Encounters
Page 17
Class:
(Blank)
Level:
4
Experience Points:
5,250
Next Level:
7,000
Energy Points (Max)
40 (50)
Health Points (Max):
80 (90)
Attributes and Scores
Physical
Score
Mental
Score
Strength
73
Intelligence
57
Speed
73
Wisdom
57
Endurance
73
Memory
57
Constitution
73
Magic
57
Beauty
61
Linguistics
55
Below the attributes section, Kano saw the skills screen and brought that up next. These included a few things he expected to see, as well as a few surprises:
Skill
Current Rank
Next Rank
Current Points
Next Rank Points
Snowboarding
Expert
Master
1,000,000
10,000,000
Sword Fighting
Initiate
Novice
110
1,000
Throw Weapon
Ignorant
Initiate
10
100
Hand to Hand Combat
Initiate
Novice
210
1,000
Business
Novice
Adept
1,000
10,000
Cooking
Novice
Adept
1,000
10,000
Running
Ignorant
Initiate
50
100
Public Speaking
Ignorant
Initiate
60
100
Dodge
Ignorant
Initiate
60
100
Acrobatics
Ignorant
Initiate
10
100
He reviewed the list a few times, recalling some of the skills were carried over from life before the game and some were a result of his time in the world so far. “Two skills already at a higher rank,” he said, noting that both Hand to Hand Combat and Sword Fighting had similar attack and defense bonuses for the rank up.
Then he took a look at the character class options again, and thought about the some of the perks he could obtain. Sure, a few sounded nice, but he kept thinking about his family. His life. For a moment, he understood some of the depression he might have felt in the past, if Morrigan was to be believed, however many times he’d lived. They probably cremated me a long time ago. How long have I been in here? But wait, did they say my body was healed somehow? If Abnoba isn’t lying, then my choice is pretty simple.
There really was no other option so he mentally shifted through the heads up display until he found the character class of druid. He had not seen it in his initial scan and assumed Abnoba opened it up as an option when she asked him. Similar to other character classes, druid included a set of new abilities and skills.
He immediately hovered over the "Accept Class" button, however he paused. He wanted to learn about the special skills that came with the class.
Class Skills:
Natural Recovery: Initiate
"Helps recover magical power when you commune with nature."
Hygiene: Initiate
"It's dirty out there and, unlike most people, you know to wash your hands before eating or cooking."
Botany: Initiate
"Now you know what’s safe to eat and what’s safe to wipe with. Be careful not to confuse those."
Sword Fighting: Initiate
"Knowledge of how to use the weapon riding at your hip to do more than just stab them with the pointy end."
Knife Fighting: Initiate
"Knife fighting, it’s like punching with sharp things when you don’t have room to use the sword."
Stealth: Initiate
"Sometimes it’s best to blend in. Useful at this rank to remain nearly silent while traversing the forest or other natural landscape."
Class Abilities:
Sense Magic: “Can sense magic within one foot and relative intensity (low, medium, high).”
Use Magic: “Can learn first level spells provided a resource or teacher.”
Spells: Learn how to heal injuries and one bonus nature related spell.
Satisfied the druid character class would give him some clear advantages in game, Kano was about to hit accept when he thought about Abnoba. What did she want, other than a replacement for her head druid? It seemed like she had planned his arrival, and maybe even Bob's replacement, from the moment after he left the arena.
Despite the feeling he might be getting manipulated, Kano could not pass up the new skills, not to mention the chance at revenge. The magic to heal and the opportunity to learn even more spells was too good to pass up. The skills also improved his sword fighting which he knew was only a small step above ignorance. At last, he hit the “Accept” button to become a druid.
The next screen had a simple prompt and question:
"Character class druid. Do you accept?"
"Yes or no?"
There were two buttons on the screen and Kano smiled. "Kind of like Windows. First click to do something, then click to say yes, you meant to do the thing you just tried to do."
"Yes." He clicked confirm and voiced his agreement out loud.
Immediately, he was raised off the ground and a bolt of energy shot through his chest, making him arch his back and gasp.
"OH," he moaned, knowledge slamming into his head. Understanding streamed through his brain faster than he could follow it into spaces in his brain that hadn’t existed prior, filled with familiar yet new markers, metaphors and mnemonics. While suspended mid-air, Kano felt as if time itself had stopped.
"Thank you, Kano," he heard Abnoba's voice say. "While there are constraints even among the gods, as my druid, I can give you a special gift for choosing this class."
Again, his mind felt as if it was being split open, with a new highway constructed and a brand new memory palace via a never before used off-ramp. Now, he could see spells and a brand new screen appeared in his display detailing his magic ability. Kano knew he could heal himself after a battle, befriend a forest creature, sense magic nearby, or gain new spells with the power unlocked inside him. Then he paused in contemplation, what would I want to talk to an animal about?
Spells and Magical Capabilities
Spell Name
Description
Casting Requirements
Mana Point Cost
Fix Injury I
Heals the target of some amount of health points.
