The Comprehensive and Concise Guide to Ranking by Chezly Falthrick
A Summary of Rankings and Their Associated Milestones
> Rank 2 - 5
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> The second through fifth ranks mark the beginning of understanding the importance of conceptual links.
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> The second through fifth ranks are categorized by accomplishing each of the following (one per rank): - Conceptually linking two insights together in a manner which empowers them both - Learning to combine two mana aspects to create a new third type - ‘Breaking Through’ an existing spell or ability’s limitations by altering ones thought processes and worldview - Learning to directly connect to a representation of a concept strongly linked to ones mana to rapidly convert the potentia to the conceptually linked mana aspect.
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Willow
Respawn Point DA-213-33-312, Farcem City, Motrendi
“Rank 4… You mean you were rank 4.” Luzzi stated, more than asked.
A bit confused, Willow quickly scanned her soul nexus again and compared her knowledge of ranks against herself. Shaking her head, she explained, “No, I’m rank 4. I have two mana aspects, an ability, a spell, I had a skill but it looks like that’s gone…”
Frowning at the hopefully temporary loss, Willow shook her head and continued, “I have a linked concept representation to regenerate mana, I’ve expanded and manipulated my ability’s functionality plenty of times, and my insights have always been linked together… Probably.” She ended with a bright smile.
In all honesty, she wasn’t entirely sure she was rank four. The first three milestones she’d mentioned were definitely reached. She wasn’t totally sure that her insights were linked together in whatever way constituted the milestone, though. A lot of her experience with the whole insight thing was different from how Chezly Falthrick explained it in his book, so she was guessing with that last part. However, one thing she was sure of about the insights being linked together was that there didn’t need to be a ‘bridging’ insight. Those were apparently fine and sometimes used to make extremely clear connections, but as long as a person, or ‘being’ as Chezly always said, held a clear conceptual bond between their insights. As far as Willow was concerned, it’d been harder to separate the two insights than it was to link them.
“That’s… Not possible, Willow…” The fuzzy lady said. Her two tail tips wound and unwound. I’m gonna have to figure out what her body language means… Her voice so far has been pretty much exactly the same the entire time, only what she’s doing with her hands, paws? and tails really changes much. Gonna assume the tails winding and unwinding is probably nervous I’m gonna sock her a good one like her annoying buddy.
“Ain’t I just the darndest thing, then?” She flashed a grin, not feeling a particular need to convince anyone that she was apparently continuing to break the rules. “I do feel a lot weaker, though. Physically. And like I said, my skill’s gone entirely. That’s… Annoying. I’m gonna want that back.”
Shaking her head, Luzzi wave Willow forward, “Please, come. Perhaps we should talk over lunch. Normally, when a first time respawnee comes through, one of us on respawn duty will spend some time explaining. In my experience, a newly formed body is generally hungry.”
Eager, Willow nodded. She was tired, some food and then bed sounded perfect. Stepping over the unconscious form of Ravavka, she strode toward the outline of a doorway behind Luzzi. Arriving, she examined it carefully, trying to figure out how she was supposed to open it. The outline was there, like a beveled seam in the weird flat gray surface of the wall, but there wasn’t a handle or button or anything. Reaching out, she pushed on it, curious, but it didn’t budge.
Clearing her throat, Luzzi stepped forward. A flash of disappointment and annoyance rolled through Willow as she noticed that she was a few centimeters shorter than Luzzi. Even with her odd backwards, almost lupine, legs which caused her to crouch a bit: her head was slightly above Willow’s own. Somehow it doesn’t seem fair. Is 1.6 meters still short even here?!
She consoled herself by remembering that Ravavka was the size of a child. Maybe most others would be just as small and Luzzi was just a giant! Realizing she’d been getting distracted even more easily than usual, Willow forced her attention back to the matter at hand. She’d entirely missed how Luzzi had opened the door, but she was now standing outside the empty doorway waiting for Willow to follow.
