as you wish what you can. We are done here. Your mind offers me more answers than your mouth.”
Surprised she didn’t feel the immortal probing her mind, Clearstar could only thank him in reply.
The immortal does respond, only closing his eyes. A set of three concentric orange circles appears behind his head, rotating against each other, bathing the area in warm light. Four dots of bright white are spread across the circles. One of those dots shoots forward like a dart, implanting itself on Clearstar’s forehead, ignoring all of her attempts to resist the technique.
“My Rule will stay with you until, ah, I remove it. I will remain in touch, mortal…” He stops himself, clearing his throat and resuming after a short pause. “… Daoist Clearstar.”
{Records requested. Query = “Sector Pre-Integration.”}
{… Authorization granted.}
{Beginning report…}
December 20, 16:24
Earth, one day before winter solstice.
Clearstar opened her eyes and the forest stretched out before her. The ground was a foot or so beneath her levitating form, and the azure sky stretched out unbroken as far as she could see. Her spirit extended to the maximum, the ambient chi created by the gentle river and the trees were quickly swept up as soon as they were produced, like how the expansive sails of a sailboat extend far to catch even the lightest of winds.
A week of calm meditation focused on gathering chi saw Clearstar’s soulscape filled with liquid and gaseous chi. An ocean of liquid flowed slowly in circles, and the space above and below swirled with a dense white-blue gas. Her cultivation speed felt slow, because there simply wasn’t enough chi in the atmosphere to support anything faster. Early Foundation Stage… not bad. I would have hoped to have some pillars raised by now, but middle Foundation will come in a week or so after integration.
Looking up at the setting sun, Clearstar closes her eyes again, continuing to gather the ambient chi. Reach, absorb, refine, repeat.
{Continuing report…}
December 21, 8:01 AM
Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth
The first thing Claire Wright saw when waking up were boxes. Not shipping boxes, or Amazon boxes, or some kind of cardboard boxes. No, these boxes were blue and shiny. And as her eyes cleared, she could tell these boxes had words on them.
I do not want to deal with this right now. I didn’t even drink anything last night?
Standing up and pulling open her room’s curtains, she bumped into her desk that was obscured by the blue box. Cursing inwardly about hallucinogens and door knobs and everything in between, she took a step backward and fell backwards onto her bed, laying down to take a look at the words the boxes had. Could be fun before whatever crap is wears away.
System integration process... 100%. Hello, aspirant! Welcome to the System, a mechanism granted as an aid to mastering the energies of the universe. Display: Status… Path… Stages… Techniques… Abilities…Inventory…Quests… Preferences…
Oh, what the fuck. I hope this isn’t real… Rubbing the bridge of her noes with her fingers, Claire raised another hand and tried batting the boxes away, to no avail.
How does this thing work? Loosening control over her limbs in defeat, Claire sighed and closed her eyes. Which, thankfully got rid of the blue boxes. Until she opened them again.
“Fuck off.”A box opened up in front of her eyes.
Command not understood. Options: Status… Level… Statistics… Class… Inventory…Quests… Preferences…
Is… it voice activated? That’s kind of stupid. “Uh, Status?” As she said this, the earlier boxes disappeared, replaced by a new one.
Tier: 1-0-0
Name: Claire Wright
Title: N/A
Level: 0
Rank: Novice (Select Class?)
Abilities: N/A - Class required.
Techniques: N/A - Class required.
Statics: 1.470
Physical: 0.78
Mental: 1.13
Spiritual: 2.50
Quests Active: 1
Paths to Power (I)
- Select a Class, then gain a level in that class.
- Reward variable.
Huh. It’s like I’m in a game, now. Like, Baldur's Gay, Gate or something. A realization dawned on her. Is the world going to shit? Claire sighed again. We are definitely going to shit.
Resolving to not become part of the problem, she focused on her status. “Lets try… uh… Class.”
Classes are distinct roles and archetypes that define your abilities, skills, and your Path to Power. Each class has unique strengths, weaknesses and specializations. You may only start with one class.
