Frank chuckled at the group of roughly thirty people standing in line to use the five bathrooms they had originally constructed. He passed by a group standing near the Warehouse, probably waiting for their turn to use it. Logistics really are an issue once you get into hundreds of people, he thought, feeling happy that his position didn’t involve dealing with random people. He felt bad for Thomas, who got mobbed by people as soon as he stepped outside the Town Hall.

Walking to his usual training spot, the grounds were much busier than before, luckily, the people joining the original base decided to set up their sleeping quarters North of the base, leaving the Eastern side as the training grounds. He was surprised to see so many people training, though he understood that participating in a battle was the best motivator.

When he arrived, he found Amy and Stuart, their healer, deep in meditation, while Gabriel sparred against Kim. The two fighters felt wronged by how easily the goblin boss injured them, so their presence was expected. He waved to the two but didn’t join. He had a different agenda on his mind. Plopping on the ground he opened his Profile.

Leading the Pack is at 200/250, I also have 41 GP, just need 9 more. Skills… are a mess, I wonder if I can reorganize them, Frank thought as he scrolled through the long list. Anyway, what can I train for some fast GP? Phantom Strike, Power Attack have slowed down to a crawl, but Stone Skin and Dash are still alright, I guess those two will have to do for Stamina skills. Now for R mana… Mana Shield at level 29 is the lowest. And for D mana… oh, Arcane Bolt at level 6! Hmm, was there something else? Ah, right, Arcane Missiles… level 3! Even better! His skills chosen, Frank began to train.

His skin turned a grey hue, a magical shield sprung up around him, then he dashed a short distance. He held his palm toward the horizon and activated Arcane Missiles. An elongated projectile of light-purple condensed in front of his palm before shooting forward, then another one, and another, for a total of ten. The skill ended after fifteen seconds. Frank activated it again, then used Dash and Mana Shield before going back to the offensive magic. He saw some people looking over in his direction, trying to figure out what was going on. He had to admit, the constant stream of projectiles did look a bit like fireworks.

After three minutes he ran out of D mana, putting an end to his fun. My regeneration is pretty good, but my actual resources are pathetic, Frank thought dejectedly. So many areas to spend Attributes on. Not wanting to waste time, he used his remaining R mana on Healing Touch and Lesser Heal, and his Stamina on Power Attack. Then he set down to meditate. Less than ten minutes later, his R mana was back to full. Admittedly his D mana was only half full, and Stamina was still missing a few dozen points. Frank pushed the distracting thoughts out of his mind, and delved into training.

An hour later, he checked his skill gains and smiled, he now had enough GP. Frank opened his Grids tab and added 50 GP completing the grid.

Congratulations on completing the Leading the Pack grid. You have been awarded the Reading Ahead ability.

For completing the Leading the Pack grid, the Final Sprint grid has become available.

Feeling happy that the best Grid available to him had a follow-up, Frank looked to see how many GP it required. 500, huh? That’s going to take a while, he thought, the amount being mostly expected. Still excited, he switched to his Abilities tab and looked up his reward.

Reading Ahead: This ability allows you to randomly unlock grids before meeting the appropriate requirements, although, doing so locks you into that grid until it’s completed. Beware, in your excitement you can lock yourself into a long chain of Grids, causing you to be unable to complete better options as you unlock them naturally, and resulting in you getting killed instead of surviving. Then again, you’ll die anyway, so go for it. This ability will present you with a random Grid every 24 hours. Selecting the Grid will lock you into it, you won’t be able to add GP to other Grids until completing it. Selecting a new Grid before finishing the previous one will lock you into the new one. You can pass on the Grids as well.

That’s an interesting ability, though a dangerous one. The description is getting increasingly aggressive too, it no longer suggests I might die, but states it outright. He sighed, pushing the doom and gloom parts of the description out of his mind. Looking at this ability, there was a ticking timer on it, showing 10:24:10. Hmm, eight and a half hours until it resets? Frank wondered, watching the seconds tick. So it resets around 6 a.m.? Well, let’s see what we’ve got, he thought and focused on the ability. A new panel sprung up in his view – at the top, it said Reading Ahead, followed by the timer, below that was the name and cost of the Grid, followed by what it would award and the description.

