Serenity patted Curio as the kitten squirmed in his lap and mewed at him, annoyed at the lack of attention. “It’s fine, boy. I’m just a little distracted.”
He made sure to give Curio some under-the-chin scritches and the kitten settled back down.
[Tutorial Instruction Complete]
[All Mandatory Goals Completed]
[Tutorial Results]
[Survival Rate: 99%]
[Average Level: 82]
Tutorial Results: Excellent
[World Results]
[Invasions closed prior to completion of Tutorial]
[Survival Rate: 99%]
[Evaluation concluded early due to early closure of Invasion portals]
[World Results: Excellent]
[Standard Instructor Reward not appropriate.]
[Personal Reward merged with Instructor Reward.]
[Rewards tailored.]
[First Reward:
The Ruins of A’Atla hold the Key to the Past. They shall rise as the World once again becomes herself; beware those who would seek to hide the Past once again.
A World Quest will be issued to those who seek when A’Atla rises]
Information? From what Serenity had heard, that was an unusual reward from Tutorial Instruction, even though it was a fairly common Quest reward. Serenity had no idea how this would help, but he was certain that the Voice thought it was important to him. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have bothered.
[Second Reward: Reinforcement of Earth’s World Core prior to Tier Two Advancement]
Serenity guessed that was a good thing, but it made him worry about future advancements. Was it possible that Earth’s death wasn’t from outside influences after all? Was it possible that the World Core was simply too fragile to grow?
Serenity had no idea where to begin on dealing with something like that. Was there someone out there that studied World Cores?
There had to be.
[Third Reward:
World Quest Access Unlocked.
Quest Visibility Enabled for Planetary Access]
Information about something that was happening on Earth, help for the planet, and an improvement to his management tools; those all seemed to have something to do with the planet, rather than Serenity. They were probably because of everything he’d done in the Tutorial that wasn’t for himself.
It was a very different set of rewards than he’d expected; from what he’d seen of the students’ Group rewards, they were very similar to the normal Instructor rewards. This wasn’t.
[Fourth Reward: Crystal Seed Remote Link Established]
Serenity felt a shock emanate from his belly. He was frozen in place, but Curio didn’t seem bothered at all.
What was going on? Crystal Seed?
He’d completely forgotten about that in the rush to deal with all of the portals on Earth. He still didn’t know what it was supposed to do.
The shock released him. Serenity collapsed against the back of the chair. For a moment, he simply sat there, then a fuzzy feeling and an annoying sound started to make themselves known. They only lasted a few seconds before they vanished and a different set of words appeared in Serenity’s vision.
Additional inputs sequestered.
I’ll figure it out, Serenity. Once I manage to turn that noise into data, I’ll integrate it with the other data sources.
It will be nice to have something to work with. This planet is much less interesting than Earth.
Aide’s complaint made Serenity smile. He thought it was the first time he’d ever actually seen Aide complain. It made him seem more human.
Thanks, Aide.
I am happy to take care of it.
If you could by some chance load a map, it would make things much easier than manually mapping your travels.
That made two. Or maybe one and a half? It was a request for something that would make things easier, while the first had simply been a complaint.
I’ll see what I can find. It’ll probably be paper and may not be well-surveyed; accuracy can vary highly. Some planets have exceptional maps while others do not.
I’ll take what I can get.
Yes, Aide was definitely becoming more human.
With a smile, Serenity returned to the Voice’s messages.
[Fifth reward: Customized Item: Tent of Comfort]
Serenity blinked. That was definitely his personal reward, and it was a tent? What the heck? Why did the Voice think he needed a tent?
Tent of Comfort
While this tent can be easily set up by a single person, requires little outside support, and appears to be a small, single-person pup tent, looks are deceiving. The interior is protected from outside environmental conditions, remaining comfortable even in poor weather.
In addition to comfortable sleeping materials and locations for eight people, the Tent of Comfort includes areas for personal care and food preparation (consumable supplies are not included).
It was a portable apartment for eight people, wasn’t it?
Was it because there would be friends headed his way soon, and the Voice knew that they’d be traveling across the planet together to find and free the enslaved Earthlings? That made sense; having something like this would save them time on each day of travel if no one had a flyer that could reach the next settlement within a day.
It still seemed like an odd personal reward for being an instructor in the Tutorial, but he really didn’t have much room to complain. He’d already gotten the big reward.
Rissa and his parents were alive.
Serenity focused on petting Curio. It was more pleasant than thinking about the past or digging into records of slave sales.
The Ruins of A’Atla hold the Key to the Past. They shall rise as the World once again becomes herself; beware those who would seek to hide the Past once again.
Rissa stared at the words in the message Serenity had sent. His letter was very Serenity, but she couldn’t get the two sentences from the Voice to leave her mind.
She was fixing some tea to take her mind off it when everything began to shake, even though nothing was moving. It was the same as the last time, the event Serenity had called “the World becoming Tier One”.
This time was far worse.
Rissa set the tea mug down, worried she’d drop it if she held it during the shaking. “Aki? Why is it so bad this time?”
Aki didn’t reply.
Lex Rothmer was packing his carryon when everything started to shake. There wasn’t much to add this time, but he was glad Baxter would be the one flying them.
The shaking grew worse, and Lex stumbled, steadying himself with the kitchen table.
“Lex?”
Lex turned towards his wife, only to realize that he saw two Bethanys. One was the woman he’d known for most of his adult life; the other overlapped her, but he could still see both. The strange version was serene; a little thinner than the Bethany he knew with broad shoulders and a pair of white and gold feathered wings behind her.
“Bethany?” He was certain his didn’t sound quite right; apparently he was seeing things now. Maybe that was an unfortunate side effect of his new Path?
