The world is a rainbow of greys and I'm glad I still have my Night Vision. It's midnight in the desert and my clothes are finally appropriate for the occasion. The cooler weather is bareable compared to the daytime and I'm not the only one to think so.

I realize that I've never gone hunting at night in this game and the creatures that I Analyze seem to be more aggressive and slightly higher in level than their diurnal counterparts. Take this Giant Desert Lizard that's trying to bite chunks out of me, for example. The only thing it has in common with its green forest cousin is the shape of its body. Spikes protrude from everywhere on this angry reptile and it has an Ability that squirts acidic blood from its eyes. By Dimitria, if I Adapt that I will never be using it no matter the situation.

[You received 24XP!]

[You received 2*Giant Desert Lizard Spine, 4*Giant Desert Lizard Scale, 3*Lizard Meat]

Oh thank the gods. My body shivers at the thought of blood, albeit magical and virtual, spurting out of my eyes like some morbid water gun. I even cough out a dry heave, before reaching for my waterskin. One swallow is all I have left and there's still five hours left in my journey.

With my Night Vision I spot the Mooben flying around every so often, sometimes hovering over me. I get the feeling that its possible interest in me is like a child watching a bug going on with its day. Maybe the bug's going home. Maybe he's heading over to a bar after a long day at the office. Maybe he's a bug with no real destination in mind and he's just trying to survive in a cruel world. Who knows with us insignificant creatures?

"Hey, Squiddie. I don't know if you can hear me. Or if you can understand me. But, do you happen to know where I can find some water?"

There's no noticeable reaction and that's pretty much what I was expecting to happen. Maybe I didn't use the right name, I've just been calling him Squiddie. I'm a little embarrased that I didn't even bother to ask. It continues to float in the air like a squid shaped balloon tied to my wrist, its two tentacles drifting like party streamers behind it. Sometimes, something more interesting would catch its attention and it would wisk away for another adventure.

"Oh. There goes Squiddie again. Bye, Squiddie. Be safe!"

I wonder if I'm like the Mooben. Did I drift listless and lonely along the road until a bit of distraction came along, only to return to the empty path I intended to follow? Life was so much simpler when I played solo. Focus on a single stat, sometimes dip into whatever the magic stat was so I could cast support magic. I didn't have to worry about anyone else, let alone seventy five or so very perishable individuals. I think back to my starting days and wonder if I've made the right choices so far.

At a certain point, video games were my whole life. I poured all of my time and energy into playing them, but at the same time I wasn't playing. I was working. In MMORPGs, I level capped a character and then used them to farm rare items for money. In fighting games, I would enter tournaments just to win the grand prizes. It would be rare for me to participate in any game for the entertainment value of it, let alone the social aspect. When I was much younger I would play tabletops in school and it was the closest to having friends that I would be for a long time. But, as kids do when they age, our interests changed and we all drifted apart.

The more I think about my friends waiting for me in Higo, the more I regret not making any in the years that I could have. Maybe the road behind me wouldn't have been so lonely. Maybe I wouldn't have been an aimless squid, waiting for distraction to fill my time. Maybe my parents wouldn't have gotten into that accident.

That's not true. They were t-boned at a green light, they were not at fault at all. It was a freak accident and my only consolation is that Mom survived. But now, she needs me to reach those milestones. If I can just relieve her of the stress of the medical bills, then it would be something. I may not be able to fix what's wrong with her, but if I can find her just a little bit of peace, then maybe…

Squiddie's ghostly image returns to my view and he continues to hover above. Not sure where you went, but I hope you had fun, buddy. A grey tentacle as wide as a pontoon lifts me up into the air and I suppose he finally decided to eat me. "Assassinate," I prepare my spell with a chant since my hands are being squeezed to my sides. I realize, however, that I'm not being brought up to the creature's beak. Instead, I watch the world slide beneath me as Squiddie takes me along on one of his adventures. I am mostly excited, but a little wary about what's to come, "Where to, buddy?"

Nothing.

