"A little. You can go now if you want. I'm a cape, so this is probably dangerous." I inform her flippantly, masking the pain. That ashen look returns to her face, and she give another look at the wipes stuffed in his side.
"Oh. I didn't- I see. I-I should-" She slowly begins to back away whilst stammering out excuses. I make it easier on her by pretending she isn't there,
I can basically consider the poison dealt with now. Between two entire points of Constitution and a slowly- very slowly- growing resist skill, I'm sure I'll live. And not only that, but I have the perfect excuse to head into that office building now.
"G-get better soon!" The woman squeaks out, finally turning to hurry away.
Ignoring her completely, I finally stand up off the wall. A wave of dizziness threatens to knock me over, but I manage to bear through until it passes. Yeah, poison is definitely nothing.
After standing there another minute for no reason at all, I slowly circle around the wall and start heading for the entrance to the two storey building, moving at a casual pace that is certainly far below what I'm capable of right now.
+1 Minor Mental Conditioning
…okay, so, that doesn't really make me sound very convincing. At least it's not-
+1 Minor Physical Conditioning
The unfortunate timing of the level to a second skill almost makes me stumble. It's that, and definitely not the poison. I glare at the screen, swiping it away with one hand.
You know what? Fuck this.
I hurry up, speedwalking up to the door to the unassuming, squat building. It opens before I get to it, an automatic door not unlike a few I've seen elsewhere. Inside, I'm met by a small reception area and a reedy looking man staring at me from behind a desk, his eyes wide in surprise.
+1 Basic Insight
Insight reveals that he doesn't have a class, so I dismiss him entirely.
There are two doors I can go through. One leads forward, and the other has a sign next to it that says it leads to the second floor. Andy didn't tell me anything about which room they've booked of course, just where, so I storm up to the reception desk.
"H-hello sir, i-if you need medical attention I can call-"
"Quiet." I cut off the man's stammering, for some reason feeling quite impatient, "I need to know if anyone from the Toronto Students had a room here. Sasha, specifically."
My interruption doesn't help with whatever emotion he's feeling, and unfortunately I'm not really in a state to figure out what it is. Something in him seems to straighten regardless.
"I'm really sorry, but I can't reveal personal information like that." He says, his voice losing some of that shaky tone. I frown. Beating him over the head with a stick seems like it isn't the right call, so…
Ryan Dubois - LV N/A
A man currently working the reception desk at Bizspace, an office rental chain. The usual receptionist is off sick, but due to being friends with the manager, Ryan was able to fill in for the week.
So, in the future I won't just dismiss that stuff I guess. I fix him with a glare.
"Alright Ryan. This is how it's gonna go. You're gonna tell me what I need to know, and I won't need to find out why your friends hired someone to stab me with a knife. Yeah?"
At first I'm not sure he's gonna go for it. His eyes keep flitting over to the door leading upwards, so I suspect I need to go up there. It won't do to let them know I figured that out, and besides, I'd like confirmation anyway. If I'm wrong then they can easily slip past me and get away.
Fortunately, I'm something of a master of the mind. His emotions are like putty in my hands when I employ my subtle manipulative tricks.
That is to say, I summon a buzzsaw in his face. The initial burst of light almost makes him fall off his chair, briefly blinded, and when he opens his eyes he's greeted with a rapidly spinning circular saw formed out of glowing white light. His expression doesn't tell me much, but his whimper makes it fairly clear he's not unaffected.
"Pull up the list of rented rooms, turn the monitor, and show me." I give a simple series of orders. It's up to him which he likes more between his friends and his face.
As I suspected, he picks the face. A few moments later the monitor is turned, and I scan the list.
You have learned the skill 'Minor Mental Manipulation' at level 1.
Minor Mental Manipulation LV 1 - 40/200
You have some ability to control a person's actions through the use of outside stimuli. Intuition improves per level.
See, even my status thing agrees that it was masterfully done. Either that or it's a pity skill, but either way I'd call it a win.
The list makes things simple. As expected, they're on the second floor. Only one room was rented out, the one with windows facing the car park. Money is clearly not unlimited, then. Maybe I got lucky and they have a larger operation elsewhere, or maybe this was just inevitable. It strikes me that now they know which of the offices is closest to Mary's house. At least that's different from where Andy works, so there's some obfuscation there.
"Thank you." I smile politely, unsummoning the buzzsaw and stepping back from the desk, "Your cooperation is appreciated. Take care."
I turn and casually walk over to the door, keeping my pace slow so I have more time to recover mana. Agitating the core, that is to say, spinning it around really fast, doesn't do much for the speed. Increases it by maybe 50%. That buzzsaw trick put me down three mana though, so even if I only summon four segments of my staff, that still leaves me with almost nothing leftover.
I still do it of course. Going into yet another fight without a weapon is the last thing I need right now.
Once I reach the top of the stairs I only have two segments ready and fitted together, so I reluctantly linger whilst I work on the rest. I can hear movement, so I'm sure they'll be prepared once I make it in there. There's not many cases where that isn't true, so the trade off seems worth while.
It turned out to be the right call too.With the six seconds cast time for each segment I was able to recover enough mana to comfortably go to a full five segments, leaving me with around 15 leftover for the fight.
The sounds on the other side of the door have stopped. That's probably a bad sign. I should probably have a game plan before I go in.
Or…
I summon up two shields, putting three mana into each of them to make them a little bigger. The increase to the radius isn't particularly impressive, but I'm only confused for a moment. It's based on surface area. On top of that, passively compressing the mana makes the cost per area higher, with the benefit being a tougher shield.
I'll have to hope that multitasking will pull through here, or just raw instinct.
Despite having plenty of reason to delay, I pull down the handle and shove the door open, running out into a cramped hallway. I'm immediately met by a sound like air sucking in, accompanied by a slight whirring. I instinctively duck, just before a hail of gunfire sails above my head.
A hail of very, very quiet gunfire. I thought it was supposed to be louder?
Looking up, I see three flying drones hovering near the ceiling, propellers spinning rapidly to hold them aloft. I've seen plenty of drone footage by now, but never an actual drone. Beneath each of them is the barrel of a gun, apparently.
I quickly put both shields between me and the closest drone, pulling double duty by using them to hide my left hand as I start preparing a bullet.
I can hear them preparing to fire again already, so I quickly swing out my right hand to slide the staff down to the last segment. With far more reach, I jab it up at the second closest drone. All three of them try to fly out of the way, but I step forward to follow my target. A quick slap knocks it out of the air effortlessly.