Recommended Classes: (Note, Due to the circumstances of integration, only combat classes are shown.)
Warrior
- A basic physical class, Warrior is unlocked by having at least 0.70 starting Strength.
Rogue
- A basic physical class, Rogue is unlocked by having at least 0.70 starting Agility.
Magician
- A basic mental class, Magician is unlocked by having at least 0.70 starting Intelligence.
Elementalist
- A basic mental class, Elementalist is unlocked by having at least 0.70 starting Wisdom.
Wizard
- A mental class, Wizard is unlocked by having at least 1.0 starting Intelligence.
Monk
- A basic spiritual class, Monk is unlocked by having at least 2.0 starting Spirit.
No unlocked Rare classes may be selected at this time.
Kind of curious why they won’t let me pick a Rare class. I have at least one unlocked, right? Or it wouldn’t show me the option at all.
Hoping to make the best of the situation, picking Wizard seemed like a no-brainer. It was that or Monk, and honestly sitting around and chanting scripture or whatever Monks did didn’t sound nearly as cool as being a Wizard.
Class selected: Wizard.
Claire felt strange for a moment, sort of like what she imagined it would feel like if her blood were to becoming freezing cold. Her body began to tingle slightly as a warm pleasurable feeling appeared and rushed from her stomach to her whole body. That… can’t be what it feels like… but I guess I could get used to leveling up.
Class gained. Wizard → 0.
Default Abilities unlocked: Spellcasting, Arcane Recovery Spellcasting: You have a spellbook that contains all the spells you know. By channeling energy through the spellbook, you can cast any spell learned and prepared in the book. In addition, you have a number of assigned Cantrips based on your Wizard level which you can cast at will without your spellbook. Claim/Designate spellbook? Open Spell List?
Arcane Recovery: You have learned to recover energy while resting with your spellbook. You gain energy from your spellbook after an hour of doing nothing more intensive than reading a book, pacing in circles, sleeping, without casting any spells. Amount recovered is determined by Wizard level.
Shifting the other boxes to the side of her vision with a thought, Claire focused on the box about her spellbook. Claim, she thought, and a brown leather book fell from the air besides her with a thunk on the bed. Leaning over, she picked it up.
Spellbook claimed. Spell List accessed. Cantrips (3/3)
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Spark
- You conjure and project a mote of fire from an extended finger. Damage and range is determined by Intelligence and Wizard levels. Components: Verbal, Somatic.
Blade Ward
- You extend your hands, tracing runic sigils in the air around you. Non-magical weapon attacks are stopped by a runic barrier, its duration and strength being determined by Intelligence and Wizard levels. Components: Somatic.
Mind Spike
- You drive an invisible spike of energy into the mind of another creature you can see. Strength of the disorientation and damage is determined by Spirit and Intelligence. This may be contested by the target’s Wisdom. Components: N/A
Sitting up, Claire moved the spellbook into her lap. There were detailed lines and dots, runes probably, below each of the cantrips detailed in her spell list. Shifting her knees up to get more comfortable, she began studying the spells, in an effort to memorize.
{Continuing report…}
December 21, 8:15 AM
Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth
Clearstar withdrew her spiritual sense from the forest. The chi had hit the plane and the System assistant was no doubt fully integrated into the population. Her spirit withdrawn, the chi rushed in to fill the vacuum Clearstar had created, and soon enough a blue box appeared in her vision. Memories.
System integration process... 100%. Hello, aspirant! Welcome to the System, a mechanism granted as an aid to mastering the energies of the universe. Display: Status… Path… Stages… Techniques… Abilities…Inventory…Quests… Preferences…
Ignoring the prompt, Clearstar looked inside her soulscape to find her spiritual sea… and a cloud of rainbow mist that pulsed as her own white-blue chi held it back. Manipulating her chi to form tendrils, she gathered and caged the weak divine chi with her own. The mist turned into liquid, and all of the little blobs consolidated into a large rainbow ball of mist surrounded by Clearstar’s personal chi.
