Chapter 25: Fork to the Rescue!
Fork This Life! by jinxs2011
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Meanwhile, back at the entrance…

Marco pants heavily, but his arms never stop moving as they continue to wield sword and shield against the skeletons. He appears mostly unharmed, but exhaustion is clearly starting to take a toll.

Streams of sweat run down Ferdinand’s brow as he fights, stinging his eyes and causing him to blink repeatedly. But he has no time to wipe it away as the never-ending tide of skeletons press down upon them.

Alex is working to move the bones and fallen weapons around them away and into another room so that they don’t trip over while fighting.

Yawning, Joe digs around in his ear with a pinkie, inspects the result and wipes the earwax off on his pants.

After a while, the approaching tide start to have more and more black skeletons among them, until they are the only ones approaching. With even more pressure on them now, Marco begins to falteringly chant.

Although he hears it, Ferdinand doesn’t even spare him a glance – he has no leeway to look away from the combat, and he can barely see anyway with all the sweat dripping into his eyes.

“…Your will… my, shield… protect… until the last breath. Final Bulwark.”

A giant image of a shield appears, blocking the stairway completely. The skeletons beyond it immediately begin to batter against it. Decapitating the skeleton in front of him, Ferdinand wipes the sweat from his eyes and breathes a sigh of relief. Panting, he asks Marco, “How long can you hold that?”

Marco stands unmoving with both arms raising his shield, sword discarded on the floor. His lips barely move as he tries to speak, but no sound comes out. Ferdinand frowns. ‘Gerald was right, I should have trained telepathy up to advanced. Then I would be able to talk with him.’ He thinks regretfully.

“I, I think I’ve read about this spell before.” Says Alex, still ferrying skulls, pelvises and all manner of other bones across the room. “Final bulwark, yes. It’s particular to the paladins of Oodral, of course… Requires a shield for use, uses mana, stamina and… and health to power it…” he falters, a couple of femurs tumbling from his arms. “Cannot be cancelled or interrupted once cast, except by the user reaching one health. Results, almost without exception, in the caster’s death.” He gulps.

“Well, you’ll just have to heal him as soon as it stops then.” Ferdinand leans against a wall to catch his breath.

“I can try. But one health… he could die at any moment, even without anything attacking him. It’ll be up to his luck and will to live whether he survives or not. And either way you’ll need to take over the whole defence. I’m afraid that I’m more capable with a book than a battle-axe, so to speak.” Alex shrugs, dropping the bones to the floor with a clatter. He looks down at them sadly. “It’s going to take weeks to give all these a proper burial. If we don’t end up joining them, that is.”

Ferdinand shakes his head, again wiping off his forehead. “Marco was right. We can’t think like that. We just have to keep fighting.”

The holy sanctuary fades, and Alex shrugs. “I’m running low on mana, and I’ll be needing some to heal Marco. But why are you fighting? Us priests and paladins… well, it’s pretty much our duty. But you don’t seem to be particularly pious, so why are you here, risking your life in some nameless place?”

“I just want to help protect people.”

Alex raises an eyebrow. “My detect lie skill tells me you’re telling the truth. My experience as a priest tells me it isn’t the whole truth.”

“Do we really have to do this now?” Ferdinand frowns.

“…No, I suppose not.” Sighs Alex. He spends the next few minutes in silence ferrying more bones across the room until the doorway is completely clear of them, keeping an eye on the shield blocking the stairway at all times.

Ferdinand takes a sip of water from a flask and sets it down next to his backpack along the wall. He dries his hands on his shirt, his breathing gradually slowing to just above normal levels.

Crack.

They look at the cracks starting to web across the surface of the shield, their faces tightening. Both of them had secretly harboured the hope that the necromancer would be defeated by the time the shield falls.

The shield shatters a moment later, and Marco falls backwards with blood spurting from his mouth, shield falling to the floor to lie next to his sword. Ferdinand scoops it up and stands in the middle of the doorway while Alex shifts Marco away, hands infusing him with healing magic all the while.

(POV Ferdinand)

I slip my arm into the handle of the shield and brace myself. The shield helps me to block off the skeletons on one side while I focus on fighting the ones on the other side.

One, two, four, seven, twelve, twenty… I stop counting, already used to dismissing the windows as soon as they pop up. I almost missed my level up earlier because of how used I am to it, but luckily, I just managed. I remember feeling very thankful that the menu could be used hands-free back then.

It’s unbelievable that I’m closing in on level thirty now. It was only a short while ago that I was only at level 18, and now here I am.

I shake away my loose thoughts and concentrate on the fight.

Slash, dismiss, slash, dismiss, slash…

I slowly feel my left arm growing heavy. The shield feels awkward, and the strap is digging into my arm painfully. I should have known that I can’t just pick up a shield and be able to use it effectively.

Slipping my arm from the handle, I drop it behind me, all the while fending off the myriad black skeletons in front of me. I’m going to have nightmares of this if I survive today. I shake my left hand to lessen the pain a little bit, and place it on the hilt of the sword, wielding it in a two-handed grip.