+1 exp
The exp notification leaves me floored. Sure, one is the smallest amount I've ever gotten at once. It's still far more than the zero I expected.
Whilst I'm distracted the drones fire off their second barrage, an uncountable number of bullets firing towards me. I hide behind the shield as best I can, but a few of them pin off my legs and hands, to little-
None of them manage to hit me, fortunately. I throw the shields out of the way and aim my prepared Bullet, firing up at the farthest drone before it can react. It falls just as easily as the first.
+1 exp
There's plenty of time before the next attack, so I just use my staff to slap the final drone out of the air.
+1 exp
That was shockingly easy. I don't really know what I was expecting, admittedly, but certainly more than that. If this is all I'm gonna face then I should've just rushed in earlier.
A lot more confident this time, I rush down the hallway to a door marked 'Office 2', according to the list this is the one I should expect to see my enemies in. The moment I reach it I throw the door open and step-
A blinding flash of light and a bone shaking explosion of sound rock my skill. I'm not sure if I scream or not, only distantly aware of myself stumbling backwards, slumping against the wall opposite the door. I distantly note a few notifications getting minimised, though more pressing is the sudden pain in my side, right where I was stabbed earlier.
The staff is still in my hand though, held on the second segment so it has about three feet of range. I throw out a wild, arcing swing to try and ward anyone away whilst I recover. Nausea builds in my gut and the back of my throat, and I can't say whether it's the lingering poison or whatever explosion just hit me.
I don't think my staff hit anything. That's bad, actually, because it means whoever is fighting me isn't getting in close. I throw myself to the side, stumbling off down the hallway to give myself more time to recover.
Unfortunately, it's not to be. Something slams into my back, my ears still ringing too much to hear them, and I fall to the ground immediately. The impact knocks the wind out of me in a gasp, the weight of my assailant easily keeping me down. They grab my wrist and something cinches tight around it. Handcuffs?
I can't let that happen. I try to lift the staff, but they seem to be pinning it down halfway. With their knee, perhaps? The segmented design shows it's worth now though. I dismiss most of the segments, save for two. Their weight shifts on my back as they lose balance and I take the chance to swing behind me with all my strength, slamming the short stick into something meaty and solid.
Whatever I hit, they fall off me. The fact that I can hear their grunt of pain is a good sign.
For good measure, I violently kick where I heard the sound come from. My foot hits something soft, someones stomach perhaps, and knocks them into the wall.
My vision is blurry, shapeless patterns seared into it by the flash of light. That's gonna have to be fine, I guess. I can just barely hear footsteps, probably the rest of them coming to join that first guy. My hand tightens around what's left of my staff. This isn't gonna be fun.377GravityfunnsNov 6, 2025View discussionThreadmarks 2.5 - Boundary View contentGravityfunnsHe/HimNov 6, 2025#49I want to remake the staff, but with so little mana I don't think I can afford to. I can't quite see the number, but it feels like I'm below half. At some point I lost the shields, maybe when my focus broke, so I remake one using another three points of mana.
Just in time, as the first of the blurry figures lunges for me with some sort of stick held above their head. The other two aren't standing idle, but they struggle to get past in the cramped hallway.
I bring the shield in the way of the overhead swing and then lunge beneath it, jamming the two segments that remain right into their gut. It hits something hard and unyielding before the force cracks it, and the segment disappears. I start sharpening the last segment immediately, trying to ignore my internal confusion at the shocking durability.
Their weapon swings down with gravity, given little to no time to react to my shield. It hits the hardened mana with a resounding thud but fortunately fails to shatter it. Before they pull their weapon back I angle the shield and turn it into a buzzsaw, the spikes swiftly catching on the weapon and throwing it down to the side.
The figure curses and struggles to retain their balance, likely wanting to avoid the buzzsaw. I decide to help them out by crouching and throwing my fist up in a punch at their chin, a timed burst of force adding a little extra oomph to really snap their head back. They stumble, but I don't check whether they fall, as the other two close in simultaneously.
I bring the shield around to block one of them whilst lifting the staff to protect against the other. I can't see their weapons though, so unless they're as telegraphed as the first guy I don't stand a chance.
Making matters worse, I hear a drone flying somewhere in front of me, leaving their room. It's already prepared its attack and I don't have time to dodge as a hail of pellets hit me all-
A blade drags down my chest, before a boot shoves me stumbling backwards, into the waiting baton of someone behind me. The blunt object slamming into my back throws me face first into the ground, only aggravating my suddenly wounded chest.
I have literally no idea how they suddenly moved so far. I must've gotten confused for a second, but not again. I've still got the buzzsaw, floating just above me and to the left, so I send it flying toward the legs of the person with the knife. Meanwhile, I kick backwards and Burst into the shins of the other guy.
My ears are still ringing, so I don't make out anything other than two startled exclamations. Good enough.
Doing my best to ignore the pain on my chest, I use my last segment as a stubby cane to help push myself off the ground. My mana is running perilously low, so rather than summon a second buzzsaw I just have this one start circling me to ward them away. It's yet to actually hit anyone, I think knife guy dodged.
I can feel my mana draining in bursts whenever Buzzsaw slows down, giving me barely any time to finish this.
What's key is that they don't know that.
I only spend a moment trying to figure out which target would be the best to take out first before giving up and lunging for the closest, baton guy. I send the saw low whilst I throw all my weight behind a stab with my vaguely sharpened segment.
They try to back away but they hit the wall at an angle. I didn't realise they were so close to it, so to make sure that doesn't change I send the saw circling around to the left. Worst case they try to dodge and they get to be the first to test my saw out.
Fortunately, they seem unwilling to test the saw. Instead they bring their baton up and prepare to hit me.
So I let go of the segment, detonating the back of it to launch it forwards. The blurry figure panics and stumbles to the side, the saw carving a line through their calf and taking some of my mana with it.
Whilst they're off balance I slam my fist into their face as hard as I can. I thought it might be as hard to hurt as that other guy's gut, but instead I feel bone crunching under my knuckle, before the back of the head hits the wall and they fall to the ground limp.
…right, armour. I forgot that was a thing. So the face is a weak spot.
A whirring to the right reminds me of the last guy standing, and the most dangerous. I don't see any blurry masses representing the first one either, which isn't a good sign.
The knife guy is very obvious though. I swing the buzzsaw around me in an arc two feet away to deter them, but it doesn't work. A drone, that I somehow hadn't heard this whole time, chooses that moment to let loose a volley of bullets. I try to dodge to the side, but a good few pellets still-
Searing pain erupts as the knife drags across my arms, the knife guy having crossed a few metres in an instant, and somehow made my buzzsaw stop moving. My mana chooses that moment to run out, the buzzsaw sputtering before losing momentum. At least it doesn't disappear.
