Inside the attributes mindspace the first thing I do is look up and wait, it takes a moment but sure enough I see the false bottom from my filing cabinet falling towards me it’s difficult to see but it is there, and it seems as though the flat piece of oak is falling much faster than it’s terminal velocity should allow. Perhaps there isn’t any wind resistance in here.

I float out of the way and a few moments later it slams against the floor, shattering into an innumerable amount of splinters sending a shiver through me, and suddenly reminding me of the skull shattering brain freeze that's about to hit me once the crystal gets here. Before all the little bits and pieces of wood finally come to a rest, I can see a pinprick of light directly above me slowly growing into what I could mistake for the north star and soon after a stadium light. It wasn’t that bright when I dropped it was it? Once more floating out of the way and preparing myself for the freeze, I watch as the massive crystal comes screaming into the immediate void, and a foot or so before touching the ground it explodes, the sparks that come off as It breaks apart this time are a vibrant pale blue instead of scarlet red and crackle violently before arcing between each other with latent energy, the quartz caught in this maelstrom of energy is vaporized.

On the ground, or rather inches above it, is a thumb sized crystal that has a pale blue glow and is floating upright, radiating energy and crackling violently at any remaining shards of quartz that fall near, seemingly zapping them out of existence. I try using Discern on it but it apparently doesn’t work here so I grab it with my invisible manipulators. I don't feel any mana draw and can't get a mana count while in here so maybe that also doesn't apply in this space. I grab a nearby shard of wood, carefully pushing it into range of the crystal where it arcs, making the wood instantly evaporate. Not quite electricity it is more like plasma, or is lightning plasma technically? I attempt to consume it and it begins to work before the strange crystal flickers and the pale blue glow fades, and the thing turns inert, simply a small piece of quartz tinged a faint yellow with smokey striations flitted through its inside.

I finish dissolving it anyway and note how the brain freeze never came, perhaps it was because the larger crystal didn't physically touch the ground, but then again I didn’t feel the regular shiver either from the random shards of quarts falling around, perhaps the object has to be a certain size for me to get a reaction. Also, why did nothing happen to the first crystal? I have so many questions and no answers to any of them, so I decided to come back to it some other time and do what I initially was here for.

"Upgrades, people, Upgrades! " I say to myself aloud and chuckle at my own commentary while floating along.

I make it to the hub area and as I had left it the last time, some orbs are full color and others are grayed out while connected to golden strands, but there are more golden strands this time, connected to the beginnings of lines that were just static. First I approach my avatar and take a look at the changes, the floor below has been hollowed out into an inverted pyramid shape, with steps leading down five distinct levels, underneath the initial orb is a thread that forks to two grayed out orbs and under each of those is another fork with two more orbs apiece that are still just static and it continues in this pattern down to the final level. The first to my left, when I focus on it, is gear essentials, and to the right, my mind tells me is gear additions. Actually peering into the right fork it has swirling images of my avatar materializing with items and equipment that aren't part of my original kit. Useful, I could make the flashlight permanent whenever I enter and exit my avatar.

Looking to my left the image is the same as the initial orb, the ballistic gear is absent, my webbing harness is present, the knife is in its sheath and the IFAK still looks empty, the ammunition carrier is different, it contains three empty mags, curious, the extra shell loops are empty. Drifting around to the other side I examine the shotgun scabbard, and a wide almost crazed grin crosses my face my shotgun is present in its rightful place at my side, there is a magazine loaded but if the empty mags in my carrier are any indication, the thing is probably unloaded but that is more than fine, I can work with that. The gun itself is the actual hard part and as long as I'm not going insane or very, very poorly misinterpreting the orb It looks as though I won’t have to deal with the possibility of mercing myself through trial and error, like with the crossbow. I grimace internally before continuing my line of thought. It’s been a long time since I have reloaded my own ammunition, I was practically a kid helping my… Who did I help reload ammo with again? Hmm, I feel like this is deja vu, I couldn’t remember someone last time I was here I think, and trying to force the memory is giving me one hell of a headache even with the lack-there-of of a head. The last time I was here I left with more questions than answers and it's been very frustrating at the best of times.