Slash, slash, slash.

Bones clatter upon the steps, shattered spines and scattered limbs.

Slash, slash, slash.

The dim light flickers ominously, sending an army of hollow shadows multitudes larger than the actual one dancing across the walls.

Slash, slash, slash.

That annoying drip of sweat has come back, and I can barely see anything in my left eye. But even the blurred figures I see with it are enough to combat their simple attacks.

Slash, slash. Slash.

I blink my left eye furiously, but that only seems to make it worse. I give up and decide to just stop blinking altogether. After a short while, tears seem to cover my eyes, relieving some of the pain.

Slash. Slash. Slash.

Skill gained: Battle focus (Basic)

Allows you to enter a state of intense concentration when in combat. Slightly decreases likelihood of being startled by unexpected events, losing track of an enemy and not seeing attacks. Strength +0.5, Dexterity +0.5, Endurance +0.5, Intelligence +0.5, Wisdom +0.5, Luck +0.5, Charisma +0.5 when in this state.

Dismiss. Slash. Slash. Slash.

They keep on coming, no matter how many I cut down. Both my eyes are stinging with sweat, I can only see indistinct forms. My arms are sore, my hands are shaking… I can barely breathe.

Slash... Slash... Slash...

My grip is slipping, and it feels like the sword will drop from my hands at any moment. I can hardly think. Why… am I fighting, again?

Title evolved: Undead bane -> Undead Slaughterer

Killer of many horrors of the night, you can instinctively sense nearby undead, especially those harmful to you. All stats increased by 2 when attacking undead.

Dismiss. Slash… Slash… Slash…

Right… I thought I could be like one of those knights in shining armour from the stories. Hah… She’s the one with the shining armour… And she’s stronger, smarter… Beautiful… How could I ever hope to rescue her?

…Slash…

…Slash…

…Slash…

…She’s taking a long time to beat him… She’s having trouble? But then… If these skeletons get through, she… I can hold on for another few seconds, surely?

I tighten my grip, take a deep breath, try and blink away some of the sweat and fight on through the pain of all the wounds I had been taking. It might just be my imagination, but it feels like my sword just got a little bit lighter, their weapons just a bit… slower.

Slash… Slash… Slash…

That wasn’t too hard, right? Another ten seconds?

Slash… Slash. Slash.

…Are they getting weaker? I feel like they’re getting weaker. I think I can hold them at least another twenty seconds.

Slash. Slash. Slash.

Is this a joke? Why are they so easy now? Where did all that pain go? I… I can go another minute at this rate, minimum!

Slash, Slash, Slash.

“COME AT ME, YOU UNDEAD BASTARDS!”

Trait gained: Battleborn

Whether your battles end in victory or defeat, you will never give up. Increased resistance to mental influences, increased grip strength, pain reduction. Stat unlock: Fighting spirit.

 

Skill gained: Battle cry (Basic)

Roar loudly, your voice echoing over the battlefield with a possibility of startling and/or causing fear in enemies. Reduced effect if used repeatedly on the same enemy. Requires: >30 Fighting spirit. Cooldown: 2 minutes. Stamina cost: 30.

 

Fighting spirit + 30

I find myself grinning as I cut down skeleton after skeleton. I dismiss the notifications without reading them; they don’t matter.

The only thing that matters is that not a single skeleton gets past me.

So when armoured skeletons start pouring down the stairs, I just tighten my grip, square my shoulders and glare at them.

Going back some ten minutes…

The distance between the sword of judgement and the skeleton Warlord is less than half a meter, and the sword is moving slightly faster than an arrow in flight. Such a distance at such a speed – it will take less than a hundredth of a second.

And yet, in that miniscule moment, the skeleton Warlord manages to interpose its weapon into the path of the sword of judgement. Death energy billows up its bare, skeletal arms and onto its weapon, struggling to push it back.

For a second, the holy magic and death energy are at an impasse: the holy magic constantly purifying the oncoming rush of death energy, and the death energy surging forth seemingly endlessly.

Snap!

A large shard falls to the floor, formerly the upper half of the skeleton Warlord’s massive claymore. Despite in the dim light, its silvery blue colour is clear; even a blade forged of mithril was unable to withstand the power of the sword of judgement.

Staggering backwards a step, falling to one knee as the glowing blade within its chest clashes with the death energy within its body. The dark flames within its eyes start to dim.

Grasping the hilt of the magical blade with both hands despite the death energy around them recoiling at the sword’s mere presence, the Warlord pulls it out and throws it away, the blade dissipating into motes of light.

Turning to the Lich, the skeleton Warlord speaks. “The first time you summon me in years, and it’s to be your meat shield? Damn wizards.” The Lich doesn’t reply, so the Warlord just rolls its shoulders and turns around. “Now, who’s the fucker that nearly offed me. Again.” It says, glaring at the group of paladins and priests who are still within the glowing sphere.