I think the knife guy is trying to speak to me. I don't hear anything though so I just grab the saw blade out of the air, dulling down a few spikes so I don't cut myself, and throw it as hard as I can.
Rather than block, Knife just angles so they're facing it dead on. Definitely wearing armour then.
Whilst they're distracted by the buzzsaw pinging off their chest, I stumble forward and go for the tried and true 'punch them in the face till they stop moving' strategy.
Shockingly, they manage to dodge it. If only barely. I'm left overextended, giving a far too perfect opportunity for them to rake the knife down my side. Of course the until now unseen drone chooses then to fire, pellets hitting-
In the blink of an eye the single slash is joined by two more, followed up with a brain rattling punch to my temple that succeeds in knocking me to the ground. I crumple into a heap, my head spinning.
My mana has barely gone up by a single point. That's still more than I expected.
Somewhere above me I hear a voice. Knife guy, I presume, speaking to someone as they kneel down beside me. They take my hand off the ground, the one with the thing tied around it, and begin gathering it together with my other one.
…I'm totally being arrested.
My Buzzsaw dissolved. I don't have the mana to make another one. I can barely even cast a half decent burst right now. I ignore the urge to keep fighting, and let them think they've won.
Maybe not entirely unrelated to the fact that my head won't stop spinning.
+10 exp
+1 Strength, +1 Agility
+2 Minor Light Resist, +1 Minor Poison Resist, +1 Minor Slash Resist, +1 Minor Pierce Resist, +1 Minor Mental Resist, +1 Minor Multitasking, +1 Lesser Mana Core
+2 Lesser Segmented Staff
Like it was waiting for me to give up, a slew of notifications appear to update me on my progress. A lot of stuff levelled up, mostly resistances. Pierce finished off and, more importantly, so did Mental. Just need to somehow evolve it, I guess.
Light Resist is… new.
Minor Light Resist LV 2/10 - 12/200
Reduce the harmful effects of bright lights and rays, particularly on the eyes, by 0.1% per level (0.2%)
I guess from the explosion? I hadn't thought to use light offensively, but it would definitely be a good idea. It certainly screwed me up pretty badly, though I like to think I fought pretty well regardless. Constitution probably played a big part in the whole deal with not being knocked out immediately.
I remain silent and limp as Knife roughly hauls me up, the pain from the rough handling is nothing next to the knife wounds. Which, by the way, seem entirely unnecessary. If you're gonna capture me anyway, use something less painful!
Maybe I should be grateful. It was good experience for Slash Resist.
A stab of hot pain as Knife drags me disabuses me of that notion. Definitely no gratitude from me, thank you very much.
Whilst I get pulled through the corridor, I decide to spam Insight on anything that looks like a person. Out in the hallway it only hits on Knife, who's class is also Former Student, and apparently got some sort of knife skill buff that has since worn off. He's got a name, but he hasn't earned it in my opinion.
Only once we get into the room do I see a few others. Two to be precise. The first is Sasha again, her description now updated with a full name and a little something talking about her former ability to see far away places. The other is just Terry, some hired muscle that doesn't have a class.
Honestly, he's the most dangerous person here. Apparently he's ripped, and his bulky silhouette reflects that.
I get dumped in a chair, my hands semi-crushed under my back as Knife refuses to give any care to my well-being, asshole that he is. Sasha walks up and stands beside him, looking down at me.
Agitating my core has gotten me up to three mana by now. Still not nearly enough. I'd only feel confident with at least 20, given my injuries.
When she approaches, I decide to take the risk and not move an inch. If she does something particularly bad I'll just have to Blast her in the head. It shouldn't be too hard to make a small blade to cut my wrists free, and then I just have to run out as fast as I can. Sprint, some might say.
My breathing hitches when she stops in front of me, subtly bracing when she reaches for something on the table. The clean white cylinder she pulls out is quickly recognisable as a roll of bandages.
Minutes later, my shirt is off and my chest is thoroughly wrapped up. They didn't clean anything, but I probably shouldn't have expected much. The cloth is quickly soaked, but my bleeding is finally stemmed.
Then they have the beefy guy post up beside me whilst they go into another room to confer. Ha. Idiots don't even know I'm deaf right now.
Mostly, anyway. I can hear the whirring of a drone somewhere above me, perhaps a little less muffled than before. Not by much.
Terry is stood looming over me. Maybe looking at me, maybe not. I guess it doesn't matter.
Terry Stock - LV N/A
Local muscle hired by the Toronto Students to take down a powerful villain. He isn't getting paid much, but he still wants to help people.
"Psst. Hey, bud." I hiss out, my whispered voice crackly in my throat. I have to admit to myself that I am in fact still poisoned, despite my best efforts. "I'm deaf, so I can't really hear you. Just wanted you to know that these guys are working with a Master. Anything hit by those drones triggers their power." Maybe a little bit of a lie. Who's to say? It's certainly believable.
Terry says something, but obviously I don't know what. He's not moving much, either, though even if my vision was perfect I'd struggle to discern his emotions. These guys have really fucked me up, haven't they?
I wait until I stop hearing the muffled sound of his voice before speaking.
"Again, I am deaf. You seem like a nice guy is all, so I figured that I should say something. Just in case you didn't realise. I don't know who the Master is by the way. Just that they keep wiping my memories. Don't even know why they're after me any more, just that I can't let it happen."
+1 Minor Mental Manipulation
Technically that would happen whether or not I was successful, but I take it as a good sign anyway. I use a quick Insight to see if anything has changed.
Terry Stock - LV N/A
Local muscle hired by the Toronto Students to take down a powerful villain. He isn't getting paid much, but he still wants to help people. Recent revelations have sewn doubt into his resolve.
The change is pleasantly surprising. It's hard to say if this will lead anywhere, but it's better to have tried and failed than to not have tried at all. Usually.
In other news, I just kinda sit there for a bit. My mana is recovering at a decent rate, and by agitating it I'm sure it'll be full before long. I'm starting to understand Mana Core. Other than the consistency, it'll definitely scale more. Increasing intelligence also increases my recovery rate, so in theory I should always be able to regenerate in a decent bit of time.
That aside, I start forming a blade of mana, not yet letting it leave my wrist. I don't want to risk being spotted, especially with that drone hovering around somewhere.
A short time later, I faintly hear footsteps re-entering the room. I look over and use Insight to check the blobs that enter. Sasha and Knife are both back. Insight doesn't tell me much about what they're discussing, just that they plan to take me down to get at Andy. The specifics of the plan are somewhat beyond me.
