What came next was a small bombardment of System notifications. My weary eyes only now catching the incessantly blinking icon. “Better get to it,” I said, still comfortably resting with my back against the soft earth. “What did I earn from all that?”

Congratulations! You have earned 5,000 experience for defeating the wandering elite, ‘Khoores the Immense.’

Level Up! You have earned enough experience to advance to level 12. Tier 2 class characteristic attributes have been applied. You have 7 attribute points to distribute.

Wisdom Threshold Reached (20). Benefits: Plus 7% (up from 5%) increased mana regeneration and magical resistances.

Congratulations on reaching level 12. As a Warlock, you are able to choose one of the following class-appropriate skills or spells. Please know that it is possible that any skill or spell not selected may be found elsewhere in the World. Additionally, another set of skills or spells will be selectable at level 14. When level 20 is reached, a tier 3 class will be available. Choose wisely.

Option 1: Spell ‘Poison Breath’ – Exhale a poisonous cloud that expands outwards from the caster to engulf any hostile target within 15 feet. Those affected by the spell are impacted by a poisonous debuff that deals high necrotic damage over time.

Option 2: Spell ‘Soul Leech’ – An invisible wave of magical energy strikes at the core of a target within 100 feet. The target is dealt moderate damage over time. Additionally, the damage caused creates a leech effect, transferring a portion of the damage dealt to directly restore the caster’s health pool.

Option 3: Spell ‘Renew Bones’ – A beam of magical energy shoots from the caster’s hand to impact an undead minion. The spell’s healing power restores lost health, as well as curing minor diseases, acidic and fire-based damage over time effects.

“Sweet, new spells,” eagerness evident in my voice. Stella was quick to come over and sat next to me as I crossed my legs underneath me. “Quick question, the third option, the renew bones spells, do you know how strong it is compared to me simply casting regen on her?”

“Checking,” Stella said as she swept a paw in front of her face. Man, I wish I could see her screens like she could mine. “From what I see in the metadata, the spell would heal a significant amount of Ripley’s health, and all at once.”

“Thanks for checking,” I replied as I considered the final option. “I think I can rule that one out, though. Sure, healing a big part of her HP could be important, we already have a way to heal her. What we need right now is more DoTs. Though before we decide which to take, perhaps we should check the spell books we looted from those wrecked wagons.”

Pulling up my inventory window, I called each of the spell tomes to my hand. Both were smaller than other spell books I had acquired, these were no bigger than a small journal though certainly thicker with something like tripled the number of pages. Laying the books on my lap, I pulled up the System message from earlier.

You have found: Spell Book of Lesser Cure Poison, Corruption, and Disease!

You have found: Spell Book of Lesser Chained Lightning!

“I’ve never seen spellbooks so small,” Stella said as she tilted her head. She was trying to understand the arcane words and runes adorned on the cover of each book. “My guess would be that these are a more expensive type of spell book, though nothing other than its smaller size stands out. Maybe do a thorough inspection so we can see what we’re working with.”

The two tomes felt heavy in my hands, like a full-sized encyclopedia had been shrunk down yet retained its previous weight. Looking at each spell book in turn, I inspected much more thoroughly this time.

{Spell Book of Lesser Cure Poison, Corruption, and Disease}. Quality: Exceptional. Rarity: Rare. Type: Spell Book – Consumable. Durability: 485/500. Properties: Teaches the spell [Lesser Cure Poison, Corruption, and Disease]. Note – This is a single-use item and will be destroyed when used.

[Lesser Cure Poison, Corruption, and Disease]. A wave of magical energy rushes through a target’s body, curing most damaging over time effects immediately. Damaging over time spells with durations greater than 30 seconds will only have 30 seconds removed per cast of this spell. Cost: 35 mana. Cast Time: 1 second. Cooldown: 5 seconds. Plus 6 additional seconds of damage over time effects are negated per two spell levels. Note - The target must be touched for this spell to take effect.

{Spell Book of Lesser Chained Lightning}. Quality: Exceptional. Rarity: Rare. Type: Spell Book – Consumable. Durability: 486/500. Properties: Teaches the spell [Lesser Chained Lightning]. Note – This is a single-use item and will be destroyed when used. Notice! Requirement 90 Intelligence (unmet).

