NorskDaedalus
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Chapter 77: Taking it to the Next Level
🕑 Added 2021-07-27 16:00:02 +0000 UTCIt was only when he woke up without so much as a trace of lingering soreness that Edwin finally appreciated just how much work Sleeping must put in to refresh him so completely every night. Still, he couldn’t say he wanted to put himself through that ordeal very much. If he were a masochist, he could use Overcharge every night to level it and just sleep off the exhaustion and pain… but that sounded like almost-literal torture. Plus, he didn’t want to overuse it and maybe poison himself with black sludge? No thanks.
He pulled himself from his hammock, wincing slightly. Okay, so he was still a bit sore. Waking up with a tweaked shoulder was something of a novel experience for him these days after all, and he was so incredibly glad that he did have Sleeping, or else Overcharge might well put him in his bed for a week rather than a single night.
His personal discomfort notwithstanding, it was a very bright and early morning. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping- wow, were the birds ever chirping. He could identify where dozens of birds were just from listening, and if he changed his Perception’s focus to sight, he was able to take in an extraordinarily high-detail view of Obairlann, its walls and roof glistening with morning dew. He allowed his door- a proper door these days, not the contraption he’d initially woven- to swing close, following its trajectory solely through the faint breeze it created as air rushed out of its way.
Perception was amazing.
He waved to Inion, only wincing slightly as his arm tweaked a sore muscle, who floated over to him on a cloud of colorless light- one of her Skills, whatever it was. He’d ask about it at some point.
After exchanging standard morning greetings, and Edwin had a small bite to eat, Edwin dropped down to get started on the rest of his Paths. He had another long day ahead of him, that was for certain!
You have completed the Biologist path!
“The magic of life” is such a ubiquitous phrase that it is common knowledge to almost all that life must be intrinsically linked to magic. But not for you. Life is a natural phenomena, and that means it follows rules, guidelines, and patterns. It can be studied, it can be predicted, it can be understood. While this is perhaps not what is typically meant by the idea that one ought to “know themselves,” it seems to be adequate for your path.
Metabolic Alchemist
You may evolve your First Aid skill into the Anatomy skill!
Accept Evolution? Y/N
Anatomy
Neither cruel nor cowardly. Never give up. Never give in.
Understand the body of yourself and others
Insight improves with level.
Huh. It didn’t change his Class name? Well… it made sense after a fashion. Metabolic Alchemist made enough sense for a biologist/alchemist. It did imply that his Class name would stop changing more or less altogether at a certain point, though Inion’s Class indicated it would get more complex instead, or perhaps as well?
He asked as much, getting a nodded agreement from his friend, “Ya. Your Class is a cumulation of all the Paths you’ve taken, each Path you complete does less and less to actually change it. At some point, you’d need a bunch of Paths to budge the Name. Though as you get more completed, the more… grandiose it tends to get. Or more definitive. Be very wary of anyone who has ‘The’ as part of their class.”
Yeah, Edwin probably didn’t need the warning, but it was still nice to have confirmation. He nodded absently while he turned his attention instead to his newest Skill.
The first thing it did was improve his proprioception… no wait, that was just his Perception as he turned it towards himself. What it did do was help him figure out exactly which muscle in his shoulder was tweaked and that it should work its way back into place if he kept it relaxed today, caused by overstressing it last night. A flex of Numeracy informed him of his precise heart rate- 38 bpm- and while he couldn’t quite feel his exact blood pressure, it felt healthy.
He looked at Inion, and frowned. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was exactly, but something about her anatomy just seemed… wrong. Her proportions, or maybe the way her muscles moved… It was another reminder that she wasn’t human, no matter how superficially she may have resembled one, given the way her wet tunic form-fit itself to her…
Focus, Edwin, he admonished himself.
Hmm. So, it gave him extra feedback on the state of his own body, and let him get further intuition on the bodies of others? Not too shabby. Pity about it being another thing for him to split his Perception between, though. It was funny how he became supernaturally aware of his surroundings, only for him to immediately find his attention split between far more stimuli than before.
He needed to find some Paths that would give him more Perception, and the sooner the better. Then again, he’d probably slowly acclimate to all the information his Skills were feeding him anyway. The human brain was amazing at that sort of thing, after all.
