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Life 31 – Chapter 1
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I felt a gust of cold winter wind, and my eyes opened. For an eternal instant, I was at peace and in harmony with the elements.
Then I remembered the kobold bitch that murdered me before I could murder her, and my blood froze. I screamed in anger and tried to do anything to get back there. Nothing happened.
Someone held me and wrapped me in rags. My eyes had difficulty focusing but I finally saw an elderly human woman looking at me. She tilted me down and I saw another human woman, lying on the bed with her legs spread open, bleeding.
When may I have a normal birth? With a normal family, without tragedy?
Damn it. I bet the System didn’t remove the {Anti-Magical} Perk. And I couldn’t call the Administrators before activation. I started to burn from mana exposure. Without the System to grant me protection, my skin became red as it blistered and dried.
Once again, I died in excruciating pain.
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Life 32 – Chapter 1
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I acquired consciousness at once. I smelled flowers and felt the gentle breeze of Spring. Birds sang in the trees, and all was well. Then I fell down on the ground, the blades of grass my height. I felt my wings hitting the grass and I looked behind me. They were made of gossamer and resembled a dragonfly’s.
I’d spawned as a pixie. Oh, no.
The mana burn started with a vengeance. I fell down on the ground, shrieking in pain. The System gave me a notification and all I could see was the green CONGRATULATIONS. My resistances kicked in and I wouldn’t die immediately but was in severe pain. Part of the scavenger gnome physiology, my ass. Bloody lying motherfuckers, all of them. It took all my willpower to trigger the hotline.
> [Administrator Hotline]
>
> CALL START
>
> Matriarch: Tuisto, remove the {Anti-Magical} Perk from me! I’m no longer a [Scavenger Gnome].
>
> Tuisto: I’ll do it. Damn. The System won’t let me remove it manually. I’m going to fix this bug. I need to issue a quest. Hang on.
>
> CALL END
I die for nothing and they call it a bug. Oh, well.
Tuisto’s quest came. It required me to scream in pain to lose the {Anti-Magical} Perk and I’d get a Perk voucher for two Ultra-Rare Perks (subject to approval by Tuisto) and 40 Attribute Points. I accepted and screamed my brains out.
Then the pain vanished and my unicorn horn and kitsune tails grew but they were pixie-sized I had about half the height of a scavenger gnome and I was done measuring people in imaginary apples. My improved regeneration kicked in, six hundred times faster than before the {Anti-Magical} shitfuckery messed up with it. I laid down on the grass, waiting for my body to fix itself and for my mind to recover.
Pandora floated as Nenandil appeared next to me. “Oh, hello, gorgeous! What kind of fairy will Lorna spawn as?”
I groaned. “Give me an hour and I’ll explain everything. I think I’ll take a nap.”
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I woke with my head on Nenandil' thighs, the famous lap pillow. “Hello there, Water fairy!”
She giggled, her voice tinkling like bells, “Hello, Wind fairy.”
“Care to hear the sad tale of how you missed two whole lives of 'fun'?” I said sardonically.
“Sure. Speak your mind,” she caressed my light green hair.
I told her about the gnomes, the dead magic zone near Windemere, the kobolds, Wyxnos, [Saints] and [Saintesses], everything.
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Nenandil whistled. “That’s too surreal. Are you sure it happened? Because you might just have had a bad dream. To me, it was yesterday that you and Lorna did your little suicide pact.”
“No. It is surreal, yes, but it was real too. I have the Status to prove. All the Perks, all the Proficiencies.”
“What do you intend to do? You died, and I don’t think fairies would fare well in a dead magic zone. We’re made of magic, silly. I don’t think you should seek vengeance.”
“You’re probably right. But I’m going there, and I’m going to kick that kobold [Saintess]’ ass. She lives in a magic zone. We just need to enter from above.”
“Then it fails, and we plummet to die in a desert full of shit. Give up on that vengeance.”
“I believe Lorna is in there somewhere. I have to go back.”
“You have no idea how long it’s been. Maybe she died there and is around here.”
