Dragon Sorcerer 1- Interlude 6 (Patreon)

Interlude 6- Cami/Adventurers/Stats

Cami made it back to the end and went right to room she shared with Modessa. She’d already confirmed her mentor was okay on the way back and thanked the others. Now she needed to sort her thoughts. Too much had happened today.

The first thing was going to be to slow things down, but that was just about the most impossible thing for a fourteen-year-old girl. Being around Nico and the others had shown her how truly small her world was. There was so much she didn’t know. To think that two months from now she’d be fifteen and would have been married off if she hadn’t escaped Cloverdale. It was too much, so she pushed it aside.

She cursed at herself. “Cami, don’t be a stupid little girl. You were all but a woman back home. Who cares what their standards are here? You were raised to take responsibility and think things through.”

She decided to think of it like a chore list on the farm. If you didn’t get organized, you’d forget a task or almost worse, you’d end up handling an unimportant one while something important or even urgent was pushed off. So what was the most important?

Cami knew she needed to reason out why the Serius had been acting oddly when they rescued them. She needed to talk to Modessa and learn more about both training and leveling. There were notifications she should look at, some of which seemed like they might be important.

Despite all of that, the thing which kept coming back to her mind was her connection with Nico. She had been appalled with how he treated her at the blacksmith’s shop. Daggin seemed like a good man and someone she’d like to learn from. She would have been happy to apprentice with him as long as that didn’t interfere with her learning magic. She felt a call to the fire of the forge. What she didn’t care for was the way that Nico had just made those decisions without talking to her about them. It was exactly the way her father had treated her.

Her thoughts had spiraled from there till when the thugs attacked. She finally realized what the problem was. He didn’t really want to be bonded with her. He felt like she was a weight around his neck. Thinking back to how it had happened made it all so obvious. It had been an accident, when his own magic awakened. She was just in the right place at the right time. It wasn’t like Nico had chosen her. For some reason that hurt so much.

She needed to push it out of her mind for the moment. Cami knew she had it in her to be worthy of this gift. At least she desperately needed to believe she did. She’d prove herself one way or the other. It was too much to think about at the moment. So she decided, notifications, Modessa, and then Nico. The mystery of what Serius and the others had been up to could wait. It didn’t feel like something she could figure out tonight.

The first notification she saw was simple. It was one which she’d had most of the day but hadn’t done anything about.

Modessa ??? has offered to become your mentor. Accepting her as your mentor means that she will become your legal guardian until you turn 18 years of age. You may not terminate the mentor-apprentice relationship until after that point except by approval of the regents of the Imperial University or by a decree of the emperor or the ruler of your own kingdom.

A mentor is required to protect and provide for the physical needs of their apprentice as well as their educational guidance, but may not pressure them into any decisions they do not voluntarily accept regarding relationships or class, skill, and stat decisions.

An apprentice is required to obey reasonable orders from their mentor and to keep secret any special knowledge offered by their mentors unless given permission to share it. After reaching 18 years of age, the mentor relationship may be extended in one year increments up till graduation from the university.

Current offer:

1) Instruction in shadow magic and rogue type skills.

2) Preferred placement in classes based upon mentor’s status.

3) Provision of private tutors for other pursuits which you are gifted in.

4) An allowance of 20 gold per month plus purchase of any specialized gear deemed necessary by the mentor. The first month's allowance has already been provided as a measure of good faith.

5) Sponsorship to the adventurer’s guild after completing your first two years at the university.

Do you wish to accept this offer?

Cami had been sitting on it. She must have looked at the notification fifty times during the day. Twenty gold alone was so amazing. It was more money than she could imagine in her entire life. Coppers were the only coins she had seen much of and twenty gold would be two hundred thousand coppers. It was staggering. Of course, she had also seen that the prices in Taleia were much higher than back home, maybe they would be even higher in Urgoi.

A part of her wondered if she could get more out of Modessa. Then she shook her head. No, that was just being greedy. She grinned. Maybe Nico was rubbing off on her. It was hard to miss the gleam in his eyes whenever anyone even said the word ‘gold’ around him. Of course, then thinking about Nico brought back all that confusion. She shook it off and accepted the mentorship.

