3.01

“They grow up so fast.” - High King Edwards the Oft Overthrown.

I passed through the dream, walking through the Paths available to me.

A dozen of them were shown, yet I could only pick one.

“What counts as an ally for symbiosis?” I asked the older myconid.

Symbiosis, the power to give your abilities to others in the form of long-lasting buffs. I was eyeing a supportive playstyle ever since I realised that my Sporages could store healing spells so long as they were spore based. Which made the ability absurd in a team setting.

“Any willing target, it does not necessarily have to be an ‘ally’, however you understand that it is best that whoever you place symbiosis on doesn’t immediately try to kill you with their newfound strength,” it answered evenly.

With a hand, I tipped up my cap, revealing the two lights nestled in the folds, “Do these count?”

The myconid raised an eyebrow, “They can be targeted, and they are with will,” it replied vaguely.

That sounded like confirmation. “I’ll take Symbiosis then."

“Got it,” the trainer said, “just touch the crystal and you can get started.”

I did, and a message box popped in front of me.

Do you wish to follow the path of Symbiosis?

Symbiosis, the path of beneficial relationships. When working with others, you both benefit.

Y/N

“Yes,”

You have chosen Symbiosis as your Primary path.

Select at least three new class skills or upgrades to Learn.

The message said, and dozens of options appeared before me. I did a quick scroll through. The options were varied, but I decided I needed to begin by rounding out my existing abilities first. Two upgrades for Sporage. One allowing Sporages to be detonated by allies if they were attached to it, very tempting but unlikely to be useful in the immediate future. I don't have any buffing spore type spells yet. So instead I opted for the other option.

Sporage Proximity Upgrade

You obtain the option to have Sporages let out a thin layer of mycelium around it that acts as a pressure detector. When sufficient weight is applied to any part of the fungus, the Sporage will explode.

Which pretty much turned them into mines. It'll remove the annoying visual aspect to the ability and free me up as well. There was another upgrade that interested me.

Bracken Polypores Class Skill

Unlocked due to Bark Skin spell.

A species of symbiotic fungus are seeded underneath your skin. They rely on you for food and in return can instantly grow into durable mycelium plates that can cover your entire body. The hardness and weight may vary depending on how much Satiety you feed them at any moment. Will gain defensive bonuses if used in conjunction with Bark Skin.

Unlocked due to Bark Skin, something I'll have to take note of. Next time I'm here I need to make sure all my spell slots were filled. Assuming it was the same with aura techniques, I'll need to tell Matt as well.

“What are the defensive bonuses for this?” I asked the trainer. “When used with Bark Skin.”

“For one, two layers of protection you can activate at any moment with no extra weight. But the answers you're looking for, is that they become extremely difficult to rip off.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“A danger of these things is that they are rather easy to take off when all that's holding them onto you is a few strands of mycelium and a layer of skin,” it answered evenly, “and personally, I would rather not an enemy rip pieces of my skin off along with my armour.”

That does sound unpleasant, and a point against taking them. Getting this while I already have Bark Skin would be redundant-

“Another benefit, you'll be protected from the sun.”

My eyes widened, that must mean Sun Sickness worked based on how much skin is exposed to the sun.

“Sun Sickness works by how much of your bare body is exposed to light," the myconid confirmed, "Cloth and fabric can achieve the same effect but a bit of light always leaks through. This and Bark Skin happen to have enough to shield you for prolonged periods.”

A point for then. I briefly considered just taking the information and buying a really thick jacket instead of the skill. But I'd still need to cover my cap somehow, which might as well be a solar panel with well it soaked up sunlight, the extra defense would be appreciated. My low agility and build made it so that it would be best to turn fights into endurance matches instead of quick blasts.

“I’ll take it,” I decided.

Now for my final skill. I hadn’t chosen a supportive skill yet. Having gotten caught up with quality of life upgrades.

I scrolled through the options, landing on a new skill based on the wisps.

“This will do nicely.”

“That was quick,” Matt exclaimed as I returned.

I raised an eyebrow, “Was it?” I took my sweet time going through the selections after all. There were a lot of fun ones too, like making zombies or creating parasitic mushrooms, however, the activation conditions for those were annoying to deal with, and I needed to figure out if undead were some kind of taboo first.

“Yeah, I pretty much logged out and came back immediately,” he replied.

“Huh, must’ve been time dilation,” I replied.

“Probably,” Matt shrugged.

Figures, most VRMMO’s used that mechanic, Matt and I have probably clocked three to four years in accelerated time already.

Matt gestured to the tiny figures peeking under my cap, “Those are new.”

I slightly inclined my head back, revealing them to Matt. Only about fifteen or so centimeters each, they were pretty much miniature versions of a myconid. Yellow and green-capped respectively with a similarly glowing face as I did.

The two wisps waved their new arms at Matt, letting out tiny chirping sounds which I interpreted as greetings.

