Quest Complete

My exhale was less comfortable. The cold slammed into me. I found myself standing below the tree where I had met Horatio in his bird form, while the wolves had been feasting. The hind’s gristly remains had frozen solid while time had passed and the wolves had eaten their fill and moved on. Horatio had said he would pause the Sim though, or at least slowed it down somewhat. Only a couple of hours had passed since I was last here, at the most.

The pellet that the owl had regurgitated was glowing golden beside me. I mentally adjusted my clothing to suit the new environment, felt the slight draw on my mana and then it was done. Wearing the right gear in cold conditions cannot be overstated. I had a much more cheery outlook on accomplishing this Sim with my new arsenal of spells and knowledge. I stooped to pick up the golden pellet and immediately a pop-up box appeared.

Mini-quest: Saving the Elk's Calf, Part 2 completed

By studying with the Elder Elves for a time, you have been equipped with an abundance of knowledge. How will you use it?

Quest Complete.

You have received a Ring of Storing

You have received a Staff of Illuminous upgrade

You have received a Cloak of Darkness

You have received Boots of Stealth

Select Yes to equip them now? Y/N (If you select no, the items will be kept within the Ring of Storing and can be equipped once you wear the ring and call them forth.)

I selected YES and found myself the proud new owner of a dark auburn cloak which seemed to have a surreal living quality about it. The sheen had a velvety texture with rivulets of red veins streaming throughout, each thread grasping actively at shadows and pulling them even deeper within.

Wearing it, I felt my vision obscured slightly as if I had passed from standing in sunshine to huddling within a dark shadow. It was similar to wearing a gillie-suit but not nearly so constricting.

Upon my feet were two brand new boots. Similar to what I had worn throughout my military career, but these had craftsmanship unlike anything I had ever seen. The leather was thin, supple, and they had a dull sheen. There were no shoelaces, velcro or buckles. They simply conformed to my feet like a good pair of loafers. Yet the suede feel and texture seemed to rebuff the snow I was standing in without absorbing it. I stamped my feet to get a better feel of them and heard barely a whisper as my feet connected with the compact snow beneath.

Taking the test further I kicked at the tree trunks about me and heard more noise from the shuddering branches and dropping clumps of snow than from where my kicks had landed. These were definitely magical stealth boots.

Upon my right index finger sat a plain black ring carved out of solid stone or metal. It wasn’t shiny, instead, it seemed to suck up light and if I held my hand up it appeared as if my digit was severed and levitating slightly above the stump. Concentrating I felt the ring with my mind and could discern it was an empty void. Somehow it had been crafted as an empty space that needed filling.

Experimentally I willed my boots, cloak and staff within it, then willed them back out. With this gear, I was smiling like I had won the jackpot. How cool was this to be fitted with such items? I was so OP (overpowered), the rewards for this were out of this world.

Lastly, I looked at my trusty staff. The prompt had said it was an upgrade. It looked exactly the same and yet felt more solid, weightier. Perhaps it had metal inserted within it. I willed it to morph into my favorite Katana and with a slight drain on my mana it changed. Although this time I could definitely feel the weight of the sword was different. Not unbalanced, but definitely heavier than I recalled. I willed it back to staff form and tried to look at it with my mind. What I found within took my breath away.

Five jewels, each as big as my thumbnail had been inserted within the structure of the staff. They were the five colors of magic. If I had to guess their function, it would be that the gems were repositories of magical mana to enhance my own magical abilities. How much and for how long they could help me I had no idea but the gem fragments were large and so I guessed they would contain fairly large mana reserves. Intuitively, I tapped into them and gasped aloud as each contained 5000 mana. I wasn’t just OP, I was MegaOP. I would have to thank Prince Horatio when I saw him again. These gifts were more than I had ever wanted or expected.

It also left me thinking about my mission and what I had to accomplish. These gifts, like the gifts from the Absinthe, had strings attached. I would have to make sure I delivered on my end.

So began my journey to conquer Canada Sim. Over the next few days, I made my way around and over the mountain that had been obscuring the beacon. Each day I reveled in the discoveries in how to push my magic further and use it in more complicated ways. It was lonely though, and I often wished there was someone I could share the discoveries with or just shout joyously together with someone to celebrate in my accomplishments.

