Jeb’s aunt looked over at him. “Is everything ok Jeb?” she asked, seeming concerned.
“Everything is fine Aunt Esther!” he replied, “I just had an idea for how to use my Glyph more efficiently.” Jeb called Least Conjure Water to mind. This time, he focused on the version of the Glyph that had no limit.
Almost as soon as the Glyph activated, Jeb was out of Mana. It had rushed out of him in an instant. Jeb saw the water level in the tub raise instantly. Then he suddenly felt faint.
“What just happened?” His aunt rushed over, concerned, as Jeb collapsed to the floor. In retrospect Jeb realized that he hadn’t told her that he was about to try a modified Spell Glyph.
“I had a Quest to modify a Spell Glyph, and I figured out that there’s a control on each Spell that lets me stop casting it before I exhaust my Mana. Apparently it also serves as a speed limiter, which makes sense because...” Jeb trailed off at the look Aunt Esther was giving him.
“You didn’t think it was important to tell me that you were going to try something like that before you did? What if something had gone wrong?” Jeb was glad she had framed it as though nothing had gone wrong.
“I hadn’t thought of that. I was just so excited about finishing that Quest that I wanted to try it out right away.”
“Next time you do something new, just try to give me a heads up. You definitely made more water, though, so that’s an improvement.” Before Jeb celebrated too much, he realized that he had another variable to consider. The increase in his Mana Density might have done something for the amount of water he produced.
“Do you know how much water I produced this time?”
“Four gallons, two pints, and four ounces. Why?”
“I wasn’t sure how much of the difference came from removing the limiter in the Spell and how much came from the increase in my Mana Density from the Quest, so I was going to try to modify another Glyph to raise my Mana Density again.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to just recast the Spell normally to see the difference, rather than adding another variable?” His aunt asked.
“Yes,” Jeb admitted, “but I really do also want to modify my Glyphs. My Mental Statistics are lagging pretty far behind my Physical Statistics.”
“Oh? What are your loads?”
“124 points in Physical and 94 in Mental.” Jeb hadn’t realized how much higher his Statistics had grown since he’d gotten his Class. It was strange to think that just a little bit ago, he’d had had 90 points between all ten of his Statistics.
“A 94 in your Mental Statistics before Second Tier is really good, but what have you been doing to raise your Physical Load so high?” She seemed almost concerned.
“I got the Athletics Synergy Skill from Running and Lifting, so every day that I run for my Endurance and lift for my Strength I gain a point in each of those with two points in Vitality. Then I stretch for my Dexterity, which gives me a point in that.”
“Since you’re a Mage, you will almost certainly want higher Mental Statistics than Physical Statistics. Go take the rest of the day to modify your Glyphs.” Jeb stood up and ran back to his room, only barely remembering to grab his lute on the way.
In his room, Jeb looked at the list of Glyphs he’d learned. Somehow, seeing that he knew 18 Spells was both far more and far fewer than he felt like he’d worked for. He started at the second Glyph on his list and started working down. Thankfully, modifying a Glyph took nearly no Mana, so it was still refilling as he worked on them.
When he’d finished modifying Least Shape Earth, he accepted the Quest. A part of Jeb was curious if it would get easier to modify the Glyphs as his Magic Affinity increased.
Congratulations! You have completed the Minor Quest Modify a Spell Glyph. Keep changing the Spells you know to fit your needs, rather than the opposite. Rewards: 39 EXP, Magic Affinity +1, Mana Depth +1.
After each Glyph, he did find that he was working a little faster. By the time that he got to Least Hold Fire, it took him longer to accept the Quest Notification than to actually modify the Glyph. When they were all changed, he made his way back to the barn.
Jeb practiced singing and playing the Song until his Mana had refilled, then he found his aunt. “Ready?” he asked.
“Go for it,” she said.
Jeb activated Least Conjure Water again. As the final point lit up, Jeb felt like time slowed down. In what was either an eternity or an instant, his Mana pool went from totally full to completely empty.
Before, Mana had felt like light coming out of Jeb. It was thin and insubstantial. Now, though, Jeb felt like he was nearly pushed back from the force of Mana leaving his body.
“Any difference?” he asked from the floor.
“I’ll say,” his aunt replied, thankfully not commenting on his latest collapse. “You made at least eight gallons, at which point I had to switch to a different reservoir. What is your Mental Load at now?”
“I got 34 points from the Quests, so now I’m up to 126!” Jeb was excited. His Mental Statistics had just surpassed his Physical ones.
“Go to sleep!” He was not expecting his aunt to respond so negatively. “It’s really stressful to the body to suddenly raise your Statistics so high. Anything over 10 percent of a Statistic as a gain you should do right before you sleep so your body has time to adapt.”
Jeb stood and went back to his room for a short nap.
Well, he’d intended to take a short nap. The sky had grown dark by the time he woke up, and everything felt slightly different. The Mana in him somehow seemed closer, as though he could actually feel it moving around. As he watched it, the Mana seemed to start to move to the single note the Bard had tied to him. That bore thinking about in the future.
He rushed back to the barn, partially to make sure his aunt was not worried, but more-so because he thought he might be able to play the Song finally. His aunt was still in the barn when he came back, which was a bit of a surprise. Normally she left when everything was done for the day, and he’d finally realized that his being there was only a hindrance to her normal pace. Without needing to explain what she was doing, his aunt could run through the day’s tasks in just a few hours.
“Have you been skimping on your sleep?” she asked, a smile on her face.
“I didn’t think so, but apparently. I barely made it into my bed before I fell asleep, and I don’t remember a single dream. I was out like a candle.” Jeb was beginning to worry. If it was so abnormal to take time when gaining Statistics, maybe he’d done something horribly wrong.
