Aster quickly sat up, the towel on his forehead dropping into his lap, not believing what he was reading. ‘I have magic?’ He quickly opened his profile up.

Name: Aster

Surname: Seppen

Title: Party Goer

Age: 19

Gender: Man

Race: Half Winter Elf Half Airelian Human

Level: 20 (103,341/118,000)

Attributes

[100 points Remaining]

Strength: 24 ⇧

Dexterity: 41 ⇧

[+16 from Equipment]

Constitution: 21 ⇧

Intelligence: 48 ⇧

Wisdom: 31 ⇧

Charisma: 29 ⇧

Luck: 13

Willpower: 15

Karma: 13

Resources

Health: 210/210

Regen: 2.1/minute

Stamina: 410/410

Regen: 2.1/minute

Mana: 480/480

Regen: 3.1/minute

Qi: 310/310

Inspiration: 94/240

Favor: 57/290

Affinities

Air: 0%

Earth: 0%

Fire: 10%

Water: 0%

Ice: 0%

Lightning: 0%

Metal: 0%

Wood: 0%

Dark: 0%

Death: 0%

Life: 0%

Light: 0%

Blood: 0%

Illusion: 0%

Song: 0%

Covenant: 0%

Gravity: 0%

Spacial: 0%

Spirit: 100%

Time: Unknown

Aster was speechless, there it was. He had two elemental affinities now. Two Blessings. He had shot up to level 20 which was amazing by itself and finally gained attributes points. There were little arrows next to his Strength, Dex, Con, Int, Wis and Charisma attributes now but he didn’t allocate anything yet. It looked like all those years of hard work, of struggling, of always being dozens of steps behind, were finally paying off.

He looked over at Saelak, unable to find the words to express himself and was surprised to see the elf staring at him, offering a small pocket mirror to him before whispering, “Your mark…”

Aster took the small mirror and looked at his reflection, staring in awe at the symbol in the center of his brow. Three light purple circles forming an upside down triangle with a small darker circle toward the center of each with another pale violet circle inside those, the symbol for Spirit. To the upper right of that was also a small red flame, the symbol for fire. Then he noticed the tears silently streaming down his face which explained why it was getting harder for him to see his new marks and he couldn’t help from rocking forward into Saelak’s chest and sobbing.

He felt overwhelmed with conflicting emotions. Sorrow over what felt like wasted years, anger at being treated as less than a person and being instantly judged by the mark on his skin, happiness at his wish for magic finally coming true, fear that he wouldn’t be powerful enough to not become a pawn now that he possessed one of the rarest magics in the world, and a burning desire to grow stronger.

He felt Saelak tense for a while before arms wrapped around him and gently rubbed the back of his shirt, trying to calm him down and offer his own strength in support. He took comfort in his friend, not being able to remember the last time someone held him in a hug like this, who offered protection without asking anything in return, it was a nice warm feeling.

After a few minutes of letting out all his pent up emotions Aster took a few long deep breaths trying to regain his composure. He pushed himself away from Saelak gently and Donoma handed him a kerchief to dry his face with which he thanked her for.

He looked at the clear night sky filled with stars, as if gathering his thoughts, and then told his friends what his message had said.

Donoma spoke up, “I got a message a wee bit before ya awoke that said new party abilities were available now. When I looked, it mentioned they were due ta a Spirit and Fire Blessed so I knew ya got ‘em, I just didn’t know how. I ne’er met someone Blessed by da Sovereign before.”

She was looking at him with a bit more awe now so he quickly reminded her, “I’m still the same person, just not as weak now, hopefully”

Saelak interjected, “You weren’t weak before.” He had that stubborn look on his face whenever he argued against Aster’s obvious self-worth issues. Aster knew he needed to be better at that but it was hard when you constantly fell short of your own expectations and hopes.

Aster decided to check out the new party abilities Donoma had mentioned and he found two.

Whisper

Effect: Communicate telepathically between party members within 15 kilometers.

Requires: a Spirit Blessed party member

Torch

Effect: Summon a lit torch into an empty hand that lasts 15 minutes or until dropped.

Requires: a Fire Blessed party member

He was still set as the Physical Damage member but his new level was displayed by his name now which made him smile. The abilities were great and he lifted a hand in front of him, concentrating and saying “Torch”. Sure enough, a simple wooden stick with some ignited cloth at the end appeared in his grasp. His grin widened and he glanced at Saelak and thought at him ‘This is amazing’

Saelak’s eyes widened for a moment before he smiled with a shake of his head. “I’m not going to lie, that ability scares me a little.”

Aster titled his head slightly confused, “Oh? I thought it could really come in handy.”

Saelak blushed slightly as he muttered, “Some thoughts I want to keep to myself.”

Aster laughed aloud at this and said, “I had to focus on exactly what I wanted to say to you. Intent seems to play a big part in working it.”

“Speaking of focus and intent, what spells did you gain?” Saelak said looking interested.

Aster quickly navigated to his spells page that had always been empty before and found 4 new spells listed.

Spells

Message

Effect: Send a one-way telepathic message to a known and willing person.