“They said hi,” I said, mentally directing them out of my cap and to find a perch on my shoulder.

“Huh, hello I guess,” Matt replied, lightly poking one on the nose, “these were an option?”

“Not originally,” I said, “Matt when you go to get your class upgrade or path or whatever, make sure you gather a shit ton of stuff in-game first.”

He raised an eyebrow in questioning.

“New options were unlocked for me depending on my current build,” I answered, “I got these two as an upgrade to my Sporage ability, which was only unlocked because of a specific path I picked and the fact I tamed them earlier. There were other options too,” I continued, “like two different DPS Paths or like four Paths just for making minions.

“Huh, you gotta tell me all about that,” Matt said.

“Later,” I replied, “let's see this Indiri first.”

He nodded, and we both touched the crystal.

There was a lot of spinning, a bunch of bright lights, before sudden darkness.

I opened my eyes, before rubbing them a bit, the finger accidentally poking the inside of my empty eyehole before I remembered that whatever I used to see, it sure as hell weren’t physical eyes.

“This is the Indiri place?” Matt said beside me, apparently also dizzied by the experience.

God… the ability to make a person sense anything and they have the teleportation be that epilepsy inducing crap.

I took a good look around. We were in a dark alley, cobblestone flooring and brick walls on the sides. A closed door next to us, a dead-end behind us. The alley curved to the right ahead of us, some daylight streaming in. The shadows passing by and the sound of chatter told me there was a sizable crowd past there.

You have entered Indiri, to the Port City of Shallow Shores, Bartin.

Character Sheet updated.

Do you wish to take a short tutorial quest introducing the nearby locations?

Note: This will be the only time a quest is directly offered by the system, objectives will occur naturally in the world, it will be your job to find them.

“Say yes,” I said aloud, assuming that Matt also got the same message.

“Yes,” Matt muttered behind me as I accepted the quest as well.

‘Character sheet.’

Name: Dustin

Classes: Fungalmancer Level 3

Body

Strength: 8

Agility: 7

Dexterity: 6

Constitution: 18

Stamina: 10

Vitality: 12

Mind

Intelligence: 13

Wisdom: 18

Charisma: 6

Soul

Will: 10

Aura: 10

Perception: 10

3 Stat Points available.

Racials:

Superior Darkvision, Fungal Body, Sun Sickness, Mana Dependency, Pacifying Spores, Innate Magic

Class Skills:

Fungalmancer:

Path: Symbiosis (NEW)

Grow Sporage (Visual): You may create a mushroom capable of storing a Spore based spell. These Sporages can be activated on visual contact. They glow faintly and last your myconid level in hours. Grow Sporage (Proximity): Upgrade to Grow Sporage. You obtain the option to grow Sporages with a different activation type. The sporage lets out a thin layer of mycelium around it that acts as a pressure detector. When sufficient weight is applied to any part of the fungus, the Sporage will explode. You and targets of Symbiosis do not detonate these Sporages. Sporage Wisp Symbiosis: Wisps have lived comfortably in your cap and have created a wonderful home there, now to teach them the wonders of rent. You may create pygmy myconid bodies for your non-corporeal Wisps to inhabit. They are considered tiny creatures and are capable of following simple commands. They possess all the qualities of Sporage, however, they can choose to self-detonate. Bracken Polypores: A species of symbiotic fungus are seeded underneath your skin. They rely on you for food and in return can instantly grow into durable mycelium plates that can cover your entire body. The hardness and weight may vary depending on how much Satiety you feed them at any moment. Will gain defensive bonuses if used in conjunction with Bark Skin.

Spells:

T0: Balm Spores, Spore Lights, Sneezing Spores, Acid Spit

T1: Mushroom Meal, Poison Spores

T2: Bark Skin

Available Spell Slots:

T0: 2

T1: 1

Languages: (NEW)

Common

Undercommon

Equipment:

Leather Armour - One HP Potion - One MP Potion - Basic Wooden Staff - Two Basic Daggers - Herbalism Kit

Backpack - Tinder Box - Mess Kit - 50 days worth of rations

8 Gold Coins

Quests:

Explore Bartin (Active)

Impact Points: 7

“We’re in a safe zone it seems,” I said, scrolling through my character sheet, “menus are still accessible.”

I put a single point into intelligence and closed the sheet. Best to start saving those points.

I bent down to pick up the two wisps who were still sitting dazed on the floor, their comically oversized caps spinning in small circles.

Tucking them back under the folds of my cap, I stood back up, “Let’s go then.”

“What about the sun?” Matt asked.

I activated my other class skill, “Already dealt with.”

The fungus rooted in my head sucked up my energy quickly, and I began feeling a small ache in my abdomen which I instinctively knew as hunger.

