Mature Content: None really :)

Author's Note: This is a somewhat lengthier chapter and involves a discussion about the nature of the world and how people interact in it. A lot of 'system stuff' is explained, so it's talk heavy. Anyway, I won't be updating again until Monday or Tuesday since I will be out of town over the weekend. Those among you who are waiting patiently for a Galataea update will find it come Monday, Tuesday at the latest. :)

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Chapter 17.3: Special Movies

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Scott sighed softly then shook his head. No matter what he did, he could not shake the fact that Sonja was so much stronger than him that it was pathetic. He had been forced to acknowledge that his half-assed measures would not be enough simply by taking a look at a real warrior’s status.

The blond bombshell bounced up and down in her seat as the men on television continued to go at it. She had been glued to the screen since the moment that she had discovered professional wrestling.

“Oh, no way! There is no way that could have knocked you out.” she shook her head then laughed. The male fighters were certainly violent and knew how to talk trash, but their technique was terrible. It was like they were only pretending to fight.

He watched her as she watched fake wrestling. “Was that all I was doing? Was I just pretending to fight?”

Scott frowned. He had no real skill to speak of, only the minor bit of information that acquiring his skills had granted him, even allowed him to properly hold a sword. Without such knowledge it would have been impossible to cast a spell, either.

Sonja’s everyday life was that of a trained warrior, a fighter from birth. The little dragon shook his head once more. The question he had to answer was, “What would he do about it?”

“Magic is my main power and talent. I can learn it several times faster than a normal mage. My bonuses to combat would make even my secondary combat skills develop at primary rates.” Scott worked things out in his head and spoke them aloud. When a commercial came on, Sonja turned around and smiled at him.

“What’s my special little fella thinking about?” she asked sweetly.

“A lot of things.” he said.

“Such as?” she asked softly.

Scott shook his head. “Nothing too serious. I was just wondering about my life and training.”

Sonja stood up and walked over to him then hopped up on the counter with him. “You’re still unsettled aren’t you?”

“You can tell?”

She smiled gently then nodded. “It’s normal. Humans are usually afraid of supernatural creatures since even with lots of training they can barely keep up.”

“But... I’m not human anymore.”

She reached down and scratched him on the chest. Scott blinked then glanced back to see his back foot start to scratch at the air involuntarily. His left eye widened then he snorted.

“You’re a dragon, but you’re also a baby. You have amazing ability compared to the base stats of the average human, but compared to the average mage or warrior you are barely capable of holding your own.” she said.

“Thank you for captioning my pain, woman.” said Scott.

“You’re welcome man. Rather, dragon.” she said in a cheeky fashion.

He chuckled sadly then shook his head. “What do I do about it, though? Even with my development bonuses it took you a lifetime to each your current state.”

“True, but that is mostly because I have had to keep my level low, due to being an unwed maiden.” she said.

“Hmm?” he asked intelligently.

She smiled at him. “Shall I tell you about skill development, and a bit about my people?”

“Yes, please do.”

“OK, a few basic things first.” she said.

“Alright.”

Sonja took a breath then smiled prettily. She raised one finger into the air then began to speak. “Your racial level determines many things, such as the speed of your skill development. However, it is only of secondary importance.”

Scott grinned at her attempt to sound like some sort of pompous professor. Where had she learned to act like that?

“As my grandmother often said, a well-trained warrior trains their skills first and then their level.” she said.

“OK.” said Scott.

Sonja smiled at him. “Generally speaking, there is a rule to go by. Humans typically use the three-to-five rule, but of course Valkyries like to go the six-to-nine route.”

“Six-to-nine... how, intriguing.” said Scott in a curious and interested tone of voice.

She laughed then scratched his chest a little more. “It is, is it?”

“Yes, I think so.” Scott willed his back leg to stop scratching futilely at the air.

“Well, what is relates to is skill training. That is how many skill levels you should have in your primary combat skills per racial level.”

“Really? But none of your skills were over one hundred.” If she was supposed to gain nine skill levels per race level she was a bit short of the mark.

