Ixia

Ixia was exploring the eastern forest when she heard someone laughing. It was a crazy-sounding laugh too. Warily, she approached the direction of the noise. She moved slowly and quietly, using her inborn stealth capabilities as a dark elf. She came upon a human. He was rather large and seemed to have invested significantly in Constitution. She could tell that because of the ill-fitting pants that were far too short for his legs. She analyzed him and came out to this.

Laz(Warrior)

Level 72

He didn't appear to be a threat to her since she was near Level 200, so she revealed herself to him. The man abruptly looked at her and stood up. He said, “Well, hello there. Who might you be?”

“I’m Ixia. Why are you out in the Eastern Woods with your level?” Ixia was curious about this human. He showed no signs of being affiliated with any of the nearby kingdoms and he was quite polite. His skin tone was rather dark as well and Ixia briefly wondered if he might have some dark elf heritage in him.

“I got lost.” Laz said this in a monotone.

”Well do you want the way back?” Ixia asked in an amused voice. She knew that he hadn't gotten lost. Laz appeared to be too smart to be that stupid. He had likely run into something valuable like a dungeon or a class inheritance.

”Do you have a map I can use?” Laz inquired.

” I am heading back to Zion myself, so you can come with me, it you want?” Ixia responded good-natured. She figured she might as well help the man. He seemed to be a good enough sort, even if he was a little crazy. The handsome young human was more than a little intimidating. He was covered in blood and appeared to have at least 200 points in Constitution based off of the weight she felt pressing her down. He wasn't a threat to her, but he was no amateur. Ixia took off toward the border city of Zion, looking back to check that Laz was following.

Laz

Laz was trailing the elf lady. He thought back to their encounter.

He had been laying on the ground when he noticed the person step into the clearing. It was a girl dressed in leather hunting clothes, at least what he assumed were hunting clothes in this world. They were skintight and revealing but looked like they gave great freedom of movement. He talked to her and found out that he was in the Eastern Woods. Where that was he had no clue, but he did identify her.

Ixia

???

She was definitely more than a little over level 100. How much he didn't know, but probably more than enough to take care of him. She asked him what he was doing here and he just gave a quick excuse that he knew that she didn't accept for a moment. When she turned around to lead him back to the main city in the area, Zion, he noticed something astonishing. She had dark pointed ears.

Outwardly, he didn't react, but inside he was screaming. An elf and by the looks of it it was a dark elf! This world had elves and likely other races besides. He was in an honest to God fantasy world. He didn't know if this world had heroes, but he didn't want to become one anyway. A hero always had to face a great enemy. He didn't want to face anyone like that with any kind of urgency, but if someone stood in his way, he had no scruples. He knew that people were not inherently good. He guessed that in this world strength was the basis for respect and equality. There were probably people who didn't fit into a combat role. Those people were probably protected by people who risked their lives every day. He guessed that the ones who held power were the ones with the highest levels. He did not want that to be his life. He would rather do what he wanted. If possible he wanted to do it without restriction.

The first step to that was civilization. Ixia would lead him to civilization and then he would part with her there. Once he was there, he would explore and see if there was anything like an Adventurer’s Guild from the games.

As they walked Ixia asked,” Can you pick up the pace?” Laz started jogging. Ixia progressively ran faster until Laz could barely keep up with her. As they ran Laz admired Ixia and looked at the surroundings. The forest was fading. There were fewer trees and he could see long grasses in the distance. A few more minutes passed before they reached it and he could see the walls of a large city once they reached the grasses.

They reached the front of the city before they separated.

“We will have to separate here,” Ixia said and took off back towards the forest without time for him to even say goodbye.

Laz sighed at his loss and breathed deeply, still recovering from their run. He looked at the city gates. He still had a mile or two left. He jogged the rest of the way.

As he neared the gate, the two guards eyed him suspiciously. He analyzed them.

Henry

???

Borik

???

The one named Borik was a dwarf. There was no doubt about it. He was probably about 3 feet tall and had a very thick and long beard. Both the guards were probably about level 100-150. They didn't feel as experienced as Ixia had.

As he approached they called out, “Halt! What is your business here?”

Laz responded, ”I just want to stay the night at a good inn and get some new clothes.”

Brook said chuckling, ” You must have leveled quite a bit to bust your clothes like that.”