No, from what Thomas - er, Serenity - had said, there shouldn’t be bad side effects. If he was seeing something because of his Path, there was a reason and it probably meant something.
Bethany stepped forward, concern obvious on her face. The winged vision vanished as she moved. “Are you hurt? You sound upset.”
Lex shook his head, trying to shake some sense back into himself. “For a moment, I saw you with wings. No idea what that was about.”
Bethany froze, then looked down. “White with the occasional gold feather?”
Lex pulled out a chair and sat down. This sounded like something he didn’t want to be standing for. Especially not with the world still shaking even though nothing was moving. “Yes.”
Bethany sighed heavily. “I’ve told you about my grandfather, but I didn’t say everything…”
D’nehr watched as his old friend Gaia shook. He’d told her not to hold off on the Tier advancement, but her argument had made all too much sense. People without magic had a hard time adapting to high-magic areas, and advancing a Tier was going to make some new ones. He’d helped her pick out where they would run, but she only had a limited amount of control because of the fractured ley line network.
Six of them ran through cities while three others ran through some of her healthier land areas; the water areas were if anything worse. Giving everything as long as possible to acclimatize was helpful, and the new high-mana zones wouldn’t be.
It felt like it took forever, but it was actually only a few minutes before the magic stopped sloshing around the giant room surrounding the World Core. There was new crystal growth, but D’nehr could also see some crystal shards that had fallen off Gaia’s crystalline form and floated around her. “How did it go?”
“Poorly,” Gaia admitted. “There will be some severe weather for the next few days, worldwide. Worse, one of my currents is now carrying a major ley line; it pulled the high magic zone I’d planned to put in the middle of the Pacific into a longer, narrower shape. On top of that, I have an itch where A’Atla was.”
“An itch?” Any mention of A’Atla was enough to completely distract D’nehr from everything else. “What sort of itch?”
“The old enchantments seem to be reactivating. Only the island isn’t on the old ley river; it’s not even on a stream. At least, that’s what I think is happening; you know I can’t see enchantments. What I can see is that the island is pulling magic from its surrounding area to itself. Which itches.”
Gaia sounded puzzled more than worried, and D’nehr found himself relaxing. If it was minor enough that she didn’t think it was urgent, they had time. It wasn’t like he had an excess of Guardians to flood the area anymore anyway; there were not many left.
Russ felt the world shake and turned to his wife at the other end of the couch in concern. She’d predicted that the world would shake several days before, but that was all she’d been able to tell him. They were still getting used to the changes to her oracular ability; it was somehow both more expansive and yet less detailed than before. She’d get random flashes that might or might not be important, but without the details to do anything.
Phoebe nodded. “Yes, this is what I Saw. I was hoping I’d See why, but there’s nothing.”
Phoebe suddenly froze in place and Russ was glad she was already seated; he recognized that posture. A vision of some sort was filling her mind, and it seemed to last longer than most since Serenity had broken her curse.
“The Island Beneath the Sea shall rise, and with it shall come the Ones Lost to Time. He who Laughs in Darkness scrambles to find his pieces; rest safe in the Wings of the Dragon.” Phoebe spoke, then seemed to relax. “I hate prophecies.”
It was a new sentiment for her. Until recently, she’d always seemed excited when she got one. Russ wasn’t certain why it had changed; had she always hated them and simply had it suppressed by the curse, or was she reacting to the prophecy reminding her of the curse’s control over her?
Even Phoebe didn’t know.
“At least it doesn’t seem particularly obscure,” Russ observed. “I bet we both know what it means when it says Wings of the Dragon.”
Phoebe was already shaking her head. “He’s far too young. It has to mean a different dragon, or even something that’s only symbolically like a dragon.”
Russ was happy to have his sparring partner back, even if they were only verbal spars. “He may be young for a dragon, but…”
General
Spoiler| Name: Serenity | ||
| Species: Chimera Base Form: Essence Dragon (Hatchling) | ||
| Core: Unique | Progression: 85% Tier: 3 | Features: 5/11 True Crystal Link Death Origin |
| Path: N/A | Level: 100 (Complete) | Tier: 3, 100/100 Spent |
| Path History: 3: Origin’s Potential 2: Magic Dhampir of the Origin 1: Unbound, Steadfast, Evoker 0: Death-Eater, Battle Adept | Core History: 3: Sovereign of Potential 2: Dhampir (Mana/Essence) 1: Child of Time 0: Essence Dragon | |
| Mana: 8800/8800 | Essence: 8800/8800 | Stamina: 4100/4100 |
| Might: 400 | Agility: 400 | Phys: 400 |
| Understanding: 400 | Will: 400 | Mind: 400 |
| Perception: 400 | Ambit: 400 | |
| Essence | Pure (Innate) | Ev: 2,767,740 (Purified) |
| Titles | ||
| Aspect Pathfinder | DeathLord | First of A Kind |
| Ghost in the System | Incarnate | Lord |
| Named | Previous Supreme Existence | Tyche’s Curse |
| Worlds’ Friend |
Magic
Spoiler| Affinities | ||
| Energy: 45% | Liquid: 6% | Liminal: 90% |
| Magitech: 37% | Mind: 32% | Nihility: 50% |
| Plasma: 56% | Solar: 25% | Solid: 17% |
| SpaceTime: 73% | Vapor: 16% | |
| Concepts | ||
| Arcane: 80% | Energy: 52% | Essence: 25% |
| Life: 20% | Liminal: 39% | Magitech: 51% |
| Mind: 15% | Nihility: 36% | Plasma: 26% |
| SpaceTime: 54% | Topology: 13% | |
| Aspects | ||
| Arcane (Mana): Initiated (Vital) | Essence: Growth (Vital) | SpaceTime: Nascent |
| Incarnate of Death |
Resistances
Spoiler| Chemical: 137 | Cold: 303 | Curse: 265 |
| Darkness: 177 | Debasement: 13 | Death: Immune |
| Heat: 533 | Life: 417 | Light: 298 |
| Mind: 278 | Pain: 641 | Poison (Neurotoxin): 486 |
| Pleasure: 32 | Shock: 334 | Sleep: 57 |
| Space: 250 | Time: 1000 | Unknown |
Heritages
SpoilerChimeric
