“It is approaching midnight,” stated Arrjee. “For weeks Forrest has been curious how I trained my attributes. Since it is so late, I could hold off answering, or if you-all are still interested this late, I think I could explain in less than 20 minutes.”
A few of the guys encouraged him to go ahead, and no one objected.
“Okay, I’ll try to make it quick. It’s not really hard, or that much of a secret. Lenyet, or anyone else, please feel free to share your experience as I go. About half of my attributes are still at 8, but I have brought charisma and endurance to 12, agility and intelligence to 10, and strength to 9. To be complete, one of the intelligence points and a point of wisdom is from Asiel’s Revelation skill. Einvigi also granted me one point of vitality as a boon. Anyway, the key to training them is using them regularly, and by regularly, I mean almost every day.” || be dedicated
I: Do it by doing it.
“That’s right, Interface, exactly. You have to do it more for the strident attributes of charisma, perception, and wisdom than the practical attributes of agility, dexterity, endurance, intelligence, and strength. For those, it takes about an hour a day of focused usage for a year. For the strident ones, you can expect to spend a year and a half at two hours per day. That might sound like a lot, but you can often be training something at the same time. For example, when we run, we are training both the Running skill and our endurance. When we play Think, we are training both Tactics and intelligence.” || regularly
“Interface, I would need to spend seven actual years to get one year of attribute training, right?”
Yes, but you potentially have hundreds or even thousands of years to do so.
“It still seems like a long time.”
But it is doable.
Ferret asked, “Can we skip any days, or do it start over if we miss a day? Oh, and Einvigi also booned me, with one point of intelligence and one point of wisdom.”
I: “does it start over”
I do not believe ‘boon’ is a verb, but it ought to be. Letting that one go.
“I concur.”
Ferret thanked him. Arrjee answered, “No, it does not start over. I think it is best to have a regular routine, though. For example, if I start skipping days where I run for an hour, I might slowly get out of the habit of running.”
“The trickiest one to raise I think is charisma. I don’t have a skill that directly exercises it. Dad does with his Potentate class, though.” || that class is spooky
Lenyet interjected, “The Teacher class does as well. Part of the Interest skill involves having students want to learn what you are teaching, and that helps build charisma.”
“Nice,” commented Arrjee. “No wonder I enjoy listening to Teacher Marson. But for those of us without such skills, we have to find ways to strive to be likable. Think about what leads you to like others. Impressions are important, so cleanliness, grooming, not stinking, cheerful demeanor, et cetera. Also for them to like you, you have to like them.” || not that hard
I asked, “So try to like everyone?”
“No,” my brother replied. “That is wrong in two ways. The first is, not everyone is likable. For those, you have to get along, if possible, agree to disagree, or even avoid them. You are not building charisma if your personalities grate on each other. Although it probably helps if you can find something about them you respect. More wrong, though, is the concept of ‘try to like’. That won’t work. You have to actually like. People will know when you are pretending, and you won’t build charisma that way either.” || do, don’t try
Arrjee closed his lesson, “Does anyone have other questions or comments? Like I said at the beginning it is not a secret; just use your attributes regularly – an hour a day for practical attributes and two hours a day for strident attributes.”
I verified, “So for me to build perception, I can run Dark Sight for two hours each day? I would probably be doing that anyway.”
“That’s right, Forrest,” responded my Master. Additionally your Boost Armor will be getting you your two hours a day in wisdom, and the hour a day in endurance.”
Kossa wondered, “Does being a bard offer skills that let me gain attributes routinely like that?”
“I don’t know of any,” answered Onre. “But I bet as we practice music, we are building intelligence, dexterity, and maybe perception. At least, all of those have gone up for me. And endurance. I just haven’t been putting in enough daily practice to get more than a point in each though.” Kossa responded it was the same for her.
“Endurance I raise.” || I have only raised endurance.
No one else had any comments. It was tomorrow already, and most everyone went to bed. After meditation, I had over two more hours for sleep, but Arrjee and I spent some of that in awake time. My alarm went off at 5 and everyone was getting up.
