"Watch out!" is all I heard before I see a white line traveling straight towards me ready to cut me in half. I quickly drop to the floor before it sails over me and hits the edge of the tower. Before it touches the stone however I notice a bright flare of blue that seems to absorb the attack and when it hits the wall, leaving it unmarred as if nothing happened. Glancing around I notice a man make his way toward me with a frantic look on his face.
"I am so sorry about that, this new skill is hard to aim, are you alright?" The man has a dark tan and easily towers over me at 6ft 5. His voice is naturally calming but there is an edge of worry that has seeped into it. He holds out a hand and when I grasp it I am practically yanked to my feet.
"Ho, looks like someone hasn't been putting their points into strength or endurance, you were as light as a feather. The names Star, what's yours?"
"Yes, I am alright although I almost did lose my head for a second there. The names Trix, how do you know I haven't put any points into Strength or Endurance?" I ask, curious to see how he knew I haven't done so yet.
"Well it might only be the second day of launch but guys on the forum have already figured out putting points into Strength or Endurance actually has an impact on you avatars weight. Even if you are more of a rogue build, I would suggest beefing up just a bit. Don't wanna get one-shot you know?" Star ended his explanation with a short little chuckle.
Thinking back, do I even have any EXP points gained? I probably should allocate them soon.
"Huh, I will keep that in mind thanks, so this is for teaching 'Slash' right?"
"Yeah, though just between you and me the teachers is kind of rough."
"Rough how?" I ask before I suddenly hear someone behind me.
I turn and see an average looking man with short trimmed black hair and a neatly kept mustache. He is fitted in what I can only assume are army fatigues.
"Rough as in I don't like to wait for my students to be done chattering in order to teach. STAR TWENTY SLASHES AT THE DUMMY" His voice is deep and grating to my ears, intimidation oozing out of every syllable.
"Sir, yes sir" Star looks like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar before he hurriedly jogs back towards the training dummy and rapidly uses the 'Slash' skill. The man grunts at Star's enthusiastic pace before setting his eyes upon me.
"I always hate the mage types, too weak to train properly. Still, you did pay for the class so I am obligated to get you the skill. State your name and specialization son." His eyes have a grim look of determination and perseverance you only see in those who have fought with their lives on the line.
"I go by Trix sir and I am specialized in Research." the mention of being a researcher seems to surprise him for just a moment before he regains his composure with a grunt.
"Ah, so not only a caster but an egghead at that. Well Trix , my name is Keith and I was a decorated soldier in the army over on the Western continent. You shall address me as sir. Now tell me this, what are your stats at currently and do you have any experience to allot to them?"
"Uhh, give me one second to check." Pulling up my status screen I am a bit surprised at what I see.
Strength: 5
(+) 60
Agility: 5
(+) 60
Endurance: 5
(+) 60
Intelligence: 18
(+) 190
Willpower: 15
(+) 160
Charisma: 3
(+) 40
Luck: 20
Skills*
[Expand]
(Note that an * denotes that it is being compressed for convenience)
Wait, how did I get experience? I didn't kill anything? I turn to
"It appears I have experience sir but I haven't killed anything? Also my physical stats are all at 5 with my Intelligence at 18, Willpower at 15, and Charisma at 3." I say as I try to think of how to allocate my stats.
"Killing is not the only way people can earn experience kid. How else do you think crafters can gain experience? Every time they craft something the Great System judges it based on its quality in relation to the crafters current skill levels and power level. Same thing goes with learning magic. If you really wanna know, just think about experience log and you can see the breakdown." He waited a moment for me to do just that
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I see so you can get experience for learning spells and improving your knowledge base as well. Must be how researchers get most of their experience if they are always inside. I look up and address Keith.
"It looks like I have 600 exp points to spend sir."
"Good, now while I know you are a spell slinging type and intelligence and willpower will be your main stats you invest in, you should always make sure your three physical stats are also up to par. What's the point of casting if you can't move fast enough to dodge a sword heading towards you. In a life or death situation, all-rounders survive more then people who heavily invest in one stat. I recommend you get your physical stats up to ten before allocating your experience anywhere else. That should give you a decent baseline to work with."
