I looked back up at the white board where Mr. Beckem was reciting almost word for word the reading assignment from last night. It’s hard to find chemistry interesting for most people, having someone repeat an already dry text at you without giving more or better context was a recipe for yawns and the complete loss of my interest. As I struggled to at least try and look like I was paying attention someone held a sheet of paper up to my face. With a glance I read the first bit of text.
“ Welcome to the Malcovian System, literacy in at least one language detected, engaging written format.”
I hear a soft curse from my left only to have the page follow me when I try to look that way. It’s then I relize that the sheet in front of me is floating. Figuring this was going to be at least a little important I read on.
“ Hello new mage of earth, this system is to be your guide to the reemergence of mana on earth. Shortly you will be given a display of the natural composition of your mana, as well as a profession selection, and a specialization for that profession. Please be aware that your choice of profession will determine your primary attributes and your specialization will determine your secondary attributes.”
Okay, I think to myself, this is starting to look like the description of a character creator for an RPG. That could be good, or very misleading. I pressed on, acting mostly on instinct I turned the page like I was reading a book, a little surprised when it worked as intended.
” The attributes are as follows:
Intelligence: A measure of intellect; including memory, pattern recognition, and computational speed. Determines size of Mana pool and maximum output.
Perception: A measure of situational awareness; including spatial awareness, balance, and sixth senses. Determines mana shaping and efficiency.
Will: A measure of determination; including confidence, force of personality, and focus. Determines meditation rate and pain tolerance.
Charisma: A Measure of Projection; including allure, outward presence, and, effective communication. Determines ablity to sway others.
Strength: A measure of physical power; including explosive power, total lift capacity, and muscle density. Determines Total Stamina, some damage resistance,and maximum output.
Agility: A measure of physical control; including flexibility, accuracy, and fine motor skills. Determines economy of movement.
Endurance: A measure of fortitude; including hardiness, consistency, and recovery. Determines Stamina recovery rate, pain tolerance, and most damage resistance.
Aura: A measure of physical presence; Aura referes to the breath of your physical domain exerted around your form. used to achive supernatural feats of physicality.”
I paused to take all that in, what kind of crappy RPG setup uses eight stats anyway? Wait, that’s my own bias at play here. The system said these were attributes of my mana not of me, weird that i’m taking it at face value on that but i’ll reassess that later on. I turned the page once more.
” Your current attributes and traits modify ing those attributes are as follows:
Int:9
Will:7
Per:5
Chr: 4
End:5
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Str:4
Agi:6
Aura:1
Traits:
ADHD( Tier 3) + 10 will when engaged in an activity that has captured your interest. -5 will all other times.
Mind for Magic. Your mind considers spells a perfectly natural form of expression of will. +5 int, will, and per as well as cap when you have mana remaining.
Hyper mobil joints: +1 Agi and Agi cap
Misshapen corneas: -1 perception unless corrected, will be corrected eventually by natural infusion of mana.”
Looking at a breakdown of myself like that was a little less than flattering. looking over my traits traits I couldn’t help but think, yeah that checks out. Also I really hoped this attribute spread was out of 10 and not something ridiculous like 20. I turned the page once more.
” given your attribute you are offered the following professions:
Wizard:
Primary attributes: Intelligence and Willpower.
Masters of magical science, wizards boast the most robust understanding of magic. Shape Magic and Forge spells. Uniqely allows for the creation and casting of any spell.
Scribe: Primary attributes: Intelligence and Endurance.
The backbone of any bureaucracy, scribes are masters of the written word. Write faster, balance ledgers with supernatural accuracy, and gain insight into the world of words. Uniquely gain the ability to understand bureaucracy.
Inventor:
Primary attributes: Intelligence and Agility.
Masters of artifice, Inventors are capable of creating complex systems of material and magic to accomplish almost any goal. Uniquely able to imbue spells into items.
Bastion:
Primary attributes: Willpower and Endurance.
Bulwarks against the world. Bastions are the steady rocks in troubled waters, either safe harbors or immovable obstacles. Uniquely able to withstand most anything.
Artist:
Primary Attribute: Willpower and Agility.
Being willing to suffer to bring art into the world is a noble calling. Having the skill to do so gives it purpose. Artists have both in spades. Uniquely able to create works envoking emotion.”
I want to say I looked long and hard, hehe, at the options before me but I selected Wizard in under a minute. Inventor caught my eye but magic in its purist form was for me, going to the trouble of intermediary work to get the same result didn’t have the same appeal. I could see the value of it, but it wasn’t for me. Artist and Scribe went right out because i’m not about that. Bastion was just a fancy way of saying punching bag. I know people who need that extra stability in their life, they are not me. Mentally I highlighted wizard. I don’t know how to describe the sensation other than I focused on it and it got brighter. The page turned without my input.
”Welcome Wizard, Please asses your options for specialization carefully. If you are offered few to no options you may not have a high affinity with the chosen profession and can use this opportunity to choose a different path. This is your only opportunity to do so”
What followed where to my estimation over 500 choices. Huh, looks like I made the right call. Well nothing to do for it but read. The list was roughly broken up by broad categories like elemental magics, the greek elements not the periodic ones. There were then the more esoteric types like graviturge or phytomancer. The one that truly caught my eye was Bibliomancer. It read like this:
”Bibliomancer:
Secondary attributes: Endurance and Perception.
Every wizard worth their salt knows the power of knowledge, but what about being a wizard of knowledge. Bibliomancers are masters of the magic in records. Since the first clay tablets were used for recording there has been a wizard in charge of a library. The order of Thoth was a famous circle of such wizards.
Prerequisites: literacy in at least one language. Have read 1000 texts on magic.”
It was for me. Interesting that fantasy counts as texts on magic but i’m not going to complain. If knowledge is power then that goes twice for wizards. Being a knowledge wizard seems to be the move. I selected it. Once more the page turned on it’s own and I got a look at my full stat sheet.
Profession: Wizard
Specialty: Bibliomancer
Affinity: Arcana; Apocrypha
Infussion Level: 1
Int:9(+5)
Will:7(+10)(+5)
Per:5(-1)(+5)
Chr: 4
End:5
Str:4
Agi:6(+1)
Aura:1
Class abilities:
Greater Mana sensitivity: 1
Greater Mana Shape: 1
Forge Spell: 1
Greater Scholarship: 1
Subclass abilities:
Greater Reading: 1
Greater librarian science: 1
Greater Book Binding:1
Greater Spell: book channeling: 1
Auric Skill: Mana Draw:1
Traits:
ADHD( Tier 3) + 10 will when engaged in an activity that has captured your interest. -5 will all other times.
Mind for Magic. Your mind considers spells a perfectly natural form of expression of will. +5 int, will, and per as well as cap when you have mana remaining.
Hyper mobil joints: +1 Agi and Agi cap
Titles:
neyophte librarian
“