Chapter 40 - Get Creative

Nate and Kiri sat in her room. The first thing they’d done upon returning was each take a bath. It wasn’t as good as the one at the Oaken Ring, but it had been enough to wash the blood and dirt off of them. They’d not been completely unhygienic while in the forest and had managed to wash in a stream a few times, but much to Nate's chagrin, they’d forgotten soap. Now clean, they could finally relax. Relax, and advance.

At Frick’s suggestion they’d not done any skill evolutions or selection. His little Familiar had suggested waiting until they returned to Kiri’s house, so they could properly discuss the pros and cons and he could give his ‘expert’ advice in a less stressful setting. It hadn’t been hard to agree to at the time as they had only been in the forest for two days when he made the suggestion. They’d ended up regretting it though, after they’d started advancing their skills. Frick had constantly given them suggestions on ways to push themselves and their Skills, putting false limits on them in battles or having Nate set up custom campsites equipped with multiple runes controlled by his intent.

Kiri hadn’t been spared as she was made to practise, trying to imbue her twin daggers with her mana, control her Piercing Shot skill to add a spin to the arrow, and push her Archers Gaze skill by trying to track multiple objects at the same time. That last one, Nate had needed to assist in as he called out things for her to spot along with Frick.

All that work had culminated in a decent amount of Skill growth and one level for Nate, while Kiri had ended up getting two. He’d even significantly advanced his Novice Artist Skill as he’d spent his evenings on watch drawing in his notepad, either pieces of art, or his ideas for runic constructs. For dynamic rune usage, his robe was perfect. But for complex runes, unless he could make them smaller, he needed to use other materials.

So spending time theorycrafting and drawing his ideas was time well spent, especially as an excuse to create more art. He’d wondered why it levelled so fast and Frick had said it was likely due his existing competency. He supposed he had done a lot of various styles, so maybe Frick was right. Either way he could see his Novice Artist Skill was close to evolving and his Runic Intent was ready to evolve. That had been driven by all the Intent training that Frick had forced him to do in altering his runes in weird ways.

He glanced over at Kiri and Frick as they discussed her options. He supposed if he had any questions he could just butt in and ask them but only if he didn’t understand one of his choices, after all it was his life, his Path. He couldn’t always ask Frick to tell him what to do or what was best, especially since with Frick, sometimes what was best was ‘going goblin-mode’. With that in mind he started to go through his Notifications.

Runic Knowledge 13 > 15
Identification - General 21 > 22
Runic Intent 12 > 21
Runic Modification 10 > 14
Runic Replication 8 > 11
Novice Artist 3 > 17

Accrued Mana applied to Primary Class.
Level up…

Stats adjusted: +2 Dexterity, +1 Endurance, +2 Intellect, +2 Creativity, +1 Perception, +2 Mana Reserve, +5 Free Stats

He paused for a moment to decide where to put his Free Stats. Magic Power was clearly a contender given how much his dynamic rune usage relied on the Stat. On the other hand, as long as he had time to prepare tools and enough mana to create them, he didn’t strictly need Magic Power; he could compensate with the magnitude of the mana behind the rune. Quantity over quality, at least where his Magic Power was concerned. Besides, all his Skills scaled off Intellect and Creativity, and in the end, he loved creating runes and art more than he enjoyed fighting. With that in mind he put three into Intellect and two in Creativity.

The next notification was one he had been looking forward to as he reviewed his skill evolution and the options available.

Runic Intent is ready to evolve.
Evolutions Available! Please Select 1.
Skill Evolution Options:

Empowered Intent (E)
You have commanded the mana itself within your runes. Your Intent shaping mana and therefore shaping reality. But reality is not a lonesome experience and with that you’ve faced enemies who could crack your Intent, destroying your reality. Mana is not enough, sometimes Power is what is needed. Empowered Intent allows the user to impart intent into the mana they channel to their runes. In addition, any Intent empowered rune adds a portion of its users Intellect to empower the rune. Number of intents able to be imparted is equal to Intellect / 10. Add 10% of users' Intellect as Magic Power to runes empowered by Intent. Increases by 1% per Skill Level.

