I woke up with a numb feeling in my arms and pain everywhere else. Ahh, the joys of being alive. Wait, Riffy!
I opened my eyes and found myself in some kind of camp. I didn’t recognise the surroundings. This wasn’t Riffy’s neck of the woods.
“Riffy,” I said.
“He’s here,” said Katri. “He hasn’t woken up, but he’s here.”
She was sitting by a small campfire holding a bundle in her arms. It looked like she was cradling a baby. I saw a sprout of red fur that could only be Riffy’s bushy tail. The original Riffy that is. He must have changed back.
“You saved him?” I asked.
“I don’t know. He’s getting weaker. Smaller.” Her voice was tight.
I rose to my feet and stumpled towards her. The pain was intense. I activated Basic Restoration, but my health was already full. I guess some damage can’t just be magicked away. The body needs time to repair the trauma.
I looked down at my arms, they were sore and pink, but the skin was intact. In a few days, they would probably be back to normal. I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe that was all Riffy needed, time.
Now, that I was standing, I spotted Vidari and Imber seated across from us on the other side of the fire. They looked tired, but somehow more intimidating. Something is different with them?
I glanced back at Katri and noticed a change in her too. I reached out and patted her on the shoulder. Criteria fulfilled. “Thank you for bringing him.”
She nodded and I cast Basic Identify.
Name: Katri. Race: Human. Class: Junior Cleric. Lvl 4.
Standard Common. Omnivore. Violent. Sociable. Intelligent.
As I suspected, she had leveled up. Not just once, but twice. Next time she levels she will get to upgrade her class.
“You two level up?” I asked.
Vidari nodded while Imber said, “Oh yeah. What about you kid?”
“Not yet. It didn’t happen automatically, I guess.”
“Weird,” he said. “You’re a strange one.”
I stroked Riffy’s tail, then leaned forward and sniffed him where he lay in Katri’s lap. Criteria fulfilled. Katri’s cheeks burned red. Now that I was leaning down, I noticed just how much the two levels had changed her. She had filled out in multiple directions. Her face had thinned, but the rest of her had… curved.
I stood up and coughed. “Sorry.”
She frowned and turned away.
I cast Basic Identify on Riffy.
Name: Riffy. Race: Red Squirrel. Class: NULL. Lvl 0.
Mundane Creature. Regressing.
Red Squirrels are engaged in an eternal war with their bitter rivals, the Grey Squirrels. This particular squirrel was defeated as an Awakened Monster and is now regressing.
He was level zero. How the heck does that make sense? He was level five before!
It was obvious I needed to do something, but I had no idea what, if anything could be done to save him.
I opened my Pocket Book and saw something interesting.
User: NULL Race: Human Class: Child Prodigy LVL: 2.
XP: 1205/350 LEVEL UP AVAILABLE.
I had 1205 XP and I only needed 350 to level up. I could probably level up twice like Katri had. I focused on the XP and it gave me an option. I could level up or upgrade my equipment.
Equipped Item: Rusty Longshanks.
This Rank 1 item requires an empty equipment slot (4/5).
Rusted cuisse and greave combo provides:
+3 Quickdraw slots.
+1 Defence.
Can be upgraded to Rank 2 for 1000 XP. Rank 2 provides:
Buff: Form Rust.
Hmmm… decisions, decisions. On the one hand, I could take the level ups and probably gain a bunch more perks and get nearer to my goal of Level Five… Once I achieved that I could ask AIAI my questions. But in all likelihood, she would probably refuse to answer any of them.
Generally speaking, leveling up is a good thing, but I’ve been so rushed this whole time. I’m worried I’m missing important information. I still don’t understand how the Stats actually work with the Level up system. One thing I have noticed is that I’ve been gaining new stats at a much slower rate than I was at Level One and Level Zero. If I level up again, the criteria for Stat increases may get harder. If I’m going to get stronger, I need to train and improve in the correct ways… Also I kinda want to see what Grade 2 Rusty Longshanks look like…
This isn’t an easy decision.