I tried communicating with Grant a few times and while he seemed enthusiastic. I felt as if he was always distracted, and so I didn’t get the sense of camaraderie I had experienced with Horatio or any of the other people from the ASS unit. I also spend a lot of time thinking about what other name we could give ourselves that didn’t paint us as a foolish outfit. Not that I had anything against donkeys; it was just that as a tactical intergalactic military force; We had no business confusing people with our acronyms.

The terrain was difficult and challenging, and the predators within the Sim were definitely on the prowl. I met a few brown bears which I calmed with a Calm Beast spell and left them to their own devices, a wolf pack decided I was dinner one night but a few Fire flares and a Fireball left them in no doubt that dinner was best served rare, and preferably any place but where I was.

I ate mostly rabbit caught the old-fashioned snare way and had a few partridges I shot down on the wing but found that the lightning spell overcooked them and the fireball spell left nothing worth eating. The cure poison spell came in handy after eating some berries that disagreed with me, however all-in-all it was a good time to get my thoughts in order and become accustomed to my new abilities. At last on the sixth day, I reached the crest of a hill and found a large rock that my inner compass had been directing me towards. With a wistful look around the magnificent landscape, I reached out a hand and found myself transported directly to the level up room. A tone reverberated throughout the room.

Ding, Ding, Ding!

You have leveled up!

You have leveled up!

You have leveled up!

…this continued and at the end of the notifications, I was now at level 14. You have reached level 14.

Your diligence, your search for truth, and your steadfast approach to challenges have improved all your skills across the board. Each skill will increase between 3 to 5 points, depending on their use. In addition, you have acquired new skills.

Animal Husbandry

Caring for critters has costly demands, but as this skill improves, perhaps you will find the rewards you seek. Starting skill Level 10. Increased to level 13.

Alchemy

An interest in the world around you has enhanced your ability to identify animal and plant life constituents. You are more able to combine these items to create something advantageous and beneficial, or detrimental and destructive. Starting skill level 6. Increased to level 11.

Lucid Languages

An ability to communicate in multiple languages. This talent will grow as you meet new languages.

Weapon Specialization

Your chosen weapon appears to be the Katana. Your previous knowledge and training combined with its abundant use in your current training regime has brought this skill to the fore. Increased to level 17.

*Take note: You have been limited to 3 weapon slots - use them wisely

Inwardly I sighed, I knew this was an ever-changing list of skills that tried to attribute points to depict abilities I had gained. It was tedious that almost every single skill had to be listed and individually tallied. How would I ever be able to select skills and upgrade them according to what I needed? It seemed as if the points were attributed automatically though. The prompts continued:

You have magical skill points to distribute. Would you like to add them now?

Y/N

The words “Magical skill points” were highlighted and so when I looked at them more intensely a pop-up appeared with a description:

Magical skill/attribute points are a numerical value of your ability within each area of magical craft.

I was quite surprised that I had leveled up nine levels since Nico Sim. It had been a steep learning curve, but I had had a lot of help along the way. I would have to discuss this situation with Grant. I didn’t want to be given the streamlined version of training just for the expediency of the situation. It was not my intention to shirk any of the challenges and I wanted to get the most benefit I could in any given Sim that could translate into real life benefits.

I looked at the avatar I had become in the Level-up room. The figure no longer pulsed from one type of class to another to signify a Prodigy. Instead, it was a replica of myself as I was now. Denims, cloak, boots. Beneath the cloak was a down parka jacket. The eye of Horus symbol pulsed goldenly on my forehead. I really hoped it wasn’t visible on my real forehead. I reached for the pillar before the effigy and as my hand conformed to the handle, the pentagon symbol appeared. All this time in the back of my mind I had been wondering why it was a pentagon instead of a pentagram, but then I realized that the pentagram would interfere with the yin-yang symbol within the pentagon. So I guessed it was an issue of functionality over form.

Each corner of the pentagon had the color corresponding to the five colors of magic. At those corners was a number, which I guessed was my ability score in that particular magic school. Additionally, within the yin-yang symbol were other numbers. The white tear, the black tear shape and each dot within those tears had a number. It was all quite confusing. Below the pictogram was the list of spells I knew and since nothing had changed there, I focused on the pictogram of the pentagon. Willing it to form a list. With a swirl and a chime, it adjusted to my preference. I loved this interface. Windows and Apple could learn a lot from these guys, I thought wistfully.