Within thirty seconds, Modessa opened the door and peeked in. “Do you want to talk now?” The rogue had a big smile on her face.

“You’re my mentor now, so I guess we probably should.”

“It’s a big decision, and I know you were unsure about it. If you want some more time to think, I can let you have that.”

“Uh, um, no… I think I’d like to have someone to talk to.”

Modessa slipped in silently and closed the door behind her before going over to sit on the other bed across from Cami. “School questions or boy troubles?”

Cami’s eyes got big. She started to protest that she didn’t have any boy troubles.

Modessa just listened, nodding along, and patiently waited for her to finish. “I’m not blind and remember I was fourteen once.”

“Almost fifteen.”

“Well, yes, almost fifteen and expecting to be a woman if you were still back in the village. But I see how you look at Nico and how oblivious he seems. I don’t know that I have any great advice. I mean I’m well older than you and still pining for a guy who doesn’t seem to realize how I feel.”

They were both quiet for a moment before Modessa added, “I can still listen even if I don’t have answers.”

Cami slowly shook her head. “I think for now that I’d like to focus on other things. I gained experience fighting those thugs and gained a level. I’m trying to figure out what I should do.”

Modessa smiled. “Well, that’s exactly what mentors are supposed to do. My skills allow me to see part of your stat sheet, but not all of it. Which I might add is very unusual. It’s the same with Nico. If you give me permission, I could see all of it. That would enable me to give you better advice and remember as your mentor, I can’t do anything to act against your interests.”

Cami thought about it for a second. She wanted to trust Modessa. The woman was only a few years younger than her own mother and Cami could use a supportive mother figure in her life even if she couldn’t have put it into those words. The thing was that sharing her full stat sheet would reveal her bond with the dragon, Nicosandumas.

It wouldn’t take much for Modessa to figure it out from there. She already seemed to hate Nico so much. There was no way that Cami could give her another reason or betray her friend. Nico had been kind to her in his own ways, and there was no way she’d ever turn her back on him, even if she was angry with him right now.

“I can’t now. I want to, but I need to feel like I can know you better. I do have some questions though, if you’re willing to answer them.”

Modessa sighed but then said, “Of course.”

“Well, those thugs were a lot higher level than me and I got some XP from the ones that died. I guess because we fought them.”

“From all of them?”

“Hmm… is it possible for me to share just one notification with you, or maybe a few at once?”

The rogue nodded.

Cami focused on the notifications she had obtained about XP willed them to go Modessa. It didn’t happen at first, but her practice speaking into Nico’s mind helped and eventually she was able to visualize it properly.

You have defeated a level 5 mage. Due to extreme level difference, XP is multiplied: +512.

You have defeated a level 5 archer. Due to extreme level difference, XP is multiplied: +512.

You have defeated 4x level 4 rogues. Due to extreme level difference, XP is multiplied: +1520.

You have defeated 1 x level 6 brute and 2 x level 4 brute. Due to extreme level difference, XP is multiplied: +1510.

Total XP gained from encounter: 4,054.

The notification she didn’t share was the one which would have given away her secret, well Nico’s secret.

You have gained a full share of XP attributable to your own actions and that of your bonded dragon. This benefit was gained when your bond reached level 5 but not revealed until applicable.

Modessa whistled. “That’s a lot of XP. Have you used it to level up yet?”

“No, I only need 26 XP to reach the next level, so I wasn’t sure how far this would level me up or what would happen when I did level up.”

Modessa said, “Unfortunately, you’re already leveled up, you just have received the benefits. You can’t not gain XP, it is the energy of the world which the gods give to adventurers. Once you start receiving system messages, you are eligible for XP from quests, slaying monsters, and perhaps some other things we’ll discuss in the future.”

“Okay, is it a bad thing that I’ve gained XP.”

