I dreamt.

‘Originator of life, a great mushroom broke through the hard stone and made fertile earth. It was the original, the base, the Primal.’

Primal. A Path with an all-around increase to stats and skills but lacking in specialisation. All around good with no real weakness but no strengths either.

‘Bringer of fresh and new life, spread far and wide through wind and host alike. Life begins and ends with Spores.’

Spores. An upgrade to all Spore based abilities and better ability to spread it. Interesting.

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

‘A myconid stood within a wild forest. Unmoving and calm. Time passed by, others came and went. Though it did nothing until it became Ancient, there was Growth.’

Growth. The Path to create allies and continually increase in power, but it was limited. It relied on the passing of time. Only when the myconid was centuries-old could it be considered strong. A slow and passive Path. Only usable if I planned on sitting on my ass for a few centuries.

“I cannot use this.”

‘The myconid saw a forest untamed and sought order. It took wild seeds and experimented, bringing forth new breeds and greater strengths. With careful control, it Cultivated.’

Cultivation. A similar Path to Growth, where instead you made allies to indirectly increase your own power, with Cultivation, I gained greater variety and specialisation at the cost of raw power.

‘A myconid stood in vast lands empty of life. The Enemy was coming, so by its hand, it spread seeds far and wide. The seeds sprout and brought forth hordes through Propagation.’

Propagation, an offshoot of Growth and Spores, but focused on the spreading of new allies. A hyper specialised path, sacrificing power and uniqueness for raw numbers.

‘A myconid waited alone in an empty cavern. The Enemy was old and it had come again. When hordes of undeath neared, it stood and by its hand, undeath Decomposed.’

Decomposition, a hyper-specialised path for the destruction of undeath. Interesting for what it meant for my race but too specialised in one direction to be of use.

‘Allies have become weary, the Enemy ravaged the land and were awaiting your starvation. But when you killed the dead a second time, you turned the land fertile again. For all corpses were returned to the cycle and become Compost.’

The memory felt fresher, less like a vague bundle of concepts but something someone experienced. Compost, it was a path made from Decomposition, but instead of a DPS skill tree meant to counter a specific enemy, it was a buffing and utility one, becoming stronger the more corpses there were on the field and enriching soil.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

‘Where once we stood alone, we now fight with allies. Old strength given in exchange for new ones. For all benefited in Symbiosis.’

Symbiosis, a support type Path that became stronger with others. You gave others your powers in exchange for being able to use theirs. Extremely tempting, since Sporage was a skill that would be absurd in group encounters.

‘Myconids stood under light of pale star, with ink and paper they left behind teachings of old. With study, mysticism was lost in exchange for understood principles. No longer were myconids the only ones who practised Fungalmancy, for all could know Magic.’

Magic. A basic Path that was created when it was brought into the hands of surface mages. It didn’t provide new skills other than more spell slots and mana.

‘A mage stood on a hill. Six Armies have fallen, only the Seventh remained. The mage raised her hand and from it endless spores came. Spores overtook flesh and flesh started to Rot.’

Rot. A high damage Path, specialising in the destruction of living tissue by overtaking it with mushrooms.

‘Myconid and mage, fungalmancy and illusion. From spores come dreams and delusion. Many colours and strange sensations were brought through Enchantment.

Enchantment… this is just making people high?

“Next?”

‘A frail man works on a body. The old methods no longer work. Cleansing power burns through undead flesh. To bring back the dead death cannot be used. Thus let life Infest.’

Infest. A Path for raising the dead as infested thralls. Good for minions I guess, but needs corpses.

‘The dead are not the only things that can be infested. Power can be taken from those still living. Take from others like a Parasite.’

Parasitism. An offshoot Path of Symbiosis but without the giving bit, like Symbiosis it needed the target to still be alive. It felt more like a proof of concept that it can be achieved than a useable Path.

‘The surface had corrupted old ways. Those under had turned their blades once undeath had left. There is naught but disappointment. We go deeper, to hide from blades and light, we will Lurk.’

Lurk. A rogue-like Path that allowed for stealth under shadows and darkness, but only shadow and darkness.

“Next.”

“That is all of them,” the old myconid answered.

I looked up with a start, that… felt very quick.

“I see,” I answered as I stood.

The myconid neared me as the crystals floated back to their original positions, “What will you pick?”

I glanced at him, “I haven’t decided yet.”

“Then take as long as you wish,” the myconid said as it sat on the floor.

I thought for a long while, going through all my options, but I had reached my decision before long.

----------------------------------------

“And that’s why you need me out earlier?” Dave asked, glancing at the short-haired man before him.

“Yep,” Bob answered, “with the rats constantly taking away from the area’s loot pool, we need you guys to set up shop. Preferably with some beginners discounts.”

Dave nodded, already assigning another Dave to the job, “Though why did so many rats suddenly get awakened?”

Bob grinned, “Oh it’s hilarious, one of the players was chased by a horde of them and accidentally stumbled on the area boss, and activated it prematurely.”

Dave’s brow furrowed, those bosses were meant to be mid-game threats. “The boss for the Melbourne area should be a giant squid if I remember correctly?”

“Not squid, it's classified as an aberration, not a beast.”

“Oh? Oh,” Dave replied, realisation hitting him, “Yeah they’re fucked.”