Pure (Innate)
Essence Dragon (Primary)
Asura
Child of Time, Unbound
Dhampir, Essence/Mana
Draugr, Sage
Elemental, Essence
Elemental, Mana
Godling
Human, Earth
Lich, Paramount (Primary)
Vampire, Daywalker
Potential, Sovereign
Wraith, Nightmare
Other Known Heritages
Azata, Lightning
Curse Witch
Healing Light
Hexen
Heavens’ Fire
Jiang-Shi
Knight of Blood
Malevolent Spark
Mote of Decay
Mote of Stasis
Mummy
Remnant Wisp of Life
Revenant, Star
Sea Lion, Earth
[collapse]
Abilities
Spoiler| Monster Biology | ||
| Eyeless Sight | Colorless vision that does not require light; no visual effect | |
| Vital Sight | Shows the primary animating Affinity, usually Life, for creatures. Makes the eyes glow with blue-white fire | |
| Blossoms’ Sleep | Can induce sleep on self with a defined wakeup time | |
| Runic Shielding Tattoos | Resists one attack of any sort. Does not require preactivation if the attack will kill or disable. Fully drains current MP to establish, drains SP to maintain, ends when hit. MP drained determines strength of blow that can be resisted, will fail if strength is exceeded but may reduce the power of the attack even if it fails. Effect is better with automatic activation | |
| Crystal Seed Remote Link | Allows Serenity to access the World Core features as though he were at a Node, even when he isn’t on a ley line. Functionality may be limited inside dungeons. | |
| Dhampir’s Default | When a Dhampir is casually examined, he or she appears to be a normal member of the living population. | |
| Down to the River | When you physically envelop a being with a soul, you may choose to send their soul to the River of Souls. The soulless body will remain if applicable. Success rate depends on Ambit. When you do this, you will gain some of their knowledge but not personality. Decreased chance of success in any form other than Sovereign of Potential. | |
| Link Core | While touching an Essence Core, you can attempt to create a Sovereign Link. Enhanced by Ambit. | |
| Multiform | You may assume the shape of any Form you know. All Forms reflect yourself and all Forms are reflected in some manner in your Chimera Form. Detailed control of Forms increases with familiarity. Any Forms above the minimum require a continual maintenance cost of both Mana and Essence. Minimum number of Forms: 2. Maximum number of Forms: 4. Forms may be repeated. Forms passively return to their normal condition. Current known forms: Chimera, Hatchling Essence Dragon, Sovereign of Potential (Kernel), Human(?), Crystal Hilt, Armor, Sterath(?) | |
| Rift of Potential | You can manifest a small rift between your location and the Origin Point. | |
| Path Abilities | ||
| Loot Core | Teleports a monster core from touched monster body to the user. Usable on any dead monster with a core. Costs mana | |
| Resilience of the Dead | Slightly increased resistance to certain status alterations | |
| Eat Death | Absorb Death energy found within the Death Eater’s aura. Absorption based on Affinity. Intensity of absorption can be varied but the ability cannot be completely disabled. Absorbed Death energy may be used as if it were Death mana. Dissipates with time. Ability damaged | |
| Basic Analyze | Analyze a being for basic information. The being may be animal, Pathed, or monster. Other beings may be analyzed if they have any appropriate features. Items may not be analyzed | |
| Intermediate Unarmed Combat (Claw Variant) | Losing your weapons is not a disaster when you have weapons attached to your hands. Your expertise with claws is nearly nonexistent, but your general training with unarmed combat is transferable | |
| Adept Aspect Form | Instead of infusing an Affinity into your weapon, infuse your Aspect into yourself. Limited time, consumes both stamina and mana, induces unconsciousness when the Form lapses | |
| Basic Sense Raw Magic | Detect background, non-attuned energy. This sense is always active | |
| Linked Sight | You may share your vision and vision-based abilities with your Seer or anyone whom you share a similar Link with. They may also share their vision and vision-based abilities with you. Consumes Stamina per vision or vision-based ability shared in either direction. Vision ability costs are paid by the user instead of the originator of the ability, if applicable | |
| Moment of Prescience | Know a moment ahead of time when something will kill or disable you or someone you wish to protect. Activation is automatic. Cannot be activated more than once a minute. Consumes stamina in inverse proportion to the threat | |
| Time’s Eye | Your eyes see the motions of Time as it stretches and changes. The hidden is easier to see and the false easier to see through. Consumes Stamina (Note: the Stamina cost is low enough that it can be maintained for hours at a time, though that will significantly reduce Serenity’s available Stamina for other uses) | |
| Unbound | Time does not quite have the same hold on you as it does on others, and Fate does not rule you. You can slip between the lines of the future and past or even blur them if you have the desire and the strength. That which will be has no power over you, and you can break the strands of Destiny for others if you dare. This ability is always active and has always applied to you | |
| Basic Identify | Identify an object to gain basic information on it, such as its name, basic properties, materials, and/or minor enchantments | |
| Scale Hardening | Use Essence or Mana to reinforce your scales, making them harder to damage and more protective. Costs Stamina to maintain | |
| Wait for an Opening | Study an opponent’s actions in combat to gain an intuitive understanding of the right time to strike | |
| Second Wind | Convert some of a more filled resource pool (Mana, Stamina, or Essence) into an empty one. Consumes some of the converted resource | |
| Stand Tall | Whether you are the last wall between your loved ones and your enemies or you simply love to fight, your ability to take a beating is exceptional. Blood loss, bruises, injuries, and even broken bones will not stop you. You can fight at the full effectiveness your body is capable of despite your injuries | |
