December 21, 1:13 PM
Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth
Rich looked at Claire, sighing. “We can talk while we find somewhere for you to settle in.” Gesturing for her to follow, he shot his wife a tight-lipped smile as he walked towards the back of the store. “We have camping gear and sleeping bags in that corner, over there. Generator’s busted, so you can’t charge your phone, but we have lanterns and headlamps on that shelf there.” He pointed out where the rest of the gear and necessities were, including a spot where they had an gas-powered stove.
“How much for a sleeping bag?” She asked. “I can only pay with monster parts, but—”
He cut her off. “No one else is using these. How about this, we’ll eat the monster meat that you have, and call us even for the gear.”
She agreed quickly. Once Rich made sure she was familiar with the layout of the makeshift base, they headed back to the front of the store. Lindy was back behind the counter, organizing things into separate crates while James waved his staff in the air haphazardly.
“Sit down,” said Rich, offering Claire one of the foldable chairs they had set up. “I’ll tell you about the looters.”
She did so, opening a bottle of soda as she sat before he continued. “A few of my neighbors decided to come out here this morning. Figured it would be safer out here in the middle of nowhere, rather than around people, you know?
She nodded.
“We were in here by the time the monsters started showing up. They couldn’t get through the walls, fortunately, and only came if they could see us. That’s why we boarded up the doors.”
“How many of you were there..? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“Six,” he replied. “Not including the kids. Even with them, though, we had enough food and water in here for weeks. The store was empty, shelves mostly full. But a group came knocking on the door. We let them in, but then they turned on us. Didn’t even have the chance to fight back before three of ours were killed.”
“Who were these people?”
“We killed the two in here, and watched the guy they left outside run off into the woods. There’s an old hunting cabin out there, which we think is where they set up. There’s a good number, too. Just before you came here another trio of their people came over. Feels like they have a number of these groups, taking and stealing from everyone around.”
“Some kind of bandit group, then.”
Rich nodded. “They’ll be back again at sundown. We won’t be able to stop them if they come in force, but we’ll be done for if we leave all of our supplies behind.”
“What were you going to do?”
“Lock this place up, hide away some of our gear, and hope they don’t find us when they loot this all. We were thinking about defending directly, but I was afraid it would hurt James. Lindy agreed with me on that.”
“I think we can do better. What levels are you guys?”
“We’re both level two. Shieldbearer Paladin, and my wife’s a Ranger.” He paused. “She won’t be able to join us, though.”
“What’s wrong?”
“The second group of bandits had another archer.” Claire felt Lindy’s eyes drill into her from across the room. “Poisoned arrows— we were both hit. I have resistance from poison from my class, but it only halved the effects. I have an, ah, effective level taken away from me when I do anything, and Lindy has two.”
“So you’re only level one, and her… zero.” She breathed out a curse.
“What level are you, Claire?” asked Lindy, who had finished organizing.
“I’m, uhm, almost to level five.” She opened up the Leaderboard menu, briefly scanning it. “Top ten in combat ability. I could help you guys level up to get rid of the poison’s effects. I, honestly don’t feel comfortable going against a whole bandit gang alone, though. But if we level up another few times in the next few hours I think we’ll be a lot better off.
“Level five, and top… ten?” Rich exclaimed, surprised. “If you can get us a few more levels, they won’t stand a chance!”
“Oh, please, Rich.” Lindy shot a look at her husband. “Look at her, she’s young enough to be our daughter. Do you really believe she’s ranked at all, let alone top ten?”
“Lindy, it’s up to you if you believe me or not. I’m offering to level you both up, so that we stand a chance against the bandits tonight.”
“Darling, please. I like our chances better this wa—”
“Pfft. You go do whatever the hell you want. I need to stay and watch James. Make sure he doesn’t do something stupid.”
Rich sighed, standing up to grab his shield. “Alright, then.”
Claire did so as well, walking over to where her pack was stored. She waved her hands around it, drawing intricate-but-meaningless spell runes in the air around her pack. “I’m leaving this here. Please don’t mess with it.”
Lindy didn’t respond.
Rich walked through the aisles, away from the main door. “C’mon, Claire. We’ll go out through the back.”
She hurried to follow him.
December 21, 1:19 PM
Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth
Clearstar’s calculations were off. By a large margin, in fact. Her mind was in her soulscape, observing the crucible she had built in the center of the nine pillars.
Late Foundation Establishment - Crucible Creation (Middle).
