(Day 106) Februarius 12th,12th year of the Dragon, Age of Enlightenment

The trip down the mountain had been beautiful, but uneventful. This had given me plenty of time to think. In this case, I’d been thinking about how magic worked and how spells worked. In the RPG games in my Universe, there had always been this idea that as spells became more complex, they were of a higher level or they were harder to cast, which made them a higher level. Here, though it looked as if the spells could be any level between 1 and, well there really wasn’t an upper level but every spell I’d run across had been level 100 or less. Also, it seemed that the level of the spell added something. I found two copies of the spell Apolyn’s Mage Shield, one at level 20 and another at level 100. I decided to try something. I spent 1,147,500,000 experience to bring my Cast Fire Magic Skill to 500. Then aiming at the air off to the side I cast the fireball 500 feet away and read the prompt.

Adam casts Fireball for 40 mana. No target selected. Fireball explodes for 3,927 points of damage.

I reviewed my math and realized that my damage had been increased by 500%

My base damage of 36, which could have been any number between 10 and 100 was being modified by my attribute bonus which would give 654. Then that was multiplied by 6, for 600%, which gave the result of 3,927. I guessed that made sense because if a skill level 1 caster cast a fireball and did 1% bonus damage of 36 damage they’d only do .36 damage. If they’d done a base damage of 100 they’d still only do 1 point of damage. So, the formula was more like 100% + 1% per skill level, which made sense. Skill Level 500 had stepped my category of casting up by 6 times. So, my simple fire bolt spell that could do 1 - 4 damage was now doing 6 - 24 damage. If I cast my fire bolt spell, the minimum damage I could do was 654 points of damage. If I achieved a critical strike against the target and did absolute maximum damage I would do 5,236 points of damage.

Granted, creatures with resistance, such as myself might not be damaged by certain magic types but I did have the ability to cast all eight basic spheres of magic so one of my bolts should be able to affect whatever I was targeting. I’d just have to raise my other seven primary casting skills to 500 then, which I did for another 8,032,500,000 experience.

I’d have to make sure to judge what I was casting at. Also, it seemed that the opposite type of magic did increase damage so using water versus fire, air versus earth, life versus death, light versus dark, and vice versa. I wondered if that meant that damage types against creatures of that magic type meant the target took less damage, I would have to keep those ideas in mind while casting spells.

Lost in my own thoughts, I failed to notice that the forest had become eerily quiet. If I’d been paying attention my insanely high perception and investigation skills would have noticed the webs strung throughout the tree canopy above me and I wouldn’t have been at all surprised by the thick web that suddenly covered and immobilized me. Nor would I have been further surprised when six spiders, each the size of an adult German Shepherd, dropped from above me to land on, bite, and inject me with their poison that was meant to immobilize me.

I was so absolutely surprised by this turn of events that I froze inside the web. The nanites on my skin investigated the substance touching me and I realized that I could use them to break free if I wished. That would be so much easier than casting a fireball and burning myself while I tried to escape. Been there done that, not one of my smartest gaming decisions when I’d been playing a mage one time during my high school years. Though now that I thought about it this situation was eerily similar. While I was thinking about the past, six spiders rushed up and bit me. The bites hurt and I could tell that poison had been injected into me but my nanites had automatically analyzed and broke it down and were already repairing the damage to my skin. With my normal healing rate, I’d be back to full health in two seconds. Then I heard voices in the distance.

“He’s over there. I saw them get him with their web!” a gruff male voice called in common

“Landril, scare them away” another voice barked

A muffled word and then a bright flash came through the web covering my face and I heard the spiders near me scurry off. Listening carefully, I was able to make out five different individuals making their way to where I was webbed.

“Yeah, that’s him, Landril, can you do something about that web?” the gruff voice asked.

“Sure thing Raz, one sec,” Landril said. There were more muttered words and the webs covering me fell away. I blinked my eyes and noticed five humanoids looking at me with interest.

The gruff one, who looked like what I would classically call a Dwarf, looked at me and then noted that his movements were being followed by me. “He looks alright. Must have scared off the little buggers before they could inject him with their poison, else he’d be out for days.” Turning to me Raz asked, “You okay fella?”

