Author's Note: I'm back!! FINALLY!! Thanks to all of my fans for being patient and always asking about the story, I truly do appreciate it. Those of you that many know me in real life will definitely know about all I've been through. The projects, the essays, the presentations, and the finals!

Even after that it was hard writing, since all of the above took a month away from my book. When I came back, everything I wrote sounded terrible. SO... I'm not sure about the quality of this chapter, but let me know anyways!!

An easy guide to the story (tells you what it means if I put things in bolded brackets, and stuff like that).

Spoiler :

EASY GUIDE TO THE STORY

....... Multiple periods in a row with nothing else anywhere near it usually refer to silence, or the fact that nothing is happening.

(* *) means author's note (which I generally use to make comments as inside the story chapters).

[ ] refers to a skill or ability that is used. Right now there are no different markers for passive and active skills

'things in italics' Things in italics with the little apostrophe marks are someone's actual thoughts

***** If the asterisks form a small line and the next sentences start a line or 2 below it, it means either:

A) A change of viewpoint

OR

B) A time-skip

(which basically means stuff happened in-between 2 events, but I'm skipping over it to get

to whatever is happening in the present)

------------------------ Dashed lines in bold refer to where the chapter starts and/or stops

I'll add more if I do more things.

An easy guide to the different measurements (for people that are familiar with the metric system, and vice versa)

Spoiler :

GUIDE TO THE DIFFERENT MEASUREMENTS

10 feet is around 3 meters

1 mile is a little more than 1.5 kilometers

I'll add more if I find out more

Characters:

Spoiler :

Zhang: Arrogant, greedy, manipulative and smart, with a surprisingly protective side when it comes to Misa. Likes to play the warrior/tank role, but is actually an unspecified (no class), which means he is a jack-of-all trades. Thinks that Wahshi (although he calls him "Washy") is an NPC which will lead him to a great quest. But he still offered him up as a tribute to the "Elder Dragon" in exchange for everyone else's lives. Currently suspected of being over level 200

Misa: Bloodthirsty, sadistic and uncaring, except for when it comes to the people she likes (which currently includes only Zhang). Has the overpowered hidden class Sun Mage which is supposed to focus on peace and pursuit of knowledge. She uses it to do whatever she wants, which usually ends up getting her in trouble with the Sun Spirit, whom all Sun Mages are contracted with. A mysterious event involving at least herself and one other person seems to have shaped who she has become. Her Sun Mage powers are currently sealed, due to her misuse of them during the fight with the living trees. Currently suspected of being over level 200

Alexa: Cautious but with a good heart. A mysterious event seems to have caused Zhang and Misa to hate her deeply, but she still sees them as her 2 best friends who have been there for her for a long time. She struggles to try and make up for whatever happened in the past, causing her to more than once overlook Zhang and Misa's hatred and wrongdoings, even if it hurts herself in the process. Rogue-type player (actual class not mentioned yet). Currently suspected of being over level 200.

Wahshi: The Main Character. Real name Raes Bastion, framed for a crime he didn't commit and separated from his daughter while he was sent to prison for 20 years. What he wants to do now is earn enough money through the Virtual Reality game so that he can start searching for the daughter he lost, and maybe a little revenge on the way there against the people that framed him. Was recently betrayed by his former fellow travelers and killed by a dragon. He somehow managed to survive ANOTHER trip through the Mist of Souls. Currently an unspecified (no class). Currently level 1.

PREVIOUSLY:

Spoiler :

Wahshi was betrayed by Zhang and his party, and died at the hands of the "Elder Dragon". He revived at the Mist of Souls, where he then proceeded to rush out of there, at the cost of immense amounts of pain. And several pounds of flesh. After jumping through the pool near Gaia's tree, he plummeted through the canopy and managed to survive.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Noon light streamed in through the windows of a certain not-so-humble abode. Sizzling sounds could be heard from one part, as the smell of sausage and eggs spread throughout the whole household. From the central block, it spread to both wings of the house and towards a certain part of the central block which housed two gleaming capsules that were spaced a few feet apart from each other.

One was currently in use, and a solid green light fought the noon sunshine as it struggled to make itself known to the world. It was almost as if it was fighting to right some secret injustice that the noon sun had dealt it.

