Calixya

Chapter 3To Walk Forth

What's this now? View Skill 'Enduring Willpower'. [Active Support] Enduring Willpower Level 1 (0%) 100MP per minute In your extreme lack, both in Strength and Endurance, you are almost unable to move your body, but your enduring will to not give up has given you the ability to combine your will and strength to move. 100% of your Willpower will be added to your Strength while using this skill. The gained Strength will not change your amount of Stamina. Increases with use. Enduring Willpower. He felt Strength rushing through his limbs and without a problem stood. He didn't even need to lean against the wall. View Strength. Strength 8 (2%) He had eight in Strength now. It was marvelous. He didn't even shake after standing for almost a minute. View Mana. Mana (Max) (% Regeneration) 1297 (1360) (1.80% per minute) The cost of using his new Skill 'Enduring Willpower' was 100MP per minute and he had a total of 1360 Mana, which meant he could use the skill for more than 13 minutes without pause. And if he included the Mana Regeneration he would only spend about 76 MP per minute using the Skill, which gave him around 17 and a half minute of constant use before he couldn't use the Skill anymore. It was great; for 17 minutes he would be strong enough to at least walk without effort. What a marvelous thing. It was the first time since he awoke to this world that he truly felt that things were going in the right direction; truly joyful.The joy ended a moment later. Right, busy, busy. He had things to do and people to meet. Claudine, what was the other ways of gaining Stamina you told me about earlier?Meditation? Claudine asked. That is one of the other ways of gaining Stamina. Or rather, it makes the food you eat release several times more Stamina over time. It also helps regenerates Mana and Health faster. Would you like to know where to learn this skill?No, not right now, but thanks anyway. For now I'm going to buy food.Okay, Claudine answered.Jay walked confidently down the road, feeling on top of the world because he could move without the feeling of his bones slowly breaking under his own body's weight. He quickly arrived at the store. It was obvious it was a store from the large wooden sign hanging above the door to the otherwise unremarkable wooden house. He stopped outside the store, however. Just outside the store sat two people on pieces of cloth covered with small things as if they were trying to sell them. "Hey newbie. Need something? Maybe new equipment? A sword perhaps? I have many things for you who just started.""Hm," Jay said. "I need food. Have any for sale?""Food," the man that had called out said, spitting to the side. "I've got no time for selling scraps.""I have some food for sale," the other man said, looking at Jay, motioning for him to come over there. Jay walked over to the man and sat down in front of him, deactivating 'Enduring Willpower'; it was only prudent to use that skill when he needed it. Like, when he had to walk."What food do you have for sale?" Jay asked. "Can I see it?""Sure, here." The man brought out a biscuit much like the ones Jay had. "Three coppers each. How many do you want?"Observe. Small Bark Biscuit (50g) (92 days 4 hours) The hard biscuit made from mostly bark is not only inedible, but will hurt you if eaten. Decreases Stamina by 1. Decreases Health by 1HP per minute for 5 minutes. "What are you trying to pull?" Jay asked. "That's not a Small Traveling Biscuit but a Small Bark Biscuit. Are you trying to kill me?""Hey now," the man said. "I wouldn't go so far as calling it 'trying to kill you', but you're right. Didn't think you had the Observe Skill. Fine. I'll show you the real food. Here," the man took out another piece of bread, not a hard biscuit like the Small Traveling Biscuits, but a round little ball of brown bread. Observe. Small Brown Bread Roll (80g) (Expires in: 2 days 17 hours) A Small Bread Roll with a slightly sweet taste. It's better with butter. Increase Stamina by 12. Increases HP Regeneration by 3HP per minute for 8 minutes. "That's better. What do you want for one?""Just one?" the man asked. "Come on, buy a few at least.""Tell me the price and let me decide," Jay said."It's 5 copper each if you buy 10," the man said.Jay didn't like that idea, he only had 50 copper coins, and didn't want to use all his money on food in case he needed more. "How about 5 Bread Rolls for 20 copper coins?" he asked, brashly, trying to get a reaction from the man."Nah, I'll keep the bread," the man said."Damn, had to try though, right?" Jay said, trying to be charming. "Do you have any food close to expiring? Or maybe even old food? Can I maybe buy something like that?"The first man Jay had talked to laughed at that and looked away. Jay felt there was some right in the scorn that was sent his way, and