Lying in bed, with a weight lifted from my chest and still with the afterglow of a wild night, I checked my Status, the fruits of several months of grinding.
> You reached Half-Svartálfar Half-Kyuubi level 12
>
> You gained 12 Attribute points.
>
> You gained 6 Strength, 3 Dexterity, 6 Endurance, 3 Mind, 3 Willpower, 3 Charisma, 3 Magic, 6 Faith, 3 Ego, 6 Luck, and 3 Soul.
>
> You gained 7 rank 4 species Perks.
>
> Ultimate Surpasser granted you 16 Attribute Points
>
> You reached Sage Crafter level 12
>
> You gained 6 Strength, 3 Dexterity, 6 Endurance, 3 Mind, 9 Willpower, 6 Magic, and 3 Luck
>
> You gained 6 rank 4 Class Perks.
>
> Ultimate Surpasser granted you 17 Attribute Points
I split the bonus Attribute Points equally between Magic, Charisma, and Ego
> Level 184
>
> Strength*: 116+23 (139) / 130 - Dexterity*: 102+37 (139) / 130 - Endurance*: 121+24 (145) / 130
>
> Mind*: 112+36 (148) / 130 - Willpower*: 116+43 (159) / 130 - Charisma*: 127+24 (151) / 130
>
> Magic*: 130+49 (179) - Faith: 17+10 (27) / 130
>
> Ego*: 127+38 (165) / 130 - Luck*: 103+34 (137) / 130 - Soul*: 104+42 (146) / 130
>
> HP 247.703.676 (5.007.639 HP/s) <--- I regenerated more HP per second than most people could lose before they died.
>
>
> Energy 207.118.572 (357.297 E/min)
>
> Exp to next level: 4,240,495,234,912,554 (four quadrillion two hundred forty trillion four hundred ninety-five billion two hundred thirty-four million nine hundred twelve thousand five hundred fifty-four) < ----- I call it a fuckton of Exp. Spoiler alert, it only doubles from now on.
I asked my father and Baritono, going as far as Vugh Tarim to ask Alfondric about my Species evolutions. This Norse-themed species weren't normal, not at all. Perhaps it was the last remnant of Loki's influence over me. When I opened the perk list, any doubt evaporated. Right off the bat, I could find three Elemental forms. Darkness, Fire, and Stone. Out of the eight basic Elements in Yznarian, I would miss only Air and Lightning if I picked those. I had no idea why Darkness was on the list but then I remembered. "Álfar" meant "elf" in Norse mythology. Svartálfar was often confused with the Norse Dark Elves but the most common denomination for these was Dökkálfar. On the Kyuubi side, I am glad to inform, I didn't slap a metal plate to my forehead or grow whisker tattoos on my cheeks. While my previous Species tended toward one side or another, this time they were equally balanced. My Perk picks were most self-explanatory. I decided to push the elemental forms to the side. I didn't use the three I had very often.
> You gained the following Species Perks:
>
> * Forgeborn (ultra-rare): Proficiencies dealing with Metal and Stone advance 33% faster.
>
> >>> I saw a proficiency boost, I picked it.
>
> * Legend Harvester (ultra-rare): You have the Harvester Proficiency equal to your Species level. If you spend a pick on this, its learning rate increases by 25%. You can harvest legendary, impossible materials.
>
> >>> Impossible materials? Sign me in.
>
> * Song of Stone and Steel (very rare): If you can sing while you work metal and stone, add a bonus to your proficiency equal to the square root of your [Musician] Proficiency.
>
> >>> Bonus Proficiency points were always welcome.
>
> * Kyuubi Metamorphosis (ultra-rare): You can transform into a giant fox. Your size becomes huge (x4 HP & damage) and it is impossible to use stealth or hide any of your tails or your Kitsunebi fires. In this form, you regain MP 100% faster and your magic is 25% stronger.
>
> >>> Time to transform into a big-ass fox. And by big, I mean school bus big.
>
> * 陰陽星の玉 (Yin-Yang Star Ball) (ultra-rare): You have a Star Ball that holds a fragment of your soul. Your lifespan increases tenfold and your body doesn't age past its prime. You gain +20 Magic. While in your Kyuubi form, your Ball must remain hovering over one of your tails or inside your mouth. If this orb is captured by someone, you must grant that creature one wish, then the Ball returns to you.
>
> >>> Now, I just needed some floating cards to flip with the ball while I dodged bullets. While the ball was a liability in Kyuubi form, did anyone notice it? I didn't. All I had eyes for was the twenty points of Magic.