The other capsule stood gleaming, proclaiming its factory freshness to all who could see it. You’d never even know that it’d been recently taken apart and put back together.

A little ways away, but still nearby, the sizzling sounds had slowly died off. Footsteps could be heard as the person walked with a steaming-hot plate just right for brunch. The wall nearby flickered, and images of 3 people sitting around a table who appeared to be having a debate. Sitting down on a comfy chair, he helped himself to a nice, well-planned meal, thinking almost nothing of what was being so heatedly debated about on live television.

*************************

“- is one of the top ten events that changed the world!” As the pale faced, slightly balding man finished his sentence, he reached out and took a sip from a bottle of water that lay conveniently near him on the table.

Sounds of raucous denial roared around the table as the two others vented out their disagreement with his statement.

For the next few seconds, none of the words could be made out as everyone tried to talk over one another in their attempts to tell everyone else around the table as well as all of their viewers, why exactly they thought everyone else’s idea, was a stupid idea.

Sadly, this kind of idiotic bickering was pretty common nowadays, regardless of whether or not it was live on national television.

What was even worse was the fact that no one was excluded from this, regardless of gender, race and social upbringing.

The proof was being displayed right now after all. The pale-faced, balding man that sat on the leftmost side of the table was well-known, mainly because of his rags-to-riches background.

The other two were well-known women, but well-known for other reasons. The one sitting at the rightmost side of the table was an Asian woman in her late 40’s that had come from a middle-class family. Almost everything about her was average, her background, her skills, etc. The only thing that she had which was extraordinary was her looks. Even in her 40’s she was still considered to be a top-notch beauty, and was famous for her previous career as one of the top 10 models in America.

The one sitting in between the both of them was a woman of African descent in her mid-20’s. She was very different from the other people there, in almost all aspects. It was almost as if she had been favored since before she was born. There was nothing she didn’t have. She was more than just beautiful, and could have become Miss Universe if she had ever tried to become a model. Born into a rich family, and with an almost unheard of genius-level IQ, she was able to use the resources she’d had since birth to gain PhD’s in Biochemistry, English and Modern History.

And yet, regardless of their race, gender or social upbringing, they’d all ended up bickering like little kids for everyone to see on national television.

It was a shame that it couldn’t be said that this was rare or uncommon nowadays.

After a full 2 minutes of non-stop arguing in which the viewers were unable to make out anything at all, the African-American woman which was sitting in the middle finally slammed both hands down on the table yelling, “ENOUGH!!”

And the other two paused in mid-sentence, looking at the woman in between them that had the gall to try and shut them up on live television.

She sighed, her black hair rippling down her shoulders as she did. “Look, this is getting us nowhere. Paul,” she looked over to her right at the pale-faced, balding man, “you make a good point with the tsunami. Yes, it did affect the world significantly, but how about for the remaining time we have left, we just focus on the top 10 people that have changed the world, for good or bad?”

Paul grunted to show his reluctant agreement. “As long as Shaniqua agrees to do the same.”

The former model on the right side of the table nodded. “That’s fine with me. So, how far back can we go in history to recommend someone?”

She looked over at the other two. “Anyone have any ideas?” She gazed pointedly at the African-American woman in the middle. “You’re the one that brought it up Ashika, so what’re your conditions?”

Ashika paused for a second, as if she was trying to find a way to make it so that the debate wouldn’t degrade into another pointless, child-like argument between the three respectable adults. “Let’s do it like this. Refer anyone you want, from any time period at all, that either positively or negatively influenced the world, as long as you can explain your thoughts. Any objections?”

She looked over at first Shaniqua, then Paul.

“No.”

“None at all.”

Ashika’s mouth curled into a relieved grin. “Alright, then I’ll start. Hitler.”

And the table debate descended into chaos once more.

******************************

The man that was leisurely eating his brunch barely paid any attention at all to the squabbling that passed for a good news program on television nowadays. In fact, he spent almost the entire time he was eating, lost in thought.

That is, until he heard a name that he was familiar with, being said on the news show that was playing.

*******************************

“-has got to be Raes Bastion! If we’re including people that have changed the world for worse, then he definitely has to be somewhere on the list!” The Asian woman named Shaniqua paused before she continued. “Let’s look at the facts. The guy was a greedy little SOB, stole from his own company, which led to a major crash in the American economy! The fact that the company is still around today, and the fact that it’s thriving now is only because of their Board of Directors, which had found out about his corruption in the first place!”

