Daggat innocently scrolled through his skill point options. He had three to spend. Perhaps it was time. The vast majority of these were natural skills he could level or gain. Calion had warned him about choosing those, and he agreed it was a bad idea.
But, one stood out to him. It was near the bottom, so he didn’t see it before. He really needed to find a way to sort these. It was golden and it glittered slightly.
System Assistant
Requirements: Meet true divinity
Gain a system assistant to sort and suggest build options.
That could be useful. But, everything had a catch to it. “Hey, old man!” he called out towards the back, then snickered.
“One moment!” Was the return. He was replacing Zuss’s bandages again. They needed to be replaced less often now, her skin had finally begun healing properly. A few minutes later, the door to the dining room pushed open, “What is it D-” Then the bucket of water dropped onto his head.
Daggat started cackling. “Be careful, old man, you’ll catch a cold getting wet in this winter.” Calion took a deep breath and sighed, then took off his jacket to place near the fire. He pulled a mop from seemingly nowhere and cleaned up the water.
“How can I help you, Daggat?” Daggat scowled. One of these days, he would break that patient facade he wore. No one could be THIS calm.
“I found an interesting skill and wanted your thoughts. It’s called System Assistant. Ever heard of it?”
“Oh, yes. That is fairly common, but only among those that have delved a labyrinth. How do you have it as an option?”
“It’s a variant thing.” Daggat had a smug smile. “What’s it do?” Calion took a seat at the table, then casually scanned the three books Daggat had opened in front of him.
“As I understand it, you get a little… pet? Or companion. It exists in your status void. Then it can read through all of the options for you. Sounds very handy, if you ask me.”
“Who would want someone else rummaging around their head?”
“It isn’t someone else. Oh… how do I explain? It’s you. But, just a new way to think. They often gain personalities based on the person's inner mind, but other than that, think of it as asking yourself for advice.” The gremlin mulled it over.
“This one was all gold and shiny.”
“That is how rare skills are noted. If you see one, that means they are particularly hard to unlock, and almost always worth taking.”
“So, you think I should take it?” Calion shrugged.
“Depends. Do you have an idea of a path you wish to follow? Oh, wait, you’re a monster so… do you have an idea of a form you wish to take?”
Daggat had thought about it a bit. He didn’t see himself growing into anything specific. Klaw would eventually become a proper monster, he was sure, and Zuss was on the track to being a swift, stealthy predator. What did he want, exactly?
This was the part that frustrated him. He wanted it ALL. That was one of the reasons he has leaned into a leadership role. If he had lackeys who could do anything, then that meant he could do anything.
“Not really. I know I want to get a mortal soul, somehow. Beyond that… I have no idea.”
“What is it you want to be?”
“A party leader,” Daggat replied immediately. “I want the party leader skill. And I want to look more into alchemy. The potions could make people strong.” Calion leaned forward to look into Daggat’s eyes.
“Why?”
“What?”
“Why do you want to be a party leader.”
“Same reason anyone want’s anything, I suppose. Power, safety, and wealth. Easier to do that if I run a tight nit crew of badasses.” Calion chuckled.
“You have a lot of work ahead of you. What level is your charm?”
“Eight. Can’t you tell from my alluring personality?”
“When you next level, you should increase that to ten. That is when you unlock the party leader skill. But, remember, running a party is a lot of responsibility.”
“YES!” Someone screamed from outside. Daggat scampered to the window and threw it open. Cold air rushed in, overwhelming the warmth. Calion made a strangled noise. Outside, Klaw was standing in a circle of stone. Collections of rocks, stones, lumps of metal, and branches were stacked in piles. A chair and a simple bench were set next to them. Calion had shown Klaw some illustrations he had. It was a copy of a journal from a palace maid who had a particular interest in watching the Sahari palace guard train. These particular guards were known for their striking musculature.
“What is it?” Daggat yelled from out the window. Klaw turned to him with a victorious smile.
“Strength training level five! I did it.” Steam drifted off of Klaw. He had been working hard, it seemed.
“Daggat, shut the window! The warmth is leaking out. Klaw, come inside, then we can look at your options.”
A few minutes later, Klaw was inside and the window shut. Zuss was sitting by the fire, Daggat hadn’t noticed her come in.
“Alright! What’s new? New skills?” Daggat rubbed his hands together.
“Attribute Increase: Strength. Mule. And bodybuilder.” Calion already had a book open and was scrolling a finger across the page.