She flinched then looked away. “Yes, I know. As I said, I am a little weak for my level.”

Scott immediately felt like an asshole. As a slave she had not been granted as much time to train as she would have normally had. Hell, he had not really granted her such time since he had thought that increasing their racial levels was more important.

“I’m sorry...”

“It’s OK, and it is true.”

Scott reached over and patted her on the thigh. “You’re awesome Sonja.”

The top of her nose became tinged with pink. “Thank you...”

There was a brief, awkward, silence. Once it passed Sonja spoke again. “The low end of that rule is difficult to achieve and takes a little effort. The high end is only reached by those who are extremely dedicated. If you increase your race level it makes it easier to reach a higher skill level.”

“So, I should be able to quickly increase my skill levels till they are around twenty?” asked Scott.

“At least! Though with your race you could probably go for at least what my race does if not a little higher with some skills. I don’t really know what your bonuses are but all dragons are good with magic and physical combat.”

Scott nodded. “That makes sense I suppose. My dark magic skill increased several levels in only an hour.”

“That’s wonderful! Yes, you should definitely shoot for six-to-nine instead of three-to-five.” said Sonja.

“So, my dark magic skill should actually be in the fifties or sixties according to my level?” asked Scott.

“Yeah, at least that high. You’re a mage and a dragon, so that is definitely something that you should work on. A dragon at your level should be a lot strong, a lot stronger than you are now.”

Scott thought about that, and nodded. If a real dragon from that world were compared to him, they would have at least another hundred points or more in their spirit stat than he did. His vitality should at minimum be thirty points higher and his weapon attack would be sixty points higher. He only studied the sword, so he would not have all of the warrior bonuses that Sonja did. At the moment, his bonuses would mostly be centered on spirit.

He did a little half-assed calculation then widened his eyes. “Damn, if I had been training my magic like you train your weapons, my spirit rating would look like your vitality!”

Sonja laughed at him. “Yeah, probably. Your little Jolt spell would probably kill a human warrior around your level in one or two casts. The only other dragon that I saw personally was a hatchling like you, though it was red and it was about level twenty. An entire human town militia was called out to deal with it and it still slaughtered a lot of them before it was forced to flee.

”Whoa? Was the militia weak?” he asked in surprise.

“No way, I’ve never heard of a single town guard who wasn’t at least level forty unless they were just candidates in training.” said Sonja.

“How would they fare against you?”

She rubbed her chin. “Well, that would depend on how dedicated they were to their training, but on the low-end of average we would be fairly similar.”

“So, you have the strength of a level forty human guard?” asked Scott.

Sonja sighed. “Yeah, rub it in... My mother would be ashamed.”

Scott patted her on the thigh once more. “It’s OK. I’ll always think of you as being equal to a level fifty guard in my heart.”

She snorted them bumped him with her elbow. “Talk smack when you can swing a sword better than a mewling infant.”

“Hmm, but my sword skills and armor skills don’t seem to be increasing quickly.” he said.

“How many armed opponents have you fought?” she asked curiously.

“None, other than the zombies.” he said.

“Well, there you go. When we go back to my world, I’ll spar with you some more. If I take the time to challenge you without crushing you quickly, you’ll be able to raise your level at a decent enough pace.” she said.

“Interesting, so is that why my heavy armor skill hasn’t increased much? I’m not fighting weapon wielders?”

Sonja shrugged. “Maybe, or are you just not getting hit enough? You do know that to increase your armor ability you have to get hit or avoid hits. Light armor is for avoidance, heavy is for taking hits.”

“Wait, are you saying that to increase my armor skill I need to let things beat the crap out of me?” asked Scott with a shocked expression.

“It’s alright master. I’ll beat the crap out of you every day if you like.” said Sonja.

“Gee, you’re always thinking about me, aren’t you.” said Scott sarcastically.

She smiled gently. “Yes, of late I believe I am.”

Scott blinked then looked down toward the counter-top. She was nothing if not consistent about her desires.

“Hey, Sonja.... How high do the levels go?” He had been curious about that for quite a while. He had heard many things, but who really knew?

