“Yet magic is no more than the art of employing consciously invisible means to produce visible effects."

~ W. Somerset Maugham

POV - Tad

Ahhhh. I sighed. Some closure. The MC had triumphed. But it was bittersweet. All unrequited love and whatnot. It wasn’t really a book I would have chosen to read but I felt the richer for it nevertheless.

W. Somerset Maugham was indeed a master of prose. His characterisations were vivid and engaging, with even the side characters being fleshed out. Straightway I knew this was going to be a tragedy. And, yes while a tragic story, there were sufficient twists which surprised and enriched the drama and most importantly there was that glimmer of hope as the story wound down.

Life goes on. So many stories just finish. Bang. And that is that. But the characters live on. Even if just in the imaginations of the readers. Providing that whisper of hope at the end was just what I needed.

To my dismay, it was the antagonist that was the titular Magician. And he was one of the most enthralling and dastardly of villains I had ever encountered. And magic was depicted as being darker and more occultish than I had hoped. That was somewhat depressing. I had however, been totally enthralled with the MC twist. It was wonderful. Unknowable and mysterious. And completely surprising. That was worth reading the book for just in itself.

My memory of certain phrases the System had highlighted was also intriguing. I could see there were clear parallels with how Magic was described and the Stats of the System. I recalled the phrase that had impressed me the most.

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

Memory. That recollection of the past. Of experiences of the journey travelled so far. And there was the sense that this extended past that of just the individual. There was the collective memory of the Species. Our combined heritage, so to speak, the gestalt of the weight of Humanese experience distilled from every tribe and tongue and nation. From every age and generation. The scope was breathtaking.

Ha. And I found myself thinking in Systemese. I really liked this term; Humanese. It encompassed all of us. There were no races, no nationalities or languages to divide and separate and clash. We were so small and insignificant in the scheme of the Multiverse. We were all Humans. And together our combined memories were powerful. They were enabling and empowering. Yes, Memory was important. We could learn lessons from our past. And we were not doomed to repeat them. No, we had agency. Self determination. And our memories were more than powerful. They were a touchstone. I was impressed. I would delve into my memories. Yes, I would develop my Memory to the fullest extent possible.

I moved on to considering the second attribute. Intelligence. If memory looked back, intelligence was more forward looking. Intelligence was what distinguished us from animal sentience, what made us sapient, why we were called wise. Ha, I knew lots of unwise people. But that was beside the point.

Intelligence allowed us to take disparate pieces of information, stimuli, from Memory and of the world around us and then draw conclusions. To form opinions, posit hypotheses and then test and refine. Intelligence was so crucial for our vaulted scientific process. With Intelligence we had formed vast civilisations, conquered diseases, ventured into space and extended our lifespans. It was thrilling to consider all we, even as base Tier H humans, had achieved.

And Intelligence was needed for Magic. Magic was not the antithesis of science. No, Magic was an extension of science. While currently unknowable and mysterious we could now delve into Magic. We could engage our Intelligence and interrogate and extrapolate and explore all that Magic was and all it offered as much or as little as we desired. We were poised on the very edge of a vast and new horizon. One the System had opened up to us. Yes, Intelligence was crucial. This was no dump Stat. No. Magic was not dumb. It was not just waving a wand or mumbling some spell. It was fully engaging. With layers and shades and complexities just crying out to be explored and exploited.

And then there was Imagination. This was the central Stat. This is what we drew on to enter the mysteries of Magic. Harnessing the power of our Memories and the vision of our Intellect and binding them together in some new and fantastical way. This is why the System had highlighted all those famous fiction authors. Fiction was, at its very essence, an exercising of the imagination, of extending our consciousness into the vast and exciting world of possibilities. Of potential. Of wonder and power.

And this was real. Rather than dismiss our imaginations as mere flights of fancy, dreams and escapism, our Imagination unlocked Magic. It allowed us to look behind the physical, the mundane, and the known to explore and manipulate the unseen. The hidden fabric and mechanics that formed our reality. What was unseen formed what was seen. This was a truth we knew already, examining the atom, even the subatomic structures of matter. Magic simply took this one step further, manipulating the causation of such invisible phenomena for magical results.