“I disagree!” The pale-faced man named Paul interrupted. “If we were looking at the top 20 people that had changed the world, for better or worse, then I would side with you without a doubt that Raes Bastion definitely had to be somewhere on the list! But the fact is, there are just too many that have made bigger ripples.”

Sounds of disagreement from the other 2 members of the debate echoed each other.

Paul let out a breath of frustration. “You don’t believe me? Then what about Melissa Gonzalez, hmm?”

He paused and let the other 2 members of the debate try to remember who it was that he was talking about. He honestly needn’t have bothered though. Everyone knew who she was, everyone knew what had happened.

Like Raes Bastion, she was an heir to company that made billions. Like Raes Bastion, she had also inherited everything overnight when her parents died. The difference between the 2 of them was the fact that she wasn’t a party-boy like Raes was.

Melissa Gonzalez was both the brains and the brawn behind her company, having the smarts maneuver around the politics of the business world with the mind of an inventor, and had managed to accumulate the power to throw her weight around when necessary. All at the age of 23.

Until 2 years ago.

2 years ago, Melissa Gonzalez had been one of the victims of a heinous crime, one that had left her fiancée in a coma, and herself a recluse. The details of the crime had never been published, but the whole world knew that something had happened to the rising star that had been Melissa Gonzalez.

Her achievements were numerous, but what made her eligible for the top 10 people that had changed the modern world (for better or worse) was her downfall.

She hadn’t shown her face to the public in the two years since, and her sister had jointly merged their company with Raes Bastion’s former company. The new company that had formed, Bastion and Gonzalez, or B&G, was now one of the most powerful businesses in the world. Because they had somehow managed to acquire Awakening Industries, the company behind the game Awakening.

There were over 10 billion people playing, from all walks of life. Celebrities, scientists, government officials, rulers, dictators, the average citizens of the world, etc. More than 3/4ths of the world played the game, and B&G was able to influence them all.

It’s not like there weren’t other games to be played. In fact, there were numerous other ones that were moderately successful, especially ones that were meant to be short, repetitive and amusing (like smartphone games), but none could compete with Awakening. This was because none of the other games could match the graphics, AI’s, or time-difference that Awakening employed.

Other games’ AI’s were completely scripted, and couldn’t do anything unusual. Much like the NPC’s you’d have found in a video game half a century earlier. Their graphics were also terrible when compared to Awakening, and the best of them were only able to make a 1:2 time disparity (meaning 1 minute IRL=2 minutes in game).

No one could figure out how the company, Awakening, had done it, but it was likely that the company wouldn’t publish their findings any time soon.

And the company that had managed to acquire everything was B&G. None of it would’ve been possible without Melissa Gonzalez having become a recluse. Because she had been completely against the merger between her own company and the company formerly owned by Raes Bastion.

It stunk of foul play, but no one would go up against the behemoth that controlled more than 3/4ths of the world’s population.

*****************************************

The man that had been eating brunch paused, a forkful of eggs halfway to his mouth. With a complicated look, he gazed over at the two capsules that lay not so far away. In one of them was a man he’d thought of as his own brother all his life, the man that had become like the Devil that everyone in America cursed. The man known as Raes Bastion.

Caesar tore his eyes away from the capsules, a heavy feeling in his own chest.

‘There’s not much that I can do for you, and I have a feeling it’s going to get a LOT worse before it gets better.’

He tried not to think about the fact that there was no guarantee that it was going to get any better at all.

But he knew for a fact that it was going to get a whole lot worse from here on out. That was an undisputable fact.

**********************************************

SHIIIING!!

As I stepped out of the mist, notice after notice began popping up one after the other.

The mist condensed and turned into my body as I read through them. I’d originally been worried about how I’d be able to find Zhang and his party again once I’d come back from wherever the Mist of Souls was, but one of the first notices I saw solved that problem.

RECKONING FROM THE AFTERLIFE (Level 1):Life is hard. Betrayal is worse. The RECKONING that comes after, will haunt you more than you can imagine.

BEWARE!! When one is cursed, 2 graves will follow!