Situation update detected. Scanning…
The consolidated mist was stronger than before, yes, but its probes and scans into Clearstar’s soulscape could not escape the barrier of liquid chi that constrained it.
Scan failed.
Sending her own chi into the system-ball, Clearstar began to alter it. A few short minutes later, she finished her changes. Status.
Title: Daoist Clearstar
Tier: 1-3-1 Cultivation: Foundation Establishment
Rank: Sea Gathering - Late Statistics: 13.86
Body: 2.17
Mind: 4.41
Spirit: 35
Smiling, Clearstar returned to cultivation. Her spiritual sense blanketed the land, and the chi from earth and sky funneled into Clearstar. Mist was gathered and converted, then condensed. Pillars in a hour. Crucible in a day. We will be Core by next week.
Eyes closed and a gentle smile on her face, Daoist Clearstar did not notice a bright blinking white dot on her forehead.
{Continuing report…}
December 21, 8:27 AM
Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth
Claire stood, panting by the foot of her bed, having failed to cast her Blade Ward for the umpteenth time. The runes were forming in the air, which was pretty damn cool, but they would always seem to fizzle out right before the last lines connected to form her barrier.
I fucking hate being a wizard! Trying it again, she moved her arms and fingers in patterns, white light trailing and staying where they passed. She was getting the hang of turning on and off the, pen, so to speak, and the runes were clearer and more defined every time she tried.
After another fail, she looked through her Spell List’s picture of the runes again, and resolving to do something different this time around.
Picturing the runes in her head and moving her fingers around to trace the lines in the air, she spoke out. “Blade Ward!” Suddenly, she felt a tug on her mind… spiritɁ̦ as something was sucked out of her. The runes in the air became thicker and joined together smoothly. When the last few runes touched, a spherical blue barrier sprung out and extended for a foot or so around her from where the runes were. It moved as she did, and the barrier flowed through the furniture without breaking.
I… don’t need to manually draw the runes? All I have to do is picture it and the system does it for me, I guess. Cool. Still, Claire wanted to do things without cheating, so she, armed with the fake muscle memory the System gave her, began casting Blade Wards again.
It only took two tries for her to do it alone. And ten after that before she could get it in less than twenty seconds. She ignored honks outside and the rising sun, practicing the Blade Ward until she could cast it consistently under five.
Spell Leveled!
Due to casting Blade Ward successfully for the first time, its level has increased! 0 → 1
Spell Progressed.
Due to casting Blade Ward successfully, its proficiency has increased! ... [Spell Leveled!]
Due to forming the runes of Blade Ward manually for the first time, Blade Ward has greatly increased in level! 1 → 6 [Spell Leveled!]
Due to forming the runes of Blade Ward manually many times, Blade Ward has reached maximum level! 6 → 10
Choose capstone?
Reading the system prompts, she realized that in fact, people were not supposed to form the runes manually. Noting the language of the system, the level had increased once when she cast it successfully with aid for the first time, and then its proficiency increased with the second test. The level had greatly increased after forming the runes manually for the first time, and after only, like, half an hour of practice it had jumped to max level.
Looking at the clock, she had a slight panic after seeing the time, 9 AM, but felt relieved after realizing it was a Saturday, and she didn’t have anything to do today. Besides practice my spells, that is. Wiping off sweat from her brow with a corner of her blanket, Claire moved to her desk, setting her spellbook on the table and opened up the screen for Blade Ward’s capstone.
Cantrip: Blade Ward
Level: 10
You extend your hands, tracing runic sigils in the air around you. Non-magical weapon attacks are stopped by a runic barrier, its duration and strength being determined by Intelligence and Wizard levels. Components: Somatic. Capstone options:
Improved Strength
And now, the Ward is stronger than ever. Intelligence and Wizard levels are considered doubled when determining the strength of the spell.
Improved Duration
And now, the Ward lasts longer than ever. Every level in Wizard provides an additional second of spell duration.
Improved Flexibility
And now, the Ward is more flexible than ever. The spell’s barrier will not be limited to just non-magical weapon attacks, extending its reach to some offensive spells.
