Chapter 17: A Gift for Summoning (Patreon)

I knew the first thing I needed to do was to attend to my skills and abilities. Thus far, I’d been operating with only a single ability: light’s fury. Now, it was time to expand my repertoire.

And thankfully, I had a cache of skillbooks and ability tomes to turn to for help.

Scratching around in my backpack, I extracted the items I’d looted from the Devils’ lair. All in all, I had claimed six books. Hopefully, a few would be of use. Laying out the tomes in a line before me, I inspected the first two—the most mundane of the lot.

The target is the basic skillbook: channeling. Channeling is a discipline that allows a player to replenish her store of mana from the surroundings. This skillbook is compatible with Adalinda’s Class and your own and may be learned by either of you.

The target is the advanced skillbook: two-weapon fighting. This skill allows a player to dual-wield weapons in combat. As your skill increases, the penalties you incur by wielding two weapons simultaneously will be reduced. Note, not all weapons are suitable for use in your second hand. This skillbook is incompatible with Adalinda’s Class and your own. It cannot be learned by either of you.

I read the skillbooks’ Game descriptions thrice to be certain, but they didn’t change, no matter how often I read them.

Sadly, the Adjudicator’s words only confirmed what I’d told Soren—the skills I could learn were predetermined by my Class. I wasn’t certain which skills I would have access to as an empyrean, but so far, it didn’t look like it would include any physical combat abilities.

Oh well.

Two-weapon fighting would have been a useful skill to learn, but at least it wasn’t the only one on offer. I picked up the first tome.

Channeling did not sound like a glamorous skill, but if it allowed me to replenish my mana, then it would certainly come in handy. But I had a finite number of skill slots available, and I couldn’t afford to waste them.

Was it wiser to wait until I found a better skillbook?

I wasn’t sure, but there was someone else who might know. “Ada?”

Her reply was immediate. “Do you need some advice?”

Of course, she could see what I could and likely had already guessed what I was pondering. “What do you make of the channeling skillbook? Should I use it?”

There was a pause. “You should always think carefully about what knowledge you choose to acquire.”

I made a face. “Sounds like you’re belaboring the obvious. Any particular reason you’re mentioning that now?”

Adalinda sniffed. “Don’t be snide, El,” she chided, then went on, before I could respond, “Remember, you only get six skill slots per Class. It’s therefore imperative that your skill choices are geared towards the type of player you wish to be. In your case, three of your slots are filled by mana-based skills—light, fire, and air magic— which means you’re already a halfway decent spellcaster.”

“Only halfway?” I murmured.

“Only halfway,” she repeated firmly. “The way I see it, you have two choices. One: specialize in magic and further your dependance on mana. In which case you should learn mana channeling.”

“What’s the second choice?”

“Broadening your capabilities by acquiring physical or psi skills.”

“And what do you advise?”

“Specialization, always. Remember, you have two other Classes which you can use in the future to round out your skills. For now, you should focus on doing one thing well.”

I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me. Adalinda’s advice was sound. I didn’t want to make any rash decisions, but at the same time, channeling was a skill too aptly suited to my needs to ignore.

Basic skill or not, channeling is a good choice. Decided, I picked up the skillbook and began to read.

You have gained the basic skill: channeling, enabling you to replenish your mana at will. Note, channeling mana requires the player to enter a heightened state. Any disruption that causes you to lose focus will interrupt your mana renewal.  You have 2 of 6 empyrean Class skill slots remaining.

Closing my eyes, I tasted the new knowledge filling my consciousness. Between one instant and the next, I knew how to draw mana from the world about me. It was as if the understanding had always existed in my head, and I marveled at the fact that I had not known how to do this before this.

Shaking my head ruefully at the mystery that was the Game, I wondered what other skills I might learn. Could I acquire a healing skill? That alone would make becoming a player worth it and would free me from my current dependency on potions.

For now, though, I had to move on. There was one other skillbook. I already knew what skill it offered, but unable to stop myself, I studied the tome anew.

This is a master skillbook: summoning. This skill is compatible with your slotted Class and may be learned. The skillbook is a single-use item.

