The Road to Red Thorn

by Blaine Hicks

He slid the staff upward in his grip until he held it like a long baseball bat, then stepped towards the oblivious creature and swung with all his might. The hare noticed him right before the staff made contact, but it couldn’t dodge in time. The heavy stick connected with a crack that sent the rabbit tumbling across the meadow. A message stating “Critical Hit” flashed in the air at the point of impact and immediately faded again. The hit would have brought down a full-grown man. Radley celebrated the easy victory. He stepped toward the long grass where the small creature had landed but stopped when no victory prompt appeared. It was a trick. The white fluffy creature rose from the grass like a rabid hand puppet while snarling at him like a junkyard dog. It bared its evil little bunny teeth and glared with deadly fire in its eyes.

  The good news was that its health bar was flashing red at 12 HP. The bad news was, it wanted blood. Radley shouted, “Come get some!” as the bunny launched itself forward towards him. The rabbit was fast, closing the distance between them in the blink of an eye. Even at level 1, Radley’s naga-tao reflexes were up to the challenge. He was able to deflect the ball of fluffy fury with his staff and side-stepped around it, keeping just outside the reach of the rabbit’s outstretched claws. He moved forward to counterattack, but the rabbit leapt away again before he could hit it. It pawed the ground angrily then charged towards him a second time.

  Radley moved again to parry the attack, intending to counterstrike more quickly this time but the rabbit anticipated the move. Instead of striking low, it jumps high and sailed passed his defenses. He watched in horror as the beastly little creature flew at his face in what seemed like slow-motion. It opened its mouth full of razor teeth ready to punish him for the surprise attack. In a flash he cast his fire palm. The blazing hand barely intercepted the kamikaze flight, but it was enough. Fire exploded around them in a puff of burning fur. Its sharp claws dug briefly into his hand, then quickly fell limp as the rabbit’s health bar dropped to zero. The lifeless ball of flaming flesh fell to the ground and burned until almost nothing remained.

  Radley stood for a moment watching the flaming remains in disbelief; unsure what had just happened but hoping the battle was really over. How was that so easy? He wondered. His relief at not being killed or even injured again planted a wide smile on his face. He needed to understand the battle mechanics better. Maybe he wouldn’t have to die again if he could predict battle damage accurately. He tapped his chest and opened the user interface, then navigated to the battle log tab. As the name implied it showed his battle log history with all the hit by hit damage calculations.

  As far as he could tell, every attack started with a calculation of whether or not the attack would land. This was made by calculating his Hit Roll and the opponents Dodge Roll. Each was like the number of sides on a dice. Both dice were rolled, and the higher number won. The rolling of the dice was obviously figurative and simply meant that, if the dice was determined to be 20 sided, the number was random between 1 to 20. If the attacker had the higher roll, his hit landed, and damage was calculated. If the defender won, the hit missed, and no damage was calculated.

  During his battle with the first rabbit, he had tried to punch the beast as it had attacked his leg. Looking at the log, most of his attacks against the first rabbit had been calculated as a miss. This explained why the rabbit had been so slow to die. Radley’s Hit Roll had been calculated at 7, meaning he rolled a 7 sided-dice if there was such a thing. He had actually rolled mostly 2’s and 3’s which all missed. The rabbit had been defending with 5’s and 6’s so no damage was even calculated. Drowning the first rabbit used a much easier percent damage over time calculation.

  When Radley had attacked the second rabbit, the rabbit had not rolled anything to dodge. This was probably due to the surprise attack; the creature offered no resistance. This was useful knowledge and Radley made a mental note to use surprise tactics whenever possible. Once a hit was determined successful, the damage could be calculated. This was affected by several factors including the attackers Damage Roll, the damage rating of the weapon used, and a chance for bonus damage based on various skills related to the combat. Damage reduction was then calculated using the target’s Armor Roll and resistances to physical damage. The rabbit had none. The final damage was the sum of the total offense minus the total defense.