I'm surpised he doesn't have the "squid in the hot sun" smell I was expecting, but I remind myself that he's not really what I think he is. The aroma is more akin to a lit cigarette. I press my face against the tentacle, expecting the slick rubber of his aquatic family and am, again, suprised to find the texture more like old leather, like a worn out jacket that you're too sentimental to throw away even though your days of being cool have long passed.

We travel a couple hundred yards north of the road, a direction I would eventually be traveling once I clear the desert, when I spot our destination. The land drops without warning into a deep valley with a stream running through it. From the looks of the surrounding walls, the stream probably floods like crazy when it rains until it empties in Rentas Lake.

Squiddie drops me off near the ledge, but blocks me before I can drop down the side. I look up at his eye and trace it to whatever it's staring at in the sky. To say the least, I am intrigued by what's coming in for a landing in the valley.

A creature with a body similar to a dragon's, but without two front legs and claw like appendages on the tops of its wings, lands roughly along the shore of the stream. Including the tail, its body is about forty feet long and, even though I mostly see in shades of grey thanks to Night Vision, I can still make out the diamond shaped patteren of a rattlesnake running down its back. It limps as it turns in place to the water and dips its snout in, taking massive gulps and breathing heavily.

>Scan[Named after the tip of its tail and the sound it makes, this species of wyvern has no affinity to water. Instead, it is highly venomous and prefers to paralyze its prey before eating the limbs first and saving the torso for last. The males of this species are smaller and weaker, but are necessary to reproduce so they are often kept by the females as a sort of breeding stock.]

[+Wyvern Venom, Rend, Bite, Summon Sandstorm I, Thermal Vision]

Looks like this "little" guy barely escaped his cage. There are a couple holes all along each sheet of leathery wing and bloody gashes all over its body. Milky white venom drips from its jaws as it drinks, clouding the water. I'm not looking forward to testing my Survival Craft Ability on the water, but I'm going to need to if I want to make it home.

I watch the Wyvern from the ridge as it scans the valley and catches sight of us. At first, all three of us seem frozen in place. I'm not trying to move a single muscle in the hopes that the Wyvern's vision is based on movement like in some old movie. A long, scaly tail whips out between us and begins to shake violently, the valley echoes with the rattling sound.

Squiddie gently pushes me back from the ledge and goes airborne. From its open beak, Squiddie fires a powerful shot of compressed air at the Wyvern. Even with its HP so low, the winged lizard dodges effortlessly as a second and then a third shot splashes dirt and water everywhere. Squiddie leaves me to deal with the Wyvern head on, a move I didn't feel comfortable with, but couldn't do anything about. I assume that this desert dwelling creature would know more about fighting fellow desert dwellers and watch as the Mooben takes on another creature right in front of me.

Squiddie employs his patented squeeze move, the same move it used on the Sand Sharks, trying to wrap both tentacles around the weakened beast. Though it succeeds in restraining the wings and clawed feet, the long neck whips the head forward and the Wyvern sinks its fangs into Squiddie. He bellows loudly, enough that the ledge I'm watching from starts to collapse, but I manage to teleport safely to the bottom. Squiddie is still squeezing the Wyvern as tightly as it can, but already I can see the poison going into affect, his giant eye dialating and black veins spreading from where the Wyvern is chomping down. I rush over and use Assassinate, Critical Stab, Echo Strike and a third regular slash of my claw, taking full advantage of a restrained Boss.

[You deal 108 Slashing damage!]

[You deal 126 Slashig damage!]

[You deal 30 Slashing damage!]

Squiddie's grip weakens enough for the Wyvern to tear free with its claws, talons, and teeth ripping at the tentacles as I roll out of the way. A cursory glance shows that the angry winged noodle only has 102HP left which is great, but its much too fast and far too agitated to deal with in melee range.

Once again, it brings its tail between us, warning me with a rattle and bared fangs that it is not in the mood for huggies, tickles, or kisses. (78/118MP) (68/83SP) There's plenty for combat, but Squiddie proved that this creature should not be taken lightly up close.

I withdraw the Sunshine Quartz and cast Command, "Freeze!" The Wyvern flashes blue, but remains in motion. Damn. "Friend?" Once again, my attempts to control the beast fails, probably due to my much lower level. He snaps at me and I leap back, falling for the feint and it lunges at me again while I'm still mid air.