Stepping out herself, Willow glanced around curiously. They had entered a long hallway which extended down as far as she could see to her left and right both. The entire place was eerily empty and silent. Keeping her voice low, as she felt a similar compulsion not to break the silence as she might in a library, Willow asked, “Is it always so empty?”
Ear twitching, Luzzi rubbed one of her hands down her face, from the center of her head, over where her eyes would have been, down to her nose. The motion left a trail of slightly standing fur which was slowly falling back into place. She answered, “These hallways are generally quite empty, though sometimes they become flooded. Large scale wars, raid rifts, the unexpected destruction of a planet, and other events which cause many deaths often lead to crowds.”
Unlike Willow, Luzzi apparently had no concern about being too loud. She spoke with a normal tone and volume and began walking to their right. Willow followed as she listened, “Currently, there appears not be any large scale violent events. There’s a raid rift scheduled by the Order of Nothing tomorrow, so there will be many spawns to process then. Thankfully, I will be free of the duty as today is my last filling this particular role.”
That’s… A lot to unpack. “So people go out and do things they know will probably kill a lot of them? Raid rifts? Why?”
A cat-like tail swish passed through Willow’s peripheral vision, and there was a long beat before Luzzi replied, “It appears your education was incomplete…” She spoke slowly, choosing her words, “Death is an inevitability, and up until rank ten it’s mostly an inconvenience as even the most incompetent of beings can rebuild their soul nexus within a year or less. The talented might get back from rank one to rank nine in a month. Only the jump between nine and ten is truly a struggle.”
That didn’t quite jive with what she’d been told during that on-boarding lecture, which felt so long ago, “I thought factions expected it to take ten years to form an insight?”
That question was, apparently, a bit too telling. Luzzi froze mid step. Had she been a human, Willow expected she would have turned to stare at her. Instead, she just wrapped her tail around her waist and asked in a careful tone, “Am I to understand, then, that your own faction did not require a ‘service period’ of you?”
Ehh, what the heck. My mana’s full enough that I’m confident I can escape if I need to. Might as well give her a bit of info, maybe she can help. Not like Madrick said it was a secret or anything. “Nope! I’m not part of a faction, I’m a disciple.” As she finished her explanation, she knew she’d said the right thing. Luzzi’s tail unwrapped and resumed the position it had been in the first time Willow saw her. It rose in a curving C, the split ends wrapping together tightly so it looked like a normal single strand.
“I see, that does explain it, then. May I ask who you are discipled to?” She continued walking as she asked and Willow stepped to keep up.
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“Sure, Madrick.” Luzzi froze again, this time she just stood still for a moment before resuming their walk. Giving her a bit to think, Willow glanced around, hoping to see something interesting. Unfortunately, the hallway was made of the exact same boring gray substance that the room she’d appeared in had been. There were hundreds of door outlines, just like the one Luzzi had opened. Somehow. Why am I so easily distracted right now? I’m tired, but it doesn’t feel that bad…
“Madrick is a… Well known entity. I suppose you were given little choice in the matter of your discipleship?” Came Luzzi’s belated reply.
Injecting as much false cheer into her voice as she could, Willow chirped, “Exactly none!”
Glancing toward her guide, Willow saw she was running both hands down her face. I wonder what that means. Concerned? Distressed? Once her hands had properly ruffled her fur, she replied, “That is what I expected. The one time I met Madrick, he killed me for annoying him.”
Eyebrows raising, Willow immediately latched onto that particular tidbit eagerly, “He killed you for annoying him? I’ve definitely annoyed him several times and he didn’t kill me.”
More twitching ears, “You did not respawn due to him becoming frustrated and killing you?”
“Huh? No, I got in a fight with this annoying freaky monster that was formed after we killed a few skyscraper-sized things that were set on me by someone with the ability to make his stories come true.” Although Willow was quite pleased with her concise summary of events, it apparently left Luzzi with more questions.