>
> * True Shapechanger (ultra-rare): You can transform into any living creature of the same size as your current shape. This is partially an illusion effect. You do not gain any special ability or vulnerability.
>
> >>> Great! Now I could transform into anything… as long as it was female. Or the female version of it. It included specific individuals, so I could impersonate anyone. As long as this particular anyone was female. Otherwise, I would end up as a very awkward female version of a male. No, nobody wants to see that.
>
> * Granary's Gatekeeper (ultra-rare): You can conjure any grain, nut, or seed you wish by spending MP proportional to the seed's rarity. You must know the plant.
>
> >>> Who needed GMO grains? (Just kidding, the seeds this ability created or conjured were pretty average). Or agriculture, for the matter. I could spend a whole day making wheat grains on my Energy regeneration. Or rice. Some more esoteric seeds were very, very expensive. A deathberry seed cost a whopping 5.4 million Energy, after my discounts. Insane. I had 200M Energy and it wasn't enough for a single Home-Tree acorn. But hey, I could munch on cashew nuts anytime I wanted now. Or, you know, grow a cashew tree in a few minutes using elven magic.
> You gained the following Class Perks:
>
> * Sage Crafter's Insight (unique): If an Ability belongs to more than one Proficiency you have, add a tenth of the lower ones to the highest score to determine its effects.
>
> >>> It meant my {Survey} Ability now worked off of both [Cartographer] and [Miner], for example. At the current values, it would give 29 bonus points (plus whatever [Harvester] brought to the table) to the [Cartographer] score, since it was higher.
>
> * Sage's Patience (ultra-rare): Every year, on your birthday, you gain 1 fast-growth point on your ten lowest Proficiencies above 50.
>
> >>> Self-explanatory. A fast-growth point was almost as good as a real point of Proficiency.
>
> * Legend Crafter (ultra-rare): You can craft with impossible, legendary materials.
>
> >>> It was odd to have a Perk to harvest these on the Species, then a Perk to craft with them on the Class. Thanks, System.
>
> * Sage's Aura (ultra-rare): Increase the reaction of anyone that shares a Technical Proficiency with you by two steps for each Proficiency. Anyone friendly or better Charisma meters around you learn Technical Proficiencies 20% faster.
>
> >>> Better reactions and learning rate. Sold.
>
> * Legend Workshop (ultra-rare): Increase the Proficiency bonus of Shadow Workshop to 25%. You may double the cost to quadruple the dimensions if you have enough room. You can have up to two other crafters using the Workshop at the same time. They too gain the Proficiency bonus.
>
> >>> This improved workshop was huge.
>
> * Runecraft (ultra-rare): You have the Rune Scriber Proficiency equal to your Class level. If you spend a pick on this, its learning rate increases by 25%. You can embed runes in your crafted objects, unlocking special powers.
>
> >>> This one was a shot in the dark but hey, another "free" Proficiency. It could be either lackluster or fucking amazing. Given the rank and rarity, I doubted the former.
Most of these Perks were probably held only by me, but the System wouldn't make them exclusive. That was basically the difference between [Ultra-Rare] and [Unique]. No, not true. Some traits used the Perk rarity as a measure of their strength and cost. The former was assigned a 5 while the latter was 6. Common, Uncommon, Rare, Very Rare, and then these two. Right.
Like a kid waiting to break a piñata, I checked my two new Proficiencies. [Harvester] also had {Survey} so another nine points for that Ability. Not to mention it had tons of synergy with other Proficiencies, like [Alchemist] and [Dismantler].
> Harvester (**) [ 92 ]. Select 6 Abilities
>
> * Careful Pruning: When you harvest a plant or fungal resource, it regrows (Proficiency/2)% faster if you don't kill the plant or fungal patch.
>
> >>> While it seemed useless given my abilities to heal and grow plants with magic, this one was a requirement for other Abilities.
>
> * Potency Preserver: Resources you harvest decay (Proficiency/5)% slower.
>
> >>> Stacks with other abilities.
>
> * Strengthened Harvest I: [...] (Proficiency/15)% more potent.
> * Strengthened Harvest II: [...] (Proficiency/12)% [...].
> * Strengthened Harvest III: [...] (Proficiency/9)% [...].
> * Infused Harvest (IV): Resources you harvest are (Proficiency/4)% more potent.