"Assassinate," the words come out slow like pouring honey from my mouth but I disappear a split second before I am bitten, reappearing beneath it and clutching my Necklace of Dragon Breathing, still set on cold. I let loose a torrent of icy wind, like I did to the Half-Giant mercenary who tried to annihilate our group. That moment feels like months ago now.

[You deal 45 cold damage!]

[You deal 45 cold damage!]

[You deal 45 cold damage!]

[Male Raincaller Wyvern has died!]

For now, I push aside all the other notifications and rush to Squiddie's side. "That was reckless, Squiddie! You almost got yourself killed!" I activate my Survival Craft poison Ability several times. Not knowing how strong the poison really is, I activate the anti-venom four times in the hopes that it's enough.

I can sense relief as I watch Squiddie's closed eye relax, so I cast Healing Breeze three times, waiting a few seconds to regenerate enough MP to cast it twice more for a total of five times and 130HP. It's a drop in the bucket for the large creature, but he props himself back up weakly. We repeat the cycle of filling my MP and SP and then me casting the Survival Craft heal instead until I run out of SP since it's the lower of the two. At 87SP, I can cast it forty three times at 7HP a hit and it doesn't take long for Squiddie to be at full health again.

After patting me on the head, Squiddie levitates up to the ridge line.

"Guess you're leaving again. Bye bye, Squiddie. Thanks for everything."

He waves one more time and he's off into the night. I check the in game clock and it's a little past two. I shoot Dawn a quick message saying I should be there around six in the morning. I fill up my waterskin, purifying it a few times, taking a drink, and find my HP intact. I check the map and find the river eventually leading me close to Higo. I bring up the string of notifications as I walk to the loot bag, putting the screens to the side so I can see.

[You received 1350XP!]

[Boss Slayer! As the last to attack the boss when it died, you receive a bonus!]

[200XP, Kiss of the Sidewinder]

I trip on a large branch, face planting into the smooth rocks. I should be annoyed, but my first instinct is to Analyze the branch and find nothing special. Still, it's strong enough to not break or bend from my weight so I cut and shave it into three long pieces. I tie them into a triangle, adding two shoulder straps and a belt. I summon a bedroll and turn the whole thing into a framed backpack.

[Success! You have crafted simple apprentice item]

[Roycroft Backpack. Simple Apprentice

[84x48 inches of non magical space.]

"Neat, that's exactly what Chef Jose called it."

My Head Chef Jose is one of those prepper types and had a million things to say about everything. Turns out, some of the things, like the chili peppers and the Roycroft frame, are worth listening to. The backpack has an inventory interface but I can feel the weight of it after I transfer some gear over, making room for the loot in my ring.

[You receive 1*Wyvern Poison Sac, 1*Wyvern Horn, 11*Wyvern Scale, 3*Wyvern Claw, 2*Wyvern Leather, 15*Wyvern Fang, 1*Raincaller Wyvern Tip]

I can't imagine trying to lug all that around in the bag, but now all of my storage devices are full. The bonus, a whip called Kiss of the Sidewinder, is coiled around my shoulder as I continue my walk. I want to read its stats, but there's another set of notifications that has a higher priority.

[Level up! You are now level 15]

[You have 7 points to allocate!]

Looks like I have to thank William for sending me on my little journey. I count my lucky stars for stumbling onto a wounded boss creature. Even with Squiddie, I'm not sure we would've been able to take it on if it was at full health. I add 5 to Arcane and 2 to Dexterity, bringing them to 50 and 54 respectively.

[DecaStat Reached: +1 Arcane Spell]

[As you have reached the pinnacle of low level Spells, your next DecaStat point will be at 70]

I last used my DecaStat point in haste. Before that, I obtained Basic Enchantment with the same mentality, netting me three spells out of one. Now, however, I give myself time to go over what might be my last Spell, since the next one wont be until 70 Arcane. I check the ground ahead of me, give myself the all clear, and press onward. I narrow the list of spells and watch my path as I debate internally.