Nodding I go ahead and allocate my experience into my physical stats.
Strength: 7
(+) 80
Agility: 8
(+) 90
Endurance: 8
(+) 90
Intelligence: 18
(+) 190
Willpower: 15
(+) 160
Charisma: 3
(+) 40
Luck: 20
Skills*
[Expand]
(Note that an * denotes that it is being compressed for convenience)
With each increase in strength I could feel my body getting stronger, muscle fibers tensing up and compacting until they are the same size as before but denser. Agility seems to wire my brain more, making me shift my balance into a stance allowing me to maneuver myself at a moments notice in any direction.
Adding to Endurance was an interesting feeling. My skin felt tougher while my whole body seemed to refine itself, becoming more efficient and thus allowing me to fatigue slower.
I'll keep the rest until I can dump more into my physical attributes. I think having a baseline of ten is a good start.
Keith almost seemed to sense when I made these changes as when I was done he gestured me to walk with him towards an unused training dummy.
"Now, the 'Slash' skill is much more then just knowing how to slash at something well. Proper form is important of course but ultimately 'slash' is about sending out a wave of thin physical energy at an arc at someone."
"I'm sorry did you say physical energy?" I ask, unsure of what he meant.
"Oh, that's right I keep forgetting you immortals don't know the basics. Well you know how you have mana like a well in your body? Well the size of that is tied to your Intelligence stat and through old training methods. The speed of your well refilling is determined by your Willpower stat. Physical energy is one of the other basic energy types everyone has access to, just like mana. This is another well in you and the three physical stats play similar roles albeit slightly different. Strength is the total amount of physical energy you can move at once or the amount of 'force' you can exert. Endurance is how big your well is as well as how fast it regenerates. Agility it how well you can control and move your well's energy. The three physical stats all work in concert together to control this energy. Some call is Physical Energy others call it Stamina, some even refer to it by its old name before the system of Chi. Either way you can do some pretty amazing things with it once you learn how to control it and 'Slash' is one of the most basic usages."
So, it seems that warriors will have access to this sort of energy. I wonder how exactly it differs from Mana? Can the two be combined? What are these old training methods he is talking about to increase my stats. Does this mean I can increase my stats without adding Exp to my system? So many times I get any explanation around here I end up with way more questions.
"Alright so how do I go about learning this Chi?"
"Oh, that's the simple part actually. Just sit down and close your eyes."
Following his command I sit down on the matted ground and close my eyes.
"One of the easier methods of opening the Chi pathways is for a practitioner to push their Chi into you so you may feel what it does to your body. Your natural Chi will try to fight off the foreign Chi and as long as you make a passable try at controlling your Chi it will listen. So, this is not going to hurt but it might be jarring." Keith then reaches and touches my back where I feel a pulse of energy rush through me.
It's not like mana, instead of a pressure my Chi feels more like a heat that exists in every single cell in my body. Each one reacts to the foreign Chi pulse by destroying it before it could propagate further.
"Good, now once you get a feel for you Chi, try to coax it into your palm. This part should be easy to you as it is similar to moving mana." Keith said.
Slowly I reach into the feeling of every cell in my body exuding this heat and I try and direct it towards my open palm. Slowly but surely I can feel the heat transfer through my body to my hand where it collects on my palm. Opening my eyes I am greeted with a ball of Chi that is a dark blue.
"Oh interesting, it seems your Chi is lightning aspected. Everyone who open their Chi for the first time gets an undeterminable aspect to it. Bloodlines play a big role and most of the time its one of the basic elements like the elementalists but it seems you got the advanced form of fire. Either way what this means is your attacks with Chi will be faster and more penetrative then usual. Attacking with it is going to be better but lightning Chi is not exactly known for its defensive properties. Ok so now, all you need to do is focus on channeling that Chi into a weapon from the rack, then when you swing towards the dummy, imagine the Chi moving with your strike and being pushed from your weapon. Once you can consistently do that, you will unlock the slash skill." Keith says before getting up and going over towards Star and showing him a few pointers.
