The next skill was a tough decision. There were several things to consider. Now that his system was treating his skill points differently, what were the chances that it might treat specializations differently?

Will I still gain specializations with two skills in a tree or is it going to be three now? It probably wouldn’t because not everyone might have the chance of killing a monster past the wall. He also considered the off chance that it might also be lower, which he disregarded as fantasy. It would be a frankly unfair advantage and give too much freedom. The degree of freedom within the system he was experiencing was already quite ludicrous. Anything more than four available trees was unheard of and here he was rolling around with upwards of fifty thanks to his Combatant title. Admittedly all those trees were quite weak compared to other available options.

He tried to figure out what his options were and it wasn’t looking good. If he wanted fast growth he would need the Magical Wellspring. His mana was empty fast, and he couldn’t afford to wait as long. His rations would be plenty for two more days and if he stretched them he could probably sustain himself for a couple more without breaking down too much.

Prepare Monster was becoming appealing again, but the cooldown was making it an unviable option and he wanted the three specializations if he could get them.

If anything he would choose the General Combat Magics trees as a replacement for the specialization he would miss out by further diverging from his chosen path, but even that was not an option he wanted to take.

He settled on Metallic Affinity in the end. He had deliberated for a long time, but it would partially help with some of his issues. He wouldn’t regenerate faster, but he would pack a larger punch – when he had mana or stamina available.

If it worked with Penetrate his entire build would be confirmed to work and it would at some point double the effectiveness of the skill. As well as level faster. The best choice all in all.

Metallic Affinity (1/10) (0/50 Exp.)

Skills that interact with Metal are boosted by 10%.

Penetrate (1/10) (21/50 Exp.)

2.8% of the next attack’s damage dealt to armor is applied to the wearer, as long as hardness is overcome.

Attack ignores 2.8% of hardness on the receiving end.

Angles attacks to impact the opponent more directly.

Cost: 3 (rank/4) Stamina

With Penetrate at twenty-one out of fifty he had confirmed that the skill leveled based on stamina use. It would allow him to get the skill to rank three today.

Having confirmed that Metallic Affinity applied on Penetrate he let out a relieved sigh. The new skill would probably not reach the third rank today, but the second rank would potentially be doable depending on how experience is applied to the skill.

By now his stamina and mana had regenerated by three and four respectively. Indicating that he had taken a break longer than two hours. Time well spent.

He drank a few gulps from the water dripping down inside the cave before stepping out of the cave. Armed with his two knives in hand he marched off to engage in turrl hunting. Regardless of level-ups and potential new developments he wanted to see how far he could push it with his current stats while limiting the groups he fought against to three opponents maximum.

He attacked singular monsters, sometimes pairs through stone throwing, and as he got used to his new skills and them ranking up he progressed faster and faster through the combat.

He took frequent breaks, but not nearly enough to keep up with his constant stamina expenditure. His mana too was constantly low, with just a couple of points to use his cloak in emergencies. Whenever it regenerated a point above three it would be used up again – which wasn’t often. Kent vowed to place his first point after reaching level ten into Mage’s Augmentation to increase his regen further, unless he could find an equally good skill in one of the trees he would get a specialization in.

New Notification Log Entries:

You have gained the title Corrupted Apprentice Fighter!

Corrupted Apprentice Fighter – You have slain fifteen creatures of a greater evolution before reaching level ten using physical skills. You have murdered fifteen humans. Increases Agility and Strength by 10%. Gain access to the Corrupted Physical Potentiation skill tree.

This didn’t look well. It made Kent in fact very uncomfortable. The impact of his actions still weighed on him. He wanted to have done the right thing, he knew for a fact that any other action would have resulted in more dead people, with him in that group in almost every scenario, yet he felt horrible.

He could suppress the dread he felt when he left a pile of burning people behind him, most of the time. But when he was idle it came up again. It was also one of the reasons why he hadn’t chosen the Pyromancy route. He kept telling himself he only did so for his family. But he lied to himself every time. It was also to not remember that day again.

He tried to do so again, and just looked at the skill tree for a moment.

Corrupted Physical Potentiation

Dominion over monsters wasn’t enough. You strive for Dominion over all the living.

Enduring Physique (0/10)

Increases effects of endurance on stamina capacity by 10%

Overwhelming Strength (0/10)

Increases effects of strength on physical might by 10%

Ambidextrous Muscles (0/10)

Increases effects of agility by 10%. Slightly increases dexterity.

Delayed Response (0/10)

Responses to physical trauma take longer to affect the body

Avenger (0/10)

Smell Traited in your vicinity

It started out alright if one ignored the flavor text. In no way were any of the skills essential but Kent could see how some of them might be relevant for melee fighters. It got weird quickly though, and as he read the fourth, he became deeply uncomfortable. The fifth he tried to ignore.

He almost ran back into the trees to find new opponents to get his mind off the infuriating system. There were implications all over he didn’t like. So many skills seemed needlessly brutal, weird, or niche. It made no sense.

Unexpectedly he found his calm again as he slew the next group of monsters. He reached level four after killing the first opponent. The five extra percent he should have gained for the kill vanished. For the consecutive two kills, he had gained ten percent each. The monsters are both a couple of levels past the wall.

New Notification Log Entry:

You have reached level four. Three free stat points are available!

In his still present frustration, he had used his cloak’s ability to dispatch of the monsters quicker than he could have otherwise. A couple of stabs assisted by Penetrate were enough to end their lives and they couldn’t do anything during those three seconds.

He had thought he had three seconds, but it felt shorter. Something was up with that and he would have to find out later.

It was odd how little the turrls really were able to fight. Without their poison, even someone without any advantages might be able to kill a distributer. The agitators were a bit tougher, but not on the threat level of what a drop-pig on the same level might be.

His reckless actions left him without any mana and just a couple of points of stamina. It was time to head back into the entry cave, assess the situation and his growth, starve a little, and invest his new stat points. Sadly, there hadn’t been a new skill point. Though as much was expected.

He made a short detour to pick up his dented canteen on the way and inspect the area more. He noticed quickly, that the canteen hadn’t impacted a tree, though he had initially thought so, but rather a sort of three-dimensional appearing wall. The wall was a spatial arrangement that still had the structure it represented, but the depth was skewed. The first optical meter into the disturbed space was perhaps half that in length, the next half of that again.

Kent had almost stopped walking then and abandoned his canteen. It was a needless risk, but he was curious so he kept exploring the boundary region. He himself wasn’t feeling any of the ongoing effects, but everything on him did. His clothes became tighter, his knife shorter or thinner depending on how he held it. Oddly enough the cloak was unaffected.

He stopped moving and extended his hand further inwards to pick up the canteen and left as quickly as possible.

Maybe I can exploit that. I should see what happens to turrls in there.