New Rewards II

The time came to review the mana affinities he had acquired and see what they implied.

Metal Affinity*Secondary*: The player can sense the mana of metals; this allows them to absorb the mana into their body and detect their presence and their nature. Metal Mana Core Construction: 1/100

Gem Affinity (secondary): The player can sense the mana of the gems; this allows them to absorb the mana into their body and detect their presence and their nature. Gem Mana Core Construction: 1/100

Blood Affinity (Secondary): The player can sense the mana of the blood; this allows him to absorb the mana into his body and detect its quality and nature. Blood Mana Core Construction: 1/100

Spirit Affinity (Secondary): The player can sense the mana coming from spiritual entities; this allows them to absorb the mana into their body and detect their presence and their nature. Spirit Mana Core Construction: 1/100

What was mana used for? How was the magic activated? What was a mana core? Why did it appear secondary next to the affinity name?

"Data, explain to me more about mana, affinities, and mana cores."

"Mana is the energy that exists in all things, in the different elements, and in nature; it is the source of magic. Mana nuclei are what allow living beings to manipulate these energies. Mana cores gain power over time, and have no limit to their growth, but to form a mana core, the being has to be related or sensitive to said energies. Only then can a basic or level-level mana core be formed. 

There are 14 main nuclei: fire and ice, earth and water, lightning and air, life and death, space and time, light and darkness, will and psyche.

The number of secondary nuclei that exist is unknown; although the most common in Athair are Nature, Shadows, Metal, Spirit, Blood, Wind, Dreams, affinity to gems, and destiny, they have been forgotten when the races that were related to them transcended or disappeared. To them."

"Can you tell me more, Data?"

"The explanation about mana has reached this point; I am not authorized to give more information during the tutorial."

"Why is there an affinity for spirit mana and a separate section in my stats?"

"The affinity to the mana of the spirit implies sensitivity to the energy that spiritual entities have; the Spirit section is unlocked after belief, service and faith in the great universal concepts, good, evil,

life, death, etc... as well as faith in ancient gods or specific entities that remain in Athair and allows the indirect use of the powers of said concepts, gods or entities. The rest of the information is blocked during the tutorial.

"What is Ki, Data?

"Ki is the internal energy that living beings have; it can transcend the body itself, but the Ki of other beings cannot be affected, unlike mana. It is not unlocked until you pass the tutorial, because in the land of dreams, since it is not real, the body cannot feel its own Ki.

It's not that it was an open book, but this information would have to suffice for now... The curious thing in the end is that I had unlocked affinities to secondary, rare manas, and that one of them had also disappeared from the game world itself: the affinity to the mana of the gems... I didn't know what use it would have in the future...

The next reward was item selection. Given the state I had been playing in, footwear was a priority (I wasn't comfortable wearing sandals everywhere; they were uncomfortable to fight in), so I chose boots as my first item. . During my combats, I had seen the danger that a cut on the hands could cause, since losing your weapon in the fight was an omen of death, so I chose some leather gloves reinforced with studs... Not that they were the best. Most comfortable in the world, but you would have to get used to it.

Surprisingly, a voice other than Data's sounded in the blue room:

"Well, well, well, it seems that my turn is coming, so since I am in a hurry, I will introduce myself and tell you my rules so as not to waste time. I know that you are a cheater and I am one too, so let's be good among professionals. I am The Merchant of Dreams; you won't have anything from me that you can't take with you when this dream ends, and I only want those things from your dream that you don't really want...

The voice belonged to a humanoid of an unknown race; it could not have been more than five feet tall, and although the general construction of his face was very similar to that of humans, he had protuberances on his eyebrows, and an abnormally sharp jaw. Angular, nor was there a hint of hair anywhere on his body. If I had to describe what his clothes were like, I would say that they were a practical mix of a wizard's robe, with a period jacket and various belts and ribbons with bags tied all over them. He didn't have weapons, but I wouldn't dare say that he seemed like a defenseless being; it was simply an aura of superiority over me, as if he were the owner of the fish tank, and I was simply swimming because he allowed me to.

"But let's evaluate what you have right now... Weapons, equipment, and gems are not bad. For a pioneer who needs the assistance of "Data" to survive, I tell you my offer, see what you think, give me your gold and coins now and you can choose a common skill. For every gem you give me, one of your equipment or weapons can leave the world of dreams. Give me the rest of the junk equipment you don't want and I'll tell you why you can change it."

The truth is that the deal was strangely advantageous. What were the coins for if I wouldn't have them at the end of the tutorial? And the gems... wait, I was supposed to have an affinity with the gems...? And the equipment? If you stopped to think about it, it seemed like there was a trick...

"Although the coins are of no use to me, they are the prize and the loot for my effort, so for a common skill, I will not give them to you, the gems. I think I have a use for them, so forget about it, as for the rest of the things, tell me wha are you offering for my hand axe, two knives and two daggers, my broken spear, the iron hammer, the small leather boots, the sandals, the metal-tipped boots, the long jacket, the short cape, 2 backpacks, the cape, the helmet with horns and the buckler... I don't want to get rid of the rest...

"Human, are you sure you don't want to part with the coins or gems? For the first ones, I can offer you up to a combat skill... For the gems, I can allow all the objects you tell me to come out of the dream... For the rest of the equipment, I can offer you a common skill...

"For all the coins except one gold, one silver and one bronze, I will not accept less than a special ability, and for the gems, I accept your deal as long as I keep one of the three. As for the items, I want two common skills.

"Damn scammer, I accept the price for the coins, but for the two gems, you will not be able to choose more than five items. As for the two common skills for scrap, the truth is that they are not worth that much. I offer you a better offer; I will only give you a common skill for the junk, but when you finish the next phase, you will be able to see me again."

Although I felt like I was being scammed by accepting the coin deal so easily, I accepted. The special ability I chose was parallel thinking, and the common ability was lightning reflexes. As for the items, I could take the spear, the long sword, the shield, the ax and my new boots.

"We will see you at the end of the next phase. Enjoy your walk through the world of dreams!"

Just as the voice came, he left...

I couldn't say that the content of the tutorial was surprising; the creatures, the coliseum, the dungeon, everything was a collection of well-crafted clichés. But it is different to play from the outside, to feel that same world surrounding you. There is one thing that video games do not transmit: the smell, the stench of blood, of death, of guts, were smells that stuck in the mind so as not to be erased. And about the first NPC I encountered, wow, it was the best AI build I had ever seen. If it weren't for Data, it would be hard to tell if this was a game or reality

"Do you wish to begin the third phase of the sanctuary?"

"Let's begin the third phase."