Chapter 13
New Friends
I looked at the System message with my mouth gaping.
Living Wood Thorn Staff has been rewarded with level × 11
Living Wood Thorn Staff needs you to pick a trait.
1. Autonomous Movement
2. Size Shifting
3. Controlled Flexibility
4. Envenomed Thorns
5. Elemental Storage
6. Autonomous Spellcasting
Choices will reappear every ten levels.
My staff was apparently much more special than I gave it credit for. I gazed at it in awe. Some of those abilities were amazing.
"Something happened, Angel?" Dux asked with a smirk in his voice.
"Yeah Dux, is that what they mean by Living Wood? It's got two autonomous abilities that I could choose. Does it… think?" I tried to feel if my Sense Mind boon was sensing it. But I got a definite maybe. I could feel its presence, but I was bonded with it, I was always supposed to feel where it was.
"It has awareness, and it probably does think to some degree, but think sentient, not sapient. Right now it might be considered to have the mental capacity of a somewhat bright dog. When it levels higher it will develop more. Right now, it uses the bond with you to perceive the world. When you aren't within a certain range of it, it probably feels a little lost. It would be limited to feeling what is touching it, and a feeling of the direction and distance to get to you. That's why it's always telling you where it is." My little assistant sounded a little sad, and I didn't blame him.
I wish I could say I didn't know what it was like to be trapped, motionless, and reliant on others.
I picked Autonomous Movement
It wasn't nearly the strongest choice. But I couldn't conceive of picking any of the others.
I pulled my hand away from the staff, wondering how autonomous movement would work. It responded by lifting itself up out of the soil, and hovered for a moment, it seemed unstable. It moved up and down, and went in a circle. It didn't move very fast. But it was moving on its own. After a bit, it hovered over to me, and leaned itself against my shoulder, placing its root tips into the soil next to me. I purred at it, and stroked it like a puppy.
Dux laughed at me. "Knew you'd do that. The System could have offered you a super nuke ability, and you would have chosen that one. You are actually an idiot sometimes."
I shrugged, and chuckled. "I wouldn't choose a super nuke ability anyway. Nukes damage is too widespread, gotta grab something more versatile." I said, intentionally misunderstanding what he meant by a nuke.
"Try not to change too much Angel, remember to keep your time completely lost in the mana to a minimum, or I'll kick your ass the next time I have to break you out. And remember to circulate your mana daily, it's important. I'm going now, you might not want to pet your staff like a dog in front of other people by the way. They'll either think you are a freak, or realize that it is intelligent." I felt the sense of Dux's presence disappear, and realized that I knew what Sense Mind felt like.
I sat for a while meditating, not the magical sort I had learned to do recently, but a good old fashioned clearing of my mind. The System kept pinging me, but I had a feeling after what I just went through, I was going to need to be ready. Getting multiple levels at a time was an experience, and given what I'd just been through, I was sure my gains wouldn't be small. After a while, I felt calm and centered. I brushed my hand on my staff. "I don't know if you can understand me, but I'm going to probably collapse real soon. Just thought you'd want to know."
I accepted the System's prompt
Congratulations
For taking novel actions in accordance with your class, you have been rewarded by:
Level up × 10
Intelligence + 30
Wisdom + 30
Perception + 20
Free Stats + 30
My eyes rolled into the back of my head, I felt my core begin to pulse painfully, and I began to drool before losing all awareness.
When I came to, my core ached, my head was spinning, and I could feel the mana around me without reaching for it. I called up my stat sheet before the System could ask me to assign free stats. Even as disoriented as I was I realized that I never checked the outcome of the life mana's alterations, beyond what I could see.
Name Angel
Race : Spirit Beast
Level : 21
Class : Adventurer (Wild Mage)
Str 25 Con 30
Agi 22 Dex 30
Int 75 Wis 73
Per 72 Cha 25
I was a little confused, the Constitution, and Dexterity I understood, but Charisma went up 5 whole points. Maybe it was because my fur got all fluffy?
My tail twitched on its own, and I looked at it. It used to hang about a foot off the ground when I stood, it had been sleek with the exception of a lion-like tuft of fur at the tip. Now it was long enough that I would likely have to hold it up, or risk dragging it on the ground. It was also very, very fluffy, not quite the same as a squirrel tail, thankfully. More like a Himalayan cat. I would definitely need to work to maintain the thing. It still had the same stripes and black tip. I ran my fingers through the fur idly, and began to purr despite myself. I was pretty sure the fluffy tail was the reason.
I realized I was delaying myself from making my point choices. It was probably a dumb way to look at things, but I wanted to raise all of my physical stats to 30, then raise my wisdom and perception to 75. That left me with 7 loose points. I decided to put them into Intelligence.
I vowed to consider putting more free stats into my class stats.. later. I just loved having a body that could move with such freedom. I'd be seeing people soon too, and I wanted to make a good first impression.
