“I have to admit, I didn’t think you would get through the week Arn. I mean, you were always dogged solving those puzzles, but you would blubber like a baby, a giant, enormous baby, whenever we tried to get you to do any physical exertion.” Arn sputtered, “that is not fair! I was afraid of…” Elder Dannis interrupted, “yes, afraid. Exactly. Of pretty much everything. Except puzzles. And now look at you! Wrestling wargs like they are puppies giving kisses! A week of *real* training, no more fun and games like before, another hunt, and you’ll be ready. The villagers are really talking about you Arn! I even heard some of the children talking about you being a Titan of Legend! That kind of talk will spread like wildfire at the Festival, you’ll have to fend off groups with a stick! And maybe some girls as well, eh? Are you excited about starting some real training?”

Arn bit his tongue, or tried too. “Sure. Hoo boy, sounds like good times. What is up first, scorpion swallowing, or wyvern cuddling?” Elder Dannis chuckled, “fresh out, but don’t worry, I have something special planned to power level you the last few days. You’ll make some coin as well. Uh…you can swim right? Yes, yes, how could I forget teaching you to float. You shrieked like a banshee, ‘I’m going to drown, I’m going to drown.’ Ha, well, can’t be worse than wargs, right? But enough about that, first lets spend those attribute points, then TRAINING! Lets see the attributes one more time Arn.”

Attributes:

Constitution: 16

Dexterity 8

Strength: 8

Intelligence: 9

Will: 9

Charisma: 6

Arn stared at the 9 in Will, not remembering gaining a point. I guess not running away screaming while being repeatedly stabbed and eaten takes will. Dannis chortled, “ah very good, last week may not have been fun. Not for you anyway; Joshua seemed in high spirits. But it was worth it, no one gains this much in a week without spending level up attributes! I knew you were stubborn as a mule when you were a babe, the way you shrieked when your mother tried to wean you! Ha!”

Dannis paused, lost in thought. “Nine wisdom and nine intelligence, don’t know why I didn’t see it before. Well, first things first, crank both intelligence and wisdom to 10!”

Arn stuttered, “what? Elder I have a combat class.” Elder Dannis took off his spectacles and simply stared at Arn. “Do you know how many soldiers I trained boy? You go thinking that damn class gives you everything you need and you’ll die just as quick as the rest of the fools we had over the years with a legendary class. Did I tell you about The Siren? I knew her when she was just a camp follower, beautiful girl and the things she could…um, anyway, when she sang she lured beasts to her in a trance, stabbed them, gained levels like you wouldn’t believe. She got to believing she could walk on water, forgot what her class was, and more importantly, what it wasn’t. One day she called a drake, and not a little one. Charmed it up ok, minor miracle in and of itself. Didn’t wait for the men to tie it down though, just drew her dagger and stabbed it in the eye. Broke the charm and the drake bit her head clean off. Real shame, that girl could… Anyway, listen dang it. Your class does NOT give you everything you need. Now shut your trap and bump intelligence and wisdom to 10.”

Arn gulped, and did so.

Intelligence raised to 10.

Congratulations, you may now unlock Mana!

Wisdom raised to 10.

Congratulations, you may now unlock the skill Focus!

Dannis continued, “ok, now go ahead and spend two points grabbing focus and mana and I’ll explain why you just spent four points this way.” Arn did so, “done. I got an Achievement for unlocking mana?" Elder Dannis nodded. “Yep. Its just like stamina once its unlocked. The value is hidden, but will increase with intelligence, level and hard work. Just like with stamina, when you use mana you'll know when you are getting tired." Dannis paused. "Ok, so listen up. You are never going to be a mage and call down a firestorm to barbecue an army, right? But mana will allow you to close up a lot of the weaknesses of your class. Most combat classers don’t take it because they don’t start at nine intelligence. And also because it’s a pain in the backside to train up to where it is useful without getting handed free skills. But you are stubborn as a mule to begin with, and also you just took Focus, which is one of the best skills out there. Focus allows you to concentrate better, ignore distractions. Every spell caster gets it early, and every master archer gets it eventually. But the reality is that it allows you to do every single flipping thing better and learn faster to boot. The Siren used to say that no one else could…”

Arn chuckled and tried to jar the Elder from his memories, “you’ll have to tell us all about her at the next campfire sing along. So Focus is great, I get it. What about mana?” Dannis snorted, “give an old man a break. You live to get this old, living in your memories is where the action is. Well, there and the bathtub. Anyway, most combat classers can’t even think about taking Focus because of the cost, but at two points it’s an absolute steal. You’ll thank me one day. If you live long enough of course.”

“I’ll thank you now Elder. That makes a lot of sense. Who doesn’t want to cast spells?”

Dannis snorted. “Boy, your about as close to being a Titan as you are to casting spells. Don’t thank me now because in three months when you are on some hunt getting your face chewed off and these four points aren’t doing jack, you are going to be ticked at me. But…” Dannis dug through the massive disorganized piles on his desk, knocking more than a few things onto the ground before pulling out a book and holding it in the air like he was showing off a newborn child. “You won’t cast spells, but you treat this book like you did your puzzle books, and you’ll pick up all sorts of useful tricks. Light, for example. You put in the work, and you’ll be able to blind enemies. Nothing most mages bother with, but for you, blinding an enemy might save your life when you have already used your Scream. And a dozen other things. None will come easy. But you work at it like a dog with a bone, I know you will, and you’ll have a toolbox. You won’t be limited to just your class, and maybe, just maybe, you don’t die stupid like the Siren.”

For all his stories and supposed achievements, it was easy to think that the Elder was a bit of a buffoon, and Arn had certainly been guilty of that from time to time. But sitting with him now, Arn had the sense he was sitting before a legendary commander and trainer of heroes, and inched towards the end of his seat hanging on the Elder’s next pearl of wisdom…and was treated to the up close view of a serious nose picking; more of an expedition really. As Arn considered starting the book or sneaking off, Elder Dannis finally resumed speaking, “anyway, your attributes. Your never going to have the dexterity to fight like some fancy pants duelist. That isn’t your class. You need to get in close, take hits if you have too and stab it till its dead. So lets see, you have 8 points left, put 6 in strength, 2 in dexterity.”

Arn nodded. “One last question then, why put so much in strength today, I’m at 8 now. I’ll never get the last two points from training right?” Dannis smiled. “Arn, what we did is amazing, but it gets slower as you go. No one can just rush to 10 strength and dexterity from training alone, not even you. You are looking at a long road to get those last free points even if you don’t put any more points in now. Anyway, every big city has training facilities for people with high strength, and out in the wilderness, you can always find a big rock or something. You’ll get the points eventually. But right now, I need you to get a sense of what it is going to be like out there by training with your attributes up.”

Arn nodded, “got it.” Dannis chuckled evilly, “all righty then! Time for you to head to the training field and get sliced and diced. Wouldn’t want you going soft!”

As Arn headed out, Dannis reflected on the horror show he had already put the boy through, and the week to come. It’s for his own good. If I let him go without this kind of training, what chance would he have? I’m not sure whether he is toughening up or going a little nuts, but at least he won’t head off thinking he is a hero just because his crazy class is “legendary”.

Arn: Level Three Revenant

Attributes:

Constitution: 16

Dexterity 10 (+2)

Strength: 14 (+6)

Intelligence: 10 (+1)

Will: 10 (+2)

Charisma: 8

Skills:

Block (4)

Death’s Scream (1)

Dodge (4)

Pain Resistance (5) (+1)

Focus (1)

Achievements:

Survivor

Tasty!

Mana

Masochist