“I am now, Thank you,” I said

Raz slapped me on the back lightly and smiled “No worries, we were in the area. Though I don’t remember there being such an infestation. We’ll need to head back towards Landril’s people to let them know what we found. Which way are you headed?” Raz asked.

I took at the five people looking at me. Raz looked to be a Dwarf. Landril was some sort of Elf and the other three, either humans, half-humans, or something, maybe more elves. I couldn’t really tell. Then I remembered I had Analyze. I concentrated for a moment on each of my rescuers,

Analyze: Success. Raz, Level 25 Male Dwarf Fighter, HP 161

Analyze: Success: Landril, Level 20 Male Wood Elf Sorcerer, HP 41

Analyze: Success: Percephany. Level 9 Female Wood Elf Fighter, HP 54

Analyze: Success: Belinder. Level 8 Male Half Wood Elf Fighter, HP 46

Analyze: Success: Tor. Level 7 Male Human Fighter, HP 47

“I was trying to head towards the city to the southwest. Supposed to be something like a 25-day walk from here?” I asked.

Raz nodded thoughtfully. You’re probably talking about the city of Venoran. It’s about 25 days south of here, though through the forest it’ll be more like 40 days travel if you go in a straight line from here. We’re not going that far but the place we are going is sort of on the way and will lead to a road that will cut down on your total travel time. Care to join us?” Raz asked.

“Sure, I’m new to the area and am sort of lost so any help would be much appreciated,” I said.

“Understandable. Well, I’m sure you heard me say Landril’s name. The other three are Percephany, Belinder, and Tor. We were out scouting because we’d heard that a dragon had been sighted over this way flying up in the mountains. Reports said it wasn’t attacking anything that left it alone and these young’uns thought it would be cool to see one. Of course, then we came across you getting overrun by a nest of spiders, and here we are.”

I nodded. “And again, thank you for your help. I do have a couple of immediate questions. Should we be on our way? Will the spiders be back soon?

Landril spoke,” I cast a spider repulsion spell. It’s not very powerful but for the next hour, unless we attack them, spiders of all types will find other prey to go after. We’re just not worth the effort. To answer your question though, yes, we should be on our way.”

Raz pipped in. “You heard the man. Belinder and Percephany you have point. Tor you have our backs. Landril and I will keep our new friend company while we make our way back to the village. Let’s Move!”

The party set off at a good pace that I easily kept up with. For the next three hours, we made our way southwest until the forest started to thin out and I could hear running water in the distance. Soon after we came to a stream and followed it south until we came to the outskirts of a village. As I looked back the way we’d come I could see the cliff off in the distance but it was just barely above the horizon. I must have walked a lot farther into the forest than I had thought. Reviewing my memories of the walk I noted that I’d also been walking much faster. That must have been how the spiders noticed me.

There were wood elves with bows drawn as we came into view but once they realized who was coming into the village bows were stowed and a good-natured conversation started to ring out.

“Raz, you guys find anything today,” one elf said.

“Heard you were looking for dragons. You’re back, guess you didn’t find one.” Another stated.

Raz laughed, ignored them, and steered the party towards the central open area.

As we moved into the clearing Raz guided me before three Elves who had stepped out of one of the small huts close by.

The first turned to Raz and spoke in a soft feminine voice that carried nonetheless. “Raz, who have you brought before us?”

Raz turned to me, thought for a moment, then shrugged sheepishly. “Honestly Elder, I do not know. In the excitement, I forgot to ask for his name.”

The Elder turned to me and spoke “I am one of the three Elders of the Village by the River, as our little village is called. Might I ask your name?”

I turned to the Elder “Our course. I am Adam, a traveler that had the good fortune to be rescued by your scout party from a clutch of spiders that attacked me while I was traveling through the forest.”

“Spiders, you say?” The elder asked as she turned to Raz

“Yes Elder. The trees north of here are infested with them right now. If not for Landril’s magic, we might have had some problems.”