I switched to the Perks page and properly read through the new Perks I had acquired during the fight.
XP Predictor.
XP count in the Stat page will now show level up requirement.
Source Flow.
XP can be directed to and from equipped items and other specific locations.
Gold Flow.
Gold can be absorbed into XP. XP can be expelled as Gold. Ratio: 1 Gold Coin = 1 Experience point. (This ratio cannot be adjusted).
I hadn’t had enough points to unlock the Stat Bump perk.
Stat Bump (2).
A single stat can be increased by 1 point. This Perk can be unlocked once per level up. Stackable.
That would have been useful. Still, I felt confident that I had made the right choice for now. Once again, I had delayed unlocking the Geek perk even though it was definitely valuable. But I wasn’t in the mood to regret anything right now. After all, it’s important to learn the basics before the advanced stuff. Like a wise man once said: First learn stand, then learn fly.
We had made it through one heck of an ordeal. Now I just needed to help Riffy wake up. If I had that Reward Nut, I could use that again… that helped before… kinda.
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Riffy was currently way down at Level Zero. If I could give him some of my XP, like enough to level him up to Level One, he would probably start feeling better. Unforunately, I didn’t know of a way to share XP. I could put the XP into my armour, but it doesn’t say anythign about giving it to others.
Now that I had the Gold Flow perk, I could turn XP into gold and give Riffy the gold. But if Riffy couldn’t turn the gold back into XP, it was pointless.
“You two are in a party right?” I asked Vidari and Imber.
Yes,” said Vidari.
I’m guessing you invited him and he accepted?”
She nodded.
“Imber, how did you accept? Was it automatic? I’m guessing you had to agree to join a party with Vidari?”
Imber nodded. “I wanted to.”
“No, I get that you wanted to, but how did it work technically?”
“Like you said. I got the option in my book and I said yes.”
Damn it. So that wouldn’t work either. I thought maybe if I gained a level and took the Party Up perk, I could share with Riffy. That wouldn’t work until he was awake and able to accept my invite. That would be tricky since he wasn’t waking up and even if he did wake up, we had no way of communicating anymore. I had used all the Ether Mushrooms on that Shifter fuck. Damn it!
“You can’t transfer XP like that,” said Vidari.
“Huh?”
“You’re thinking of sharing some of your XP with the rat right?” she said. “It won’t work. The XP share is automatic. It splits a percentage of your kills with eachother. You don’t get to choose the quantity and you can’t pass it back and forth like that. The only way to do it is with gold.”
“Shit.”
“If you wanna save the rat—” she said.
“He’s not a rat,” said Katri. “He’s a squirrel. A cute one.”
“If you want to save it,” she continued as though Katri hadn’t spoken. “you’ll need to take it to a town. You should come with us. We’ll leave in the morning.”
She turned to Katri. “You should come too. Or you can stay here and wait for that monster to come find you again. Seemed like she had a special interest in you.”
Katri shivered, then nodded.
I reached for Riffy, but Katri clutched him close to the pillow of her chest. Lucky bastard.
So it was decision time: Upgrade the Rusty Longshanks or jump up a level or two.
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Equipped Item Upgraded: Rusty Longshanks.
This Rank 2 item requires an empty equipment slot (4/5).
Rusted cuisse and greave combo provides:
+3 Quickdraw slots.
+2 Defence.
+1 Skill Block.
+1 Shield.
Buff: Form Rust.
Can be upgraded to Rank 3 for 5000 XP. Rank 3 provides:
Unknown.
Rank 3 upgrades can be discovered at 2000 XP. Current XP: 1000/5000.
The first thing I did was check out that buff as it popped onto the edge of my vision.
Buff: Form Rust.
Enables the Create Element: Rust ability.
I felt a sudden sting on the knuckle of my middle finger. A metallic tattoo of a strange flowing symbol had formed on my knuckle. The stinging sensation persisted and spread to the inside of my hand. The same symbol appeared on the opposite side of my knuckle, on my palm just under my middle finger. The stinging faded and I focused on the strange tattoo.