| Essence Sight | You can already sense Essence with your Aura. Sight adds precision and distance to your detection capability. This may be enabled or disabled at will. A visual effect may be present | |
| Physical Storage | You can store spells inside your own body to be evoked later. Stored spells may be evoked only by you and may be triggered at any time. All variable effects must be determined prior to casting. Stored spells will degrade with time and use of mana or essence in the area the spell is stored. | |
| Spell Conversion | You can convert the power of any spell you can Evoke into a ranged mana or essence strike. The power of the strike depends on the stored spell power. | |
| Store Spell | You may temporarily store spells in items to be evoked later. The item must be strong enough to hold the spell, and synergy with the spell will slow spell degradation. Stored spells will degrade with time and nearby mana or essence use. Storage of spells can damage items used. | |
| Designate Evocation Conditions | You may designate conditions on when a stored spell can be evoked. You can bypass any conditions you set, but you cannot bypass conditions set by other Evokers. This allows you to set conditions that will allow non-Evokers to Evoke stored spells, but spells Evoked by the untrained will be significantly degraded during the evocation. | |
| Entwined Magic | You can mix Mana and Essence magic freely, to achieve effects not possible with Mana or Essence alone. Passive. | |
| Gaze of the Origin | When you choose, you can infuse your gaze with the power of your connection to the Origin. Effects vary. Power depends on Ambit. | |
| Aura of Magic | When you choose, you can reveal your Mana and Essence pools with your aura. Passively increases the maximum size and regeneration of your Mana and Essence. Increases the regeneration of others’ mana and essence at a slight cost to your regeneration rate. Easily sensed. Power depends on size and regeneration rate of mana and essence pools. | |
| Mold Magic | You can alter magic that has been given a steady form. Passive. | |
| Potential of the Rift | Your Rift to the Origin will allow you to move items or creatures to the Origin and retrieve them later. Items or creatures stored in the Origin will be exposed to it. You may travel to the Origin using the Rift. | |
| Rift Control | You may control the Potential that leaks from your Rift to the Origin as long as it is within your aura, including increasing or decreasing the amount that leaks. | |
| Call on the Origin | The Origin is just that: the beginning of all things. Bring something temporarily into the real world, limited only by your imagination and power. Variable Cost. | |
| Revivify | Potential can become warped in many ways. Restore something to its original Potential. Quality of repair affected by the level of understanding of what the repair requires, the amount of damage being repaired, the time since the damage occurred, and the Time Affinity, Concept, and Aspect of the user. | |
| Realize Potential | Use Potential drawn through the Rift to temporarily gain something from your Heritage. Variable Cost. | |
| Death Magebolt | Throw a mass of Death-attuned magic at your enemy. |
Additional
SpoilerEarth’s Planetary-level World Core Authorizations
Portal Management
Dungeon Taxation
Quest Visibility
Serenity’s Titles
Previous Supreme Existence
You were the Supreme Existence in a previous incarnation, and can remember some of what came before. Your status also grants you the Ghost in the System title. This title is hidden from all but you.
First of A Kind
You are the first True Chimera and the first Essence Dragon. Your Paths shall shape the future of those who follow in your footsteps.
Named
Your Name is known and respected or feared. No other can bear this Name.
Ghost in the System
You bypass certain restrictions. This title is hidden unless you share it with another.
Aspect Pathfinder
As the first person to discover a new Aspect, Concept, and Affinity, you set the path for those who follow you on the road of Essence Magic. Creating new methods and applying methods from other magical schools is easier.
Incarnate
More than an Aspect, you are an Incarnate. Your Concept sets what the meaning of the Affinity you Incarnate does and does not mean. Your Incarnate will always be a part of you, and you will always be a part of it.
As an Incarnate, you are not capable of combining or otherwise altering this Affinity.
There cannot be more than one Incarnate for an Affinity at a time, as no two people will ever have identical Conceptions of an Affinity.
Lord
You are recognized as the ruler of a Settlement. This comes with certain rights as long as you are within the Settlement or interacting with people who are identified as belonging to the Settlement. This Title will be removed if you are no longer the Lord of a Settlement.
DeathLord
You have a high enough combined Death Affinity, Concept, and Aspect to qualify to rule a Necropolis.
Tyche’s Mark
You have been marked by Lady Luck. Interesting things will happen around you. They may be good or bad.
This Curse removes your Luck and Luck % attributes and suppresses all Luck attributes that would affect you (directly or indirectly). Instead, Luck is in flux around you and unlikely events are more likely to occur when you are nearby.
Worlds’ Friend
Multiple worlds have declared you an ally. Others who are strongly tied to those worlds may sense a kinship with you. This may affect the reaction of other worlds or their servants.
[collapse]Lillene
Apparently, the worldwide mortality rate is estimated at 0.77% annually.
It’s increased by the Tutorial, dungeons, and invasions and somewhat mitigated by the assistance of Paths. The net result is an increase in deaths, big enough to be quite significant.
It’s still less than 1% of the world population in the six months of the Tutorial, but it may not be much less - and that’s still a lot of people.
Yes, Serenity is missing something about the Tent of Comfort. Something obvious and in the description, but he was too focused on the words to think about what else they meant.
