Gregorigori had set up the video shooting location. After all, I had hit Five. It was time to deliver on what I had promised Sir Pellier and Heavenbound Hall.
It was time for the world to go Vivic.
“Hello, I am called Traveler. You may have seen my video of The Human Tongue.” From behind the screen, The Mick couldn’t stop himself from guffawing. While most people probably hadn’t watched it more than once, because they didn’t need to, in terms of videos seen only once by people, it probably broke all the records.
“I am here to disseminate some more information. Actually, there’s going to be several videos about all this. This video is the first of the series, and is a bit technical. We’re going to be going into the specifics of vivic fire.” I flicked up my Darts, festooned with the misty fire. “Before I go into great detail, this technical information will be available to everybody at Heavenbound Hall for a very nominal fee compared to its value.
“Before we begin, here’s some video of events that occurred in Mexico yesterday...”
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The video footage from the helms of the Aruan Shooters had been uploaded, edited, and were playing. A lot of people would be watching as men with guns killed undead, and the vivic flames ate at them.
“Those undead will not be coming back.
“Yes. You heard that right. Vivic fire consumes the negative energy that they are powered by utterly, and feeds it to the Land.
“We killed over three hundred thousand undead in Mexico that night. The size of its Deadzone peeled back more than a kilometer, a permanent reduction. It lost over a thousand incorporeal spirits of all sorts, the most dangerous members of its forces.
“They will also not be coming back.
“Men with vivic Weapons and Casters with Vivic spells can slowly and completely and utterly destroy the Shroudzones that have bedeviled our world. It is now only a matter of time and commitment.
“Here is the process of adding Vivic to a Weapon in the standard Denthek discourse. There are some unique Runes to this process, so pay attention as I demonstrate this...”
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“Here is the High Arcana model for Vivic Spell, the +I Metamagic that will enable you to add vivus to an existing spell. Vivus itself cannot be channeled as a pure effect, and indeed, is not really made to do so. As long as the enemy is finished and vivus can burn upon it, its job is done...
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“This concludes my words on vivus. I mentioned it several times in passing, but remember again, vivus does not harm that which is natural, and that includes most of humanity. If you are someone dealing with negative energy, it is roughly as destructive to you as fire, no greater... and there are no vivic fireballs, so it is not intrinsically overly deadly.
“But if you die, in the end, there will only be dust and mist left of you.”
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“Greetings, this is the second of two videos being posted to the Heavenbound Hall. This video is called Breaking Eight, the Helix Method.”
Helix’s eyes got very wide when he heard that.
“The purpose of this video is to lay out the methodology for humans, elves, hyn, halvyr, gnomoi, urkhar, and dhatun to break the cap of Six imposed upon you by the Shroud.
“Yes, you heard that right. It is the Haze above you that is stopping you from breaking the First Ceiling. In reality, the difficulty you are finding at Six you should not be encountering until at least Ten.
“But there are several ways to approach this problem. I will be going over the default methods used by humans, which is the Faux Seven method.
“I will then go over the methods used by the elves and halvyr, which is the Racial Method. This method can easily be used by Humans to reach Eight, if your Stats are high enough, just like the elves.
“I will review the two methods employed by the dwarves, which can be used by humans with some planning, and which do not require active spellcasting, allowing one to reach Eight if you do it right!... which the dwarves have not been.” I wagged my finger at the screen.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“Lastly, I will review the Helix Method, which is a method for Powered to reach all the way to Nine and higher if they are patient, committed, and have the Stats and Karma to do so.
“I will also be covering the Nog Mystics Mastery, which allows a person to permanently exchange unneeded Valences for the Stats to actually accomplish all this.
“The poster child for this will be Helix, a Sorcerer of completely average talent and motivations, not some incredible genius. In short, someone much like some of you. His story is quite interesting, but he has taken some steps on the road to greatness... and as he is walking it, so can you.”
Seeing the illusion of himself, waving at the cameras on Holo, Helix was totally red in the face.
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“The Faux Seven is the method by which most humans think they have made Seven. They have not, as any form of a Deep Assay will show. They merely have the Casting Ability of a Seven. This resolves around the power of the second Human Racial Level...”
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“Most elves reach Eight using Wizard as a secondary Class and raising their primary Class to match it. They can also use the Faux Seven method that most humans end up using in frustration and stalling out when they do...”