[Lesser Chained Lightning]. A bolt of electrical energy lashes out from the caster’s hand, striking an initial target. In addition, up to three extra bolts of lightning fork to strike additional targets as long as those targets are within 30 feet of the subsequent target. Note – Only a single bolt may strike any one target and damage decreases by 5% for each new target struck. Cost: 75 mana. Cast Time: 1 second. Cool down: 10 seconds. Plus 1 additional forked lightning (if a new target is available), plus 3 feet range per four spell levels.

“That’s interesting; an intelligence requirement for the chained lightning. Haven’t seen that before.” Though the book opened easily, and I could see words, everything to my eyes was completed gibberish. “Do you think we’re going to start seeing these now?”

“You’ve actually been seeing them this whole time.” Stella was intently peering at the open spell book. “Well, you haven’t seen the requirements because you had already met the requirements. It only shows up if you can’t use the tome. Your acidic bolt spell, for example, required 20 intelligence points to learn. If you want, I could include that information in the future even if you already meet the requirement.”

“Hmm, not just yet, but it’s good to know. Thanks,” I said as I closed the spell book once more. Thinking a little bit further about it, I added, “Maybe only bring it up if we intend to sell a spell book, though I couldn’t imagine why I would want to do that. I want all the powers!”

Stella cocked a single eyebrow up at my last words. “You know, you’re something of a strange person at times.”

Ignoring her comment, I continued, “Well, nothing I can do about the chained lightning spell, even if I put all seven new points into intelligence from the level we just got.” Placing the spell book back in my inventory, I asked Stella to remind me of it once I met the intelligence requirement. Nothing was holding me back from using the cure poison, corruption, and disease spell, so I prepared myself.

A prompt entered my vision asking if I wanted to consume the spell book. After selecting ‘Yes,’ the tome rose into the air before hovering at chest level. It opened and as pages began to turn, faster and faster, the now familiar light built in front of me. The light angled downwards, cresting into my open eyes as power and knowledge entered my mind. Like the information contained in the now disintegrated book had always been there, I knew intimately how to cast the spell. The required arcane words and articulation were available with a simple thought.

Mentally reviewing my new spell, I was thrilled to have a means to actually remove harmful poison and disease damage over time spells now. Stella and I had spoken at great lengths after leaving Nemmil about a situation where we had to survive against another necromancer-type Hunter. I knew my spells were powerful, some capable of defeating weaker foes with only a single spell. The thought concerned me greatly when I considered what would happen to us if a Hunter layered spell after spell upon me. My most powerful DoT, lesser boil blood, according to the spell’s information, was currently capable of dealing over three thousand points of damage.

With only my regeneration spell, I was capable of healing slightly over one thousand health during the duration of the spell. Though, dual casting it increased the amount significantly to thirty-five hundred. Sure, I would be fine against my best spell, but I had more than one damage over time incantation, and, considering the option to pick up a third called lesser soul leech, my regen spell wasn’t strong enough by itself. Fighting against a similarly suited Hunter would likely result in the death of us both. Now though, my new spell cure spell annihilated the lose-lose scenario. Cure lesser poison, corruption, and disease… Man, the spell name was a mouthful… On its own would negate half of blood boils damage. Now, we had a fighting chance to survive against another necromancer.

Stella looked up and we nodded at each other. She was certainly following down the same train of thought as the spell was absorbed into my very being. “That’s one less worry down,” I said as my mind returned to the question of which spell to select. “So, Stell? What’s your opinion on our spell selection?”

In the end, Stella and I agreed only two spells were worth considering right now, either poison breath or soul leech, especially considering the bonus from my necromancer class.

Tier 1 Class Bonus - As a Necromancer all of your damage over time spells now level 50% faster and deal 100% additional base damage. All spells of this type now automatically bypass up to twenty-five magical and non-magical resistances.