Furniture Maker I (100GP)

Furniture Making (Apprentice): Furniture making is a respectable branch of woodworking and is in high demand, after all, everyone wants good furniture. Wishing to leave the brutality of war behind, he became a furniture maker. But one day, while working in his shop, he slipped on wood shavings and fell awkwardly, decapitating himself with a saw. Cruel fate! If only he never chose the peaceful way of life, he could’ve died a heroic death on the battlefield instead. This skill allows you to make furniture using wood of up to Tier 3.

“Son of a bitch!” Frank cried out, as his face turned red from anger.

“What happened?” Amy asked, the other looking at him with puzzled expressions as well.

“This bloody System is getting on my nerves,” Frank replied and got up. “I am fine,” he said, waving them off, and stomped out of the training grounds, deciding to go to the river to cool off. He wasn’t sure if he was more annoyed at the System insisting that his death is inevitable, or the Grid being so amazingly useless. Granted, he’d get a new Grid tomorrow, but the difference between the high he was feeling before, and this low, caused him to erupt in anger.

“And what the fuck is up with that description? Damn it. Am I a plaything in some bored God’s hands? Did I flag myself by becoming the first to acquire a skill?” Frank muttered angrily, not caring if anyone heard him. He felt the unwillingness rise inside of him. “Am I just going to take this?” He whispered the question and halted.

A half-crazed smile began to spread on his lips: “No, I won’t.” If I become powerful enough, I won’t die in battle, and the way Vitality works it might be possible to avoid death from old age as well, the thought flashed through his mind, causing his face to turn into a maniacal grin. He clenched his fist and lifted his head to stare into the evening sky. “Fuck the Gods!” He declared loudly. “You were arrogant enough to give me this System, now let me show you why you’ve picked the wrong guy!”

He turned around and walked back to the training grounds with a spring in his step. He was aware of the foolishness of his actions. It was probably his mind playing tricks on him, giving him a made-up enemy to put the blame on for everything that happened. The deaths of his comrades, his inability to save them, the descriptions’ insistence of his death, the crappy Grid. It all culminated into this moment of madness. However, even if he recognized it for what it was, it was too late to change anything.

Frank had an easygoing personality and was pretty casual about most things, but once he set his mind on something, he wouldn’t stop, pushing forward no matter the obstacles. It was the only reason he survived in Vietnam. He should’ve died there, a normal person would, but he survived, stubbornly pushing forward even when there was no hope and his end was all but assured. This unwillingness to lay down and succumb to his fate was like a force of nature. Once it was set in motion, he was no more capable of stopping it than whatever obstacles barred his way. He started to laugh, losing himself in the sensation of power and determination coursing through his body.

“Wonderful! Just wonderful! I haven’t felt this way in decades!”

When was the last time I felt this stubbornness of mine? Hmm, right back in ‘95. He barked a laugh tinged with madness, as he remembered the details. He was visiting Moscow for business when he and Pavel, his translator, got kidnapped. Held in some murky basement who knows where, while the kidnappers demanded he pay a ransom. “It’s hopeless,” Pavel told him, “if you don’t pay, they will keep sending parts of you to the US consulate, and if you do, they will kill us both since we’ve seen their faces.” He proved him wrong.

I’ve lived an interesting life, Frank mused as the old memories flashed before him. Whether the System is messing with me, or if it’s the whimsy of some God, doesn’t matter. I’ll make myself unkillable!

His expression must’ve reflected his mood, the whispers of “crazy old man” coming from all over. Ignoring them, Frank approached his teammates.

“You OK?” Amy asked, the worry clear in her voice.

“I am doing great, better than ever, in fact. Anyway, can you teach me your icicle magic?” Frank asked.