Gestures and focus only, no spoken words or material components.
15
Animal Speak I
Enables caster to communicate with creatures at or below the level of intelligence of a Squirrel and give them commands.
Squirrels must be within 10 yards for beginner level spell, requires spoken words and gestures, no material components.
15
Magic Capability
Description
Requirements
Mana Point Cost
Sense Magic
Can sense magic within one foot and relative intensity (low, medium, high).
61 magic score
1
Use Magic
Can learn first level spells as well as use Sense Magic
63 magic score
N/A
Time seemed to shift and Kano stumbled, almost tripping before
he regained his footing. He could sense the land as if it were a living, breathing thing. He inhaled deeply, smelling the grass, the sparse trees and the fresh, clean air. He continued walking, shaking his head to organize himself, finally managing to slow the frantic pace of his thoughts since he had acquired all the new knowledge.
The sun was starting its descent in the late afternoon sky and his stomach was complaining at him. "Food," he muttered, remembering he had not even thought to pack anything to eat. Even though, from his conversation with Thomas, he had promised to return around dinnertime, a snack along the way would have been appreciated.
Stomach grumbling, he continued on, and eventually the sparse trees grew thicker, and the terrain steeper. He was nearly at the foothills. After another few hundred yards, he should be able to see the path to the Seven Ducats mine.
Walking along, he kept scouring the brush. At first, Kano was looking for signs of other humans. After a few minutes, he realized he could identify a few edible plants, though nothing sounded appetizing enough to taste. Satisfied he would not starve, he mentally gave himself a high five for selecting druid, as he knew the edible plant information had come from his new botany skill. He quickened his pace, marching through the woods toward his destination with purpose.
The sword was still awkward, though had grown less so. After choosing his class, it practically moved with his walking rhythm and allowed him greater comfort than before. His steps were softer as well, despite no active attempt at stealth. He grinned, the new skills something he appreciated and could really feel.
Scratching his face and feeling stubble growing, he thought again about how he needed to figure out how to get a decent shave. Dollar Shave Club would not be available in the game world, nor his previous favorite razor, Mach 3.
He flipped through the other game screens in the heads up display as he walked, searching for anything he could learn that might be helpful. Sure enough, there were a few screens he had skipped before, which he now considered:
Screens Available:
Character Sheet
Class Description (New)
Skills
Skill Tree (New)
Inventory
Known Locations
The new screens were the first that he checked out, with his class description of druid now selectable from his main character sheet. The view changed there, too, listing his current class instead of saying "Class: Blank."
Character name:
Kano
Profession:
(Blank)
Class:
Druid
Level:
4
Experience Points:
5,250
Next Level:
7,000
Energy Points (Max)
40 (50)
Health Points (Max):
80 (90)
The class description page was selectable by using the class name from his character sheet, which was the next thing he reviewed.
The display changed, showing a description of what druid meant. A druid seeks balance in nature so that all plants, animals and ecosystems have equal chance to survive and thrive. As protectors of the forest, they typically worship the goddess Abnoba. However, unlike a cleric, the powers granted to druids are inherently magical, not spiritual and do not require a belief in Abnoba. So if for some reason he lost the favor of the goddess, he would retain all of his abilities in his class that he'd learned. Good to know, Kano thought, smiling.
Next, he dismissed the class description and started to review the updates to his skill sheet.
Skill
Current Rank
Next Rank
Current Points
Next Rank Points
Snowboarding
Expert
Master
1,000,000
10,000,000
Sword Fighting
Initiate
Novice
210
1,000
Throw Weapon
Ignorant
Initiate
10
100
Hand to Hand Combat
Initiate
Novice
310
1,000
Business
Novice
Adept
1,000
10,000
Cooking
Novice
Adept
1,000
10,000
Running
Ignorant
Initiate
50
100
Public Speaking
Ignorant
Initiate
60
100
Dodge
Ignorant
Initiate
60
100
Acrobatics
Ignorant
Initiate
10
100
Botany
Initiate
Novice
100
1,000
Natural Recovery
Initiate
Novice
40
100
Knife Fighting
Initiate
Novice
100
1,000
Stealth
Initiate
Novice
100
1,000
The skills he had obtained from his class were listed in addition to his previously listed skills. From choosing the class, he had gained extra points in the skills he already had, which was nice. “Slowly but steadily increasing my combat skills, awesome,” he said, happy with the increases.
For the first time, he decided to look at the skill tree underneath the Sword Fighting skill. The new view was the same as the master skill list, only broke down the skills for that branch of knowledge. He was surprised, as for the first time, there were skills listed he had not yet learned but could in the future. He selected one off the Sword Fighting branch, called Parry, and started to read.
Sword Fighting Skill Tree
Current Rank
Next Rank
Current Points
Next Rank Points
Sword Fighting
Initiate
Novice
210
1000
Throw Weapon
Ignorant
Initiate
10
100
Parry*
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Riposte*
N/A