Chapter 31
Ryker
Every time I thought I had things well in hand, they threw me another curveball. I gazed at the text in front of me and pondered how intrusive this could be in a fight; then, it winked out of existence. I looked to Ruby for some kind of explanation, and she did not disappoint.
“While you were unconscious for the last three days, your body was adapting to the introduction of vital energy and the changes I made to your nervous system. During that time, I spent many hours learning as much as I could about the Vren. It turns out they know far more about vital energy than anyone in the empire but in a more instinctual manner. Silvar explained to me that when someone cultivates vital energy, their body slowly diffuses it to their entire body evenly, resulting in a steady increase across the board. This is a very inefficient method that the Vren teach their young to avoid.”
At that point, Silvar stepped forward and took over. “Indeed, it is quite upsetting to know that all of the billions that have entered the Pyramid to this point have done so with next to no understanding of the power they wield. It's like giving a baby from your world a handgun and expecting them to survive the wilds alone.” Silvar looked over at Ruby and asked, “Did I get it right?” Ruby gave Silvar two thumbs up and smiled excitedly. “Anyways, the toaster has been giving me lessons on your history so I can understand your odd human way of speaking.”
Ruby let out an indignant whine. “Heyyyyyyy! Don't call me that, you crusty old worm!”
Silvar suppressed a smirk and continued his explanation. “Like I was saying, we Vren have been teaching our young for millennia not to allow the vital energy they absorb to do whatever it wants but to control it. With your vital energy and mana under your control you will be far superior to the common rable.”
I raised one eyebrow and said, “Mana? Like the stuff in video games back home?” Silvar gave me a hard stare before responding in an irritated tone, “NO. Not like in your video games back home. What you perceive as me talking to you is not that at all. I am transmitting my thoughts directly into your brain, and you are taking those thoughts and interpreting them into words you can comprehend. So, no, it is not some kind of made-up mumbo jumbo from your ball of dirt. It is the stuff that the universe is made of. It courses through everything and everyone. Without it, nothing could exist. Nothing could live. The imperial dunce cap-wearing fools decided a long time ago to start calling mana by VITAL ENERGY. The two are energy but that is the extent of your similarity. We use vital energy to grow and improve but mana is used to manipulate the fabric of our reality. Now that you have been awakened your body will create its own. Now don't you dare forget the difference or i'll poke a hole in your heart just for the fun of it."
I nodded my head vigorously as I thought back to Silvar's pilgrimage through my chest. I let out an uncontrollable shudder as a phantom pain flitted through my chest. Silvar gave me one more grumpy glare then continued. “Like I was saying, we Vren have learned to take all the vital energy we absorb and store it within ourselves before directing it precisely where we want it for advancement. Everyone else just lets it run loose in their bodies, and whatever isn't absorbed simply floats around in their veins until they use it all up. This technique usually takes roughly 30 years to become proficient in its practice, but fortunately for you, I have no peer when it comes to controlling these energies, and I have enlisted the aid of your pet A.I. to automate the entire process.”
Ruby stomped up with her arms crossed, not hiding how unamused she was with Silvar's unflattering words towards her. She let out one more harumph then said, “Yeah… I have to admit it was a pretty good idea. Instead of you mastering the use of vital energy.” She made sure to put an exaggerated emphasis on the words while staring Silvar in the face. “We created a shortcut for you. Alone, the two of you would have never been able to accomplish the feat, and you would have spent the next 30 years sitting in a cave humming to yourself while the worm chanted mantras in your ear. But alas, I am here, so with Silvar's help, we mapped out a set of pathways that will allow a direct flow of vital energy from your core to the part of the body we want to empower. This leads us back to the notification window.” Ruby snapped her fingers again, and the window reappeared, but this time it had more information present.
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*STATUS*
NAME: Ryker
RACE: Human
LEVEL: 1
VITAL ENERGY TO NEXT LEVEL: 4/10
STATS
HEALTH: 130
STAMINA: 100
MANA: 10
STRENGTH: 4
AGILITY: 4
CONSTITUTION: 3
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
ENDURANCE: 2
VITALITY: 9
PERCEPTION: 5
INTELLIGENCE: 2
MANA: 1
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I spent several minutes examining all the information, noticing the seemingly low stats and their basic presentation. In the corner of my eye, I saw Ruby bristle and splutter out, “BASIC!?!? You think it looks basic?!? I'll have you know I spent days working on this just for you, buddy!” Ruby punctuated every word with a poke in the chest from her perfectly manicured fingers. We both knew she didn't have lungs, but she mimed taking a deep breath for dramatic effect and continued her tirade, “If you want to know why your stats are so low, maybe it has something to do with your species being a bunch of fat lazy bitches!”