“It’s not ideal, but let me explain. You only need 100 XP to reach level 2, but then you need 400 to reach level 3, 1000 to reach level 4, 2000 for level 5, and 4000 for level 6. So effectively you’re a level six mage now. The problem with that is your class. Mage is a base class for everyone who activates the system and gains the ability to learn magic. In most places, that happens when the local government sends around mages to test children around your age.

“You see most of the kingdoms want to have as many powerful mages as possible and they want to get you into contracts to return home and work for them after attending the university. Taleia is an ancient city, but it's in decline and the area is poorly managed. There isn’t even a proper king here, just a collection of lords and desert pirates who loosely pay homage to the emperor in exchange for not drawing the attention of his legions.”

Cami nodded as though she’d heard this before, but hearing her homeland described was a bit depressing. “If everyone starts out as a mage, does that mean you did too?”

“I did, but you have to listen to the details. Consider that the first rule from the shadow, failing to pay attention can lead to ruin.”

Cami nodded again. “You mean because you said that everyone who activates the system and gains the ability to learn magic. ‘And’ was the important word. You once said that all good adventurers can use magic, but that would imply that there are some who can’t use magic.”

Modessa smiled. “I knew there was a reason I wanted to be your mentor. We’ll talk about that more, but for now what you need to know is that mage is a common class. As you meet the requirements, you can upgrade your class.”

“What can I upgrade it to?”

“That question is too broad for tonight and I don’t mean this flippantly but, I need to get to know you better and see where your natural aptitudes as well as your interests lead you. We know you have a variety of pursuits open to you, but each of those pursuits can lead to many different classes. The combination of more than one of your pursuits can lead to even more classes.

“What you really need to know now is that there are common, uncommon, rare, epic, and legendary classes. Or at least there are supposed to be legendary classes, but practically speaking supposedly there are only two people alive who have legendary classes.”

Cami’s eyes were wide as she listened to Modessa with rapt attention, which was undoubtedly the rogue’s intent. “Who are they?”

“Archmage Tolston, the head of the university and the emperor. We know what Tolston’s class is because it’s his title, but no one knows what the emperor’s class is, or if they do know, then they aren’t saying.”

Cami wasn’t even sure what question she should ask next. After a bit of silence, Modessa just took the lead. “Common classes can only go to level 10, while uncommon can reach level 15, rare and epic classes are capped at level 20. Only legendary classes can go beyond that which is part of what makes them so powerful. The rumor is that the archmage is level twenty-eight. Now, you might be tempted to say that’s only eight levels higher than me, but the truth is that as the levels increase, the power gap between them increases as well.”

Cami bit her tongue, not too hard, but hard enough to keep herself from asking her mentor how it was then that those attackers under level six had been any problem for her at all. Instead she said, “That’s so fascinating.” Then she paused for a second before asking, “Can a person have two classes?”

“Not that I’m aware of but we could ask one of the librarians at the university. Those book worms love it when you give them a project that keeps them locked up inside all day, searching through old tomes.” Modessa laughed as though she had just made some great joke, but whatever it was flew over Cami’s head, although she did politely smile.

The rogue added, “Sometimes people think of their trade such as blacksmith as a second class, but it isn’t. Some of them require XP but they are still considered different, at least that’s the way I was taught. A blacksmith might not require XP to level up, but an elemental blacksmith does. But we’re getting off track here. What you need to know is what to do when you level up.”

Cami nodded excitedly.

“As a mage you’ll gain 2 points for your Mind stat at each level up except for levels 5 and 10, which will be double. You also gain 1 free stat point. Your available skills and spells will also be based upon your class, but we’ll talk about that more later. What we have to do is talk about your free stats. For now, I want you to just bank them. That means save them for later until we know more about what path you’ll choose. Then we have to be careful not to let you gain any more XP until you gain a better class.

“When you upgrade your class, you’ll retroactively get half the extra stat points you would have gained, but if the distribution is significantly different, you might handicap yourself for the future.”

The expression on Cami’s face must have given away that she didn’t fully understand. It was one thing to know that adventurers were faster and stronger than anyone else. It was something else to try to determine how she would make choices like that.