I knew for a fact that she didn’t get reborn along with me during my quick deaths. The {Fate Magic} I’d cast was telling me. Lorna was still in that desert.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
“No. She’s there. I know it for a fact. But now I can fight the kobold bitch with magic. Or at least destroy that stupid building she calls a palace. What’s the worst that can happen?”
“Pandora is absorbed by those sands and all your power as Matriarch goes to Wyxnos,” Nenandil said matter-of-factly.
“Time to cheat a little too. System, I want to use my vouchers. Familiar resistance. All my familiars receive the benefits of my perks that include the word “Resistance” in the title.”
> > You were granted the Perk, Familiar Resistance (ultra-rare): Your familiars receive reduced benefits from your {Resistance} Perks, at 25% per rank. I: 25%, II: 44%, III: 58%, IV: 68%, V: 76%
It was fair. Familiars could gain damage mitigation from other sources too. Now onto my next voucher. “System, I want a Perk that would allow me and my familiars to survive and use magic in dead magic zones.”
> > Magic use in dead magic zones is antithetic. Request denied.
“System, I want a Perk that would allow me and my familiars to survive in dead magic zones and places without the System.”
> > You do not meet the requirements. Request denied.
“Survive in places without the System.”
> > You do not meet the requirements. Request denied.
“Query, would I die if I go to a place without the System?”
> > Acknowledged. Affirmative.
Sweet. Also, fuck the Gods and their parasitic system. Hold on for a second. That was the most stupid question ever.
“Query, would I die if I go to a place with the System?”
> > Acknowledged. Affirmative.
Freaking goodness. I was being trolled by a magical A.I.
“Query, how fast would I die if I go to a place without the System?”
> > Acknowledged. In a few seconds.
That’s more like it. “Query, how fast would I die if I go into a dead magic zone?”
> > Acknowledged. In a few seconds.
“Query, could I use the voucher I have left to purchase a Perk to survive and fly in a dead magic zone?”
> > Acknowledged. Yes, if the method of flight is non-magical.
That was a rather stupid chain of queries but I used to live in a place where tattoo parlors had to make clients sign a form stating they knew that the process hurt, required recovery time and care, and that tattoos were permanent.
“Query, do I have any method of flight that is non-magical?”
> > Acknowledged. Verifying Status Sheet. Answer: No. You have no means of non-magical flight.
“Query, could I use the voucher I have left to purchase a Perk to survive and keep my current polymorphed shape in a dead magic zone?”
> > Acknowledged. Verifying Status Sheet. Answer: Yes. You have a method of polymorphism that actually reshapes your body.
“System, I want to spend the voucher on a Perk that allows me to survive and keep my current polymorphed shape in a dead magic zone.”
> > You were granted the Perk, Dead Magic Stability (ultra-rare): Your magical abilities and nature are naturally locked in a dead magic zone. You retain the physical shape you are using and any purely physical Traits when entering such areas.
Now, I could go back there and murderfuck that kobold bitch.
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But not without the strength to do so. I had a [Saintess] to fight. I needed to fix my Status.
> CONGRATULATIONS. You have come of age and are now considered an adult of your species.
>
> You are a Wind Pixie. As a very rare species, you receive:
>
> 1 Attribute point at every level.
>
> +1 Magic every odd level.
>
> +1 Dexterity at every even level.
>
> +1 Mind every third level.
>
> +1 Willpower every fourth level.
>
> 5 HP per level.
>
> 7 Energy per level.
>
> 1 Perk every even level.
>
> You are Tiny. All damage caused is divided by 5. HP divided by 5. 40% evasion bonus.
>
> You gain the Wind Rider (very rare) Perk: You may ignore up to 100km/h of wind or move along the wind, adding up to 100km/h to your speed. You have a 50% dodge bonus against falling objects or objects carried by non-magical winds.
>
> You gain the Natural Archer (very rare) Perk: Increase the range, damage, and accuracy of bows you wield by 33%. You learn the [Archery] Proficiency 25% faster.
>
> You already have the Fae Invisibility Perk.
>
> You already have the Wind Magic Affinity Perk.