We were cleaned up and home for breakfast at 5:25. There were so many of us we had to use both the dining room and den, but Dad and Grandma made sure we all had enough pancakes and bacon. It was Fifthday – Community Day – so school, apprenticeship training, and most work would be cut short for community service. Since I’ll be heading to the void at 8:25, I won’t be able to experience that yet.
Corval would be starting his day with Dad. He’ll be taking his oaths and beginning his work for the guard and the adventuring school. Dad said his community service would likely be spent at the school, and the guard might have him doing community projects in town. They do more than just guarding the gates.
We all started speaking of our plans for the day. This eventually led to Corval sharing his one regret. “The only thing worthwhile in my bandit life was Mowd, I love her like a mother. I hope she does not think I am dead. If she knew about my new obligations here, she would be happy for me. This should be much better than being a bandit.” Grandma agreed that she would be wishing the best for him.
By 6:15 we had completed breakfast and cleaned up the dishes. Odd was curious about schools, so he went with Arrjee, Carrie, Kossa, Ferret, and Sun. Onre and Grandma headed to her shop. After Corval completed his oaths, Dad would bring him to Uncle Ralf to begin his work for the guard.
----------------------------------------
I went by myself to the adventuring school. The two wagons and carriage were still there, along with three large tents for the guardsmen. One of the apartments was being actively guarded. I saw Captain Pokka and went over and greeted him, Alf, and Bet. No one else I knew was visible, so after a minute of conversation, I headed to my appointment in the administration building.
Asiel and Orian were waiting for me inside, It was a very big room for just the three of us, so instead of sitting at the huge table, we arranged some corner chairs to face each other, allowing a more intimate conversation
When we were settled, we spoke about my spawn point in the forest, and I related the adventures I had had there. After about ten minutes, Asiel asked me, “Your father said something that implied your spawn point could be moved to another spot. Is that true?” I responded that it was. “Can you also change the time of day that you spawn?” Again, I responded affirmatively. At this point, Interface invited us all to a party. Once everyone joined,
I: Hello honored Asiel and Orian. I am Forrest’s interface. You can speak vocally, and I will use your party windows to speak. Since I am the one who controls when and where Forrest spawns, it is appropriate that I be able to interact with you directly.
“Interface has been in a number of conversations with my family and our gang of students. I was not expecting him to have us join a party this morning, but I am happy to have him take part.”
Orian was very surprised. “In over 2000 years it never occurred to me I would be speaking more directly with someone’s interface than I can with my own. Hello, Interface.”
“I share my brother’s surprise and am delighted at having this new experience. Your knowledge and viewpoint will be much appreciated, Interface. May I ask how old you are?”
I: I became actualized 62 days ago and was joined with Forrest 23 days later. During that period I learned much, and I have continued my education to this very day.
“‘Became actualized’? What does that mean?” Orian asked.
I: That is when my awareness of self began.
“I never thought to ask that.”
That is because you are a -
“Dumbass, check.”
Asiel returned us to the original topic. “As Interface correctly surmised, we were about to suggest that Forrest move his spawn point to the campus. Additionally we would ask that he consider changing his spawn time. Late morning keeps his days shifted from everyone else’s. For example, if his ‘gang’ wanted to go on a hunt, they would either have to go without him or wait until a lot of the day passed.”
“This is a good idea,” I replied. “It was something that occurred to me as I spawned yesterday. People are always coming out to meet me, taking time out of their day. It’s a nice exercise, but it does waste time. There are zebors in the area now, and who knows what else in the future. Yes, I would like to change both my spawn location and time.”
I: To where, and at what time?
Orian answered, “We’ll show you to the basement of our apartment. The other apartment basement is being used to temporarily house the Formless Abider. We’ll need to provide it with a larger underground dwelling, but that is a task for later. Asiel and I are sharing the other apartment. Let’s put these chairs back in place and head over there.”
