After two minutes, my mana was full again, and the flow around me stopped. It took me a while to figure out that my Mana Regen was doled out independently by source, 1 point per minute from Wisdom and 1 point every two minutes from the Ether spell.
Time to cast Flow again.
Three rounds of successful casting brought my mana to 1, and I stared groggily out at the world, thoughts moving like molasses through my mind. Activating Ether felt a little easier by then though, and my Class Skills continued to increase, Concentration foremost among them. Through the next five minutes my thoughts sharpened once again.
I repeated the cycle, trying to hold the flow until five points of mana were spent, then casting Ether for four minutes, before realizing that losing mana in increments of three would be more efficient—one from Ether and two from Spirit. After that realization, I held the channel until I was down six mana before replenishing. I avoided letting my mana dip back down to one, wanting to avoid that sluggish feeling.
It was on my fourth cycle that I managed to maintain a channel for the full six seconds. I released it triumphantly and was in the process of sitting when white text flashed before my eyes.
+1 to Intellect.
Once seen, the message dropped away and faded.
I pulled up my Character Sheet, thrilled at the unexpected stat increase.
Intellect
Your ability to understand the world. Learn faster. Be smarter.
+20 Mana Points (+10 to Mana Capacity/point)
+2% to Spell Damage (+1% spell damage/point)
+.02% to Experience Point gain (+.01% exp/point)
And with that, my mana pool doubled to twenty points. What was more exciting was realizing I could level my Intellect just by practicing spells! I’d have the requisite 30 mana in no time! Then I’d just have to find one of these mana seeds and… Regardless, I needed that third point of Int!
Leaving four points of mana, that meant I could channel for sixteen seconds before having to recharge, but first I had to top out at twenty mana, which meant seven more minutes of waiting... No, the Ether spell scaled with Intellect! With +1 MP/minute from Ether and +1 MP/minute from my Wisdom, it should now only take 5 minutes to regenerate the extra 10 mana.
Settling in to regenerate mana, I was almost certain that midway through I would…
+1 to Wisdom.
Yes! That put my regen at… 3 points per minute while using Ether, taking a full minute off my recovery time. With 11 points to recharge, I sat back against the tree and waited to regenerate fully.
It also confirmed my suspicions, given the stats the attributes governed. Wisdom benefited from regenerating mana, and Intellect from the use of that mana. I would be able to grow those stats even with the lackluster spells I had. I desperately needed to practice my channeling as well. Doing so seemed to be key to increasing my Concentration skill, which would be crucial in battle once I had real spells.
I ran the numbers. It had taken 20 MP to level both stats. I had to imagine the next level would take more, probably some multiple of the previous one.
It hurt, seeing all that mana flowing away into uselessness, but truly effectual spells remained elusive. Pushing harder while casting Flow didn’t cause any change I could perceive, it just built up pressure between my eyes that grew more painful the harder I pressed.
I fell into a steady—if slow—rhythm of push with Flow, pull with Ether, push with Flow, pull with Ether, and kept an eye out for that third point of Intellect. Admittedly, the minutes-long recharge sessions were excruciating, but the excitement of reaching that next point tempered my boredom. Knowing that I’d need the mana to be able to cast my first real spell made it bearable.
Mana out, mana in. Mana out, mana in, but at a glacial pace.
I started to feel like I was getting close to advancing again, depending on the scaling of the requirements. Leveling in Wisdom was still probably a ways off, but leveling Intellect should be right around the corn—
A violent roar interrupted my calculations, sending me scrambling back against the tree. I forgot my current casting attempt and tripped over myself in my rush to get away.
There, over the grass, probably right where I had woken up, was a hole. It punctured the air about two feet off the ground and was formed from a black so true and inert it was impossible to guess at more than its outline. The air around me howled into the void, bowing the surrounding plant life, as the form of a woman materialized, coalescing within the black before being gently lowered to the ground. She was dressed in the same brown tunic I wore and was tall and light skinned. As her body settled into the grass, I noticed her ears were pointed. An elf! The portal blinked shut as quickly as it had formed, truncating the howl of the wind.