Modessa continued, “Uncommon classes get six stat points per level, rare classes get ten, epic classes get fifteen and legendary classes supposedly get at least twenty-one, but I can’t say for sure. So if we were able to get you an epic class that would mean that because you already reached level six, you would have lost out on half of the extra twelve stat points you would have gained for each level or a total of thirty stat points. That’s a pretty big chunk.”

Cami nodded in understanding. She wasn’t sure if it would apply to her unique situation but Modessa added, “Also, as a common class you generally don’t gain any specialized skills or spells. I think you probably gained access to one academic skill at level three and a bonus when using wands at level five. Not exactly, inspiring stuff.”

Modessa’s head turned, and she looked towards the door like she was hearing something that Cami couldn’t hear. “I had better leave you to it for now. At least you’ll gain more mana with the increased Mind stat. And don’t worry, I’ll come up with some options for your training. We won’t be leaving Taleia for three more days even though Liam’s healing is going faster than expected. That is just when the boat Serius booked is leaving.”

Cami thanked her mentor for the advice and lesson and then sat back down while Modessa left, saying she’d be back to sleep in the room later and that the inn was safe it wasn’t necessary for Cami to lock the door.

Cami waited for her to be gone and then focused inward. She had also gained a single DKP which seemed like a rip-off, but that was something about splitting it with Nico and the threat not being very great for him. She wondered if he gained XP or just the DKP. There was so much they needed to talk about.

For now, she looked at her options.

You have 4,054 XP to expend. Do you wish to apply it to the Dragon-bonded Sorcerer Class (Rare) or the Mage Class (common)?

She smiled. That was what she’d been hoping for. She couldn’t be one hundred percent certain, but based upon what Modessa had said, it would be better to apply the stats to her rare class. She was fourteen, so once she reasoned that out, she acted on it immediately.

Congratulations, your class is now: Dragon-Bonded Sorcerer level 6 and Mage level 1.

You have gained:

Strength: +6

Agility: +12

Durability: +6

Mind: +18

You have 18 free stat points.

Cami knew that Modessa had told her to save or bank her free stat points, but they seemed wasted that way and the woman was only expecting her to have five or rather six free stat points. At first the math about the stat points hadn’t made sense but then she realized what was going on. Modessa had said that level five would have double the normal number of stat points. With that adjustment the math made sense.

Clearly, the class gave her one point in STR, one in DUR, two in AGI, and three in MIND. Since she knew she wanted to be a powerful magic user that made her happy and was also consistent with the class name. But she also admired Modessa’s speed and grace, so she wanted to apply her other points to physical attributes for now.

She’d save six free stat points but put nine of the other points into Agility and the final three into Durability. She reasoned that she needed to stay alive if she was going to become a powerful wizard and that danger seemed to follow Nico everywhere. So a boost to her HP would be good and also to her mobility.

She also noted that she gained some further skill boosts.

Level 2: You have gained the skill Concentration 1.

Level 3: Your Meditation skill has automatically been upgraded by 1.

Level 4: You have gained the bloodline skill: Dragon Claws

Level 5: Your bloodline skill: Tough Hide has been upgraded by 1.

Level 5: You have gained the skill: Rapid Cast.

Level 6: You have gained the skill: Spell Swap

Spell Swap: You may automatically exchange any of your innate spells for an innate spell known by your bonded dragon of the same level.

Cami intended to stay awake and reach out to Nico, but the rush of her body changing under the rapid influx of all those stats was too significant for her to handle. She didn’t even see the final notification.

By passing level 5 in a bonded class, your bond has grown to be level 6 and you will now share 2% of your bonded dragon’s stats rather than just 1%.

She also didn’t look at other notification about the spell she had used to help save them.

Shadow Cloak - Tier 1 spell. This spell enables the caster to cover yourself and up to one additional person per level you possess in a cloak of shadows. This will cause your targets to become harder to see even in sunlight. People not looking for you will find that their eyes slide off of you. In deep shadows, you will become truly invisible. Note that attacking any living being while under the effect of this spell will break it. This spell may be channeled if you possess that skill.

