FMH ~ 9!

Big ol' chapter!

~ 9 ~

Taylor looked at the book in her lap, contemplating it for a moment before running a finger down it's spine. It shuddered and fell open, revealing details of her life that even she had forgotten. “Oh neat, it details the date that Zed showed up in town! I’ve only known him for six months? Sheesh… that was a messed-up situation. What’s this section?”

She covered most of the text, leaving only the page filled with numbers. Don looked over and nodded. “That’s an easy one, and an explanation of something I talked about earlier. It is you, boiled down to numbers. Your body, mind, senses, and presence. Those can be grown from study, training, and… ugh, leveling.”

“Leveling?” Taylor poked at the obvious sore spot.

“Yes, some morons… no… let me do this properly.” Don growled and turned to face her properly. “When you start defeating monsters, either here or back in our world, you will gain a portion of its potential. Specifically, you will gain Etheric Xenograft Potentia. You add that to your own potential, and slowly start to become more than you were. This will change you. Power, strength, speed, strength of will… eventually, if you live long enough, you will stop being a mere human, and become an Ascender.”

“I don’t know what you mean. Aren’t we already Ascenders?”

Don shook his head slightly. “I mean that our world will no longer be enough for you. It means that to get stronger, you will need to search for bigger, deadlier, more powerful planes of existence. But once you ascend… you can never return. If I were to ascend, I could meet someone on this world, The World of Names, but never back on our own world. I can't really tell you much more. Not many Ascenders have ever bothered to offer details.”

“I see… if there is nothing else, can you tell me about my stats?” Taylor politely asked him.

“Characteristics. Don’t fall into the trap of those… reductionists. Yes, one moment. ‘Leveling’ is the term some bureaucrat came up with to generalize radically altering yourself. It means that you have gained enough Etheric Xenograft Potentia to radically improve a single aspect of yourself. You can save it and store it up, gaining many levels at once if you want. There are certain incentives to doing it like this… but there are drastic downsides as well.” Master Don took a deep breath and looked into her eyes so that he had Taylor’s full attention.

“Once the process of leveling begins, it must be completed.” He swallowed a suddenly dry throat. “If you try to level yourself too much at once, there is a likelihood that you will not be able to endure it, or you will mutate into something else. I have seen people die from trying to gain too much at once., I have seen them turn into literal monsters as well. On the other hand, you can devote some of your ‘exp’ to your spells to increase their potency as you level.” 

“This is why people will often delay leveling themselves. They can pour exp into their spells, and still train their body to its natural maximum potential before ever using their gained Potentia to do so. The trade off is that you stay weaker for longer, but your spells become more powerful. Some do the reverse and work to train their current stats to the maximum before using the leveling bonuses. Still, there is a limit. The sigil we placed on all of you has a few safety features to help you survive. Now say ‘status’.”

“Status?” Taylor yelped as a gong sound played in her head.

Contribution Activity Log is online! Scanning…

Unbeknownst to Taylor, the sigil on her forehead was glowing, now fully visible to anyone looking. Mana left the sigil, spiraled around her body, and returned to her head.

CAL Scan complete! 

Level: 0

Current Etheric Xenograft Potentia: 15/100 to level 1!

Body: 1.1

Mind: 3.75

Presence: 1.9

Senses: 2.25

Health: 59

Mana: 92

Mana regen: 1.83 per second

“Now, you see that data in front of your face?” Master Don wryly shook his head as he told her, “It should match up with your book exactly, and is how we see that data without the potential of losing it to someone else.”

“I get it, don’t let books read me.” Taylor checked her book, and it did indeed match up, mostly. “Okay… but what do they mean? Also, there is more in the book than on here!”

“Easy, I’ll explain. I’m just going slow.” Master Don handed her another strip of meat. “Body controls your overall health, fitness, and strength. It impacts the amount of damage you can take, also shown as ‘health’, determines how much you can lift, and how hard you can push yourself without collapsing from fatigue.” 

“It is important to improve your body, because spellcasting is stressful and frequently damages your body. Also, remember that health is a resource that does not replenish quickly on its own. You can use mana to heal your body, but without associated abilities to target that healing, there are often side effects. Health is not a resource to be spent lightly.”