Imbue Intent (L)
You have used your Intent to shape mana and outcome. However, that was not enough for you. You had to take it a step further, reinforcing your Intent until it was used to align a material with one of the very concepts of the universe. A permanent Intent. With this Skill you can do that with increased ease, allowing your mana used in the creation of runes to carry on long after you’re dead and gone. The user of this Skill may permanently imbue a number of Intents in any rune they create. Number of intents able to be imparted to dynamic runes is equal to Intellect / 8. Number of intents able to be imparted to any permanent runes is equal to Intellect / 16. Increases Intellect by 0.5% per Skill Level.

Walk your Path. Reach your Goal. Become One with Mana.

Looking between the two Skills it was a hard choice to make. One would make up for his shortcomings in his Magic Power Stat, and given an evolved Skill retained its level, he could immediately expect a thirty one percent of his Intellect increase to his Magic Power Stat. It took him less than a second to realise that would add another twenty to his Magic Power, taking it instantly to his third highest stat. But was that he wanted? More power? The answer had been no, so far. He was more interested in creating. I mean, what was art if not an act of creation? And the second evolution offered just that.

Thinking about it, he could create runes for Kiri that she could use. Like his Powerful Shadow rune he’d used to cloak himself. Or barrier runes she could wear on her and activate as needed to create preplanned shields. He could even create simple runes to make his life easier and more comfortable. A bath rune that produced heated water, or maybe an air rune that blew warm air through the house on a cold night. The opportunities were endless for what he could imbue and the skill even increased his Intellect, meaning more Intents to use.

In the end it came down to what he wanted out of life. He enjoyed fighting and hunting alongside Kiri, but he also loved creating things and trying to seek out a comfortable life. More than that though, he still hadn’t decided whether he wanted to attempt to return to Earth. Was it still home, or had he already begun to settle in here? He didn’t know, and since he didn’t know, he had to keep his options open. The ability to Imbue his Intent would allow him to eventually make runic arrays like he had seen on Arikanvil’s research station. With that in mind, he steeled his resolve and made his selection.

With a sigh that drew a glance from Kiri, he moved on to the next and final notification before he could second guess his decision about the Skill Evolution. He was level twenty now, and level twenty meant a new Skill.

Skills Available! Please Select 1* Skills.
Class Skill Options:

Improved Mana Reserve (Rare)
Spells and Skills. Most require mana and so the measure of a researcher, a mage, a warrior, is how much mana they can wield and how long they can last. For those lucky few, this Skill increases the users Mana Reserve by 5%. Increases by 0.5% per Skill Level.

Improved Magic Power (Rare)
A Spell is only as powerful as the strength of one’s mana. With enough Magic Power one can turn a gentle rain into a slicing storm or a campfire into a blaze hot enough to melt stone. For those lucky few, this Skill increases the users Magic Power by 5%. Increases by 0.5% per Skill Level.

Improved Magic Control (Rare)
The more mana one wields, the harder it becomes to control. What is the point of using a spell that summons a firestorm that burns down a forest when you just want it to incinerate your enemies? Those with exceptional Magic Control get more out of their spells and mana. For those lucky few, this Skill increases the users Magic Control by 5%. Increases by 0.5% per Skill Level.

Improved Channelling Speed (Rare)
Having a large Mana Reserve is always useful, but what is the point if you can only draw forth a dribble of mana at a time. Truly powerful magic requires a truly powerful throughput. For those lucky few, this Skill increases the users Channelling Speed by 5%. Increases by 0.5% per Skill Level.

Runic Projection (Epic)
You’ve created runes in many materials, from wood to scales to crystals. But all such materials are limited by their supply and the time it takes to craft and repair them, when sometimes you need a rune here and now. Until now, you’ve used mana to power your runes. Now you will use mana to create your runes. Structure your Intent, Create your Desire, Mana moulds Reality. This skill allows the user to project Runes composed of mana. Mana cost based on Intellect, Creativity, Skill Level, Rune complexity and Rune Tier. Additional Skill Levels decrease mana cost by 1%.

Walk your Path. Reach your Goal. Become One with Mana.

The options hadn’t changed much, still offering the various stat boosts. He was surprised he hadn’t gotten one for Intellect yet. He’d have to ask Frick about it but he’d do that later as he could hear Kiri and his Familiar discussing something to do with affinity-aligned Skills. Anyway, given his options it was pretty clear which Skill he was going to go with. He’d seen Arikanvil do it after all, when he created the portal that sent him down to this world. A world, he realised, he still did not know the name of. Just one more question to ask. But Runic Projection was a clear winner.

