Sanguine Prince | Chapter 15: Spiritual Maintenance (Second Draft)

“Alright, back to it.”

Arcturus deliberately refocused on the task at hand, eyes once more locked on the primary attributes that defined the essence of his being with their deceptively simple mathematical values. If he focused on any of them hard enough, he would receive a list of hypothetical situations in which they were applicable, which essentially broke down how each correlated to his existence as an individual. That, however, was not strictly necessary. He’d played enough video games, Dungeons and Dragons, and read enough adventure fantasy to understand a pseudo-Isekai system when he saw one.

It seemed oddly appropriate that this was how his mind translated what he was doing.

He had focused on Agility, Vitality, and Charisma in his first level-up, and the idea of doing so again was not one he was ready to dismiss.

Higher levels of Agility, thereby increasing his dexterity and reaction times, could save his life in situations where the finesse and haste of his movement could define whether he lived or died. His Vitality could and had saved his life already, and improving it would only serve to further compound his survivability in the long term. In fact, his Vitality was the most compelling point of consideration on the sheet, and out of impulse, he pressed his finger to it three times.

Vitality increased by 3 Points!

The number shimmered and melted into a new one, marking his new Vitality as 18.

“At least now I’ll be more durable,” he noted in relief, understanding intrinsically that it also meant his wound recovery outside of level-ups, and his body’s ability to deal with wounds without shock or trauma, would increase in tandem. He’d be able to shrug off damage more readily with every investment. Aside from the added benefit of solidifying his body and increasing his muscle mass, toughening his bones, and creating new nerves, tendons, and blood flow options; it also meant that, if he suffered another psychic backlash or over-exerted himself, the added capability and strength of his body would allow him to weather at least the physical side of the drawbacks far more easily.

“Strength, for sure,” he said under his breath, realizing that his ability to hit harder and withstand greater blows would be invaluable, especially given that he was probably going to have to learn to use some form of close combat weapon, if what he’d seen of the standard equipment on other Terrans was any indication. On top of that, there seemed to be some implication he might have been able to wield an Aetherblade, though aside from ‘sword made of magic’, he wasn’t entirely sure what that would entail. Nonetheless, increasing his primary physical attribute seemed the strategically sound move.

His finger tapped it twice with confidence, a moment later.

Strength increased by 2 Points!

He grunted in satisfaction at seeing its value shift to 21 and moved on.

Agility would be next, given his prior ruminations on its advantages. His finger tapped it twice smoothly when he resolved himself to it, infusing more of the dwindling first bar’s shimmering energy.

Agility increased by 2 Points!

That brought the attribute to a more reasonable 15.

The increase would likely have a carry-on effect to his unarmed combat as much as his Strength. Power and strike force were all well and good, but they meant next to nothing if you couldn’t actually land a blow. He’d seen and been part of enough sparring and martial arts competitions to understand that speed, dexterity, and accuracy—finesse, really—were as imperative to any combat as the ability to knock someone down. It caused him to consider another increase to his Agility momentarily, but he dismissed the thought a moment later. He could always come back to it, but he had a feeling that the ‘point expenditures’ were not easily reversed—or perhaps irreversible in their entirety.

“God, that’s depressing,” he said as he stared at his Intelligence score, grimacing at the quickly suppressed self-esteem spike at seeing the number.

He needed to increase it, if only to allow himself to research and study the world around him more effectively. On top of that, it was very likely, despite the lack of ‘prompts’ telling him so, that Intelligence was a serious modifier for his Psionicist Abilities, and he had every reason to suspect that those abilities were going to end up being his go-to magical talents for the foreseeable future. He sighed when he realized he was dithering in making a decision, and forced aside the procrastination, increasing his Intelligence with three presses and thoroughly draining the remnants of his first experience bar, as well as 10% of the second.

Intelligence increased by 3 Points!

Obediently, his Intelligence shimmered and changed, resolving into a solid 17.

The next target of his scrutiny was his Perception, and that was an easier decision to make. Knowing what was around you, as well as having the ability to assess your surroundings reliably, was integral to basic survivability. He also knew that Perception was often the most significant contributing factor in reducing a fatal blow to a wounding blow, or in having it deflected completely. Not because it necessarily increased reaction time, but because it allowed reaction time a chance to shine in the first place.