Serenity patted Curio as the kitten squirmed in his lap and mewed at him, annoyed at the lack of attention. “It’s fine, boy. I’m just a little distracted.”
He made sure to give Curio some under-the-chin scritches and the kitten settled back down.
[Tutorial Instruction Complete]
[All Mandatory Goals Completed]
[Tutorial Results]
[Survival Rate: 99%]
[Average Level: 82]
Tutorial Results: Excellent
[World Results]
[Invasions closed prior to completion of Tutorial]
[Survival Rate: 99%]
[Evaluation concluded early due to early closure of Invasion portals]
[World Results: Excellent]
[Standard Instructor Reward not appropriate.]
[Personal Reward merged with Instructor Reward.]
[Rewards tailored.]
[First Reward:
The Ruins of A’Atla hold the Key to the Past. They shall rise as the World once again becomes herself; beware those who would seek to hide the Past once again.
A World Quest will be issued to those who seek when A’Atla rises]
Information? From what Serenity had heard, that was an unusual reward from Tutorial Instruction, even though it was a fairly common Quest reward. Serenity had no idea how this would help, but he was certain that the Voice thought it was important to him. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have bothered.
[Second Reward: Reinforcement of Earth’s World Core prior to Tier Two Advancement]
Serenity guessed that was a good thing, but it made him worry about future advancements. Was it possible that Earth’s death wasn’t from outside influences after all? Was it possible that the World Core was simply too fragile to grow?
Serenity had no idea where to begin on dealing with something like that. Was there someone out there that studied World Cores?
There had to be.
[Third Reward:
World Quest Access Unlocked.
Quest Visibility Enabled for Planetary Access]
Information about something that was happening on Earth, help for the planet, and an improvement to his management tools; those all seemed to have something to do with the planet, rather than Serenity. They were probably because of everything he’d done in the Tutorial that wasn’t for himself.
It was a very different set of rewards than he’d expected; from what he’d seen of the students’ Group rewards, they were very similar to the normal Instructor rewards. This wasn’t.
[Fourth Reward: Crystal Seed Remote Link Established]
Serenity felt a shock emanate from his belly. He was frozen in place, but Curio didn’t seem bothered at all.
What was going on? Crystal Seed?
He’d completely forgotten about that in the rush to deal with all of the portals on Earth. He still didn’t know what it was supposed to do.
The shock released him. Serenity collapsed against the back of the chair. For a moment, he simply sat there, then a fuzzy feeling and an annoying sound started to make themselves known. They only lasted a few seconds before they vanished and a different set of words appeared in Serenity’s vision.
Additional inputs sequestered.
I’ll figure it out, Serenity. Once I manage to turn that noise into data, I’ll integrate it with the other data sources.
It will be nice to have something to work with. This planet is much less interesting than Earth.
Aide’s complaint made Serenity smile. He thought it was the first time he’d ever actually seen Aide complain. It made him seem more human.
Thanks, Aide.
I am happy to take care of it.
If you could by some chance load a map, it would make things much easier than manually mapping your travels.
That made two. Or maybe one and a half? It was a request for something that would make things easier, while the first had simply been a complaint.
I’ll see what I can find. It’ll probably be paper and may not be well-surveyed; accuracy can vary highly. Some planets have exceptional maps while others do not.
I’ll take what I can get.
Yes, Aide was definitely becoming more human.
With a smile, Serenity returned to the Voice’s messages.
[Fifth reward: Customized Item: Tent of Comfort]
Serenity blinked. That was definitely his personal reward, and it was a tent? What the heck? Why did the Voice think he needed a tent?
Tent of Comfort
While this tent can be easily set up by a single person, requires little outside support, and appears to be a small, single-person pup tent, looks are deceiving. The interior is protected from outside environmental conditions, remaining comfortable even in poor weather.
In addition to comfortable sleeping materials and locations for eight people, the Tent of Comfort includes areas for personal care and food preparation (consumable supplies are not included).
It was a portable apartment for eight people, wasn’t it?
Was it because there would be friends headed his way soon, and the Voice knew that they’d be traveling across the planet together to find and free the enslaved Earthlings? That made sense; having something like this would save them time on each day of travel if no one had a flyer that could reach the next settlement within a day.
It still seemed like an odd personal reward for being an instructor in the Tutorial, but he really didn’t have much room to complain. He’d already gotten the big reward.
Rissa and his parents were alive.
Serenity focused on petting Curio. It was more pleasant than thinking about the past or digging into records of slave sales.
The Ruins of A’Atla hold the Key to the Past. They shall rise as the World once again becomes herself; beware those who would seek to hide the Past once again.
Rissa stared at the words in the message Serenity had sent. His letter was very Serenity, but she couldn’t get the two sentences from the Voice to leave her mind.
She was fixing some tea to take her mind off it when everything began to shake, even though nothing was moving. It was the same as the last time, the event Serenity had called “the World becoming Tier One”.
This time was far worse.
Rissa set the tea mug down, worried she’d drop it if she held it during the shaking. “Aki? Why is it so bad this time?”
Aki didn’t reply.
Lex Rothmer was packing his carryon when everything started to shake. There wasn’t much to add this time, but he was glad Baxter would be the one flying them.
The shaking grew worse, and Lex stumbled, steadying himself with the kitchen table.
“Lex?”
Lex turned towards his wife, only to realize that he saw two Bethanys. One was the woman he’d known for most of his adult life; the other overlapped her, but he could still see both. The strange version was serene; a little thinner than the Bethany he knew with broad shoulders and a pair of white and gold feathered wings behind her.
“Bethany?” He was certain his didn’t sound quite right; apparently he was seeing things now. Maybe that was an unfortunate side effect of his new Path?