Drawing runes on paper was never enough to trigger a notification. But what if, after drawing it, he could create it in the air. Even better, like his Conceptual Material Skill, Runic Projection might let him work in three dimensions. Creating a spherical or cubic rune sounded like it could open up some really interesting sigil interactions and let him start testing how mana dispersal patterns worked. With a thought, he made the selection and was immediately greeted by another Notification.

Skill Synergy discovered between your Runic Replication (Rare) Skill, your Runic Modification (Epic) Skill and your Runic Projection (Epic) Skill. Combine these Skills to gain Runic Creation (Legendary). Proceed?

Walk your Path. Reach your Goal. Become One with Mana.

He only had to think about it for a second. Another Legendary Skill had to be worth it right? And besides, his Runic Replication Skill just wasn’t used enough to level very fast. Runic Modification had seen more usage, but that was for testing purposes mostly. Wouldn’t that just be superseded by his Runic Projection Skill that would let him modify his rune on the fly by projecting it as mana in the air? He mentally selected Proceed and got his notification for his new Skill.

Runic Creation (Legendary)
What is replication if not recreation? What is modification if not control? What is projection if not extrapolation? Runic Creation is all these things, and more. And more, when it comes to runes, is always better. This skill allows the user to project Runes composed of mana onto any space or surface and dynamically alter them as they desire. Mana cost based on Intellect, Creativity, Skill Level, Rune complexity and Rune Tier. Additional Skill Levels decrease mana cost by 2%.

Runic Creation 1 > 8

Nate grinned as he saw that it had already levelled to the average of the three synergised Skills. That would make things a lot easier for him. Looking over his character sheet he couldn’t keep the grin off his face.

The only thing lagging now was his Runic Knowledge. He was likely going to need to find a decent library or maybe talk with the Enchanter in town. Maybe they’d have some revelations that would help push the Skill. Either way, it looked like rest time was over.

Kiri and Frick were still talking so instead he got to work on what he’d just considered. Pulling out his book he started scribbling a version of his Powerful Shadow rune that included a Mana Capacity rune and the basic on and off switches for runes to prevent mana entering the rune and activating it. Once the sketch was done he let his mana flow from his reserve into his core, activating his new Runic Creation skill. No new notifications popped up in the corner of his vision but that wasn’t a surprise. It was after all, just a modified Powerful Shadow rune. He’d already been acknowledged by the System for that.

Pulling a large scale from the Razorlash from his storage he looked it over. It was about the size of his palm, and already a Rare material. That meant, he hoped, it wouldn’t take as much of his mana to alter it to further align it with the concept of Shadow. Picturing the sigil for shadow, he let the mana flow through him again, activating his Conceptual Material skill, as he felt the sweat begin to drip down his face. He lost track of time but didn’t think it could’ve been long when he felt the scale could take all it could. Looking it over, he identified it.

Shadow-aligned Razorlash Scale (Rare)

Perfect. With his mana reserves dwindling he activated Runic Creation again, embedding the result into the back of the scale. With the dregs of his mana, he used Imbue Intent. He had four to work with and he knew exactly what he wanted. Four Intents spent to guide the shadow mana to act like a second skin over an individual, leaving only the eyes and mouth uncovered. With the rune done he fell back on the floor, sweat pouring off him and his mana was drained to the bone. He glanced around and realised Kiri had left but found Frick watching him.

“She went for lunch a little while ago, boss man. But you were pretty engrossed so she didn’t want to bother you. You got some nice stuff from that, big honcho. Ha. You Dead Realmers have the dumbest names. I love it. But anyway, it slows down a bit from here,” said the Familiar, floating over the top of Nate, floppy ears drifting in a breeze that didn’t exist.

“That’s fine. More time for creature comforts I guess?” Nate said with a grin.

“Does that mean ya going to finally try a brothel out, boss man?” Frick replied with a laugh.

His cackles continued as the scale sailed straight through him before falling back towards Nate. Well, if nothing else, it was good to be back. Now they just needed to handle the Guild.