Mana: 15 + 5 per target.

Cast Time: 6 seconds.

Cool-Down: 2 minutes.

Range: 10’+1’ per level.

___________________

Modessa hurried back to the others when she sensed a summons from Serius. The old mage sure got his knickers in a bunch if everyone didn’t follow his schedule. When she got down there, they were all waiting for her. It was good to see Liam sitting up. Regrowing a limb was no fun, something which she sadly knew from personal experience.

When she sat down, they all looked at her. She just grinned. “I told you we’d find out something if we pushed on them a bit. Although, sadly, she gained five levels with just a mage class. I feel like we partially handicapped her with that. We really have to watch her and make sure she doesn’t gain any more levels.”

Galbrecht shook his head. “I don’t get you sometimes. You are so compassionate towards her, taking her under your wing. It’s really a good look on you, but at the same time you don’t shed a tear for the twelve people killed tonight.”

Modessa hid just how much his comment cut her to the quick. “What are you complaining about? I thought paladins liked it when criminals died. Trust me, those weren’t good people.”

He started to say something, but Serius cut the paladin off. “You two can have your little tiff later. Right now, I want to hear about what you learned.”

“Not a great deal, but there is definitely some kind of connection between her and Nico. She was about to share her stat page with me, but then stopped herself. I’m fairly sure she thinks it would reveal something about him, too.”

Lisella said, “You can’t be sure though.”

“Nothing in life is ever sure, but this is part of what I do. I read people. Just like I know you think our young mage is a tasty treat and are even more eager to become his mentor now that he’s turned eighteen. Who would have guessed he was that close and he didn’t even seem to realize it was his birthday.”

Galbrecht looked at the priestess, “I’d be careful with him. Those men in the alley were ripped to shreds as though by claws. I don’t know how he did it, but he has some technique that allows him to copy the attacks of a beast. Who knows what that would do to a man’s character.”

Modessa laughed. “Oh, now we get to question him. Being a wild mage wasn’t enough.”

Serius brought his hand down on the table. “How many times do I have to tell you to keep this on task? You know what our mission is.”

Liam mumbled, “Do the impossible.”

Lisella said, “He sorta has a point. Even my goddess won’t tell me anything about those two. In fact, it’s almost like she is purposefully keeping me from learning about them. Even though she supported the mission to restore the dragon riders corps.”

Serius sighed this time and looked like the old man that he was. “We all know about the ancient monsters waking in the mountains. The dwarves are either digging into their enclaves or some of them have even made their way into Forlay and Haltorst. I’d think a princess of Forlay would be extra concerned about this danger. Your family, your city are on the front line.”

“All of Miseria’s children are my family, but yes, thank you for the unpleasant reminder. At least we captured one dragon.”

“The runt of the clutch from what I can tell. We let the bigger one escape,” Serius replied.

Modessa said, “Only because you wouldn’t let us cut loose anymore. That thing was hardly a newborn. And yes, I know that my sources are the ones who gave us the bad information. Trust me, I’ll be having a good long talk with them.”

Galbrecht said, “We’re still dancing around the griffon in the room. We know that Cami has the pursuit of a dragon rider. There are still manuals at the university on how to trigger that class. Hopefully, she’ll be able to make a bond with the one we were able to capture. What we don’t know is what the double wings that Nico showed means.”

Serius rubbed his temples. “I keep thinking I should know, but then it becomes hard to think straight. We’ll have to hope that the archmage has better luck. Either way, we need to keep testing the boy. Lisella, if you can’t get him to accept you as his mentor, maybe we should let Galbrecht try.”

“No, I want him… er… I mean I want to be his mentor. It isn’t often that someone comes along with his potential for divine magic. He learned that spell without any instruction just by watching me.”

Serius sighed again, this time while also rubbing his temples. “Don’t remind me. That boy is an enigma for sure.”

