Once Pauvert had finished explaining his current predicament, we spent the rest of the carriage ride in silence. Stelheim closed his eyes and pretended to sleep while Pauvert gazed discontentedly out the window, nose pinched the entire time. Mug sat and fidgeted next to me until he actually fell asleep, his loud snore shaking the cabin. He sure made a lot of noise for such a small guy.
I chose to spend the time watching the scenery change. Once we made it out of the city, we rode on the path past the kobold mines into a golden meadow dotted with trees that became more and more frequent. There wasn’t much out here besides nature. A few wooden houses, a brick watchtower, but no real sign of civilization beyond the walls. I suppose the sentient races chose to live in the city mostly, which begged the question of, why? Was it a lack of opportunity out here in the wilderness? Or was it something more sinister that drove people into Odval’s kingdom of discrimination and lax labor laws? I figured now would be a good time to ask Void for his two cents.
‘Hey Void, I’m realizing that there is a lot I don’t really know about this country. Can you help me out, or is that forbidden by the laws of reincarnation?’
INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR SATISFACTORY ANSWER. PLEASE CLARIFY YOUR QUESTION.
‘What I’m asking is, what the hell is the city called? Where are we? What’s the highest export and import and GDP? Demographics? Tax laws? Just, tell me more about where I am!’ I didn’t actually want to know about GDP and tax laws, but I did want more of an idea of the culture. Aeternia as a plot device was something I had lots of information about, but Aeternia as a place full of living, breathing people? That was a mystery. Void took a second before responding; probably cross-referencing my questions with whatever dictated its limits.
COUNTRY: NATION OF AETERNIA. THE ROYAL CITY WE CURRENTLY RESIDE IN IS ADVALENCE, NAMED AFTER THE FOUNDER KING ADVAL THE FIRST. RECLAIMED BAKERY CURRENTLY SERVING AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR A REAL HOME IS IN THE TALLOW ENDS DISTRICT, COMMONLY THOUGHT OF AS A SLUM. GDP, TAX LAWS, AND DEMOGRAPHICS ARE AVAILABLE TO ANY WHO CAN READ AT THE IMPERIAL REGISTRY.
Void only insinuated I was illiterate instead of outright accusing me, which I felt was an absolute win.
‘Ok, that helps! I mean, it doesn’t really, but now I know the name of where I live!’
CORRECT. YOU, LIKE MANY SMALL CHILDREN, ARE NOW AWARE THAT YOUR PLACE OF RESIDENCE HAS A NAME.
‘Void, do you have like, a setting I can change to dictate your level of hurtfulness? Maybe like an empathy protocol or a setting for handling fragile male ego?’
NEGATIVE. I AM CONFUSED AS TO WHY ONE WOULD BE REQUIRED; I HAVE HANDLED ALL REQUESTS WITH MAXIMUM COMPASSION ONE CAN AFFORD.
Oh, so this was Void being nice. Well, the knowledge that it could be worse did make it somehow a little more bearable.
‘Ok, Void. Can you show me my stats and abilities? I have a feeling that I’m riding into another adventure. You know, the kind where someone tries to kill me? I just want to be able to see where I’m at when the time comes for me to fight for my life.’ In my mind’s eye, a grey rectangle appeared with neat, printed words.
NAME: ?
LEVEL 17 UNADORNED TRASHCAN WITH MODERATE ENCHANTMENT
CURRENT EXPERIENCE: 2,120
NEEDED TO LEVEL: 4,431 TOTAL
STRENGTH: 17
DEXTERITY: 8
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CHARISMA: 8
INTELLIGENCE: 14
MAGIC OFFENSE: 20
MAGIC DEFENSE: 40
HIT POINTS: 85 MAXIMUM, CURRENTLY 65, REGENERATING AT 5% OF TOTAL PER HOUR
MANA: 300 MAXIMUM, CURRENTLY 105, REGENERATING AT 10% OF TOTAL PER HOUR
ABILITIES UNLOCKED:
BASIC SPELLCASTING 1
LESSER POLYMORPH 1
APPRAISAL 3
ALCHEMICAL RECYCLING 2
EFFICIENCY 3
LESSER TELEKINESIS 1
RESIDUAL SYNTHESIS
RESIDUAL SYNTHESIS ABILITIES:
CHITINOUS PLATING
STEAM SHOT 1
HEAT DISPERSION 1
I was a little bit shocked to see my stats. I knew I regenerated mana, but I hadn’t realized that my hit points were as well, and at a decent pace to boot. It meant that in just under a day, I would be back to full. I guess it made sense; I hadn’t really noticed, but the hole the fume wyrm had melted in me was gone, and the denting from Gold Tooth’s telekinetic rock blast had started to fix itself as well. My mana regen was even better, and my max mana had come a long way from where I started.