Next up was Makeshift Alchemist, and Edwin… just wasn’t feeling it. He had Purify, Breathing, Flexibility, Nutrition, and Sleeping to go. Makeshift Alchemist would, he was almost certain, give him some kind of ability to turn normal materials into alchemical ingredients by evolving Purify. It was undeniably useful… so why was he hesitating?
Well. I do already have Mana Infusion, he mused, That kind of fills that same role. And Practical Alchemist is also a good Path, which could also evolve Purify into something that might be useful in my research and alchemical experiments.
On the other hand, he did really need some kind of backup in case he found himself without his potions on hand… but didn’t Overcharge kind of fill that role? He’d gotten a Skill which could be quite a fight finisher if he pulled it off properly, and he’d gotten another Skill which meant he’d always have something on hand. If he took too many Skills that were backups, then that weakened his primary strategy, so wasn’t it better that he ensure that most of his Skills were ones he’d use all the time? It wasn’t like he’d ever be completely unarmed these days, right?
To confirm his suspicion, he summoned a knife with his Sapper’s Apparatus. The blue light slowly coalesced into the appropriate shape, a blade of crystal, sharp and pointy. He pricked himself with the end- a marginally harder task than anticipated with his newly-increased Health- and watched the blood bead at the tip of his finger.
Anatomy helpfully informed him he was bleeding and that it was already clotting. Huh, that was fast. Still, it confirmed that he could make weapons with Apparatus, though…
Edwin tossed his knife at a nearby rock. It cut through the air with perfect accuracy and shattered as it struck the stone tip-first, vanishing into faint motes of blue light. It wasn’t super strong, admittedly, and took a while to form, but it was the principle of the matter that mattered.
Hmmm. He would… take Practical Alchemist first and see if it evolved Purify. If it did, great. He’d put Makeshift Alchemist off to the side as his one Path he didn’t take this time around thanks to Unkillable’s unpredictability. If it didn’t, he’d take Makeshift Alchemist to evolve it instead. Better that an alchemist Path evolved it than Adventurer or one of his fey Paths, after all.
You have completed the Practical Alchemist path!
Some alchemists get lost in their own experiments, in their own philosophizing and experiments, that their minds and tests become wholly divorced from reality even as they seek to comprehend it. Others run experiment after experiment, seeking knowledge for the simple fact that it is knowledge, and they must know it. You may be vulnerable to both of these failings, but you recognize that the true value of alchemy is in the application of the theoretical to reality. You have found how to use your alchemical knowledge in defense, in aid, and to attack. You would be well-served to remember this lesson as you venture forth on your path.
Alchemist
You may evolve your Purify skill into the Refining skill!
Accept Evolution? Y/N
Refining
Better. Faster. Stronger.
Isolate and improve desirable qualities
Strength of refinement improves with level.
Edwin… wasn’t sure how that differed from Purify. Not totally, at least. With chemistry, metallurgy, and pretty much all material science, refining something was purifying it, removing impurities and concentrating what you wanted. How was this different?
He asked Inion as much, only to get a skeptically raised eyebrow, “Your Class may say you’re just an Alchemist, but you don’t think much like one, do you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean? And no, I don’t. I was a scientist first, and in many ways I still am. I’m an alchemist because I’m in a land of magic, of course I’m going to be one! Like, do you realize how cool of a job description ‘alchemist’ is, when it isn’t just pre-chemist? Trying to develop immortality, turning lead to gold, making a universal solvent! Like, those are the things which every chemist dreams of. Making the impossible, doing things which flatly break the laws of physics. Of course I’ll jump at the chance!”
“Okay, well that’s your problem.”
“I… don’t follow.”
“You said it yourself. ‘Making the impossible,’ you don’t accept that alchemy and the things you do are possible because Joriah follows different rules from your Earth. To you, you have the laws of your universe, and then there’s magic. Magic is impossible, and it doesn’t fit with what you know. It is not an intrinsic part of reality.”
“That’s just an expression, though! I do and see impossible things all the time.” He gestured around, “Look at me! I’m sitting here talking to a floating nature spirit. And of course magic is in addition! Everything behaves almost exactly the same as on Earth, just with the addition of magic! I can use magic perfectly well, and I can be a scientist-mage no problem! But refining is literally just the exact same as purification.”