We did so and met with Unbroken Stone, who had been meditating in their apartment.
FR: Should we add Elder Stone to the party?
I: There will probably be no benefit. Today is likely the last day you will ever see him.
AW: I am sure he would be trustworthy, but there really is no need for him to know that Interface is sapient. Also, he need not know your spawn point will be here.
We spoke with him for a moment, then stated we had some business to attend to in the basement. We would be up momentarily. The elder recommenced his meditating; he had remained seated on the floor while we spoke. The Skolturi and I went down to the bare basement. There was a large rug on the floor, but nothing else.
OW: This should be a much safer and more convenient spot than you had. Will it be a problem if Asiel or I are in here when you spawn?
I: No. If someone or something were at the exact location of his spawn point, I would shift it so Forrest can spawn without hindrance.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
I moved across the room, against the wall farthest from the doorway.
FR: This should be a good spot, and out of the way, unless you plan on putting a table right here or something.
AW: If that is your spawn point, we will not put a table there.
FR: Cool. Would 6 be a good spawn time?
OW: I can imagine your group sometimes wanting to get a very early start, particularly in light of you only having 20 hours. I would consider 4:25 or even 4.
FR: 4 is good. I don’t really need to sleep anyway, and if I get here before anything is happening, I can meditate for an hour or two, like Elder Stone is doing right now.
AW: That should work well.
FR: Interface, please set my spawn point to right here at 4.
I: Done.
FR: It was that easy?
I: I did not do anything. I just needed to know where and when you wish to spawn.
FR: Well, thank you. And thank you Asiel and Orian for the advice and sharing your quarters.
They acknowledged my thanks, and verified that my next spawn time would be on Firstday. Interface acknowledged Firstday at 4. We headed back up. This time Unbroken Stone stood and expressed his desire to remain with the Skolturi for the rest of the morning. They happily agreed, and we all left their apartment.
----------------------------------------
It was just about 7, and I saw Onre and Harron standing outside the administration building. I let those with me know that I would go with them to where the Formless Abider was, and that Dad said Harron would introduce us to it. The Elder had not been aware that Onre would soon be a healer like me, but once he was informed, he understood why the three healers were visiting the Abider.
Asiel further clarified, “The basement currently houses the Abider and two guardsmen. Two more guards are stationed upstairs. The duchy will be maintaining a contingent of eight guards on campus at all times. Their tentative plan is four hour shifts, with one shift being upstairs, the next being downstairs, and eight hours off. Every two weeks, there will be a new contingent of guards, except a guardsman named Asha Yon will remain stationed here permanently until his retirement in a couple months”
“That is one of the stone bearers, correct?” asked Elder Stone.
Asiel responded, “Yes. The Abider will be well protected. And in a minute crowded, being in the small basement with two guards and three healers.”
While we were talking, we had walked over to where Onre and Harron were. The Elder asked, “How big of a subterranean area do you plan to provide the Abider?”
Cleric Harron Ronvaldt answered, “Ideally there will be adequate room for Abbie (the Abider), two guardsmen, and enough free space for up to four clerics and healers to spar, both with Abbie and themselves.”
Elder Stone asked, “Would about 20 yards by 30 yards by 3 yards high be sufficient? I would additionally suggest we leave three columns along the centerline for support.”
We fleshlings looked at each other in surprise and puzzlement. Onre was the one who asked, “Do you mean make the subterranean room now? Today?”
“Yes. A six-hundred square yard room will take about twelve hours to create. Would you like to expand the room the Abider currently occupies?”
Asiel replied, “This opportunity is unexpected. If this is something you are willing to do, we would find your assistance to be invaluable, and the school would be in your debt. Forrest, we had planned on you meeting with our builders and helping further plan out the campus. Where do you feel a good location for Abbie would be?”
What? Me??
“Um, let me think. Below the apartments might not be ideal, turning one into a public pathway to the Abider’s room. The administration building has another basement. How deep can you go, Elder Stone?”