“Mule allows you to carry more weight. Bodybuilder gives a bonus to charm equal to 10% of your strength. That is low, but if it upgrades then it might give you great returns. But, I suggest the attribute increase. Those are fairly rare and limited.”
“And it will…?”
“You… get… more… strength.” Zuss paused to take a pained breath. “Idiot.”
“HEY! I’m not an idiot! Calion said so.” He puffed out his chest.
“Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.” Zuss rolled her eyes.
A moment later, Klaw spent his last skill point on attribute increase. His body did not change, he still looked skinny and frail. Though, Daggat knew that appearance was deceiving.
“Strength went up by two. Now I have twelve strength! Is that a lot?” Daggat slapped him on the shoulder.
“It is a LOT. If my guess is correct, most gremlins would have half your strength at this level. At most, you’d still be stronger.”
“Anything above a ten is considered common.” Calion was nodding in thought. All three gremlins gave him a dangerous look. “That is to say! Common for a fully grown monster. Having a ten or higher is fantastic at your age. But, don’t neglect your other attributes. Constitution is just as important as strength. Even some dexterity would do you some good.” Klaw waved a dismissive claw in his direction.
“Bah, once I am truly strong, then I will make myself tougher.” He flexed his tiny arms. “Zuss, how is your training going? Any progress.” She shook her head.
“Cold.” Daggat agreed. How Klaw could work out in this weather, without a shirt on half the time, was beyond him. But, Zuss had made progress already.
Suddenly, Daggat felt anxious. His brother was becoming scary strong pretty quickly. His sister was already one with the shadows. What had Daggat done? He was reading. That was it. While his siblings trained to strengthen themselves, Daggat was falling behind. He needed an edge. All he had over them was his intelligence.
Resolved to solve this problem, he settled himself near the fire to think and look through his options.
He still had one biotrait, but he was going to save that for a rainy day. You never knew what situation you might find yourself in, and he wanted to be able to adapt.
That left three skill points. He vaguely knew these were not infinite, otherwise there wouldn’t be an issue with using skill points to acquire natural skills. Did he want to waste a point on just an assistant? He could, eventually, read through all the options. It would take a while, but it’s possible. Then again, the option was GOLD. That meant it was valuable, right? What could it be upgraded to?
He could also upgrade his current skills. System aptitude and alchemy. But, neither of those would help him NOW.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
A stack of papers was placed on his lap. He left his status void, then looked up at the smiling Calion.
“What’re these?” Calion had a proud smile.
“I found my tests! From when I taught children… oh… fifty or sixty years ago? I lose track of time.”
“Ok… by what ARE they?”
“You’ve been working on your literacy, and have done well. But, you need to challenge yourself to increase that skill. If you do these worksheets, then you can reach level five in literacy, no problem.”
“What’s the point of that? What would that do for me, give me a paper cut attack?”
Calion laughed and sat in his chair. Almost at the same time, Birdy flew into his lap.
“There are some good skills in literacy. Enhanced reading speed and Mental Library. You could take one glance at a library and know exactly what books you haven’t read.”
“Yeah… that’s fun and all. But, I don’t see any libraries around here.” Calion lit a pipe with a snap of his fingers. Daggat blinked. Had he done that before? Focus! That was a conversation for later.
“Daggat, you are smart. I don’t just mean your intelligence score. That doesn’t tell you how smart you are.” It doesn’t!? Daggat felt like his entire life was flipped on its head. Calion continued, despite the dazed gremlin. “There are many smart monsters, but not many who are knowledgeable. Knowledge is power. And books… books hold many secrets. Class paths, if you gain a mortal soul. Spell configurations. Alchemy recipes. History, geography, trade routes, gossip, blackmail, and more. All you can imagine.”
“You make an interesting point.” Daggat was salivating. Knowledge WAS tempting. “But, where can I even get books?”
“Anywhere there are people. Not every human civilization spurns goblins. Travel the world enough, and you will find that it is more open to your kind than you think.” Daggat had a familiar itch in his mind. That same itch he had when a problem was coiling itself into a solution, or when an idea was born.
“Tell me about that… mental library skill.”
“Oh!” He looked surprised. “It is simple. A list of books you’ve seen, a way to sort them. I think it is very useful.” Daggat gripped his paperwork, a sly grin on his face. He might be able to combine skills to make something interesting.