“Think, Edwin,” she floated over him. “What does refining something mean to an alchemist. Not to a scientist, but to someone who views your ‘laws of the universe’ as interesting guidelines.”
Edwin shrugged helplessly, then caught himself. Hmmm.
“Uhh. Huh. Actually….” He reread the Skill description, “Isolate and improve…” he blinked, “Can I alter physical parameters with this? Like, I don’t know… make something stronger than it should be? Alchemy Essentia, I guess?”
“It’s your Skill,” Inion countered, “Why should I know?”
Edwin sighed, “Yeah, yeah.”
Refining ended up being even harder to use than Alchemical Dismantling, and Edwin figured he had to be doing something wrong, but he put it off to the side for the time being. Four Paths to go, four Skills left. What did it still have in store for him?
Mana 21 → 28
Stamina 20 → 23
Perception 10 → 13
You have completed the Feytouched path!
Your path has taken you into the most curious of locales. Among these are the primal corners of Joriah, where powerful spirits slumber, hailing from a world quite unlike the one that currently exists. You bear many resemblances to them, and have round yourself in concert with one of these great fey. Inexplicably, you survived this encounter and can now claim a small fraction of their might in your own adventures.
Leighis Alchemist
You may evolve your Flexibility skill into the Fey’s Caress skill!
Accept Evolution? Y/N
Fey’s Caress
Brush against the power of the fey
Bind yourself to a touched material, gaining some of its properties
Depth of binding increases per level.
“Leighis? What’s that?”
“Medicine? Where did you hear that- oh.” Inion stopped as she presumably Identified Edwin, and nodded, “Well, it means medicine. Medical, rather.”
Edwin wryly nodded, “Got it. Any idea why I have a word in my Class that isn’t in a language I understand?”
“You’d know as well as I.”
Edwin mumbled vague half-complaint before he turned his attention more to his newest Skill. For once, the Skill description was actually useful in figuring out what to do, and he laid his fingers on a nearby rock and activated the Skill.
From the point of contact, gray-black stone spread up his arm, bringing a chill and a faint sense of numbness alongside the discoloration. Before it could reach his elbow, he pulled away and the transformation began to reverse, shrinking down the length of his forearm and to his fingers before vanishing altogether.
So it wasn’t permanent. That was good. He didn’t think it would be- heck, the thought hadn’t even occurred to him until after he tried the Skill- but it was still nice to confirm as much.
A bit more poking around, both literal and figurative, alongside some coaching from Inion helped Edwin tease out some of the limits of his new Skill. He could bind to mundane materials around him, like wood, stone, or leather, and take on many of their characteristics. His skin generally became tougher regardless of what he bound to, it would become heavier or lighter, usually lose a bit of flexibility, and get a few other miscellaneous attributes depending on what he absorbed. Metal allowed him to shapeshift his features ever so slightly, deforming his fingers to be pointed and Cloth was actually lighter and more flexible than just using skin, to give the two primary examples he’d found.
Attempting to Caress air… hadn’t gone well, and had resulted in several layers of skin stripped from his hands before he knew what was happening. Inion told him it was because of the Skill’s low level, and he might be able to use it to turn wholly into wind at higher levels, once he could transform all of himself at once.
It was apparently similar to the Skill she had gotten as part of binding to her pool- namely Aquatic Presence- except his bindings were strictly temporary and his nature as a fully corporeal and mortal entity was fighting it. As a result, she was able to coach him through how to use his water transformation, especially how to hold the water close to him (preventing a repeat of the air fiasco), and marginally manipulate it. Eventually, he’d be able to turn his entire arm into water, but for now, it didn’t even transmute the entirety of his skin.
Flexibility was the only reason that he was even able to move while Caressing stone or metal, and even that was something of a struggle. He also found that how much of himself he could transform was strictly limited to how much stuff he was in contact with. Using one of his few remaining grai only allowed him to turn his fingers into gold, which ended up being surprisingly easy to flex for a metal, though it made sense why it was the case.
In any case, to use his Skill reliably, he’d need a significant amount of materials on hand. Golden fingers would probably be useful in lieu of gloves if not much else, but stone or steel forearms would be useful if he needed to punch someone.