No, from what Thomas - er, Serenity - had said, there shouldn’t be bad side effects. If he was seeing something because of his Path, there was a reason and it probably meant something.
Bethany stepped forward, concern obvious on her face. The winged vision vanished as she moved. “Are you hurt? You sound upset.”
Lex shook his head, trying to shake some sense back into himself. “For a moment, I saw you with wings. No idea what that was about.”
Bethany froze, then looked down. “White with the occasional gold feather?”
Lex pulled out a chair and sat down. This sounded like something he didn’t want to be standing for. Especially not with the world still shaking even though nothing was moving. “Yes.”
Bethany sighed heavily. “I’ve told you about my grandfather, but I didn’t say everything…”
D’nehr watched as his old friend Gaia shook. He’d told her not to hold off on the Tier advancement, but her argument had made all too much sense. People without magic had a hard time adapting to high-magic areas, and advancing a Tier was going to make some new ones. He’d helped her pick out where they would run, but she only had a limited amount of control because of the fractured ley line network.
Six of them ran through cities while three others ran through some of her healthier land areas; the water areas were if anything worse. Giving everything as long as possible to acclimatize was helpful, and the new high-mana zones wouldn’t be.
It felt like it took forever, but it was actually only a few minutes before the magic stopped sloshing around the giant room surrounding the World Core. There was new crystal growth, but D’nehr could also see some crystal shards that had fallen off Gaia’s crystalline form and floated around her. “How did it go?”
“Poorly,” Gaia admitted. “There will be some severe weather for the next few days, worldwide. Worse, one of my currents is now carrying a major ley line; it pulled the high magic zone I’d planned to put in the middle of the Pacific into a longer, narrower shape. On top of that, I have an itch where A’Atla was.”
“An itch?” Any mention of A’Atla was enough to completely distract D’nehr from everything else. “What sort of itch?”
“The old enchantments seem to be reactivating. Only the island isn’t on the old ley river; it’s not even on a stream. At least, that’s what I think is happening; you know I can’t see enchantments. What I can see is that the island is pulling magic from its surrounding area to itself. Which itches.”
Gaia sounded puzzled more than worried, and D’nehr found himself relaxing. If it was minor enough that she didn’t think it was urgent, they had time. It wasn’t like he had an excess of Guardians to flood the area anymore anyway; there were not many left.
Russ felt the world shake and turned to his wife at the other end of the couch in concern. She’d predicted that the world would shake several days before, but that was all she’d been able to tell him. They were still getting used to the changes to her oracular ability; it was somehow both more expansive and yet less detailed than before. She’d get random flashes that might or might not be important, but without the details to do anything.
Phoebe nodded. “Yes, this is what I Saw. I was hoping I’d See why, but there’s nothing.”
Phoebe suddenly froze in place and Russ was glad she was already seated; he recognized that posture. A vision of some sort was filling her mind, and it seemed to last longer than most since Serenity had broken her curse.
“The Island Beneath the Sea shall rise, and with it shall come the Ones Lost to Time. He who Laughs in Darkness scrambles to find his pieces; rest safe in the Wings of the Dragon.” Phoebe spoke, then seemed to relax. “I hate prophecies.”
It was a new sentiment for her. Until recently, she’d always seemed excited when she got one. Russ wasn’t certain why it had changed; had she always hated them and simply had it suppressed by the curse, or was she reacting to the prophecy reminding her of the curse’s control over her?
Even Phoebe didn’t know.
“At least it doesn’t seem particularly obscure,” Russ observed. “I bet we both know what it means when it says Wings of the Dragon.”
Phoebe was already shaking her head. “He’s far too young. It has to mean a different dragon, or even something that’s only symbolically like a dragon.”
Russ was happy to have his sparring partner back, even if they were only verbal spars. “He may be young for a dragon, but…”
General
Spoiler| Name: Serenity | ||
| Species: Chimera Base Form: Essence Dragon (Hatchling) | ||
| Core: Unique | Progression: 85% Tier: 3 | Features: 5/11 True Crystal Link Death Origin |
| Path: N/A | Level: 100 (Complete) | Tier: 3, 100/100 Spent |
| Path History: 3: Origin’s Potential 2: Magic Dhampir of the Origin 1: Unbound, Steadfast, Evoker 0: Death-Eater, Battle Adept | Core History: 3: Sovereign of Potential 2: Dhampir (Mana/Essence) 1: Child of Time 0: Essence Dragon | |
| Mana: 8800/8800 | Essence: 8800/8800 | Stamina: 4100/4100 |
| Might: 400 | Agility: 400 | Phys: 400 |
| Understanding: 400 | Will: 400 | Mind: 400 |
| Perception: 400 | Ambit: 400 | |
| Essence | Pure (Innate) | Ev: 2,767,740 (Purified) |
| Titles | ||
| Aspect Pathfinder | DeathLord | First of A Kind |
| Ghost in the System | Incarnate | Lord |
| Named | Previous Supreme Existence | Tyche’s Curse |
| Worlds’ Friend |
Magic
Spoiler| Affinities | ||
| Energy: 45% | Liquid: 6% | Liminal: 90% |
| Magitech: 37% | Mind: 32% | Nihility: 50% |
| Plasma: 56% | Solar: 25% | Solid: 17% |
| SpaceTime: 73% | Vapor: 16% | |
| Concepts | ||
| Arcane: 80% | Energy: 52% | Essence: 25% |
| Life: 20% | Liminal: 39% | Magitech: 51% |
| Mind: 15% | Nihility: 36% | Plasma: 26% |
| SpaceTime: 54% | Topology: 13% | |
| Aspects | ||
| Arcane (Mana): Initiated (Vital) | Essence: Growth (Vital) | SpaceTime: Nascent |
| Incarnate of Death |
Resistances
Spoiler| Chemical: 137 | Cold: 303 | Curse: 265 |
| Darkness: 177 | Debasement: 13 | Death: Immune |
| Heat: 533 | Life: 417 | Light: 298 |
| Mind: 278 | Pain: 641 | Poison (Neurotoxin): 486 |
| Pleasure: 32 | Shock: 334 | Sleep: 57 |
| Space: 250 | Time: 1000 | Unknown |
Heritages
SpoilerChimeric
Pure (Innate)