He spent a day and a half the next working on the sheets. Reading retention, definitions, spelling, and more. It was slow. And boring. Daggat listened wistfully at Klaw hitting a stick to another stick. Calion was snoring, he had fallen asleep on his chair. Daggat stretched, he needed a distraction.
Well, this was part of his plan, so he might as well start with this. He opened his skill list, scrolled for a while, and then found System Assistant. He selected it.
Immediately, blue lines of light flashed and moved in the status void. They came together to form a shape. It was a child’s drawing of a goblin head. The edges that made it wavered and shook as though it was being redrawn dozens of times per second.
Then, it moved. While two-dimensional, it contorted itself to look around. The thing had no eyes, no face at all. But, it seemed to settle onto Daggat.
A line formed in its face then grew into a wide, impossible grin. The edges of its mouth curled into themselves like a spiral.
“Hello, Master.” Daggat shivered. Its voice was smooth and had a predatory edge to it.
“Uh, hello, assistant.”
“Shh… shh… no need to wake the old man. Think loudly and I can hear you.”
“Like this?” Daggat thought’s echoed in the chamber. The assistant laughed eerily.
“Good… now our plots will not be overheard. Pray tell, what can I do for you, oh great master?” Daggat felt like he was being made fun of.
“Can you access all of my statistics? Can you make changes?” The eyeless goblin's face flew across the screens. Biotraits opened, as did the skill list. The alchemy tab as well.
“It seems so. But, I cannot make decisions for you, master.” There was an air of sarcasm to how he said master, a bite of defiance. “Shall I find you a powerful biotrait to take down our enemies? I would recommend Venomous Bite. A leader should always be prepared to betray those closest to them.”
“What? No, I don’t need to betray anyone.”
“Then perhaps poison? It did work WONDERS last time someone used it.” Daggat’s eye twitched.
“Stop, I don’t need to spend a biotrait. Go through the skill list and find any non-natural skills that would be worth taking. I have an extra skill point to spend.”
“Very well, master. Give me time and I will provide you the means to take the world.”
Daggat left his status void. That was fine, right? He had a bad feeling about the assistant. Well, as long as it couldn’t make changes.
He spent the rest of the day working on his tests. After a dinner of a pea porridge, he kept working late. Calion gave him a candle and complimented him on his focus. That night, he finished a bit over half of the worksheets.
[You have trained a skill, literacy, to level five. Divine skill available.]
Upon entering his status void, the assistant greeted him.
“Welcome back, master. I’ve combed through the skills. We do not have… many choices.”
“Alright, but first, let’s upgrade literacy.” The assistant was already on it, scrolling to the proper place.
“As you wish.” In an instant, the assistant had read the options. “Nothing directly useful for your ascension… but here are the options. Mental Library, allows you to keep track of knowledge learned. Enhanced reading speed, does as it suggests. Copy Tome, allows you to copy the contents of a book.”
“Wait… Calion didn’t mention Copy Tome.”
“Because it’s useless. You can copy the contents of a book, but can’t do anything with that without a second skill to place it.”
“We could copy and write an entire tome, and that doesn’t sound useful? Calion thinks too small. I could replace an entire library with such power.”
“Yes, master, but we don’t have… ooh. Before you make a decision, let me show you what I have found.” Daggat waited patiently. The assistant was starting to grow on Daggat, it was intelligent. “There are common attribute boosts for each attribute. Not very interesting, if you ask me. But, at level ten and fifteen intelligence, you unlocked more divine skills. Construct capacity, Copy Construct, Focused Construct Construction, Engine affinity, and Pause Construct.”
“What… does any of that mean.”
“I do not know, master, your knowledge is mine. But, there is one more. Mental Notes.”
“Mental notes? That sounds like a waste.”
“Not at all, master. It grants you a new tab in the status void. One where you may write or draw notes. Or… place something that you may have copied.” Realization dawned on Daggat.
“I could copy an entire book into my notes?”
“Indeed, master.”
“And I can read it on my own time?”
“You are correct.”
“Or…” This was it! Daggat thought something like this could be done. He misunderstood Mental Library. He believed it to be an actual library of books he had seen. Well, this was just as good. “YOU could read them, and tell me their contents!” Daggat grinned. The ability to steal knowledge and not even have to spend the time reading it. It was perfect.
“Ah. No. Sorry, master.” Daggat’s grin dropped into a scowl.
“Why not?”