Duration: 1 Minute

Cooldown: None

Cost: 15 mana

Requires: Beginner Magic (Spirit)

Empath

Effect: Sense the prevailing emotion of a creature within 10 meters.

Duration: ∞

Cooldown: 1 minute

Cost: 5 mana

Requires: Beginner Magic (Spirit)

Fireball

Effect: Summon and launch a ball of fire.

Duration: Instant

Cooldown: None

Cost: 10 mana

Requires: Beginner Magic (Fire)

Heat

Effect: Increase the temperature of an object you are touching. Cost of mana is dependent on the size, composition and raised temperature of the object.

Duration: ∞

Cooldown: 15 minutes

Cost: X mana per minute

Requires: Beginner Magic (Fire)

He relayed the information then moved on to look at his unlocked techniques which was frankly a bit overwhelming to him.

Techniques

Blessing Origin

Command Soul

Effect: When making eye contact with another creature, you can speak directly to their soul. You make a Willpower check to command them to fulfill a task.

Duration: 10 minutes

Cooldown: None

Cost: 10 qi

Requires: Spirit Blessing

Empowering Flame

Effect: Imbue fire into your unarmed strikes and kicks for additional fire damage and a chance on hit to burn.

Duration: ∞

Cooldown: None

Cost: 5 qi per minute

Requires: Fire Blessing

Combat Origin

Sprint

Effect: Increase your max speed while running.

Duration: 15 seconds

Cooldown: 3 minutes

Cost: 5 qi

Requires: Novice Athletics

Adrenaline Rush

Effect: A burst of adrenaline courses through you, increasing your strength and dexterity by 5% and making you immune to pain and fear effects.

Duration: 30 seconds

Cooldown: 10 minutes

Cost: 50 qi

Requires: Initiate Athletics

Wall Run

Effect: Scale walls by running up them.

Duration: N/A

Cooldown: None

Cost: 10 qi per meter

Requires: Novice Acrobatics

Piercing Shot

Effect: Fire a projectile that ignores armor defenses.

Duration: N/A

Cooldown: None

Cost: 10 qi

Requires: Novice Combat (Bow)

Quick Draw

Effect: Draw your weapon instantly.

Duration: N/A

Cooldown: None

Cost: 10 qi

Requires: Novice Combat (Dagger)

Piercing Strike

Effect: Perform a heavy strike that ignores armor defenses.

Duration: N/A

Cooldown: 1 minute

Cost: 10 qi

Requires: Novice Combat (Sword)

Blade Whirl

Effect: Spin in place, striking all opponents in reach for critical damage.

Duration: ∞

Cooldown: None

Cost: 5 qi per second

Requires: Initiate Combat (Sword)

SING

Effect: A combination attack of the solar plexus, instep, nose and groin resulting in your enemy becoming incapacitated.

Duration: N/A

Cooldown: None

Cost: 10 qi

Requires: Novice Combat (Unarmed)

Craft Origin

Power Hammer

Effect: Put more force into your hammer strike.

Duration: N/A

Cooldown: None

Cost: 5 qi

Requires: Novice Blacksmithing

Smith Sight

Effect: Analyze exactly what temperature and durability objects are.

Duration: 5 minutes

Cooldown: None

Cost: 10 qi

Requires: Initiate Blacksmithing

Speed Cleaning

Effect: Increase your speed and efficiency when cleaning.

Duration: ∞

Cooldown: None

Cost: 5 qi per minute

Requires: Novice Cleaning

Recipe Book

Effect: See a list of recipes for any ingredient you touch.

Duration: ∞

Cooldown: None

Cost: 10 qi

Requires: Novice Cooking

Sample

Effect: Analyze the ingredients and amounts of each in any food you taste.

Duration: ∞

Cooldown: None

Cost: 10 qi per minute

Requires: Initiate Cooking

Trace

Effect: Create a design template as a visual overlay and perfectly trace it with your engraving tools.

Duration: 10 minutes

Cooldown: None

Cost: 10 qi

Requires: Novice Engraving

Gather

Effect: Detect nearby useful plants and analyze their properties.

Duration: ∞

Cooldown: None

Cost: 5 qi per minute

Requires: Novice Herbalism

Salvage Leather

Effect: Recombine torn or tattered leather as though they were not damaged.

Duration: N/A

Cooldown: None

Cost: 10 qi

Requires: Novice Leatherworking

Combine Hides

Effect: Layer leather and fuse them together to create a thicker version.

Duration: N/A

Cooldown: None

Cost: 10 qi

Requires: Initiate Leatherworking

Minimize Cuts

Effect: Analyze and minimize the amount of cuts needed to skin a creature.

Duration: ∞

Cooldown: None

Cost: 10 qi er minute

Requires: Novice Skinning

Pin

Effect: Temporarily keep pieces of cloth pinned together without them shifting.

Duration: ∞

Cooldown: None

Cost: 5 qi per minute

Requires: Novice Tailoring

Market Value

Effect: Detect the fair market price of an object you touch.

Duration: ∞N/A

Cooldown: None

Cost: 5 qi per minute

Requires: Novice Trading

Interpersonal Origin

Diffuse

Effect: Quickly diffuse tension or aggression in a situation, calming people within 10 meters.

