Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.

Pre-Fall sage

Moore was watching Johanna’s morning exercise with a particular interest today. She’d stopped using Earthbind every day, probably because her trainer considered it cheating, but she still accumulated regular XP from both fire skills and the occasional use of the Agility-based skill in the team-based exercises of the afternoon.

The Pfeiffer woman was still hell on earth with a sword, a kind of medieval boot camp sergeant, relentless in drilling Johanna and Laura. And he had to admit, the swordplay got better and better, even from his ignorant perspective.

All that exercise, however, never translated into XP in Strength or any other stat. The only thing that worked was using skills related to the stat, which made him wonder how the character sheet translated into actual reality. Did increasing Strength using XP translate into bigger, well, physical strength? Or was it all abstracted, not entirely grounded in reality?

Obviously, there was the point where people, by default, always added to 91 before XP. Kids had exactly 15 in each stat until progression actually started. There were obviously athletic and non-athletic kids, but if they all had 15 in Strength, then what of it?

Still, he’d noticed that the sex of a person seemed to influence stuff. Men tended to have higher physical scores, women were higher in non-physical ones. That gender stereotype seemed to play out in the sheets, although there was nothing preventing monsters like that 18-base Strength – plus three allocated points!!! – Blade Whirler trainer.

But all of this was idle speculation, and he was waiting for the instant where Johanna’s lighting up her sword for the morning exercise was going to translate into what he wanted. She started her exercise, and he looked.

Victory! 5k XP total!

Time slowed as Moore raised and then committed Johanna’s new level 5, emptying the global pool from residual Anasta XP and the Erinax’s kill, leaving 4 paltry points.

Fire Shaper. It was there, just as he’d speculated when Johanna had been introduced to the other sorceress and he found the higher magic specializations. And yes, as he expected, all fire-themed skills he’d spotted so far got a multiplier increase in that new specialization. While… Earthbind dropped to zero. As expected too.

There were also a few stamina-based skills now appearing in the list available. Not too many, but all with some kind of heat theme.

Can’t be helped. You’re either a jack-of-all-trades average mage or a powerful elemental master.

All he had to do now was to wait for the next 1k XP to remove the specialization and replace it…

The specialization could be replaced, right now. He tried it at a whim, and the change was allowed. He briefly toyed with Explorer, the AGI-based basic one, but he couldn’t get it to stick, just like Discreet. He still needed 1k experience to switch to that one, as it had been back when he’d selected Johanna’s initial build.

He pondered the difference for a while before he realized the simple fact, mentally facepalming. He was simply raising the specialization. Going from AUT 16 to AUT 17, level 5, and an additional stat. The other advanced spec he could also pick for Johanna, Earth Shaper, didn’t need XP to select as well. Just going out of the original Shaper version. It was just trying to get to a non-AUT specialization.

He switched to Tom’s perspective and checked another spec change. Just Explorer required dipping into the XP as well, but switching to the obviously Agility-based Duelist did not, as it also required 16 STR. He no longer had global XP to spend anymore, or he could have checked if putting 3k in DEX for a score of 16 allowed him to switch to Maker, with its STR16/DEX16/Level2 for free as well.

Okay, so all that’s needed is that all of the previous requirements are the same or higher. Well, that’s handy.

He would test with Peter soon. He was now operating under the assumption that there would be an advanced version of the specialization at level 5 for everyone. Grinding skills day and night had brought the Discreet almost to 5k as well. He’d been aiming originally to get 6k XP and unlock a Strength skill, but if there were further specializations hidden at level 5, and some multipliers dropped, it was better to know about it first. That was the new plan: everyone to 5, and see what popped out. He still smarted internally about the 2500 XP he’d have to spend to abandon Earthbind and recover the skill point, even if he was going to re-use it immediately for a new skill.

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Well, if the new spec didn’t require any additional XP, there was no reason not to switch now, so he canceled the test on Tom, switched back to Johanna’s view, committed, and let time flow again.

Welcome to the big fire leagues, Jo.

Johanna Marcia Milton

Female human, 19 years, 6 months

Fire Shaper

Level: 5 (8000 XP needed)

15/134 mana (+14 per hour)

1 unallocated skill point

XP: 0 + 4

STR: 14

AUT: 18 (1754 XP needed)

Fire Handling (59)

AGI: 16 (1910 XP needed)

Earthbind (5)

PER: 14 (941 XP needed)

Mana Sight (33)

DEX: 16 (630 XP needed)

Flaming Blade (37)

EMP: 15

Johanna swung her sword, parrying the incoming strike, as she tried to push her fiery trail into Francesca’s move, using the flame as a distraction. The swordplay was not yet routine, and she still wanted to catch her by surprise, although that was probably a doomed attempt.