Strength was the most straightforward of them all. Simply raising the strength of the barrier to double what it is. A powerful upgrade. It would make the barrier look thicker too, which would be a plus.
Duration seemed like a mixed bag. Having a longer spell duration might make it possible to stack Blade Wards on top of each other, one system cast and the other manual, but the fact that she didn’t know how high wizard levels went was a big turn-off.
That left flexibility. Stopping magic as well as weapons would never not be helpful. It seemed like a large upgrade, too, which had some interesting implications. Are the same capstones offered to everyone, or are there requirements to meet that unlock more? Also, how strong is the barrier, compared to attacks and other spells? Eh, I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.
Spell capstone selected.
Cantrip: Blade Ward - Flexible
Level: 10
You extend your hands, tracing runic sigils in the air around you. Physical attacks and ranged spell attacks are stopped by a runic barrier, its duration and strength being determined by Intelligence and Wizard levels. Components: Somatic.
“Nice!” Claire exclaimed, reviewing the spell’s description. The words had changed in her physical spellbook along with the spell list, and so had the runes. The changes were small, so they were easy to commit to memory again.
Casting the spell through the system, Claire’s hands moved on their own as a full-body translucent blue bubble appeared around her. She tried to touch the inside of the barrier, but realized the bubble was just out of arm’s reach. She counted twenty seconds before the spell disappeared.
Class leveled up! Quest complete!
Dismissing the boxes for the moment, she left her spellbook open on the desk, moving back towards her bed. Reaching towards the outlet on the wall, she received a light electric shock as she picked up her phone. Furrowing her brows in confusion, she pressed the side button again and again, to no avail. Setting it down on the bed, Claire quickly dressed herself and got ready to go outside, then sat back in her chair before her open spellbook.
Class leveled up!
Wizard 0 → 1
Due to your practice and mastery of the spell Blade Ward, you have learned a new spell! Open Spell List?
New Ability unlocked: Preparing Spells. Open Abilities? [Quest Complete!]
You have satisfied the requirements of the quest, “Paths to Power.”
- Select a Class, then gain a level in that class. (🗸)
- Rewards obtained: 1x Random Class Spell (1st Circle)
- Bonus obtained: 1x Random Spell (1st Circle),
Two slips of material, light blue and dark green, floated gently down, setting themselves down next to Claire’s spellbook on her desk. Golden letters and runes were all over the object. They looked like thick rulers, and when Claire tried to pick the blue one up, it had some heft to it.
Consumable: 1x Random Spell (1st Circle)
This consumable grants the caster one random spell of the first circle, from any class list. The spell will be converted to one of the caster’s main class, but keep its original statistic dependencies and characteristics. [Rare Item.]
Consume?
Selecting the Consume option, Claire watched the item turn into motes of light that settled themselves inside of her spellbook. She extended a hand towards the book, flipping a page and opening her Spell List.
Cantrips (3/3)
Spark
- You conjure and project a mote of fire from an extended finger. Damage and range is determined by Intelligence and Wizard levels. Components: Verbal, Somatic.
Lvl. 10 Blade Ward - Flexible
- You extend your hands, tracing runic sigils in the air around you. Physical attacks and ranged spell attacks are stopped by a runic barrier, its duration and strength being determined by Intelligence and Wizard levels. Components: Somatic.
Mind Spike
- You drive an invisible spike of energy into the mind of another creature you can see. Strength of the disorientation and damage is determined by Spirit and Intelligence. This may be contested by the target’s Wisdom. Components: N/A First Circle (2/2)
Shield
- You conjure an opaque magical shield that protects you. Shield response time, strength, and maneuverability are determined by Intelligence and Wizard levels. Components: Verbal.
Minor Healing
- You chant and channel energy through your hands, and heal the target equal to the energy expended. Efficiency is determined by Spirit and Cleric levels. Components: Verbal, Somatic.
After reading the new spells and memorizing their constructs, Claire opened the door to her room and stepped out into the hallway. Glancing at the clock on the wall, the time was 9:01 AM.
{Continue topic? … Denied.}
{Report complete.}