Her spiritual sea was overflowing with liquid chi, the whirlpool formed by her Foundation pillars not moving fast enough to cycle and purify the energy. A tiny cauldron floated in the air, the liquid chi that comprised its form was even denser than the pillars that propped up her spirit.
The Foundation Establishment stage was the last of the mortal stages, and Clearstar looked forward to when she would be able to finally condense her Cultivator’s Core.
The two mortal stages were quite simple, being solely devoted to the purification and condensation of chi. Chi Gathering and Foundation Establishment. They were different from physical cultivators in this sense, who focused on the refining of their bodies in three stages. A Chi Gathering cultivator would be equivalent to a second-stage physical cultivator, and Foundation the third.
The three levels of Chi Gathering were separated by the strength of the practitioner’s spirit. Though most practitioners would only learn to manipulate external chi by the first level, Body Forging, collecting gaseous chi by Mind Awakening, and channel energy through the body by the Meridian stage, there were exceptions.
She had chi control up to the Mind stage as a mortal, after all. Clearstar had also scouted for other people with similar chi manipulation skills to grant some power to. Feeding the sector talents a little bit to get them on the true Path a little earlier.
She pushed for meditation, meditation, meditation, but wasn’t too sure how many of them would listen. They would have to, before they could enter their soulscape themselves to open their Gates.
It would be nice to make true contact early and force a few second-stage powerhouses. It would cripple their future cultivation, but in the early cross-sector competitions, a few extra peak Chi Gathering champions would stomp the others.
Forming a technique to scry on those she had seeded, Clearstar’s mind was shunted across space to each of the seven. One for each sub-sector, or each continent.
Checking in on their progress and finding nothing unusual, she ended the technique. In the blink of an eye, she folded space together to teleport to the peak of a real mountain. One of the taller ones in the North American sub-sector, she recalled. The area was devoid of human life— only some monsters that ran instantly when Clearstar focused on them with her spiritual sense. Finally quiet, she took out a set of formation flags and set up a chi-gathering array to speed up her cultivation.
Clearstar: Foundation Establishment - Late.
You currently are ranked #1 in the Sector for progression, #1 for combat ability, and #1 for future potential.
Your current rankings qualify you for rewards and titles at the end of the day. Category: 1
December 21, 2:01 PM
Cloud Sector, Plane: Earth
“C’mon, Rich, just like how we practiced!” Claire urged, watching the Paladin activate a skill. The shield stood against the monstrous elk’s first ram well enough, but Rich’s feet dug further and further into the ground. It wasn’t an ideal match up, but he had insisted on testing his limits. He couldn’t do much against the elk, unfortunately.
Both had completed a few more quests in the Slay Monsters category, earning upgrade tokens that they had agreed to save until the hunting session was over. Rich, with his foresight, had grabbed a couple burlap sacks on the way out of the store to store monster meat in. They only had one halfway full with parts, and the other sack was still empty.
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Looking to see the monster knock Rich prone, she sighed. He couldn’t deal too well with the elk’s attacks. As long as he had enough strength to stand his ground, nothing could get by. But the elk would ram his shield again and again, forcing him to back down.
Before its antlers could spear through Rich, Claire shot an energy blast at it. The three bolts of energy exploded on contact with the beast, killing it instantly. Rich stood up, grabbing the elk steak that dropped to toss it in the bag.
“You’re going to need to level up more before you can stand against the elk, Rich. We should go back to the spot with the coyotes, your reflection skill works much better against them.”
“I woulda thought that third time’s the charm, but man,” he said, activating his regeneration, “those things are tough. You’re right, I can probably level up to four soon enough, in the coyote spot.”
As they walked through the forest, Claire opened her system to see how she was doing.
Claire Wright: Wizard Level 4.
You currently are ranked #638 in the Sub-Sector (North America) for progression, #6 for combat ability, and #1 for future potential.
Your current rankings qualify you for a reward and a title at the end of the day.
Cantrips (3/3)
Lvl. 7 Energy Bolt - Speed
- You conjure and project a mote of energy from an extended finger. Damage and range is determined by Spirit and Intelligence levels. Components: Verbal, Somatic.