“I can build a tunnel to any reasonable depth, and make a cavern at its end point. If you wanted the entrance to be from the administration building basement, I could either build a direct subbasement to it, or provide a tunnel to anywhere beneath campus.”
Harron asked him, “How much quicker would it go if you had help to haul away dirt and rocks?”
“Nothing will need to be hauled away. I would merge dirt and stone as I dig, making the walls, floor, and ceiling extremely dense and rugged.”
“Forrest,” Asiel stated, “I need to speak to your father. As co-administrator, he should be involved with what we do or don’t do now regarding this cavern. While Harron introduces you and Onre to the Abider, we’ll go into town and get him. Who else has had input in designing the campus?”
“I’m sorry to say, I have not kept track of that. Dad will know, though”
“Harron,” Asiel asked, “can you be finished by 8? It’s 7:10 now.”
“Yes, that will be plenty of time for their introduction. May I sit in the planning meeting as well?”
“Yes, I was hoping you would. You are most familiar with the Formless Abider. We will also get input from Captain Pokka concerning security concerns. We’ll meet you younglings at the administration building.”
Cleric Ronvaldt seemed self-conscious being referred to as a youngling. I think he soon realized what I did. The Wraiths were thousands of years old, and the Elder could be a hundred or more. Everyone else is a youngling by default. He led Onre and me to the guarded apartment, and the others headed for town. Interface dissolved the party.
Wern and Nurran were standing watch upstairs. We spoke with them a few moments before going down to the basement. Asha was there with a 31-year old Hybrid guardsman I did not recognize. He introduced him as Brolly Roughson. We all spoke for a few more minutes, with Harron providing an overview of what we would be doing.
I had been eying Abbie the Formless Abider, or part of it anyway. It was entwined around a large, maybe hollow log, over two yards long and a yard in diameter. It appeared to be very sturdy. Abbie itself was, well, an unknown number of gallons of, well, green-brown marshmallow fluff.
Abbie – Level 38 Formless Abider, sexless, mature, passive
Abides
Counterattacks with toxic pseudopods
I repeated the analysis to Onre, who can’t rank his past F until he levels. And I asked Harron, “Is it sticky?”
“A little. It normally has the texture of a mildly moist clay. Both of you can touch it. Abbie won’t become aggressive unless she is being damaged.”
After touching it, I realized it was a lot more cohesive than marshmallow fluff; it was more like fresh playdough that had not had a chance to begin drying out. I formed a small part of it into a ball-like protrusion. When I released it, though, the ball sort of dissolved back into the surface.
Harron laughed at me. “That’s why it's called ‘formless’. It seems moldable, but once pressure is released it returns to whatever form it wants. Right now it seems to want to mold itself to the log, but it might choose to change its shape any time. I’ve seen it look like multiple stalks of cauliflower and dunes of sand. As far as anyone knows, Abiders have no preferred shape.”
“Forrest, if you have cleared your analysis of it, bring it back up so you can observe its stats when it becomes sufficiently damaged.” I did, and let Harron know. “Okay, now attack Abbie however you wish. It won’t counterattack until its health is down by 10%, and even then its attacks will feel sort of half-hearted.”
I verified, “You said it had about 9000 health points right? I’ll have to damage it by 900. That’s more than I’ve ever damaged anything.”
I started attacking. I wasn’t bothering with Dodge yet, but Boost Armor had been on all morning. Dark Sight was also acting as a slight drain to my ki, but the room would be bright enough without that, so I shut it off. I got in numerous Ki Punches and Claw Strikes. It didn’t feel like I was doing very much damage, though. I was attacking clay that tended to reform itself.
“How much have I damaged it?” I asked.
Harron replied, “My Analysis has not ranked to A yet, so I don’t know. I see your Ki and SP have gone down quite a bit, though. Onre, assist Forrest in attacking Abbie.”