Then the sword dimmed, a brutal cramp seized her, and the flame petered out and she dropped on all fours.

To her credit, Francesca immediately stopped, recognizing it as a genuine problem, and not some trick to get her guard down. She rushed and put her hand on Johanna’s shoulder.

“You’re okay? What happened?”

“I… I had some kind of cramp. Like I got squeezed out in the gut.”

“That’s never happened in our training.”

“No, it’s like… my mana got thrown out or something.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve lost your magic?” Francesca said, alarmed.

“I…”

She put her hand up and tried to call the fire. Much to her relief, the flame instantly came up. Then she stared at her palm.

“Isn’t that a bit… bigger than usual?” Francesca said, frowning.

“It is. It’s never been that big before. It’s… always the same size. I mean, I think it’s grown a tiny little bit since I became a sorceress. But not that big.”

“What happened?” the voice of Elena Worchester came from behind them.

The mist sorceress had been usually watching their training sessions, at least most of them. Seeing her falter, she’d instinctively crossed the courtyard to check on her fellow sorceress. Then she realized that the flame that Johanna had called was much larger than usual. Where it had been almost 4 inches tall, it was half again longer now. The flare of the flame at the root was more pronounced as well. Despite the added length, the flame still didn't flicker much.

“How is…”

Johanna turned her head and winced.

“No idea. I just had the wind knocked out of me… and it looks like my flame’s got a lot bigger.”

“I can see that.”

“It had gotten a tiny bit bigger before… but not like that. Definitely not like that. Does it ever happen…” Johanna started to ask.

Elena shook her head.

“Of course, not… Well, maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“I remember the story of Fred Goetz. He used to be an adept. He could cool down water somewhat by dipping his finger in it, but not that much. But one morning, he woke up and found himself doing full-scale sorcery, freezing water into solid ice. I think there might be one or two other instances of adepts that found themselves able to do real sorcery after half a decade or more.”

Johanna immediately spotted the implicit significance of Goetz.

“The difference between an adept and a sorcerer is one of scale… and the difference between that tier 3 sorcerer down south – whatsisname, Diogo Amengual??? – and your tier 6 is a scale too. You cover almost twice the surface.”

“So… there’s adept, and sorcerer… and greater sorcerers. And you can move up in scale?” Elena said, blinking.

“You might have started directly there. After all, most people are sorcerers immediately,” Johanna noted.

“But they could maybe upgrade… As you just did?”

“I told you… it doesn’t happen when we sleep. Just at… odd times.”

The two were interrupted by the voice of Pfeiffer.

“As much as I’m loath to interrupt sorceresses’ serious discussions… do you need to stop today’s exercise to figure out things? No, Milton, you don’t get to vote, I know you’ll jump on the occasion to skip.”

Johanna almost laughed. She had to admit the idea was appealing.

“Maybe…” Elena started, before being interrupted by Francesca raising her sword in salute.

The two sorceresses turned their heads and automatically straigthened, seeing the Warden himself crossing the courtyard.

“Lord Maistry,” Elena said.

“Lord,” Johanna added.

“Well, it does look like training time is over. At least training here.”

Johanna noticed Elena stiffening.

“Bad news?”

“Just got a dispatch. Scout parties spotted multiple groups coming to reinforce the tribesmen… and a warband of wendigos. It looks like harvest time is over and their winter offensive is a go. Pack and get ready, you’re leaving at dawn tomorrow.”

“I’ll miss you, Milton”, Francesca said.

“Don’t worry, General Adorno will take care of her,” the Warden said.

“He’s the one in charge?” Elena asked.

“He’s joining General Pasqual at the Gap. I would love to see this through, but unfortunately, my days of leading a campaign are gone,” the Warden said, massaging his intact-looking inert hand.

“But maybe this winter will be decisive enough,” he added, before turning around and heading toward the main gate.

Elena watched the man depart, then she sighed and turned toward Johanna.

“See you tomorrow,” she simply said before, heading toward the central keep.

Johanna stashed her practice sword and headed toward her quarters as well. She instinctively watched her palm.

That must be why, she realized.