My Soul was buzzing.

My Mind was spinning.

My Stats were spamming. Yay! Blue Boxes!

[Dings] resounded in my consciousness.

Congratulations!

You have been endowed with 2 MEM Bonus Stat points.

As your Mana is unlocked you may allocate to your Mind Stats as you desire.

Congratulations!

You have been endowed with 4 INT Bonus Stat points.

As your Mana is unlocked you may allocate to your Mind Stats as you desire.

Congratulations!

You have been endowed with 4 IMA Bonus Stat points.

As your Mana is unlocked you may allocate to your Mind Stats as you desire.

Fabulous. Reading just one book, and then [Advanced Meditating] on the insights had netted me ten Stat points. Hmmmm. My Memory had underperformed. But, hey that didn’t matter, I could distribute them as I saw fit seeing I had unlocked my Mind Stats.

Come to think of it, it had been a while since I had checked my Character Sheet. I pulled it up to see how I had grown.

NAME:

Tad

Blank

SPECIES:

TIER:

Human

G

XP:

EXP:

170375

16179/17038

LVL:

1**

CAPPED**

MINION:

Nige

[Expand]

CON:

1721.07HP

[Expand]

WIS:

276.29MP

[Expand]

KAR:

1537.14/1647.14E (17% Reserved)

[Expand]

LUC:

5.6

+0.05 on Loot/Drop rolls

Unassigned Stat Points:

Total Stat Points:

14

267.99

+14

+66.12

SKILLS:

(Unlocked)

Rage

Deception

(Active)

Dodge

Advanced Meditation

Observation

Inspect

Basic Cultivation

Run

Dream

Mana Sight

(Proficiency)

[Novice]

[Journeyman]

[Novice]

[Apprentice]

[Novice]

[Novice]

[Novice]

[Novice]

CLASS SKILLS:

Prospect

Delve

Mine

[Novice]

[Novice]

[Novice]

ACCOLADES:

Exemplar

PATHS:

SOLO

NPC

PERKS:

Gallifreudian Slip

TITLES:

Pertinacious

Black Swan Survivor

Audacious Pioneer

Paragon

AWARDS:

Atelophobia Award

Precocious Award

Pestiferous Award

Oh! Wow! I had gained over 66 Stat points since I last checked. That was much more than I had expected. That was fantastic. Paragon added nearly 30 stats just by itself and I hadn’t even ascended any Levels or Planes.

I reviewed the Reward that the Paragon Title awarded just to revel in its awesomeness. This was my best Title in terms of Stats.

Paragon:

Title Effects:

Title Effect 1: +10% +20% to every Stat.

Title Effect 2: +1% +2% to every Stat for each subsequent personal Level you increase.

Title Effect 3: +1% +2%to every Stat for each subsequent System Level you ascend.

This was fantastic. My Black Swan coin had doubled the rewards and as they were percentages this had a massive impact. And as I ascended I would be getting double what everyone else who had received the Title would be getting. Not only that, I had obtained it at Level 1 and on Plane 1. I was guessing this was a serious outlier. If I got to, no, I stopped and corrected myself. When I got to Level 50 it would be +100% to every single Stat. At Level 100, +200%. This was outstanding. I was basically going to get the Level 100 reward at Level 50. This was incredible. I was Captain Tad.

But this didn’t mean I would relax. No, far from it. I was just getting started. I expanded the individual attribute categories to just familiarise myself with their composition.

