Eve’s tests were basic to start; first, she lifted a paper dumbbell of one pound. Then ten, then twenty, then forty, each dumbbell doubled the weight. When she hit three hundred twenty pounds, the strain began to show, so she slowly increased weight in ten-pound increments at that point. Eventually, at three-fifty pounds, her body informed her that it was done trying to break limits.

So the Strength stat is five pounds per point. Eve thought. Next up is dexterity.

One of her favorite things to watch was juggling performance, so to test Dexterity, she created a plethora of paper orbs. Colored orbs rose and fell, entrancing the puppies watching as she started performing complex maneuvers with them. After adding the eighth orb, everything collapsed. Curious, she moved to flip coins through her fingers and found the same result. After the eighth coin was added, everything broke down, leading Eve to a simple conclusion. Every ten points in Dexterity increased her count by one additional item.

Eve tested the Constitution in the most basic ways possible, damage, and recovery. She managed to convince herself the pain was required, before creating paper weapons of certain weights to cause it to her own body. It was the worst test, and upon getting the information she wanted, Eve immediately stopped. Health was a tricky thing. Damage to limbs reduced it far slower. Bleeding was usually in set amounts of damage to the health pool, but the injury healed rapidly if the regeneration was higher.

Eve drew the line at trying to chop off a limb, stab her heart, or injure her brain. She would treat those as kill shot scenarios since it had worked so far against enemies. They might have enough health to stay alive if a limb was removed, but the bleeding damage would quickly finish most. For those that could survive a limb being removed, from what she had seen against Devon’s group, it didn’t help much. While the body would heal being crippled given a high enough regeneration number, it couldn’t replace the limb itself. Eve theorized that a Skill or Spell would have to be involved in making that possible, and she was in no hurry to find out if Celestial Body could do it.

Eve decided that even if she had occasional bottlenecks due to the ways she allocated her stats, it was worth pursuing. In her opinion, it didn’t matter how much health you regenerated if someone could reduce you to mincemeat. With the possibility of regeneration on her mind, Eve thought long and hard about how to counter it.

She had a single Rune of Intent possible right now from her Origami Ascension I, and she needed to make it count. Running possibilities through her mind, a single concept stood out as something that would apply in many ways.

Stasis. Eve thought. It can be used to counter regeneration and possibly add a non-lethal option to my toolkit.

Focusing her will, Eve pulled the image of the Elder Futhark Runes to her mind. The single rune that contained the meaning of Ice applied to what she desired. Isa, the single slash vertical slash mark, meant Clarity, Stasis, Challenges, Introspection, Watching and Waiting. Pushing her will into the Rune in her mind, she felt Origami Ascension I activate. There was a pause before her Skill absorbed the Rune, and she was flooded with a wealth of images from ten-thousand-year frozen creatures in clear ice to the seeping cold of an animal dying from frostbite.

The air around Eve took a noticeable dip as the concept took hold, settling into her soul with a chill that was felt deeper than bone. Isa glowed in her mind, the rune pulsing as if breathing the mana in her body. Slowly all the choices she had made leading up to taking Isa grew clearer. The pall that had been cast over her mind when she realized she was no longer on Earth dispelled and revealed her thoughts had been influenced greatly by her brother.

While it wasn’t reasonably minded control, it was a subtle nudge to choose options that kept her safe in most cases that meant the most extreme opportunity, even when a lesser one might have worked. Isa forced her to understand that fighting Devon was a choice made in anger and not a righteous crusade. Introspection, one of the functions the rune was known for, suddenly put her previous choices into the light, and revealed other options that had been carefully pushed away. Her brother’s notes were both a blessing and a curse, which had caused her paranoia to rise so high that almost any option to stay safe made ‘sense’ to her.

“Well, shit.” Eve thought, her eyes wide in shock.

“There is a crisp scent of fresh ice around you. What happened?” Album asked from a short distance away.

“Just getting a literal mind-blowing revelation courtesy of a Skill choice I made earlier, Album.” Eve said, quickly damping down on her emotions. She compartmentalized everything the Isa Rune revealed to go over later. Taking a look at her Status, she calmed her breathing; there was nothing she could do about the past. If she hadn’t had the idea of using the ancient runes, then there was no telling how deep down the rabbit hole she might have gone.

It was clear as crystal ice her brother’s morals were a bit grey.

Bro, what the fuck happened to make you go so dark? Eve thought, angry at the nameless, faceless shits that could cause her brother to turn so far down into the dark. When I get back, I’m dragging whoever pulled this shit out of him if I have to bring out the baby pictures and double team him with mom. Then I’ll find a way to repay them in spades.

Race: Human

Class: Celestial Scholar

Level: 24

Health: 700/700 (7 HPs regen)

Mana: 2,100/2,100 (2,100 MPs regen)

Stats: Str 70, Dex 70, Con 70, Wis 210, Int 210

Free Stats: 20

Skills:

Paperweight I

Origami Ascension I

Celestial’s Five Senses

Spells:

Domain of Celestial Paper I

Mental Traits:

Celestial Mind

Physical Traits:

Celestial Body

A glance showed that she needed another two levels before she could push all three of her non-primary stats higher. This close to the next set of Skill and Spell slots, Eve considered how to proceed. She needed the ability to prevent her body from burning up from rapid leveling, so regardless of the cost, that had to be first.

“Album, do you know what needs to be sold to get the System to give me the ability to prevent my body from burning out from mana during rapid leveling?” Eve asked her resident old wise woman.

