Ke’an reaches into his traveler’s bag and pulls out his tin of dried meat, taking out a few strips and handing a couple to System. He isn’t hungry and in fact feels quite content but forces himself to eat a few. The sensation feels kind of odd but everything he is experiencing right now is odd so he files it away as just another quirky thing of the day.
“Being in my crucible stopped the flow of time for you. Technically you fell into that chasm yesterday.” System says in an oddly accepting tone after a long breath. “You were with me for four and a half years in the Reality Crucible though.”
“Wow, I am now older than my brother and sister. Wait, that also means I spent longer alone with you than I have with my fiancée.” Ke’an says with a laugh. “I mean you were a massive dragon and I was trying to and successfully killed you. So… I don’t think it counts.”
“You are engaged?” System asks. “You never mentioned that.”
“Yes, Batri arranged a marriage between me and my fiancée A’ila Nilfi.” Ke’an says with a noncommittal shrug. “I didn’t think the all powerful creator dragon would care much. A’ila herself was sure to remind me that it is a marriage of convenience so I don’t think she is too enthused either.”
“Who is she anyway?” System asks tilting her head.
“She is in the head family of the Nilfi clan and daughter to the Honorable Lord of Fleysil, my home territory, they all worship the God of Winds. Our marriage is going to create a coven between my Goddess and her God. She was born in the spring so she will be taking her rite of passage later this year. If she passes the rite we’ll get married.”
“Coven between the Gods, that is the stupidest thing…” System laughs. “I think they just like playing matchmaker. They're probably just bored.”
“What? You shouldn’t talk about the Gods that way.” Ke’an says.
“You read the description of your race right?” System says as she stands up. “You are a transcendent which is the highest state of being in existence; you are above the gods of this or any world now. Well, in title, not quite in power… yet.”
System tells Ke’an how to place items back in his inventory by opening the inventory menu and lifting the item into the menu. He places the travel bag back in his inventory and the two set off. They aren’t able to get far before System has to take a break to catch her breath. Ke’an quickly realizes how out of shape her new body is. Even still he was not tired at all from the trip and in fact it didn’t feel like he was exerting himself at all. As they rested he asked System about his stats and what she thought about the unassigned ones he had accumulated.
“As far as your world stats go you leveled up a lot after learning reality bending magic and killing me.” System says. “When you first entered my reality crucible you were level ten which is about average for someone your age without much battle experience. In my trial you leveled up to level fifteen like I hoped. Mortals will gain and lose levels and attributes naturally and sometimes randomly. Transcendents like you can cultivate their experience into attribute points and assign them at will. It will grant you permanent boosts and is the only way you can get stronger.”
“So I only gained fifteen levels from killing you?” Ke’an asks.
“No you probably maxed out your world attributes after killing me but you were demoted to Apprentice Administrator which is the lowest tier you can be. So all of the bonus stats you would have gotten from me are sealed.” System says in a tired huff. “Can we take another break?”
Ke’an is about to protest seeing that they are nowhere near where he wants to stop for the day but when he turns around and sees System on the verge of collapse he agrees. They traveled about three miles out from where they started earlier that day but the terrain is rocky and not easy to travers. Ke’an realizes as he looks at the path they crossed that he practically ran the entire time and crossing that distance would have taken him all day had it not been for his stats increase. The fact she kept up at all is impressive given she is just level one.
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Ke’an selected the closest nearby tree and used his editor to infuse the warmth spell onto it. He felt comfortable having one remaining use of the editor. The two sat down under the warmth of the tree and Ke’an took out a canteen for System to drink.
“So, are you human now?” Ke’an asked, looking into System’s nebulous eyes.
“No, I am what is called a fallen.” System says. “Once I reach world level ten or so I will regain my ability to utilize menus and talk to Network… I think… not actually sure though. I’ve never been a fallen before.”
“Oh, so that is why you are so weak right now too?” Ke’an asks.
“Uh… yeah. So for the time being I am relying on you to protect me.” System admits. “But it is not just that, you are abnormally strong for your level thanks to your bonus stats.”
“So, do you think I should assign the points that I have left?” Ke’an asked.
“Hmm… you normally fight with that gun right?” System asks thoughtfully. “Dexterity will make you faster and more precise with any weapon you use. Intelligence would also be a good choice. It will make you smarter and make using magic easier. Given your ability to steal magic and your new reality magic from my grimoire it should be your focus. The last one I would place points in is magic regeneration so you will recover faster from using your magic.”
“What about everything else?” Ke’an asks.
“That leaves what… strength, vitality, durability and health regeneration, right?” System says while counting on her fingers. “Strength would be great if you were a melee fighter or you worked as a mover, so that’s out since you're a mage and you’ll fight with magic and guns. The others are worthless since you already have points in transcendence, even with just your two points in it, killing you would be incredibly difficult.”
Ke’an pulls back up his character profile and scrolls down to his world stats where he has all of his unassigned attribute points. He takes what System says into consideration as he applies the unassigned stats to his attributes as System instructs him how to do it. He places seventy-five points in intelligence raising the stat to one hundred and forty-four with his bonus stats. He then places thirty-eight points in dexterity raising the stat up to one hundred and finally thirty-seven points in magic regeneration raising the stat to eighty-seven with his bonus stats.
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World Level: 30 out of 100
You have 0 unassigned World Attribute Points
World Attributes
Intelligence: 114 (+30)
Strength: 30 (+30)
Dexterity: 70 (+30)
Vitality: 19 (+30)
Durability 13 (+30)
HealthRegeneration: 7 (+30)
Magic Regeneration: 57 (+30)
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Ke’an can feel the surge in power but only for a moment as it consolidated within him. He didn’t feel necessarily stronger, instead it felt as if the new strength was always a part of him. Still just assigning the points made him feel like he achieved something towards understanding his new power. Everything he learned over the past four years still did not feel real to him and he worried that the weight of the situation that he was not just beginning to understand would hit him like a ton of bricks. For now he was just glad he has System to help guide him despite her personality shift. He was getting ready to tell System he assigned the points when voice stops him.
“Congratulation,” Network’s voice rings in Ke’an’s head but this time uncharacteristically jovial, like an overly enthused announcer at a sports game presenting a play by play. “You have completed the basic menu and movement tutorials. Now you will have to prove your mettle and resourcefulness in the introduction to combat tutorial. Quest: Christened in Blood and Ice. Objective: kill four greater snow wraiths and eliminate the boss creature summoning them before they destroy Kal’sava village. Reward for completion: ten transcendent experience points, five health potions, five mana potions. Failure to complete this quest will result in demotion.”