Raiya: Starter Zone - A LitRPG Saga: Archon's Chosen - Book One
Page 29
The spells ran through his mind over and over as he considered every possible use for each spell. Polymorph was so situational and had limited use, but it was so powerful. He decided against it as so far, entangle had done an incredible job at being his primary crowd control ability. It affected more targets and couldn't be canceled by damage.
Water breathing had very few uses, but every gamer knows that at some point you will have to make a dangerous swim to reach some long-lost treasure. When it came to water, he was a decent swimmer, but he wasn't Michael Phelps. He would need the spell to be effective in a water rich environment. Like an island, or a pirate ship.
He hovered over each of the options in turn, until he selected water breathing and accepted the changes before he could change his mind.
Congratulations, you have learned the spell Water Breathing - This spell will allow you to breath underwater for 10 minutes. This is a spell of Water Magic. Cast time: 3 seconds, Cost: 45 mana, Duration: 10 minutes, cooldown: no cooldown.
He dismissed the prompt and moved onto his attribute points. He had a huge reserve of points to spend, and he thought for sure it was going to be a no-brainer. He thought about dumping most of his points into strength, but then quickly reconsidered. Sure, he was trying to become a strong Great Weapon fighter, but if he put too many points into strength alone he would become a glass cannon, able to deal huge amounts of damage, but would die instantly if he took one really bad hit.
His last fight had been tough, but thankfully his enemies had been at a lower level than the elite shock troopers who had attacked the warren. Still, both he and Zuka had nearly died, more than once. He added 10 points to his constitution in the hopes that some extra health would get him through the next major fight a little easier.
He looked at each stat, wondering how to best use his points. So far, he had done okay with mana, and with his recent success using the great sword he figured he would be okay for now. He still got a lot of use from his bow, but unless he had someone to act as his meat shield, he would be able to fire three shots before most fights would devolve to close range brawls. He could use more strength for sure, but he wanted to consider his other options.
So far, his wisdom, the stat tied to his mana regen had been left mostly untouched, but not nearly as completely as Charisma. So far, Charisma seemed like a useless attribute, not tied to anything he had discovered thus far. Though as lifetime fan of role playing games, he assumed that it would probably be tied to discounts when shopping or make other people more likely to trust him. The thing that had surprised him the most thus far was how when he increased his attributes in the menu, his body and mind felt different. Every point in strength made him literally stronger, his muscles growing thicker and more defined.
Every point in intelligence had made his mind faster, able to process more thoughts in the same amount of time giving him an interesting advantage in combat. Every point spent had changed him, so he was supremely interested to see what boosting his Charisma stat would do for him. He was approaching his first real pocket of civilization and there would be new people to meet and hopefully strong and knowledgeable people who could help him in his fight against Abrenacht.
He would need all the help he could get and if Charisma would help him get it, then it would be worth the investment. He added 5 points to Charisma and confirmed his choices. He looked over his attributes, liking how they were shaping up.
Skree, Level 18 Druid
Hit Points
630
Mana Points
300
Stamina
520
Attributes
Strength
31
Dexterity
23
Constitution
53
Intelligence
20
Wisdom
15
Charisma
18
He confirmed his choices and pulled up his skill points menu, delighted at the opportunity to spend 15 more points on his ever-expanding list of skills. He had just received two brand new skills, horseback riding and mounted combat, both of which were pretty great, though he doubted they would be worth increasing just yet. Who knew how long it would be until he find himself astride a mighty stallion once again. He decided to skip them for now.
He had gotten a tremendous amount of use out of Stealth and Tracking, but in larger battles they would play an ever-decreasing role for him, especially as he developed as a Great Weapon fighter. Archery was still a viable choice, but again, he was worried that it wasn’t the strongest choice at this point in his progression. Light armor was a solid choice, and he had just gotten some pretty sweet upgrades in that department, so he figured it was worth the investment, so he added 6 points to Light Armor, increasing his skill level to 20, making his armor 20% more effective. His fear suddenly came true when he was presented with his least favorite prompt.
You have reached skill rank of Novice.
By reaching the rank of Novice, you may no longer gain additional benefits beyond rank 20 until you receive formal instruction in the use of Light Armor by a trainer of at least Adept skill level. You will continue to gain skill ranks, but they will remain locked until you complete your training.
With his remaining 9 points, he wanted to develop more of his magical talents, which had served him well so far. He added 5 points to Life Magic, as his healing spell had saved multiple lives and it would more than likely continue being just as useful. That brought the skill to level 20, making all his healing spells 20% more potent.
You have reached skill rank of Novice.
By reaching the rank of Novice, you may no longer gain additional benefits beyond rank 20 until you receive formal instruction in the art of Life Magic by a trainer of at least Adept skill level. You will continue to gain skill ranks, but they will remain locked until you complete your training.
“Dammit! Moving on.”
Earth Magic had been his bread and butter combat opener, with entangle being the most important tool in his arsenal. He added 4 more points to the skill, bringing the total 11. All of his earth spells would be 11% more effective.
He reviewed his skills again, nodding his approval.
Skills
Rank
Stealth
13
Tracking
13
Archery
13
Light Armor
20
Daggers
7
Survival
14
Foraging
13
Thrown weapons
2
Short blades
5
Life magic
20
Fire magic
1
Earth magic
11
Water magic
6
Air magic
1
Cooking
1
Leatherworking
1
Mountain Climbing
4
Great Weapons
16
Lock picking
6
Unarmored Defense
2
Horseback Riding
1
Mounted Combat
1
He confirmed his choices, then moved onto yet another set of prompts. This time it was his companion Zuka’s turn to get some much-deserved buffs. Zuka had earned 15 attribute points and 6 Companion Talent Points, bringing the total to 9. He was so close to the tier 5 talents he could taste it, but there were other options. First, he decided that he would add 15 points to his companions Constitution. The bonus hit points would make his wolf a walking wall of meat.
He reviewed Zuka’s Attributes, confident he had made the right decision.
Name:
Zuka
Level:
17
Health:
59
Mana:
340
&n
bsp; Stamina:
455
Strength:
22
Dexterity:
33
Constitution:
49
Intelligence:
24
Wisdom:
13
Charisma:
13
He confirmed his choices and then moved onto the Companion Talents window. This one he had already decided on after their last battle. He would buy the talent - Lick Your Wounds, giving Zuka the ability to cast Minor Restoration. It was just too valuable to pass up after he had nearly lost his friend. If Zuka had been able to cast that spell in their last battle, it would have certainly made their situation slightly less dire.
He spent the 4 points and unlocked the ability, leaving him with 5 unspent points. He closed the window and read the description for Lick Your Wounds.
Congratulations, Zuka has learned Lick Your Wounds - This talent allows your animal companion to use your life magic spell Minor Restoration, at a reduced power level and increased mana cost. Your companion’s intelligence will be used for any calculations relating to healing done.
Zuka’s Minor Restoration - This is a spell of life magic. Minor Restoration restores 40 health points instantly and an additional 40 over 10 seconds. Cast time: 1 second, Cooldown: 10 minutes, Mana Cost 155
Skree winced as he read that prompt. Reduced effectiveness and increased cost, what a serious buzzkill. Additionally, the cooldown was 10 minutes, instead of just 1 minute, like his version of the spell. Still, it would mean the difference between life and death at some point, so he was still satisfied with his choice. He wished the prompts did a better job of clearly describing the negatives of choices before he made them, but that was something he would just have to deal with forever it seemed.
Closing the last of his prompts, he settled in for a good night's sleep safe at sea, far from his enemies. In a few short weeks, he would make landfall and begin the next chapter of his grand adventure.