Actually, I hadn’t decided on a class yet. I was simply going to go ahead and just blurt out one of those three choices. I was sure that whatever option I chose would be the one I really wanted, even if I didn’t know it myself. I was kind of curious, which one would I choose. “Okay, System,” I thought, “I would like to advance to the next wizard level.”
Nothing immediately happened except that I fell asleep right there on the cold tunnel floors. My last thought before falling into darkness was that I should have waited until I was in bed. While I was asleep, I started dreaming about a young man who had studied magic for many years and was now progressing toward journeyman status.
He traveled the world, perfecting his spellcasting abilities. He slew goblins and ran away from minotaurs. Countless low-level opponents fell at his feet as his reputation grew. Soon, he would master the magic he loved and step into the ranks of master wizards.
Only another year or two of studying would allow him to become an experienced wizard. However, he needed to make a decision about his first class feat. During the last few years, he fought with other classes and learned a few tricks in that time. Now it was time to put what he had learned into practice.
YOU HAVE RECEIVED INSPIRATION. The following feats are now available. While you will gain knowledge according to your choice, you will still need to practice these skills to obtain full mastery of the chosen option.
Based on your inspiration, you can choose one of the following feats.
* Attribute Enhancement: +2 to an Attribute or +1 to Two Attributes
* Death-Touched: Undead Traits Acquired
* Eldritch Sigils: Physical or Supernatural Enhancements
* Fade Away: Enhanced Stealth Capabilities
* Fast Recovery: Passive Health Regeneration
* Heart of Magic: Passive Magic Regeneration
* Sandman: Summon Dream Creatures
* Shadowborn: Summon Shadow Creatures
* Survivor: Increased Resistances
* Toughness: Increased Health Points
Although I didn’t know what I would choose beforehand, as soon as I made my choice, I realized why I had made that decision. First, I had always wanted to be a powerful spellcaster even before I reincarnated. Secondly, wizards were overpowered, which was another one of my goals. There were other reasons, but it mostly came down to the fact that I wanted to be a wizard.
While eldritch mind, sorcerers, clerics, and banshees were powerful, the only reason I had considered them was for their power. However, everything I could get from them, I could also get from being a wizard. Because of this, I actually didn’t regret my decision at all. Smiling, I focused on what class feat I should choose now.
This time though, I couldn’t go with my gut. I really needed to focus and choose the one that would bring the most benefits. Which one would make up for the fact that I hadn’t chosen one of the other powerful classes? With these thoughts in mind, I looked at them one by one.
Some of the choices were, again, immediately eliminated from consideration. I could have taken most of the feats the last time I was given the opportunity. Death-Touched, Fade Away, Sandman, Shadowborn, Survivor, and Toughness had appeared again. However, what was different was the fact that I could get more information about each feat this time.
A few of the feats were actually a little different than what I had expected. Toughness, Fast Recovery, and Survivor were obvious. Fade Away was basically what I thought it was as well. However, a few of the other feats were nothing like I had expected.
Two of the feats were eye-opening. I hadn’t thought Sandman and Shadowborn would allow me to summon creatures. Of course, the summons would most likely only stay around for a limited amount of time. Still, both powers were nothing like what I had pictured in my mind.
As for the other feats, Death-Touched definitely piqued my interest. I was curious what Undead Traits would be acquired. From what I knew, undead creatures didn’t need to eat, drink, or breathe. They also didn’t age. Each one of these benefits was very attractive. After all, just because I didn’t need to eat didn’t mean that I couldn’t eat. Therefore, there wasn’t really an obvious downside.
Then again, the description didn’t say beneficial undead traits. To me, that implied that I might also receive some of the negative traits as well. Would I be affected by holy water? Could clerics turn me? Of course, it wouldn't be the first time someone tried to turn me. Several guys had tried to hit on me before I died. As for other possible negative traits, I could imagine several ones that could definitely hurt. Undead creatures couldn't be healed normally. They could also be controlled by necromancers.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Because of the possible negative side effects, I reluctantly marked that off my list. It just wasn’t worth the risk no matter how good the benefits sounded. Sighing, I shook my head in disappointment and looked at the other choices.