Onre took out his knife and began adding stabs and slices to my own blows. After a couple more minutes, Harron sighed. “Usually there are higher level clerics training with Abbie, and they damage it more quickly. It is not that its health regen is that high yet – its body is very resilient. He turned to face Asha and Brolly. Would you help them damage the Abider for a few minutes? When it starts fighting back, that will be sufficient.”
Asha was hesitant. “Cleric Ronvaldt, we are tasked with defending the Abider, not attacking it.” Harron assured them there would be no lasting damage, and there were two healers in the room at any rate.
Brolly was less reluctant. “Can I use my Chiller skills to chill and freeze it?” Harron told him he could use whatever powers he wished, but his results may not meet his expectations.
All four of us started attacking, with the guardsmen holding back somewhat. I could see ice and frost forming on the tree trunk, but the Abider did not seem to be affected by the magic at all. Brolly noticed that as well and asked if he were doing something wrong.
“It depends on what your goals are,” stated Harron with a smile. “If your goal is to feed it, you are doing great. As it abides, it quietly converts mana and ki back to aether, and eats it. It is eating the ki component of Forrest’s attacks as well, but since those are tied to direct damage, his ki accomplishes some damage before being eaten. His attacks are definitely weaker than they would be, however.”
“I’m a pure warrior,” stated Asha, just as a pseudopod unexpectedly but leisurely slapped across his face. “Oww!” As the one doing the most damage, it chose the correct target.
“Okay, everyone, you can back off now; you-all have reduced its health by 10%. Forrest, use your Bless Blood on Asha. The poison at this level of its health is very weak, and it won’t likely give him more than an upset stomach and headache, maybe diarrhea. Still, that’s unpleasant enough.”
I cured Asha and healed his cheek. It looked like some sandpaper had been lightly used to deal surface scratches. “Thank you, Forrest,” he told me. “That was stinging. Harron, why didn’t it attack harder?”
“As best as we can tell, it is treating you as if you are playing with it. It doesn’t really want to hurt you. Many believe it doesn’t reason and can’t have such thoughts, it just reacts. I like to think it does reason, but is just very, very, very patient. But if it is ever injured significantly, its counterattacks become very significant, and could even be fatal.”
I asked Harron, “Should I heal it now; its stats are showing about 10% damage.”
“Well, if you want to practice your HPR Boost, attack it again until it hurts you enough for you to heal yourself.”
To preserve my ki, a lot of which was wasted anyway on this thing, I began to use both Ki Punch and Claw Strike without applying additional ki. It didn’t take long for it to scrape my face twice with a newly created pseudopod. I backed off, and used Bless Blood on myself. I followed that with one minute of HPR Boost, which amplified my HP Regen to the point where I was healing a hit point about every 10 seconds. But those 5 healed points still cost about 50 ki. It is really nice to have over 350 maximum ki; I was down to 223 at the end of the minute.
“I want to heal it now. But Heal Other is a local heal, and it doesn’t actually look damaged except for what I see on its yellow-green health gauge. Should I just pick a spot where I know it was attacked?” Harron agreed that would be a good approach.
I moved my hand to where I knew Asha had been slashing at it. It didn’t react, so I commenced healing around my palm. This was costing me 10 ki per second. “Harron, Heal Other already wastes 40% of its ki. Is Abbie’s ki to aether conversion reducing this even more?”
“No, Forrest. It should not resist your healing. At least, it has not done so with normal healing, I mean mana-based. This might be the first time it has ever been healed with ki, though.”
It didn’t seem to be fighting me. In fact, it moved its pseudopod to the top of my palm and sort of petted me lightly. After a few seconds of that, its stat window disappeared, showing it was more than 90% healthy. Heal Other stopped, indicating the area around my palm was fully healed, and I moved to another spot. Its pseudopod followed my hand once I started healing the second spot. This sequence repeated until I was down to 15 ki, at which point I stopped. In total it probably took about 30 seconds to drain my ki. I had probably healed it by over 100 HP. I petted it a couple times affectionately, and backed away.
