His arms began to move faster and then faster still. His palms moved in a rotating manner, fluid, powerful. When one palm struck out in that circular motion, the other had already begun its backward movement. His entire body easily moved with this flow.
A circular flow of mana appeared within his mind and the blurring hands image from before shifted form to match. It was no longer a frenetic attack at the air. It was a rhythmic motion that was simple to maintain.
Once he felt comfortable with that rhythm, he connected with the lightning element once more. It took a moment to properly synchronize the mana and the lightning, but once he did there came a moment of realization. He was definitely on the right track, but for the wrong spell!
As the lightning and mana circulated, an electrical discharge built up before him. Lightning flowed between his arms, a small amount at first, but with greater force after a time.
It was more by some sudden instinctual awareness than practiced skill that he worked his body into a different movement pattern. He stopped trying to move his arms fast and instead focused on the intensity of the building energy. Scott slowed his motions to a casual speed and then shifted his hands at the end of the movement so that his palms faced each other instead of punched at the air.
A sphere of mana and lightning began to form between his palms. He slowed his motions even further. The sphere grew in intensity as more of the energy was collected there. It radiated a soft, gentle, light.
The little ball of lightning and mana grew slowly from the size of a volleyball to the size of a basketball. Scott thought about the situation for a moment then made an attempt to concentrate the energy. It resisted his attempts at every turn, but he slowly did just that. The soft light increased to a bright light, and then became a brilliantly luminous object so bright that he could not look at it.
That was when something undesirable happened. The mana flow cut off. He had ignored the growing sense of unease and the gnawing emptiness that had begun to appear within him in favor of working on his spell. His mana had run out. For a brief second nothing but pure elemental lightning flowed through the bright sphere of light. It began to shake violently and looked as though it might explode.
Scott instinctively threw his hands over his eyes, but the expected explosion did not occur. The ball of brightly shining energy merely flickered and shook violently in the air. He lowered his arms and looked at the ball of energy. He studied it for a moment then stepped back a few paces. It followed after him in a sluggish manner.
“Congratulations.” said Mid in an amused tone.
“Huh?”
“You created a spell.” she said. “Let it run its course and then go check the mirror. You’ll see what I mean.”
“How long do I have to wait?” he asked.
“Let me check. You’re a little lacking in knowledge of such things at the moment.” She walked over and eyeballed his new spell. “About three more minutes with the amount of mana that you used.”
“Thanks. I wish I knew how much of my mana I have to use to make spells work.”
Mid chuckled. “Doesn’t everyone? You have to feel it out and practice. Over time you will be able to do this same spell both better and with greater efficiency.”
The violently shaking ball of light continued to float in the air. Scott chose to walk around and watch as it followed him about the area. It was kind of neat. Once it dissolved in the air, he walked over to the mirror and checked it to see what had happened.
The first thing he had noticed was that his unarmed combat skill was still at two, but his twilight sorcery had increased to three. “Skills level quickly, don’t they?”
“Early on they do. Your stats are much higher than a new level one character, so it’s easier to train. Your class level will act as a bottle-neck once you leave here.”
“Yeah, I see your point. There’s no way I would have developed that spell already if I’d been stuck with the stats I had the first time I was level one.” he said.
“Probably not. Rather, it would have taken a lot longer to do it. There are reasons that the sorcerer class is not that popular on this server.” said Mid. "Most who try it actually do what you are doing, and reincarnate into the class in order to make it a little easier to train. Even basic sorcery is mana intensive during spell development."
“I never understood why it wasn’t popular before.” he said.
“On the casual server it is unpopular because it requires too much effort in the late game in order to stay a threat. At the level you were at, it is actually a little overpowered. It is almost the opposite of this server. Some choose to be a sorcerer first in order to become more capable at a different hybrid class like a dark knight or a paladin, even a monk.”
Scott nodded. “It’s not popular here, either though?”
“Not at all. Most people go for the simpler classes that use incantations. All they need to do is project a proper image, create a proper chant, and use their mana to fashion it into reality." She tapped her chin. "That is all class dependent of course. There are rules about what can be created as well, but generally speaking magic is a bit more freeform here.”
“That does sound easier!” Scott had to wonder why anyone would be a sorcerer in that case. He liked the class, but a little mental masturbation and a few pretty words sounded like a much easier magical practice method.
“Yes, but it is flawed in a critical way.”
“How so?” he asked.
“Those classes can use magic, but they don’t develop the fundamental knowledge necessary to truly master it. They end up with dozens of spells that each do one specific thing and they have to remember the exact words and imagery for each one.” said Mid.
“How is that different than what I do? I have to remember the image I use and how to make the energy flow.”
