Darion stared in amazement at the surrounding swamp and what were clearly stationary goblins. Before Darion could speak Biron spoke first. “These creatures are standard tier 0 goblins just like you can find roaming outside the safe zone, you won't gain anything from facing off with them but the reason I brought you here was to teach you about stats, and what part they play. For instance I am tier 3” Darion blinked. “You are between level 30 and 40? Doesn't that place you at the 7th ring?” Biron laughed again and nodded but continued what he had previously been saying. ” All of my stats are well above a peak earth human, by that I mean Olympic champions or world class martial artists or body builders, and I'm not even a combat class. Go ahead and shake my hand I'm not going to crush it…” saying that Biron extended his hand, it looked like the hand of an elderly man, but it didn't shake or quaver. Darion took his hand and it was smooth, slightly cool and seemingly no stronger than a man of his age should be. They shook hands and Darion could even sense a bit of seeming frailty in the older man. “In truth at my worldly age, my physical stat cap is actually lower than average. And because I chose not to make any amendments to my physical form during vessel creation I'm a bit of a glass cannon you might say. But that compounds my point. When your stats exceed 10 which is peak human your stats become conceptual; say you have a 70 in strength you won't have muscles on top of muscles, but you will be able to conceptually exert forces beyond your physical capabilities. A better way to prove this point.” Just after Biron released his hand Darin felt something briefly like a pressure or a sense of unease and Biron blurred and vanished, suddenly the farthest goblins head exploded into a pink mist and Biron was suddenly a few feet past the goblins. Buttoning his sleeve back up, a mist of blood speckled his face and vest and it began to fade away after a few seconds. Alongside the body of the dead goblin.
Darion gaped in shock at both the display of capability but also the sheer violence of the act.
Darion was still gaping when Biron spoke again “ what I did just now is referred to as flaring or pulling my stats. It depends on how you visualize it. When you get a stat over ten they have classes here at the adventurers guild hall that you can take. But you won't really appreciate the effect until you have between 15 and 20 in a stat. Now the point of this is. If you had a perception at say 20. and someone tried to use an obfuscation skill, you could flare your perception and maybe your intelligence and that might, depending on the level and skill of the other person, counter the skill.”
Darion shook his head as his thoughts swirled through his head. “So tier suppression is a thing?” Biron furrowed his brow in confusion for a moment. “What brought you to that conclusion from what I said?” Daron glanced over where the other goblins stood. “when you flared your stats i felt a pressure almost like a palpable dread for an instant.” Biron exhaled and nodded. “ I apologize, I was not trying to do that but I suppose if you had a high perception, you would be more sensitive. yes, Tier suppression is a concern. The founders have rules about not suppressing lower tiers outside of combat, and we keep guards on the lookout to make sure the guilds aren't bullying merchants or press ganging lower tiers into service.” Darion nodded along as Biron spoke but at the mention of Guilds, his eyebrows perked up.
“Is it true that The Bloodletters have a feud with the Founders party?” Biron almost smiled at the earnest enthusiasm with which Darion jumped into the new topic. “Yes there is some bad blood between the Bloodletters and the founders party. At this point its mostly the Head of the Bloodletters avoiding Arthur specifically. “Running a large city is a complex circumstance that requires a lot of cooperation, and the leader of the Blood letters what trying to create a system predicated by the strongest ruling and creating a society based around strength of arms, And Arthur Slate made his point by killing him on site, to remind him that might doesn't make right. It would have been a stunning display of hypocrisy, if he didn't immediately decline sole leadership of this community.” Darion’s brow furrowed. “Doesn't he still hold executive veto power?” Biron nodded. “They both do, and their seats on the council are permanent. But that was a long argued point on the council’s end because despite Arthur’s reticence to lead this settlement we didn't want authority to fall into the wrong hands in regards to this new society. However we wanted to create a legal loophole that would allow heads to be knocked together if needed, But that is all I am going to say on this topic for now. If you want you can take advantage of this training room while we are here, I have a council meeting in about an hour, but until then feel free to adjust to your vessel. Just know that you can raise your skills but you won’t gain experience.” Darion perked up at that. And glanced at the stationary goblins. “Are they on pause? Will they move if I hit them?” Biron shook his head. “No not unless I tell the system to make them responsive.”
Darion pulled his dagger out of his pouch, “ Do these things feel pain?" he asked hesitantly.” Biron nodded, “they simulate pain, the ones outside, even forage and hunt for food and at least simulate intercourse. But we have never seen any proof of breeding such as nests, family units, or children. They even squabble and seem to communicate with each other. But they don't have a language that translates into anything we can decipher. And they will drop everything to attack a human or equivalent. If you haven't noticed, there are no human language barriers here. We just refer to it as common.” Darion nodded and began to center his balance. “How do you use skills? I have my Hud that shows my health, mana and stamina but I don't see a hot bar for spells or skills.“ Biron nodded sagely. “That takes some getting used to. But you have to think about your skill, sometimes saying the name helps, other times focusing on what it's supposed to do can bring up a sort of aim assist. When you selected the skill did any part of your body tingle or feel warm?” Darion thought back to the Skill selection and he remembered a tingle at the base of his skull. Which was strange because he wasn’t in his body at that point in time.