No hesitation was present in his mind when he tapped the attribute’s number twice.

Perception increased by 2 Points!

The new value of 16 shimmered into place, and Arcturus shifted his attention.

“Hm… four attributes, seven points. I know I can probably just ignore Luck, but the others…”

He trailed off as he frowned at his Arcana, Willpower, and Charisma.

The first of the three was the most immediately appealing, given it would increase his ability to wield his [Telekinesis] to more lethal effect incrementally, and allow him the ability to harness more potent and concentrated levels of the power in a way that was proportional to his progress with [Telekinesis] itself. His Willpower, he wasn’t overly concerned about, given it was sitting at an already dominant level when compared to his other attributes, and would likely be able to suffer it remaining the same for at least one more round of levelling.

It was Charisma that drew his attention, however, and the inherent benefits of increasing it. Higher Charisma meant easier interactions, greater accessibility, and a chance to more easily influence those around him to his advantage—perhaps even to theirs. It sounded almost insidious the way his mind framed it, but he knew that a strong social capability could very well prove the difference between victory and defeat in a theater of contest where force of arms meant nothing.

“No point in procrastinating,” he chided himself before tapping both Arcana and Charisma twice apiece.

Arcana increased by 2 Points!

Charisma increased by 2 Points!

The actions brought the former to 20 and the latter to 16, and allowed Arcturus to move on.

The final four points, after all, were far easier.

He invested them, as he resolved he would every time he levelled up, into his Anima and Aether two apiece—ensuring that the compounding value of each would allow him to both sustain his magic and last longer in violent encounters. As much as the idea of continually being thrown into a fight mildly nauseated him, he also understood that it was a simple inevitability of his new existence. For reasons of culture as much as technology, Terra itself was a far more violent place than Earth.

Anima increased by 2 Points!

Aether increased by 2 Points!

His Health and Mana shimmered from 110 apiece to 130 apiece, leaping considerably in reflection of his Anima and Aether multiplied by 10. With enough time and point investment, he realized, he could theoretically push himself to a point where his Anima and Aether would make him capable of withstanding even the most dangerous of enemies, though much like in the video games his means of changing the fundamental composition of his existence resembled, it was unlikely he would reach ‘elite’ status without several more levels under his proverbial belt—and given that murder seemed to be the best means through which to attain them, he very much hoped that a viable alternative would present itself quickly.

Level-Up Complete!

You are now 32% of the way to Level 5!

Arcturus looked to the bottom of the page and noted the Experience bar, which showed a small chunk of numerical progress toward his next level—once again, a black bar outlined in white.

The entire process of his essence distribution had been both similar and subtly different from his first time, not because there had been a greater amount of available energy to assign, but also because he had to contend with the aftereffects of Geran’s death and how that directly influenced the process at large. He couldn’t help but wonder if, perhaps, that was the inevitable trial that would await him if ever again he took another life, and in a way, it gave him some measure of comfort.

At least it would in as much capacity as comfort could be taken after murder. The very thought of growing accustomed to killing chilled him, not simply because of his ethical and moral reservations about taking life, but also because of his own lack of experience with the idea. In the military, he might have been expected to kill at some point, or order killings done at the behest of the government he’d have served, but that was inherently different.

He understood that war was not as simple as ‘good’ and ‘bad’; his father had taught him that, but Arcturus liked to believe that there was a pathway he could walk where he could avoid the darker and more soul-blackening side of military operations. It might have even been a cowardly notion, when considered to its full extent, but he was an idealist.

Yet you enjoyed taking Geran’s life, didn’t you?

He closed his eyes for a moment against his subconscious, though he could not argue with its assertion. Yes, he had enjoyed his power over Geran when he’d killed him. It had felt liberating to be able to control something, even more because it had been life and death itself: the very thing he’d struggled with a lack of control over previously.

It had felt good to have that sort of incontestable power, and the sheer fact that he had enjoyed it so much… well, that in and of itself was enough to make him feel both slightly nauseous and mildly terrified. The idea that perhaps he enjoyed killing more than he’d ever want to admit was… disturbing, to say the very least.

A moment of morbid consideration passed, and then he forcefully shook his head – slapping his own cheeks without thinking, just to refocus himself away from the dark thoughts filling his mind. His eyes went back to his character sheet while seeking a distraction, and he pondered whether or not there was a way to stymie the flood of reports he constantly received in combat.