Every magic discipline has a small selection of spells that allow a caster to call forth beings from other planes. However, the art of summoning, as practiced by those with the summoning skill, is entirely different. They are true summoners and not mere dabblers in the art, as are all others.

When a summoner calls forth an entity, it is his summoning skill, and not the spell itself, that determines the power of the summoned entity. As a summoner’s skill increases, so does the strength of his summons, making even the least spell in his arsenal potentially deadly.

I’d inspected this skillbook before, but my awe was no less this time around than it had been the first time.

I knew summoning was something magic users did, a means by which they brought allies from elsewhere to aid them, but that was the sum total of my knowledge on the matter. The skill certainly appealed to me, but…

…was it something I wanted for my own?

In light of Adalinda’s advice, I pondered what sort of player I wanted to be. A mage, certainly. But what sort of mage?

A raw damage dealer? A support player? A battle mage?

All of the above, I thought wryly.

But I also need one core skill to build my Class around. And summoning seemed to fit the bill perfectly. As a master-ranked skill, summoning would undoubtedly be powerful—stronger by far than my existing skills, I suspected.

On the other hand, I already had one ally I could summon at will into battle—Adalinda. Would being able to summon more creatures really be advantageous?

Definitely.

In fact, with time, I could conceivably become a one-woman army!

I smiled at the thought. I doubted any conjured creature would be able to match my celestial companion, but if any of them were even half as strong, it would make the skill worth it.

Summoning it is, I decided and opened the skillbook.

You have gained the master skill: summoning.

Most mages are restricted by their choice of magical disciplines in the creatures they can summon. A summoner is not. With this skill, you can conjure creatures or inanimate objects of multiple elemental types or Force affiliation. Note, you must possess knowledge of the requisite element or Force in order to manifest a summon of its type.

You have 1 of 6 empyrean Class skill slots remaining.

“A wise choice,” Adalinda murmured.

“You think so?” I asked.

“Yes,” she replied emphatically, “especially if you acquire spells to buff both your summons and me.” She laughed. “We’ll be unstoppable, then!”

I smiled at her delight, and thinking about it further, I realized she was right. The summoning skill would synergize well with Adalinda’s own manifest ability. Any spells I acquired to buff her could also be used to strengthen my summons. My future path was becoming clearer.

I had to be careful, though. The Game could be ruthless. One misstep and the bright future I foresaw would vanish. But that, too, was part of what being a player meant.

Making difficult choices and living with the consequences.

Shrugging off my musings, I turned to the remaining books.  All three were ability tomes. Picking up the first, I inspected it.

You have acquired the hands of fury ability tome. Governing attribute: Strength. Tier: basic. Requirement: any unarmed combat skill.

This ability increases the damage a player inflicts when using their fists to attack. Adalinda can learn this ability, but you cannot. You do not have the necessary skill: any unarmed combat skill, or slots available in the required attribute: Strength.

My eyebrows flew up at the surprising Game message. Adalinda could use the tome, but I couldn’t?

I’d known my companion was her own person and a participant in the Game in her own right, but I hadn’t thought the Adjudicator would distinguish between us when it came to abilities and skills. That it did, offered interesting possibilities.

Something like hands of fury was of no use to me—Strength was not my forte, and I doubted I would ever be a frontline melee fighter—but Adalinda? The ability seemed well suited to her own skill set, and she had the ability slots to spare, too…

The tome required further consideration, but for now, I set it aside while I inspected the other books.

You have acquired the ethereal bow ability tome. Governing attribute: Magic. Tier: basic. Requirement: summoning skill.

Ethereal bow is an unusual ability, one not often favored by summoners. Where most summoning spells conjure up living creatures with awareness and will of their own—and consequently requiring little direction from the caster—this ability manifests an inanimate object. The ethereal bow is formed in the caster’s hands and will remain in existence as long as the spell is active. Using the bow, the caster can shoot arrows created from pure magic at her target.

You can learn this ability, but Adalinda cannot.

You have acquired the basic ability tome: summon elemental. Governing attribute: Magic. Tier: basic. Requirement: rank 2 summoning skill.

