[Blazing Spear] dealt 28 damage! Enemy defeated! Experience rewarded! P-System Log

Ooh. I knew what to expect this time, and it still feels so great. Wow. I wonder where I can invest this W Inertia. Last time, I used it all on the [Magic Missile], and it leveled it up. If I do the same thing for [Blazing Spear], a rare class spell, will it actually level up all the way?

Hero's Personal Log 006

Hm. Interesting thing to note here is that [Magic Missile], a supposedly more common spell than the one I just used, did nearly twice the damage. Sure, it was on a critical hit, which I don't actually know the multiplier for--come to think of it, it might not even be a multiplier, but I'm going to assume it is. When I was getting destroyed by that wolf's [Bite] earlier, I noticed that the damage being dealt was varying. Given that the skill up I got told me that I was increasing a spell's output by 2R4 damage (equivalent of 2d4? maybe? R could also be a mathematical operation, unsure), I think it's reasonable to assume that the damage here is being done with some kind of roll. Damage rolls aren't unfamiliar to me, at least. Perhaps this means that my [Magic Missile] got a really high roll combined with a crit, while [Blazing Spear] got a super low roll?

Oh, I also overcharged my [Magic Missile]. That might have had something to do with it. I felt like if I dumped any more mana into that spell, it would've broken or dissolved away. I didn't overcharge my second spell, so I guess that lends credence to the idea that overcharging increases damage. Good to know.

P-System Log

Woah. Wasn't expecting that.

Maybe I was giving Jerome too little credit. He sounds a lot smarter in his own head than he did when he was talking about me, though maybe that's just because he was talking about stats. I used to love RPGs, so I can feel the obsession with stats, but Jerome is taking it just a little beyond what I think I would.

Oh, hey. I can probably actually ask him what he wants to do with this W Inertia.

Well, I need to figure out what I can do with it first. I have a general idea, thanks to the first activation of my new skill, but I'd like to try a couple things first.

First of all: can I determine how much W Inertia I actually have?

I don't want to examine my entire status sheet. I'm just going to focus on that ecstatic feeling coursing through me and...

Current W Inertia: 38338 [+6] P-System Log

Alright. Not that much overflow, but I know how to regenerate it now. Or, well, I can't regenerate it, but Jerome sure can. I can afford to spend a little more beyond just the overflow now that there's a certain way to increase W Inertia.

First order of business, removing that overflow. I can figure out what to do with the rest later.

I'm going to do the same thing as I did for [Magic Missile]. Begin the shaping of [Blazing Spear], wrap it with W Inertia...

P-System Log

Huh. Okay, it didn't level up this time. I'm... not totally sure if it actually did anything? If I had to guess, I would say that I invested W Inertia but not enough to level it up? Either that, or [W%M;G,P] decided to not notify me, but the info I got from the first activation of the skill tells me that it's probably going to be a while still before it stops helping me.

Hm. I wonder. Can I [Assess]--no, I can't, activating that skill is exclusive to the Integrated--can I assess with my innate perception abilities and examine how much I did?

I'm not sure how I can do that, but I'd imagine focusing on the skill slot will do the trick. My only skill did something. Conversion of W Inertia, perhaps? Whatever it was, I think I've got a better passive perception of Jerome's stats then before. I don't even need to think about his status sheet to perceive the spot that holds the skills.

Here we go. Can my pseudo-[Assess] work its magic and give me that unnecessary detail like it did with a literal door earlier?

No other way to find out.

[Blazing Spear lv. 1] Stat Value XP 61/80 Damage 6R5+4 Mana Cost 22 Overcharge Multiplier (max) 1.5 Cost Multiplier 18% Range 15 meters P-System Log Lots of information there, and for once I can actually understand it. Huh. I wonder if this or something like this will show up once Jerome here gets his [Assess] up high enough. Aster had a [Greater Assess], which I want to assume is an advanced version of [Assess] and not a different form, so maybe there's equivalents for the [Rare], [Epic], and [Legendary] levels. I doubt there would be a [Unique] form of [Assess], but everything's possible, I suppose. Hero's Personal Log 007

After a little more time, I don't think I feel any different. No levels gained, no change to my spell... maybe I just didn't earn enough XP from killing the second slime.

Oh well. I'm still not sure what my new spells do, and bringing up my status menu is doing no good. Can I just [Assess] it?

[Assess] activating! Skill identified: [Blazing Spear lv. 1] You may summon a spear of flame and energy to strike at your opponent. P-System Log Man, that's lame. I'm gonna toss this guy a bone. P-System Message

[Blazing Spear lv. 1]

Damage: 6R5+4

Cost: 22 mana

Range: 15 meters

Hero's Personal Log 008

Damn. So this Aster chick wasn't lying, huh? Looks like my System really did get upgraded. Those were definitely two different messages, which means that the System is expanding on its own information.

Excellent. I wonder if I can ask it questions.

P-System Message

Response: entering questions in your Personal Log may allow for responses.

Clarification: not every question will warrant a response. Not every question has a response.

P-System Log

Hmm. I hope that sounded officially System-like enough. I feel a lot more comfortable doing this than I did at the thought of introducing myself to him. Talking to new people was hard enough for me, but talking to a new person that I'm apparently eternally stuck to? No thanks.

And it's not like he's going to respond immediately. Aster just dragged him into a conversation, which makes sense because he was just kind of standing there like an idiot.

Aster: I noticed increased mana activity for a bit after your spell. Has your System begun?

Jerome: I believe it has.

Aster: Excellent. If I remember correctly, your mana capacity is quite high. Thus, we shall continue with the next steps.

Jerome: Next steps?

Aster: Come with me. As the village Master, it is my duty to instruct new reincarnators. Axel, you are excused.

And here we go again!

Walking, walking, walking...

I'm getting more used to the perception. It's not quite sight, that's for sure, but I'm getting something pretty close to it. I can sense the colors and feel of the grass that we're walking through, which is nice. Coarser than the stuff we have at home. Well, not home anymore. This is where we're at now, I think.

Oh, something's different up ahead. The meadow cuts away into a cave-looking thing. All dark grey stone. It... doesn't feel like it should be there, honestly. The line between the meadow and the cave is less of a gradient and more of an utterly sudden swap. Like it got transplanted here forcibly rather than forming naturally from surrounding rock. Adding on to the artificial feeling, there's a solid wooden door implanted into the side, which by all means should lead straight into stone.

Aster: Go on.

Jerome: What is this?

Aster: Poor choice of words, reincarnator. Surely you must understand basic etiquette? Why ask someone else to discover what an object is when you can do it yourself?

Jerome: Ah, fuck, right. Alright.

Aster: At any length, we'll be entering here to begin your training.

Jerome: ...alright then.

Jerome (whispering): I guess a little bit of leveling won't hurt.

Aster: Have you figured out what this is yet?

Jerome: One second.

[Assess] activating! Integrated identified: Maplecrest Dungeon [Village Core lv. 7]