“Um, sure. Any reason you want to learn it though?” Amy asked, glancing at the others. Frank had never expressed any interest in learning her magic before.

“I need more GP, fast. Stuart, do you know any magic that’s not Grid-locked?” Frank asked, turning to look at the man.

“Um, yeah, two actually. This one is similar to Amy’s, but instead of icicles it shoots wooden spikes” Stuart said, as he extended his hand toward the sky. A thin wooden projectile came into being in front of his palm and shot forward. “Then… uh,” he sighed, seemingly wrestling with himself, “Then there's this one, but it’s useless. I was trying for a laser or something, but it’s just light. The description literally says I now have my own flashlight.” He gave a short laugh before demonstrating the skill. A thin column of light spread forward from his index finger, similar to a weak flashlight.

“It’s a skill though, with levels, not an ability, right?” Frank asked. “Can the volume of light be increased?”

“Yes, a skill with levels. And I am not sure, I was so annoyed and embarrassed by it, I haven’t trained it at all,” Stuart said, his shoulders drooping.

“It’s not that bad. A light source could be useful,” Amy said and patted him on the back.

“Oh, come on! I wanted a badass laser, and I got a weak light instead. How's that not embarrassing?”

“Well, as long as it’s a skill, I don’t care if it’s embarrassing or not. Can you help me learn both of them?” Frank asked. He doubted training this light spell would even be in the top ten crazy things he’d done since the System arrived.

“Yeah, sure,” Stuart agreed.

“Great! Hm, you two don’t know any such spells, right?” He asked Kim and Gabriel, who halted their sparring and were watching him.

“I have Explosive Charges, and Touch of Decay. Both require physical contact with one’s body, and can’t be trained without a target,” Gabriel said, while Kim just shook her head. He walked closer before continuing: “Are you really alright, Frank? You’re acting weird.”

“A target, you say?” Frank asked with a smile. “And yes, I’m fine, honestly. You don’t have to worry about me,” Frank said and slapped the man on the shoulder. “Anyway, I guess your skills are a no go. Alright, Amy first,” he added and sat down next to the woman so she could teach him. Gabriel gave him a long stare, but could only shrug in the end.

Two hours later, everyone left to wash up before going to sleep, but Frank chose to stay a bit longer. He had learned all three spells, as well as the Fire Bolt that Margaret used. And got all four skills to level 6. It felt nice to get level-ups with just a few casts.

The System appeared to lay off prophesying his doom and instead chose to insult the skills he acquired. As expected, the descriptions claimed that Icicle and Wooden Spike had low penetrative power, meaning they could be ignored by armored enemies. Meanwhile, Fire Bolt supposedly dealt such low damage that using the spell was a waste of time. However, it was the description for Flashlight that had the biggest impact on Frank, as he nearly burst out laughing when he read the description.

Flashlight, level 1: Whether in the darkest forest or the dead of the night, you will always have a light to illuminate your path. Yes, now when you wander through the deep woods you can signal Shub-Niggurath so she knows where to send her Dark Young. This skill allows you to project a stream of light from your index finger.

Of course, the idea of a monstrosity like Shub-Niggurath actually existing, or that Flashlight wasn’t a lighting spell, but a signal used to summon said horror was quite terrifying. Although Frank had his doubts, he resolved not to use the spell in or near the forest.

Overall, Frank felt pleased with his progress. He went to wash up in the river before returning to the camp and settling into his sleeping bag. Tomorrow, I’ll track down Kareem and get him to teach me every damn spell he has, he thought, his face splitting into a grin.