Looking between them, it quickly assesses them. “Weak, weak, weak weak weak… You two aren’t bad… so it’s her.” It says, referring to Lily who is wobbling slightly where she stands. The spell almost drained her of every last drop of mana in her body at once, and as a result she is experiencing some physical exhaustion.

It walks forwards, the generals moving out of its way as it approaches. It halts just in front of the sanctuary. “You aren’t hoping this can stop me, are you?” The skeleton Warlord rasps, pushing its skull into the glowing barrier. “Because it won’t.”

Ding!

The skeleton warlord blocks Luc’s blade with its own. Despite having lost its top, the blade is still of a considerable length. “That’s more like it!”

Luc and the Warlord begin to fight, and the generals similarly resume their assault. Barely two seconds later, the Lich begins to chant, but the Warlord rotates its skull to interrupt it. “Don’t you dare buff me! I didn’t come back from the dead after millennia to easily overpower every enemy I face! I came back to fight real battles!”

The Lich looks at the Warlord coldly. “You are mine, and you shall do as I please.”

“Oh? And what the hell are you going to do if I don’t? Take away my un-life? You don’t have the guts.” Mocks the Warlord. “Without me here, you’ll die in seconds. My fight, my rules.”

After a moment of silence, the Lich speaks again. “And what if he defeats you?”

“Then I die again.” The skeleton Warlord states simply. “True warriors accept the possibility of death. The only reason I died with regrets last time was because it wasn’t even a fight – it was an assassination.”

“Fine.” The Lich practically spits the word.

The skeleton Warlord shifts its skull back to its normal position. “Let’s get this started again, shall we?” The jagged edge of his sword hacks down at Luc.

Ducking to the side, Luc parries the blow by pushing it away with his own. From there he attempts a slash towards the skeleton. With a twist of its wrist, the Warlord blocks and attempts his own cut.

Parry, thrust, dodge, cut, block, riposte, slash, hack… The two exchange a flurry of blows.

Luc is fatigued and unable to fight at his highest capacity – but the situation is precisely the same for the Warlord. Deprived of much of his death energy from the earlier sword of judgment, it has perhaps half the speed and power that it would ordinarily enjoy.

Of course, it still had the endless stamina of the undead – an advantage that Luc is uncomfortably aware of. If his opponent this time were a human of the same calibre, he is confident that he could defeat it, but as it is, it may only be a matter of time before he himself falls if he can’t pull something off.

Breaking its weapon is nothing but a pipe dream, despite its apparent fragility – every one of Luc’s blows had been infused with either the Power slash or Power stab skills, to no effect. Blinding it somehow? Impossible. Break its stance? Possible, since skeletons are comparatively light.

Even while planning his next move, Luc makes no change in expression, no small movement that could give it away… his eyes don’t shift from the Warlord’s upper body as he drops to the ground and sweeps his leg towards the Warlord’s.

His foot meets nothing but air, and the next moment Luc rolls away to avoid the Warlord’s weapon stabbing down towards him. Regaining his feet in an instant, Luc looks warily towards the Warlord.

“First thing I did when I got this body was familiarise myself with its weaknesses… and strengths.” Utters the Warlord, surging forwards once more.

Luc prepares himself for another assault, but the Warlord instead darts around him like a swallow, slicing into his armour with the casual finesse of a master before jumping back to evade the blade whistling towards it in retaliation.

Subtly shifting muscles to ascertain the extent of the damage, Luc winces. The cut is narrow, but nearly to the bone. There are severed muscles and tendons, no doubt, and the pain is intense, to say the least. Still, one knows their own body best, and Luc is a paladin. A soft glow begins to emanate from the wound, and it slowly starts to heal.

In the meantime, however, Luc is at a severe disadvantage – the wound on his back severely limits his range of movements and the strength he can exert. He shifts into the defensive, using his shield more than his sword as he stalls for time – even while realising that the delay will similarly benefit his enemy.

A voice floats into his head. ‘Use the fork, Luc!’ Whether it’s from delirium or memory he isn’t sure, but at the moment he’s grasping at straws - Lily is out of mana, the priests are probably running low by now and there is visible exhaustion on the faces of the other paladins, even if he ignores his own predicament.

‘At worst, it might distract him for a moment.’ He thinks, pulling the fork out of the pouch and hurling it at the Lich.

Heavily doubting the potential lethality of even a high-velocity fork, but nevertheless concluding that it could in fact be a strangely shaped magical item, the Warlord attempts to slice it out of the air in an extraordinary display of hand-eye co-ordination… but the fork appears to shift in mid-air, evading the blade.

‘Do my eyes deceive me?’ Wonder both Luc and the Warlord, before Luc’s eyes widen, and the dark flame behind the Warlord’s eye sockets flickers slightly in shock. Still hurtling through the air, the fork stops its flipping and straightens out, morphing into an arrow-like form and greatly increasing in velocity.

Unable to react in time, the Lich stares in dumb disbelief as it shoots through the air towards it, over the heads of the skeletal soldiers… and then suddenly dips downwards, tearing through the Lich’s cloak and away again, the front of it now bulging strangely.