- Subspells: Spark, Icicle
Lvl. 2 Words of Warding - Flexible
- You extend your hands and chant, tracing runic sigils in the air around you and invoking words of power. Attacks are stopped by a barrier, which is extremely durable while components are being supplied. Duration and strength after this point is determined by Spirit and Intelligence. Components: Verbal, Somatic
- Subspells: Blade Ward
Lvl. 2 Spirit Spike
- You drive an invisible spike of energy into the spirit of another creature you can see. Effects are determined by your Spirit, contested by the target’s Spirit and Wisdom. Components: N/A
- Subspells: Mind Spike
First Circle (4/6 prepared)
Lvl. 5 Spiritual Shield
- You conjure an opaque shield that protects you, also granting you positive effects. Shield strength, duration, and type of buff is determined by Spirit. Components: Verbal.
- Subspells: Shield
Lvl. 8 Energy Infusion
- You inject energy into and project a physical object in your hands, dealing damage to an enemy on a hit. The object then explodes, dealing damage in an area. Damage, distance, and area of effect are determined by Spirit and quality of material component. Components: Somatic, Material (a fist-sized or smaller physical object)
- Subspells: Ice Shard
Lvl. 3 Energy Blast
- You conjure and project a number of energy bolts from an extended palm. Damage, range and quantity is determined by Spirit level. Components: Verbal, Somatic.
Lvl. 2 Minor Healing
- You chant and channel energy through your hands, and heal the target equal to the energy expended. Efficiency is determined by Spirit level. Components: Verbal, Somatic.
Second Circle (1/0 prepared)
Personal Sphere
- You flood a spherical area with energy that follows you. Other beings in this area may be aided or hindered at your will. Hostile attacks will be less effective if they enter the sphere. While the sphere is active, you enjoy a buff to attacks made with Spirit as their base and a buff to your physical durability. Effectiveness is determined by energy consumed.
Quests Active: 6
Paths to Power (III)
Level up cantrips. (11/30)
Level up First Circle spells. (18/20)
Level up Second Circle spells. (0/5)
Absorb energy. (0/1)
Rewards: Spirit Seeding Pill x2 OR Spirit Hardening Pill x2 depending on Path, Variable
Eye of the Storm (Limited)
Find reliable shelter. (✔)
Find a renewable source of food and water. (✔)
Survive the night, until 8:00 AM.
Rewards: Spatial Pouch, Variable
Monster Slayer (III)
Slay 100 monsters. (51/100)
Rewards: Gear Upgrade Token
* Do this immediately!!
Learn how to meditate and level the skill to 11.
Rewards: Basic competence, 1 level up
* Stop being weak (I)
Raise your Body statistic to 1.00 (✔)
Raise your Mind statistic to 1.50 (1.42/1.50)
Rewards: Average physique, acceptable intelligence, 3x Body Refining Pill
* Prove yourself (I)
Kill monsters higher than your level. (3/25)
3x Spell Upgrade Token (1st Circle)
Scattered progress all around, but not enough to bump her up a level. She had gathered by this point that Prove yourself (I)’s requirement to kill monsters higher than her in level did not mean her wizard level— but rather something else. It had only gone up twice, both fighting what seemed to be area bosses.
Rich handled the coyotes in question easily. Four or five of them would swarm him at a time, but their small attacks couldn’t get by his shield. He was strong enough to swing the shield around very quickly, the heavy metal bashing coyotes’ brains in.
After a while, the forest grew unnaturally quiet. “Coyote Alpha’s going to come soon, Rich!”
“Got it.”
Claire ran up to join him in the clearing. The toughest part about the coyote alpha, from the time they had fought it before, was how hard it was to find. It lurked in the undergrowth, his occasional howls summoning swarms of smaller monsters.
The swarms were good practice for the two, though. As the first group came, Rich let out a skill-enhanced roar that drew the focus of the swarm. Claire charged an energy blast from behind him, which formed one small bolt for each coyote that clawed at Rich. She hit all but one, which was squashed by the paladin underneath his shield.
“I need to get better aim!”
“Please, you’re trying to aim, like, five bolts at once.”
Scanning the area for the alpha, Claire charged up another energy blast. She would normally have used a ward or the spiritual shield, but they found that Rich would progress quicker if she didn’t.
A group of six leapt out at the pair. Four of them died in the air, the last bolt going loose and crashing into a tree. The last two landed with a clang on Rich’s shield, just in time for him to bash the shield on the ground.
“I found the alpha!” Rich pointed at a spot in the tree line. Sure enough, a gray shadow was hiding in a bush. Claire watched it howl, seven coyotes appearing from nowhere to pounch at her.
