Memory, intelligence and imagination are magic powers that everyone possesses; and whoever knows how to develop them to their fullest extent is a magician.

~ W. Somerset Maugham

(System Adaptation)

POV - Tad

We were happy campers. That first night had passed in a twinkling of an eye. I hadn’t had a wink of sleep. Which, while it didn’t impact my physical state, was a bit of a bother because I wanted to [Dream] up some new Skills. The twins had rested while I was incessantly grinding my Stamina star jumping, but I had not stopped. It had all been go, go, go.

Once we had discovered that clams were a bit of an XP treasure trove I set off back to the shop and bought some more.

A lot more.

And a big tub to soak them in.

Garlic, butter, rock salt and a random mix of herbs and spices. Heh, I didn’t know what I was doing but at least I knew more than the kits. I was going to introduce them to the joys of fine dining. To hitherto unknown gastronomical delights. And probably some total disasters too. But hey, that was part of the fun.

Our campfire expired. I set up the next one straightaway. We campers had a plan. We were busy as bees. We were cooking up a storm. I pillaged and butchered a Forrest Gump saying. ‘Tad’s cooking’s like a plate of clams, you never know what you’re going to get’. And that was my cooking skills alright. The results were remarkable. Either remarkably terrible or remarkable in that they weren’t as bad as the previous disaster. The kits entered into the spirit of discovery with great gusto. We all took turns trying out different combos, with two of us watching the reaction of the intrepid taste tester avidly.

There was obviously a knack to preparing garlic clams that I did not have and too much salt was real bad. But the buttered clams were great. We all had seconds and thirds. The kits had fourths and fifths and sixths as well. They didn’t level up again but it was just a matter of time. This was going to work fine until they levelled up to Level 3. Then we would need to find either a source of higher level clams or take a penalty on the XP. Pfftttt. Problems for another time. We would probably be sick of clams by then anyway.

As it was, we were all happy and satiated. And it was only a matter of time and I would unlock a [Cooking] skill of some sort. Then there would be a dilemma because I definitely was taking it. Enjoying good food is one of the pleasures of life and being cast upon my own resources, it was up to me to provide it.

I didn’t contribute to the slaying of the clams. Sadly this was not quite the loophole I had first thought it would be. I earnt XP from the victory but not Stats. And Levels were all related back to your Stats. This was not really a glitched shortcut to Ascension that I had hoped. It worked for the kits because they weren’t participants yet. Monsters had a more direct relationship in terms of levelling and they obviously didn’t need a safe place to Level-up. I was somewhat jealous.

I frowned to myself. Wasn’t one of the headings in my guide pamphlet ‘Slayer’? How did that work if XP was just a diluted source of EXP? I pulled out the Arise pamphlet and opened the explanation of the Slayer route.

Achieve Rule Influence Slay Explore Slay

Defeat your enemies in battle. Test your mettle and vanquish your foes.

The greater the challenge the greater the potential rewards.

While often a solo route, the Slayer can also party up and share in the rewards of the group.

All rewards are weighted based on the level of the highest member of the Party and adjusted based on contribution.

Note: A large disparity in Party member Levels is counter-productive.

Powerlevelling/shepherding/boosting is strongly discouraged. Each participant shall rise on their own merits. Deliberate flouting of this principle may result in sanctions and penalties being imposed on all parties involved.

You have been warned.

A Slayer will improve the Stats that are exercised in battle. In addition possible Unaspected Stats may be allocated based on victory conditions.

Hmmmm. There was a lot to digest. Luckily I was already in my comfortable digestive pose. As were the Otteens. In fact they looked almost too full to move, lolling comfortably against each other by the fire on my bedroll. This was altogether most enjoyable.

And looking at the Slayer advice, it seemed the System was some sort of Meritocracy. And it didn’t want people to game the mechanics by free riding on the coattails of a high levelled party member. Ah well, that wasn’t a problem for me. We were all Level 1.

On a whim I tried to party up with Dozer.

ERROR!

You cannot Party up with a Monster.

The System has seeded each Level of your Species’ Pylon with Monsters that are designed to challenge and temper you as you ascend.

They are foes not friends.

The System recommends allocating more Stat points to INT urgently.

Oh that’s okay. I was fine with the solo route. Stupid snarky System. It wasn’t me that had failed an INT check. Not even recognising that one of its own denizens had achieved sapience. Duh, major fail!