  Radley found the entry for the recent staff attack. He had rolled a hit value of 4 and the rabbit had failed to dodge. Radley had then rolled a damage value of 3. The critical hit had doubled this to 6 damage with the weapon adding 4 more. His battle tactic skill had added 1 more damage point for a total of 11 damage on the opening attack. The rabbit had no armor or defensive rolls and took full damage. It all basically meant that he had almost no chance to hit the thing unless it was unaware the attack was coming. It looked like a second physical hit would be nearly impossible unless Radley could get his Hit Roll up somehow.

  The Fire Palm spell had its own calculation, but the values were different. Radley had somehow rolled a hit chance of 9 and the rabbit had only rolled a dodge chance of 1 out of 2. It meant that his magic was much more likely to be successful than physical attacks. Once the magic hit, it did damage based on the spell’s characteristics, minus the creature’s resistance to the spell type. The rabbit had a negative resistance to fire magic, so the spell did bonus damage.

  Radley sighed happily. His fire palm was a life-saver...literally. He closed the log and looked himself over. He was covered in black soot and burnt flesh, so he moved down the hill to the stream to clean himself off. The exclamation mark had returned to the corner of his vision and he took a moment to review the new notifications while he washed himself off.

  *You have learned the spell “Ambush” (Level 1)*

  * Congratulations! You have reached character level 2. You have received 6 attribute points and 2 spell points*

  Radley had done it! He’d hit Level 2. It wasn’t a huge improvement, but it was still better than Level 1 and the first step towards a brighter future. As painful and scary as the process had been, leveling would be necessary if he wanted to navigate this new life. He wanted to boost his attributes and learn a new spell. Maybe someday he would look back on this experience and laugh. Hopefully, it would happen with a roof over his head, a hot meal in his belly and some clothes on his back but for now, the warm feeling in his heart was enough to encourage him onward.

  CH 15 Chosen Path

  Radley’s favorite thing about RPG’s was leveling. He loved the strategy of increasing stats and molding a character into something better. Now that he was the character, a tingling anticipation coursed through his body from his fingertips to his green toes. He sat down on the grassy meadow by the stream and eagerly tapped his chest to open his user interface which opened to his Profile tab. His “Attributes,” “Vital Statistics” and “Spells” tabs were highlighted with a small exclamation points notifying him that they required his attention. Before moving to them he scanned his profile. He hadn’t looked at it since before he chosen his elemental class.

  Character Name: Rad Fabulous

  Age: 111

  Race: Naga-Tao

  Alignment: Dark

  Size: Medium

  Class: Elemental Mage

  Rank: Initiate

  Profession: None

  Level: 2 (2% to level 3 - 80 / 3,375 xp)

  Description: You are an average looking Naga-Tao.

  His profile now showed his class and also a rank as an initiate. He frowned when he saw his age. Why was he one hundred and eleven years old? That obviously wasn’t right. He also realized that the experience required to level again had dramatically increased. It had only taken 900 XP to get Level 2, but he needed almost four times that to get to Level 3. He was going to have to kill a lot of rabbits. He selected his Vital Statistics tab next. He had spent very little time reviewing this tab before and wanted to understand where he stood before investing attribute points.

  Health 47/47

  Stamina 38/38 (+2)
>
  Mana 84/84

  Psionic Points 60/60

  Hit Roll 7

  Damage Roll 5

  Armor Roll: 4

  Magic Resistance: 0

  Dodge Roll 6

  Luck: 11

  It appeared that some stats had already increased just by leveling. His HP had increased from 37 to 47 from the level increase and his mana pool was up 16 points. His psionic points were also up by 5 points, whatever they did. His stamina though had not changed. He guessed it made sense that a Level 50 mage would have more health than a Level 1 mage even if they hadn’t invested in constitution. He wondered briefly if that meant a high-level tank would also grow smarter without investing in intelligence. He returned his attention to the stats. Just eyeballing things, he figured he needed more mana. His fire palm spell used 20 MP per cast, meaning he only had around 4 casts before running empty. With a 4-minute cooldown, he probably wouldn’t use it twice in the same fight but hopefully he’d be adding new spells to his repertoire soon. He didn’t know enough to know if his other stats were good or bad. He shrugged and navigated to the attribute tab.