Duration: ∞

Cooldown: None

Cost: 10 qi per minute

Requires: Novice Diplomacy

Bribe

Effect: People are more open to bribes and will accept less than normal to give you information you seek.

Duration: N/A

Cooldown: 1 minute

Cost: 10 qi

Requires: Novice Information Gathering

Sense Motive

Effect: Detect a person’s disposition towards you and the situation.

Duration: N/A

Cooldown: 1 minute

Cost: 10 qi

Requires: Novice Insight

Detect Deceit

Effect: Detect when a person is intentionally deceiving someone.

Duration: ∞

Cooldown: None

Cost: 10 qi per minute

Requires: Initiate Insight

Number Crunch

Effect: Easily compute complex algorithms mentally.

Duration: ∞

Cooldown: None

Cost: 10 qi per minute

Requires: Novice Mathematics

Quick Zen

Effect: Instantly enter a meditative state.

Duration: N/A

Cooldown: None

Cost: 10 qi

Requires: Novice Meditation

Sense Danger

Effect: While active, highlights areas of danger and interest.

Duration: ∞

Cooldown: None

Cost: 10 qi per minute

Requires: Novice Perception

MARIE

Effect: Detect what motivates a person: Money, Addiction, Religion, Ideology, or Ego.

Duration: N/A

Cooldown: 5 minutes

Cost: 10 qi

Requires: Novice Persuasion

Speed Reading

Effect: Increase your speed and comprehension when reading.

Duration: ∞

Cooldown: None

Cost: 5 qi per minute

Requires: Novice Reading

Flip Through

Effect: Quickly and easily spot the most pertinent information of a written material.

Duration: 10 minutes

Cooldown: None

Cost: 20 qi

Requires: Initiate Reading

Identify Tracks

Effect: Detect tracks and identify which race they belong to along with other general information.

Duration: ∞

Cooldown: None

Cost: 10 qi per minute

Requires: Novice Tracking

Disarm Traps

Effect: Highlights traps and indicates how to disarm them.

Duration: ∞

Cooldown: None

Cost: 10 qi per minute

Requires: Novice Trapping

Transcribe

Effect: Perfectly copy written material.

Duration: ∞

Cooldown: None

Cost: 10 qi per minute

Requires: Novice Writing

Apparently, he would have gained techniques all along if he had just had his system fully unlocked. That seemed like a targetted discrimination by the system towards the Unblessed in his opinion. ‘I have to talk to Chii if I ever get out of this Scenario or, well, die.’ he thought bitterly.

He paused for a moment, focusing on the first technique, then re-read the magic-based techniques aloud for the others. Saelak looked thoughtful for a moment and then asked, “Is that what happened when we first met?”

Aster nodded slowly, “That would make sense. If I’ve always been Spirit Blessed then this technique might have just been hidden since I hadn’t discovered my blessing. I didn’t know you could use hidden techniques though.”

Saelak nodded, “Yeah, from the studies that have been done the only way to discover a Blessing one might have is to have a higher level Blessed test, the enchanted stones which behave the same way or the person uses a hidden ability. Techniques and Spells are usually unlocked once one of those events occurs. Even if they are technically available, they won’t be shown on your profile. Abilities are actually the most common way a person discovers an affinity. Most Blessed get the Bending ability in regards to their element and it’s used almost instinctively. Like for me, my Ice affinity was so strong that it was hard to hold in and control my Ice Bending. It was on my profile before I could even read it. It was later that I discovered my Water Bending and I was tested at the Temple to discover my Illusion Bending. My affinity for Illusions is fairly low compared to the others, I have to work harder to level the skill and use it and even then I can only progress it so far. The fact that your Blessing is a deviation means you didn’t get the normal Spirit Bending ability which I believe usually manifests itself with things like telepathy and mind control.” He turned to look at Donoma with a questioning gaze.

This caught both Donoma and Aster off guard as Saelak had always either made his displeasure with her clear or ignored her presence but he was actively prompting her to speak now. She gave a soft smile, seeming to be pleased by the change and spoke quietly, “I’ve heard of Deviant Blessed before but not o’ da Spirit kind. Me Light Blessin’ was as obvious as yer Ice, Saelak. I don’t ‘ave any other Blessin’ but there are many I ‘aven’t been tested fer yet. Tests weren’t very easy ta come by where I’m from so we mostly depend on da strength of da affinity and da abilities becomin’ triggered naturally.”

He nodded, processing the information and turned back to Aster, “What ability do you have that would be considered deviant?”

Aster focused on his profile again and found the relevant information.

Abilities

Fire Bending

Effect: Manipulate fire with mana cost being dynamically based on the amount, duration and complexity of the desired task.

Duration: ∞

Cooldown: None

Cost: X mana per minute

Requires: Fire Blessing

Soul Bond

Effect: When in contact with another creature you or the creature can initiate a Soul Bond where you absorb the creature's soul into your own and share some of your abilities with one another. You can communicate telepathically with your soul bonds.

Duration: ∞

Cooldown: None

Cost: None

Requires: Deviant Spirit Blessing