“Yeah, it was quite a bit.” Laz replied wryly.

Henry jumped into the converstion adding, “If you go to Old Bear Inn, the owner’s son is probably about your size, he's also kind to adventurers like yourself.”

Laz thanked them and proceeded into Zion.

As Laz proceeded through the city, he noticed that some doorways in the city were unusually large. He reasoned that it was for individuals who had large amounts of constitution like him. Laz wondered how large people with thousands of Constitution would be. He still had no idea what the average level was. He looked around and noticed that most people walking the streets were at least Level 50.

Laz was walking through the city when he found something that seemed like a library. He went inside and noticed that it was full of books.

Laz asked the clerk, “Excuse me, do you have books that describe what happens as you level?”

The librarian responded not even looking up from his book, “Far left and top shelf is The Path To Power. Everything you want is in there.”

Laz thanked him and looked through the book. It had every thing he needed. Apparently power in this world was governed by the World. The author of the book and most common people include levels as part of the natural world. As you increase in league you apparently age slower. A league is everytime there is a class evolution. This is apparently happens at Level 100, 200, 300, and 500. No one has ever confirmed anything higher than that. Apparently people have rarely reached level 600, but no evolution waited for them. You are limited to two classes your whole life. It confirmed that everyone unlocks a second class at Level 50 and that everyone gets 5 stats per class level.

In regards to other panels on the status. He determined that Resistances were rarely leveled due to the pain involved. It was however confirmed that you could gain resistances to literally anything. People in this world who ended up seriously leveling were generally either battle crazy or mages. Battle crazy ones don't usually last into old age like the mages. It was speculated that Level 500 classes granted immortality because these figures were never dead by old age. They either disappeared or were killed.

Titles were considered rare. So rare in fact that there were very few known ones. Monster Hunter being one of those. Apparently if he killed something 100 levels above him he would unlock the next tier and 200 levels beyond at the next tier.

Perks were also a major point of discussion in this book. There are were stat perks at 25, 50, and 75. These perks were unlimited. If you are powerful enough you usually have all of these. Beyond that were limited perks. At 100, 500, 1000, and 5000 were the confirmed points of a stat in which you received perks. However, these perks had limits. 100 perks had a limit of four stats. It decreased by 1 for each tier. So the 5000 perk had a limit of 1 stat. This meant that you were forced to specialize.

Most importantly according to the book however were skills. A Class granted 10 skills, 5 active and 5 passive. A Tier 1 and Tier 2 skill had a max level of 20. A Tier 2 skill was an evolved form of a Tier 1. According to this it unlocked additional effects for the skill. Skills could also evolve, but that was only due to class evolutions. At Tier 3, a skill required a notable achievement with that skill to unlock that tier. These had a reported max of 30. The book warned that skills required exponentially difficult situations to level. It had no confirmed information on Tier 4 skills other than it seemed that most who had them were at Level 500.

General Skills had an entire section to themselves. There were many general skills. There were the cardinal stat-based skills gained from perks. From there he learned that he should really gain the learning skill. He had neglected it because he didn't think it would be to useful but it increased skill leveling. That was invaluable to him. General skills encompassed fighting techniques and other basic skills like dancing or blacksmithing. There was an argument that resistances should be included in skills, but since the world grouped them separately it was a null point.

Laz also learned a much more detailed explanation for each stat. Strength was almost exactly as it described. It increased carrying weight, maximum speed, and physical power. The book clarified maximum speed to mean explosive force. Also it detailed how your body was changed by strength. Apparently, for males, it widened his shoulders and enlarged and enhanced his musculature. The skill granted by strength, Musculature, if leveled sufficiently, actually compressed muscles and gave a smaller yet more perfect frame. For females it did the same but in different less drastic ways and for different sections of the body.

Constitution had a more simple explanation. It made you bigger, heavier and tougher. Unlike strength it didn't change your proportions just enhanced them. It made your frame larger, enhance your durability and made you much heavier. The general skill, Ascetic, was quite an important skill. To level Ascetic, you abstained from all necessities. This included air, water, and food. At the 2nd Tier it eliminated the need for food and water. At the third it was reported to eliminate the need for air as well. This skill was unfortunately not omnipotent. You couldn't just avoid everything and keep leveling it. Hunger and thirst would catch up to you thirst would affect you within the number of days equal to the level of your skill. It was best to replenish every 5 or so levels with Ascetic. The most effective way to level this was to abstain from all three at once.