It was clear that his aunt saw his face start to change, because she quickly started talking again. “I’m just messing with you. Quintupling your Mana Depth, or any Statistic for that matter, would leave anyone out for a few hours while their body tries to reestablish a baseline for what it means to feel normal. I’d offer to have you do something to work on Brewing, but quite frankly there’s nothing left to do. I didn’t expect you to be back tonight. Why are you back?”
“Honestly, I forgot my lute, and I was planning to practice the Song I’m working on.”
“That makes sense. Make sure to get to bed early tonight, though. Your body needs time to adapt to the changes, and a good night’s rest will take you further than a nap, even a long one.” She handed Jeb his lute case, and the two of them made their way back to the house.
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Jeb went up to his room and pulled out his lute. As he started to pluck the strings, he felt his Mana resonating within him, even without spending it. Singing along, he felt the places where the Song stuttered ever so slightly.
This is convenient, he thought. Nonetheless, sleep was calling, so he put the lute away. Jeb felt himself lulled to sleep by the gentle movement of his Mana.
Jeb woke up at sunrise the next morning, far later than he had been. Rushing down the stairs, he saw that his family was already seated for breakfast.
“Did something happen, Jeb?” his mother asked, “I didn’t see you this morning doing your exercises.”
“Wait,” one of his uncles said, “what exercises?”
“Every morning I do my Running, Lifting, and Athletics Quests,” Jeb said, “because you all agreed that it was important for me to raise my Vitality.”
“Jeb, what are your Statistics right now?” his grandfather asked, seeing his Aunt Esther gesturing.
Jeb went through the list. As he did, his family all seemed to realize that they’d forgotten to give him advice.
“Jeb, your Physical Statistics are much higher than a standard First Tier would have.” His family nodded along.
“I don’t see the problem,” Jeb said, “you told me that there was no downside to having higher Statistics.”
“Generally, that’s true,” his grandfather confirmed, “but I’ve been reading up on Magical Class Theorycrafting.” The rest of his family seemed as surprised as Jeb to hear that.
“For Mud Classes especially,” he went on, ignoring the gasps and looks, “having anything approaching parity between Physical and Mental Statistics tends to lead into Spellsword territory.”
Jeb thought about that. He hadn’t wanted to be a Mage, but he was really enjoying the Magic he learned. What would being a Spellsword be like?
Jeb knew that at higher Tiers, people often needed to perform actions in line with their Classes to get enough Experience to level up. If he remained some sort of pure Mage, he could satisfy that with casting Glyphs or Scribing them even, probably. But, if he got a Spellsword Class, he’d almost certainly need to start fighting. Could he really handle having to kill, not to protect himself or his loved ones, but simply so that he could gain a level? Even if he could, would he want to be that sort of person?
“I understand, grandfather,” Jeb said, “Thank you for letting me know now.”
“With that out of the way, though,” his grandfather continued, “what have you been doing to keep your Mental Statistics growing that quickly as well?”
Jeb went through the different Skill Quests that he’d been offered and how they raised his Mental Statistics.
As he wound down the story, he realized that he had another question.
“Grandfather, did you happen to see anything about which Mental Statistics I should be prioritizing?” he asked, thinking of the book on Magic that he’d read what felt like years ago.
“Bah. Anyone who tells you that you need to focus on a single Statistic to the exclusion of others before the seventh tier is either a liar or wants you to be easily controlled. There’s a balance to the different Statistics, and one that is dangerous to try breaking at low Tiers.”
“What do you mean?” Jeb asked. No one had ever mentioned something like this to him before.
“I usually need to explain this using Physical Statistics, so that’s what I’ll do. If you grow your Dexterity without growing your Strength, you might find that your body can no longer stay stable when even a breeze hits against you. If you grow your Strength too high without raising Endurance to match, you might find that while, yes you can lift a mountain, you can only do it for the briefest of moments before your body gives out and the mountain falls down on top of you. Endurance without Vitality ends up meaning that your body can’t produce the energy it needs to keep going, often leading to injuring yourself through overuse. Finally, Vitality without the other three Statistics can lead to breaking bones and muscles as you push harder than your body is capable of.”
“What about Presence?” Jeb asked, noticing its omission.
“Presence is a bit of an odd one out. None of the others are a problem to grow without growing Presence, though raising your Presence too high without raising the other Statistics will tend to make people overestimate what you’re capable of. Having too low of Presence, on the other hand, will make people underestimate you. For some, keeping their Presence low is an intentional choice.” His grandfather seemed totally unwilling to elaborate on that topic, so Jeb didn’t push it.
The rest of breakfast went smoothly, and Jeb followed his aunt back to the barn.
Jeb’s Status Sheet at End of Chapter:
Jeb Human Age: 16 Class: Least Mud Initiate Level: 1 Experience: 3705/100
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Total Statistic Load: 250 Physical Load: 124 Strength: 28 Dexterity: 21 Endurance: 30 Vitality: 41 Presence: 4
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Mental Load: 126 Intelligence: 25 Willpower: 20 Magic Affinity: 43 Mana Depth: 21 Charisma: 17
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Mana: 570
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Glyph Attunement: 18 Least Shape Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Earth - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Move Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Conjure Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Move Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Mud (Modified) Tier 2 Spell
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Skills: Least Mud Magic Meditation Mana Manipulation Spell Glyphing Improved Glyph Groking Gift of Gab Running Identify Soil Savvy Animal Handling Fertilizing Lifting Athletics Lute Playing Singing Musician Pollination
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Achievements: Focused Meditator Student of Magic
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Quests: Major: Slay the Dragon of the West (Progressive)