___________________

STAT SHEETS:

Nicosandumas

Race: Blue Dragon

Maturity: Adult (1% to Mature Adult)

DKP: 2

Length: 31’8” Weight: 12,303 lbs.

Base Speed: 9 mph on land/108 mph in the air

Stats:

STR: 320

AGI: 38

DUR: 24

MIND: 17

HP: 240

Regen Rate: 33 HP/day (58 with Cami)

Immunities:

Electricity

Sleep

Paralysis

Resistances:

Magic- 40%

Physical Damage: 12.5%

Combat Proficiency:

Armor Rating: 32

ATK: 26

DMG: 2-12+14 (claws), 2-24+21 (bite), 2-8+13 (wings), 2-12+21 (tail)

Critical Strike: 17%

Racial Abilities:

Breath Weapon 1: Spark storm 100’ x 10’ (12-48 damage)

2: Lightning Bolt 300’ x 5’ (18-108 damage)

Sprint: reach a maximum land speed of 80 mph for up to 30 seconds or maximum air speed up to 226 mph for 1 minute.*

Sound Imitation/Ventriloquism*

Dragon Fear 1

Project Image (10% real)*

Shape Change 2*

Fabricate 1*

Soul Space 1*

Manipulate Sand 1*

Concentration 3*

Companion Bond 5*- Camille Westfork

*- These abilities can be used in either form

Mana: 170 points

Regen: 1 MP/minute. (4 with Cami)

Innate Magic Spells:

1st Tier: 2/6

Force Darts

Identification

2nd Tier: 1/6

Lesser Regeneration- Miseria

3rd Tier: 0/4

4th Tier: 0/2

HUMAN FORM

Nicosandumas

Apparent Race: Human

Apparent Age: 18

Class: Monk/Sorcerer

Level: 8th/7th

DKP: 1

Height: 6’3” Weight: 201 lbs.

Base Speed: 10 mph

STR: 80

AGI: 38

DUR: 24

MIND: 17

HP: 240

Regen Rate: 33 HP/day (58 with Cami)

Armor Rating: 10

Immunities: Electricity, Sleep, Paralyzation

Resistances: Magic- 30%, Physical Damage: 0

ATK: 23

DMG: 1-8+13 (punch), 1-10+13 (kick)

Critical Strike: 5%

Monk Fighting Style: Dragon

Monk Abilities:

Rapid Movement

Flurry Attack 1

Stunning Fist 1

Meditation 1

Stillness

Pure Mind-Pure Body

Make Me Whole

Evasion

Mana: 170 points

Regen: 1 MP/minute. (4 with Cami)

Innate Magic Spells:

1st Tier: 2/6

Force Darts

Identification

2nd Tier: 1/6

Lesser Regeneration- Miseria

3rd Tier: 0/4

4th Tier: 0/2

Name: Camille Westfork

Race: Human- draconic bloodline

Age: 14.8

Class: Dragon-bonded sorcerer/mage

Level: 1st/1st

DKP: 5

XP: 4128/7000

Height: 5’4” Weight: 116 lbs.

Base Speed: 5 mph

Dragon Bond- Nicosandumas- 2% stats, bloodline (claws**), spell share, telepathy 1000’

Mentor: Modessa ???

STR: 20

AGI: 29

DUR: 19

MIND: 35

HP: 190

Regen Rate: 25 HP/day (58 with Nico)

Armor Rating: 10

Resistance: All Damage- 6

ATK: 6

DMG: 2-4 (non-lethal)

Critical Strike: 1%

Skills:

Tough Hide 2

Meditation 2

Concentration: 1

Dragon Claws

Rapid Cast

Spell Swap

Mana: 350

Mana Regeneration: 3 per minute (4 with Nico)

DBS Spells:

Tier 1 (2/6)

Offensive: Force Darts

Defensive: Shadow Cloak

Tier 2 (0/6)

Tier 3 (0/3)

Mage Spells:

Tier 1- none

Pets: Rollie and Patch- year old bear cubs. Further information is unavailable until a formal pet contract is created.