[Counterspell I (45MP) 25 yards/ Disrupt the mana of a spell already cast as long as the MP cost is less than 35MP, canceling it.]

[Zone of Silence I (65MP) self/ Create a 20ft diameter sphere where no sounds can be created. Lasts 2 minutes/dismissed]

[Forced Duel (30MP) 50 yards/ 75% chance for the target and the caster to be impulsed to fight one another, ignoring all else on the battlefield. The two will do everything in their power to kill the other. Lasts until one of the two has died/Dispelled.]

[Crystallize (30SP) touch/ Add a thin layer of Magical crystal to any inorganic item that you touch. Possible effects include increasing base damage in weapons and Armor in equipment. How long each effect lasts varies by the effect created and item targeted.]

Each of my top four has multiple pros and cons, but I'm disappointed that I didn't get any kind of AoE Buff Spell. I go over my own Spells and Skills to see if any of them would mesh well and I notice that Tempest Fist leveled up too.

[Discipline/Tempest Fist III

[All unarmed strikes may use Strength or Dexterity as the Modifier.

[On/Off, -30%Max SP, reach of unarmed hand attacks extends by 15feet.

[You may alter all unarmed damage to the Lightning or Water Elemental. Adds no bonus damage or extra effects.

[Level 17

[Level 19

"Okay," I come to a screeching halt, "What the hell kind of character am I playing?" I've played enough RPGs and a few tabletop sessions to know that I am far from focused on a specific anything right now. I give my Abilities a once over and I get the feeling that I may have taken versatility too far. I continue walking, albiet at a slower pace.

"I think I messed up my build." The words leave a bitter taste in my mouth. I might have gotten lucky once or twice, but eventually, luck always runs out. "Crap. What do I do?"

I have my Assassinate combo that I've used in pretty much every battle. That should make it my primary skill set. Assassinate, Critical Stab, Echo Strike. I could add Shadow Toxin or Roundhouse Kick for flavor. Spam that until I run out of MP or SP and then fall back to Reach since it just reduces SP Max. Now, I can change the damage I deal to Lightning or Water. Crystallize would probably be the best for the combo, and I have the option to buff others as well.

I think I'm looking at this the wrong way. My Class says Mage, but my build screams Mage-Killer. I can bypass Tanks and Heavy Fighters in an instant and clear out back lines with ease. Of my available new Spells, only Zone of Silence sounds appealing for this line of thinking. Once I do clear out the Mages, Clerics and Archers, I could help finish off the front line or press forward. Of course, I can't direct the troops from deep in hostile territory.

But maybe I don't have to. Maybe that's been my problem since I was first given the reins. Victoria has years more experience, as a soldier and as a Lieutenant. Dawn has War Party Leader and has led groups on her own. And, as the group's main healer, she's predisposed to keep an eye on the whole battlefield. Either of them seem far more suited for the job than I.

"You know what? I'm okay with that. Every captain needs a first mate. Every officer needs a sergeant. I'm a guy who gets things done. That's what I'm good at."

I select Zone of Silence and the familiar stream of ancient knowledge swirls around my brain. Counterspell and Forced Duel are geared for one-on-one battles and, though useful and probably more interesting, Crystallize is MP expensive and must be applied item by item.

My MP drops fifty percent (65/130MP) and a light blue, dome instantly forms around me. It shifts in color like tv static and a level of anxiety builds in my brain as I finally observe the complete lack of any kind of sound. The only kind of feedback I get from stepping on the sand is the gritty grinding under my boot, like my foot is feeling the static of the magic surrounding me. I sign the word "bolt" and a swell of laughter rises from deep within me. I can feel the clicking of my throat and the air leaving my lungs, but there's still nothing. I don't know if I should just stop laughing, but I can't. My left hand is glowing with purple light and I release it into a cone of Arcane energy with my ring. Now, even though I'll be blitzing robed stick waggers with my claws, it's good to know I can still cast and I'm not going to be limited in combat options.