Feeling no particular reason to be cagey, Willow indulged her curiosity as they walked. As they talked, she kept her UICI journal up and began penning questions which she’d ask the seemingly friendly woman later. Actually, I’m assuming she’s a she because of her voice, that might be rude…
Clearing her throat, Willow decided to just get it out of the way. “Eh, before I answer about Nuu… Could I ask you about yourself a bit? I’ve never met someone from your… Species?”
The wound tail suddenly unwound and split far apart before winding back up and resuming their previous C. Yeah, I need to find a book or something about what those gestures mean. “I’m sorry, I should have expected as much! I’m a member of the paavaras species.” Before Willow could embarrass herself with further questions, she continued, “I am a female, as expressed by my delicate jawline and wide ear-lobes.”
One of her paws reached up to pull at the bottom edge of her ear, which was kind of circular compared with the overall sharp triangle shape. “My kind put great stock in freedom and individuality. I advise you do not attempt to dictate or rule any of us, as it rarely ends pleasantly.”
Nodding, Willow grinned, “Hey, we have that in common then!”
“Yes, it seems so!”
Although she wanted to ask more questions about her new acquaintance, and her people, Willow honored her previous promise and answered her last question about Nuu instead.
The entire walk down the hallway took an entire half hour. In that time, they only passed two other people. One looked like a fantasy elf: tall, fair skinned, slanted and sharp features, pointy ears, haughty expression. The other was just another human. Is it weird I’m disappointed to see humans instead of new magical species?
At the end of the hallway, they found another door-outline. This time Willow paid attention and saw what Luzzi did. She placed a hand on the door and it seemed to melt away in every direction. The process looked like a mix between oil running across a flat surface and paper burning from the center out to every edge. “How’d you do that?” she asked curiously.
“There is an enchantment matrix which allows authorized personnel to control the living metal we touch with a UICI module.”
“If it’s using the UICI, why do you have to touch it?”
The door finished melting away and they stepped through as Luzzi answered. “That’s the targeting mechanism the module developer decided on. This is a rank three module, so it’s likely that it was designed with the understanding that users would not have a developed enough will to avoid targeting the wrong things if a metal targeting system was used instead.”
“Oh… Uh, so what’s living metal?” Willow asked as she looked around. Finding herself finally outside of the boring passage, her eyes drank in the new scenery. The room was clearly a lobby, with a huge opening to their right, large enough to easily accommodate a four lane highway, had it not been congested with walking people instead.
Every shape and size seemed to be represented here. Ten meter giants stepped carefully to avoid squashing everyone around them, fantasy creatures decked in sparkling chain mail rubbed elbows with squid-shaped creatures covered in what looked like neoprene lugging massive guns. A lanky man passed directly in front of them, wearing a literal wizard’s costume. Pointy hat, long flowing star-dotted robes and all. On his shoulder was what looked like a tiny elf with wings, probably a fairy, chattering into his ear while polishing what looked like a tiny laser-sword hilt.
Above the crowd floated a blue and red mass of something contained within what appeared to be a multi-layered gyroscope. Gears slowly turned, rotating the entire outer construct while the inside remained a stable ball of vibrantly glowing color. Desks lined the wall directly in front of them, though there was a ramp leading to a sky-walk to go over the constant foot traffic moving between the entrance and the final edge of the lobby.
To Willow’s left was both the destination and source of the majority of the never ending press of bodies. A still tall, but much narrower, doorway surrounded by what appeared to be holographic ads sat as the main attraction. Directly above the advertisement-plastered doorway floated a single sentence, “Entrance to Luvian Rift 230-AE-993.” Below the vibrant, eye piercing, pink and red letters was smaller line. “Rift Occupancy: 9832/10000.”
Every second she watched, the ‘Rift Occupancy’ number changed. The second number, which she assumed was the maximum capacity, remained static. The first one though, would drop by ten only to immediately leap up by thirty. Then fall again by a hundred.