"Hey, you're back. Great to see you again. Got more stabbing planned? I won't tell you where he is, if that's what you're looking for." I force a casual tone as best as I can, though my pain is unfortunately evident.
Their response is garbled and faint to the point I don't even know who's speaking. I really need to deal with this deafness situation when I'm done here, because this is too much. Actually, how am I even gonna get back home?
When they realise I've got no idea what they're saying one of them reaches out and grabs my shoulder. Knife, I think. They pull me stumbling to my feet, ignoring my gasp of pain as they manhandle me to the door. One of their hands is on my shoulder, and the other is on whatever wire is binding my wrists.
Sucks for them, because now it's definitely escape time. I trigger a controlled Burst of mana to launch the thin blade out of my wrist, cutting through the wire before stopping an inch into the side of their hand. They immediately withdraw, probably startled and panicked, though I can hardly hear.
I turn, brace my foot on the ground, and punch with all my might into their jaw. Something cracks under my fist, and I use Lesser Sprint to kick off the ground towards them, shoving them backwards. To my surprise there's a table back there, and my tackle crashes them straight through it in a chaotic crunching of flimsy wood.
Behind me the drone starts to fire. I ignore the pellets hitting me as I rear my foot back to-
Next thing I know I've already kicked them in an unmentionable place, the blob of their form in my blurry vision now curled up around their crotch and writhing in pain. I quickly look up and around the area, checking on Sasha. A large blur that must be Terry is just standing there, whilst Sasha is nowhere to be-
Something cold and metallic suddenly presses against the back of my skull.
A more informed person might have figured out what that is and been quite afraid. I just shove a shield out of the back of my head to push it away and duck down, pivoting and punching her in the gut. That alone doubles her over despite the armour I feel, but I leave my fist there so I can use a full 9 points of mana, or thereabouts, in the most powerful burst I've pulled off yet.
It practically launches her off me, something tumbling out of her hand and skittering to the ground as her back crashes into the wall. I faintly hear something crack, and she slumps down, defeated.
I patiently wait for a quest complete notification.
+10 exp
+1 Minor Bleed Resist
+1 Basic Lunge, +1 Basic Punch
No such luck. I deflate, followed swiftly with a pained gasp. The bandages they so graciously wrapped me in are already blood red, which is not a good sign. I hope to god that my Constitution really is superhuman, because otherwise this is gonna suck real bad.
I glance at the Terry-blob, but it's still not moving. Insight tells me that it is in fact him, and that he's 'increasingly conflicted'. I wave.
"Thanks. I guess I'll be going now. Probably need to deal with uh… being deaf, and stuff." I shrug and then just leave. He doesn't stop me, which I'm glad for. I've got maths to do, and besides that walking is taking way too much effort right now. I move with a slightly swaying gait, like a leaf in the wind.
I got 10 exp for those two people, and 10 exp for the three out here. Assuming it's a consistent amount, that doesn't add up. Looking up and down the hallway, Insight only pings one person.
It isn't hard to put together picture of what happened. The first idiot that attacked me fled. I guess that's fine, the worst they could do is set up an ambush for me on the ground floor. That isn't…
Hm.
A few minutes later, I head downstairs with full mana and a full five segment staff clutched in hand. Three shields hover around me, one behind and the other two on either side. All of them cost 2 mana each, I'm not that patient. Nor do I have a strong enough mind to hold that many, for that matter.
Taking the stairs is tough, and I have to hold onto the banister so that I don't fall. At the bottom the door is already open, and I can see out into the reception. No one there, after using Insight on any shape I could discern.
Just in case, I have the shields do little circles, so that there's more chance of them at least slowing down a hit from the side. Holding the staff in both hands, I walk forwards.
And keep walking forward, without getting hit at all. In the middle of the room, I look around and scan everything I see using Insight. Nothing, as far as I can tell. Not a soul.
…actually, shouldn't there be a receptionist? I suppose I must've scared him-
Something hits the back of my head, and I once again crumple to the floor.365GravityfunnsNov 6, 2025View discussionThreadmarks 2.6 - Boundary View contentGravityfunnsHe/HimNov 6, 2025#61+1 Minor Poison Resist, +2 Minor Bleed Resist, +1 Minor Hunger Resist
I wake up in a bed. Surprisingly, not as nice as the one at Mary's house. Apparently beds have varying levels of comfort. Of course, it's still far better than the floor. I slowly sit up, only then noticing a handcuff around my wrist. That's fine, I could break that easily.
More importantly, what the fuck happened?
My vision is slightly better. Still fuzzy, and I can't make out much detail, but I can still see my hand in front of my face. Metaphorically, I guess. Looking down, I note the fresh bandages. There's a familiar tightness in lines across my sides that imply some more in depth medical attention beyond that. Probably for the best.
Hearing has also improved somewhat. The ringing has quieted down at least, enough that I can hear a door opening and then closing. Light footsteps walking for a few seconds, and then stopping. Followed by…
"…don't have… brute-blaster-master… need better restraints…"
…I don't have any fucking clue. I can only guess at every other word, and it keeps fading in and out as if they're looking around whilst speaking. When reading about Auditor I heard tell of 'brute/thinker'. I guess that's some sort of classification for capes, then. Something to look up later I guess.
Look up on what?
My eyes widen slightly, and I frantically pat down my pockets. Or, where my pockets should be. I've not got a shirt, and my trousers have been replaced by a pair that doesn't even have pockets. My phone is gone. Dammit.
I belatedly realise my movement has drawn some attention when the sound of talking stops. My hearing was too fucked to get much out of it, so it's not a huge loss.
Footsteps start up again. A figure comes into view past what I thought was a wall at the opposite end of my room. Instead, it may be bars. Am I in a holding cell? Crazy that they think I wouldn't be able to get out.
As far as what the figure looks like, I've got nothing. All I can see between the bars is a lot of blue and yellow, so I guess my vision didn't heal as much as I'd thought. There is one way to work around that though.
Adriana ??? (Flake) - LV N/A - Class: Fractal Force Mage
A hero working for the Protectorate. She usually works in Toronto, but came down to Deer Lake, Newfoundland on a less than legal request from the Toronto Students. She's classified primarily as a Blaster.
Fractal Force Mage isn't a very helpful descriptor. Am I to take Flake as her cape name? I'm sure it didn't do that for Auditor. It has levelled up since then, I suppose.
"Hello, Flake." I say calmly, as if she didn't come over because she heard me flailing about, "Are you supposed to be here?"