Speeding above the skeletons, just out of reach, it returns to hover before Luc. Uncertainly, he reaches out, and under his dumbfounded gaze its bulbous tip retracts, revealing a curious artefact that rolls onto his palm.

Spherical in shape, it appears to be made of mithril – although the metal has an odd reddish tint to it. It feels hollow, and Luc senses something wholly unholy dwelling within it. “The Lich’s phylactery!” He breathes, then ducks under the skeleton Warlord’s sweeping blade.

“STOP HIM!” The Lich shouts in rage, every skeleton in the room turning and running towards Luc. The Lich himself starts to chant, but as soon as he begins his voice changes to a scream of pain.

In Luc’s hand lies the phylactery, now wreathed in holy magic. Although the mithril casing is incredibly sturdy and would be nigh impossible for them to breach by ordinary means, Luc is a paladin. While others would have to break the container, he can attack the soul within directly, saturated with death energy as it is.

Of course, doing this is no easy feat – even more so when attempting it while also dodging and blocking the attacks of a highly skilled and powerful undead. But now that he doesn’t have to defeat the Warlord, he doesn’t bother attacking whatsoever, focusing solely and entirely on defence and running away from the crowd of undead solely and entirely focused on killing him.

So hellbent are they on killing him that they completely ignore the other paladins and priests, who now come up behind them and attack them from the rear. Mere seconds pass before the Lich lets out its last scream.

The other skeletons stop moving, the dark flames within them fading until they too fall. The skeleton Warlord looks at Luc, sword loosely held in one hand, and speaks his final words: “Fucking… Wizards…”

And then the room falls silent.

“Well, it could have been worse.” Sighs one of the priests. He looks towards Lily. “Can we please, please have a rest before we start looking through this place? Preferably outside?”

Lily smiles tiredly. “Of course. I think we’ve earned a little break.”

‘A ‘little’ break?’ The priest smiles stiffly. ‘Well, it could have been worse.’

Going back some ten minutes… again…

(POV Gerald)

When he finished that ritual/whatever-it-was, I knew something was up. It wasn’t just the large amounts of death energy hanging around him, or the fact that the amount of mana he had jumped hugely… it was the fact that a similar amount of death energy was condensed within a ball-like object.

So when Luc accuses the necromancer of giving up his humanity, gears start to turn. Necromancer? Weird ritual thing? Giving up humanity? He just became a Lich, didn’t he?

And if that was so, then that ball must be his phylactery. He… or it, I suppose… didn’t have time to hide it away after the ritual, so it just slipped it into a pocket in its cloak. A right shame, that. If it had hidden it, I would’ve been able to fetch it or direct them to it easy as blinking, without any of this fighting.

Speaking of fighting, there is a lot of it. Over here, over there, every-freaking-where. Let me just express my relief that we are inside and not outside. There are a lot of skeletons out there. A LOT.

Anywho, Luc gets into a fight with a big skeleton dude, and he doesn’t appear to be faring too well. They’ll probably die if I don’t do anything, huh?

‘Use the fork, Luc!’ I speak into his mind using my best wise old man voice.

He tosses me, and WOAH THERE, engaging evasive manoeuvres. Ahem. After dodging that skeleton dude’s broken blade, I use ye olde form manipulation to change myself into a more flight-worthy shape – forks aren’t exactly the most aerodynamic things.

I give myself a bit of a boost with a small ki blast and the absorb vacuum trick – try to hit me now, skeletons!

…Yes, yes I am flying way out of their reach.

There’s a problem – as I approach the Lich, I’m starting to take damage from absorbing the death energy. Absorbing the dude is a no-go, then – not that I want to.

Phylactery it is. I swoop down and utilise a bit of tricky form manipulation to encapsulate the phylactery – ow, ow, ow. I’m taking damage just from holding this thing. Let’s just get it back to Luc, let him deal with it.

Plopping down on his hand, I pop the thing out and repair myself. Job done.

A bit of a shame I don’t get any exp from this, but hey – Ferdinand’s got me covered there. Nearly 1000 exp came in from his side, and that’s only 5% of the total! Dude earned dang near 20k! Well, I’m glad that’s over.

…Oops.

Gerald's Status

Status

Name: Gerald

Race: Living Fork

Level: 30

Experience: 3922.08/6400

Gender: None

Age: 11 months (local time)

Allegiance: None

Fame: None

Strength: 6.5 (65.0)

Intelligence: 48.0

Dexterity: 5.0 (10.0)

Wisdom: 48.5

Charisma: 6.0

Luck: 12.1

Hardness: 25.6

Durability: 17.2/17.2

Mana: 891/960

Mana regen: 9.70/min

Psi: 442/485

Psi regen: 4.80/min

Ki: 10442/3152 (31525)

Ki regen: 3.15 (31.52)/day

Unspent stat points: 0

 

Titles

Living – You are a living being, and as such, the energies of life heal you and the energies of death damage you.