didn't really mind it. It was better for him to solve his many more urgent problems. The thoughts of someone else was not something he had the luxury to even acknowledge."You want moldy bread?" the second man said. "That stuff will poison you. If you eat expired food you will get bad Status Effects and lose Health. It's not worth it. But I do have some food close to expiring. Here," the man laid out eight Small Bread Rolls on the cloth before Jay. Checking the bread with Observe he saw that the Small Brown Bread Rolls all had less than four hours until they expired, but that was not an issue for Jay; he was close to having zero stamina anyway and could eat all but two of the bread rolls right away. "How much for all of them?""Hm," the man said, looking Jay up and down, as if trying to figure out how much Jay needed the bread, but after a while the man lost interest. "Two copper coins each. Fair enough?" "How about 12 copper coins for all of them?" Jay asked and the man agreed quickly. Maybe it was because the amount of money involved was small or maybe the man thought it better to get something rather than nothing from his soon worthless bread. Jay didn't know, and, frankly, didn't care. Handing over 12 copper coins and taking the bread rolls Jay thanked the man and rose, walking away from their vicinity to a fairly large stone by the side of the road some hundred meters away.Sitting down, back against the stone, he looked at all the people passing by. There was a constant stream of people going either way. A couple of people walking past him every minute. He felt it would be best to find a more secluded place to train his Strength, but didn't know if it was actually worthwhile to train his Strength immediately because he had the 'Enduring Willpower' Skill to compensate now. He ate the bread rolls in silence, thinking of what he needed to do, only keeping one piece of bread for later.After a couple of minutes he had almost filled his Stamina. It was time to move again. But to where? He had to figure out what the best course of action was now. Claudine, by looking at my Stats, what would you recommend me doing to improve?Um, Claudine said, as if baffled. I don't know.Very helpful, Claudine, Jay said in frustration.Thank you, Claudine said.I didn't mean... Jay discarded that thought. If I ask it like this then... My two highest Stats are Wisdom and Intelligence. What are the appropriate Skills or Spells I should learn if I only think about my highest Stats Wisdom and Intelligence?You could go to the Magician's Guild, the Temple, the Church or the Herbalists Guild, Claudine said. They teach the largest amount of Skills and Spells that, if focusing on Wisdom and Intelligence, can help you grow. Would you like to know more?The Church is a place where God and the Apostles are worshiped, and according to which Apostle you choose to worship, you will be given access to specific Skills and Spells, Claudine said. However, all Spells and Skills cost money, except the lowest initiate Skills and Spells...Skills and Spells, what's the difference? Jay asked, interrupting Claudine.I don't understand the question, Claudine said. There is the clear difference that Skills are derived from physical activity and Spells are from the usage of Mana.Okay, Jay thought. What would you call my 'Enduring Willpower' then? Is it a Skill or Spell? It uses Mana.It is a Skill, Claudine answered, with a tone that sounded as if she was trying to explain something as obvious as water being wet. It enhances your physical attributes and is fueled by Mana, but does not use Mana in any complex manner. Do you understand?Not really, only that maybe Skills are internal and Spells are external, I guess? Jay said. But that can't be the whole truth. You should know these things, since you're supposed to be the all-knowing guide and all.I'm not all-knowing, Claudine said, sounding, what Jay could only call, petulant. I only know what I know, I don't know what I don't know. It's rather disturbing.Hm, Jay thought. That was rather disturbing actually. If he couldn't know what he didn't know, there was no possibility for growth and improvement, because he would never know where to begin. That does actually sound a bit bad. Maybe we could do something about it?I don't know, Claudine said, as if to echo her earlier statement.Jay sighed. Which place of the four you said earlier is closest to where I am?The Herbalist Guild is closest, Claudine said. At the Herbalist's Guild you can learn Gathering Skills and how to create different kinds of concoctions for healing or hurting. There is also a small Alchemist department, though it isn't as large as the Alchemist's Guild in other cities. Next would be the Magician's Guild. There, you can learn about Mana and most likely Meditation.Okay. Then there's no real question of where I