Dozens of brown, plate-like fungus began growing out of my cap, extending a good few centimeters each, initially, they grew perfectly horizontally, however once fully grown they all started inclining downward. Each overlapping each other, together they formed a wide conical hat connected to my actual cap.

“You grew a hat?” Matt said, eyebrow raised and thoroughly unimpressed.

“Not just a hat,” I replied, taking out a handful of bark, “Barkskin.”

“It’s another upgrade for my spell Barkskin,” I explained as bark-covered my skin. “I could grow them anywhere on my body, and they not only help block out the sun but also act as armour.”

Considering my high constitution, this natural armour which I can call upon at any time and how damage works, I was currently probably one of the hardest to kill players.

If I invested an intelligence point every level, combined with my passively growing wisdom, I wouldn’t have to worry too much about my mana pool or my mana debuff, and since my defences were pretty much already maxed out for my level, I could start saving points to raise my lower stats like agility or dexterity. The current goal was to get all my stats to ten.

“Come on,” I said, opening up the quest details with a free hand, “let’s explore.”

“Didja hear? Mast came back from the ford…”

Matt glanced around the bustling tavern. Idly sipping some kind of drink. Heavy orange taste, though it was bitter as well.

The quest was just a basic go from point A to B type of quest, explore the city, see some sights. It was oddly… normal. Matt expected things to be slightly grander, more interesting for one of the most realistic virtual worlds he’s ever been in. It only took them half a day to finish the quest, and they were now chilling in some tavern. Declan- Dustin, Matt corrected himself, was sitting across from him, unsuccessfully trying to peel a boiled prawn.

Matt grabbed one from the bowl between them, claw-like nails easily digging into the shell, smoothly pulling off the carapace. Dustin let out a grunt of annoyance, as he unsuccessfully tried to jam stubby fingers in between the pieces.

Matt dabbed his snack in some white sauce. Sour, he thought as he munched on the prawn, but not horribly so.

He heard Dustin let out a final groan of frustration, before he dipped an unpeeled and mangled prawn into the sauce between them, then ate it. Shell and all.

Matt raised an eyebrow, hearing the loud crunching noises coming from his friend's mouth, “Ew.”

“Plebeian,” Dustin replied whilst chewing. “You can’t even enjoy the delicacy of shells.”

“I’d like to keep my teeth, thank you very much,” Matt dryly replied as he grabbed another prawn.

Dustin huffed, then threw another prawn into his mouth. He paused, then began writing something down on a notebook with a charcoal pencil, both of which were bought earlier.

Matt focused around him, listening in to the conversations around them.

“... the fishfolk are acting up…”

“... and the serpent was this large…”

“... goblins to the southeast again…”

“... sale of calamari at old man Gibson's place…”

Matt glanced at the notebook Dustin was writing in, noting that it wasn’t written in English, but a language he instinctively knew as Common.

Matt began idly tapping the table.

Information gathering. Always one of the first steps. Matt has seen the same tune over dozens of games and knew the drill by now.

Sure it was the smart thing to do, but not necessarily the ‘fun’ thing. He itched to move around, to test the limits of this body. That tutorial was great, he cut some dudes in half and got several knives to the gut. Good times.

“Ever going to do something about the rats?” Matt idly asked, not really expecting an answer. Doing so more out of boredom than anything else.

“Not really,” Dustin said. “A little bit of communication between players is enough to realise that the rats are trying to incite PvP. The question is why they are doing this, and why they expect to fail.”

Matt raised an eyebrow, “Fail?”

“If they are smart enough to plan out this whole thing, then they should realise that this PvP thing is doomed to fail.”

“Are you sure you’re not overthinking it?” Matt asked.

Dustin tsked in annoyance, “Maybe,” he conceded, “but on the very likely chance I am not, then this is just the opening move, something should be coming after. If it is nothing, we probably won’t benefit much from pursuing it anyway, if it is something, then going in first without information is just turning ourselves into guinea pigs.”

‘Ahhh,’ Matt mentally sighed. There it was. That cautious playstyle that popped out whenever he was tryharding. The need to know all possible options before choosing the safest one. To be in the background assembling his win condition. There wasn’t anything wrong with that necessarily, but it was boring as hell. Worlds to explore and he’ll spend his time in gringy taverns or libraries if Matt didn’t drag him out.

Dustin tore out a page in his notebook and passed it to Matt.

He took it with a raised eyebrow, quickly glancing over the page. Then squinted a bit as he brought the note closer for inspection. The handwriting was… utterly terrible, Matt needed a moment to fully comprehend what was written on it.

It was a list: mercenary fighter, odd jobs, merchant.

“This is?” Matt asked.

“A source of income,” Dustin replied. “You pick which one you want, I don’t mind doing any-”

“Mercenary,” Matt instantly replied.

“Figured you’ll pick that,” Dustin said. “Finish eating then, we need to register with the Guild.”