Lastly, any transformation started with wherever he was touching the material. If he was standing barefoot on stone, it would start with his feet. If he balanced a coin on the back of his hand, it spread from there. Turning his entire body to stone felt strange, but not altogether unpleasant. His clothes didn’t transform alongside him, but that felt less like a Skill limit and more just not knowing the proper technique (Inion was no help there, to no real surprise).
Overall, a decent Skill. Lots of potential, but it would take time to figure out how to use it optimally and he wasn’t sure if it would ever be one of his primary tools in a fight, though he seriously wanted to figure out how that transformation worked.
Mana 28 → 33
You have completed the Fey Scion path!
You have learned much from your fey mentor, from lessons on magic to Paths to how to utilize your Skills. Already, you have taken some steps to more fully embody the nature of your Arcadian teacher, and with your previous endeavor in comprehending the nature of reality from the physical, you have taken the first steps needed to comprehend reality from the metaphysical.
Alchemical Scion
You may evolve your Nutrition skill into the Arcadian Elixir skill!
Accept Evolution? Y/N
Arcadian Elixir
Once one has sampled perfection, well… they can settle for what you make
That which you make is like unto ambrosia
Potency increases with level.
“Are everyone’s skill notifications as sarcastic as mine?” Edwin asked Inion. She perked up, looking for clarification, and Edwin read the Skill box to her.
“Okay, you can stop laughing now. It wasn’t that funny,” he finally decreed. “Now are you going to answer my question or not?”
“Fine, fine. It’s just funny,” Inion wiped away an imaginary tear from her face and composed herself. “To answer your question, no. It’s not normally like that, at least for me. I don’t know what determines the Skill descriptions, but it’s not consistent between everyone who gets the same Skill.”
“Great,” Edwin grumbled, “I’m so glad I alone have to deal with this sort of thing. Would it kill the System to consistently give me useful Skill descriptions?” Edwin shook his head and started trying to figure out what it did.
….
It took a fair bit of trial and error, but he eventually felt like he had it figured out. Anything edible he made now tasted better- particularly noticeable when compared to the same thing he’d made prior to getting the Skill- and was more filling. That seemed… rather lacking, so there had to be some kind of further hidden effect he wasn’t seeing. It did have the side effect of making his previous food taste like cardboard in comparison, but he could live with cardboard so long as it was filling enough. He’d just have to remake a bunch of his supplies, figure out what the bare minimum amount of work needed to get the Skill to activate was, and see if it worked with potions, too.
Oh man, that would be awesome if it worked with healing potions and the like. Better-tasting and possibly more effective potions would be so nice, way better than the vaguely bitter and medicinal taste they usually ended up being in any case.
When she sampled it, Inion agreed that his food tasted better now, as well, and that it reminded her of home. Overall, a win! Perhaps a boring Skill, but one that would at minimum make his trail rations far more tolerable.
Breathing and Sleeping to go, and Explorer and Adventurer to combine with them. He was getting so close he could practically taste it. Pity it didn’t taste as good as his venison jerky soup.
Stamina 23 → 29
Perception 13 → 18
You have completed the Explorer path!
The path you have taken is not one many have trod before; going places unseen for generations and finding all the forgotten corners of Joriah. You boldly venture into the unknown, blazing your own trail through calm and storm alike, the only thing murkier than your past being your future.
Alchemist-Errant
You may evolve your Breathing skill into the Fresh Air skill!
Accept Evolution? Y/N
Fresh Air
Nothing like the smell of a newly-discovered toxic gas in the morning!
Breathe in fresh air
Purity increases with level.
Edwin felt a dramatic shift in the air the moment he took a breath and collapsed into a coughing fit. He had not been expecting such a sudden change from a new Skill, what was causing… ah. Purify must have affected it, didn’t it? Yeah, that would make sense, if he functionally just had a level 75 Skill suddenly appear out of… thin air.
His explanation of the air being too pure as to why he suddenly doubled over coughing drew an amused giggle from Inion. Overall, Edwin wasn’t sure how the Skill actually functioned, as he could still smell his surroundings, and it was as though pleasant odors were allowed through, whereas anything even marginally unpleasant was filtered away… though it was still present if he thought about it, just not obvious.
It was very cool being able to stand in the smoke from a campfire with no issues breathing, but further confusing matters was the fact that his eyes didn’t seem to be affected by the smoke either. There was clearly a lot packed into the Skill which the description didn’t adequately describe, but he had no clue where to start testing its limits. Although maybe he could breathe underwater with it?