The dome pops and I'm still reveling in my new Spell when all of my sensors go off. Someone with a lantern floating near their head is quickly approaching me from behind. I readjust my mask over my face and turn around. A figure in a long, duster coat and a wide brimmed hat rides a horse up to me, stopping about ten yards away, "Whoa, girl." Her voice is a pack of cigarettes a day raspy, "You a player or NPC?" Due to the lantern, I switch to normal vision, but the light casts a shadow over her face.

"Player." I answer, not sure if I should ready my claws or a spell just yet. "Is there something I can I help you with?"

She glances around, flaps her long coat wide open, revealing a gun holster on her hip and leather armor on her chest. She places a gloved hand on the grip, "You happen to see a busted Wyvern round here?"

Spoiler: Ardacen Character Sheet

[Basic Info: Ardacen Winters__ Race | Subrace: Human | Custom

[Height/Weight: 5'9/165lbs

[Class | Subclass: Blue Mage 6

[Level: 15

[Experience: 7105 | 8500

[Multiclass | Subclass:

[Artisan Job Classes: Cook 8 | Alchemist 5 | Leatherworker 12

[Copper/Silver/Gold/Platinum: 100/25/0/0

[HP/MP/Stamina Regen Delay: 8sec/7sec/8sec

[HP/Max/RegenPerSec: 153/153/10

[MP/Max/RPS: 130/130/11

[Stamina/Max/RPS: 87/87/10

[Combat Modifiers

[Strength: 1+2

[Dexterity: 52+2

[Arcane: 50

[Faith: 1

[Defense Modifiers

[Agility: 57+11

[Armor: 40+2

[Willpower: 38+4]

[Main Hand: AWP Claw

[Durability: n/a

[Type/Range/Ammo: Dexterity/Melee/0

[Base/Modified Damage: 17/71

[Off Hand: AWP Claw

[Durability: n/a

[Type/Range/Ammo: Dex/Melee/0

[Base/Modified Damage: 17/71]

[Head: Night Terror Helm 4/4

[Durability: 150/150

[Armor:8

[Shoulders: Mantle of the Grey Wanderer 3/3

[Durability: 240/240

[Armor: 2

[Bonus:+2Dex, +2Will, +3HP Regen

[BodyOver: Night Terror Brigandine 4/4

[Durability: 115/115

[Armor: 9

[Bonus: -10% Shadow and Necrotic damage received, Deal +10% Shadow and Necrotic damage, +1 Level to Stealth skill, and immunity from Slow

[BodyUnder: Simple Cloth Tunic

[Durability: 80/80

[Armor: 1

[Arms: Simple Umbra Bracers

[Durability: 110/110

[Armor: 4

[Hands: Reinforced Cobra Gloves

[Durability: 110/110

[Armor: 2

[Bonus: +5% chance of inflicting poison

[LegsOver: Night Terror Greaves 4/4

[Durability: 110/110

[Armor: 6

[LegsUnder: Simple Cloth Pants

[Durability: 80/80

[Armor: 1

[Feet: Simple Night Terror Boots 4/4

[Durability: 110/110

[Armor: 7]

[Face: Mask of the Grey Wanderer 3/3

[Bonus: +3Agi, +1Str, +1Armor, +3SP Regen

[Neck: Necklace of Dragon Breathing

[Ear Right: empty

[Ear Left: Whisper Ear Cuff

[Wrist Right: empty

[Wrist Left: Simple Bracelet of Storage

[Size: 3x3x3 ft

[Ring Right: Minor Ring of Storage

[Size: 5x3x2 ft

[Ring Left: Bolt Master's Ring

[Waist: Sash of the Grey Wanderer 3/3

[Bonus: +3Agi, +1 Str, +1Armor, +3MP Regen

[Spells: Arcane Bolt II, Assassinate, +Shadow Toxin, +Healing Breeze, Zone of Silence]

[Skills: Minor Survival Craft III, Critical Stab I, Stealth II, Echo Strike, Discipline/Tempest Palm I, Roundhouse Kick, Distracting Footwork]

[Feats: Adaptibility, Varient Hunter I, War Party Leader I, +Alpha Wolf's Pride, +Swarm Tactics, Sonny View Analyzer, +Apex Predator, Piramis Blue Mage, Monster Tutor]

[Major Quests: none

[Minor Quests: Revenge]