[Body] Stats:

CON: 1721.07HP

[Constitution Unlocked]

>STR:

23.53

Level Stat Cap

9

Base Stats

9*

Bonus Stats

4

Cumulative Stats

13

Gear Stats

0

Applied Modifiers

10.53

Exempt Stats

14.53

>STA:

61.82

Level Stat Cap

9

Base Stats

9*

Bonus Stats

13

Cumulative Stats

22

Gear Stats

0

Applied Modifiers

39.82

Exempt Stats

52.82

>AGI:

32.15

Level Stat Cap

9

Base Stats

9*

Bonus Stats

4

Cumulative Stats

13

Gear Stats

2

Applied Modifiers

19.15

Exempt Stats

23.15

[Mind] Stats:

WIS: 276.29MP [10 unassigned Stats]

[Wisdom Unlocked]

>MEM:

13.1

Level Stat Cap

9

Base Stats

9*

Bonus Stats

1

Cumulative Stats

10

Gear Stats

0

Applied Modifiers

3.1

Exempt Stats

4.1

>IMA:

18.34

Level Stat Cap

9

Base Stats

9*

Bonus Stats

5

Cumulative Stats

14

Gear Stats

0

Applied Modifiers

4.34

Exempt Stats

9.34

>INT:

17.03

Level Stat Cap

9

Base Stats

9*

Bonus Stats

4

Cumulative Stats

13

Gear Stats

0

Applied Modifiers

4.03

Exempt Stats

8.03

[Soul] Stats:

KAR: 1537.14/1647.14E [4 unassigned Stats]

[Karma Unlocked]

>CHA:

17.03

Level Stat Cap

9

Base Stats

9*

Bonus Stats

4

Cumulative Stats

13

Gear Stats

0

Applied Modifiers

4.03

Exempt Stats

8.03

>SPI:

48.36

Level Stat Cap

9

Base Stats

9*

Bonus Stats

22

Cumulative Stats

31

Gear Stats

0

Applied Modifiers

17.36

Exempt Stats

39.36

>HON:

17.03

Level Stat Cap

9

Base Stats

9*

Bonus Stats

4

Cumulative Stats

13

Gear Stats

0

Applied Modifiers

4.03

Exempt Stats

8.03

Okay. I was pretty pleased with my status. From what I could work out, based on what Nige had told me regarding Levels and Stat caps I was the equivalent of around a Level 15 participant. That was Bronze Tier. I needed to make a plan. What were the pros and cons of leveling up vs just boosting my Stats? Was there any advantage in not assigning the free Stats? Hmmm. Perhaps I will just...

My musings were interrupted. The kits had finished cooking up all the clams. Say what? I had bought 2 dozen. And they were bakers dozens too. That was like hmmm… I ran some quick calculations; 1040XP.

I inspected them both. They were Level 2. Okay. Ssrah is going to get a bigger surprise than I thought. We needed to have a sit down and talk about Stat distribution and Character build.

The twins picked up on my seriousness.

~Attentive~

~Inquisitive~

Their big blue eyes followed me intently as I paced. I didn’t want them to spend their points just willy-nilly. But I also did not know enough about their Species strengths and weaknesses. I really wanted Ssrah’s input. As their Aunty I was responsible for them. I was going to do my best.

A sudden thought struck me.

“Will your Mum be cross with me helping you level up?”

~Denial.~

~Overhappyed.~

Well that is good. I had another thought. “Did you request clams because they were your favourite food or because they would help you level up?”

~Yes.~

Okay. Probably best to keep questions a little simpler.

The kits sensed I wasn’t overly satisfied with their blanket affirmation.

~XP.~

~Still like taste too.~

~Hot buttered better but.~

~Yum.~

~You want your ones?~

Two pairs of hopeful eyes tracked me.

“You've already cooked them all?”

~Affirmation.~

~Ours gone.~

I looked over at the campfire. Huh, there were just three buttered clams sitting there. And yes, I was hungry. I sat down to my repast. The kits had polished off 23 clams already. Unbelievable. And they were watching me eat. I savoured the taste. They had done a really good job. Better than I had in fact. Perhaps it was that food always tastes better when you weren't the one preparing it? They tracked my every move. I sighed, and gave them the last two clams. I was such a sucker for big blue eyes, and despite getting even bigger again with their Level-up, the kits were still super-duper cute.

I dug into my pack and got out an OSM bar. Somehow this didn’t compare with freshly cooked buttered clam. But hey, it was still nice.

My favourite even - chocolate.

Both of the kiddos stopped eating to look at me.

~Chocolate?~