Having his status screen available was one thing, but the constant flood of alerts whenever something happened... well, it could prove distracting at a crucial moment. In games, there was usually a setting to suppress notifications or restrict them to a 'combat log'.

It was a detail he resolved to deal with when he returned to consciousness.

ARCTURUS VALOURA

Level: 4 | Class: Ȁ̶̩͉̝̤͘͝r̴̥̥͕̐̌͒͝ć̸̫͓̿ͅä̸̧́̐̀n̷̲̏̌̀͜͝ẹ̷̜͙̈́̏ ̷̙̥͐̄W̴̮̘͂̓̊͝a̴̢͑͆͋ŗ̷̬̫̋r̵̪̯̋̓̅̕i̷̛͖̬͍ō̵͍͉͜r̸̡̻̗̜̿͒

Race: Daevic Terran(?) | Sex: Male | Age: 21

Title(s): N/A

Anima: 13 (130 HP) | Aether: 13 (130 MP)

Health per Minute: 1.8% | Mana per Minute: 2 Units

Strength: 21 | Agility: 15 | Intelligence: 17 | Vitality: 18 | Perception: 16 | Arcana: 20 | Willpower: 21 | Charisma: 16 | Luck: ??

Core Skills

[Aether Manipulation] (Passive, Infinite Scaling) | [Inspect] (Passive, Infinite Scaling)

Combat Skills

[Unarmed Combat] (Passive, Level 2) | [Stealth] (Active, Level 1)

Magical Skills

[Psionicist] (Passive, Infinite Scaling) | [Telekinesis] (Active, Level 4) 

Trade Skills

[Cartography] (Active, Level 1) | [Arcane Linguistics] (Passive, Infinite Scaling) | [Enchanting] (Active, Level 1) | [Aethersmithing] (Active, Level 1) | [Aethersmithing (Infusion)] (Active, Level 1) | [Aethersmithing (Diffusion)] (Active, Level 1)

Experience

156 / 500

32% to [Level 5]!

Arcturus leaned back once his perusal was finished, pushing himself up from the desk and stretching his arms over his head, only to remember that he was in a dreamscape and that nothing physical he did had any actual bearing on his body.

A moment’s embarrassed laughter followed, and he shook his head at his own absent-mindedness, turning towards his bed. Once he slept, he knew, he’d return to reality and all of the consequences awaiting him for his actions in Angela’s workshop. While part of him dreaded to see the look on her face, fearing he’d corrupted his image in her eyes irrevocably, another part of him stoically remembered he was just lucky to be alive.

Angela had been the first person on Terra to show Arcturus meaningful kindness and not react in fear when his emotions or confusion were evident. Even Lilian, for all her bubbly warmth, had not been able to restrain the terror she felt when she thought he’d been angry with her.

It made him wonder if there was perhaps far more to his new friend than he’d initially suspected. He was sure she was human, but beyond that, he had no idea what she might have been capable of—or of the secrets she might have possessed beneath the quick smiles and razor wit.

In place of anything else to delay him, Arcturus took a deep breath and centered himself, releasing it slowly to relax the subtle beginnings of anxiety.

There was no point in worrying about possibilities when he had no real idea of what had happened in his state of unconsciousness. The only way he would find answers, and the only way those answers would mean anything, was for him to go back and face whatever came next. It would be cowardly to try to hide from it, and Arcturus Valoura was no coward!

At least, that’s what he reassured himself of as he padded back to his bed and slid himself down onto the supportive memory foam mattress.

Whatever makes you feel better!

As his head settled onto the pillow, and his eyes slowly drifted closed, he took solace in the fact that his journey—whatever it might have entailed—was still being written. He could choose to take the experiences he’d had and use them to create his own future, his own fate, and become the better man that he wanted to be.

If he wanted to avoid becoming just another bitter, murdering denizen of the alien realm he found himself in? Well, that was his choice to make. He could decide that. His father had reinforced that with him since he was old enough to walk.

“You have the blood of Kings, my son. Never forget that,” Senior had often said.

“What does that mean?” Arcturus would ask, looking up at the towering man.

“It means you make your own destiny,” his father would reply.

The memory brought him comfort as he finally succumbed to sleep.