We figured if we were hard-pressed enough in a battle where Ripley was at risk of dying, we had bigger things to worry about. My regen spell could function for the group for now. We debated for a few minutes, listing the pros and cons of the two DoTs, but it came down to Soul Leech’s ability to both deal damage and heal me at the same time. My experience with video games back on Earth, had me certain that spells capable of absorbing resources, in this case health, were worth its weight in gold. Like in guerrilla warfare, taking something from the enemy to make you stronger stood out to me. Stella had no concerns with my line of thinking, so the decision was settled.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Congratulations! New Spell Unlocked: [Lesser Soul Leech]!

[Lesser Soul Leech]. An invisible wave of magical energy strikes at the core of a target within 100 feet, damaging the target’s life force over time. The target is afflicted with the debuff "Vampiric Embrace" which also siphons life essence to heal the caster. After 30 seconds the target’s soul becomes unburdened and the debuff expires. The spell causes 50 (up from 25 due to class bonus) plus 2n damage immediately and then every 6 seconds thereafter, where ‘n’ equals Intelligence. Additionally, 75% of spell damage is transferred to the caster, healing any lost health points. Cost: 40 mana. Cast Time: 1 second. Cooldown: 1 second. Plus 10 feet maximum range, plus 6 base damage, and plus 1% additional healing per spell level.

Note - As a Necromancer, the spell automatically bypasses up to 25% magical and non-magical resistances and deals 100% additional base damage.

It only took a moment for the information to be downloaded straight into my mind and subconscious. Closing my eyes against the sudden acquisition of arcane knowledge, I was once again astounded by the power the System processed. Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes to a smiling Stella who was not sitting opposite of me. “Love it,” I said.

She knew exactly what I meant, for she was the reason I could do the things I could. While the System, well, the Game really, could do harm to so many, it could also do wonderful things such as this. Stella was my conduit, my guide. She winked at me. Maybe she could read my mind. Nah, I doubt she can, I thought.

Stella stretched out languidly before rising in the air, prompting me to stand next to her in turn. “We have three DoTs now, Stella,” I said as I gazed upon the body of the obelisk giant. “We’re all the more powerful for it, though I don’t think I’ll want to fight another one of those any time soon.”

“I’d say,” Stella responded. “With those three spells on a single enemy, you’re doing six-hundred and seventeen damage per tick. Or, if you prefer, about one hundred damage per second.” I thought to ask why the Game caused the damage from my DoT spells once every six seconds, also known as one ‘tick,’ but it wasn’t worth delving into the question at this junction. The System did what the System did.

Stella continued without pause, her eyes darting around as she used her Accelerator interface, “Want to hear something incredible? If those three DoTs fully apply their damage, that’s a whopping four thousand eight hundred and twenty-two damage! That’s not even taking into account the other plethora of damage you can dish out from your axe to your flamethrower spell. It’s impressive if you think about it. Those spells alone are capable of taking down anything we’ve come across so far!”

She was clearly excited as she kept on going, “Add in the healing aspect of lesser soul leech, along with your regen spell, and in total you’re healing for three hundred and twenty-two health per tick.” Stella twitched her head, “I’m not even going to say how much per second, the System heals and damages per tick, and that’s that.”

I wasn’t about to argue the fact. Stella wasn’t even looking at me as information tumbled out of her in waves. It brought yet another smile to my face. “Your survivability just jumped another few notches. The two will be healing you for… a little shy of double your maximum health. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Oblivious to the humor I was feeling about her, she barreled forward. “… and don’t forget about the essence barrier buff from your necromancer ring. It’s basically a preemptive heal in its own right. The ring creates an active shield worth ten percent of your DoT damage, essentially adding another sixty-two health per tick! Yes, you’re right, it may not seem like much, but when you combine all three, you are capable of tanking over three hundred and eighty damage every six seconds when you’re at optimal fighting efficiency! All without a single scratch to show for it!”

“Not too bad. Not too bad at all,” Stella finished. She must have hidden her System interface, as her eyes refocused on me. Seeing the humor etched across my face, she bunched up her face. “What are you on about?”