I shove the intrusive thoughts out of my head and get back to the orbs, obviously I purchase them both, two points down five to go. Curiously the four orbs on the next level down have cleared up but the gray within is a few shades darker than the others. Examining them I can only just barely make out some nondescript details in the mists within, and I don't bother staying for long, If the very first avatar orb was presumably supposed to be purchased at level one, and these have only become available after level ten, then I can assume that at level fifteen or twenty the next orbs will become available. With this assumption in hand, I make my way up the stairs and out of the inverted pyramid.

My second stop is mana, instead of a big fancy pyramid it just has a new line going straight up to another and it is the same as the first one more mana, I buy the upgrade and then look to the next orb in the horizontal line and purchase it as well, mana density, out of the top of the orb a golden thread begins to blaze a trail upwards and after a few feel it stops, forming a second mana density orb. I don't bother with it and continue down the line, the third orb is gray now but it's dark gray like with the third level of avatar attributes. Level locked huh? I wonder what determines why something needs to be level locked. Now backtracking to and then passing the avatar group I head over to the metal working line where I promptly purchase the second level, and then turn my attention to the orb behind it, metallurgy. I considered the option and chose to leave it for now. If I have one point left over and can't decide on anything I will come back to this one and buy it, I don't bother with the Alchemy or Gem crafting lines, I still haven't been able to figure them out and don’t want to spend my attribute points on them until I can see how useful they are.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Heading over to the crop of newly unlocked lines I take a look at the first one I come across, Ignis mastery, hmm, It's only a single orb, none behind, above, or below it; at least for the time being. I can see the next four lines are similar and decide to not spend my points just yet, In order they go Ignis mastery, Terra mastery, Aer Mastery, and Aqua mastery, the latter two were level locked, or perhaps it's just an unmet prerequisite seeing how the ones that aren't locked are all aspects I have. There are a lot of these rows with only one orb in them all of them are, however, static, are there really that many aspects? Then there is the very last one which is both Vitas and Mors mastery in one orb. I purchased that one outright because it is a two-for-one deal and I had both of them, above it no other orb formed nor behind it. Perhaps it's a one-and-done type of thing.

I ended up going with Ignis as I have Terra II already and it has more than acceptable working efficiency as it currently stands, granted I have no idea what mastery does for me so I guess this will be a good test run. Leaving the aspect lines I walk to the final newly available attribute, the vapors within coalesce into the morphing shape of different tools and weapons, and weird symbols behind them, a stylistic flame and then what looks like a circle with a fancy pointy hat like a dunce cone or maybe it's just a circle with a triangle behind it. Next was a stylistic raindrop or just any droplet of liquid I suppose, and finally were some swirling lines that took me a few moments to realize were not actually part of the active mana, per say, and were a picture. Focusing on the orb it was equipment infusion proficiency, which seems like it would be useful, but is a little outside my expertise at the moment so I trek back to metallurgy and take it, just like the last time I am whisked out of the attributes mindspace but I don't end up back in my sanctum. Instead, I'm in a massive room, void? Room-void works I guess. The entirety of this place is that gray-blue that envelopes my vision whenever I discern something, and I can’t tell where the ground ends and meets the wall or sky above it at the horizon, and the air is fresh but stagnant, the complete stillness of the room-void makes the hairs on my arms stand on end, wait… my arms? Was I inside the attributes mind space long enough for my avatar to respawn?

“Not quite. You were there for about an hour altogether.” I whipped my body around to where the voice came from, but there was nobody there. An encroaching fear begins to seep into the forefront of my mind, regardless of the fact the voice felt almost jovial. I slowly draw my knife and listen intently for anything, anything at all. But it is completely silent, and completely still.