>
> Selecting racial Perk to replace duplicates. You gain the Fairy Dust (ultra-rare) Perk: Your wings’ scales are fairy dust. It can be harvested by brushing your wings and used as a magical ingredient. You naturally generate one pinch of fairy dust every month. Forcefully harvesting more than that will damage your wings.
Mermaid tears, unicorn horn, lamia aphrodisiac, pegasus feathers, and now fairy dust. I became a magic ingredient factory.
> Attributes Above the cap were redistributed. Quest rewards were assigned to counter negative Attribute values. 69 points placed in Magic, 10 points placed in Faith, 38 points placed in Ego, 34 points placed in Soul, 42 points placed in Luck. You have 9 Attribute points to spend.
I placed three in each Spiritual Attribute, leaving Faith and Magic with a base value of zero.
> Level 0 Wind Pixie
>
> Strength: 32+23 (55) - Dexterity: 32+37 (69) - Endurance: 32+24 (56)
>
> Mind: 32+36 (68) - Willpower: 32+43 (75) - Charisma: 32+34 (66)
>
> Magic: 0+69 (69) / 32 - Faith: 0+10 (10) / 32
>
> Ego: 3+38 (41) / 32 - Luck: 3+34 (37) / 32 - Soul: 3+42 (45) / 32
>
> HP 487.467 (68.714 HP/min)
>
> Energy 1.629.634 (4.394 E/min)
At least no points were eaten up by {Surpasser} this time.
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I held Pandora in my hand and went through the deity management interface. The Matriarch’s domains had changed. She was now the Goddess of Knowledge, Wisdom, and Allied Species. As Loki said, the Pantheon did a big blunder leaving the Knowledge and Wisdom domains unchallenged. It was a major one and gave me extra divinity from every scholar, sage, student, and basically, anyone doing any learning. The amount of Divinity Pandora had stored was staggering.
That’s when I saw the line of souls waiting for my judgment. Priests, faithful people, people from the species I ruled over, and those that died with my Deity Name in their lips and without a patron deity to claim them.
It took me a lot of time but I sent those that wanted the afterlife to the afterlife, those that wanted to revive were bound to silk dolls. I’d revive them once I reached Windemere.
After I attended to my duties as a Goddess, It was time to leave this primeval meadow. Along with Nenandil, we flew up until I could recognize where I was. Turned out I spawned in the northern part of the civilized side of the Scorched Continent. To reach Windemere, I’d need to go east over the ocean, the same trip Lakerta once did. I didn’t have enough Energy to teleport there.
We traveled south first for several days. I spent most of the time burning through my Energy pool to recover my lost [Spellcaster] Proficiency points. That was when Marlowe’s teaching shone. The [Archmage] and now headmaster of the Academy didn’t believe in relying solely on System assistance to cast spells. His teachings allowed me to quickly regain my old points, at least until the System decided it was enough.
> Spellcaster [ 155 ] Pick 10 Abilities
>
> * Curse-Breaker: Add (Proficiency/5) to Magic to break curses.
> * Curse Subversion: Convert curses you break into Perks by paying the cost again.
> * Spell Resistance: Add (Proficiency/10) to resist spells cast on you.
> * Curse Resistance: Add (Proficiency/10) to the difficulty of cursing you.
> * Magic Prowess: Gain (Proficiency/15) base MP.
> * Spirit Caster: Gain (Proficiency/15) base SP.
> * Spell Stability: Add (Proficiency/5) to the difficulty to unravel your magic.
> * Summoner's Will: Add (Proficiency/5) to all tests to keep control of your summons
> * Summoner's Memory: You can memorize (Proficiency/25) summoned monsters. You do not need a Core to summon these monsters.
> * Spell Hardening: Your magic is (Proficiency/10) harder to dispel.
I bought the Abilities I already had. I tried to summon one al’Mi-raj and nothing happened. Resetting the Proficiency removed all the permanent summons I had. No more blue dragons, no more tentacle aberrations. If I wanted them back, I would need to find another core of these rare creatures.
Because, why make things easy for me?