Another phrase caught my eye. Each Level of our Species’ Pylon. That sounded like a Tower climb. Hmmm. I had to admit it was somewhat confusing with my personal Levels and then the System Levels, which apparently were contained in our own Human Pylon. I needed a better word for one of these types of Levels. Hmmm. Maybe each Plane of our Pylon? Planes of Power? Potency? Puissance? I had the very strong suspicion that each new Plane was more dense in energy, with stronger Monsters and better opportunities for growth. Having been in the Dump and seeing what unregulated Essence was like, I realised how carefully controlled the System was managing the amount of free ambient Essence.

I triggered [Mana Sight]. Nope. Nada. Zip. How was I going to level this Skill up when I couldn’t perceive any Mana or Essence? This was worrying.

And calling it a Pylon. Not a tower. Hmmmm. That insinuated a level of interconnectedness that concept of a free standing tower lacked. Presumably, each sapient species was in their own Pylon.

I paused. Except for me. I was in Pylon 1352. And I had claimed the whole Level. The whole Plane I mean. And a whole new opportunity to ascend. The rest of humanity was ascending Pylon 7912. I wonder how high they have ascended already.

And the Pylons were connected by… I paused again, waiting for my intuition and my imagination to kick in. By bridges? By portals? By rifts or dungeons or wormholes? I tasted the flavour of each of these terms. Hmmm. There was some resonance but not definitive enough to form a proper hypothesis. I would need to meditate on this some more.

I wonder how many other Species we have already met. What was our Reputation like? Were other Species friendly or were we at war? Was there trade? There were hundreds of questions rattling around in my brain. I knew so little. There was so much to be discovered. It was so hard to want to do everything at once. I should really make a list. Prioritise. Strategize. Make a five point action plan.

Hmmm. That was a good idea. I had ripped that one off Ssrah. All credit to her.

Point 1 on my list.

Make a list. There. Done. I could tick that off. Point 1; tick. That was the secret of making lists. Include the easy stuff. The low lying fruit. It was super uplifting being able to tick things off. And that was good enough for today. I needed more down time. To relax. To consolidate. To ensure I didn’t go stir crazy. Hmmm. That could be Point 2. Double win.

Or at least, not go more stir crazy.

And let’s cross off Point 2 before we get too overloaded already. I put my list making to one side and made myself comfortable on this awesome deckchair I had purchased. On sale even. And the best thing was it collapsed down small enough I could slide it into my Bucket of Awesomeness.

I pulled out my book.

Ahhhh. I settled in for a good read. Well fed. Good book. What more did I need. I was fully satisfied. Yes, happy and satiated indeed.

The Magician. Ahhhh...I breathed out, savoring the moment.

By W. Somerset Maugham.

Finally.

I felt that familiar relaxation of anticipation as I opened up the first page. The willing suspension of disbelief as a new world is laid out before me. I had a touch of Déjà vu.

Arthur Burdon and Dr Porhoët walked in silence. They had lunched at a restaurant in the Boulevard Saint Michel, and were sauntering now in the gardens of the Luxembourg. Dr Porhoët walked with stooping shoulders, his hands behind him. He beheld the scene with the eyes of the many painters who have sought by means of the most charming garden in Paris to express their sense of beauty. The grass was scattered with the fallen leaves, but their wan decay little served to give a touch of nature to the artifice of all besides.

Oh, I hadn’t realised how much I had missed reading. Of escaping into a different world. A world of wonder and mystery. Of magic and all things fantastical. And now, even when I was in such a world already, there was that wonderful sense of anticipation, of amazement and expectancy as my horizons were expanded and my imaginations engaged.

And W. Somerset Maugham was a true wordsmith. With elegant elegancy he introduced the characters. I do so hope that I was being introduced to the Main Character first. This Arthur Burdon or Dr Porhoët. It was always so jarring when it turns out that who you thought was the MC turns out to be a minor bit part or, even worse, a Red Shirt, to be disposed of in a most careless way.

As I lost myself in my story, entering this new unknown world and investing in the characters and their interactions and adventures I realised that this was in fact my true Point 1. The absolute top of my list.

Learning Magic. It always had been.

And this was excellent.

I was crossing off my top point for the third time in just as many minutes.

Talk about over achieving.

I was legendary.

Well, at least at list making.

But that was just the start.