On our way home, I still caught glimpses of essence swirling in the air both high and low. As I continued to gather the streams, I relayed to Drayek what I was seeing.
“You must cultivate as soon as we get home,” he insisted.
I nodded, agreeing completely. With the amount of essence I could absorb daily, I should meditate and direct the streams into my core as often as possible.
We arrived home, and I barely let Drayek open the door before I dashed to my cot and nestled myself into a comfortable position with my legs tucked underneath me. Drayek nodded his approval and tiptoed over to his cot in the opposite corner and remained silent.
It took a moment, but I was able to tune out all of the little noises surrounding me; the rustling of the wind dancing atop our roof, the soft drip of water as it leaked to the floor through a new crack in our water bucket…. All distractions gone after a few deep breaths through my nose.
I directed my breaths into my gut, then released the air slowly, feeling the tension in my body release with every exhale. And then, there it was, my core. It was bigger than the last time I had seen it–just slightly, but larger all the same. And the amount of essence swirling around inside of me was incredible. It looked like a swarm of blue insects that had collected in a massive, tight-knit group. They moved about in chaos and awaited my direction.
With ease, I sent the blue streams to my core. I went from sending them one by one, then to a few at a time. The process grew easier the longer I did it. And my core blazed brighter and brighter as if thrilled by the nourishment.
Ding.
I started, nearly slipping out of my meditative state. The “screen,” as Codex had called it, that I had seen previously popped up in the forefront of my mind and displayed some new words. I hadn’t been expecting to break through to Tier 2 so soon, so I scanned the words quickly:
STATUS
NAME: CLONE #52
TIER: 1
LEVEL: 2
Even though I hadn’t advanced to the next Tier, seeing that I had leveled up and was still getting stronger sent a shock of thrill through my nerves.
“Codex?” I called to the AI. “There are 10 levels in Tier 1, right?”
“Yes, there are 10 levels in Tier 1, Master,” Codex said.
The Edronans didn’t “level up” quite the same as I did–at least as far as I understood. They merely gathered essence and cultivated until they broke through to the next Tier. As Codex had explained it to me, they did move through levels, but Euridice allocated their stats as she saw fit. They had no choice in the matter.
The Edronans had no idea that levels even existed within the Tiers. And even when they did advance to the next Tier, Edronans had to attend another ceremony, of sorts, at the goddess’s Temple. That was where they learned of the new Skill assigned to their next Tier. They didn’t get to just see it in their minds like I did.
Drayek had described knowing when to make a trip to the Temple of Euridice by just “feeling it in his core.” Then, he would attend her temple, officially break through a Tier, and receive his next assigned Skill.
I was obviously very different.
“You said I will receive more stat points every time I level up. Not just when I advance to the next Tier.”
“Yes, Master. You will receive three stat points for every level.”
I grinned, feeling the smile on my face even through my deep trance. “Excellent.”
“I have retrieved information from the database, Master. At Tier 1, Level 2, Lord Solomon placed one point in Might, one in Vitality, and one in Wisdom.”
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“Interesting,” I replied.
The inside of my head went silent as I thought.
“Master? Will you start the allocation now?”
“Yes, of course.”
I placed the stat points where Codex had said Lord Solomon had, but I didn’t know how often I would take Codex’s recommendations in the future. Recommendations based on what a dead god had done–a dead god who wasn’t me. But, knowing that I’d receive stat points for every level, I had plenty of time to decide how I wanted to allocate things based on my way of fighting, spellcasting… whatever, and whoever I would choose to become.
I glanced over my decided allocations on the screen:
STATS:
MIGHT: 5 (+1)
AGILITY: 7
VITALITY: 5 (+1)
INTELLIGENCE: 6
WISDOM: 5 (+1)
WILLPOWER: 8
FREE STAT POINTS: 0
Satisfied, I opened my eyes, and reality sucked me back into its dreariness. I glanced over to Drayek’s corner. He laid flat on his back with his chin tucked into his chest. His loud, rumbling snore filled the hovel.
I stood and walked over to the door. I pushed it open and took in a deep breath of fresh air. The sky had turned dark–I’d been meditating for at least three hours.
My stomach groaned at me, complaining about my lack of dinner. I relented to the needs of my stomach and began preparing an evening meal for Drayek and myself.
***
I shoved the bits of dried meat and hunks of bread into my mouth, not allowing myself much time to chew. I was learning rather quickly that cultivating took a lot out of someone–it seemed to deplete all my energies every time I did it.
Drayek sat across from me in his usual chair but had hardly touched his plate, eyes glued onto my face.
“I’ve never heard of these ‘levels,’ or these ‘statistics.’” Drayek rubbed his chin. “It’s incredible that you can choose where these ‘points’ go.”
I nodded and, between mouthfuls, said, “Yeah. If I want more strength, that’s where the stat points go. If I want to improve my ability in problem-solving, I can do that, too.”
“That’s quite the advantage,” he breathed.
He sounded almost jealous, but I understood that.
“You have a lot of advantages, Rayden. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re the first to break through to Tier 4 in Edrona.”
I smiled at that thought.
Drayek slammed his fist on the table. “That settles it! We are going to make you the strongest person here, Rayden. And I will help you where I can.”
I liked the sound of that.
“We’re going on a hunt tonight.”
I drew in my brows. “Uh, you and your group have a shift tonight?”
He shook his head. “No. And it’ll be just you and me.”
I didn’t know if it was the food or the thrill of going on another hunt, in secret, no less, but I leaped from my chair with a newfound energy and rushed over to my new set of armor.
I had tucked it into its own spot next to my cot, with the pieces carefully stacked on top of one another.
“You think it’s time for me to break this armor in?”
“Definitely,” Drayek replied. “You put it on and wait here. I have something for you.”
Drayek left out the door, and I gladly started to put on my new armor. The silver scales moved flexibly as I slid each piece onto my body. And, as magic armor does, the pieces shrunk to fit my body perfectly. As the Blacksmith had forged the armor set for a much taller Edronan, the armor had to decrease its size a good deal, but once it did, it felt amazing.
I bounded from one end of the room to the other, feeling the metal bend with my limbs as I commanded it. The ease and agility I had in this armor set felt leagues better than the armor Drayek had given me for that first hunt. And I was positive it had everything to do with the fact that I was now a Tier 1, and my body and mind could now handle it. Not to mention the fact that I couldn’t wait to test out the Echoing Defense enhancement from Tradesman Leander.
Drayek returned from outside. He had a long bundle wrapped in leather resting across one arm.
“Here. I’ve been saving this in storage. It was with the other old Tier 1 weapons and armor I had.”
He approached me and lifted the leather cover off of the bundle. A worn hilt with a red ruby at its top winked at me as it reflected the firelight. The blade had seen better days, but it looked like a more than decent weapon. And since I didn’t currently have a Tier 1 weapon, the shortsword was a more than welcome sight.
I wrapped my fingers around the hilt and hefted the weight into my grip, then stepped back from Drayek and tested a swing. It was a well-balanced weapon.
“I know you prefer the spear, but until we find you one or have the Blacksmith make one, I think this sword will serve you well,” Drayek said.
I nodded in gratitude. “It’s perfect. Thank you, Drayek.”
He handed me a leather sheath, and I strapped it over my hips and slid the sword into place.
Drayek retrieved his own armor and sword and packed his hunting sack with our remaining dinner and two waterskins.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Ready.”