…
So he, as it turned out, could not breathe underwater. At least, not yet. His trial run had still had him inhale water, but far less than a mouthful. Probably, as the Skill leveled, he would be able to just hang out fully submerged, but that day hadn’t come yet.
For now, he’d have to settle for being highly resistant to airborne hazards. It probably worked on diseases and inhaled poisons, though he couldn’t exactly check- nor had he gotten so much as a sniffle since he’d arrived on Joriah, come to think of it. Weird. He hadn’t considered that fact, but if he had, he would have thought that his immune system, being wholly unfamiliar with all the plagues and viruses to be found on Joriah, would fare about as well as that of the Americans when faced with Europeans.
Now, he wasn’t complaining that he hadn’t died of the smallpox-equivalent here, but it was kind of strange. Then again, there was so much overlap in animal life (which was its own kind of weirdness for that matter), maybe there were similar connections in diseases? Asking Inion just confirmed that they did indeed have disease on Joriah, the System not wholly sufficient to snuff it out, but she wasn’t terribly well-informed about what said diseases were.
Perhaps his genetics were subtly different enough, being an ‘extraplanar human,’ that he got an exemption, as surely as if he were a human among chimpanzees? Well… whatever it was, he was just going to be thankful and hope that he never had to deal with it. Something to worry about another day.
Meanwhile, he had one Skill to go, and one Path to complete with it. So, what would Adventurer do to Sleeping? Make him immune to needing such? Let him dream up training situations? Let him adjust a Skill he had overnight?
Health 24 → 25
Stamina 29 → 30
Perception 18 → 19
You have completed the Adventurer path!
Your path is your own, and no one else’s. From your very first moments upon Joriah, you have broken conventions and defied expectations. Your very existence is unpredictable despite the best efforts of many, and you carry with you many valuable lessons for all who would seek them. You venture forth on your own terms, adventuring for the sake of novelty and excitement but to help and learn as well. Take care you do not lose yourself like so many before you.
Alchemist-Errant
You may evolve your Sleeping skill into the Watchful Rest skill!
Accept Evolution? Y/N
Watchful Rest
No more sleepless nights, just sleepless knights
Retain awareness of your surroundings while asleep
Awareness increases with level.
…Or maybe it would help keep him from being surprised during the night. Well, it may not have been as glamorous as some of his other Skills, but perhaps he was getting overly hopeful for a 30-point Path. This would serve him perfectly well going forward, as Inion wouldn’t always be able to keep watch for him. Something that reduced his need for sleep would have also been welcome, but this worked perfectly fine as well.
So he was to be an Alchemist-Errant going forward, was he? Well, it at least sounded cool, and did describe him more or less adequately.
It was still early-ish afternoon, his Skill experimentation having only taken a few hours, and that meant Edwin still had one last task to do before he started exploring all his new powers together in earnest.
-----
You have unlocked the Flight skill!
Accept Evolution? Y/N
Flight (Magical, Tether)
Raw magic and will: significantly better than wax wings
Fly
Efficiency improves with level.
Congratulations! For obtaining a Skill that allows you to fly unaided while not having wings, you have unlocked the Aerialist path!
Using a dedicated Skill was so much easier than the way he jury-rigged Packing to lift him off the ground. To start, it was instantaneous. No more carefully getting into the right mindset, convincing the air it ought to support his weight. No, it just took a single flex of Flight to bring him off the ground. Mere inches off the ground perhaps, but off the ground nonetheless.
The ‘tether’ referred to in the Skill felt like, well, like a tether connecting Edwin to the ground below him. In attempting to find the limits of his newest ability, he found that it could (after a couple levels) extend about six inches from him, and so long as it connected to something which could support him, allowed him to fly. It didn’t matter if it was a ceiling, a wall, or a tree trunk, just that it was solid. Attempting to fly over the pond had just resulted in a very wet Edwin, and trying to fly over the edge of his cliff had just sent him plummeting to the ground. He’d faceplanted firmly into the dirt, not able to reactivate the Skill fast enough to catch himself.