“Got it. Healthy body, healthy mind, just like momma used to say.” Taylor nodded to show her understanding.

“Nice redirection. Mind is your overall intelligence, knowledge retained, and talent toward learning and using spells. You need all of these to successfully cast spells. A very clean system, if I do say so.” Don grimaced, “Even though certain aspects of it are taken lightly.”

“What about presence and senses?”

“Presence is… hmm.” Master Don hesitated. “These two stats are less quantifiable, but equally as important. You will need to decide whether or not you want to increase these, and by how much. Presence determines how much force is exerted on the world around you simply by being there. With your score in senses… I bet you can easily sneak up on people, correct?”

“That’s what high senses does?” Taylor thought about how often she had jabbed Andre in the ribs, and felt a wash of homesickness. “I could easily sneak, yes.”

“Good. Now, this is what it is like when you have a huge presence.” Don nodded sagely, and suddenly… he was massive. No… he was there. Taylor couldn't look away from him, and she started gasping for breath, the sheer magnitude of the man in front of her causing her lungs to seize. Then Don was normal again, and she started gulping in air. “Obviously, you need to learn to control it. Also, to clear any concerns, it is very hard to kill things with presence alone. You may have passed out, but you would have been fine. ”

“Senses are essentially the opposite, as it allows you to feel things even when they have very little presence. It also controls your actual senses, and increasing them will allow you to see, hear, smell, taste, and feel more powerfully. Observe.” Don looked at her, and Taylor could swear that a predator was watching her and finding all the weaknesses that she had to offer. “As you can see, there is a feeling of danger associated with someone turning their senses on you, called bloodlust, so keep that in mind.”

“Just…” Taylor wasn't even sure what she had been planning to say. “How do I get to that point?”

“Every time you… level,” Master Don’s nostrils flared, “you choose one of the sub-characteristics of those main characteristics to increase. Each increase is a flat five points. Now… think on this for a moment. What happens if your mind is a hundred times more powerful than your body? Can your body keep up?”

“…No?”

“Correct. There is a limit to how much you should devote to a single characteristic.” Master Don looked at her numbers again. “Now, say ‘Sub-status’.”

“Sub-status.” Taylor saw more information now, but still not as much as was in the book.

Level: 0

Current Etheric Xenograft Potentia: 15/100 to level 1!

Body: 1.1

Fitness: 1.3

Resistance: 0.9

Mind: 3.75

Talent: 5.5

Capacity: 2

Presence: 1.9

Willpower: 1.7

Charisma: 2.1

Senses: 2.25

Physical reaction: 2.7

Mental energy: 1.8

Health: 59

Mana: 92

Mana regen: 1.83 per second 

“As you can see, these are the sub-characteristics. When added together and divided in half, you can see that the subs equal the main characteristic.” Don looked at her book and cheerfully smiled. “As expected, your natural talent is crazily high for a newly initiated Ascender.”

“Also. Think on this. If you were to level right now and increase your fitness by five points, you will increase your entire body by fifty percent. Later on, five points will seem a small thing… but right now it would seem like you were going to die from all the changes that would be made to you. When you level, make sure I am watching over you, and you are in a safe place. You might literally die from starvation otherwise.”

“Yes, Master Don.” They lapsed into silence as Taylor thought about her options, but she couldn't hold back her questions. “Why would anyone increase their presence? Wouldn't it be better to be able to sneak around?”

“For certain people, yes. Mainly assassins and rogues.” Master Don answered calmly, obviously having given this talk many times before. “Do you recall how you could barely breathe a moment ago when I released my presence?”

“Clearly.”

“That was actually merely my charisma. To fend off charisma, you need to use your own characteristics to fend it off. Your willpower is the most direct way; it is a direct contest between mine and yours.” Master Don explained simply. “There are other ways, of course; either a mind that could withstand it, a body that can power through, or the senses to find a way to turn yourself inward and fend off the effects.” 

“Beyond your self, there are many things that refuse to acknowledge beings with a lesser charisma, which makes the stat important for people intending to tame things. That means us. There are many spells that will never allow themselves to be cast by someone they see as weak.”