While there is always an escape for one who is cursed, the one who curses will be damned regardless!COST:50% of HealthEFFECT 1:Curse a person you have met. If you have enough hatred, you will know where to go to find them! Lasts until Sunup or Sundown, depending on when it is activated.EFFECT 2: -10% Health/Hour. If Sunup/Sundown is reached, -100% Health. If the RECKONING is fulfilled, -100% HealthRESTRICTIONS:Can only be used on targets with enough Hatred attached. Can only be used by those with Spiritual Energy, Spiritual Connections, or the Equivalent thereof. Can only be used on targets that you have previously encountered.

The warning was right. I’d be damned regardless of whether or not I managed to kill them!

There was only one thought in mind when I remembered what they’d done, though.

‘It’s worth it!’

My eyes burned painfully as I read through the notices as quickly as I could.

I’d already read through Providence of the Higher Spirits, and now the only thing left to go through were my stat gains. After all, I’d gained stats the first time I’d gone through the Mist. It’d be strange if it didn’t happen again.

Looking through the notices only confirmed what I thought I would see.

FIRST CAME PAIN, THEN CAME SUFFERING!To willingly put yourself back through a torturous moment is something that many would do. Good for you, you masochist! WILLPOWER +4

THE STRONG MAN IS NOT ONE THAT SUBDUES OTHERS, BUT ONE THAT CAN SUBDUE HIMSELF WHEN NEEDED!You have taken this saying and taken it to the extreme, by willingly having your flesh ripped from your body! While it is most definitely not the true meaning of the saying, your body has been strengthened because of it. STRENGTH +4

BAD JUDGEMENT, OR JUST PLAIN UNLUCKY?!Trust is a precious thing, and unfortunately for you, it was given to someone that used it against you! LUCK -9

That last one stung more than a little. But I’d already accepted the fact that I’d been an idiot to trust people so easily. There was nothing that could be done about that, and the only thing left was to make the people pay for it.

My chest expanded as I took a deep breath in. Breathing out, I looked up at the canopy above and wondered what time it was now. If I’d broken through the canopy like a normal person would have, I probably could’ve seen the sky and known if it was day or night. But as soon as I hit the tree cover, I’d immediately used [Mist Form], which meant that I’d passed through it like a breeze.

After all, gravity and momentum still played a huge role in what happened. I’d been heavy enough to get a huge momentum moments before I hit the canopy, so even after I turned to mist, I’d still breezed through.

Unless I wanted to climb back up there, I wouldn’t know when Sunup or Sundown would be.

It might be a bad decision, but I’d just have to test my luck on this one.

Despite the -9 to LUCK that I’d just gotten.

I looked around at the green foliage as I mustered up all the hate I had for those three, thinking specifically of Zhang.

“[RECKONING FROM THE AFTERLIFE]!!” I shouted.

…..

There was nothing.

‘What the H*LL is going on?!!’

I cleared my throat. “[Reckoning from the Afterlife]!”

…..

Nothing happened. Again.

‘DAMMIT!!’

A blue screen appeared as I opened up my skills and abilities list in my [Status] window. Scrolling down my list of abilities, I managed to find it all the way at the bottom. As I looked through it, there was one phrase that stood out to me.

“RESTRICTIONS: Can only be used on targets with enough Hatred attached….”

‘Are you KIDDING ME?! I DON’T HATE HIM ENOUGH??!’

It was unbelievable…

I looked at the green HEALTH bar at the top-right corner of my vision, and I knew that it could only be true. After all, it hadn’t even activated. If it had, I’d only be left with 50% of my health.

Time was ticking though, and although I’d felt like I had plenty enough earlier, now that I couldn’t activate my skill, it was almost like I could feel each second passing by. Because every second that went by, was another second that they used to get farther away from me.

Keeping as much Hate that I could manage in my chest, I thought up of another image from their team.

Alexa.

The person I thought I could trust the most out of the three of them. The person who was so much like the wife I once had.

The person that didn’t even look back as I got squashed by a giant talon from the dragon.

“[Reckoning from the Afterlife]!”

…..

I didn’t even bother checking the gauges at the corner of my vision. I already knew that it failed.

‘THIS DOESN’T MAKE SENSE!!!’

It didn’t mean that I didn’t hate these people after all! I could feel it burning through my chest like acid, the dark emotions almost burning my body alive.