I watched silently as the woman stirred and sat up, her back to me. Her hands went to her face, her ears, her hair... and finally to her chest. Standing, she began to look and feel over her entire body in a way that made me more than a little uncomfortable, before lifting her head and letting a bright peal of laughter ring out across the meadow—laughter filled with so much joy that I couldn’t help but smile along. I recognized that joy and wonder: She had to be another player.
Stepping forward to announce my presence and introduce myself, I was interrupted by a wild yell. An enormous man, clad in Roughspun garments just like us, charged from around the tree and hurled himself at the elf woman, sword in hand. Wordlessly, I shouted a warning, but it was clear from the onset that it came too late.
The woman spun, raising a twig, of all things, between herself and her attacker. His sword sheared cleanly through the spit of wood and opened an enormous gash across the woman’s right shoulder. As she stumbled back, stunned, the man bellowed again and drove his blade straight through her chest.
The elf woman barely had time to register her surprise as she slumped to the ground, her body pulling clear of the sword. Blood spilled from her mouth and into the grass. Her killer stood above her, watching as the blood pulsing from her wounds slowed.
I stood, stunned, until the hulking man turned toward me. Through the blood that had spattered his face, I could see that he was grinning, eyes bright. When he saw me, he smirked and limbered up his sword arm. I shied away, but my back was to the tree and there was nowhere to go. My mind scrambled as it clawed for a way out, and death began slowly stepping across the grass toward me.
But there was another emotion building beneath the panic. A familiar rage at seeing injustice: a rage that always managed to get me in trouble.
My eye caught a glimpse of movement behind the stalking man: the elf woman’s finger, feebly twitching. The woman’s helpless gesture was like a spark, igniting my anger, and I pulled myself together. I had dealt with bullies. I had stood up to this before. It didn’t matter that I was destined to lose. I was not going to let this... this asshole get away unscathed.
Leaping to the limen, I cast Ether and followed it with Flow. Seeing my sudden hand movements and the mist curling from my fingertips, the man crouched, bringing his sword between us. He glanced from side to side, searching for the effect of my actions. After several seconds he straightened, still wary, and looked me up and down.
I stood tall against his gaze, still furious, but tendrils of fear were lapping at the edges of my anger, threatening to reassert themselves. I had channeled every ounce of mana I had at him, as forcefully as I could, to absolutely no effect. I could see that it had formed a slightly condensed cluster around the man’s chest, but it simply swirled in slow eddies into the air around him. Hopefully he hadn’t noticed my use of the tree as a support when the last point of mana had left me.
He had a sword, and the woman had had her twig. I cursed the error that had deprived me of a weapon. It seemed I would be paying for trying to cheat the system sooner rather than later.
Finally seeing through my bluff, the man’s grin returned, and he stalked toward me. I searched around myself for something, anything, to help me. The only things around we
re the tree, the field, my inevitable death as presented by the man in front of me, and the slow, lazy curls of mana. I didn’t have time to regenerate and attempt anything else, unless I could somehow retrieve the knot of mana I’d expended in hopes of affecting my attacker. He was too close now. I could see the mana coming off him like steam, flowing wild and chaotic across his skin as he pushed through it. He grabbed me by my shirt and drew his arm back, primed to impale me. I could see the spittle between his teeth and the manic gleam in his eye.
At that moment, one point of mana returned to me. Wildly, I opened a flow, desperate to do something. I needed mana, and so as I pushed the man away, I also pulled! Mana came lancing toward me, flooding into my head in a sharp spike. I gasped in pain and surprise even as the man’s sword fell from his limp grip and he slumped after it to the ground, unconscious.
Dazed from the pain between my eyes, I staggered away around the tree, panting in fear, relief, and confusion. My head was pounding.