I also noticed that my Alchemical Recycling had gone from 1 to 2. Was this because of me using it so often? And what would that mean for me? And how long until I got access to an improved polymorph? Well, in any case, it was nice to see where I stood, which was a whole lot better than where I had started.
‘Void, how much mana would like, an intermediate mage have?’ My new numbers were once again going straight to my ego. Surely, I was on the cusp of greatness, one powerful spell away from being a feared warrior and dangerous adversary to all but the most advanced of mages…
AN ‘INTERMEDIATE’ MAGE MIGHT HAVE ON AVERAGE 4,500 MAXIMUM MANA. HOWEVER, THIS IS DECEPTIVE; MOST MAGES WILL BE BELOW THIS THRESHOLD. GREATER MAGES WARP AVERAGES DUE TO OUTLIER STATISTICS. A MAGE WITH 4,500 MAXIMUM MANA IS A DANGEROUS FOE AND SHOULD BE AVOIDED BY ALL BUT THE MOST COMPETENT. CURRENTLY THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE YOU.
Got it, I was still small fry.
‘Ok, noted. Another question, what does Alchemical Recycling 2 do that the basic version couldn’t?’
ALCHEMICAL RECYCLING 2 ALLOWS FOR MORE ADVANCED MATERIALS TO BE PROCESSED. THIS INCLUDES SEPARATING MACHINERY INTO DISCRETE PARTS. IN ADDITION, IT IS NOW POSSIBLE TO FILTER OUT ELEMENTS OF RECYCLED MATERIALS, SUCH AS REMOVING QUARTZ OR FELDSPAR FROM LIMESTONE MORTAR.
That explains why Keggr said our mortar tasted so good! I must have had it then but not noticed.
‘Final question; how the hell do I level these abilities? Is use the only way?’
ABILITIES CAN BE LEVELED EITHER BY DEVOURING ABILITY-GIVING ITEMS IN GREAT NUMBERS, USE OF MAGIC SCROLLS AND ITEMS TO IMBUE THE ABILITY ONTO ONE'S MANA, OR VIA DIRECT USE. AS IN STRENGTH TRAINING OR MASTERY OF SKILLS, PROGRESS CAN ONLY COME WITH EFFORT.
Well, that was a bummer but not unexpected. I would need to actually start Steam Shotting everything I could if I wanted to be able to melt steel with it one day. I had hoped for like, a cheat ability or exploit, but hard work was an acceptable alternative.
Hard work an acceptable alternative? Who had I become? I once had a cavity nearly kill me because setting up a dentist appointment seemed like too much effort. This world and this body had changed me. Not for the first time, I wished that I had learned this lesson before dying, but I guess that was life. Or death. Life after death? It was something, anyway.
My curiosity sated for now, I turned my attention back out the window. We were now in a heavily wooded area, great oaks and firs shooting high into the air and covering our carriage in a gentle shade. The grass was light green, thick and healthy, and bushes with vibrant blue and red flowers coated the ground. It was picturesque, like something out of a painting. A Kincaid that your grandma would have on the wall with a title like Sequoia Scenery or Midsummer Dreaming.
It really was perfect, if you ignored the charging eight-foot spider bearing down on the carriage like we were a giant fly. Which, to its eight eyes, we might be. Pauvert noticed as well and began to scream, high-pitched and undignified, finally removing his fingers from his nose for the first time. Mug jolted awake, jumping up to his feet before promptly falling over and headbutting Pauvert in the nose, which began to spew blood. The two horses pulling the cart began to whinny and bray, and their even pace turned into an uneven, frantic sprint. Only Stelheim seemed unconcerned, smiling slightly at Pauvert’s terror and broken nose.
I mentally prepared myself to fight a giant spider, telling myself that it could be worse. Sure, it was a giant spider, but just one? We had faced a fume wyrm and fought off a small gang of ratkin! This was nothing—heck, Mug could probably handle that in his sleep! Which is why I wasn’t at all surprised when Pauvert began to scream even higher than before, pointing out of the opposite carriage window toward another charging spider, its mandibles dripping with something bright green and toxic-looking.
Ok, that was more like it.