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Darion focused on the base of his skull and for a moment he almost lost it. It was like his awareness of the area around himself became more acute even behind him where he couldn't see. He was aware of the space displaced by everything. He could sense how far he could move with his ability. He released his grasp on the skill and looked at Biron. “Can I show you my skill somehow?” Biron nodded. “So long as you realize that you are giving me tactical knowledge of what you can do. I'm willing to help you, but I wouldn't suggest broadcasting intimate details of your skills to just anyone. Things outside the safe zone can get really nasty.” Darion paused for a moment to think about what Biron was saying before he willed his skill description over to the other man.
*****
Skill Name: Kun Peng's Void Slip
Description:
Kun Peng's Void Slip allows the user to momentarily blend into the void, creating a small, localized distortion in space. This distortion enables the user to teleport a short distance, avoiding attacks or repositioning themselves quickly.
Attributes:
- Perception: The user must focus their senses to pinpoint the exact location they want to teleport to, ensuring a precise and safe transition.
- Dexterity: The user needs to be agile and adaptable to navigate the brief period of disorientation during the teleportation process.
Element: Void/Space
*****
“Oho… you got a good one.” Biron said as his eyes focused on the screen Darion sent him. “This is good for more than just the versatile movement ability.” Darion was nodding as Biron spoke. “When I focused on the area that made the skill tingle it was like I had a sphere of awareness. I could sense even where I couldn't see but it was like my brain translated it into sight… Am I making sense?” Biron chuckled good naturedly and nodded. “That is one of the largest differences about Skills here in The Expanse; they are versatile. And the description at character creation does no justice. Yes you will get a class composed of your 3 Skills, but what it doesn't say is that it pays just as much attention to how you use a skill and that is what determines this. You see where it mentioned your affinities? The space affinity is interacting with your Perception stat and the range seems like it would be influenced either by your Perception, or the farthest Distance you could teleport using what mana you have. Sorry I don't have more answers. A lot of this is speculation and experimentation. I am an Artificer, and I deal with obscure parameters and how concepts play together to get certain effects to trigger.” Darion blinked and took in everything that Biron just said. “That's awesome you are a tier 3 Artificer?” Darion looked down at the pouch on his belt. “Did you make this?” Biron shook his head. No, I have my apprentices make those. But I vet them before they are handed out. Once you hit tier 2 if you practice meditating you can make and sell Aspect shards. Crafters pay good coin for rarer aspects, but a lot of people only want to get stronger at fighting. I can count on one hand the amount of people that have their meditation skill up to their Tier. but I digress.” He gestured towards the 3 stationary goblins. Darion nodded and instead of using his dagger he stepped forward and threw a punch at the goblin he'd squared up with previously. The impact was solid and heavy, the goblin sprawled to the ground. He shook his hand then rubbed the knuckles with the other.
“ I get realism but isn't this too much for people? How much the violence feels like actual real life violence? Since I've been here this almost doesn't even seem like a game.” Biron started to nod, but before he spoke the outline of the door appeared a few paces away, and slid open silently. A powerfully built man strode inside. Biron turned towards the man. “Reginald, to what do I owe this visit?” Reginald turned towards Darion giving him an obvious once over, “I heard you'd taken in a pup and I wanted to see what sparked your interest that wasn't an esoteric blueprint. But I don't see what the fuss is about.” His look became dismissive and unimpressed. “I suppose he is going to be your submission?” Biron's brow furrowed in first irritation however his eyebrows shot up. “Was this meeting the deadline?” Reginald snorted derisively. “Always lost in your projects… yes this is the deadline meeting.” Biron seemed to ignore Reginald barbs. “ something has come up…” Reginald turned on his heel and strode back out the door closed behind him and vanished. Biron seemed flustered, “ what an ass… who was that guy?” Darion said as he glared at the space where the door vanished. “That was Reginald LaCroix, the guild master and head of the adventurers guild. How would you like an opportunity? At the council meeting ill put your name forward to go with the councils party. They will all be lv1 tier 0, because that is the dungeon requirement. These dungeons often offer growth items. By that I mean treasures that will aid in your growth. It can be anything from skill shards to technique manuals. To bloodline treasures that can either strengthen and purify or splice in bloodlines from creatures or mythical races ” Darion's brow furrowed. “I'm in! But…uh what's a Technique Manual?” Biron nodded in acknowledgement.” it's an ability that harnesses your affinities. It's something you can use and grow that isn't tied to your class. But I suppose it might still factor into your first class if you can get one before. But we should cut this short as it stands. We should see what items are in my apprentices' stores and get you equipped. Biron ended the simulation and the room returned to its unadorned state and the two of them left the training room.