  Strength: 9

  Dexterity: 13

  Agility: 12

  Constitution: 9

  Willpower: 6

  Intelligence: 13

  Wisdom:8

  Charisma: 7

  Unspent Attribute Points: 6

  It was weird that his qualities could be summed up in this way. These attributes represented him. They defined who he was. He didn’t like it. It was too finite. Nevertheless, these eight qualities were the key to becoming something better. Investing correctly would be the difference between winning or losing a close fight. He probably should have reviewed the tab sooner, but things had just been so crazy.

  It had only been two days since he had opened the plain brown box. Two days since he placed the neural gear on his head. He had been right when he told his mom that it would change his life but not in the way he expected. He woke up a day ago in a bizarre reality and now the game seemed real. Not understanding these stats was probably why he had died against a Level 2 bunny. He needed to change that. He decided to start by reading the description of each attribute. He selected them one by one:

  Strength: This attribute defines your physical prowess. It affects how much you can carry, how hard you can hit (during a successful attack), and how much you can block (during a successful defense). It is the primary offensive and defensive attribute for all fighting class characters.

  Dexterity: This attribute defines the physical coordination of your arms, hands, and fingers. It affects your fighting speed and your probability to hit and block in battle. It also affects meticulous tasks such as disarming traps, picking locks, and crafting. This is the primary offensive attribute for all rogue class characters.

  Agility: This attribute defines your sense of balance, and mobility. It determines your probability to dodge attacks and remain upright when an attempt is made to knock you down. It also improves your speed when running, swimming, or climbing. This is a primary defensive attribute for all non-fighter classes.

  Constitution: This attribute determines your maximum HP within a range allowed by your race and character class. Constitution also determines your fortitude against magical attacks that impart physical status effects such as sleep, paralysis, slow, etc. It also determines your health regen rate and the potency of potions and poisons. This is a primary attribute for fighting class characters.

  Willpower: This attribute determines your mental fortitude and determination. Willpower gives an extra chance to overcome formidable obstacles and persevere during hardship. Willpower also determines your resistance against magical attacks that impart a mental status effects such as charm, mindblank, confusion, etc. This is a primary attribute for psionic class characters.

  Intelligence: This attribute defines your mental prowess and mana pool. Intelligence determines how easily you learn spells, how fast you can cast them, and how much damage they do. It also determines how quickly you can learn some skills. This is a primary attribute for mage class characters.

  Wisdom: This attribute improves your chance to make good decisions. Wisdom increases awareness and improves the likelihood to detect secrets and traps. It also helps you see through deceit, and illusion. Wisdom also determines the bond between a disciple and their deity which directly affects the potency of divine aid. This is a primary attribute for cleric class characters.

  Charisma: This attribute determines your likability. The more likable you are the more accommodating others will be when you need something. Buying, selling, finding quests and recruiting support are all determined by charisma. This is a primary attribute for merchants and singing class characters.

  Radley read through the list carefully applying each benefit to how it related to his kit. He could benefit from nearly every quality, but some stood out as critical for a mage. If he wanted to fight up close and personal, he needed to improve his chances to hit his opponent and do damage, which meant dexterity and strength but that wasn’t his path. He was a mage. He needed spells that hit hard. Intelligence will increase the power of my spells, he thought then hesitated, remembering the pain of his death to the rabbit, and maybe some more agility so I can dodge what I’m fighting.