>
> >>> When an Ability changes names like that, it means it reached the end of the series. Totes' worth four Abilities. This little baby stacked with the other Abilities. When I tried it out, I could sense a trickle of my own Energy seeping into the monster I was dismantling, empowering the materials. Sleazy System. I (sometimes) love you.
[Rune Scriber] was a specialized (and nothing but unknown) child of [Scrivener].
> Rune Scriber (**) [ 92 ]. Select 6 Abilities
>
> * Firm Hands: You trace runes (Proficiency/4)% faster and (Proficiency/5)% more accurate.
>
> >>> Yes, I had one just like this in [Cartographer]. And yes, they gained synergy between one another.
>
> * Runic Comprehension: Add (Proficiency/5) to Mind checks to understand foreign runes.
> * Imbue Runes I: Each Rune you carve adds (Proficiency/50) enchantment points.
>
> >>> Fuck, hell, yeah. Now I know why Mjollnir was covered in runes. Even if it is 1 or 2 points now, it would become 10 and more later on. For each rune! However, the Ability that opened after I picked this one dropped a bucket of cold water on my excitement.
>
> * Chain Runes: Add (Proficiency/5) to Mind tests to imbue a sequence of runes. Reduce the MP cost to imbue by (Proficiency/10)%.
>
> >>> Basically, the difficulty to imbue a sequence of runes increased with each additional rune. There was no such thing as a free lunch. The MP cost was an afterthought. I had more than thirty times the MP pool of a normal person at my level.
>
> Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
>
> * Imbue Runes II: Each Rune you carve adds (Proficiency/40) enchantment points.
> * Charged Runes (III): Each Rune you carve adds (Proficiency/30) enchantment points.
>
> >>> More of a good thing was a very good thing. It already went from 1 to 3 points!!!
Onto my other Proficiencies. Let's see what a few months of dedicated grinding brought me.
----------------------------------------
> (A/N: Proficiencies with an asterisk gain 1 Proficiency every 5 Species levels automatically. Two asterisks mean it increases 1:1 with each Species level from a Perk. A slash means one of the current life's slotted Proficiencies. The first number is the actual Proficiency level, the second number is the potential level considering the fast-growth bonus.)
Appraiser (*) [254]. Select 1 Ability
* Appraise Harvest: You can check for valuable parts in a living organism.
>>> It appeared after I obtained [Harvester].
Blades [ 275 ]. Select 1 Ability.
* Wind Blade (V): Your attacks reach (Proficiency/10) centimeters further than your blade.
>>> To screw up with those "by-a-hair's width" dodgers.
Clubs [109]. Select 3 Abilities.
* Powerful Bludgeon: Add (Proficiency/5) to base damage.
* Skull Thump: Enemies hit on the head have their Mind and Willpower lowered by (Proficiency/50) for (Proficiency/100) minutes. The duration stack.
* Concussion: Enemies hit on the head must make a Willpower test with a (Proficiency/10) penalty or fall unconscious.
Spear [ 346 / 346 ]. Select 5 Abilities.
* Dervish Lance: Attack once, damage all enemies in reach. You cannot combine this Ability with others that grant multiple attacks.
* Painful Blows: Wounds from your spear cause (Proficiency/2)% more pain.
* Quivering Parry: Whenever your spear is parried or parries, attempt a disarm with a (Proficiency/10) bonus.
* Extend Reach: Your spear attacks have (Proficiency/4) centimeters more reach.
>>> Differently from the sword Ability, this one was pure physical ability. It required the spear to actually go there.
* Impale: Add (Proficiency)% damage to attacks with a charge ability.
Combat Technique [ 335 / 335 ]. Select 7 Abilities.
* Sunder Armor: You can attack an opponent's protective gear. Add (Proficiency/10)% Accuracy and damage to the item.
* Trip: Your attacks have a chance to cause the enemy to fall prone if they fail a Dexterity test with a (Proficiency/25) penalty.
* Taunt: Enemies lose sight of your allies for (Proficiency/100) seconds if they lose a Mind test contested by your Charisma.
* Weedwacker I: [...] (Proficiency/100) enemies [...] (100 - Proficiency/40)%. [...]
* Weedwacker II: [...] (Proficiency/80) enemies [...] (100 - Proficiency/30)%. [...].
* Weedwacker III: [...] (Proficiency/60) enemies [...] (100 - Proficiency/20)%. [...].
* Weedwacker IV: During a charge attack, you can attack up to (Proficiency/40) enemies once between you and your main target, with a damage penalty equal to (100 - Proficiency/15)%. If you fail to kill one, your attack stops.