“Over here champ.” The voice came from behind me again, so I spin back around to where I was originally facing, knife ripping through the air where it was stopped inches from the side of a head of well-kept hair. There was now a man, he was clean shaven with nondescript features completely average and forgettable, other than his inhumanly pale green eyes. He was wearing a nice pair of slacks and a black vest with a gray undershirt and one of those bushy frilled ties tucked from his collar under the vest, oddly he was barefoot. He turns his head to the knife which he is holding with a single finger and try as I might, I can't get it to move any further. the tip isn’t so much as making an indent in the skin on his finger.

“I see you opt for fight rather than flight, and quite the mean right hook you have there, too bad I'm immortal. You could have plunged your little toothpick into my skull and we’d still be having this conversation.” the man says with a wide smile then disappears. The force I was applying makes me stumble sideways as the supposed brick wall I was trying to stab was removed all at once. And then I was in a comfy chair in a parlor or lounge of sorts? The atmosphere was cozy and well lived in with a crackling stone fireplace and full bookshelves made of a strange polished wood, the grain was slowly swirling as it migrated across its surface and it was somewhat mesmerizing to watch. The floor was also this strange wood but it was one solid piece instead of a bunch of individual planks. I was unable to move and my knife was still in my hand, the man was now sitting in the chair to my left, sipping some iridescent drink from an ornate glass or maybe, crystal cup.

“Ya know, I like you. Most of the time when I manifest before someone they shit themselves, and I wish I was speaking figuratively.”

“Who are you?” Is the only thing I can say, I have a thousand questions, but this is the only one I can force out of my throat.

“What am I, would be a more apt question. I go by a few different names, none of which you’ve heard yet but you will eventually I’m sure. But I’m not the one we’ll be talking about today. You've been a very busy bee haven't you?” As the man says this he reaches into the little pocket on his vest and pulls out a pale blue glowing crystal that crackles with energy and arcs into the air randomly. “You know, when I decided to try out a little experiment by putting a foreign soul into a dungeon core, I never expected you to create something completely, and utterly... new.” He says this as he admires the little gemstone in his hand then turns his piercing green eyes on me. “By the look on your face, I don’t think you are quite grasping the magnitude of the situation.

Everything that has been created by the little people and animals running around and everything that they will ever create, is on a big long list that was written a very long time ago, every possible combination of every element, compound, mixture, whatever, under any environmental or artificial circumstance in every possible configuration in every form it could take. Everything, period-dot. From sand to shield generators and all the fun things in between. Now I’m not controlling their actions, no master plan type thing going on, everything they do is on their own initiative and free will. They have to figure it all out themselves, well, aside from the occasional divine inspiration because we get bored when things begin to stagnate. But all matter in their little universe has already been thought of and cataloged, what you did was take a common piece of matter and dip it into the unstable celestial energies between two different planes of reality. Quite literally anything could have happened ranging from absolutely nothing, to ending the known universe. Your actions were so completely unexpected, and inconceivable that it frankly was the best entertainment I've had this century."

"Oh, uh, I think I should tell you Discern didn’t work on this little beauty because this wasn’t on that list I mentioned earlier. Hell, even I don't know what it does or what its properties are and I know literally everything." As he says this he throws the little crystal over his shoulder where it arcs at the bookshelf it hits and shatters, all the little pieces levitate over the floor, slowly moving towards each other and piecing themselves back together one by one until the crystal is whole again.

“See what I mean? I had no idea it could do that. I’m going to spend some time learning about this thing since I haven't had the chance to learn anything new in almost 15 millennia, and while I do that you think of a good name for your little... Happy accident. you made it, you name it, thems' were the breaks between me and my siblings when we made the original list and I’m going to extend that same treatment to you so make it something good. Kay? Kay. I’ll be in touch.”

And with those final words I was falling. Knife still in hand.