“I’ll think about this.” Taylor told him as she took another bite of food.

“See that you do. We will discuss what each of the sub characteristics control at a later time.”

“There’s more?” Don rolled his eyes at her question, and didn't deign to reply. A few minutes after Taylor finished her impromptu meal, they got back up and began walking. “Thanks, I needed that. So, not to be pushy, but what spells are we going to get?”

Her book perked up, peeking out of her backpack at this question like a pet hearing that a treat would soon be offered.

“It’s a… surprise.” Master Don flushed a deep red.

“Don’t want to say it?”

He cleared his throat. “Not really. We will just… show you, if that’s okay.”

“Alright?”

They continued in silence for a bit, Don sweating until he suddenly felt that he needed to be teaching her. He launched into a lecture without preamble, “About this spell that we are going to get… you have to understand, mana comes from somewhere either deep in the earth or from the sun. It is required for all things to live, and all living things contain mana. In fact everything about you contains magic, including your sweat; because it comes from you.” 

“When you use all of your mana quickly, it depletes your very essence. You can replenish yourself best with liquids and dense foods. Liquids, even water, can help you regain mana quickly, but you can’t drink enough to make it useful over time. Dense foods, like honey, are the best sources because it contains mana from so many different sources. It is jam-packed with power. Now that I mention it, jam is pretty good too.”

“Oh. That sounds good. I mean, it makes sense. Um, sorry to bring this up, but I really need to use the bathroom…?”

“Hold it.” When Taylor gave him a scathing look, Don swallowed and stated, “I have a good reason for it. We are almost there.”

Taylor looked around, but saw only empty shelves. “Where are we?”

“We are about to get your first spells!” Don informed her brightly. “They are considered tier one, the weakest of all spells. Still, every mage worth their salt has these.”

Taylor looked around much more eagerly, trying to spot whatever she was about to tame. “I don’t… see anything. Is my sense characteristic too low? Are you sure we’re in the right place?”

“Positive. Now, let me explain something. Sometimes when collecting spells, you use force and need to fight desperately to survive the encounter. Sometimes, you bend them to your will through sheer presence. Other times, you can… make deals or bribe them. This is one of those bribe spells, but unlike your book… the spells here aren’t after ‘pure’ mana.”

“So what do I need to do?” Taylor pulled her book out of her bag, and it rustled menacingly and floated up to perch on her arm like a hunting falcon. “I’m ready to do whatever I need to do, Master Don!”

“Ahem. Um. Well, that’s good. The two spells in this area are known as ‘Cleanse’ and ‘Purify’, and both are immensely useful! Though nearly every mage has them, you never hear how they are captured because… it is not very… dignified.”

“What do you mean?” Taylor was becoming concerned at Don’s non-forthcoming manner.

“You have to bribe them with their… ahem… function.”

“I don’t…”

Turning beet red once more, Don looked away and spoke in a rush, “You have to mess your pants!”

“No!” Taylor flushed scarlet at the words. “What? No!”

“Trust me… you absolutely need these spells. Listen, being a powerful mage means huge compromises with dignity, and some people are just too proud to do what needs done. Are you one of those people?” Now Don turned to face her, and it seemed like his face was carved from stone. “Are you actually willing to do whatever you need to do to become powerful?

“I… what do I have to do?” Taylor spoke flatly, her face burning red.

“Good. Go over there, and… do it. When they swarm you, only let two versions of different types come near, and make them a deal. One will look like a fly, one will look like a firefly. Here is the deal you offer. They get everything your body collects and produces normally, like dust, sweat… poo, all forms of excreta… and you are able to use them on other people and things.”

Swallowing hard, Taylor nodded once and trudged like a condemned person around the bend. No words were passed between them. A few minutes later, she came back, perfectly clean. Sweat and dirt that had clung to her were gone like she just had taken a bath, her clothes were clean and apparently ironed.

Master Don chuckled and started to speak. “Good! I see you succeeded! Now that you have your first two spells-”

“We never speak about this again.”

“Taylor, those spells don’t even require mana! They pull it directly from what they take, and are therefore essentially free passive spells. We should really-”

Taylor whipped around, looking Don in the eye, “Never speak about them again, Don!”