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“You said there were ten foes. We killed nine, where’s the last one?” Rowan asked as he walked away.
[Cory]: You can talk to me in thought or chat if you want.
“I like it better like this. It feels more personal.”
[Cory]: Thank you. Let me check the logs… Interesting. The Beast Master accepted your offer and left the area. With his bear becoming a lawful pet, you also cleared the Monster quest.
Rowan looked around for some fallen tree or stump. Walking while chatting, he had arrived at the tree line now, a quarter of a mile away from the battle scene. In the distance, Isla and Thomas argued, gesticulating.
[Cory]: She’s scolding him for jumping into the fray. But she’s as guilty, she left the cover herself. You, on the other hand, performed well.
“That was strange… the Special Forces were Awakened too, and higher in level. How could we beat them?”
[Cory]: A couple of reasons come to my mind. One, they were only tier E. Two, and that’s the important one, they didn’t use any spell, perk, or skill, at any moment. They stuck to guns and their military training. It’s not enough, against Awakened skills. And now, with the new perk, your attacks will be even more powerful.
“Looks so… What’s this?” the young man picked something from the grass. It was a cigarette butt, shining blue, unlike any other cigarette Rowan had ever seen.
[Cory]: NO!
“Yeah… Terrible… Littering in a natural preserve… pfff… some people…” Rowan tried to sound convincing because he had done the same in his wild teenage years, without any second thought.
[Cory]: That too, but there’s worse. That’s a sophisticated cloaking device.
“The butt is a cloaking device?”
[Cory]: Yes, it contains a magic drug. It allows you to go into Hyperspace. That’s a sort of in-between dimensions space. If you smoke that, you can get through forcefields. Cory: What are you doing?
“Safekeeping the joint,” Rowan said, after storing the butt in his spatial inventory. There’s still some left, you never know when it could come in hand.”
[Cory]: Guess you’re right… Gross, but right.
“So, you think they used that to pass the barrier?”
[Cory]: Yes. But it is possible that before this, they infiltrated spies in town. We have a bit of traffic nowadays. More checks are in order.
“Something else worries me. This item isn’t something a local could get, right? There are aliens involved.”
[Cory]: I agree, but who? There is insufficient information for now, so let’s discuss my future. I’m level ten now, and able to offer three more Perks.
Do I have to choose them?
[Cory]: Technically, yes.
Ok, hit me. Practically?
[Cory]: I’d appreciate it if you’d go with my selection. I tried to keep everyone’s interest in mind. First perk: I can revive up to nine different people a day, including you. Any level I gain from now on increases the number.
“What the fuck?” Rowan yelled. “Why didn’t you use it on Isla?”
“All well?” Isla shouted. “I’m OK now, we can go.”
“In five, please!” he shouted back.
“OK!”
Why didn’t you use it on her?
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
[Cory]: Attuning somebody for a Rezz slot takes a few hours. I will start with a funny little creature. The name starts with L. Do I have your permission to install that perk and proceed?
“Thank you,” Rowan whispered and nodded.
[Cory]: The next will be Grace, then Thomas, and last, Isla. That leaves four more spots to be determined.
“Very well. Let’s take some time to ponder. I think the best would be to prioritize the best fighters and their families, ensuring those who protect the County have the best motivation. And I don’t care if I sound selfish, but my family will come first.”
“Do you think another person in your position would hesitate to use the Rezz dimension to their advantage? Relax. I have thousands of Awakenings in my database. Ensuring the Hero’s friends and family are safe is a recipe for success. Having him mourning someone, for disaster.”
“Thank you,” Rowan said again.
“The second perk, and pretty please go with this one: I need to invest in research and build the Technoforge. It’s a long process and the results will not be evident at first, but it’s worth it.”
“OK, I’ll trust you on that. Go for it.”
[Cory]: Thanks. By the way, the Technoforge will be able to produce Healing and Mana potions, so that’s a huge bonus. Now, the third perk I have in mind is an advanced Class Assigner Module.
“I think you’ve mentioned it before. Sure, Cory, go for the module. How many classes can it offer?”
[Cory]: One hundred per year. I have two options for it: Temple or Priests.
Sorry?
[Cory]: We either build an Awakening place, in which candidates go and meditate, or let Priest classes perform a ritual.
Priests, it’s more personal, and makes them happy. Happy equals less prone to preach against me.
[Cory]: You’re a Machiavelli in the making. Now, the last topic: Your Stats. Stats are but a means to an end: Perks. Perks. Are. The. Most. Important. Thing.
Of course. Without my third perk in Will… Rowan shivered.
[Cory]: Here is your Character Sheet now.
Name: Rowan Allinder. Class: The Indomitable, Level 42
STR: 34 / DEX: 31 / CON: 31 / INT: 25 / WIL: 75 / CHA: 19
Will Perk, Threshold 1: Will and Wilt: Your Will replaces Strength as your Critical Damage multiplier (1% per every Will point) and inflicts an Unavoidable DOT every 2 seconds, on Crits. The Critical Chance still depends on your Dex (+1% for every Dex point).
Will perk, threshold 2: High-Tier Artifact User. Able to use high-tier Artifacts.
Will Perk, Threshold 3: Synergy. Through sheer force of Will, you can make any stat perform better, and enhance any skill, no matter how mundane, with Magic.
Strength Perk, Threshold 1: Miss? What miss? Your strikes have a 25% chance to ignore Evade, Dodges, Parries, or Blocks.
Constitution Perk, Threshold 1: Tough Cookie. +25% all physical resistances, +25% to Natural Regeneration (HP)
Dexterity Perk, Threshold 1: Subconscious Fighting. Even if you’re sent flying in the air, your body can move on its own, striking the enemy.
Intelligence Perk, Threshold 1: Strategic Sixth Sense. You can read a battle situation, politics, or ‘just’ moods with uncanny accuracy.
“Do you have any suggestions about where to invest my points?”
[Cory]: Yes. Everywhere, because of Synergy. The main point is when. Have I told you that the rule is only the Main stat can be maxed? The Main.
No, you didn't… err… Or maybe you did… I can’t remember.
[Cory]: WIL is your main. Now take a look at a simulation of your stats if you’d be at the maximum level, taking into account the automatic APs gained every ten levels and with 60 free APs in store, from leveling.
STR: 46 / DEX: 43 / CON: 43 / INT: 37 / WIL: 87 / CHA: 31
You have three choices. The easy, the hard, and the ugly. The easy: Max in WIL, and threshold two in every secondary stat.
“C’mon, we’re hungry!” Isla yelled.
“One minute, for fuck’s sake!”
Hurry, Cory.
[Cory]: That will require just a tiny amount of supplementary free APs, from quests. Easy enough. The hard way is to go for the third threshold in another Stat, and for the second in the rest except Charisma. That will require a few more quests.
And the ugly is to go for the third threshold in two secondary stats?
[Cory]: Yes… More supplementary APs.
So what? They come easy.
[Cory]: Yes, but so do levels. That’s the real problem. Once you reach the max level, APs transform into Skill Points… but that’s a subject for another time.
I see… so the trick would be to get as many APs as possible without leveling too fast…
[Cory]: Yes. Grinding day after day, and taking thresholds only when necessary. Getting some real experience first helps you to get better perks.
I know, you told me that before.
[Cory]: And I meant it. Today, it was a necessity. Let’s not make it a habit.
In the distance, Isla was staring at him with her hands on her hips, preparing to yell again, so it was better to attack first.
“Coming!” Rowan clamored.