What was really interesting was the way the grass below him bent out of the way, like he was surrounded by a powerful downdraft, but he hadn’t figured out how to replicate the phenomena reliably. It couldn’t be used as a force push, sadly. If the tether didn’t connect to anything strong enough to hold Edwin up, the Skill just failed to engage. Fortunately, Packing didn’t seem to count towards that limitation, and Edwin honestly wasn’t sure what supported the boulders he lifted to test it. The branches he was using Flight off of certainly didn’t look like they had to support several hundred pounds of rock in addition to him, anyway.
-------
The rest of the day passed in more or less a blur. Edwin played around with all of his new skills, trying to figure out all of their interactions and limitations. He’d done some experimenting as he went along, yes, but now he was actually looking for the synergy.
The first one was pretty easy- Apparatus and Prototyping both worked off Visualization, so it was trivial for Edwin to figure out how to conjure an object he had prototyped. Apparatus still required him to be in contact with his new creation, but he was able to make some pretty interesting ‘rock’ stacks by summoning new levels already balanced.
Basic Thermokinesis was usable at range, as it turned out, but required him to have a ‘focus’ point, like his hand were a magnifying glass concentrating heat on a specific object. From there, it was relatively trivial to focus the Skill onto small points, which could either ignite said point if he used Firestarting or just rapidly heat that specific point to the Skill’s maximum- something like 15 degrees (Celsius, naturally) above air temperature. Past that, and the entire object just started to heat up instead of the point specifically. Once the entire object was at maximum, it radiated heat into its surroundings.
If Edwin was able to channel more mana into the skill, he probably would have been able to then keep heating his target indefinitely, but as it stood, he wasn’t able to heat it faster than it lost that energy to its surroundings.
Curiously, until the object reached maximum sustained temperature, it felt as though it stayed at or just barely above skin or air temperature. That, and a few other interesting quirks of the Skill led Edwin to deduce that Basic Thermokinesis consisted of two parts: one was directly adding energy to his target, and the other was almost perfectly thermally insulating whatever he used the Skill on until it was overpowered by a significant temperature differential.
For now, the two aspects seemed to be linked- he could only insulate an object he was also heating- but Edwin was hopeful that he might overcome that limitation in time.
It also opened up some interesting revelations about the nature of magic- was it a form of radiation, where it could be focused to a point? It could transfer energy, yes, and seemed to break conservation of energy given mana just appeared from seemingly nowhere, but how did it transfer that energy? Was it radiative? Convective? Conductive? Did the insulation manage to block all three types? Or just conductive (which would also block convective, come to think of it)?
There were so, so many questions that Basic Thermokinesis raised, and Edwin had to force himself to step away from it for the time being. He’d give it a thorough, thorough investigation at some point in the future, he promised himself. There were thermodynamics shenanigans afoot, and what kind of physicist would he be if he didn’t tear into it as much as possible?
Something Edwin found quite interesting was that his Firestarting and Thermokinesis felt very different under his Ritual Intuition. The former felt like… weakening, and change, for lack of a better term, whereas the latter felt more directly like fire. It reinforced his idea that Firestarting just served as a catalyst rather than an actual firestarter, but he still couldn’t confirm it.
Curiously, Mana Infusion also felt vaguely like fire, Flight felt like a patch of still air deflecting rain, and Fey’s Caress reminded Edwin of… well, like a mountain spring at night. He wasn’t able to get a sense of what his Skills felt like, as the only mana present which showed up on his arcanoception when he Infused them was from Mana Infusion itself.
Curious. A bit frustrating, perhaps, but still curious. By a similar token, he was also unable to sense anything pertaining to his own mana.
Alchemical Analysis had yet to return anything but whatever an object ‘mostly’ was, but with Numeracy leveling, he was getting a closer ideas as to how pure the substances he was Analyzing were exactly.
Numeracy was also growing more precise in other areas, too, and he was approaching 1 meter being his minimum resolution. Thanks to it, he was able to measure that Improbable Arsenal increased the volume of his unenhanced containers by about a third, and he was nearing a meter and a half per normal Longstride, in comparison to about one without using the Skill. He’d also gotten… somewhat better with the Skill. He didn’t trip over his own feet anymore, not that it had ever happened too often previously, and if he was careful (and double-checked distances with Numeracy) he could walk around without running into anything.
