Origin ARS (Origin A.R.S. Book 2) (19 page)

Mana + 10

Intellect + 5

All Spells: Force + 1

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You have mastered intermediate dual boomerang mastery! You may now learn new combat abilities and intermediate skills.

Health + 10

Accuracy + 5

Agility + 5

Throwing Speed + 5%

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The stat increases for his first upgrade were more than great, but sadly he already knew how he would spend most of his recently acquired ability points. When the intermediate level opened in his skill categories he was granted new passive modifier options for when he gained a level. They each would cost seventy points. However, by choosing them he would go ahead and take care of that. He would still have fun points to spend afterward. In fact, until he advanced to the next category they would almost all be fun points. Once he expanded some of his basic stats a little more, it would become wasteful to spend his points in that manner. At that point it would be better to choose skills and other perks.

“And just like that I spent six hundred thirty-five points. Mid was right, there are never enough of those things...” Scott muttered to himself. A new adventurer either went for the flashy stuff or the workhorse stuff it seemed. He had not been able to spend his points on anything but stat modifiers and a few stats the so far. Of course, that overzealous focus on stats had probably saved his life on more than one occasion. Either way, choosing more interesting skill upgrades would now be possible. He saw very few new stat upgrades available beyond the level-up modifier. There were a few but they had the feel of one off bonuses. He did not have a hundred ability points to splurge at the moment to find out, though.

“Ninety-six points... What to choose...” Scott checked his options carefully. He could now learn spells from the second and third spell tier, but they required several hundred ability points each. They required either four hundred points or seven hundred points to be exact.

Scott wanted to awaken something new, something that was not a stat upgrade. Level one spells would cost forty points. He checked his unarmed combat mastery and ran through all the basic upgrades he had not activated due to wanting to upgrade his status. There was something in his range and he could acquire it quite easily. “The first step?”

He checked the ability and read the information provided.

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The First Step to True Enlightenment

A true sorcerer understands that balance is the key to ultimate understanding. By mastering the energy flows of the mind, the body, and the spirit you can temporarily increase your fighting spirit. However... you will only awaken this strength in a time of crises and must return to your origin to discover the secret of true power.

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“So... some kind of skill that activates when I’m in a critical state?” He was in a critical state frequently, so it should be quite useful in the future. He did not know what returning to his origin meant. Maybe he was supposed to pray to the goddess? That did not sound right since he was not a priest, but he would figure it out later.

Either way, he chose the ability as it seemed interesting and was probably important somehow. After he selected it and accepted it as his choice, a new option appeared above the intermediate level. It was called, ‘A further step on the path.’ He could not afford to purchase it with his ability points, so he held off on that one for now.

He also chose a new spell. Scott read through the information for his new ability then nodded. He took a deep breath then raised his hand up, palm out. The image of a gentle breeze flowed through his mind. The breeze suddenly became a violent roaring tornado. “Howling Gale!”

A fierce gust of wind tore through the area with a hideous sound reminiscent of a howling beast. Tree limbs bent back and leaves were torn clear. Very little else happened, however. “Not bad, but I’ll definitely have to train the hell out of it to get any real use.”

Howling gale was a wide area attack spell. It did little damage, but if it were increased in level it would be strong enough to blow away enemies even if they weighed quite a bit.

“Hmm, six points left... Looks like I’m done upgrading.” Scott closed down his menu. He unequipped all of his items and opened up his status screen to see how he really stacked up now.

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Status
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Name:
Scott Jacobs |
Class:
Sorcerer |
Race:
Human

Title:
The Unbreakable

Age:
18 |
Level:
13

EXP:
55,609

Next Level:
611

Ability Points:
6

Health:
189[189] |
Mana:
173[173]

Attack:
88[404] |
Defense:
107[419]

Strength:
79[79] |
Agility:
78[78] |
Accuracy:
58[58]

Intellect:
91[91] |
Luck:
37[37]

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“Seriously, am I actually stronger without any gear?” He could wear his boots and claws to increase both his attack and defense by a large amount without detracting anything from his stats. Had he already outgrown his armor?

He did not bother to put it back on, but did do a quick calculation. Most of the agility penalty was mitigated by his gauntlets and the armor bonus for wearing a complete set. So, he did not even need to see the stat difference to know that he would have a much higher defense with his armor equipped.

Scott also did not need to check to see how much weaker he would be with the boomerangs. He would lose the unarmed combat bonus when he equipped them and the accuracy bonus would not come close to making up for it. They would be good for use as a range extender though, and unlike his spells they did not require any mana. “I’ll have to learn abilities and develop a few combos to make them work for me now.”

Thinking of magic made Scott wonder about the nature of spells and how powerful they were. With the force-up addition from gaining the first upgrade at level ten, at least one of his spells would be able to do over seven hundred points of magical damage without a critical hit. His burn spell would have a force rating of eight. What sort of damage would a full mage be able to accomplish? What about higher-tier spells?

Scott had a sudden overpowering urge to acquire all of the spells that he could now that he had decent stats. He felt that he had made the right choice earlier by upgrading his level-up modifiers, but that did not keep him from wanting to see what his other spells would do. His mantra had always been, ‘passives first.’ Yet, he still wanted to do cool new things.