Essence Dragon (Primary)
Asura
Child of Time, Unbound
Dhampir, Essence/Mana
Draugr, Sage
Elemental, Essence
Elemental, Mana
Godling
Human, Earth
Lich, Paramount (Primary)
Vampire, Daywalker
Potential, Sovereign
Wraith, Nightmare
Other Known Heritages
Azata, Lightning
Curse Witch
Healing Light
Hexen
Heavens’ Fire
Jiang-Shi
Knight of Blood
Malevolent Spark
Mote of Decay
Mote of Stasis
Mummy
Remnant Wisp of Life
Revenant, Star
Sea Lion, Earth
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Abilities
Spoiler| Monster Biology | ||
| Eyeless Sight | Colorless vision that does not require light; no visual effect | |
| Vital Sight | Shows the primary animating Affinity, usually Life, for creatures. Makes the eyes glow with blue-white fire | |
| Blossoms’ Sleep | Can induce sleep on self with a defined wakeup time | |
| Runic Shielding Tattoos | Resists one attack of any sort. Does not require preactivation if the attack will kill or disable. Fully drains current MP to establish, drains SP to maintain, ends when hit. MP drained determines strength of blow that can be resisted, will fail if strength is exceeded but may reduce the power of the attack even if it fails. Effect is better with automatic activation | |
| Crystal Seed Remote Link | Allows Serenity to access the World Core features as though he were at a Node, even when he isn’t on a ley line. Functionality may be limited inside dungeons. | |
| Dhampir’s Default | When a Dhampir is casually examined, he or she appears to be a normal member of the living population. | |
| Down to the River | When you physically envelop a being with a soul, you may choose to send their soul to the River of Souls. The soulless body will remain if applicable. Success rate depends on Ambit. When you do this, you will gain some of their knowledge but not personality. Decreased chance of success in any form other than Sovereign of Potential. | |
| Link Core | While touching an Essence Core, you can attempt to create a Sovereign Link. Enhanced by Ambit. | |
| Multiform | You may assume the shape of any Form you know. All Forms reflect yourself and all Forms are reflected in some manner in your Chimera Form. Detailed control of Forms increases with familiarity. Any Forms above the minimum require a continual maintenance cost of both Mana and Essence. Minimum number of Forms: 2. Maximum number of Forms: 4. Forms may be repeated. Forms passively return to their normal condition. Current known forms: Chimera, Hatchling Essence Dragon, Sovereign of Potential (Kernel), Human(?), Crystal Hilt, Armor, Sterath(?) | |
| Rift of Potential | You can manifest a small rift between your location and the Origin Point. | |
| Path Abilities | ||
| Loot Core | Teleports a monster core from touched monster body to the user. Usable on any dead monster with a core. Costs mana | |
| Resilience of the Dead | Slightly increased resistance to certain status alterations | |
| Eat Death | Absorb Death energy found within the Death Eater’s aura. Absorption based on Affinity. Intensity of absorption can be varied but the ability cannot be completely disabled. Absorbed Death energy may be used as if it were Death mana. Dissipates with time. Ability damaged | |
| Basic Analyze | Analyze a being for basic information. The being may be animal, Pathed, or monster. Other beings may be analyzed if they have any appropriate features. Items may not be analyzed | |
| Intermediate Unarmed Combat (Claw Variant) | Losing your weapons is not a disaster when you have weapons attached to your hands. Your expertise with claws is nearly nonexistent, but your general training with unarmed combat is transferable | |
| Adept Aspect Form | Instead of infusing an Affinity into your weapon, infuse your Aspect into yourself. Limited time, consumes both stamina and mana, induces unconsciousness when the Form lapses | |
| Basic Sense Raw Magic | Detect background, non-attuned energy. This sense is always active | |
| Linked Sight | You may share your vision and vision-based abilities with your Seer or anyone whom you share a similar Link with. They may also share their vision and vision-based abilities with you. Consumes Stamina per vision or vision-based ability shared in either direction. Vision ability costs are paid by the user instead of the originator of the ability, if applicable | |
| Moment of Prescience | Know a moment ahead of time when something will kill or disable you or someone you wish to protect. Activation is automatic. Cannot be activated more than once a minute. Consumes stamina in inverse proportion to the threat | |
| Time’s Eye | Your eyes see the motions of Time as it stretches and changes. The hidden is easier to see and the false easier to see through. Consumes Stamina (Note: the Stamina cost is low enough that it can be maintained for hours at a time, though that will significantly reduce Serenity’s available Stamina for other uses) | |
| Unbound | Time does not quite have the same hold on you as it does on others, and Fate does not rule you. You can slip between the lines of the future and past or even blur them if you have the desire and the strength. That which will be has no power over you, and you can break the strands of Destiny for others if you dare. This ability is always active and has always applied to you | |
| Basic Identify | Identify an object to gain basic information on it, such as its name, basic properties, materials, and/or minor enchantments | |
| Scale Hardening | Use Essence or Mana to reinforce your scales, making them harder to damage and more protective. Costs Stamina to maintain | |
| Wait for an Opening | Study an opponent’s actions in combat to gain an intuitive understanding of the right time to strike | |
| Second Wind | Convert some of a more filled resource pool (Mana, Stamina, or Essence) into an empty one. Consumes some of the converted resource | |
| Stand Tall | Whether you are the last wall between your loved ones and your enemies or you simply love to fight, your ability to take a beating is exceptional. Blood loss, bruises, injuries, and even broken bones will not stop you. You can fight at the full effectiveness your body is capable of despite your injuries | |
