7 C7 - Class Selection
The next morning, I checked the status screen. I quickly skimmed over the unimportant details like age and title.
Name: Damiano (Callahan O'Shea)
Exp: 60/100
HP: 15/20
MP: 6/6
SP: 4/4
Strength: 0
Agility: 1
Fortitude: 4
Intelligence: 1
Wisdom: 0
Charisma: 3 (+47)
Unspent points: 9
Status: Awake. Alert. Recovering from mana poisoning.
I marveled at my progress, already at six MP! Each point of intelligence granting five MP was a revelation. I pondered the speed of its regeneration, a mystery yet to be unraveled as I hadn't learned any spells or the means to cast them.
Yet, despite my excitement, a lingering concern remained—the damage from yesterday still lingered. I felt a tad under the weather, a subtle discomfort nagging at me. Ignoring it, I pressed on fortitude, hoping for further insights.
Fortitude
The ability to eat a poisoned tomato and (potentially) survive! Grants 5 points of HP per point and 1 SP per point. HP regenerates at a rate of 1 HP per week. SP Regenerates at a rate of 1 SP per minute.
I stared at the screen in disbelief. It would take a whopping five weeks to fully heal and increase my MP! My hopes of a quick solution to boost my MP were dashed.
"This is not the super-efficient power scaling method I was promised," I muttered to myself, only to freeze as I realized I had spoken aloud.
I need to be more cautious. A single careless slip-up could rob me of the ability to play the normal cute baby card, which had endeared me to the ducal couple and even Mona, despite my reservations about her services. I had to admit, there was a certain amusement in how enamored they became whenever I intentionally acted cute, which was pretty much all the time.
Determined to gather more data, I decided to check the other skills.
Intelligence
The knowledge that a tomato is, technically, a fruit! Grants 5 MP per point. MP regenerates at a rate of 1 MP per minute.
Huh, I think I've heard this method of explaining ability scores in games I used to play in my old life. I immediately checked on Strength.
Strength
The ability to crush a tomato! Increases damage done by non-finesse weapons, see skill or item description for specifics. Controls carry capacity.
I nodded my head in confirmation and checked the other skills.
Agility
The ability to dodge or accurately throw a tomato! Increases damage done by finesse weapons, see skill or item description for specifics. Increases dodge chance and speed.
The tomato analogy is a bit tired at this point. I remember reading it in old 21st century literature.
Wisdom
The intuitive knowledge that a tomato does not belong in a fruit salad! Increases mana efficiency. Improves your relationship with a potential deity of your choice.
As I read through Wisdom, my left eye began to twitch involuntarily. My brows furrowed, and my lips pressed into a thin line, a clear sign of my growing annoyance. Damn you!
Charisma
The ability to interact with people really well! Increases the impact of your social interactions, increases the force of your psyche and personality.
No tomato? And here I was hoping it would say, 'The ability to sell a tomato-based fruit salad!'
Regardless, armed with a clearer understanding of each ability, I pondered how to allocate the 9 points I had been granted.
Increasing intelligence by four points would round it off nicely. The same could be said for fortitude with a single point. That left me with four remaining points to distribute. I decided on one point into strength, aiming to enhance my mobility. Another point into agility seemed wise, improving my coordination. Lastly, two points into wisdom for better mana efficiency, crucial for spellcasting. I then reviewed the updated calculations.
Name: Damiano (Callahan O'Shea)
HP: 20/25
MP: 26/26
SP: 5/5
Strength: 1
Agility: 2
Fortitude: 5
Intelligence: 5
Wisdom: 2
Charisma: 3 (+47)
Unspent points: 0
I tapped on Fortitude and Intelligence to observe how round numbers impacted the regeneration rates, and I was delighted to see a noticeable effect.
Fortitude
The ability to eat a rotten tomato and (potentially) survive! Grants 5 points of HP per point and 1 SP per point. HP regenerates at a rate of 2 HP per week. SP Regenerates at a rate of 2 SP per minute.
Intelligence
The knowledge that a tomato is, technically, a fruit! Grants 5 MP per point. MP regenerates at a rate of 2 MP per minute.
As I delved more into the system, I discovered a fascinating detail: for every five points in each attribute, my regeneration rate, or "regen," would increase by one. This revelation added a new layer of strategy to my decision-making process, as I considered how to optimize my attributes for maximum benefit.
While this increase in regeneration rate wasn't groundbreaking, it was a welcome enhancement that could prove valuable in the long run.
Eager to test my newly augmented abilities, I decided to move around briefly. To my surprise, I found myself much more coordinated than I should have been at my current stage of development. This physical improvement was the direct result of my attribute allocations.
Moreover, I couldn't ignore the significance of my earlier accidental speech. It was clear that with increased intelligence, my capacity for communication had expanded. Now, with an intelligence score of five, I needed to be cautious and discrete in deciding when to speak aloud, as my words could now carry weight and consequence.
With that aside, I needed to delve deeper into the intricacies of magic. I was left with nothing but a manual and a rather unhelpful directive from the system to "figure it out." So much for the help system.
Without a clear roadmap, I began asking myself a series of random questions in an attempt to glean insights from the system's database.
How do I cast fire? - The process is quite complex, as it depends on a variety of factors. Generally, a rough combination of matter and heat is needed to produce flame.
I was dumbfounded by this answer. While it was technically accurate from a physics standpoint, I couldn't help but wonder: what did this have to do with magic?
How do I cast a spell? -Expel mana and gather it at the location intended for the spell, once sufficient mana has been expelled and collected, then apply the appropriate mix of the fundamental elements. Finally, apply the appropriate visualization of the spell to finalize the effect.
What are the "fundamental elements?" -Heat, Lightning, Time, Void, Cold, Matter, Space, Life, Light and Darkness.
That response caught me off guard. I had been anticipating the typical RPG elements like fire, earth, air, and water. But I suppose it makes a bit of sense; this isn't a game, it's reality.
Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the mana soup surrounding me. Focusing on the flame within my range, I attempted to glean more information. However, my mana sense was still too rudimentary to gather any significant data.
Hang on, void and darkness, seems redundant, doesn't it? - Negative. Void is primarily utilized for absorption or nullification purposes. Darkness, on the other hand, is often associated with necromancy or spells perceived as "evil."
Couldn't void be used to absorb mana for the flame light instead of a battery? - Analysis inconclusive. Insufficient information available for definitive conclusion. It is intriguing to encounter a topic where my knowledge is lacking. The process feels akin to navigating a maze, reverse-engineering the magic manual. This dead end presents an opportunity to retrace my steps and explore alternative paths.
Isn't space and time technically the same thing? - Affirmative. The relationship between these elements is inherent to the nature of magic. They are interconnected, forming pairs such as Heat and Cold, Life and Void, and Matter with Lightning. The balance and interplay of these elements are fundamental to the workings of magic.
So if light is related to darkness, and darkness is necromancy does that make it holy? - Negative. The term "Light" directly refers to illumination. However, detailed information regarding Light and Darkness appears to be limited, suggesting that these topics may be more complex or advanced in nature.
It felt surreal, almost as if I were losing my grip on reality, engaging in a bizarre dialogue with myself. Deciding to set aside this interaction, I chose to ponder the newfound knowledge instead.
Soon after, Mona entered, offering her services, which I gladly accepted. As she tended to me, my thoughts drifted to the possibility of accompanying Duke Calo to Nestad County.
Becoming a part of the ducal family seemed like the only way to secure a promising future in this world. I yearned to be recognized as Damiano Calo, a thought that lingered in my mind as I contemplated the path ahead.