‘How much HATE do I need to have against someone for this to work?!’

There was only one person left on their team that I could try this out on. She was also the one person on the team that had practically never said or done anything to me (except for the fact that a side effect of one of her attacks had badly injured me, but I’d never held that against her).

I figured that it wouldn’t work, but I thought I might as well try it out. Picturing Misa, staff in hand, with her mage robes fluttering in the wind, I tried to mentally activate the ability.

‘[Reckoning of the Afterlife]’

I immediately felt a loss of energy, and I looked up to see my HEALTH gauge drop down to the halfway mark.

Somehow, I also knew in which direction to head towards to find Misa. It felt like I was being drawn in that direction.

I spun around and dashed away from the spot I was, rushing to where vengeance was waiting.

It didn’t make sense why I hated Misa enough to activate the skill, when I apparently didn’t hate the others nearly as much. But it didn’t have to make sense for me, it just had to show me the way.

As I sprinted through the forest, I heard a sound that only I could hear.

SHIIIING!!!

IDIOT SAVANT!!!You happened to be in a deep, dark forest full of things that would love to rip out your bones and eat you alive. You knew this, but still shouted at the top of your lungs like an absolute idiot, somehow not realizing that it could get you killed.

AND YOU STILL MANAGED NOT TO ATTRACT A MONSTER!! TRULY AN IDIOT SAVANT!!!! LUCK +3

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Author's Note: So what'd you think? Don't forget to vote and comment!

A BIG thanks again for everyone being patient with me. I know it wasn't easy waiting for that new chapter!

Spoiler :

UNKNOWN SCHOLAR’S ROBE (MODIFIED)[NO LEVEL REQUIREMENT]A ROBE OF UNKNOWN STYLE AND DESIGN. ONCE, IT GAVE OFF AN AIR OF SCHOLARLY NOBILITY. CHANGED TO MAKE IT BETTER FOR BATTLE, IT IS NOW PROOF THAT EVEN THE LOFTIEST OF SCHOLARS WILL FIGHT IF NEED BE.DEXTERITY -2, INTELLIGENCE +3, WILLPOWER +7, DEFENSE +1

TRUSTY IRON KNIFENO REQUIREMENTSA GIFT FROM THE SPIRITS OF THIS WORLD, TO ALL WHO HAVE COME TO ITSTRENGTH +1

BOOTS NO REQUIREMENTSA GIFT FROM THE SPIRITS. ALTHOUGH LOW QUALITY, IT MIGHT LAST IF YOU TAKE GOOD CARE OF IT. IT WON'T DO MUCH BUT SLIGHTLY PROTECT YOUR FEET THOUGH.

Wahshi's Skill/Abilities

Spoiler :

SKILL LISTPASSIVEFIRST-BORN OF THE MIST:

ELDEST: YOU ARE THE OLDEST CHILD OF YOUR CLAN, AND THEREFORE THE STRONGEST. +1 TO ALL STATS FOR EVERY MISTBORN IN THE WORLD, EXCLUDING YOURSELF (CURRENT NUMBER OF MISTBORN: 1 [YOURSELF])

PLAYER:

PERSEVERE: YOU HAVE GONE THROUGH INCREDIBLE PAINS TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL. WHEN HEALTH IS LESS THAN 50%, PAIN DECREASES 1% PER ADDITIONAL PERCENT OF HEALTH LOST

ACTIVEBORN OF THE MIST:

SOUL ORIGIN (BEGINNER RANK): YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED A FEAT FEW WOULD KNOW ABOUT, AND DISCOVERED THE BIRTHPLACE OF YOUR SOUL. TRAVEL TO THE MIST OF SOULS IS NOW POSSIBLE UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS, IF THE COST IS PAID.

ACTIVATION METHOD 1:

REQUIREMENTS: DEATH

ACTIVATION COSTS: ANY AND ALL PENALTIES FOR THOSE THAT KILLED YOU WILL BE NULLIFIED; YOUR KILLERS WILL RECEIVE TRIPLE THE AMOUNT OF EXPERIENCE THEY WOULD NORMALLY RECEIVE

*AUTOMATICALLY ACTIVATES UPON DEATH, REGARDLESS OF WILL OR INTENT

ACTIVATION METHOD 2:

REQUIREMENTS:??? ACTIVATION COST: ???