-Trait: Average life energy absorption -Trait: Average death energy weakness

-Trait: minute life affinity -Trait: negative minute death affinity

Progenitor – The first of your species, and its forefather. Your reputation affects the reputation of your entire race.

-Trait: Minor fame gain enhancement -Trait: 50% of your fame is added to the fame of your race

Household object: Being an everyday, household object makes other beings less likely to notice you and mention you to others.

-Trait: Small fame gain reduction -Trait: Small presence reduction

Assumed inanimacy – Despite being a living entity and continually in the presence of other living entities, none have noticed your existence, assuming you to be an inanimate object. People are slightly less likely to notice you and less likely to notice your life energy.

-Trait: Minor presence reduction -Trait: Moderate life presence reduction

Fork – You are a fork. As such, you are designed to pierce, scoop and carry food.

-Trait: Minute taste enhancement -Trait: Minute piercing enhancement (restricted to food)

-Trait: Minute carry capacity increase (Restricted to food)

Second life – You have lived, and died, once before. While you died young, the experience nonetheless is an advantage over others. -Stats: Wisdom + 1, Intelligence + 2

Clinically sane – You have experienced insanity and overcome it, one way or another. The experience has changed you, for better or worse.

-Stats: Luck +5, Wisdom +1, Dexterity +0.5, Strength +0.5, Intelligence +1

Ouroboros – Like the serpent of legend, you bit your own tail. Then you ate it. Weirdo.

Stat – Luck +2, Charisma +1, Wisdom -1, Wisdom +2
Undead slaughterer – Killer of many horrors of the night, you can instinctively sense nearby undead, especially those harmful to you. All stats increased by 2 when attacking undead.

Traits

Life energy absorption (Average) – life energy heals you, causing you to regain durability.

Death energy weakness (Average) – death energy damages you, reducing your durability.

Life affinity (Minute) – You find it easier to gain life related skills and proficiencies than if you did not have this trait.

Negative death affinity (Minute) – You find it harder to gain death related skills and proficiencies than if you did not have this trait.

Fame gain reduction (Minor) – The amount of fame you gain is reduced.

Presence reduction (Small +1) – Others are less likely to notice you.

50% Fame added to racial fame – The fame of your race is equal to 50% of your fame plus the added fame of all other members of the species divided by the number of members in your species.

Life presence reduction (Moderate) – Others are less likely to notice that you are alive.

Taste enhancement (Minute) – All food that touches you tastes slightly better.

Piercing enhancement (Minute) (Restricted to food) – It is slightly easier for you to pierce food.

Carry capacity enhancement (Minute) (Restricted to food) – You can carry slightly more food than appearances would suggest.

Mana touched (Minor) – Mana permeates your body, changing it in some ways.

Herculean Strength (Large) – In possession of the ability to exert strength far beyond that of your peers. Multiplies base strength (Before using passive or active skills) by 10.

Structured sanity (Moderate) – a well-structured mind is a strong mind. You are resistant to mind affecting or altering affects, such as fear, charm and hypnosis.

Magic metal – You have gained the properties of the magic metal, Mithril. Your body conducts mana at twice the normal rate. Your passive mana absorption is doubled. Your maximum mana is now equal to Intelligence multiplied by 20 instead of Intelligence multiplied by 10. Your maximum durability is increased by your maximum mana divided by 100. Your hardness is increased by max mana divided by 100.

Psychic – You have unlocked the hidden potential of your mind. Stat unlock: psi.

Poison Resistance (Huge) – You are completely immune to weak and ordinary poisons. The effects of more potent poisons on you are greatly reduced.

Flea-bitten (Minor) – Fleas instinctively move towards you.

Physical damage reduction (Minute) – Damage taken that would do under 5% of your total durability as damage is reduced by 5%.

Ki Practitioner: You have gained the ability to control the energy within you, and to reinforce it with the energy around you, enabling you to perform far beyond the normal limits of your body.

Stat unlock: Ki.

Water-Proof (Minor) – Water, and many water based fluids, will slip from your surface with great ease.

Feather-weight (Minute) – You feel light as a feather. A feather that weighs slightly less than you originally did, that is. 1% weight reduction.

Cat’s flexibility (Minor) – Base Dexterity is multiplied by 2. Range of movement of joints increased by 1.1 times.

Skills

Absorb (Advanced) (Racial, Low Unique) 27.82% - Allows the absorption of energy, or substances through the surface of the body or at a distance of (Int*Wis)/10mm. Rate of absorption can be controlled. Although this ability is magical in nature, as it is a form of mana control, and mana is also absorbed, mana cost is 0. Currently the only form of energy able to be absorbed is mana. Absorbing substances has a minor chance of giving traits, abilities and skills relating to the substance.

Mana sight (Expert) (Low Unique, Passive/Toggled) 0.34% - You are capable of seeing smaller congregations of mana than before within (Intelligence*Wisdom)/1.75m. Their forms are now distinct. You can now differentiate mana by type.