Flake doesn't respond at first. Shocked into silence, I can only hope.
"Wow. At least you're polite." She responds dryly after a few moments, "For a violent criminal, anyway. The Students wanted to take you in themselves, but I talked them into giving you a trial."
I stare blankly in her direction. I'm fairly certain that would be considered kidnapping.
"…this is the part where you get scared." She waits a moment and then sighs, "Fine. You'll be arrested normally. I don't know all the rights and stuff. Just confess and this'll be a whole lot easier on you. We have Projector on video, but not you."
I tilt my head a perfect 45 degrees.
"And… who's Projector?"
Silence. I wasn't even going for shock factor there.
"You, obviously!" She snaps, "God, I hate this whole ignorance routine. We have your cape identity on video, but you were wearing a mask so we can't convict your civilian identity. You need to voluntarily admit that it's you."
"I'm… Projector?" I say slowly, my gaze dropping down to my lap. That seems like a name, with how she used it. After a moment a thought strikes me and I pull up my status. Nothing immediately stands out until I focus on Nameless again.
Nameless
As one lacking an identity, you get to decide for yourself who you will be. Gain appropriate boons as you build your own ego.
Projector - Some call you Projector. Find out what this means to learn what this gives you.
My heart skips a beat. There it is, plain and simple. A name. My gaze snaps up, staring at what I hope is Flake's eyes, or at least her face.
"Why Projector?" I ask quickly, straightening my spine.
"Do you… realise your situation right now?" The cape sounds genuinely baffled, "You could go to prison. If you don't come willingly, then maybe even worse."
"Explain, why Projector?" I just ask again, determined to ignore whatever she's on about. After a brief moment, I add, "Please."
"I- You know what, fine. Just to hurry this up. They chose Projector because you can make light constructs. That's literally it. You know, like a Projector? Projects light?"
I stop listening at that point, staring at Nameless to watch it update.
Nameless
As one lacking an identity, you get to decide for yourself who you will be. Gain appropriate boons as you build your own ego.
Projector - You are Projector, a villain. Constructs that emit light are twice as durable when acting as Projector.
Ignoring the fact that I'm definitely not a villain, this is incredible! I've got a name.
Sort of. It still calls me Nameless. I don't know what I need to do to make it stick properly. It doesn't really feel like much of a name, so maybe that's why? It's a title, given by someone else. Maybe it just takes time before it's truly my very own name.
"Thank you. I'm glad to know that. I'd like to leave now." I stand up off the bed, a little Burst snapping the handcuff off my hand. Flake backs away from the bars, her hands coming up in front of her.
"Sit back down! I can look past you breaking the cuffs as long as-"
"Please be quiet." I interrupt, "I'm not going to prison."
If I get arrested then there's no way I'll finish that quest. One little problem with that plan though.
How the fuck am I supposed to escape prison when I can't even see?
Flake starts talking, but I ignore it in favour of plotting. I've got a full mana bar but not much else. Already played my hand with breaking out of the cuffs, that was a bad call. There's a second person out there, I don't know who. 'Fractal Force Mage' sounds like a terrifying class to go up against in a straight fight, so that should probably not be in the running.
Can't break through the walls, most likely. I mean, I've not tried, true. If it doesn't work I'm done for though.
Talking my way into an opportunity was probably the way to go.
…
Damn. I really fucked up, huh?
"Heey, so, I think we got off on the wrong foot." I say suddenly, as she talks in hushed tones with someone on the phone. Unfortunately, I've got no clue what about. This'd be a great time to get that 'minor health recovery' skill I'm supposedly close to getting…
[Minor Inspect, Minor Stealth Mastery, Minor Health Recovery?, Minor Dismantle Mastery, Minor Critical Mastery, Minor Sensory Impairment Resist]
[Basic Perception, Basic Scan]
Nothing, but it's still in there. As far as other skills that would be useful, there's certainly a few interesting possibilities. All Minor and Basic though, and unlikely to be enough to escape in the next five minutes.
"-id you even say anything if you were just going to ignore me?" Flake says irritably, as I tune back into the real world.
I… am not sure what just happened.
"That… That wasn't on purpose that time. I think…" I open up my status, suddenly feeling the urge to check on the Malady. What if it got worse?
Moderate Short-term Confusion
Due to further subjection to mental manipulation and multiple head injuries, you have become Confused. Due to the nature of the injuries you will struggle to focus for a short period.
This malady will be removed upon receiving a period of rest between 1 and 14 days, dependent on healing skills and Constitution. May also be removed by sufficient change in mental fortitude.
Fortunately, it isn't as bad as it seems. It's not good, but it doesn't seem too hard to deal with, like the long-term confusion.
"…sorry about that." I continue, shaking my head and forcing myself to focus, "My power reacts poorly to master effects. It tries to protect me from them, but there's not much it can do."
"What." Visually I can't tell that anything is wrong, but for some reason her tone is completely different. Stern and caught off guard, almost. "I'm a Blaster. To my knowledge, there are no Masters or Strangers in Deer Lake."
"Well, you wouldn't know, would you? They've really gotten into it. They erase people's memories whenever they hit them. During that fight..." I frown as I think back to it. My memory is fuzzy, but I distinctly remember the constant surprise at things happening sooner than expected, "I think they were controlling a drone. That counted as an attack, apparently."
Flake immediately curses under her breath, her silhouette moving in ways I don't really get. Running a hand through her hair, maybe?
+1 Minor Mental Manipulation
"That makes too much sense. I just thought you were mentally ill or something." She abruptly turns to leave, pulling something out of her pocket and speaking into it in a hushed tone. She's already halfway out the door by the time she does, so there's no chance of me hearing it. She pauses out of my sight and says something to the other person in the room.
"Make sure he doesn't leave. This needs investigating."
I think that's what she said anyway. Hard to tell. Her reaction is overall confusing to me. Masters must be a known quantity. Maybe government sponsored superheroes are just sensitive about that sort of thing? What with all the shady secrets and all.
Ah. But that might be an American thing. A lot of the videos on that one video site are from America, at least the english speaking ones. Maybe I should try learning another language actually…
I shake my head. Maybe another time. I hear someone changing positions, a chair creaking, but nothing else. Hopefully that means no one's watching me.
There's a few skills in that list that I think I should pick up right about now.
+1 Strength, +1 Dexterity
+4 Minor Dismantle Mastery, +1 Minor Inspect, +1 Lesser Mana Core
Minor Dismantle Mastery LV 4/10 - 219/500
You have some instinctive grasp of the weak points of various objects, and an understanding of how to take them apart in various ways.