My mana was back to 10, and even my Mana Capacity had increased, meaning I’d leveled my Int again. Still, as soon as I had opened the channel between myself and the man, the Ether spell had fled me. Attempting to recast it sent another sharp spike of pain through my head, making my vision swim and spark.
I’d been up a creek without a paddle on arrival. Now I couldn’t even paddle with my hands. I had no equipment, and even my spells were out of reach. I had leveled my Intellect and Wisdom though, for all the good it would do me.
As my vision cleared I resolved, at the very least, to make my way to the forest surrounding the meadow. Hopefully there I could find some shelter from the madman on the other side of the tree.
He beat me to it though; as I set out toward the trees, I heard rapidly fading footsteps behind me. I moved wide of the central tree, catching a final glimpse of my aggressor's back before losing him in the woods. I hoped he was gone for good, and that he’d stay under the impression that I could knock him out whenever I wanted.
Warily, I crept back to the tree, making a cautious circuit while examining the forest on either side of the meadow. The sun was starting to pinken the western sky. At least, I assumed it was the western sky. After completing my circuit, I moved to the elf.
It was clear she was dead. Her blood had soaked into the ground, and her body still telegraphed the pain she must have felt. I ignored the vivid wounds studiously as I picked up the broken twig. To my surprise, small white text floated into view above it.
Sprig Wand — 0/10
A simple wand for casting spells.
+1 Intellect
That’s what she had been doing—she’d been trying to cast a spell of her own. I now saw she had a dagger on her belt as well, and a small pouch. Not wanting to disturb the dead, I left her belongings be, though I resolved to take them with me when I left the meadow in the morning. The items were simply too valuable.
And I would leave in the morning. Given our matching outfits, it was clear this was a spawn point, and I didn’t want to stick around and risk additional nutjobs materializing right on top of me. On the other hand, there was no way I was spending time in those woods after dark. Not only did the meadow offer a clear line-of-sight for hundreds of feet all around, but the woods in an MMO were sure to be full of nasties. Sure, they weren’t likely to be all that dangerous in a starting area, but with only my Flow spell to my name, I wasn’t going to risk it in the dark. On top of all that, “into those trees” was where the most dangerous thing I’d come across so far—the other player—had gone.
Really, I was surprised that PvP—player versus player—had been allowed in what must be a starting zone. Coming awake in this world just to be unceremoniously ganked was harsh, and there would always be bullies and griefers just waiting to pick newbies off. There would always be bullies… wasn’t that the way of it? I pushed the brooding thoughts aside. I’d just need to get to a PvE—player versus environment—area as soon as I could. In the morning I would head west. Not only would the sun be at my back, but it would take me in the exact opposite direction of my callous murderfriend.
So, that left me with one solution. I crossed the woman’s arms over her chest, secured the broken wand between them, and then began climbing the tree. Hopefully, I could find a hidden crook to wedge myself into for the night.
Hoisting myself onto a low branch, I worked my way upward through the boughs of the tree. There wouldn’t be a lot of leaves to hide behind, but the branches were thick, and the brown of my tunic and pants was actually very close to the bark in color. I would also be counting on baddies to simply not look up. After finding a confluence of branches right for the job, I wedged myself in. Luckily, I could lay back but also have a relatively clear view of the ground.
The leaves picked up a steady rustle as the night air moved in, the perfect white-noise machine. The constant ebb and flow was reminiscent of the mana I’d discovered earlier that day, permeating everything but moving in steady currents all its own. I watched the branches sway against the darkening sky and considered my situation. For the first time in a long time, I was completely alone, but the scope of my solitude was more than I had ever experienced. There was no one in this world looking for me. No one I could call. Although I knew my body wasn’t far from the home I’d just left, it truly felt like it was a world away.