The white nanny wolf flicked an ear before saying, “Of course, I know it like the back of a three-cheese omelet with extra meats.”

Eve stared incredulously before saying with disbelief, “Are you holding the knowledge hostage to get more food from me!?”

The puppies floating in their cushions gave Album a series of disapproving stares. Their leaders, Shadow and Light, gave short sharp barks that clearly meant something dire. The old white wolf caved almost immediately with a guilty look and said, “Ten Slots and twenty Free Points.”

Ten slots, that’s another twenty levels, including what I currently want to buy. Eve thought. There has to be a way to speed it up. Perhaps I can get a loan?

While she was thinking of what to do, a message flashed in her sight.

Each of the twenty-three members of the Puppy Pack is willing to donate the required Skill or Spell Slots. In exchange, you are required to assist the Puppy Pack in following their Elemental Paths. The assistance period will last five years, or once you have helped each individual that donated with reaching their Second Class upgrade. Do you agree with this completely unfair and biased deal that favors these bundles of fluff?

Eve’s eyes narrowed in thought.

I don’t plan on leaving the Pack any time soon. They are moving their Den to combine with my house too. Eve thought. This deal seems very unclear, though. On the other hand, would my fluffy army of doom betray me?

Shadow and Light gave short chuffs to pull her attention from her thoughts. Staring at the two future leaders of the Pack, Eve’s heart melted a bit from the frost that had covered it when she followed her brother’s advice.

I can’t refuse to trust anyone. Down that path, only madness awaits. Eve thought. Brother cannot see all the possible outcomes. My being here proves it.

“Yes, I accept the deal, Wilson.” Eve said, staring at Shadow and Light as they grinned with their tongues lolling out.

Confirmed. Twenty of your Free Stat Points have been removed. The additional cost has been paid by the Puppy Pack led by Shadow and Light.

Eve stared at the new Physical Trait that appeared, Ascendant’s Physique.

Ascendant’s Physique

You handle the pressure of Ascendance.

Just as vague as always, Wilson. Eve thought, rolling her eyes. One day I’m going to get something from the System that gives me detailed information. One day, just not today.

Shrugging, Eve said, “Next up is something I have been curious about for quite some time.” Set on several testing stands made of paper was a series of Rank One materials. Stone, copper, iron, silver, and gold made up the first half of Rank one materials. The second half was the mana versions of those, mana stone, mana copper, and so forth.

Armor class from her Stationary Shielding was at just over one hundred. By testing the various materials, she was able to see that her paper matched mana stone in hardness. It got more complex when she used non-standard paper. Glass paper seemed to fall just shy of mana copper, and alloyed metal paper seemed to be between mana iron and mana silver. Apparently, the infusion of mana from her Domain of Paper I attempted to match, or in the case of metallic alloy paper, exceed some materials. Of course, the best method would be to make paper from the known material sources. In the long run, it would be more cost-effective to boot. Noting that down, Eve moved to test on the three Rank Two materials, which contained the ‘Heavy’ prefix, e.g., Heavy Mana Stone, Copper, and Iron.

It was an apparent loss as her paper could barely scratch the surface of Rank Two material, much less penetrate any of them.

Someone wearing Rank Two armor could just close and destroy me in a physical fight. Eve thought. There has to be a way to even the scales.

Eve thought long and hard, rapidly forming different shapes, before she settled once more on the diamond-teardrop form that had saved Fang.

Why re-invent the wheel. Bullets work, so let’s make splendid bullets. Eve thought, her mind afire with the concept of spinning death. I need something that does more than spin. I need something that hits and goes that extra mile.

Bullets were dangerous for various reasons, and there was no reason Eve couldn’t copy their exact playbook. The diamond teardrop gained swirling spiral grooves. A tiny notch in the sharp tip would split the head, creating an even more devastating effect than hollow points. The spinning motion from the split head would shred flesh without mercy. Focusing, she imbued the Isa Rune onto the ‘bullet’ within a few moments.

The purpose of the Isa Rune was simple, to cause ‘Stasis’ in the wound, preventing it from being healed, regenerated, or closed quickly. Eve named the bullets she formed KP Diamond shots in memory of a tradition started by their father in the past. Once the form was created, then the next part of training the attack was two-fold. First, developing the shell and branding the Isa Rune had to be instinctive. Second, she needed to reach the level of a reflexive shot, essentially the famous one-shot-one-kill level of sniping. There was no point if she couldn’t even hit the broadside of a monster barn equivalent.

Diamond Shield-Form Apparatus for Defense. KP Diamonds to attack. Eve thought. Movement is covered by Flight in the Shield-Form, although I need to up physical stats to handle faster speeds better. So, that would make Detection the last piece of the puzzle.

Eve pondered for a long time on how to improve her paper spy sheets. Eventually, as dinner approached, Album roused her from her thoughts to ask, “What is the delay? If testing is done, then we eat, do we not?”

Eve replied, “I’m trying to think of a good way to spot things in combat and before combat starts. A method to gather the information that can flow into a fighting style.”

Album stared at her with a look that could only be described as sad before she said, “Are you perhaps mentally challenged? What better form of seeing things in combat is there besides your own two eyes?”

Oh, did I complicate the simple shit? Damn. Eve facepalmed. The simple method of making small ‘eye’ orbs and training them to see was a clear winner.

“Right, yes, of course. Let’s go get dinner then.” Eve said, pointedly ignoring the lupine grin that Album was giving her. Gathering up all the materials used in testing, she quickly headed back to her kitchen, trailed by a gaggle of floating puppies and one more senior white wolf.