Basic Inspect LV 1/10 - 31/100
Can see basic information about an object. More effective the more you already know.
A couple of hours later, and I've got a couple of bricks removed, revealing a thin layer of insulation. Very thin, sure, but it's still annoying. Fortunately, mana is very useful for making simple tools. I was hoping to get a spell out of it, but nothing yet. Maybe if I make a wider variety of tools I'll land on something, but my bet is that it's something to do with lacking a class.
At first I was worried the tools would break against the hard bricks, but my new name is already proving it's worth. Double durability may sound like a lot, and that's because it is.
Along the way I finally got Basic Inspect. It's really something.
Brick wall
A wall made of bricks. No special effects.
This is what I get from most things. A few uses later got me a little extra information about it using cement too, but nothing useful. It'll likely be useless for a while, especially compared to its twin Insight.
Dismantle Mastery is, I assume, incredible. I've not noticed any changes, but I doubt I would.
All I've been doing is chipping away at the cement connecting the bricks, my mana formed into a sharp chisel that I use to quietly jab the cement. I can't do anything too loud though, or else I'll risk drawing the attention of whoever is guarding me.
By now I've carved a hole to the insulation about three bricks wide. These are pretty big bricks too, so that's not an insignificant size at all. I think I might just be able to squeeze out, but I've been working on a fourth just in case.
With perfect timing, right then is when the final brick reaches its last legs and begins to fall. I brace it with a hand to its underside and carefully tug it off the last little bit of cement holding it in place, and quietly putting it down beside me.
The insulation is easier. I hold up the chisel and turn it into something like a scalpel, using every ounce of mana compression I still have to make the blade as sharp and sturdy as I can. Unlike a regular scalpel, it's a couple inches long. At least, I assume that's different. I wouldn't know, I'm fairly certain no one's ever done surgery on me before.
It shears through the insulation with impunity, my strength enough to tear through any tougher parts. I think I get a wire at some point, but nothing turns off so maybe not. Once it's done I pull the misshapen square of insulation and other building internals out of the way.
Now, I really want to just blow the last part of the wall up and run out. That would need an awful lot of MP though, if it were to be possible, and I'd really rather use that MP on Lesser Sprint to escape. That in mind, I reluctantly settle for getting back into chiselling out between the bricks to push them out.
Outside it's rather bright, so it must be morning. I don't immediately recognise the area, a short grass verge overlooking a small lake, but I ignore that for now. In short order, I've got enough bricks out of the way that I can wriggle out through the gap, grunting as I tumble out into the damp grass.
And like that, I'm out. A perfect escape, planned from beginning to end and executed masterfully.
+5 exp
"Hey! Dammit. I new I should've had that coffee." A man yells from within the building, his loud and furious voice easily drowning out the alarm that played just before he yelled.
Now I feel pretty smart for conserving my mana. I throw myself off the ground and set off in a sprint directly to the right, flashes of light and force propelling me onwards with every step. In moments I've darted into a copse of trees.
On the other side is an even smaller lake, though judgement of its size is somewhat muddied by the marshy area surrounding it. Bugs buzz around, making me distinctly uncomfortable, but I ignore them.
I can't swim, so I take a sudden left and continue running across a more open but rather muddy field. It transitions suddenly into tall yellow grass, which my Lesser Sprint blows up quite a bit, and then abruptly again into a cracked grey road.
I don't take a moment to think before running down it, in the opposite direction of the prison.
+1 Constitution, +1 Agility, +1 Wisdom
+4 Lesser Sprint
+3 Basic Sprint
Two hours later I come to a stop, after having taken a few turns and ran down winding roads for as long as I could handle. I suddenly veer to the side and drop myself into a bush along the side of the road, letting my exhausted limbs rest in the uncomfortable plants.
Really uncomfortable. I'm pretty itchy all of a sudden actually, but it's probably nothing.
+1 Minor Poison Resist
…anyway.
I'm shirtless, unless the bandages count. Also shoeless. I maybe should've just beaten that guy up and tried to find my phone, but I can't risk a fight against an unknown cape. I've not seen any other buildings on my entire run, and it was really quite a run because I somehow got another point to Constitution from it.
The injuries I'm running with might help though, to be fair.
My mana is sitting at a fat zero right now, though Lesser Mana Core is approaching the next level at least. I've been Sprinting on fumes for a while now.
It's actually pretty interesting. The actual Sprint technique says it uses Stamina, which I'm starting to think is a resource besides my own actual stamina, just one that's not quantified for some reason. It wasn't active all the time, but without resting it was active a surprising amount.
My mind is surprisingly active too, for that matter. Instinct tells me I should hardly be able to think right now, but I think I'm sorta good?
In a certain sense, at least. I'm still lost in the wilderness. I might have ran in a bit of a loop, I just took every left I saw, but nothing looks familiar. And it's definitely far from Deer Lake.
My best guess is that they have a remote prison for capes. Seems like it'd be a safe thing to do, anyway. But why wouldn't they have been ready to actually hold a cape? Surely whoever's in charge wouldn't neglect the safety of the people that live here?
It was good for me, whatever the reason. Now… I guess I should just pick a direction and walk.
Right after I take a nap in this poisonous bush.383GravityfunnsNov 6, 2025View discussionThreadmarks 2.7 - Boundary View contentGravityfunnsHe/HimNov 7, 2025#72Poison Ivy
A mild poison, known to be very painful but not often deadly.
Say what you will about poison, but it isn't really as bad as I'd come to expect. Constitution probably has more to do with that than Poison Resist. It brings into question what the point of the skill is anyway. By the time I get it past minor and into something useful, won't I have already gotten enough Constitution for it to not matter?
+1 Minor Cold Resist, +1 Minor Slash Resist, +1 Basic Inspect, +1 Minor Multitasking, +1 Lesser Mana Core
It's this and many other thoughts that occupy me as I walk down a path roughly hewn through damp fields. It's cold, wet, and quite miserable. I'm sure I'll be sick by the time I make it back, though disease resistance might be a good thing to pick up sooner than later.
Thinking of that obviously brought me to Slash Resist, and how woefully behind it is compared to the others. A few fractions of a percent don't mean much in the grand scheme of things, or the small scheme for that matter, but even still I'd rather haver it up to ten for when the opportunity comes. The only fusion I've pulled off has been with two skills that were maxed out, after all.
That still leaves me to figure out how exactly to fuse resistances. I should probably try for some sort of general damage resistance, it seems like the most solid bet with what I've got so far.
So far now I just occasionally drag a blade of mana across the back of my arm, trying to force down my instinctive squeamishness.