War Technique (**) [ 185 ]. Select 2 Abilities.
* Lead from the Front: As long as you keep fighting in the frontline, all allies to your sides and behind you gain (Proficiency/15)% Morale, Damage, Accuracy, and Evasion.
* Rallying Cry: When Leading from the Front, shout for 2 seconds to heal all allies that can hear your voice for 5% of their Maximum HP, reducing bleeding by half, granting them an extra (Proficiency/15)% Morale, Damage, Accuracy, and Evasion for (Proficiency/50) minutes.
Martial Arts [ 221 ]. Select 1 Ability.
* Beast Kata: You can use paws, horns, and tails instead of bare hands and feet.
>>> What was deadly became even more painful.
Mobility [ 365 / 365 ]. Select 4 Abilities.
* Crowd-Surfer: You suffer (Proficiency/5)% fewer penalties to your movement in a crowded space.
I kinda missed this one. But I had to sacrifice something, and this was too situational. Well, now it's back.
* Hover: Reduce your stall speed by (Proficiency/10)% of your base move.
* Dive and Soar: Increase your flying movement rate by (Proficiency/10)%
* Bank: You can turn up to (Proficiency/10) degrees without losing any speed.
Furtivity [ 677 / 677 ]. Select 2 Abilities.
* Pickpockets: Add (Proficiency/5) to Dexterity tests made to steal things from another person.
* Tail: When following a creature, add (Proficiency/5) as a penalty to their Mind checks to detect you.
>>> Rogues do it from behind.
Mental Mastery [ 635 / 635 ]. Select 1 Ability.
* Awareness: Add (Proficiency/5) to all contested tests to fool your perceptions.
>>> But people can have eyes on their back too.
Spellcaster (**) [ 713 ]. Select 1 Ability.
* Summoner's Will: Add (Proficiency/5) to all tests to keep control of your summons
>>> No more wilful summons.
Assassination [275 / 275]. Select 5 Abilities.
* Painless Death: Creatures you kill with a single blow feel (Proficiency/2) less pain.
>>> Some things are more than 100% painful. In fact, that threshold is the absolute maximum for normal people, as they usually pass out way before 100% so they don't know.
* Numbing Strike: Creatures you ambush are (Proficiency/4)% less likely to feel anything from your blow.
>>> Stacking traits is how one wins in this fucked-up System.
* Delay Damage: Pay MP equal to 1/50th of your ambush target's maximum HP. Set a delay to the damage of your attack of up to (Proficiency/2) seconds.
>>> This one had Numbing Strike as a requirement.
* Deep Wounds: Your ambush makes the closest organ (except brain and heart) stop working for (Proficiency/10) minutes.
>>> Needs two attacks to make both lungs stop working as each lung is an independent organ. Going for the diaphragm was a valid choice, but people can breathe with their rib cage muscles too.
* Twin Ambush: You can ambush with two weapons, dealing full damage with both attacks.
>>> Nevermind.
Leadership [ 350 / 350 ]. Select 2 Abilities.
* Inspiring Presence IV: Up to (3*Proficiency) [...] (Proficiency/60) Strength, [...]
* Commanding Presence (V): Up to (4*Proficiency) combatants under your command gain (Proficiency/50) Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, and Mind, Willpower.
Physician (*) [ 175 ].
Alchemist (*) [ 342 ].
Jeweler (*) [ 325 / 325 ]. Select 1 Ability.
* Engrave Gemstone: You can carve runes on the facets of cut gemstones.
>>> Synergy with [Rune Scriber].
Enchanter [ 553 / 553 ].
Cartographer [ 333 / 333 ]. Select 3 Abilities.
* Enchant Map: Maps you craft hold up to (Proficiency/25) Enchantment points.
* Magical Map: You can enchant your maps to project a small tridimensional illusion of themselves above the canvas. Costs vary with the level of detail.
>>> Think holograms floating above the map. But this shit was expensive. Even for the most basic projections, the points granted by the previous Ability weren't enough. That's why...
* Magic Ink: You can brew magical inks that can be used in enchantments. The inks have (Proficiency/5)% more enchantment points.
>>> This same Ability existed in [Plastic Artist], [Painter], [Scrivener], and others (even in [Rune Scriber] if the rune was painted instead of carved). It required proficiency in both [Enchanter] and another that could brew stuff (in my case, [Alchemy]). And yes, it gained synergy from [Rune Scriber].