Eldritch Sigils was the first feat I had taken. I had chosen the mental enhancements. That left either physical or supernatural enhancements. Since the physical enhancements were probably similar to the attribute increases or the other physical feats, I wasn’t as keen on choosing that option. As for the supernatural enhancement, I really needed more information about it. It could be really amazing, but it could also be absolutely worthless.
That left Heart of Magic and Attribute Enhancement. The only reason I would even consider Attribute Enhancement was because I could use it to increase my Intelligence even higher than it already was. However, was it really worth the investment? I loved my extremely large intelligence attribute, but the allure of passively regenerating magic points was very tempting. However, when compared to the chance of getting endless magic points, the choice was obvious.
I did have one question about the feat though. What were the limits? For example, would I regenerate one point of magic every hour or every minute? The number of points gained from the feat could majorly impact its importance. Either way, I was barely able to resist choosing it immediately. While it was true that I had the Soul Collector feature, that only worked if I killed a lot of enemies. The Heart of Magic would enable me to cast more spells without having to slay any enemies.
Finally, I couldn’t help myself and decided to choose the Heart of Magic. While I had initially wanted to go all out on Intelligence, the Heart of Magic just sounded too cool to pass up. Maybe I would be proven wrong, but it was definitely worth the risk.
“System,” I said, once again only in my mind, “I select two points of Attribute Enhancement for Intelligence.” I was really surprised by my decision. I really had planned on taking the Heart of Magic. However, something deep inside me just couldn’t turn down the chance to get smarter.
While I knew most of the other feats would be the better choice, I didn’t really care in the end. I had been proud of my intelligence in the past life. In this life, I had wasted my intelligence. In this life, I wouldn’t. With these thoughts, I decided to start searching for another bat colony. I had gained so much from such a short skirmish.
Smiling, I opened up another pouch and started nibbling at another piece of “beef” jerky. At the same time, I ordered her to finish off one of the bats she had captured and find more victims for us to harvest. However, after biting down and killing the bat she was holding in her claws, I didn’t receive any experience.
Confused, I asked her to hunt down another bat to see if my hypothesis was going to be proven correct. As I had thought about earlier, only creatures that could harm us award experience. More than likely, since I had just leveled up to the fifth level, low-level creatures that posed minimal threats were not able to provide experience any longer.
Sighing, I took a moment to take a deep breath while I closed my eyes. Really? If I had known this would happen, I would have banked several levels before leveling-up. I could have waited and saved up enough experience instead of using it right away. Now I wouldn’t be able to farm bats for experience. I really wanted to walk over to the nearest wall and bang my head against it. Instead, I tried to think about whether there were any other creatures I could hunt now that bats were useless to me.
Then I had another thought, the giant bats. I could go back to where they were located and see if they provided experience. After all, the giant bats were much more dangerous than the small bats. Therefore, I should still be able to farm them for experience. Of course, I would have to be careful. Smiling once again, I had Alsvartr follow me back to where we had seen them.
On our way to the giant bat lair, I realized that neither my familiar nor I had any spell points left. Because of this, I decided to call it a day. “Tomorrow,” I silently vowed, “we will visit the giant bats and gain enough experience to level up once again.” Just the idea made me happy. Thoughts of growing more powerful and bags of dried “beef” kept me satisfied until my fellow kobolds arrived to start packing away the bats. Kobold babies will eat tonight.
I found it much easier to travel on the way back to my room. Of course, this probably had something to do with the fact that I had eaten most of the food I had tied to the belts. Now, more than half of the bags were hanging empty. Taking a bite from a mushroom, I wondered how long it would actually be before the enemy attacked. I barely noticed anymore Hyggiandi’s constant chatter about some obscure branch of nobility that had disappeared centuries ago. Apparently, she wasn’t mad at me any longer and felt it was time I learned something.