Awesome!
I open up some of the notifications to consider them again and think about who I should call first. Anyone? Should I leave to use a secure line to talk about it until I know more?
Soul Spark Reclaimer
You have unlocked a unique Class that sits outside the traditional Power framework, enabling you to evolve it however you choose.
This Class was only made possible through an extraordinarily unlikely combination of genetics, embryonic circumstances, and environmental factors.
Soul Sparks are a unit measure of the energy imparted by Mana to individuals after their Power manifests at puberty and thereafter grows, then recedes with advanced age.
The Soul Spark Reclaimer has a unique ability to reclaim these after death instead of gaining XP toward Levels and Power Evolutions.
There are a few mysteries in there that have my mind spinning up all kinds of questions. Embryonic circumstances? Does that mean something happened to my Mom or I while I was in the womb? I wonder if maybe Auntie V knows something about what happened.
The next one I’ve left open since I can’t quite believe my change in fortunes. As soon as I opened up the notification, changes inside me flowed through like a warm river as Mana rushed into me. It felt like my consciousness expanded from deep within to give me more range to pull in Soul Sparks, and to grant me something I’ve never felt before. I can now feel the tiny reservoir of Mana, ready to call on - a new capability that’s unlike anything I thought I’d ever have access to.
Congratulations! New Power Tier Achieved!
For becoming the first human to break through to a Mythic Power, you receive a bonus XP award of… !!error!!
The Soul Spark Reclaimer Class follows a truly different path.
Award pending…
Award pending…
Outcome: unlock additional Attribute: Mana
Add +10 to Mana
Power violation… Aura cannot be the lowest Attribute.
Add +10 to Aura
Mana increased by 10 (10)
Aura increased by 10 (10)
It’s unbelievable that I have a Mythic Power and to get confirmation I’m the first human with one, although it makes me wonder how strong Powers might be out there in the Universe. Maybe having a Mythic Power is part of the explanation of why my Power wasn’t identified until it activated. As far as everyone on Earth knows, there are Sparks, Minor, Major, Epic, and Legendary Powers. And although there was a time before Omnistrata when a Tier 3 Epic Power was as high as we thought possible, contemplating a Mythic Power was just not on the radar. It’s no doubt that’s going to cause me some troubles.
And… I’m not ungrateful, but why the shitty reward? Getting the world’s first Mythic power seems much more significant than gaining a bit of Mana and Aura.
I test my access to the Mana again, almost like checking to make sure I have my phone in my pocket even though I know I do. Instinctively, I know that I can call on that small amount of Mana and bend to my will, but it’s so new that it’s going to take a lot of time and practice to figure out what I can do with it. The additional Attributes in Aura brings my Soul Spark Reclamation range to 12 meters - a decent distance, although I’ll need to figure out if I can sense and pull Soul Sparks through walls and solid objects. At least I no longer have pictures in my mind of needing to loom over people as they die or hide under their rest home beds to make sure I can capture any Soul Sparks.
Soul Spark Reclamation
As the Soul Spark Reclaimer, you have no specific Power that can be Evolved, but instead you are able to reclaim Soul Sparks released upon the death of a person or sapient being and allocate them to Attributes.
Powerful non-sapient creatures may also have Soul Sparks that can be reclaimed.
Unlike typical Power development based on XP, the Soul Spark Reclaimer’s contribution is not factored when considering how many Soul Sparks are eligible for reclamation.
The actual Soul Spark potential of any being is affected by the following factors relating to the target generating the Soul Sparks upon death:
- Level
- Fibonacci based multiplier for Power Tiers, from Spark through Legendary+
- Soul Spark resonance with the Reclaimer
From what I can gather this is a pretty straight calculation based on the Level and strength of the highest Tier Power of the target, with a modifier for resonance that’s in a pretty narrow distribution. It’s not clear yet what being an outlier to that might mean, but they do exist in both directions and my conclusion is that it’s about genetic or Power similarity. It might take some experimentation to figure it out.
Being a Power nerd, it also makes a lot of sense to me in the context of what I already know about Powers. It’s well documented and tested that Powers gain a steep increase in strength as they go up, especially near the top where the rare people with Tier 1 Legendary Powers are stratospherically more powerful even compared to someone with a Tier 3 Epic Power, one Evolution lower. The exact relationship isn’t known because Powers are so difficult it’s tough to get a baseline, but a Fibonacci sequence multiplier does fit, and we see it in nature so often - why should Powers be any different?
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And what does all this mean for me?
I consider while I reach into my Mana and feel the excitement at my ability to call it to the surface. It’s so brand new I don’t really have an idea of its limits, but I’ve studied Mana-based Powers my whole life so plenty of options to test it roll around in my head. In the end I call a simple light orb into being in front of me and fight to get the size and brightness just right as I channel Mana to keep it going. Once I’m happy and it’s stable, in my mind I lock the Mana flow to the super simple construct and wait to see how long it will last as I go back to thinking. A couple minutes later the orb dims and winks out, my Mana exhausted. I’m positive I’m being super wasteful and leaking Mana everywhere instead of being efficient with it. Plenty to work on!