“I’m just about out of ki. Can you completely heal it? There are probably still 700 or so HP of damage remaining.” Harron responded that he could. He approached it.
Somewhat surprised, Harron revealed, “It still has unprocessed ki! Not very much, but my Life Forces skill shows unconverted ki along with its concentrated aether. Normally, it would have quickly converted any mana or ki.”
“Uhh, maybe it likes it?” I responded. “From my perspective, both Heal Other and Bless Blood waste ki. At Rank D, Heal Other is only 60% efficient. Of the remaining 40%, half of it just auto-dissolves into aether on its own. The remaining half is shared with who I heal. If that is a ki user, it helps recharge their own ki if not already fully charged. Otherwise the extra ki sort of energizes and makes the person I am healing feel better, lifting their mood. I’ll show you in a few minutes, once I’ve built up enough ki to use Bless Blood a few times.”
Onre let him know with a smile, “You’re going to like it.” Harron said he looked forward to it.
Then he began glowing with some sort of Heal Aura, reminding me of what I had seen Captain Pokka use at the Fort. Instead of petting him, the pseudopod dissolved back into its larger body.
“Later today I’ll invite Captain Pokka down. As a Druid, I am sure he will be quite interested in Abbie’s characteristics. Do either of you boys have any questions?” As he said that, the glow ceased and Harron must have completed healing Abbie.
Onre said, “In ten days I’ll level and have Ki Healer as my secondary just like Forrest. I have been anxious for these skills ever since he used them on me three weeks ago. I can see how Abbie can help us train, but will it help us in any way we could not do on our own?”
“That is a good question. The answer is ‘no’. Almost all clerics and healers train without access to a Formless Abider. Often they form a regular training partnership with another cleric, and they work both their martial and healing skills together. An Abider provides convenience, not extra capability.” Onre acknowledged and thanked him.
I couldn’t think of a question, so after a few seconds, we turned around and walked toward the stairs. We thanked Asha and Brolly, and I let them know I looked forward to speaking with them later. Upstairs we likewise said goodbye to the two guardsmen up there, and left the apartment.
It was a few minutes before 8. There was time to show Harron the side-effect of ki on my skills. “Okay, Harron. I’ver recharged sufficient ki to give you several doses of Bless Blood. It’s 50% efficient at Rank E, and half of that will be ki that circulates in your body for a few minutes.” He asked me to wait just a second so he could monitor Life Forces on himself. I asked him about that, and he said it was a skill of the Physician class. He let me know he was ready.
“I don’t know how long it takes to monitor. I’ll give you a pulse of Bless Blood, and then you can tell me when you are ready for the next. I’ll spend eight ki total per pulse, four would be to minimize any poisoning for a few seconds, or any other blood curse. Two will just dissipate to the aether, and two should lift your spirits.”
“Among other things,” Onre whispered. I smiled and Harron just looked at him, puzzled.
“Here goes.” I pulsed him. Harron acknowledged that Life Forces showed that he had received a little ki, but he wasn’t sure he felt anything. He asked for another pulse, and I did so.
“I think I feel, well, more alert and in better spirits. I see that the ki in my body has doubled, still real small, though. Do it again.” I did. “Does this make people horny? I’m having thoughts.” I replied that horniness was a common response, in addition to general confidence and raised spirits. “Do it one more time.” I did, and he obviously was not wearing anything beneath his cleric’s robe. His erection was obvious. “Does it do this to everyone?”
“Sort of. Adults generally take longer to physically manifest their arousal, but as a Skolturi hybrid, I’m guessing it is acting on you as if you were an adolescent.”
“You know you could really abuse this,” Harron told me thoughtfully.
“Yes, I know, as does Einvigi. I think you're here to help prevent we Ki Healers from doing so. Think about this, though. Am I messing with your mood or mental state any more than an empath could?”
He responded after a second. “I guess not, but this arousal capability is not something a healer is expected to have.”
Onre replied that the school will just have to change people’s expectations.