***

Frank woke up earlier than normal, the Sun just beginning to shine over the horizon. Feeling too excited to go back to sleep, he decided to reorganize his skills instead. After some contemplation, he settled on the following format:

Active Melee: Phantom Strike 66; Power Attack 77; Taunt 1; Stone Skin 35; Dash 42, Metal Shards 1; Grit 3;

Passive Melee: Saber Mastery 45; Parry 27; Dodge 17; Acrobatics 8; Punching 4; One-Handed Sword Mastery 5; Spear Mastery 3;

Magic: Arcane Bolt 6; Arcane Missiles 8;

Base Magic: Lightning Bolt 58; Telekinesis 12; Fire Bolt 6; Icicle 6; Wooden Spike 6; Flashlight: 6;

Restorative Magic: Mana Shield 34; Healing Touch 44; Lesser Heal 41; Group Heal 35;

Resistances: Arcane Resistance 22; Lightning Resistance 3, Fire Resistance 4, Heat Resistance 15, Poison Resistance 1;

Other Actives: Mana Channeling 16, Magical Crafting 11; Clean 11;

General Passives: Fitness 37; Pain Tolerance 48; Unshakable Focus 39; Meditation 36; Running 20; Sprinting 11; Digging 9; Physical Labor 10;

Crafting Skills: Leatherworking 4;

Looking through the newly organized list of skills, Frank was surprised to find Metal Shards. Right, I got this skill from Kareem to improve my melee damage, but I never got to level it because it required a target, just like Gabriel’s skills, he thought as he opened the description for the skill.

Metal Shards, level 1: Upon wounding a foe, a small metal shard will be left behind and will deal additional damage for a few seconds. If only this skill didn't suffer from flawed design: used by fighters, the Buffer is determined by D magic, resulting in minimal damage. This skill will cast an offensive buff on yourself, lasting up to 10 shards or 10 minutes. Each damaging attack will leave a shard behind that will deal damage for 3 seconds.

Wait, it’s an offensive buff, does that mean I don’t actually need to hit someone for the shards to go off, and can just cast the buff on myself to level it? Frank wondered as he reread the description. Not one to procrastinate, he cast the buff several times and got a level-up after the fourth cast. Nice, but expensive, 30 D mana per cast. Man, with all these spells, I wonder if I should boost my Control, or maybe D magic affinity, kind of sick of having to meditate after a minute of active usage. Oh, no. I am slipping back into wanting to boost my regeneration! Frank thought worriedly.

He got up and looked around, most of the people were still asleep. I really did get up too early, he thought, leaving the base to go train for a while. He didn’t push too hard, mostly leveling his new skills, and whiling away the time on Telekinesis, the skill still as fun to play with as it was useless. Once people began going in and out of the base, Frank judged that he had waited long enough, and went to find Kareem. The man was still asleep, but Frank chose to wake him up with a gentle shake.

“Huh? What’s happening?” Kareem asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“Teach me all your skills,” Frank said.

“God damn it, Frank,” Kareem said and tried to go back to sleep.

“I am serious. Teach me,” Frank insisted.

“And you need me to do it now?! You couldn’t wait a couple of hours?” Kareem asked, his face turning sour.

“Come on, I’ll tell you about this awesome new ability I got,” Frank tried to appease him.

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Kareem muttered, rolling his eyes. “At least there’s no line to the bathroom this early,” he said when he finally got up.

“That’s the spirit,” Frank cheered him on, but only got a glare in response.

As they made their way to the training spot, Frank told Kareem about the Reading Ahead ability, though he chose to omit his declaration to defy the System’s expectations of his demise.

“I guess that explains why you want to get more GP, though I still don’t get why you couldn’t wait till I got up,” Kareem said.

“And the stats?” Frank asked. He had explained his dilemma with stat distribution earlier.

“Do you plan to leave the base to get SP?”

“No. I should have more than enough just turning sticks into clubs and bows with Magical Crafting. But four of my teammates are pure physical fighters, I imagine they will want to head out,” Frank replied.

“Well, getting skills to level 20 is quite fast. Maybe invest in regeneration till all your new skills reach level 10, then up your combat stats with the rest?”

“Yeah, I guess that’s reasonable if I can convince them to stay in the base for a few days,” Frank mused, as the two arrived at their destination. “Alright, teach me all your skills,” he said, rubbing his hand energetically.

“I am going to be stuck here for hours, aren’t I? God damn it, Frank.”