PART THE MISTS: CONSTANT, UNCEASING EFFORTS TO DIVINE THE TRUTH BEHIND THE WORLD AND EVERYTHING AROUND YOU, HAS RESULTED IN A STRANGE ABILITY TO DO SO.

GATHERS ALL INFORMATION FROM YOUR CONSCOUS AND SUBCONSCIOUS, BOTH KNOWN AND FORGOTTEN.

CAN BE SWITCHED BETWEEN PASSIVE AND ACTIVE

PASSIVE: DISPLAYS ALL RELEVANT KNOWN AND FORGOTTEN INFORMATION INTO YOUR VISION

COST: PERMANENT USAGE OF 10% OF TOTAL MANA

ACTIVE: [i]IN ADDITION TO DISPLAYING ALL RELEVANT KNOWN AND FORGOTTEN INFORMATION, IT REMOVES ANY AND ALL FALSEHOODS

COST: CONSUMES 20% OF TOTAL MANA (WHICH CANNOT BE RECOVERED OR USED UNTIL ABILITY IS SWITCHED TO PASSIVE), 5% of TOTAL HEALTH/SECOND (CANNOT BE RECOVERED UNTIL ABILITY IS SWITCHED TO PASSIVE)

ABILITY LIST[tr]PLAYER:

MENU: Access to a game-like interface

RESURRECTION: May be re-born 10 hours after death (game-time)

INVENTORY: Access to a small, pocket-dimension which can hold belongings up to a certain limit

LOG OUT: Return to your original world

BORN OF THE MIST:

MIST FORM (LVL 1): FIRM CONVICTION IN WHAT YOU THOUGHT WAS TRUE ABOUT YOUR ORIGINS HAS ENABLED YOU TO TURN BACK INTO THE MIST THAT SPAWNED YOU

AT 1ST LEVEL, TURNS YOUR ENTIRE BODY INTO MIST. HIGHER LEVELS WILL ALLOW YOU TO CONTROL WHAT PART OF YOUR BODY YOU WISH TO TURN.

AT 1ST LEVEL, MIST FORM CAN STAY ACTIVE FOR A MAXIMUM OF 2 SECONDS. ABILITY MAY BE CANCELLED AT ANY TIME.

ACTIVATION REQUIREMENTS: NONE

ACTIVATION COST: 2% of Max Health

RECKONING FROM THE AFTERLIFE (LVL 1):

Life is hard. Betrayal is worse. The RECKONING that comes after, will haunt you more than you can imagine.

BEWARE!! When one is cursed, 2 graves will follow!

While there is always an escape for one who is cursed, the one who curses will be damned regardless!

COST: 50% of Health

EFFECT 1: Curse a person you have met. If you have enough hatred, you will know where to go to find them! Lasts until Sunup or Sundown, depending on when it is activated.

EFFECT 2: -10% Health/Hour. If Sunup/Sundown is reached, -100% Health. If the RECKONING is fulfilled, -100% Health

RESTRICTIONS: Can only be used on targets with enough Hatred attached. Can only be used by those with Spiritual Energy, Spiritual Connections, or the Equivalent thereof.

TITLE EFFECTS

FIRST-BORN OF THE MIST: +10 TO ALL STATS, ACCESS TO MISTBORN ABILITIES WHEN DISCOVERED, ACCESS TO UNIQUE ABILITIES GIVEN ONLY TO THE HOLDER OF THIS TITLE (IF DISCOVERED), PASSIVE SKILL “ELDEST”

Spoiler :

STATUS WINDOWNAME:WAHSHILEVEL:1RACE:HUMANGENDER:MALECLASS:NONEMONEY:0G 1S 0C, $0

TITLES:FIRST-BORN OF THE MISTFAME:100INFAMY:0HEALTH:105 (+5)MANA:160 (+170)

STRENGTH:22 (+10)INTELLIGENCE:10 (+10)(+3)DEXTERITY:10 (+10)(-2)WILLPOWER:6 (+10)(+7)VITALITY:10 (+10)CHARISMA:0 (+10)AGILITY:10 (+10)DEFENSE:10 (+10)(+1)LUCK:1 (+10)

*Mana= 100+ (Willpower*10), Health=(LVL*100)+(Vitality/2)