Chapter 5
Shaking, I pushed my way through half-formed dreams, the cold preventing me from truly sleeping. The night breeze had faded, but the chill in it stayed; it permeated first my body and then my dreams. Flashes of angry faces and sprays of blood. Faces filled with shock and pain. Still faces, frozen in death, and features rimed with pain. Angry voices, fear, and through it all, the aching cold of loneliness and loss.
Once the sky began to lighten, I gave in to wakefulness and began the arduous process of limbering extremities made stiff by the cold and from being stretched across branches. I peeled my tender skin away from the bark it had been pressed into for hours. Once on the ground, my teeth chattered and I hugged my arms to my chest; I definitely needed warmer clothes. For the time being, I contented myself with pacing around the tree and flexing my legs, hoping to let the sun warm me before setting out.
In my eagerness to be out of the tree and to see the sun, I’d forgotten the spawn points until they opened again. My mind worked sluggishly to comprehend what was happening, and then I was racing back to the tree to climb to safety. I paused after about a twenty-foot ascent and looked down. The elf woman had returned and, on the other side of the tree, a tall, dark-skinned woman had appeared. The latter performed the traditional stand-in-awe routine, before her eyes glazed over and she stared into space. Examining the UI, I assumed.
For her part, the elf woman had curled into the fetal position and wrapped her arms around her chest, feeling for wounds that weren’t there anymore. Her dead body lay just a few feet from her. She stayed that way, eyes shut tight and breathing hard, until she heard the footsteps of the other woman behind her. Panting, the elf scrambled to her feet, pulling the dagger from the belt of her corpse as she darted away from the other woman. Surprised, the other woman held up her hands as a show of peace, and backed away. “Easy, baby, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
The elf woman’s gaze didn’t soften, and so the other continued to retreat until she was at a safe distance. Then she shrugged, turned, and left the meadow along the same path the elf’s killer had the day before. East.
The elf watched the woman go, waiting for her to enter the trees before relaxing. The elf then made a circuit around the entire tree, scouting to make sure no other spawns were sharing the clearing. She didn’t look up.
Once she was sure she was alone, she moved to her corpse and angrily grabbed the pouch and the belt for her dagger. Finally, she took the wand, grimacing as she moved her own cold, cadaverous arms to gain access to it. Once the final item was reclaimed, the corpse simply dissolved. The woman watched until the entirety had faded.
I chose that m
oment to speak. “I saw what happened yesterday. I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything to help! That guy was a jerk.” The woman started and looked around, dagger in hand.
A tone trilled in my mind.
You have acquired a new Basic Skill: Stealth!
I brushed the notification aside impatiently as the woman’s gaze sifted upward through the branches. “Good morning!” I ventured.
She didn’t agree. “It’s freezing, and I just died,” she growled. “I didn’t think they would make it hurt so much. Or feel so real. Assholes. Assholes! At least I came back. Respawn timer’s what? Six hours? Eight?”
“Probably eight," I confirmed. “You okay if I come down?”
“Not until I leave, thanks. I need to get my bearings.”
“Anything I can help with?” I offered. Even though I knew she was skittish, I found I didn’t want her to leave.
She looked at the severed branch in her hands. “Not unless you can mend a fucking wand!” She hurled it to the ground. “And now I can’t even cast my fucking spell!” I grimaced, not used to quite this much language, but it was hard to begrudge her using it. I knew the feeling. Well, not that particular feeling...
“I didn’t start with any spells either," I commiserated. “In fact, I don’t seem to have started with anything.”
She looked up, inquisitive. “What build did you choose?”
“What do you mean?”
“Before you spawned here. What build did you choose?”
“I don’t know,” I responded. “I didn’t choose a build.”
“So you made a custom one? I did too. That’s what got me into this fucking mess.” She kicked the grass at her feet. “I put all my goddamn points into Wisdom. Thought with my wand…” she kicked at the grass again, “...I’d have enough mana. Gave up Intellect so I could get mana faster. Now all I’ve got is this fucking dagger, with 2 fucking Attack!”
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