  He put two points into intelligence and two more into agility then thoughtfully considered the last two points. Even though he wasn’t a fighter, he didn’t like how weak his body felt. He also wanted some more HP. Defense was how to survive long enough to kill what he was fighting. It took another minute of consideration, but he decided to split the points, putting a point each into strength and constitution. At the prompt, he chose “Confirm Selection” and his attributes refreshed.

  Attributes:

  Strength: 10

  Dexterity: 13

  Agility: 14

  Constitution: 10

  Willpower: 6

  Intelligence: 15

  Wisdom:8

  Charisma: 7

  Unspent Attribute Points: 0

  As soon as he confirmed the new stats, a strange feeling of power began to flow through him. His muscles tightened perceptibly and grew slightly larger. The bigger change came with the 15% increase to his intelligence. His mind sharpened. It was like cleaning the lenses on a pair of dirty glasses. The world around him seemed to focus as a refreshing clarity settled over him. His memory became sharper too and his aptitudes for calculation and evaluation expanded. He flexed his shoulders and stretched, straightening his posture and widening his stance. He wondered if it was his imagination, but he felt slightly taller. The whole experience was a rush and he staggered slightly from the onslaught of new sensations.

  Woah! Radley thought and had to steady himself. He scanned through the updated attribute changes and nodded to assure himself he had chosen wisely, then flipped back to his Vital Statistics tab to see how the changes affected his capabilities.

  Health 50/50

  Stamina 42/42 (+2)

  Mana 92/92

  Psionic Points 60/60

  Hit Roll 7

  Damage Roll 5

  Armor Roll: 4

  Magic Resistance: 0

  Dodge Roll 7

  Luck: 11

  His extra health from the point he had invested into constitution was disappointing. He had gained 10 HP by leveling up but only 3 from the constitution bump. It was kind of a measly return, but 13 extra HP would have saved him from dying at level 1. The big winner from leveling had been his mana pool. Between the leveling bump and his two intelligence points he had jumped from 68 to 92 MP. It would help his fire palm, but it also paved the way for an expansion into other magic.

  He flipped down through the vertical tabs to his “Spells” tab. There were more than a dozen magic sub-tabs but most were greyed out. Each one offered a progression pathway for a different branch of magic. Of course, elemental magic was already unlocked, and his proficiency boost meant those spells were cheap...but out of curiosity he wanted to se
e what else was available. He browsed over the grey tabs to see what other magic existed: Healing, Enchanting, Illusion, Spirit, Nature, Necromancy, Tribal, Holy, Unholy, Utility, and Adventure. There was no lack of options but diversifying his spells library outside of elemental magic would be expensive. Just to unlock a new branch of magic took 10 spell points before he could even begin purchasing spells. Without proficiency, the spells themselves seemed to be about twice the price compared to elemental spells. That being said, at some point it might be worth 14 spell points to buy a weak healing spell. Radley’s mind flashed back involuntarily to his gruesome death. It would definitely be worth 14 points to have a healing spell, he assured himself.

  For now, he only had 2 points to spend, and new magic now was more exciting than saving points, so he flipped back to his elemental magic tab. At level 2, he could only access and purchase spells categorized as “Spell Circle 1.” New spell circles became available with character advancement. Each was good for five character levels so Spell Circle 2 unlocked at Level 6, and Spell circle 3 at Level 11, etc. At his current intelligence and with his elemental class boost, all his Circle 1 spells cost 2 spell points which was very convenient since he had 2 points to spend. This gave him three new spells to choose from: Stone Fist, Command Water, and Errant wind. He inspected the descriptions for each spell:

  Stone Fist - Rank 1 (Spell Circle 1): This spell transforms the casters hand into a nearly impenetrable shard of minerals. The spell duration lasts for a single blow or block.

  Spell Cooldown: 4 minutes

  Purchase Price: 2 Spell Points

  He already knew what stone fist did. It was the other choice he had been given during class selection. It was a formidable spell but he continued reading to see what else was offered.