Mana: 0/100
Mana regeneration: 10 per minute
Ten minutes to be at full Mana again. At these levels and amounts it’s not exactly going to make me a powerhouse.
I pull up another look at the Attributes.
Soul Spark Allocation
Soul Sparks can be allocated amongst a set number of options which follow.
Strength - ability to apply physical force through action
Constitution - ability to resist physical damage, heal, and regenerate stamina
Agility - ability to increase speed, proprioception, and reflexes
Perception - increased mental processing, sensory input, resistance to mental attacks
Charisma - ability to influence people’s perceptions, beliefs, feelings, and loyalty
Luck - ability to consciously or subconsciously influence events and outcomes
Mana - ability to manipulate stored ambient Mana to create effects
Aura - ability to fill Mana pool and increase Soul Spark absorption distance
It’s already clear how important Aura is going to be for my Soul Spark reclamation range and Mana regeneration. But also… I want increased physical Attributes to build on all the combat skills I already have and to be able to take damage; if being around my parents and all their high Powered friends taught me anything when I was young, it’s that the ones with more ability to defend themselves or absorb punishment always made it further than the people who didn’t.
Perception has to be in the consideration set with everything else. I’ve studied a few outlier cases where too much of something and not enough of another meant they were essentially crippled by their own Power. It doesn’t happen often, but occasionally some weird distortion means someone has super speed without the corresponding ability to perceive their surroundings - and those situations always end in tragedy. Some Luck might be pretty useful also after the last few years I’ve had. Charisma can probably lag behind, but in the end the ability to get along with people and pull them to your cause is a force multiplier I can’t completely ignore. Lots to think about.
Power Manifestation
When Attributes and combinations of Attributes reach certain thresholds, emergent properties may result in additional capabilities being unlocked. Capability combinations and their effects are hard to predict, but are likely to be stable once manifested.
This might mean I’m able to replicate the effects of traditional Powers without actually having them, which makes sense. Add a hundred Soul Sparks to Strength and get some form of super strength, as if I had that kind of Power in the first place. Add a hundred more Soul Sparks to Agility and now the combination resembles a different kind of Power. The notification text is short but there’s so much to consider and explore, and hopefully experiment with.
In some respects I think I’m in the same position as everyone else. Most people who make a serious go at gaining Levels and Evolving their Powers do it by clearing out Dungeons, fighting off Monsters warped by Mana, defeating Villains, or even by becoming a Villain and defeating other Villains or Heroes. On top of that they train like maniacs to leverage their Powers in creative ways and to gain finer control over them. Everything is on the table for me.
In my case, I also have the huge advantage of being able to Reclaim Soul Sparks without engaging in combat. Unless there’s some kind of cap to Reclaiming Soul Sparks passively in this way, it’s possible I can find a safe situation to build up my Power. There’s still a lot of information I’m missing. Are the Monsters in Dungeons found on Earth powerful enough to have Soul Sparks? How does resonance affect my Reclamation ability? How high do my Attributes need to be to give me Power-like capabilities?
I call up my Status to see where I’m starting. It feels good to see that all the physical and combat training I’ve done have put me in a good state compared to the average human.
You have 1 Soul Spark available to allocate.
Would you like to allocate your Soul Spark?
(Y/N)
Would I like to allocate it? Crazy question!
There’s no way I’m just leaving my Soul Spark unallocated. I need to see what this is all about. I consider adding Soul Sparks to Strength, Charisma, Luck, and even Mana. I’m excited about all of it. But I really already know I want to put my Soul Spark in - Perception. Even though I need to build up more physical Attributes to help me in combat and take care of myself whenever trouble arrives, I’ve only got one Soul Spark to allocate and the chance to push an Attribute into superhuman levels, so I’m going to do it..
Not sure exactly what to do in order to allocate Soul Sparks, I mentally push my will into ‘Y’ and then feel my mind open up, allowing me to allocate my Soul Spark into an Attribute.
A notification comes up as a surge of warmth rips through me, along with a weak golden glow - a similar color to Dorothy’s Soul Spark.
Perception +1 (21)
Congratulations! Perception has reached a new threshold
Your senses and mental speed have increased to just beyond human norms.
I’m a light year ahead of where I was yesterday. The excitement I have is thrumming through me. At this point I don’t care if I’m the lowest Powered person on the planet, I’ve finally got a Powered future ahead of me. Maybe landing in a rest home is the best thing that could ever have happened to me.
I have so many questions, and no real answers.
So I do what anyone normal in my position would do since there’s no way I can sleep. Before I even start to do more experiments with the Mana that I can feel in the back of my mind, or call one of my friends to tell them the good news, I decide to stalk around the rest home to see if any of the other residents are about to die.