| Essence Sight | You can already sense Essence with your Aura. Sight adds precision and distance to your detection capability. This may be enabled or disabled at will. A visual effect may be present | |
| Physical Storage | You can store spells inside your own body to be evoked later. Stored spells may be evoked only by you and may be triggered at any time. All variable effects must be determined prior to casting. Stored spells will degrade with time and use of mana or essence in the area the spell is stored. | |
| Spell Conversion | You can convert the power of any spell you can Evoke into a ranged mana or essence strike. The power of the strike depends on the stored spell power. | |
| Store Spell | You may temporarily store spells in items to be evoked later. The item must be strong enough to hold the spell, and synergy with the spell will slow spell degradation. Stored spells will degrade with time and nearby mana or essence use. Storage of spells can damage items used. | |
| Designate Evocation Conditions | You may designate conditions on when a stored spell can be evoked. You can bypass any conditions you set, but you cannot bypass conditions set by other Evokers. This allows you to set conditions that will allow non-Evokers to Evoke stored spells, but spells Evoked by the untrained will be significantly degraded during the evocation. | |
| Entwined Magic | You can mix Mana and Essence magic freely, to achieve effects not possible with Mana or Essence alone. Passive. | |
| Gaze of the Origin | When you choose, you can infuse your gaze with the power of your connection to the Origin. Effects vary. Power depends on Ambit. | |
| Aura of Magic | When you choose, you can reveal your Mana and Essence pools with your aura. Passively increases the maximum size and regeneration of your Mana and Essence. Increases the regeneration of others’ mana and essence at a slight cost to your regeneration rate. Easily sensed. Power depends on size and regeneration rate of mana and essence pools. | |
| Mold Magic | You can alter magic that has been given a steady form. Passive. | |
| Potential of the Rift | Your Rift to the Origin will allow you to move items or creatures to the Origin and retrieve them later. Items or creatures stored in the Origin will be exposed to it. You may travel to the Origin using the Rift. | |
| Rift Control | You may control the Potential that leaks from your Rift to the Origin as long as it is within your aura, including increasing or decreasing the amount that leaks. | |
| Call on the Origin | The Origin is just that: the beginning of all things. Bring something temporarily into the real world, limited only by your imagination and power. Variable Cost. | |
| Revivify | Potential can become warped in many ways. Restore something to its original Potential. Quality of repair affected by the level of understanding of what the repair requires, the amount of damage being repaired, the time since the damage occurred, and the Time Affinity, Concept, and Aspect of the user. | |
| Realize Potential | Use Potential drawn through the Rift to temporarily gain something from your Heritage. Variable Cost. | |
| Death Magebolt | Throw a mass of Death-attuned magic at your enemy. |
Additional
SpoilerEarth’s Planetary-level World Core Authorizations
Portal Management
Dungeon Taxation
Quest Visibility
Serenity’s Titles
Previous Supreme Existence
You were the Supreme Existence in a previous incarnation, and can remember some of what came before. Your status also grants you the Ghost in the System title. This title is hidden from all but you.
First of A Kind
You are the first True Chimera and the first Essence Dragon. Your Paths shall shape the future of those who follow in your footsteps.
Named
Your Name is known and respected or feared. No other can bear this Name.
Ghost in the System
You bypass certain restrictions. This title is hidden unless you share it with another.
Aspect Pathfinder
As the first person to discover a new Aspect, Concept, and Affinity, you set the path for those who follow you on the road of Essence Magic. Creating new methods and applying methods from other magical schools is easier.
Incarnate
More than an Aspect, you are an Incarnate. Your Concept sets what the meaning of the Affinity you Incarnate does and does not mean. Your Incarnate will always be a part of you, and you will always be a part of it.
As an Incarnate, you are not capable of combining or otherwise altering this Affinity.
There cannot be more than one Incarnate for an Affinity at a time, as no two people will ever have identical Conceptions of an Affinity.
Lord
You are recognized as the ruler of a Settlement. This comes with certain rights as long as you are within the Settlement or interacting with people who are identified as belonging to the Settlement. This Title will be removed if you are no longer the Lord of a Settlement.
DeathLord
You have a high enough combined Death Affinity, Concept, and Aspect to qualify to rule a Necropolis.
Tyche’s Mark
You have been marked by Lady Luck. Interesting things will happen around you. They may be good or bad.
This Curse removes your Luck and Luck % attributes and suppresses all Luck attributes that would affect you (directly or indirectly). Instead, Luck is in flux around you and unlikely events are more likely to occur when you are nearby.
Worlds’ Friend
Multiple worlds have declared you an ally. Others who are strongly tied to those worlds may sense a kinship with you. This may affect the reaction of other worlds or their servants.
[collapse]Lillene
Apparently, the worldwide mortality rate is estimated at 0.77% annually.
It’s increased by the Tutorial, dungeons, and invasions and somewhat mitigated by the assistance of Paths. The net result is an increase in deaths, big enough to be quite significant.
It’s still less than 1% of the world population in the six months of the Tutorial, but it may not be much less - and that’s still a lot of people.
Yes, Serenity is missing something about the Tent of Comfort. Something obvious and in the description, but he was too focused on the words to think about what else they meant.