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“Elves can also use the Helix Method to improve themselves, and in doing so, can reach all the way to Ten easily.”
That should rattle the snooty bastards who are sitting pretty at Eight, I mused to myself.
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“The halvyr who have achieved Nine have done it by using the second Halvyr Racial Level, and its one-time bonus of a Caster Level. This would not be that special... except that halvyr can take Human or Elven Racial Levels, as well... so it stacks! This means that halvyr can get one Level higher than elves or humans by default...”
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“Attack bonus is a metric as important as base Caster Level when breaking Level Caps. The basic Hammer method uses weaknesses in Attack Bonuses, and employs Arcane Archer or Battlemad Class Levels, along with a starter Level in Artificer or Alchemist, generally the former for dwarves and the latter for gnomes, to reach +7 with their Attack Bonus and enable them to reach Seven. Its primary advantage is a complete lack of reliance on mental Stats, even if it doesn’t go as far, so it is a way for a warrior to hit Seven without fail...”
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“The second method is the Forge Method, the foundation of the Helix Method. It relies on using Theurgic Levels to layer Artificer or Alchemist Levels for the dwarves, heaping them up. This method does require higher mental Stats, but its top limit, if done correctly and with supporting Stats, can reach all the way to Nine and higher.
“Let me walk you through this method...
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“Now that you’ve seen the Forge Method, you’ve probably jumped ahead to the fact that while dwarves and gnomes are somewhat restricted in the Classes they can follow, other Powered are not as limited. Ergo, you can use multiple Classes to achieve the same effect... and if you are smart and follow the road all the way through, if you have the Stats you can reach Nine... and if you are smart, you can reach a Ten/Faux Twelve... or a Thirteen if you are a Halvyr...”
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“This is Helix’s starting Stat Line. When I first met him, someone had given him some horrendously bad advice, and not knowing better, he took it, potentially crippling his ability to advance for a good fifteen years...
“I never asked him who gave him that advice, but whoever you are, you are a total asshat. He had to get a piece of his soul torn out by a wraith to undo what you tricked him into. I wonder if you will have the same courage?...
“Regardless, here is his starting Stat line. As you can see, he is very good in several areas, and not in others. Overall, he’s a fairly average Powered doing his best to get stronger...
“And now he’s taking Bard and Minstrel Levels. They both work off his Charisma, so there’s no problem picking them up. It gives him more Skills to use, and the Flexible application of his Minstrelry really works well with his Bloodline and flying skills...
“Also, he can now Prepare Spells! I’m sure all you Pool Casters are champing at the bit at the idea. Likewise, you Prepared Casters, there are some avenues for you to get into some of that Pool goodness for extra power...”
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“Making use of the Ascetic Monk Feat to earn some ki and refine his new Archery skills...”
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“Layering Windbow and Lightning Reserve with a decent ranged Weapon.” Shots of him one-shotting undead one after another were playing in the background as I was showing what he was doing.
He was blushing deeply again as 8d6+10 was repeating over and over with booms of lightning and thunder as the toughened undead in Mexico perished, one after another.
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“And this is where he’s going to end up.” The advance schema of Primary Sorcerer, Bard with +4 Theurgic Levels, two Racial Levels on top of it, how they traded out until Sorcerer rammed into the Ten barrier, but his Six Bardic progression going all the way to Faux Twelve, was pretty eye-catching.
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And then... from a base 8 in his Intellect, it was rising, and the superior Wizard progression was overriding his Bardic Levels, getting him even more spells as his Intellect started heading up and up, and with Arcane Theurgy, rode with him all the way to a final Intellect of 20!
“And now, I am going to tell you about one of the greatest abilities of the Powered, stemming from the Mystics of Nog. All of you out there who have been burdened with Stats that don’t allow you to advance, or are just poor in some or another way... this is an Advanced Mastery that starts at Four. Yes, you still need that dread 14, but if you have it, the world now truly becomes your oyster... as long as you are willing to work, and you have the Karma and courage to seize your future and make it something better.
“Let me go over the fundamentals of the Mystics of Nog Mastery. This is one of the most complex and powerful Masteries out there, so don’t think it is easy, and when you see the potential things it can do, you will understand why...”
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“Not just Stats, but some permanent magical effects. Most of them are minor, but convenience is definitely a point here. Permanent Darkvision for a II Valence is actually a decent deal...”