What made the Skill so complicated and annoying to use was not only that he didn’t have the appropriate muscle memory for how to deal with such large steps, but he couldn’t develop it either, as every time he adjusted, the Skill leveled and threw him off once more. He’d get there eventually, but it was going to be something of a process in the meantime.
Skillful Assessment took some getting used to as well. It created or allowed him to see a vague lightshow around Inion or himself when they used a Skill, roughly corresponding with the utilized ability. All in all, it reminded him of action lines in a comic or cartoon, where it was impossible to tell if a given effect was intended to be visible in-universe or was just there for visual clarity for the watcher or reader.
“As if my life wasn’t already enough of a fantasy story,” he grumbled, “The question is, am I the main character or supporting cast?”
At least the Skill made the normally mundane-looking aspects of the System more exciting, and had some potential for him to leverage it to further understand its underlying mechanics. After all, most laws of the universe didn’t have literal source code to peel back and stare at.
But the System? Well, that was just asking to be hacked.
Level Up!
Skill Points 145→284
Adaptive Defense 1 → 7
Alchemical Dismantling 1 → 3
Alchemist's Analysis 1 → 8
Anatomy 1 → 6
Arcadian Elixir 1 → 5
Basic Thermokinesis 1 → 7
Fey's Caress 1 → 8
Flight 1 → 9
Fresh Air 1 → 3
Improbable Arsenal 1 → 6
Longstrider 1 → 7
Mana Infusion 85 → 86
Numeracy 1 → 14
Outsider's Almanac 125 → 127
Overcharge 1 → 3
Prototyping 1 → 9
Ritual Intuition 1 → 8
Sapper's Apparatus 1 → 13
Skillful Assessment 1 → 5
Name
Edwin Maxlin
Age
1 year
Race
Extraplanar Human
Class
Alchemist-Errant
Attributes
Health 25
Mana 33
Perception 19
Stamina 30
Skills
Alchemical
Alchemy 83, Alchemical Analysis 8, Refine 1, Alchemical Dismantling 3, Sapper’s Apparatus 13
(Purify: 75)
Magical
Flight 9, Basic Thermokinesis 10, Fey’s Caress 8, Ritual Intuition 8, Mana Infusion 85
(Basic Mana Sense: 82), (Basic Mana Manipulation: 9)
Physical
Overcharge 3, Longstrider 7, Fresh Air 3
(Athletics: 81), (Breathing: 76), (Flexibility: 74), (Nutrition: 73), (Packing: 92), (Seeing: 72), (Sleeping: 73), (Survival: 76), (Walking: 74)
Mental
Numeracy 14, Prototyping 9, Anatomy 6, Polyglot: 59, Memory 57
(Language: 36), (Mathematics: 74), (Research: 50), (Visualization: 80)
Combat
Bomb Throwing 49, Adaptive Defense 7
(Throwing Weapons: 48)
Utility
Outsider's Almanac 125, Watchful Rest 1, Skillful Assessment 5, Arcadian Elixir 5, Improbable Arsenal 6
(Firestarting: 94), (Improvisation: 14), (Status: 22), (Identify: 80), (First Aid: 82), (Harvesting: 76), (Construction: 77)
Paths
Skill Points: 284
Combat
Assassin 0/60, Bomber 0/60, Giant Slayer 0/60, Heedless Hunter 0/60, Hunter 0/30, Killer 0/30, Titan Slayer 0/90, Warrior 0/60, Way of the Empty Hand 0/60, Trapper 0/60,
Alchemy
Alchemical Medic 0/60, Demolitionist 0/60, Makeshift Alchemist 0/60, Potioneer 0/60,
Science
Chemist 0/60, Experimenter 0/60, Researcher 0/60, Purifier 0/30, Scientific Revolutionary 0/90, Scientist 0/60,
Magic
Aerialist 0/60, Fey Friend 0/60, Feybound 0/60, Feycaller 0/60, Mage 0/60, Magical Gardener 0/60, Micro-Biomancer 0/90, Primal Constructor 0/90, Primal Ritualist 0/90, Realm Traveler 0/120, Skilled Arcanist 0/60,
Mental
Dedicated Student 0/60, Lecturer 0/30,
System
Almanac Administrator 0/60, Forerunner 0/60, Outsider’s Almanac Specialist 0/90, Pioneer 0/60, System Scholar 0/60,
Trophy
Blackstone Conqueror 0/60, Deepwoods Panther-Hunter 0/60, Stonehide Vanquisher 0/60,
Career
Brickmaker 0/30, Butcher 0/30, Diver 0/30, Gardener 0/30, Lumberjack 0/60, Merchant 0/30, Potter 0/30, Scribe 0/30, Woodsman 0/30,
Physical
Ascetic 0/60, Daredevil 0/60, Physical Alchemist 0/90, Survivor 0/60, Physical Laborer 0/30,