At the same time I've been Inspecting everything I see. It mostly just fetches names, and not even detailed ones. I'm sure 'poison ivy' has a scientific name of some kind, though like most things I know, I'm not sure why I think that.
It levels far slower than Insight, anyway. Despite the similarity, I wonder if they're the same at all. Insight feels different to use, somehow.
I shake that thought out of my head forcibly, still stuck with that second malady.
For now, I want a new spell. Specifically, one that makes me tools. I hold up a hand and make a chisel in it again.
It's not the most complicated. Just a stick with a wedge shape at the end. Smooth, unadorned, and that's all.
Maybe that's the problem?
Every tool I've seen in person- namely Mary's tools that she still won't let me touch- has a pretty strange shape. The handle is always curved. Tools haven't shown up much in the videos I've watched so far, but there have been a few in the background of lower budget hydraulic press channels. Those looked similar.
I frown, and focus on the handle of the chisel as I walk. The 'handle' of it bows inwards slightly, shifting under my hands. Squeezing it slightly, it feels notably different. Better, maybe?
Over the course of half an hour I play around with the shape a little. Putting bumps and ridges on it until I find something more comfortable by sheer trial and error. A wave pattern raised up makes it harder to drop, and adding a bit of wiggle perpendicular to that gives grooves for my fingers to rest in.
It ultimately feels better, but… not particularly good as a chisel. I sigh and dismiss it.
Next, a screwdriver. Mary gave me a tiny one, and it sucked, so I make a normal size one this time. A chunky handle and a stick poking out, flattened at the end to get into the grooves of the screws.
This time when I alter the handle I focus more on making a firm grip than a comfortable hold. More than just lines, I realise I can add tiny imperfections to the surface…
+1 Minor Light Resist, +1 Minor Hunger Resist
Like this, a few hours pass. After a screwdriver, I make a hammer. Then a wrench. All the while still scratching at myself, and inspecting things. Light Resist goes up for some strange reason, hunger resist goes up for a more obvious one. Mana Manipulation is still level 3, levelling shockingly slowly, but is finally above 50%. Almost 60 now, in fact.
Then finally, after making a little thing I believe is called an 'Andy Wrench', I get the awaited notification.
You have learned 'Summon Simple Tools' at level 3.
Summon Simple Tools LV 3/20 - 0/200
Use mana to conjure a simple, unpowered tool. MP cost variable based on size and strength of the tool.
+1 Intelligence
It's quite different. The first skill, spell, or technique to start above level 1, the first spell to not have stat scaling, and it uses a different naming convention from everything else.
Just learning it got me a point to intelligence, though perhaps I've been close for a while. It's hard to say.
I dismiss the Andy Wrench and try using the spell to summon a hammer. It reacts immediately, mana swirling before coalescing into a simple ball-peen hammer in less than a second. My eyebrows raise slightly.
Glancing at the spell in my status, it only got a single exp from that, so despite starting higher it's harder to raise.
I've got a lot of questions. Why did I get this, and why is it different, are both chief among them. The way it forms into the tool is completely different from how I painstakingly create my segmented staff. Almost natural.
It almost feels like a hint. Something to tell me how my power exactly works.
I can't help but link it back to Instinctive Wisdom, the trait that helped me figure out how to generate mana. This one seems like it'll take a good while longer to figure out though, it's not just a simple pattern to be copied.
I experimentally try summoning another hammer, intent on watching what the mana does. To my surprise it neglects to make a new one wholesale. The mana comprising the hammer shouts out in tiny strings before spiralling back into a tight sphere. Moments later the sphere has ballooned out into a hammer, identical to the first and still clutched tightly in my hand.
Strange. That's a word for it.
Skills have been rather arbitrary, but spells have always been mechanical. The mana cost it lists, where it lists one, is never completely accurate. Between varying levels of mana compression and how much I force the spell, it's always slightly different. So why, now, would this one spell have a meaningless limit on how many I can have at once?
Spending another few minutes trying various things to split off a second summon doesn't work. It always just transforms the one I already have, not using any mana. The feeling of my control being redirected like that is unnerving. Like an involuntary twitch turning into a completely different movement.
It doesn't feel like I'm getting any closer at all, and I can't feel the mana outside my body well enough to copy whatever the summon is doing. Summoning inside my body is a fools errand too, something about these constructs is different. More real, perhaps? They can't discorporate without losing their shape entirely.
I don't even realise I've stopped walking to focus on the spell until my growing headache finally convinces me to give up, dropping the wrench I just summoned and letting it disappear.
For now, I should be more worried about immediate concerns. For example, I still have no idea where I am. I'm almost tempted to try using Burst to jump as high as I can and spot Deer Lake from a distance, but even should I survive, I can still barely see past a few metres.
It's cold enough that Cold Resist is still ticking up, so getting back to town should be the number one priority. Number two should be Slash Resist, and if I were to put anything at number three it would probably be a better defensive skill so I'm not cornered again. Maybe staff techniques. Right now I can only do two of those at once, so I set of at a Lesser Sprint and put a knife to my arm again.
No more distractions.
+1 Minor Slash Resist, +1 Minor Multitasking
+1 Lesser Mana Burst, +1 Lesser Sprint
Maybe no more distractions was a little bit hopeful. After about an hour of running (without Basic Sprint activating) I'd made some progress, only to stop in my tracks upon hearing the distant whirring of a drone's propeller. I immediately stop where I am, and take stock of my mana.
About half. I wasn't worried too much about conserving it. It's enough for the drone, but why is it here? I use a point each for three shields and start preparing a Bullet.
The first thing I do when I see a fuzzy black blob in the sky is use Inspect and Insight at once, trying to figure out whether it's an animal or the drone.
Wyrm
A tinkertech drone designed to be piloted by Dragon. It has no unique features, but is notably better than any mundane drone in all aspects.
Dragon - LV N/A
A sentient program created by Andrew Richter to act as an assistant, that has since grown beyond a simple program. She is piloting multiple drones searching for one of Andrew's allies.
I clamp down on the bullet before it can fire when both skills ping off the drone.
Dragon. Vaguely familiar. Did Andy mention her before? This feels like something that should be a big deal.
For now, I guess I can just not think about it. The drone presumably spots my glowing shields and veers towards me, descending from the sky. I can't make out any details on it until it stops in front of me, hovering at eye level. It has four rotor blades, spinning near soundlessly. Maybe a bit louder than that, but my hearing has improved more than my sight.
