Jen liked to review and update her notes while she was on watch. It was like she could split her mind between the two functions, but as she was doing this, she got the idea that if she pushed just a little mana into her focus…. “Yes! Got it!” she cheered for herself.

System Message

==

Multi-Focus,

Novice Level 1

You can split your mind and focus on two tasks simultaneously. Masters of this skill can split their minds 100 times and work more and faster on projects or multiple projects at the same time.

You can focus on two things for about 30 minutes before your tiny brain overheats.

==

Mana usage dependent upon number of split focuses and length of use.

==

Ok, that confirms my newest note:

The Decks are crazy. You earn skills for everything you do, but if you do not work at improving the skill, it will not get any better. It’s like the people on this world probably received skill messages every day when they were born, but if all they did was farm every day, as they grow older, they might not receive a new skill or skill up for years because they did not keep challenging themselves or trying new things. Everyone in the Decks understands whatever language you are speaking. Sam spoke both Mandarin and English when speaking with Ronald, and Ronald did not bat an eye. If I didn’t KNOW he was switching to Mandarin, I would have thought he was still speaking English myself. Sam and I don’t have any offensive power without our guns. We may be in places where we cannot use our guns, and we will run out of ammo relatively quickly. We need to develop some sort of offense that will work in the Decks and start leveling it up now! What’s the difference between a spell and a skill, and an enchanted charm? Spells and skills seem to be capped at the amount of mana in your body at any one time, but what differentiates a spell from a skill? Charms or enchantments create a much stronger spell because they could be charged up to their maximum capacity over time, but they are difficult to create and the number of uses is limited. Generally, it is much easier to learn to cast a spell or skill if you had hands-on experience and knowledge associated with the topic of the spell. Sam and I need to make a list of our skills and abilities in order of priority, and we need to make sure we focus on, and grind each of the important spells and abilities every day. Unclear, but there appears to be two, possibly three ways to increase abilities and spells. Earn experience points to increase your level and add ability points to the corresponding ability, or gamble for ability points. On Earth we were able increase the points in our physical stats with Will that work in the Decks? Would something similar work for mana and mana regen?

Jen continued with her list and sat watch as long as possible, when she realized her head was bobbing up and down like a tired trucker, she said. “Wake up Sam, your turn for watch.” She hated to wake him, but she couldn’t keep her eyes open.

Sam groaned, “I’m awake. Your turn for some shut-eye, Boss.” He could tell she felt guilty for waking him. “Silly kid,” he thought as he got ready for watch.

As Jen was laying down on her mat and pulling her poncho liner around her shoulders, she yawned and said, “I want to go over my notes with you after I get some sleep.”

“Why don’t you just send your Seven Decks wiki notes to me, and I will review them while on watch?”

Jen nodded and then groaned, “Will do, and that just reminded me: I forgot all about the gambling quest for Casino City. We need to go there first thing, even if we don’t gamble any ability points. There is sure to be more information on the Decks there, and my strategy for our level and skill growth could be all wrong.”

Sam looked sternly at Jen and said, “Don’t forget to text me the notes, but you need to quit talking and go to sleep now. We’ve been through more in the last month than anyone should.”

Sam wanted to get to the seventh deck as quickly as possible, but he knew that Kelly would never forgive him if he got Jen killed trying to get there too quickly. Heck, he would never forgive himself. He thought of Jen as young, brilliant, loyal, kind, and she deserved to live a little as well.

Sam lifted his eyebrows with surprise as he read through Jen’s notes and theories on The System. “She’s smart. I don’t have anything really to add.”

His whole body ached, and he spent the rest of his watch trying to soothe his joints, muscles, and tendons. His mana pool had recovered enough for him to try to experiment just a little bit.

Sam started out trying to use his Minor mend spell, but it had no effect on the damage his increased agility movement was having on his body. He then pumped his mana towards the knee that was bothering him the most, as he simultaneously focused on the idea of the mana surrounding and infusing strength and healing into the tendons, the muscle, and the bone.

==

Body Constitution Enhancement

Level 1 (novice)

Someday if you become a master, you will be able to instantly rejuvenate and strengthen someone’s entire body.

==

“Wow, that worked!” Sam said to himself in amazement. He then used his Body Constitution Spell (BC Spell) on all his joints. Unfortunately, he only wanted to channel the spell at the same speed his mana regenerated, and it took him several hours to work through his entire body. Sam also gained the skill “Body Scan” after he kept trying to “see” which tendons and muscles were torn while his mana was channeling at the same time.

“Why is the Body Constitution a spell and the Body Scan a skill? I just don’t get the difference.” Sam thought to himself, but finally gave up, just deciding to let Jen figure it out.

==

Body Scan Skill

Level 1 (novice)

Someday if you become a master, you will be able to scan individual DNA and understand how to make changes to the body.

==

Sam was famished, so he ate some rations while he used his Body Scan on Jen’s sleeping form and casting his BC spell on her injured joints. His healing clearly released some tension in her body and allowed her to rest better.

This took several more hours, but Sam was going to let Jen sleep until she woke up naturally and was fully rested. He noticed some experience points messages, but honestly, they didn’t follow a logical pattern, at least not one he could identify, so he just sent the messages to Jen’s “onboard.”

He then focused on his onboard and was able to set it to automatically forward a copy of all his system messages to Jen. “Yes” he thought excitedly and grinned to himself; “let her figure all that crap out.”

Sam was emotionally and mentally exhausted and decided to quit grinding any of his skills or spells for the moment. Without Kelly’s encouragement, he hadn’t meditated in several years. It was one of those things he knew he should do, but always found an excuse not to. However, he couldn’t ignore his need for it right now. Sam kept all his senses alert while he meditated on peace, love, body, and mind, just like he and Kelly would do together several times a week. It helped calm down his memories, and the meditation was bringing back some of the peace and love Kelly brought into his life.

==

Congratulations!

==

You have gained the Meditation skill: Novice Level 4

You have gained 1 point in mana and 1 point in mana regeneration!

==

“Goddammit,” Sam swore to himself as the notice interrupted his moment. He knew it was a great message; meditation would increase mana like running would increase stamina and stamina regen, but…. “OK, relaaaaaaaaaaaaax peace, love, body, mind.” Sam spoke several relaxing mantras to himself.

While meditating, Sam found that he could sense the mana, and he noticed that the mana actually ran through his mana channel like blood through blood vessels. The mana channel felt like it flowed peacefully as it worked in harmony with his body. He also felt there were multiple channels in his body that the mana could not flow through. Sam thought to himself, “Maybe I should try to figure out how to direct the mana towards those channels…. NO, that’s for later. Keep meditating and keep your eyes and senses on your surroundings, that is what your soul needs right now.”