I took a defensive step backward, throwing my hands up in defeat, and in the sweetest and most apologetic tone I could muster, I said, “Ruby! I am sorry I didn't mean to insult your work. I just meant it didn't have much information available to explain what each stat did or how much each point in each stat affects me. I am fully aware of how soft humans are and wouldn't dare defend them there. Is there any way you could show me a breakdown?”
As soon as I finished my apology, all anger left her. She bent her knees and sprang into the air like a cat pouncing on a mouse. She latched onto my torso with her arms and legs wrapped around me, giving me a squeeze that would have made an anaconda jealous. She buried her nose in my hair and took a deep inhale before slowly letting out a contented sigh. She purred the next words softly in my ear, “You know I can never stay mad at you, Lover. Of course, you can have anything you want from me.”
I had my arms pinned to my sides by the unrelenting affection that the little A.I. was determined to shower me with. Peering over the top of Ruby’s head at Silvar, I gave him a desperate look and mouthed “Help me.” He just gave me a shit-eating grin, shook his head back and forth, and took a seat to enjoy the show.
After a full minute of Ruby’s embrace, I let out a cough and cleared my throat. Ruby went still for a moment, then looked up at me and said, “Yes? Is there something I can help you with, Ryker?”
I gave Ruby a dead-eyed look and replied, “Yes, there is. Can you give me the stat breakdown and where I stack up against other humans?”
Without letting me have an inch of wiggle room, she said, “Sure, here you go.” The sound of her snapping her fingers could be heard, and the notification appeared.
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*STATUS*
NAME: Ryker (most handsome man alive)
RACE: Human
LEVEL: 1
VITAL ENERGY TILL NEXT LEVEL: 4/10
STATS
HEALTH: 130
STAMINA: 100
MANA: 10
STRENGTH: 4
+1 point of strength = +10% increase to muscle density and overall strength capability
AGILITY: 4
+1 point of agility = +10% increase to nervous system transmission speed and flexibility
CONSTITUTION: 3
+1 point of constitution = +10% increase to bodies durability
ENDURANCE: 2
+1 point of endurance = +10 point increase to bodies stamina pool and regeneration speed
VITALITY: 9
+1 point of vitality = +10% increase to health regeneration speed
PERCEPTION: 5
+1 point of perception = +10% increase to sensory acuity and speed
INTELLIGENCE: 2
+1 point of intelligence = +10% increase in memory retention and cognition speed
MANA: 1
+1 point of mana = +10 mana capacity and +10%mana absorption rate
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As I read the first line, I looked over at Ruby and in a defeated tone asked, “Ruby, I really appreciate the compliment, but can you remove the 'most handsome man alive' bit?” She rolled her eyes and said, “Fineeee, next time I'll leave it out, but for now, you are just going to have to endure it. I hope you find the information provided helpful.”
Indeed, it was quite helpful. Every stat represented one part of the whole that was me. I still thought the numbers were on the low side but didn't dare reflect on it too long before asking, “This is all very interesting. I am curious where my stats were before you and Silvar moved in and started moving all my furniture. Do you have any idea how much, if any, I have gotten stronger? Silvar said I had been absorbing vital energy, right?”
Ruby finally let go of me and landed gracefully on the ground before impatiently replying, “Yes, yes, fine, fine. I'll do the computer thing for you again. Your stat menu was created using the average statistical capability of your species on the whole. Meaning if there was a human that had the most average body and mind of any other, he would have a stat of 1 in every category. 1 strength, 1 constitution, 1 vitality, 1 everything, you get it. Your specific stats are special in more than one way.”
“Your strength was well above average with a starting stat of 3.”
“Your agility was nothing special at a starting stat of 1, but after I integrated myself into your nervous system, it gave you enough of a jump in reaction speed and your normal reflexes to warrant a bump of 2 points.”
“Your constitution was slightly above average with a starting stat of 2.”
“Your endurance was average with a starting stat of 1.”
“Your vitality made a massive jump from an average starting stat of 1 to a stat of 8 after Silvar infused your body with vital energy for the first time at an incredibly high concentration, and to add to it, I have a small army of nanobots saturating your entire body with the capability to aid in rebuilding or replacing tissue.”
“Your perception was average with a starting stat of 1, but once again with my modifications, your perception gained 3 points.”
“Your intelligence was average with a starting stat of 1.”
“Your mana stat did not exist prior to joining with Silvar, so it was 0.”
“All of your stats increased by 1 while you recovered as a result of the residual vital energy left behind by Silvar's healing and your passive absorption rate prior to us setting up the growth system. PLEASE!!!!! Never ask me to explain that ever again.”
After finishing the data dump, Ruby was curled up into the fetal position, rocking back and forth, acting as dramatically as I had ever seen her before. I rolled my eyes and looked to Silvar before asking the question that I knew I would regret, “Are you ready to get to work?”