Traveling
Escapee 0/30, Exile 0/30, Traveler 0/30, World Traveler 0/60
Medical
Field Medic 0/60, Medic 0/30, Steadfast Medic 0/60,
Misc
Arsonist 0/60, Autopyromaniac 0/60, Burglar 0/60, Child 0/12, Expert 0/60, Imperial Ally 0/60, Novice 0/12, Pyromaniac 0/30, Razer of the Ruined Tower 0/60, Rebel 0/30, Slave 0/12, Trainee 0/60, Traitor 0/60,
Completed Paths
CharLimitCanttalkmuchNocluewhathappenedDidmybesttohelpyouli, Mage, Skilled Arcanist, Physical Alchemist, Bomber, Linguist, Beginner, Warrior, Path Less Traveled, Athlete, Scout, Unkillable, Superior Alchemist, Adventurer, Explorer, Outsider, Skill Researcher, Wanderer, Alchemical Warrior, Novice Pyromancer, Novice Ritualist, Alchemist, Physicist, Engineer, Physical Arcanist, Biologist, Practical Alchemist, Fey Scion, Feytouched
Comments
Daedalus
Same as the Warrior, Skilled Arcanist, and Physical Alchemist paths, yes.
Daniel D.
The Mage path is in both the completed and available lists.
Daedalus
As he mentioned in this chapter, Edwin doesn’t feel *too* much of a rush, and he can use it as a bit of a buffer in case he finds any more Paths that are likely but not assured to unlock an Attribute for him.
Scott Frederiksen
Eager! Random thought... he should try and power level fight and then path it for full tier 2 status
Sebastian Allen
So, real flight is cool and all but now I kinda wanna see him Spiderman/Attack-on-Titan around with his magic tethers Also I though it'd be cool to have a subset of adventurer, or maybe a single success story (possibly one of the prior mentioned definitive class names?) where-in the person only ever accepts trophy paths (or to make it more viable, trophy paths and attribute paths at least once)
Daedalus
Re-earning Skills is a limitation of the System that so far as anyone knows, is absolute.
Bud Terry
It really seems like mana manipulation lvl 9 is his bottle neck. I know you only want him to take like 4 or 5 more skills max but any chance he will relearn it and get that lvl up??
Daedalus
Thanks! Though… wouldn’t the skills of pretty much any MC fall into those three categories?
Daedalus
Pretty much yeah, but only superficially (literally- skin deep only for now). It has some differences, naturally, but it’s a decent comparison even if the rules it follows are different.
PlasmaticPi
So am I correct in understanding that Fey's Caress basically turned him into Kevin Leven from Ben 10 to a certain degree?
Daedalus
That is the question, isn’t it? He generally wants to travel and see Fantasy World, but that will be explored more on Thursday.
So, what now for Edwin? He's evolved his skills, is out from under the thumb of the Blackstone Dwarves (for the time being), and is an ally of the Empire. He's had some solid evolutions that would make it equally viable for him to sit around perfecting his craft, study the natural world, or travel around and offer his services as a healer.
Daedalus
It was a strong contender, but ultimately Edwin couldn’t choose *everything* and he wanted his other 90-point Paths more. EDIT: for what it’s worth, I didn’t have any predetermined Skills/Paths for Edwin. His process eliminating options matched my own.
ShadeByTheSea
I really like his skills. Mainly because they aren't like normal stories, where things like sword proficiency, shield bash, fireball, etc I sure those skills exist but his skills can fit into three main categories which I think fit him well. First is skills that help him understand the world, than skills that help him effect the world(but only helpful in combat with prep work), than finally skills that just help him survive.
Viria
I'm surprised he didn't take Scientific Revolutionary
Jack Trowell
Overcharge might become a pain to level up if he cannot spam it without risking long term self poisonning