“Going to use the new skill, Claire!” Rich activated something, an illusory shield springing up between Claire and the monsters. Tempted to put up her ward, she settled on throwing an energy-infused rock at the swarm, which exploded in their midst.
“Thanks! Let’s do one or two more waves and we’ll take care of the boss!” She replied.
They finished the alpha after dealing with the next two waves. Claire was reaching to pick the loot off of the ground when Rich exclaimed in joy.
“Level four!”
“Congrats! Did you get anything new?”
“Yeah, a new skill and a body enhancement. The poison’s gone.”
“Great!”
“Yeah, I wish Lindy was here to get this, too.”
“Hey, we take what we can get.”
“Do you want to go back, now? Or maybe stay a little bit to try and level to five?”
“I can feel that level five is just a few breaths away. I should be able to get it by the time we get back.” Claire began walking back in the direction of the camp. “I got this item from the alpha, I think you might be able to use it.”
“Sounds good— and, what did you get?”
“A common Shadow Tooth Bracelet. It makes the wearer’s voice louder and increases the range. Passive, too.”
“I’ll take it, I guess. Might help out with the taunt.”
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.”
As they walked, Claire took potshots with energy bolt and energy blast at the random small monsters that were in the forest. She missed most of them, but her aim got better every single time. Just as the woods began to thin, Claire received a notification.
[Class leveled up!]
Wizard 4 → 5
Due to your monster-slaying excellence, you have gained a level! You have learned a new Ability, and a new Cantrip.
Runic Cantrips:
You may deconstruct your cantrips into the runes that form them, rearranging the runes you know to form new cantrips. Cantrips may be swapped out with study and meditation.
Cantrips (3/3)
Lvl. 8 Energy Bolt - Speed
- You conjure and project a mote of energy from an extended finger. Damage and range is determined by Spirit and Intelligence levels. Components: Verbal, Somatic.
- Subspells: Spark, Icicle
Lvl. 2 Words of Warding - Flexible
- You extend your hands and chant, tracing runic sigils in the air around you and invoking words of power. Attacks are stopped by a barrier, which is extremely durable while components are being supplied. Duration and strength after this point is determined by Spirit and Intelligence. Components: Verbal, Somatic
- Subspells: Blade Ward
Lvl. 2 Spirit Spike
- You drive an invisible spike of energy into the spirit of another creature you can see. Effects are determined by your Spirit, contested by the target’s Spirit and Wisdom. Components: N/A
- Subspells: Mind Spike
Minor Telekinesis
- You form a telekinetic hand which obeys your mental commands. Strength and dexterity of the hand are determined by Spirit. Maximum complexity of command is determined by Intelligence. Components: Somatic
Tier: 1-0-2
Name: Claire Wright
Title: N/A
Level: 5
Class: Wizard
Abilities: Spellcasting, Arcane Recovery, Preparing Spells, Ritual Casting
School of Magic - Order of Mind: Primacy of Intellect, Mental Model
Physical: 1.02 (…)
Mental: 1.43 (…)
Spiritual: 3.76 (…)
Quests Active: 6
Paths to Power (III)
Level up cantrips. (12/30)
Level up First Circle spells. (18/20)
Level up Second Circle spells. (0/5)
Absorb energy. (0/1)
Rewards: Spirit Seeding Pill x2 OR Spirit Hardening Pill x2 depending on Path, Variable
Eye of the Storm (Limited)
Find reliable shelter. (✔)
Find a renewable source of food and water. (✔)
Survive the night, until 8:00 AM.
Rewards: Spatial Pouch, Variable
Monster Slayer (III)
Slay 100 monsters. (98/100)
Rewards: Gear Upgrade Token
* Do this immediately!!
Learn how to meditate and level the skill to 11.
Rewards: Basic competence, 1 level up
* Stop being weak (I)
Raise your Body statistic to 1.00 (✔)
Raise your Mind statistic to 1.50 (1.42/1.50)
Rewards: Average physique, acceptable intelligence, 3x Body Refining Pill
* Prove yourself (I)
Kill monsters higher than your level. (5/25)
3x Spell Upgrade Token (1st Circle)
Items:
Necklace of Flowing Wind (Uncommon)
The pair entered the store from where they left, barricading the door behind them. Setting the burlap sack filled with monster parts down where the stove was set up, Rich walked back to the front of the store. Claire followed right after him.
“We’re back!”