Chapter Seven: Parameters II

"Go back to what you were saying about parameters."

Unsure of what he meant, Thorn asked for clarification. "Which part, in particular, master?"

"You mentioned that each parameter had a value that denoted a person's rating. Explain!" came the answer.

Still confused, Thorn stared at him blankly. "What exactly was he supposed to explain?"

Brandr's eyes narrowed, a meaningless expression on a figure of crystal made even more useless by the fact that he did not have functioning eyes. "What exactly are the parameters and what do the values mean?"

Thorn's eyes bugged out. He wondered how the powerful figure in front of him did not know something so simple. The only reason he'd mentioned parameters in passing was because it would have been strange to give an overview of the personal screen and rating without it. According to his understanding, dungeons were instinctive creatures, born with all the basic knowledge they required. Dungeon pixies were only there to guide them in planning and making smart decisions using their knowledge and experience of what worked and what was most suitable. The pixies helped them use their resources better, communicate with other races and served as repositories of knowledge.

Thorn checked himself, admitting that all of what he knew was circumstantial. No one actually knew for certain what dungeon pixies taught their dungeons. Perhaps even such basics were necessary. Before he could stop the thought, it occurred to him that there was another possibility. Perhaps, this variant dungeon lacked the innate knowledge of its brethren. After all, it consisted of a single low ceilinged corridor that had no lighting, monsters, treasures... it lacked everything really. Who knew? Perhaps, its variation had given it power in exchange for intellect. It would not be the first case of such.

Remembering that the creature was still in his mind and realising that he had just called the thing that had power over his life and death retarded, Thorn paled, his green skin turning the pale yellow of a sick leaf.

"Forgive me", he said bowing hastily. "I meant no disrespect!"

"Quit the pandering and focus!" Brandr said icily.

"Yes, great one!" the sprite lord exclaimed.

"There are ten ranks and eight ratings", he began. "All creatures no matter how mighty or lowly are ranked between one and ten with one being the lowest and most basic and ten being the highest. This rank is determined by the rating of his parameters. There are eight possible ratings; S, A, B, C up to G with S being the greatest and G the lowest. To qualify for a rank, an individual must have an equivalent rating in at least three parameters. For example, to have a rank of three you must be rated G in at least three of your parameters."

Catching his breath, he spared a second to glance at the humanoid crystal in front of him to gauge its expression. Unable to read anything in its carved visage, he continued, "There are many possible parameters and I do not know them all. Each parameter consists of an aspect of an individual's person and a given individual can only ever have ten parameters. The most common are, power which is either magic or aura depending on the individual, strength, intellect, vitality, charisma, willpower, agility, wisdom and endurance. A few uncommon parameters also exist. Luck is one of them. I have also heard tale of constitution, resistance, perseverance and faith."

"A rating is an acknowledgement from the will of the world that an individual has a reached a certain standard with regards to that particular parameter. Being rated G in strength means that you've been recognised as reaching rank three in terms of strength alone. However, a rank in a single stat is not the same as an overall ranking. For that, you need three like I said. The only way to improve your overall ranking is to increase your rating in your parameters and for that, you need feats or skills. Skills are pretty self-explanatory but feats are a bit complicated", Thorn explained.

"Stop!" Brandr commanded. "You're getting ahead of yourself."

It was true, Thorn did not appear to be a good teacher. He was running through the subject as if his student already knew what he was talking about. Granted. From the way he spoke and extrapolating from the incident earlier, Brandr should know what he was talking about. Sadly, he did not. He could draw some conclusions as to what the sprite meant using his own knowledge, experience and what he managed to pluck from its mind but he would rather not discover that he had misconstrued something important at some later date.

"First, explain what the ranks and ratings mean", he told Thorn. "You mentioned values, give them to me! Then, explain why there are ten ranks and only eight ratings."

"Ahh..." Thorn exclaimed in understanding. "Each rank is ten times greater than the one that precedes it", he explained "I have a rank of four meaning I am ten times as powerful as someone ranked three. Supposedly, it also means that I should be able to defeat ten rank threes though I've found that that is rarely the case. Technically, it means that I am also one hundred times as powerful as a ranked one.'

"Rank one? Not ranked two?" Brandr asked.

"Uhm...yes, master!" Thorn said, realising he left something out. "The first two ranks are basically introductory ranks. They don't count for much. That's why there are only eight ratings even though there are ten ranks. The first two ranks are unrated."

"Well... I say unrated but the consensus is that they have a value of one, maybe even less", he said after some consideration. "It is believed that the will of the world considers them insignificant, unworthy of notice. Many things are ranked one. Normal humans, stones, grass, rabbits, anything really. The only to increase in rank is to develop an aspect to the point where it is recognised as a rated parameter. The best way to do so is to develop the use of a power. It can be magic or aura though magic is better if you have the talent."

"Power is the most important parameter. Once you awaken it and establish some control, you're done. The mere fact that you have command over a power is enough to give you a rating of G in that parameter and elevate you to rank two. This is considerably easier than trying to gain a rating in strength or intellect or some other parameter", he explained. "A rank of two means you are five times as powerful as someone with a rank of one. Plus, once you have magic or aura, you can go adventuring and get some feats under your belt and quickly gain the other parameters."

"I see", Brandr intoned, reaching up to stroke his chin. Actually, he didn't but he was beginning to get the picture. There were ten ranks. The first denoted people and objects beneath the notice of the world's will. The second were people who had caught its attention and the ones that followed were for people whose power and progress were noted and rated. There was still something crucial missing.

"You still haven't told me the values that underly these ratings", he pointed out.

"Oh...right!" Thorn realised, getting a bit flustered. "Assuming that an unrated parameter has a value of one then a G rating is ten. An F rating is 20. E is 30 and so on with each successive rating being an increase of 10. A fifth tier rating of E might seem like only thirty times a normal person's strength or +30 but having an overall rank of five would, in fact, be a thousand times that of a normal person.

"That's because the fifth-ranked person would have E rated magic or aura. Given that it's strength, it would probably be aura though. With E rated fire magic, he could set fire to entire fields. E rated strength would help him fell ten men with each blow and lift at least fifteen tonnes. With E rated aura, he wouldn't even need to touch his enemies directly, he could cut through a hundred from a distance", he said breathlessly.

From his mind, Brandr saw scenes of powerful 'adventurers' in battles with equally powerful monsters whilst Thorn looked on. To his surprise, many of these battles were happening in a dungeon.

I can see that you have some parameters that I don't.

"You can see my parameters?" Thorn asked, surprised at first. "Oh, of course, I'm sort of your familiar now, aren't I?"

"If you do not have a certain parameter show up on your screen then it means that you do not qualify to be rated in that parameter."

"I see", Brandr intoned. His eyes scanned over some of the parameters listed on the two screens. Some were self-evident. No one needed to tell him what strength, intellect and power were. Some, however, were not so easy to understand. Take vitality for instance. He didn't have it but Thorn did. What exactly did it measure? His health? His lifespan? Stamina? Wanting to know more, he asked Thorn.

"Vitality is basically your ability to recover from injury or adverse effects. It also represents your lifeforce", the sprite told him.

A worrying thought struck Brandr. If VIT was the ability to recover from damage and he had none to speak of didn't that mean that should his new body suffer any damage, he would perish? That was a chilling thought.