“Highest I’ve ever seen is my grandmother. She’s one hundred forty. She’s told me that she has met people, gods, and monsters higher level than that, but after one hundred you’re pretty much considered a lesser god anyway. Few humans live to see one hundred.”

“So, leveling slows down more after a while?” he asked.

“Oh, absolutely. It slows to a crawl right around the time they stop giving skill points.” she said.

“So, you do stop getting skill points at a certain level?” he asked.

“Yeah, they start to slack off around fifteen, then at thirty, and stop all together after forty.” she said.

That was good to know. “So, is there another way to get them, or are you stuck with the skills that you have?”

“Sure, just increase your skill levels. Every twenty-five levels gives you a skill point. I’m pretty sure that’s where the name skill point comes from in the first place. Humans and a few of the other races also have an extra option.” said Sonja.

“Humans have another option?” asked Scott. Had he screwed himself in the long run by taking his race change?

“Sure, so do you and I. At level forty someone can visit the shrine of whatever god they worship and if that deity finds them worthy, they will be given a life quest.” said Sonja.

“A life quest?” asked Scott.

She nodded to him then said, “Yes, if they complete it, they get something like bonus stats per level or more skill points. Sometimes they get special skills. I hear the same thing happens at one hundred if they make it that far.”

Scott scratched his chin. So, there was a way for humans to not be totally outclassed but it was through achievements and not just by birth. That was good. Of course, by the time that such a thing became useful they would have no access to this world anyway.

“You’re knowledgeable about various things.” said Scott.

She laughed. “This is all common knowledge where I am from.”

Scott chuckled softly. “Hey, if everyone has stats like that, how strong are the monsters?”

Sonja shrugged. “Depends on the monster. The stuff we have been fighting are the sorts of things small children play with to learn how to wield a sword or dodge a weak attack.”

“Gee, emasculate me some more why don’t you.”

She patted him softly on the side. “There, there, mighty beast. You’ll have a proper roar someday.”

Scott proffered her a sour expression. “Thank you for the support.”

She laughed softly then pointed at him. “Now, if you want to fight proper monsters you should know that they are around level twenty or higher.”

“Twenty? How strong is one of them?” he asked. The closest thing he had seen was a boss monster named the Big Daddy Scorpion.

“Depends on whether they are common monsters or elite monsters.” she said.

“How can you tell?” he asked.

“Elite monsters have a star rating, one to nine, or an infinity symbol. Stay away from the last one, they’re considered god monsters.”

“Oh! That scorpion was a one star elite monster...” said Scott.

“The one you defeated in the mine?” asked Sonja with a tilt of her head.

“Yeah.” said Scott.

“Yes, sounds about right. That one would probably have been at least twice as tough as a normal giant scorpion of its level.” she said.

Scott winced. Even half of that things power would have been a somewhat tough fight for him as he was now. He was lucky to have managed to survive it as a human. “What about a nine star scorpion?”

“They double each time, so about five hundred or so times stronger. God tier monsters are typically twice that so a thousand times stronger more or less, often more.”

“A god-tier giant scorpion of that level would have been one thousand times stronger? How are people even alive on that world?”

“We train!” she said with excitement and passion.

“Can’t the monsters train?” he asked.

“Not really. Some supernatural monsters, like you, can. Most just have absurdly high stats compared to a mortal race.”

“I see, so how hard would say a level twenty, one star, giant scorpion be for you to beat?” asked Scott.

Sonja tilted her head then bit her lower lip. She nodded twice then said, “Well, scorpions have strong defense, and moderate durability. Health wise they are mediocre, though. As long as I don’t get poisoned I could probably take one out in a dozen strikes or less. Maybe one good critical hit, but it would need to be really good.”

“Basically, my epic boss monster fight was your common training day?” he asked.

“Sounds like it. Though, if you had the proper training it would have been a similar experience for you.” she admitted.

“Then I need to train hard.” he said.

“Good. I’ll be happy to show you the ways of the world, master.” she said with a smile.

“I’m still a little surprised that it would take you five hits to kill that monster, with your attack power.” he said.