The summon elemental spell is a staple of Magic-based summoners. With it, a summoner is able to conjure an elemental from any domain that she has access to. The summoned elemental possesses rudimentary intelligence and can only perform the most basic of instructions. Its level is determined by the caster’s summoning skill.

Neither you nor Adalinda can learn this ability yet.

As I read the descriptions of the last two ability tomes, I realized that the books I’d stolen from the Black Sewers were not—as I’d originally assumed—a random collection of books. They paired too well with each other for that.

Whoever had left these particular tomes in the Black Sewers had done so with design and intent. Almost certainly, they’d been chosen with a particular player in mind.

Which player? I wondered.

It was an intriguing mystery but not one that I was going to solve, I thought. More importantly, two of the remaining books—the summoning ones—were usable by me. And of the other two, one might serve Adalinda well.

I turned my attention inward. “How would you like a new ability, Ada?”

“I always love to learn,” she replied wryly.

Taking her response as a yes, I opened the hands of fury ability tome and began to read, wondering while I did if the Adjudicator would correctly divine my intention.

He did, and the expectant Game message unfurled in my mind.

Adalinda has gained the basic ability: claws of fury (renamed to suit your companion’s physical form). This ability increases the physical damage that Adalinda deals with all clawed attacks by 10% for 1 minute.

Its activation time is very fast, it consumes stamina and can be upgraded. Adalinda has 4 of 5 Strength ability slots remaining.

No new knowledge filled my mind. This time, the Game had directed the information into the celestial, not me, just as I’d hoped.

“What do you think of your new ability?” I asked.

“It’s interesting, if a trifle underwhelming,” she replied. “But I see its potential.”

I chuckled. “You forget, we’re still noobs at this Game!”

She laughed, sharing in my amusement, and I picked up the next ability tome. It would be my first summoning ability. Opening the book, I absorbed its knowledge.

You have gained the basic spell: ethereal bow. This is a channeled ability that forms a ghostly bow in your hands, allowing you to shoot magic arrows from the construct the way an archer ordinarily would.

Your accuracy with the ethereal bow is determined by your summoning skill and not by your archery skill, as would be the case when using a mundane bow. Based on your current Magic and Faith disciplines, your ethereal bow can employ the following ammunition types: fire arrows, shock arrows, and light bolts.

This spell has somatic components. Its activation time is very fast, it consumes mana and can be upgraded. You have 1 of 2 Magic ability slots remaining.

I grinned, pleased by my new spell. It was not a weapon in the traditional sense, but was a weapon, nonetheless. I turned to the last book.

Unfortunately, I could not learn the summon elemental ability yet, but with ethereal bow, I could rank up my summoning skill until I could.

Satisfied with my new skills and abilities, I turned my attention to my attribute points. Given that my new skills and abilities were governed by Magic, it made sense to invest heavily in the attribute.

Your Magic has increased to rank 6.

Your Constitution has increased to rank 1.

Celestial trait triggered! Adalinda’s Magic has increased to rank 6.

I’d not invested all five of my attribute points in Magic and had instead spared one for improving my Constitution, reasoning that it would do me little good having a large mana pool if I wasn’t alive to use it.

“Ada, it’s time to level up,” I said, and went on to explain how I’d invested my own attributes. “Will you continue to focus on melee?”

“I will,” she affirmed, “especially seeing how you look to be acquiring ranged abilities. Someone will need to guard your back.”

I smiled. “Go ahead then. You’ve got five attributes to spend.”

Adalinda’s Strength and Constitution have increased to rank 6.

Our player progressions seen to, I glanced at the bag of Class stones Soren had left lying on the floor, but I felt no temptation to take up any of them. I still knew too little about the Game and its mechanics to comfortably make a choice of second Class.

Returning the unused skillbooks to my backpack, I stretched myself flat on the mattress again and set myself to wait for Alon and Soren’s return.

The time wouldn’t go wasted, though. This was the perfect opportunity for me and my companion to talk. “Ada,” I began, folding my arms behind my head, “did I tell about the time…”