The Elder paused for a moment, obviously thinking about things, then turned to me and said, “Please feel free to refresh yourself by the stream. Get a drink and feel free to grab some cheese and bread while I speak with Raz. We will call for you shortly.”

I bowed my head slightly and said “I thank you for the hospitality. I will await your summons by the stream. With that, I walked over to a table and utilized a pitcher and glass there. I poured myself a drink and drank deeply. Setting the pitcher and glass down when I was done, I settled into a classic meditation pose near the bank of the river and waited.

I didn’t have to wait too long. It was only about an hour or so before Raz came up to me. “Adam? The elders are ready to speak with you now.” Raz asked.

Standing in one smooth motion, I smiled at Raz and said, “Please lead the way.”

Raz led me to a small hut with a single flap door. As we walked up I noticed that some of the hunters I’d seen earlier were heading north in parties of at least ten. It looked like they were heading out to deal with the spiders. Pulling the flap to the hut aside, Raz ushered me in.

The only elder that has spoken thus far sat in a chair facing the door. The other two elders sat in chairs slightly behind and to her left and her right. “Enter and be welcome Traveler Adam,” she said.

I entered and stepped into the middle of the room in front of the chairs. Moving into the military position of attention, I brought both of my hands together and relaxed as I sat down on the ground in front of the elders to lower myself before them. A simple psychological ploy, but one that should help in this situation.

The Elder smiled and began. “For the purposes of this conversation the three of us,” she said motioning to her two fellow elders ``are the leaders and elders of this village. If you speak to one of us, you speak to all of us. First, we would like to know who, or what, you are before we begin our conversation. To know this, I will require you to lower your defenses so that we might evaluate and consider how best to proceed. If this is not acceptable, we would ask that you continue to share the tradition of Hospitality and depart. If this is acceptable, we would request that you lower your defenses so that I might divine your true nature which will require me to place my hand on your forehead, would that be acceptable?” she asked.

And there’s the rub, I thought. “Honored Elder. I have nothing to hide but must give this warning. I do not know what will happen if I lower my defenses and allow you to fully divine my nature. I do not fear that you will be physically harmed. I am concerned, however, that the amount of information you will discover may overwhelm you. With that warning, I have nothing to hide and would freely offer myself to any divination by you.”

The Elder cocked her head. I could almost see the smugness in her gaze as I realized that the stuffy old elf stereotype might be accurate and that I might be looking at one. I thought to myself “Laugh it up fuzzball” as I made sure to set my nanites to passive and let Abi know to recede away from my consciousness so that she couldn’t be detected.

“Thank you for the concern, Adam, I think I will be fine,” the elder said as she stood and walked toward me placing her hand on my forehead. She offered a prayer in Elvish “Through Serena will may knowledge be known”

The Level High Elf Cleric Jasilla is attempting to cast the spell Divine Insight on you. Resist, Yes or No?

I chose “No”. Immediately, Jasilla’s eyes rolled into the back of her head, she moaned, then dropped to a knee muttering “So much?” questionably. I sat unmoving allowing the Elder to compose herself which took a few minutes. Jasilla stood slowly, then made her way back to her seat and sat down heavily as the other two elders looked on with trepidation.

“Be at ease, my friends. This man is not an enemy.” The elder cocked her head to the side and whispered “Laugh it up Fuzzball?” questioningly as I thought well shit then she smiled as she whispered, “oh I see, yes, very funny,” As she continued to smile she opened her eyes and turned to the elders behind her taking a moment to touch each before she said, “Be at ease, This man is not our enemy, though I would venture to say by the tone I just received from my goddess that she took extreme delight in what just happened. It would seem that I needed a reminder in humility.”

I watched and waited as I saw various questions enter the Elder's eyes, then fade. New questions would alight in her gaze, then fade. Finally, she spoke. “Adam. First, I would like to welcome you. It seems that you have come a very long way to visit us. Additionally, I would like to congratulate you on your recent success. As you did not resist my spell I was able to discern everything you know and the abilities and skills you possess. This brings me to an observation. Did you know that the skills you possess are not quite right?”