“Hmm? Well, you do know that you don’t actually do that much damage with every strike? That it’s just maximum potential damage, not counting critical hits?”

“No, I did not know that. How does all of that work?” he asked. Hopefully she knew. He had been dying to find real information on how things operated.

“Oh, you did not even know that much? No wonder...” said Sonja.

Scott sighed then nodded. It was true. He had no idea how things worked.

“Right then, basically your strength determines how much force you can put into a blow. You can’t see that in your status screen but yours should be quite high.” she said.

“Alright... and then?” he asked.

“I’m getting there... Well, someone with average strength can use up to thirty percent of their weapon attack power on normal strikes. The attack stat of a weapon is added in for all strikes.”

“An average person only does thirty percent of their weapon attack?” asked Scott.

“On normal strikes, yes. They can usually do up to that much. A stronger person can do more of their weapon attack, but it also depends on race. You are far stronger than a human, but probably only average for a dragon hatchling.”

“Right, need to work on that...” he said.

Sonja grinned at him then said, “If you take your time you can line up a perfect strike you may be able to generate all of your attacking power at once. They are hard to pull off in a fight as most opponents move around.”

“From what you’ve said, it’s basically the more effort I put into the strike, the closer I come to my full weapon attack rating?” he asked.

“Exactly. A naturally stronger person can put a bit more force into their strikes with less effort, but ultimately nothing but a critical hit or a special move will do more damage than your weapon attack stat plus your weapon’s actual attack rating.”

“Why does it all combine though? How can knowing several weapons make all of your weapons hit harder?” he asked curiously.

“Hmm? Oh, you mean why does weapon attack go up with every weapon skill you learn?” she asked.

“Yes.” he said.

“Weapon Attack is a spiritual thing, just like the other stats. Basically it’s your will to inflict physical damage on something. So, think of it as your offensive will power. Learning multiple weapons will grant you a higher will to kill, so to speak.”

“All of the stats are spiritual in nature?” asked Scott. He had learned so much already, and this was definitely news.

“Yes, any visible stat is spiritual in nature. Even the stats on weapons and armor count as spiritual. Think of it as a force, a resonance. You have a vitality force, an attack force, a force that absorbs attacks, a force that blocks attacks... and so on.” she said.

“So, durability is like my will to withstand damage, and defense is my will to block it outright?” he asked.

“Yes! It is the power of your will made manifest through training and battle.” she said.

“Why doesn’t my defense stat combine for my armor then?” he asked.

“Defense doesn’t work that way. Durability is derived from it though. Defense is directly related to equipment or your level. Mostly only supernatural creatures and monsters have a natural defense stat.”

“I see. That sort of makes sense. Defense blocks damage but does not stack because it belongs to items or my level.”

“Right. Wearing a chest plate doesn’t protect your legs any better, does it?” she asked.

“You make a good point.” admitted Scott. He thought about her words then asked, “Your natural defense is higher than some of my armor pieces.”

She nodded. “Yes, such is the power of a supernatural creature. My race gains a few points with every level.”

“Wow, bullets will bounce right off you.” he said.

“I don’t know much about bullets, but a high-level Valkyrie can have a higher defense rating naked than many heavily armored humans have with premium grade enchanted armor.”

“No wonder you didn’t care if you fought wearing nothing but an apron.” said Scott.

Sonja tittered softly then nodded. “Sometimes I miss that apron. It was quite freeing.”

He smiled at her, but the smile faded slightly after a moment. “I wonder why I don’t have natural defense.”

“Maybe your level is too low? Dragons are known to have soft scales when they are low-level. It’s one of the only times of life that it is easy to kill one of your kind.” said Sonja.

Scott nodded his little dragon head then said, “It all comes back to training and level, huh.”

Sonja lightly ran her hand over the top of his head then smiled. “Yes, that’s how it goes.”

The dragon and his Valkyrie continued to talk for quite some time. There were many more things to learn, and many plans to be made. Now that he had a ready source of information regarding how the world worked, he could begin to train in earnest.