Self-repair (Master) (Low Unique, Active) 10.95% - By expending a type of energy available to you, you can repair your own durability and recover your original form. Current energies able to be used: Mana, Psi, Ki. Exchange ratio: 5 mana: 0.1 durability, 10 Psi: 0.1 durability, 10 Ki: 0.1 durability.

Telepathy (Advanced) (High Rare, Active) 27.95% - Allows one to communicate with other beings in exchange for 0.5 Psi/sec*distance between user and target in meters, to a maximum range of (Wisdom*Intelligence)/5m. Allows the user to share emotions and thoughts with the recipient.

Body of deadly poison (Advanced) (Low Unique, Passive/Toggled) 0.09% – Deadly poison courses throughout your entire body. So potent is this poison that even touching you will cause great sickness and partial paralysis for a short period of time. Potency of poison scales a small amount with proficiency.

Flee (Basic) (Low Uncommon, Passive/Conditional) 0.00% - Multiplies base dexterity by 1.5 when running away from something. Will deactivate if offensive action is taken. Will not activate if you do not perceive the thing you are running away from as a threat.

Body of weak acid (Advanced) (Mid Uncommon, Passive/Toggled) 2.05% - A weak acid courses throughout your body and on your skin. So weak is this acid that it acts better as a cleaning agent than a weapon. Acidity scales minutely with proficiency.

Magic edge (Basic) (Low Uncommon, Passive) 7.05% – You have discovered how to clad the edge of your blade in magic power, increasing the power of your strikes. However, you have little experience, and as such use most of your mana in a single powerful attack.

Gaming – Minesweeper (Expert) (Mid rare, passive) 13.26% - You’ve sunk way too much time into this game. And despite the statistics saying 0 wins, 306 losses, you are way better at this than almost everyone else. Slightly increased analytical abilities. Slight instinctive ability to correctly guess the outcome of a 50/50 gamble.

Meditation (Expert) (High Rare, Active) 24.64%: Enter into a state unburdened by the worries of the physical world. There is only you, and your thoughts that exist in this world. While in this state, mana regeneration multiplied by 2.5, Psi regeneration multiplied by 2.5, Ki generated at 20 times the normal rate.

Ki blast (Advanced) (Mid Rare, Active) 41.52%: Expel Ki from your body in a concentrated blast. Power varies with ki infused. With your lack of experience, you are not able to accurately control the amount of ki you infuse into the skill, it may vary by up to 10 points.

Form manipulation – Self (Advanced) (High Rare, Active) 20.09% - Through the use of mana, you can manipulate your own form at will, albeit a bit slowly and roughly. Cannot change density or mass. Costs 4 mana/second while changing form, costs 8 mana/minute while in a form not your original.

WARNING! Do not use this ability if you are of a race with aspects that could result in death if you were to change them E.G. internal organs, mana pathways, et cetera.

Lip reading (Advanced) (Mid Uncommon, Passive) 45.12% - You have learned how to understand what people are saying by the movement of their lips. Doesn’t hurt that you can see their tongue and jaw movement, either. Rarely inaccurate, you can usually tell what people are saying, unless they have some crazy accent. Good luck with those.

Nine lives (Static) (Passive) – You will avoid the next eight attacks that would be deadly to you, seemingly by accident. After avoiding eight attacks, this skill will disappear.

Charges remaining: 8

Telekinesis (Advanced) (Low Rare, Active) 6.38% - Through Psi, your mind pushes at the world around you, moving objects without the need for physical contact. More Psi is required to produce greater forces. Currently inefficient.

External Ki manipulation (Basic) (Low Rare, Active) 0.51% - You have discovered how to manipulate Ki outside of your body. Doesn’t mean you’re any good at it. Difficulty of control increases drastically with distance and quantity of Ki.

Magic missile (Advanced) (Low Uncommon, Active) 36.62% - Fires a projectile of mana. Power scales with mana consumption, unable to exceed 25 mana per shot. Maximum range = Intelligence*1.5/metres. If remotely controlling, there is an additional mana cost of 0.75 mana/sec, otherwise direction of travel is set at initial creation of shot.

Mana control (Basic) (Low Uncommon, Passive) 93.39% - Your practice with magic has led to an increased familiarity with handling mana. Maximum quantity of mana able to be controlled reliably: 25 mana. Minimum quantity of mana able to be controlled reliably: 0.5 mana.

Power stab (Basic) (High Common, Active) 52.45% - Multiplies the speed and power of a stab by 1.1. Cooldown: 5 minutes

Mud bath (Basic) (Low Uncommon, Passive) 0.00% - Your injuries heal faster when they are covered with mud, by 1.2 times. Slightly lowered chance of contracting infection and parasites from this activity.

…However, as you are for most purposes an object, this skill does not affect you.

Climbing (Advanced) (Low Uncommon, Passive) 0.00% - You have a slightly increased ability to find handholds and footholds when climbing something, as well as a slightly increased ability to maintain grip on smaller handholds.