“I am only an assistant. I cannot learn or interact with the notes.” Mentally, Daggat sighed. “Unless…”
“Unless?”
“You could always upgrade me. Perhaps, then I would be able to do as you say.”
“But, I don’t have enough skill points! When would I get more? Maybe this is a bad idea.” The head grew large.
“Master.” It loomed in the status void. “Do you know where you can learn how to get skill points? In a book.” Daggat could read a bit while he sought another skill point.
“Very well. Copy Tome and Mental Notes. Make it so.” The assistant quickly selected the skills.
[Skill Synergy requirements detected. Copy Tome, Mental Notes, 15 or greater intelligence. Combine into Mind Codex? Yes or No?]
“Oh… look at that.” The assistant's grin somehow deepened. “We DID something.”
“Will I lose the ability to copy books?”
“I do not believe so, master. The only way to know is to try. But, the choice is yours.” Daggat only hesitated a moment. Then he selected yes.
[Copy Tome and Mental Notes combined. Mind Codex gained. Notes increased from 50 pages per intelligence to 500. Copy now allows the copying of visual information as well as any form of text.]
800 to 8000 pages! That’s a mind-boggling amount of empty space. Immediately, he left the status void. The candle had burned down to a nub. Taking it, he retrieved his copy of Divine Will. He had yet to dive into it yet, it was a heavy read.
Daggat placed a hand on the book and activated Mind Codex. The book flashed white in his vision and a weight settled onto his mind. Like he was holding a heavy stone, mentally.
Back to his void space, he opened the notes. It was a simple matter to place his copied tome into the notes. Suddenly, hundreds of pages blurred past as each page was transferred. Every embellishment and image was copied in perfect detail as well.
After some exploring, Daggat found he could group the book into one segment, for easy sorting. Curiously, an icon of a book appeared in the top corner once he did. He pressed it.
The Divine Will appeared in his hands. He opened his real eyes and found he was still holding it. It felt light and had a fragile quality to it. He tapped it on a nearby shelf and it went right through, as though it was an illusion. Fascinated, Daggat opened the book. It functioned normally. He dropped it and it flashed white, then was gone.
Giddy, Daggat went around copying every book he could find.
Daggat
True Name: Daggat
Soul: Monster
Genseed: gremlin
Monster Level: 4
Attributes [0]:
Strength: 7
Dexterity: 7
Constitution: 7
Intelligence: 16
Will: 6
Charm: 8
Feats:
Encounter: True Angel
Act: Fledgling Alchemist
Knowledge: System Knowledge
Ability: Mighty Intellect
Act: Devotion [layered feats]
Skills[0]:
Alchemy: 1
System Aptitude: 1
System Assistant: 1
Mind Codex: 1
Biotraits [1]:
Base size: Tiny
Regenerative Teeth
Enhanced Night Vision
Rot Resistance
Dominating Gaze*
Fire Resistant Skin
Transformations:
Drakeheart Form:
+2 strength
+2 charm
Lavaproof Scales
Fire breath
Other:
Variant: +10 Intelligence
Klaw
True Name: Klaw
Soul: Monster
Genseed: gremlin
Monster Level: 4
Attributes [0]:
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 7
Constitution: 7
Intelligence: 5
Will: 6
Charm: 6
Feats:
Knowledge: System Knowledge
Act: Devotion [layered feats]
Skills[0]:
System Aptitude: 1
Burst of Strength: 1
Biotraits [1]:
Base size: Tiny
Regenerative Teeth
Enhanced Night Vision
Rot Resistance
Forged Claws*
Dense Muscle Fibers
Transformations:
Drakeheart Form:
+2 strength
+2 constitution
Fire-proof Scales
Burning Claws
Zuss
True Name: Zuss
Soul: Monster
Genseed: gremlin
Monster Level: 4
Attributes [0]:
Strength: 6
Dexterity: 11
Constitution: 4
Intelligence: 5
Will: 6
Charm: 7
Feats:
Knowledge: System Knowledge
Act: Devotion [layered feats]
Skills[2]:
System Aptitude: 1
Deep Shadows (Stealth 5): 1
Biotraits [2]:
Base size: Tiny
Regenerative Teeth
Enhanced Night Vision
Rot Resistance
Improved nerve conduction
Improved Balance
Prehensile Feet
Transformations:
Drakeheart Form:
+2 strength
+2 dexterity
Smoke Aura
Lesser Wings