“Yes, but look at what you did. Mid-training you shifted from one pattern to another and created an entirely different spell. Most classes simply cannot do that. It’s one-shot, all or nothing, for them.”
“I think I understand, but…”
Mid smiled at him. “When most other classes create a spell they literally do that. They make a spell. You, however, generate a flow of mana and elemental energy that can become literally any related spell you want simply by mastering how that energy flows.”
“Wait, I get it…. You’re saying I could start casting a spell, see that I need to do something else, and shift the pattern to generate a more relevant attack as long as the energy flow is similar. But other classes can only cast the spell they are casting.”
“Hey, he gets it! Good job. Yes, once a class other than those related to monks or sorcerers begin to cast a spell they either finish it or lose the mana they drew up.” She pointed her staff at him. “You can do a lot of damage to a caster if you interrupt their casting. The concentrated mana would flow through their bodies.”
“That’s why mages stay in the back and don’t fight upfront! Interrupt their spell-casting and the mana concentrated to power the spell erupts and damages them!” Scott’s eyes widened and he grinned like a moron who had finally learned something cool.
Sorcery was difficult, but once he mastered a spell he would be a lot harder to interrupt since the main game related purpose of his class was to develop the ability to actively fight in hand-to-hand combat while powering up his spells. It would also be harder to defend against properly trained monks and sorcerers, since it was more difficult to determine what sort of spell he was creating since he did not need to chant.
“The easiest way to kill a powerful magic user is to goad them into using a strong spell then interrupt their concentration. They can resist minor distractions if they are high-level and well trained, but there are few pure mages capable of maintaining their focus when they take a boot to the head.”
“I would wager a guess that they use a lot of shields and things like that to prevent people from putting their shoe upside their head?” he asked.
“Absolutely. Shields, wards, guardian beasts, mercenaries. Anything to give them the time needed to charge their mana and blast the landscape.” she said.
They chatted amiably about the path of sorcery and other magical paths. Mid played as a great sage, or as a lore sage in the casual server, so she had great knowledge of the non-sorcerous path. She liked incantations as a means of playing around, but she had long since moved to silent casting if she had to do anything serious. She basically willed her most practiced spells into being with a thought.
Scott looked at the mirror then rubbed his chin. “That’s the name the system chose for my spell? Seriously?”
[Spell]
Scott’s Unstable Orb of Brilliance
A lightning spell that is created in the shape of a sphere. It provides moderate levels of illumination and follows the caster.
Spell Type: Twilight Sorcery
Mana Drain: High
Efficiency: Low
[—]
Mid glanced at the mirror then chuckled. “Yes, that’s how the system shows things. You can change the name any time.”
“I see.” He rubbed his chin. He knew how the spell was done now. Should he try to create more spells, or practice the one that he had? “Man, I wish I had more spell slots.”
“You only use those for your most commonly used spells anyway. You can cast any spell that you can remember step-by-step, you just won’t have any assistance in its creation. In that regard it is similar to the casual server. Call out the spell name while focusing on the pattern. The system takes care of most of the necessary work.”
Scott liked the sound of that, though he would still practice and train his spells without the assistance so that he would master their usage on the fly. During an actual fight it would be useful. He had to be certain that he was right in his current training plan, however. “Is it like the miscellaneous skills?”
“Hmm?” she asked.
“Can I switch them in and out of my spell slots whenever I want?”
“Ah yes, but only at a salvation mirror. Think of those slots as sort of like hot buttons, or quick slots in a console game.”
“That’s good to know!” Scott liked that answer quite a bit. He could rotate his spells into and out of the slots at need.
“Yes it is, but you’ll probably want to write your spells down in a notebook or something. If they are not slotted, they aren’t held in memory by the system.”
“Oh! I see, so I need a grimoire.” That made sense to him. The spell slots held information about his spells and if he concentrated on those spells that were slotted he could use them easily. His other spells would need to be done step-by-step. It would be both inefficient and mana intensive, but he could have access to all the spells that he wanted.
“How does that work though? The new spell isn’t in a slot. It’s still up there, though.”
Mid shook her head. “Add it to a slot and you’ll see the difference.”
Scott did as prompted and the spell information changed. The basic blurb was the same, but there was a short section regarding the various bits of information that he need to know in order to cast it properly. There was even a little video of his creation of the spell for the first time.
“That’s definitely an improvement.” he said.
“Yes, it is. Non-sorcerers merely need to write down information about the projected image and their incantation. You need to remember each body movement and the way that the power flows. You have a lot more versatility, but it is more difficult.”
Scott nodded. The lack of popularity for sorcerers was starting to make more sense. It was a class that required perfection of mind and body alongside great personal effort in order to advance. Most people just wanted to get on with things and go on an adventure, probably.