Endurance was rather straightforward as well. In fact, all of the body stats were easy to understand. Endurance made you have more health and stamina. This affected your body by making you more awake. This culminated at 500 where the perk included eliminating the need for sleep. It was observed that people with more endurance have a different type of toughness compared to Constitution-based toughness. Constitution was being hard, while Endurance was being absorbent. It was the difference between breaking a sword on a rock and getting it stuck in a log. There was just too much to cut. The General Skill, Vigor just enhanced all of Endurance’s effects, it didn't have more abilities than that.

Dexterity in the book was responsible for reflexes, coordination, and flexibility. This generally resulted in a dexterity specialist being deft and quick. They were able to maneuver their bodies in odd ways. While in a sprint they may not be faster than a warrior, but in close combat their speed and agility would be unparalleled. The General Skill, Acrobatics, allows for a dexterity specialist to utilize more than just the ground to their advantage. This skill is ideal for movement in dense forests or crowded cities.

Intelligence is the staple for magic. Intelligence is usually a mages greatest stat. This stat will increase memory capacity, critical thinking, and total mana. One observed side effect of this stat is that if you receive the photographic memory perk then you require more intelligence as you age. The reasoning is that you can only contain so many detailed memories. This means that you need to increase your memory capacity as you age. The two perk skills received from intelligence are Learning and Mana Pool. Learning granted a 10% increase in skill leveling this only enhanced as you learned more about the world. This skill was vitally important. It was also the reason why libraries could be found in any decent village and why literacy was taught very young. Mana Pool on the other hand was almost exclusively leveled by those with a mage class. It required extensive meditation and internal mana manipulation to level.

Willpower was described as a stat that bridged both the mind and the body. Physical classes needed its internal motivation and mental resistance properties in order to combat mental classes and bear the horrors of battle. Mental classes need it for it's mana purity properties. Mana purity is described as the closeness to it's own attuned element. Willpower affects mana purity. The 500 willpower perk makes mana completely pure and begins affecting mana concentration. So willpower affects mana purity to a point and then concentration after. According to the book, those with high willpower are usually mages and members of the Order of Resolve. The General Skill for Willpower is Meditation. Meditation has great effects. It allows for enhanced regeneration. It can also be used in conjunction with other sensory and manipulation type skills, allowing for multiple skill levels at once.

Charisma is for prostitutes and politicians. This is the stat that has the least bearing on combat. Charisma increases your attractiveness and conversation skills. This stat will change facial features occasionally. The skill granted by its perk is Persuasion. This skill just increases the effect of Charisma in conversations. Persuasion granted by charisma can be resisted by charisma or willpower stats.

Luck is the most vague and fluid of stats. Having high luck does not mean you will be more fortunate. In fact, those who are lucky tend to be the first to die. The only difference is that in the process of dying they may have inadvertently opened up a tomb thousands of year's old that they could never survive. The General Skill granted by Luck, Daredevil, has been hypothesized to be the will of the world simply tipping the scales for the bold and those willing to put themselves at risk. Other than that it has no observable effect. In the 2nd tier it increases the chance of fortunate encounters, but nothing really changes. People now use it to measure the mental state and true intelligence of a person

The book also happened to list the side effects of stats. Strength tends to make you reckless and easy to anger. Constitution results in a very sedentary attitude almost as if you are becoming a rock. Endurance leads you to be single minded to the extreme resulting in an effort to never stop working. Dexterity produces a very shifty and constantly changing attitude. Intelligence leads to a cold and calculating personality that inhibits emotional expression. Luck will lead to a God complex in which you believe you can do anything and come out alive. Charisma will result in a friendly and outgoing personality. Finally, Willpower will inhibit the effects of other stats while leading to a steady and thoughtful self. Willpower leads to the least shift. Other side effects of the other stats are on the physical side. For instance, more dexterity is required to be flexible with high Constitution. Strength is required to move a high Constitution body. Balance in your stats is important for shoring up weaknesses, but if you wish to fight above your level then you will have to sacrifice and leave weaknesses in place of strength.

With that Laz shut the book.