Diplomat[ 505 / 505 ]. Select 2 Abilities.
* Envoy: You represent some important organization. Modify initial reactions by (Proficiency/15) steps if the other party knows your organization.
* Imposing Presence: If you make your presence known, hostile entities in (Proficiency/5) meters have their negative reactions shifted by (Proficiency/15) steps, up to -10 (Wary).
>>> This one is to end a conflict with only the street rep.
Silkweaver (*) [ 167 ]. Select 1 Ability.
* Regenerating Threads: Your threads regenerate (Proficiency/10)% faster.
Musician [ 295 ]. Select 1 Ability.
* Mosh Pit: If you charge through your audience without attacking them, they won't hinder your movement.
>>> For those Death Metal concerts that are interrupted by some impudent punks that can't appreciate fine art. And yes, synergy with {Crowd Surfer}.
Baker [ 190 ]. Select 1 Ability.
* Nutritious Dough: Your baked goods nourish (Proficiency/5)% more.
>>> If anyone wondered why people didn't starve without the bleeding sun in the sky, it was because Professionals in the food industry could add an insane amount of value to their wares. [Cook], [Chef], and other Professions also had something similar to this.
Miner (*) [ 295 / 295 ]. Select 7 Abilities.
* Lucky Miner: Increase the odds of finding special materials by (Luck/5 + Proficiency/10)%.
>>> I.E. Gemstones and mana-rich minerals like Truesilver, Orichalcon, Carbonium.
* Infused Pick I: [...] (Proficiency/10)%
* Infused Pick II: [...] (Proficiency/7)%
* Infused Pick III: [...] (Proficiency/4)%
* Arcane Pick (IV) Increase the amount of magic-rich minerals extracted by (Proficiency)% and the odds of finding it by (Proficiency/2)%.
>>> Baritono has this one.
* Smell Minerals: Increase the range of detection for magic-rich minerals by (Proficiency/5)%.
>>> Weird but effective. Also from Baritono. And yes, I smell like truesilver. No, I won't explain what it's like.
* Gnomish Pick: You find gemstones (Proficiency/2)% more often.
>>> Most dwarves have a pet peeve with the name of this Ability and skip it. Meh. What works, works.
Metalsmith (*) [ 281 / 281 ]. Select 10 Abilities.
* Tensile: Increase tensile strength by (Proficiency/5)%
* Alloy Perfection: Your alloys are (Proficiency/5)% more homogeneous.
* Infused Hammer I: You can spend MP [...] (Proficiency/50)%.
* Infused Hammer II: [...] (Proficiency/40)%.
* Infused Hammer III: [...] (Proficiency/30)%.
* Infused Hammer IV: [...] (Proficiency/20)%.
* Mana Hammer (V): You can spend MP as you forge an item to infuse the metal, increasing enchantment Points by (Proficiency/10)%.
>>> This bad boy worked on the whole item so long it was mostly made of metal.
* Perfect Hardening: Metals you harden are (Proficiency/5)% stronger.
* Alloy Sense: Add (Proficiency/5) to all tests to identify an alloy.
>>> Helps (and required) {Appraise} metal items, as far as knowing what they're made of.
* Infuse Metal: You can use a magical liquid or powder to infuse metal with its properties.
>>> Probably a nice Ability that required a ton of knowledge to fully utilize. But hey, all I had was time.
Dismantler [ 273 / 273 ]. Select 8 Abilities.
* Batch Processing III: [...] (Proficiency/10) [...]
* Batch Processing IV: [...] (Proficiency/7) [...]
* Mass Processing (V): You can process (Proficiency/2) extra corpses with the same resources and time.
>>> System: How many demon carcasses do you want to cram in the same vat? Me, an intellectual: Yes.
* Preserve Hide: Hides you process are (Proficiency/5)% more durable and valuable.
* Butcher's Prowess I: Add (Proficiency/15) to all Attributes while out of combat and engaged in dismantling a carcass.
* Butcher's Prowess I: Add (Proficiency/10) to all Attributes while out of combat and engaged in dismantling a carcass.
* Butcher's Might (IV): Add (Proficiency/5) to all Attributes while out of combat and engaged in dismantling a carcass.
>>> Something had to pay the bill to maintain that huge-ass {Shadow Workshop} running.
* Don't mess with the Butcher: Butcher's Might lasts for (Proficiency/10) minutes if you engage in combat while dismantling.
>>> AHHHH, FRESH MEAT.