It activated with an electric feeling, like static passing into my hand, and a moment later flaky, orange dust sprayed out of my hand and coated my fist. I felt a drop in my Mana and saw the bar dip a little. The orange stuff smelled like rust. It felt like rust too. Scratchy, scaly, and brittle. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say this stuff is Rust.
Stat Increase: Magic +1.
You formed an element.
I guess I should probably look at my Stats… it’s been a while. Some of my Stat had increased during the fight without me even noticing.
User: NULL Race: Human LVL: 2
XP: 205/350 Stats:
Perception: 5.
This is a score for your Senses, such as Sight, Smell, & Hearing. It is the primary stat for the core skill branches: Identify, Detect, & Target.
Constitution: 4.
This is a measure of your Max Health & Physicality. It is the primary Stat of the core Skill branches: Fortitude, Restoration, & Defence.
Brutality: 3.
This is your capacity for Combat & Devastation. It is the primary Stat of the core Skill branches: Strength, Warfare, & Weaponry.
Charisma: 2 (+1 from School Blazer).
This is your influence on Individuals in your vicinity. It is the primary Stat of the core Skill branches: Speech, Charm, & Summon.
Dexterity: 6.
This affects your Agility & Adroitness. It is the primary Stat of the core Skill branches: Speed, Dodge, & Stealth.
Tinker: 1.
This is the total of your Toolcraft, and Handyness. It is the primary Stat of the core Skill branches: Repair, Construct, & Demolish.
Mind: 6.
This is the extent of your Education & Knowledge. It is the primary Stat of the core Skill branches: Concentration, Retention, & Intellectualism.
Necrosis: 1.
This is your depth of Decay & Deterioration. It is the primary Stat of the core Skill branches: Vampirism, Rot, & Reanimate.
Magic: 3.
This is the wealth of your Witchcraft & Wizardry. This is a hybrid Stat for the core Skill branches: Elemental, Mirage, & Protect.
I spent the next few hours reading through my Pocket Book. I needed to figure all these numbers out. They all relate to different skills and abilities in different ways and I knew, given time, I could understand exactly how.
The fire had gone out when I looked up to realise I was the only one still awake. Vidari and Imber were sleeping next to each other. Katri was laying close to the dead fire. Riffy was still hugged to her chest.
I walked to the edge of the camp and collected up some sticks to rekindle the fire with. I owed these guys. They were hardly trustworthy and had genuinely been ready to kill me, but in the end they had helped me. They could have just left me for dead back in the woods, but they brought me with them while I slept. I guessed Imber must have carried me. Maybe I should stay with them for a while. If we make it to a town, it might be safer traveling in a group. Plus, they had experience. I could try to question them for information. And Vidari was right, we need to find someone who can help Riffy. A town is my best chance to find what I need…
But that doesn’t mean I’m stupid enough to just walk into a settlement without getting more of an understanding of what to expect. I resolved myself to interrogating Imber and Vidari— separately if possible— to find out everything they knew about the town we were heading towards.
I headed back to camp and threw the sticks down. While I was stirring the fire up, I realised Vidari had sat up and was watching me. She has good perception that one.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched her lay back down and roll closer to Imber.
I don’t trust them and they don’t trust me, but for now, working together is the best option we’ve got.
With the fire burning bright once more, I turned to Katri and Riffy. It was amazing how much she had grown. She was practically a woman now. The leveling system was complicated. I wondered if everyone aged by leveling or whether there was also a natural aging process that could be hastened by accumulation of XP at an early age. Either way, I hoped I would grow tall soon. Being looked down on as a kid isn’t much fun.
My eyes came to rest of Riffy. He hadn’t grown. He had shrunk. He was baby squirrel sized. No wonder Katri thought he was cute now. He was pretty cute before. He was friendly too. The only thing that showed me even the slightest compassion.
Please wake up, buddy.
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