Those numbers were obviously calculated based on the people going in and out. It was only the sheer speed of it that was shocking. Noticing that Willow had entirely missed her explanation of living metal, Luzzi rubbed one of her paws down the side of her face and gently tapped the human on her shoulder. She’d tried calling her name twice.
Head whipping around, Willows’ wide eyes locked on the only semi-familiar face as she breathed out, “Holy Jesus this is a lot.”
Rubbing the side of her face again, Luzzi gestured toward the rift entrance, “That particular rift is a staple of Motrendi. It has a hundred X time compression ratio. So each second out here is one hundred within. This is how it’s able to accommodate so many each day. It’s also one of the most sought after rift types, what we call a ‘mob field’ type rift. The entire thing is essentially a large world with hundreds of thousands of monsters, all of which respawn on a set timer. It’s perfect for honing combat insights. Unfortunately, this rift doesn’t provide any particular reward other than the monster experience itself.”
The massive crowd cheered when a particularly well liked party exited the rift, distracting Willow again. Noticing the human’s attention was waning, Luzzi tapped her shoulder and pointed toward the exit on their right. “We’re going through those doors. There is a small bistro off the main street that I enjoy, I haven’t taken any humans there before but I have noticed some come and go. I believe it should be acceptable for you as well.”
Far too overwhelmed by the sudden change from weeks of isolation from everyone but a small handful of familiar faces, Willow just nodded and followed behind. She forced herself to keep her attention on Luzzi enough to follow her, though she let her eyes flick about without moving her head. Somehow, the emptiness of the feather-branch forest had subconsciously convinced her that most worlds would be like that. Somewhat barren. She assumed there would be cities, but this was on another scale entirely.
As they finally passed through the huge doorway and observed the sprawling monstrosity of a city, Willow had to force herself not to stop and stare again. Stretched out before them was a vista of constant motion as billions, trillions? Went about their daily lives. The city wasn’t like any she’d seen on earth. It was clear they were several kilometers above the ground floor of the city, as she could see an edge in the distance and beyond that other massive buildings which appeared to be large enough to be considered cities in their own right. Those distant buildings even appeared to have large walkways built between them on several levels, shortcuts to avoid going all the way to ground level to move between them certainly.
All of this was essentially a scaled up version of any major city, with the buildings including huge outdoor terraces which might be better described as parks and in some cases perhaps even forests. The parts which caused Willow’s heart to speed up in excitement were the huge floating sections of the city. Occupying the sky above them were: buildings, shards of what appeared to be islands of pure nature, solid appearing clouds, flying beasts and even people running through the air with abandon. What she’d assumed was a roof or spell effect or something far above suddenly shifted and she realized that bright gold so far above wasn’t stationary either.
Luzzi laid a hand on Willow, probably to avoid them getting separated in the press of bodies as she stood directly in the path of traffic, staring up. Mouth hanging open for what felt like hours, Willow watched as what turned out to be golden scales made their sensuous way across the skyline, twisting and climbing into the air. Finally, the creature itself was distant enough to be understandable. A dragon. A dragon large enough to cover hundreds of kilometers of the sky. Large enough that a single scale had been enough to block the sky.
Only now did Willow notice that a silvery orb hung in the purple-green sky, shedding a gentle light across the world. A gentle light which was overwhelmed a hundred times over by the lights of the city itself. If I looked at this planet from space, I wonder if it’d seem as bright as its sun.
Another shoulder pat reminded Willow they should get out of everyone’s way and she followed Luzzi for another half hour, this time in silence. There was far too much to see and process, the thought of talking never even crossed her mind.
The only words exchanged were as they reached their destination. The ‘small bistro’ ended up being located in a building that Willow would have assumed was a massive upscale apartment complex back on Earth. Once they entered, Luzzi rubbed both hands over her face before stating, “Welcome to MotrePrime!”