I looked up. “Not quite, right?” I asked.

“Some skills you possess, look like you have recently learned them. For instance, the language we are speaking now. This skill feels correct and is comparable to my own skill in the language. During my divination, I noticed the skills you have and while they share the same name as skills I’m familiar with, they are not the same. As an example, your skill tracking. Your tracking skill does not work exactly as it should here. In the simplest terms, I can explain the will of the gods and the elements is in everything here. That will is an expression of the forces that bind this world and its creatures together. We are all connected in this. Skills and abilities here are thus connected to this network of thought and power at all levels. Many of your skills are not.

“I think I understand,” I said hesitantly. “Why is this important?”

The Elder nodded thoughtfully for a moment trying to think of the best way to explain. “While I do not understand everything I saw on your personal interface when I just reviewed it I did see your attribute levels and your skill levels. One thing I noticed though was that you have no class listed. As I’m sure you have noticed, my class is that of a Cleric, Raz is a fighter, as are three of the other members of his scout party and Landril is a Sorcerer. You, Adam, do not have a class. After looking over your information the reason is quite simple. You do not meet the prerequisite skills for any class. Your weapon masteries and unarmed combat skills are impressive, but they do not take advantage of the will of the gods or any of the benefits that having a truly legendary skill here provides. “

I thought for a moment then asked “So, the skills I have from my origin point, they allow me to act in a way that is familiar to this world, but not in a way that is part of this world?”

The elder nodded. “Yes, that’s it exactly. You will not need to relearn everything from scratch, you will need to dedicate yourself to learning new skills that will feel a lot like your old skills but will definitely have differences.”

“I think I understand,” I stated. “Is this something that members of your village would be willing to help me with and if so, at what cost?” I asked.

“As is true in this, and every Universe, nothing is free.” The elder responded. “In this case, however, I believe helping you will help us. Power calls to power and it would seem that your success up in the mountains has started to draw the attention of powers that might wish to strip or destroy such power. Powerful creatures and monsters will be drawn to you and your Place of Power naturally. As we are but a stone’s throw, literally from you I would guess, away from your Place of Power, helping you learn the ways of this world so you can better defend yourself, and us, serve us both. For this help, we would ask that you defend this village to the utmost of your ability, help where you can, and learn as much as we can teach you. Would this be acceptable?”

I thought it over for a moment then responded. “I have been trying to learn as much as possible since I arrived just over 3 months ago. I had hit a point where I didn’t seem to be making as much progress as I thought I should be and everything you have just told me provides an understandable reason for why I have been having these issues. I am hesitant to make agreements when I am unsure of the motive of the other party so I will say this. So long as you are honest and true with me, I will be honest and true with you. I will defend your village to the utmost of my ability and will help as I can around the village as you help me learn the actual ways of this world. I make no commitment to how long I will stay but will at least inform you if I must leave for any reason. Is such a commitment acceptable?” I asked.

“More than acceptable Adam.” The elder stated. “I need to share the information I learned from you with my fellow elders but know that no other in this village will be privy to that information unless you share it.” Calling out the elder said “Raz!” The flap was pulled aside and Raz entered. “Please find accommodations for our new friend Adam here. He will be staying with us for a while and training.”

“As you wish, Elder,” Raz said.

I stood smoothly “Thank you for your generosity,” I said to the Elder and then followed Raz out of the hut. Raz led me to another building where I was shown a small cozy area that while not a truly personal space, was private enough.

“Abi, thoughts?” I queried mentally

“What she said does make a kind of sense. Remember, I told you I have felt more normal since we arrived. The skills you learned in a Universe devoid of magic might not get all the same benefits that someone from here would have with a comparable skill. My suggestion would be to start with something simple that you know and go from there. You know how to use bows. Try to learn their techniques from here and see if you notice any changes. If you truly need to relearn the skill for here, you should still be able to direct the skill points you banked at it. As for the class question. You have a character level, though class levels here give inherent benefits. If you could gain a class the special perks may become available to you. We won’t know until you get a class though.” Abi said.