Fire (Red Ruby Lodestone affinity)

Fire is the essence of combustion. Fire magic will spring from this font.

Your fire magical skill has been enhanced from 0 to level 13

Nature (Green Emerald Lodestone affinity)

Nature is the essence of growth. Natural Druid magic will spring from this font.

Your Druid magical skill has been enhanced from level 0 to level 11

Air (Saffron Lodestone affinity)

The Air is the essence of gas and weather cycles. Air magic will spring from this font.

Your Air skill has been enhanced from level 0 to level 8

Aqua (Blue Sapphire Lodestone affinity)

Water is the essence of life, Aqua magic will spring from this font.

Your Aqua magical skill has been enhanced from level 0 to level 7

Metal (Mercurial Lodestone affinity)

Metal is the essence of resilience. Metal, mining, power and forge Magic will spring from this font.

Your metal power magic has been enhanced from level 0 to level 3

Secondary Tier Magics

Light Magic (External)

A unique combination of the five primary magical elements. Healing magic springs from this font.

Your light magic ability has been enhanced from level 0 to level 10

Light Magic (Internal)

An intuitive combination of the five primary magical elements based exclusively on internal mana pool size and willpower. There are no definitive spells within the realm of your mind, only results. Your intelligence and wisdom feature strongly in this ability.

Your Internal light magical ability has been enhanced from level 0 to level 25.

Dark Magic (External)

Dark magic is a powerful and in some places forbidden ability that concerns the realm of death and the energies associated with pain and rituals in the world around you. It combines the five primary elements as well as the sixth element of magical properties called the dark or shadow.

Your dark magical ability has been enhanced from level 0 to level 3.

Dark Magic (Internal)

An intuitive combination of all primary magic’s that concerns the realm of death and the energies associated with pain and suffering internally. During your life you have met with much suffering and pain. Your ability to harness it internally and manipulate the outcome will increase this ability.

Your Internal dark magical ability has been enhanced from level 0 to level 6

After reading through the list, a notification chimed, and a voice rang out.

You have reached the Apprentice level in Light Magic (Internal).

Congratulations!

The notifications continued:

You have leveled up nine levels, thus accruing 18 skill points to distribute across your magical levels plus an additional bonus of 15 magical skill points for reaching Apprentice level in one of the Secondary Tier magic.

Please note that Secondary Tier Levels cost two points per skill level.

I willed the superfluous explanations away to see the raw data.

Tier 1 Magical ability

Fire 13

Nature 11

Air 8

Aqua 7

Metal 3

Tier 2 Magical ability

Light (External) 10

Light (Internal) 25

Dark (External) 3

Dark (Internal) 6

Points to distribute: 18 (+Bonus 15 points)

Total 33 (*Note: Tier 2 magic requires 2 points per level)

I thought about the spells I knew and what would be useful in various environments. If I had more of a choice, I would learn more offensive spells. You just can’t have enough firepower. On the other hand, more powerful spells meant more mana drain. I was lacking in the Metal magical skills and the Dark magical skills. Both of which could prove useful. Especially considering that the enemy would most likely be students of dark energy, it would be a good idea to know what they could do.

I thought about it for a while and did some adjustments. Realizing that I didn’t have enough to balance out my scores much, so I tried to be tricky and take a gamble to see if it worked. I adjusted Fire to level 25 in the hope to get an additional 15 points bonus for reaching Apprentice level and ding-ding, sure enough, it awarded me not the 15 points I expected, but 10 points. I had given 12 points to Fire and now had an additional 10 points, giving me a total of 31 points to distribute. It turned out I got less because Tier 1 is not as difficult to level up as Tier 2.

I took some more time to distribute the points. While the gamble hadn’t worked out exactly as I wanted, it did give me some extra points to play with. At last satisfied with the changes and the fact that I had not been given any pain during the process I had a last glance over the table:

Tier 1 Magical ability

Fire 25

Nature 15

Air 15

Aqua 11

Metal 11

Tier 2 Magical ability

Light (External) 10

Light (Internal) 25

Dark (External) 5

Dark (Internal) 8

Your abilities have been adjusted.

Logout Y/N?

I chose yes and darkness shrouded my vision. Only to appear in my prison upon Grant’s alien ship.