Please focus on the desired placement of free stats
I had my desires ready.
30 free points distributed, congratulations
The System mana hit me like a truck. My muscles went slack, and I felt a tingling sensation all over my face, there was an odd sensation coming from my horns. My core which had mostly stopped bothering me felt pressure, like someone was blowing up a balloon inside it, and my thoughts fizzled.
Name Angel
Race : Spirit Beast
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Level : 21
Class : Adventurer (Wild Mage)
Str 30 Con 30
Agi 30 Dex 30
Int 82 Wis 75
Per 75 Cha 30
I really hoped I could avoid gaining 10 levels in a sitting again, the gains were amazing on paper. But I had a feeling I'd need to learn how to move again. I wondered if progress was meant to be this fast. Granted, I had just killed something way above my level, and followed it with three full days immersed in life mana. So maybe 10 levels was a bit of a rip off.
I knew the area very well now, having lived in the web of life for three days. I knew every lake and stream, every kind of animal and monster territory for miles, but what I really wanted was the road.
The people I had seen using the roads when I was watching through the local birds, seemed to be fresher, and better supplied when heading from the north. The people coming from the south looked more road worn. If I wanted to get to the closest humans, I would have to head in that direction. Thankfully the patches of what I knew to be death attuned wrongness were very far away from the road. I did not want to face something like the wolf again until I was better prepared
When I thought about facing the death mana, something stirred inside me. I turned on mana sense, and dropped into meditation. There were pockets of concentrated, practically crystallized life mana inside me. It seemed like the life mana had made a space for itself. I realized, belatedly, that I hadn't chosen to follow that life attuned squirrel around so long on my own. The life mana had introduced me to it. Not controlling me, but like a friend asking you to hang out with their friends for a while. It hadn't just given me fluffy fur and more functional hands. It had given me whatever it was that made the… I asked for the information on, Assume Form.
Assume Form
Forms available: Demihuman, Mana Beast, Stormhorn Ram, Oak Tree, Elemental Squirrel
It had given me whatever it was that gave the Elemental Squirrels the ability to store large quantities of mana of one type. I touched the life mana inside me. I was shocked to feel that it didn't offer me a connection to the web like the free floating stuff always did. It felt warm and caring, like it wanted me, specifically to win the game of survival of the fittest. I felt it pushing feelings of a ferocious will to live no matter the odds. Something deep inside me resonated with the feeling.
The version of life mana inside me was so different, it made me wonder how diverse each element's effects could be.
With the life mana stored inside my body, I supposed my weakness to death mana was probably covered, and decided to start walking to the road and head north.
I went to grab my staff, it flew into my hand the moment I reached for it. I mentally thanked it. Then I was startled by another System prompt
Living Wood Thorn Staff has been rewarded with level × 10
Living Wood Thorn Staff needs you to pick a trait.
1. Livewood Perception
2. Size Shifting
3. Controlled Flexibility
4. Envenomed Thorns
5. Elemental Storage
6. Autonomous Spellcasting
Choices will reappear every ten levels
It looked like the System could only raise my staff's level to equal my own. It also seemed like it could only advance when I held it.
I looked over the choices, and picked Livewood Perception
Hoping to allow the young lifeform more freedom to learn about the world around it.
It began to shiver in my grasp.
Suddenly I saw through a second set of senses. It didn't perceive reality like something with eyes, or ears. It didn't seem to have a concept of smell. But it did have a sense of touch. It seemed to use vibrations to see. Perceiving the world two times, from slightly different positions was incredibly disorienting. I wasn't a fan. The moment I thought that, the Perception vanished.
I jerked as I received a sort of emotional transmission from the staff. It was confused, and I thought I sensed sadness at my rejection of its sight. I was pretty sure it wanted to know how it should use the new trait for me.
I did my best to put my thoughts into feelings, attempting to convey to it that I just didn't want it to have to feel lost if it wasn't near me. When I just received more confusion, I simply tried to convey that the staff being able to see on its own made me happy. It responded with an echo of the happiness I sent it.
I shrugged, and let it be. I was somewhat reluctant to use a sentient life form as a walking staff. But I could tell it had an innate desire to be used, and my body felt foreign to me again, even my instincts felt confused at how I should hold myself. I had to use my staff to keep my balance, my body felt too light, my movements too fast. The slight differences in my build caused me to misplace my steps, and stumble frequently, my unshod toes catching on roots as I tried to walk through the forest. My wooden companion was the only thing that kept me from eating dirt several times. I even felt it moving itself subtly under my grip to help me.
On my trip to the road I made only slightly less noise than the humans from my test. My bushy long tail kept brushing against things, its long fur catching on twigs and leaves. It took time for holding it up off the ground to become instinctive. At first, every time I stopped thinking about it, my tail would begin to drag on the ground.