should go, Jay thought. Meditation is the Skill you use to gain Mana, Health and Stamina faster and more efficient, correct? Show me the way there. I'll follow.Yes, Claudine said.Activating 'Enduring Willpower' again, Jay stood, and after brushing off the dirt from his raggedy pants followed Claudine as she floated along the crowded street. He didn't see the people around him, only focusing on the bluish white cloud that was Claudine and thinking about what he needed to do next. If the Meditation Skill cost money or it didn't give enough of a boost to his Stamina Regeneration it would be bad. He only had food for a couple of hours of strenuous activity. He still needed food. It was the never-ending quest, it seemed. Thinking about that he idea to check if he had any quests. View Quests. Quests: 1 Ongoing To Find an Answer: Part 1 of ??? If you look deep enough the answer will show itself. Search for the truth behind the truth and remember that there is always another secret behind every secret. Find out about your task before it is too late. Having been given a task from a Creator, you have no choice to terminate this Quest. What the..? He had no idea what that was all about. The Quest seemed like a joke; a Quest to find out about the Quest in question? That was some meta-bullshit if he had ever seen it. Though, that didn't really matter, right now he only had to get stronger. It was too early to bother with anything except survival. He had the brief thought that it could be a good idea to find some easy quest or mission to do and see if he couldn't gain a Level or two before even having to leave the city.His walk to the Magician's Guild was not very interesting, most of the buildings seemed like residential buildings made from stone that were made to house several families, but when he came close to the Magician's Guild he at least had one fortunate thing happen. Ping! Willpower has increased by 1. Your constant use of Willpower to support your Strength has increased your Willpower by one. Standing outside the gated archway, Jay marveled at what he saw inside the Magician's Guild compound. Far away, in the middle, the main building of the Magician's Guild had at least five floors, and that was only if you didn't count the numerous towers and spires that sprouted from the building, stretching far into the sky, to heights that more than doubled how tall the building was. It almost looked like some sort of mutated mega-hedgehog had turned into a building. Bizarre, to say the least. The flashes of light from all over the visible spectra made the building even stranger. Jay supposed the lights were created by some sort of magic or whatever they taught people here.Even in its bizarre state though, the central building looked magnificent. It was several times larger than the buildings he had seen in the Beginner's Guild and could most likely hold a few thousand people without it being crowded. Jay looked at the people walking in and out of the open archway that gave entrance to an inner compound. Then he looked up, trying to take in the entire place. The whole structure was almost like a miniature castle with walls around it and inside the archway was an open area, a garden or park, with a large fountain of two fishes jumping and entangling while spraying water from their mouths. He didn't know if it was beautiful or ugly, the fountain just looked like frozen overgrown fish to him, but maybe he could fill his canteen with water from it. That, at least, made him smile slightly.After resting for almost thirty minutes and looking at the almost always differently clad people going in and out of the Magician's guild he had come to the understanding that the more the clothes differed from his Beginner's Crap Clothing—as he called them—the higher level the person most likely was. He had used Observe on a few people that stood out, but all he could get was a screen with question marks on it. It seemed Observe could only show information about people at your level or lower, and maybe a few levels higher, as he could use it on those up to level six from what he had Observed. It seemed that he would learn more about every Skill with their usage. A good thing to remember.Having recovered a few hundred of his Mana Points, he figured that now was as good a time as any to go have a look at the Magician's Guild. Hopefully this would be his turning point. He really wanted to not have to spend all his mental capacity on the menial task of providing food for his physical exertions. Enduring Willpower. With a thought, he activated his skill and walked forward into the Magician's Guild. What awaited him here? Could he truly become a Magician in this world? He felt slight unease. Somehow his instincts told him that it could be better to become a warrior. But, for now, he had to learn Meditation.