“It’s like I am finally reaching a point where I can do something other than just prepare.” Scott was absurdly pleased. Life would no doubt become quite interesting soon. Though, how it could be more interesting than crushing a goblin army inside their own lair was something he would have to wait to see.

He closed down his menu screens then tried to contact Ero once more. He heard a soft sound inside his mind that reminded him of someone snoring. He concluded that she was still resting. He smiled softly. If she was snoring, she was probably alright.

“Guess I’ll head back to town.” he said.

Scott did not start walking, however. For the first time he intended to try and use one of his special abilities, the world traveler ability. “Let’s see how fast this fast travel ability is supposed to be.”

He brought up his map screen then tapped the icon for the town of Meaden. An option to travel immediately to Meaden in the fastest means possible popped up. He accepted and a screen popped up prompting him to start walking toward his destination.

The sorcerer did as directed and after taking seven steps the world began to grow dark. Soon, the forest faded away entirely. A large number nine appeared in the darkness. Experimentally, he took another step forward. Nothing happened. He took several more steps and the number dropped to eight. Scott counted his steps after that. Every time he took seven steps forward the number dropped by one. He tried walking backwards but it still dropped by one.

When it hit zero the world slowly returned. Scott was surprised to see that it was early afternoon. “So, time passed like it said it would. How much time, though?”

He checked his system menu and noted that it was close to three in the afternoon. He had only taken a few dozen steps but he had traveled all the way to Meaden. Yet, nine hours had passed in the world while he traveled. Was it some sort of alternate dimensional travel ability? Could others do that?

How did something like that even work? Wouldn’t it cause some sort of weird timing issue? Of course, that was only if other people could use the ability. He thought about it for a moment then chose to let it go. It was not that important, yet.

“Man, that is so useful but I could waste my life away without realizing It.” said Scott.

It had taken about fourteen hours to get to the mine before, so world traveling was not only easier on the feet, it took a lot less time. He had not really tried it out before for various reasons. There had been no reason to bother with it when he was still at Victory Station since he hunted right outside the gates.

Simple curiosity was the only reason came to mind. However, he had never moved more than an hour or two from town. He had largely forgotten about its existence, to be honest. He apparently had an ability to defy death as well, and he certainly did not wish to test that one out any time soon.

The only real reason to use world traveler before now would have been after he had reached the waterfall shrine, but he had been trying to keep that ability hidden from Rhea.

Scott headed into town. He had to offload his junk then seek out an armorer to repair his badly damaged equipment. There was no way that he would be heading out again for a few days, given that factor. What could he possibly do in town for a few days? While he wondered at what to do with his downtime, eyes watched him from the darkness of the nearby forest.

“Is that him?” asked a rasping masculine voice.

“Blue hair, wood armor, came from the right direction... It could be him.” replied another voice.

The duo watched as their possible prey passed the town gates. The first speaker stood up, revealing himself to be a barrel-chested orc. The second speaker was a hobgoblin. “Log out and tell that idiot that we’ve probably found the sorcerer. Show him the scan.”

“Right, I can’t believe that moron went and got his entire army crushed by one low-level Noob.” said the monster.

The orc shook his head. “He relied too much on the auction site to recruit. His level and his army are pitiful.”

“True and he got his ass handed to him for It.” said the hobgoblin.

“If it were just him, I would not give a damn. He made the whole guild look bad.” replied the orc.

“Yeah, fucking Karsh... If he wasn’t the leader’s brother I’d just tell him to go fuck himself.” said the hobgoblin.

“No kidding. How are the Corpse Rats going to rise as the number one demon guild with assholes like that running things?” asked the still unnamed orc.

The hobgoblin snorted then shook his head. “That sorcerer, he’s a player isn’t he?”

“Yeah, he has to be. Have you ever known a local to be able to crush an army by themselves unless they were much higher in level?”  

The overly large goblin looked at the town gates. “Too bad he’s human, a guy like that would have been nice to recruit...”

“Yeah, true. Oh well. We’ll crush him anyway. Just have to wait for him to leave town.” replied the orc.

“Wonder how long that will take?”

“Doesn’t matter. If that’s the guy, we’ll call it in to the guild. We’ll have enough guys here in a few days to take him even if he’s in town.”

The hobgoblin cackled maniacally after hearing his superior’s words. That was true. What could one low-level Noob do against real players?

Chapter 10: Seriously, What the Hell?

People often come to blows over the simplest of things. Over time the sounds of screams, shouts, and bitter conflict can become similar to a dysfunctional serenade. Anyone who has ever heard two people shouting at each other will have noticed that there is a certain rhythm and cadence to that activity.

When two parties come into conflict they strive to achieve an outcome that is superior to the precious state. This type of conflict can lead to difficult and harsh battles. It can be difficult to understand which side of the conflict is in the right, if true righteousness is even part of the equation.

A hard battle of that type was currently being waged within the heart of Meaden’s top jewelry and accessory store, a Regal Alice Franchise. Two indomitable foes tore into each other with their righteous weapons, each seeking to prevail and be declared the victor.