It really was amazing how well the instincts worked to help me acclimate to a changing body. By the time I finally made it to the road, I had mostly adapted to the changes.
I headed north along the dirt road, I stayed to the side. I could see, and smell traces of past travelers' carts and the animals that pulled them. I wasn't sure, but it seemed like for a place that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere the road saw a lot of traffic.
As I walked, I wondered how I knew that I was going north with such certainty. It was like I had a perfect inner compass. I put it down to something Spirit Beast related.
To occupy myself, as I walked I practiced a sort of half meditation. My senses were active, my instincts alert to any danger signs, but most of my mind was on absorbing and circulating mana. Dux made sure to remind me to do it, so I thought it must be important. It also felt good.
I only stopped when I had so much mana in my system that I was feeling pressure from it. I had a notion that this would be how a Mana Beast increased its mana capacity if the System didn't do it for them. It might even be better than the System's way. So I walked, and I circulated mana every time I stopped feeling pressure. People in carts passed me a few times. I waved at them, and said hello, most of them ignored me completely.
One person slowed the pace of the large shaggy horse he had pulling his half full cart to keep pace with me.
"Headed to Brightwood?" The man asked
I looked at him, careful not to smile, it seemed since leaving the testing area I had regained the urge. "Ah, is that what's ahead? Then I suppose I am." I nodded at him.
The man looked me up and down. His eyes took me in, in a way that made me think he was asking the System my level. "A Wild Mage, ahh poor lad, you sure drew a rough one. Hop up, I'll save you some time."
I looked at him, and requested his information, it only seemed fair. There was a slight delay.
Level 200
"Ha!" He said, "Kid, I promise I don't bite. I'm just an old soul doing his duty to the youth."
My eyes widened, and I immediately climbed into the cart as gently as something my size could. I glanced at the various bags and crates, piled mostly up front, and took a seat on a bench near the rear. My tail curled around my legs. I had questions. "I haven't learned to do that old soul thing yet, is it a mana thing? I'm getting kind of alright with mana."
"What? Ahh, you're a baby. It's a state of mind thing. You probably won't be able to do it this life. You'll catch on to the Concept eventually." He whispered, seemingly confident I could hear him.
I growled a bit at the insult, but to someone like him, I probably was. So I calmed myself. "How did you guess? I mean I doubt you use that on everyone you meet."
"I do, actually check everyone I meet, lad. The world is giant, all of them are. You meet so few who understand, after a while you get desperate. I once met a fellow who, whenever they got to town, would go to the busiest part of town whenever he had the spare time, to shout something about old souls just to see if anyone bit. Worked too, often as not. Dunno if your agent or Assistant told you, but if you knowingly get in the way of another old soul 's contract, it'll be your last life. So we're pretty much always safe from each other too. No one in their right mind would get in the way of another person's contract. Hell, you will even get a warning if you just think about doing it. Go on, think about how fun it would be to smash my cart. Don't do it, mind"
I thought about how with my new body I could probably pick up his cart. That seemed to be enough.
Warning! Knowingly hindering a fellow contractor in their duty is a violation. All current and future contracts will be marked void. System controls will be implemented.
Information about the man's contract flowed into my mind. I suddenly knew that his contract was to work a particular trade route. I wasn't given any more specifics beyond the fact that intentionally harming this road, his cart, his animal, or the man himself without exceptionally good reason would bring about the listed punishment.
"Holy shit. That's extreme. What happens if something you do unintentionally gets in someone's way?"
"It's not so bad, intent matters a whole lot, and as long as you don't ignore a warning like that, you'll never be punished. At most you may get an order to help fix things if the System judges it to be within your power." My fellow contractor shrugged. "In all my many lives, I've never seen someone dumb enough to get punished. The threat is more than enough."
I nodded, then I thought about the difference between our two jobs. The information I received about his contract seemed so simple and straightforward, if I'm being honest, I was a little jealous. I decided to ask if there was something more to it
"So your contract is just to be a traveling merchant? Is there something special about your route?"
The older man chuckled. "Seems simple to you, huh? Trade is very important. It's a lifeline for towns on the border like this. It's a pretty common kind of contract, given the current situation, the goddess just wants to make sure things keep running as smoothly as they can. I'm not even the only contractor with this route right now. I take it your job is slightly more complicated?"
'Well, yeah, it kinda is, I guess I shouldn't be surprised my age-gahk" I rubbed my throat, having it suddenly close up like that when I tried to talk about my agent made me realize we weren't alone. I looked around, finally spotting someone trying to hide behind a tree ahead of us. I noticed the glint of steel. "Ahead, on our right!" I shouted, as the merchant's horse brought us closer.
I instinctively reached for the air mana that was dancing around me. I called on it to defend us, offering as much of the energy in my core as it needed to do the job. These men meant us harm, I knew it with certainty.