“Thanks for putting up with all of my questions.” Scott smiled at Mid then yawned a little.
“Dear childe, it’s what I do. I answer these questions frequently.”
“You don’t ever get tired of it?” he asked.
She smiled beatifically at him. “Not if the one asking the questions is reasonable. Unfortunately, I do occasionally have to deal with unreasonable people.”
He could understand why that would happen. Not everyone would be willing to treat her respectfully. Her position was basically that of a tutorial sage. They were often considered annoying because they wanted to force-feed a lot of backstory. Players might not care for it, and even treat her like some sort answer machine without any concern for her feelings.
They spent a little time discussing the situation, proper training methods, and how to advance his skills. They also spoke of Origin, Ero, and even Herbert. Scott eventually stretched out on the grass intent on properly resting. He had to practice his spell and then work on creating new ones. There was a lot to do and he wanted to do his best to get it done.
Chapter 2
Time did not flow normally in the Field of New Beginnings. There was no night, only an ever-existent morning. Scott did not know how much time he might have spent there while he experimented with his skills. Even though he could technically stay there for as long as he liked, there was a limit to how far he could push, how much he could learn while there. Once he reached that limit he would need to move on. That limit came all too quickly, and did so in the form of reaching the fifth skill level in his skills. His temporary experience pools would not empty for a skill that reached that level while in the tutorial area.
Before he had realized this fact he had continued to train his skills, his mental state had worsened as a result. It would periodically become less burdensome, but would soon degrade once more. There eventually came a time when the lessening of the mental degradation ceased.
Now he was stuck with a constant, almost crippling, headache. The bright light of morning and the cheerful background music were like daggers. They assaulted his eyes and ears. It was like they made a continual attempt stab their way into the center of his brain.
"So, this is what you meant about overtraining." asked Scott while he pressed his hands against his closed eyes and tried to relieve the pressure in his head.
"Yes. It normally isn't as much of a problem out in the world proper. Out there you can just sit and rest for a short time as you absorb the acquired knowledge. At least, to a point; a point that you have reached." said Mid.
"I think I know what you mean, but what can I do about it?" he asked.
"Your permanent skill experience pool has no doubt started to overflow. There is a maximum cap for the number of skill related class levels you can bank without increasing your social and combat levels." she said.
Mid tapped her chin for a moment then continued. "You gain experience at an accelerated rate here. Your race doesn't slow or improve your progress. You might have gained a few social levels as well."
"So, the experience that I gained toward leveling has reached my skill experience pool cap. Can't I do something, like level up?"
"No childe, not here." she said with a smile.
"Is it because there is nothing to fight here?" he asked. He could increase his basic unarmed combat skills easily enough at the moment just by practice his movements, but without something to fight he could not gain actual combat experience.
"Yes. I'm certain that you've already filled your skill pool to level five. Without combat experience, your mind is unable to find an outlet."
"Level five is significant?" he asked before another stab of pain lanced through his head.
"Yes, mostly because the number four is significant. It is the building block number for all class builds." she said.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"There is a rule of thumb for advancement. One is a given. Two is Easy. Three is average. Four is hardcore. Five is extreme. Six is rare to be seen." she said.
Scott blinked slowly then stared at her. "What does that mean?"
She smiled warmly at him then made a little circular gesture with her finger.
"Those are the numbers related to how the mechanics of the world are balanced. They relate to attributes and skills in relation to class level."
"Oh, so that is how many of any given stat or skill I can have per level?" he asked.
"It's possible to train past six, or not even gain one stat point or skill level. Those are extreme outliers, however. Four is the golden number." She made a finger gun and pointed it at him. She then closed one eye like she was trying to take aim. "If you increase your stats or class skill levels by at least four per character level, bang. You did it."
"That makes sense I guess. Am I right in saying that maintaining a six-to-one ratio for skill or stat training is hard?" he asked.
She nodded at him. "It is certainly doable, even ten-to-one is doable. It would just take a lot longer for little real gain."
"Really? Overtraining isn't useful?" he asked.
"Depends on who you are. Overtraining certain skills or stats at one point or another is almost necessary in order to wield better weapons or armor. You can develop better spells before facing stronger monsters as well."
"So, then there is a reason." Mid was starting to confuse him a little. Was it possible that she was prolonging their conversations unnecessarily?
"Dear childe, there's a reason for everything. The tradeoff is that it takes a lot longer. Unless you have to overtrain your skills or stats for a specific reason then you would be better off increasing your class level. At least that would allow you to train your skills and stats faster."
"I see, then it would be hard for me to train any of my stats right now?"
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