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1I don't remember if I started doing this this chapter or before, but numbers in square brackets on the statuses down here indicate changes since the previous chapter. I don't do proficiencies simply because it would take too long.

Ferdinand's Status

Status

Name: Ferdinand

Race: Human

Level: 32 [+3]

Experience: 1546.48/7200 [+18838.5]

Gender: Male

Age: 23 years

Allegiance: None

Fame: None

Strength: 46.1

Intelligence: 8.1

Dexterity: 37.7

Wisdom: 8.0

Charisma: 8.0

Luck: 37.8

Endurance: 38.4

 

Health: 217/384 [-159]

Health regen: 2.304/hour

Stamina: 0/377 [-273]

Stamina regen: 3.77/min

Mana: 0/81 [-81]

Mana regen: 0.8/min

Psi: 80/80

Psi regen: 0.81/min

Fighting spirit: 0

 

Unspent stat points: 15 [+15]

 

Titles

Living – You are a living being, and as such, the energies of life heal you and the energies of death damage you.

-Trait: Average life energy absorption -Trait: Average death energy weakness

-Trait: minute life affinity -Trait: negative minute death affinity

Human – Most of your ancestors were human, so you are too. The only noticeable advantages humans have over other species are their prolificity and creativity. Other than that, they have sub-par biological features – apart from their thumbs.

-Trait: Average prolificity -Trait: Average creativity -Trait: Minor light-based vision -Trait: Minor vibration-based hearing -Trait: Minute chemical-based sense of smell -Trait: Minor sense of pain/touch -Trait: Minute chemical-based sense of taste -Trait: Being of flesh and blood (Minor)

Insect bane – Killer of many creepy crawlies, you can instinctively sense nearby insects, especially those harmful to you. All stats increased by 1 when attacking insects.

Undead slaughterer – Killer of many horrors of the night, you can instinctively sense nearby undead, especially those harmful to you. All stats increased by 2 when attacking undead.

Traits

Life energy absorption (Average) – life energy heals you, causing you to regain health.

Death energy weakness (Average) – death energy damages you, reducing your health.

Life affinity (Minute) – You find it easier to gain life related skills and proficiencies than if you did not have this trait.

Negative death affinity (Minute) – You find it harder to gain death related skills and proficiencies than if you did not have this trait.

Prolificity (Average) – You are very good at making babies.

Creativity (Average) – You have a higher chance to imagine, invent, and create things.

Light-based vision (Minor) – Your vision is based on light. Your civilisation is not advanced enough to view more detailed information.

Vibration-based hearing (Minor) – Your hearing is based on vibrations. Your civilisation is not advanced enough to view more detailed information.

Chemical-based sense of smell (Minute) – Your sense of smell is based on chemical reactions. Your civilisation is not advanced enough to view more detailed information.

Chemical-based sense of taste (Minute) – Your sense of taste is based on chemical reactions. Your civilisation is not advanced enough to view more detailed information.

Sense of pain/touch (Minor) – You have a sense of pain/touch. Your civilisation is not advanced enough to view more detailed information.

Being of flesh and blood (Minor) – Your life is dependent on your body, which consists loosely of the aforementioned materials. Without enough of these, you die. You also rely on the consumption of foods edible to your species.

Psychic – You have unlocked the hidden potential of your mind. Stat unlock: psi.

Battleborn – Whether your battles end in victory or defeat, you will never give up. Increased resistance to mental influences, increased grip strength, pain reduction. Stat unlock: Fighting spirit.

Skills

Farming (Expert) (High Common, Passive) 21.28% - You have extensive knowledge in the tools and trade of farming. You instinctively know the fertility of the land you are standing on, and the current season. You also have an increased weather prediction ability.

Herbalism (Advanced) (High Common, Passive) 47.37% - You know well how to care for plants and herbs, and you can easily tell what common herbs and plants are, and what they do. You don’t know much about rarer herbs, but your experience means you will instinctively know if a plant is poisonous, as long as it isn’t too rare. Increased ability to notice rare herbs.

Sewing (Basic) (Low Common, Passive) 76.93% - You have a basic level of knowledge on how to sew. Allows you to notice loose threads and fraying material easier, and slightly increases your ability to differentiate the quality of thread and cloth.

Tool Repair (Basic) (Low Common, Passive) 48.53% - You can repair basic tools, but you might want to consider a replacement instead. Allows you to notice damage on tools easier.

Logging (Advanced) (Mid Common, Passive) 9.78% - You can wield an axe with skill – if your opponent is a tree. Increased strength and reduced stamina usage when cutting trees, increased ability to notice wood quality and damage.

Common language-Spoken (Advanced) (Low Common, Passive) 14.93% - You can speak common fluently, but you don’t know many longer or rarely used words.

Common language-Written (Basic) (Mid Common, Passive) 49.33% - You can read and write, but don’t expect good calligraphy. You read and write slowly, and will make frequent errors.

Digging (Advanced) (Mid Common, Passive) 83.00% - You’re no dwarf, but you can sure dig a hole. You also know the difference between a shovel, spade and trowel. Increased skill when wielding a shovel, spade or trowel, increased ability to determine soil hardness, small instinctive ability to avoid buried stones, or find them if needed.