“Nothing,” I said as I ditched the expression. Before Stella could inquire further, I mentally clicked on my character sheet. “Okay, let’s distribute those seven attribute points…”

Stella’s eyes narrowed a fraction more, but her face was lost to me as my sheet appeared in the air between us. All was right with the world, but then a small, black face inched around the side of the menu, her expression unchanged.

Doing my best to ignore the light-hearted ribbing, I turned around, showing my back to Stella as if I was helping her see the window. As I began to read, the noise of teeth clamping down on the air only an inch from the back of my neck sounded out.

Xaz the Hunter Killer

Accelerator:

S.T.E.L.L.A.

Level:

12

Experience:

66,115

Race:

Half-Elf

Tier I:

Necromancer

Armor Class:

110

Tier II:

Warlock

Reputation

Views:

116,255*

Followers

11,979

Statistics

Health

1050

Health Regen:

123/min

Mana

1290

Mana Regen:

112/min

Stamina

740

Stam. Regen:

54/min

Attributes

Strength:

53

Dexterity:

24

Constitution:

55

Intelligence:

65

Charisma:

51

Wisdom

20

Luck

37

Resistances

Stun +5%

Magic +15%

Mind Altering +100%

Disease +10%

Traits

Abilities

Mind & Matter

Darkvision

Exalted Acceleration

Clear-Headed

Adaptability

Keen Senses

Knowing I wanted to reach ninety intelligence points so I could learn the chained lighting spell, I decided to put five points into intelligence and two points into constitution. So, next level, I would earn enough attribute points to cross the requirement threshold. Next came the notifications indicating my skill gains from the fight.

Spell: [Lesser Heat Blood] has increased to level 12. Spell: [Minor Acidic Bolt] has increased to level 10. Spell: [Minor Scent of Decay] has increased to level 8. Skill: [Dual Cast] has increased to level 9. Spell: [Minor Flamethrower] has increased to level 5. Spell: [Minor Regen] has increased to level 9. Spell: [Selomund's Song of Travel] has increased to level 5.

Notice! Skill Gained: [Throwing], level 1. Each additional level in this skill increases throwing accuracy by 5% and increases damage dealt by 5%.

Skill: [Throwing] has increased to levels 2 and 3.

After reading those messages, my eye caught a blinking asterisk next to my ‘views’ counter on my character screen. I must have missed it earlier, as I normally didn’t care what my views and followers were. Still, I was rewarded with an impressive System message. As I read the message, my eyes widened with each new line of text. “This will likely be the last increase like this,” I muttered to myself. “I’ve got to be coming up on my first twenty-four-hour mark since I became a Hunter, right?”

Reputation Achievement: You have reached the 100,000 viewer achievement tier.

System reward is based on the contributing factor that increased your recent viewership. Please note that these achievements were all within your first 24 hours; so, rewards have been increased based on the rarity of this type of achievement (Epic Rarity).

Congratulations! You have received one free upgrade to a skill, spell, or your pet class.

“Wait, am I reading this right?” I said in shock. The last time a reputation gain had occurred, my followers got the choice of what was going to be upgraded, not me. Their choice had resulted in my clear-headed ability, for which I was very thankful. “Can I really choose to upgrade Lowki? We just got him.”

“Yeah, you can. That is exceedingly rare. Hence the epic rarity, I suppose,” Stella said as her gaze fell upon our newest team member. “I doubt that the ability to add an upgrade to Lowki would have been available otherwise. Honestly, you shouldn’t even consider any other choices. That is going to evolve Lowki. Damn, that normally requires incredibly rare items, ingredients, or a powerful enchantment. You have to take that, or you’ll regret it for a very long time.”

I couldn’t argue, I trusted in Stella’s advice completely. A drop-down appeared before my eyes and I went through the menu and selected to upgrade my pet, Lowki. After I confirmed my selection, Lowki walked over to stand before me. His eyes flashed golden before closing them completely. His body began to radiate with the same gold, matching what I had seen deep in his eyes. The light intensified by the second to blinding intensity.

When the brightness returned to normal levels, my jaw dropped. “Hi,” was all my stunned mind could spit out as I gazed upon our ‘upgraded’ teammate.