"Hello. You seem in poor condition. I will lead you back to Deer Lake, where you can return to my creator's friend. Please do not use any names until you are safely returned." The drone speaks in a robotic, somewhat feminine voice. Or maybe I just interpret it as feminine because Insight calls her a woman? I'm not a scientist.
"Great, thank you. I'm starving." I inform her as the drone starts flying down the path, following along behind it. She neglects to give me a response, so I let the conversation die.
I can see movement on the drone. There's the propellors on top of course, but then beneath it there's some sort of cylinder slowly rotating. Neither of them make much sound though.
…
"Wait. What's making that propellor sound then?" I ask to the drone, looking around as if I can see something. There's not much in the way of cover here, save the trees on the other side of fields on either side of the path. I don't hear it anymore.
It must be… nothing, maybe?
I'm just about to dismiss it when the drone suddenly stops flying, the cylinder beneath it locking in place pointed in a specific direction.
"Something strange has been detected hiding beside the path, in a shallow ditch. Thermal readings are detecting an unusual amount of cold." Dragon speaks calmly before turning the drone around and heading back up the path. I shrug and follow.
Then the drone stops again.
"Movement d-" The rest of what she has to say is cut off when a chunk of snow the size of a head slams into the drone, smashing it into the ground. I freeze.
Snow
Snow, created through a cryokinetic power
Huh.
If I were attacking someone like that, I'd probably go for the head next. Maybe it takes a bit to generate another attack. With that in mind, I swing my small shields around, putting one level with my head, one my gut, and one my knees, all of them between me and the direction the snow came from. I carefully turn around, making sure they stay between me and the enemy at all times.
The air is getting colder. In the second it takes to turn around that side of the path is just a wall of white. I use Insight and Inspect as much as possible, bracing myself for the next attack.
Snow
Snow
Ice
Shrub
Snow
Nothing, nothing, nothing. Where-
A packed ball of snow slams into the back of my head, from precisely the opposite direction I expected. It knocks me forward, and I instinctively try to grab a shield to hold myself up. It just falls with me though, and I grunt as I fall into the snow at my feet.
+1 Minor Cold Resist
I quickly lose feeling in my hands as I shove myself up to my feet, shivering as the cold gets worse. It's something like noon right now, the sun right above me, which is somehow making things worse as it bounces off the pure white snow.
With fourteen mana left, I spend five making five more shields, three of them surrounding my head, one at my back, and the last free to move around. It's enough to give me a headache, but I think I can handle it.
I don't bother looking behind me. This guy is relying on me being half blinded, probably with the Students. Was he the source of the sound? Hard to say.
I subtly bunch the four shields orbiting my head around to one side, leaving a gap to my left. Just in the corner of my eye. By now everything around me is white. Either they can make a lot of snow or I'm just missing something.
+1 Minor Cold Resist
I just keep spamming Insight on the area to my left. It doesn't seem to need me to be focused on whatever I'm using it on, so-
Dale ??? (Blizzard) - LV N/A - Class: Snow Stormer
There it is. I don't bother reading the description, I just lift my hand and release my Bullet at the point that triggered Insight. A cry of pain lets me know I was successful, and then I'm off, using two points of mana to kick off the ground towards Blizzard. I try to use my new spell to summon a long stick in my other hand but end up with a crowbar about half the length I wanted.
Fine.
I make impact, flying into a pile of soft snow but not hitting any thing. I look left whilst spamming Insight again, and wildly throw my summoned crowbar to the right, hoping to hit something.
The crowbar hits something fleshy just before it disappears. I bring all my shields in front of me and sprint in his direction, letting them block the snow as it suddenly picks up speed. It becomes more like wind, but lacks the brute force needed to take out my shields.
The ground beneath me freezes over, becoming slippery, but with Lesser Sprint I barely even touch the ground. In seconds I'm on them, barrelling into their back shield first.
I feel as most of the shields shatter on their body before I slam into them, wrapping my arms around their waist so they can't get away. In response the blizzard just gets even worse, wind and snow whipping at my face and turning my skin numb. I faintly hear panicked cursing, but the wind drowns it out.
I'm grabbing onto some sort of thick, poofy jacket. Squeezing tighter, there's armour underneath. Tough to get through. My teeth start to chatter, cold making my body tremble.
3 mana left. Not enough for anything too powerful. I grimace and try to climb up their body. My legs aren't quite responding to me in the cold. Still, I manage a clumsy swipe at their own legs. Maybe more from surprise than anything else, they slip.
We tumble together, suddenly falling down a steep incline into a shallow ditch. I grunt as I land atop them, my weight trying to press them down. I feel vaguely like a doll as they start pushing me up. It's just so cold…
There's not much I can do here, with cold so suddenly sapping my strength.
I don't rely on strength then. I summon a chisel, using mana manipulation to hold it up over their gut. Not their face, because I don't want anyone dying, theoretically. I send a packet with all the mana I've got left and hover it over the back of the chisel, ignoring as they struggle and curse me out.
The packet hardens so I can more easily control where the force goes, and then I burst. The chisel drives forward, cutting through the jacket and then through some of the fabric holding whatever armour is under there together, pure luck letting it get forced through into the fragile flesh of their gut.
They weaken slowly after that, but still manage to shove me off them. The chisel dissipates as they stumble to their feet, almost making them collapse as the flow of blood increases.
It isn't long until the snow suddenly winks out, all at once, leaving behind only the cold.
+30 exp
+1 Constitution, +1 Agility
The fight is over, just like that. I still can't move, nor can I feel much of anything, but I'm pretty sure I'm still alive. The exp windfall is quite steep. I don't feel like I struggled especially more fighting this person than anyone else, despite the added magical effects.
I don't realise the implications of that plus one constitution until a moment passes.
You have reached the second threshold for Constitution. Please select a trait.
Adaptive Constitution -> Hardy Constitution
Growth alone isn't enough, without the raw durability to support it.
Resist skills gain (0.75*Constitution)% more experience
Resist skills are (0.1*Constitution)% more powerful, but cannot exceed the natural limit of the skill
Vigorous Constitution
Your body is more than just durable, it is also effective. Recover faster, in all ways physical.
Health and Stamina recover (0.5*Constitution)% faster
Hardy is tempting but, even with Intelligence and Wisdom keeping my mind running through the daze, healing past this all consuming chill is all I can think of right now. I snap it up without a second thought.
With a constitution of 20, that is a whopping… 10% faster. Still, it isn't nothing. I'm already thinking about putting my next points into Constitution, but realistically I probably won't.
If I only had better spells, I'd be in better condition. I wouldn't be struggling to see, or struggling to hear. I'd be out there…
And I probably wouldn't be right about to pass out