Cooking (Advanced) (Low Common, Passive) 19.61% - You can cook, but you’re no gourmet chef. Minute increase to taste of cooked dish, according to your preferences.

Hunting (Basic) (Low Common, Passive) 96.28% - You have learnt the basics of hunting. Increased ability to conceal yourself in forests and area with much greenery. Slightly increased senses when hunting. Minute instinctive ability to sense danger. Slightly increased tracking ability.

Fishing (Basic) (Low Common, Passive) 38.72% - You are new to fishing, but you had a good teacher. Chance of catching fish with a fishing rod slightly increased.

Dismantling (Advanced) (Mid Common, Passive) 30.52% - Provided you have the right tools for the job, you can dismantle most common beasts. Increased knowledge of some weaknesses of a being after dismantling it.

First aid (Basic) (Low Common, Passive) 87.59% - You can treat and bandage a wound, even make a simple splint, but don’t expect anyone to come to you for medical advice. Slight increase to steadiness of hands when applying first aid.

Tracking (Basic) (Low Common, Passive) 69.67% - You can recognise some of the basic signs left behind by incautious beings. Minutely increased ability to conceal yourself from your target.

Concealment (Basic) (Mid Common, Passive) 27.54% - You know a few tricks to hide yourself. When concealed, your basic senses are minutely increased.

Ranged weaponry – Bow (Basic) (Mid Common, Passive) 42.42% - You are capable of using bow and arrow at a basic level. Wind, target movement and other distractions hinder your accuracy greatly. Minutely increased vision when aiming at an enemy. +0.5 Strength and Dexterity when using a bow.

Ranged weaponry – Sling (Advanced) (Mid Common, Passive) 30.31% - You are experienced at using a sling and stones. Slightly increased ability to find stones or other items suitable as ammunition. +1 Strength and Dexterity when using a sling.

Thrown weaponry – Rock (Advanced) (Low Common, Passive) 40.07% - You can throw rocks alright. You’re a fair hand at skipping them over a lake, too. Slightly increased accuracy when throwing stones.

Thrown weaponry – Fork (Basic) (Mid Common, Passive) 1.23% - Why you’re throwing cutlery is anyone’s guess, but you clearly aren’t used to it.

Melee weaponry – Staff (Basic) (Low Common, Passive) 5.64% - You have used a staff in a fight a few times, but you still don’t know how to use it correctly.

Melee weaponry – Club (Basic) (Low Common, Passive) 38.20% - You have a small amount of experience using simple blunt weapons. +1 Strength when using a club.

Melee weaponry – Sword – Longsword (Advanced) (High Common, Passive) 25.48% - You have some experience using a standard longsword. Minor increased grip strength when wielding this weapon, and +1 to Strength and Dexterity while wielding this weapon. Maintaining this type of weapon is easier for you.

Melee weaponry – Fork (Basic) (Mid Common, Passive) 1.23% - Why you’re using a fork as a weapon is anyone’s guess, but you clearly aren’t used to it.

Magic edge (Basic) (Low Uncommon, Passive) 39.26% – You have discovered how to clad the edge of your blade in magic power, increasing the power of your strikes. However, you have little experience, and as such use all your mana in a single powerful attack.

Telepathy (Basic) (Mid Rare, Active) 17.30% - Allows one to communicate with other beings in exchange for 1 Psi/sec*distance between user and target in meters, to a maximum range of (Wisdom*Intelligence)/10m. Currently only able to communicate emotions.

Flee (Basic) (Low Uncommon, Passive/Conditional) 32.14% - Multiplies base dexterity by 1.5 when running away from something. Will deactivate if offensive action is taken. Will not activate if you do not perceive the thing you are running away from as a threat.

Power slash (Basic) (High Common, Active) 21.37% - Multiplies the speed and power of a slash by 1.1. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Stamina cost: 50

Power stab (Basic) (High Common, Active) 14.63% - Multiplies the speed and power of a stab by 1.1. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Stamina cost: 50

Battle focus (Basic) (Mid Uncommon, Active) 48.36% - Allows you to enter a state of intense concentration when in combat. Slightly decreases likelihood of being startled by unexpected events, loosing track of an enemy and not seeing attacks. Strength +0.5, Dexterity +0.5, Endurance +0.5, Intelligence +0.5, Wisdom +0.5, Luck +0.5, Charisma +0.5 when in this state.

Battle cry (Basic) (Mid Uncommon, Active) 6.74% - Roar loudly, your voice echoing over the battlefield with a possibility of startling and/or causing fear in enemies. Reduced effect if used repeatedly on the same enemy. Requires: >30 Fighting spirit. Cooldown: 2 minutes. Stamina cost: 30.

Armour – Shield – Heater Shield (Basic) (High Common, Passive) 2.83% - You have a small amount of experience using a heater shield. +1 Endurance when using a heater shield.

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