Augmented Aspects: Chapter 87 Double Evolution (Patreon)

Chapter 87

Double Evolution

Now to say that my Simulacrum had been busy over the past forty or so hours would be an understatement. While I was grinding away on improving my three new Enchanting skills, getting all three skills; Enchanting, Advanced Enchanting, and finally Master Enchanting to level 73, which boosted my base Dexterity, Perception, Intelligence, and Willpower Attributes. By comparison my Simulacrum blew me out of the water, earning over two hundred thousand points worth of experience in two days from cleaning up trash.

Well gold that had been designated as trash, and then from a loophole where I was allowed to assign myself guild quests, thanks to also being seen as the Guild Master for the Crossroads Guild Hall, I was now looking at twenty days of hard work and profit. On a strictly per hour basis, this was more than I would have earned by cheating my heart out and winning third place in the Swap’em Hold’em tournament.  So, what is our moral to this story? Cheating and getting caught is bad. Cheating and having a guild to help launder your ill-gotten gains for profit and to help make the community that much nicer of a place, good.

With that, I just went for the compressed summarized experience logs.

Attribute Benchmark Threshold Met: You have had your first Attribute (Willpower) exceeded the 500-point plateau. This threshold has been noted and will be marked as your primary attribute. Reward: Choose One: Increase Base Attribute Willpower by (10) or Increase Base Attribute Willpower’s potential by (10%).

At that, my mind perked up and I could all but feel my ears stand up straight as I was now laser focused on this update. Did it mean what I thought it meant? I could either increase my Base Rating in Willpower by 10 points, which would take me from 104 to 114. Or I could increase the base potential of my Willpower Attribute from 125% to 135%? Or would it be ten percent of the 125%, so 137.5%? Regardless, the decision was easy.

Base Attribute Willpower’s potential has been increased by 10%, to a maximum of 135%.

“Gah.” I mentally let out a scream, but then decided to hold myself back, as being able to get my base Willpower to 135 would be huge in the end game, even if 137 would be better. This reminded me that I needed to get my one-time use potion to apply the Unbound merit again would be within my best interest, particularly as I was now nearing my threshold for Intelligence. Just as I was about to go deeper into this thought, I was immediately hit with the next update.

Title Improved: Nature’s Friend (VII): You have helped clean up over Seventy thousand pounds of trash and have been recognized as one of nature’s true champions. Rewards: Life and Nature based Spells are now 35% more efficient. Neutral rating to most woodland and creatures found in the wild.

Looking at the title increase, it seems I got one Tier rating increase for every ten thousand pounds of trash that I, or by extension my Simulacrum, managed to get rid of. Good to know. Also, it seems that the only real difference is that my Life and Nature spell efficacy increased by 5% per tier rating. While I was happy for any extra hidden perks like this, I had to admit it did seem a little weak overall. It didn’t help that what came first was a lot more appealing from a reward perspective, at least to me. Then came the denouement.

Experience Gained: 101,530 / 101,530

Ding.

Level Up.

Your class Void Healer has increased to level 103.

Class Evolution point met.

Your class Simulacrum Master has increased to level 100.

Class Evolution Point met.

At that, all thoughts of weak titles were gone, as I felt a swell and surge of Attributes hit me all at once. There was a surge and a swell of energy in me, then finally once I was able to take a moment to breathe, I was rewarded with an amazing sight.

Physical Base   Bonus

Strength   53     17

Dexterity    85   107

Endurance  78     22

Social  Base Bonus

Personality 77 158

Sociability 73 158

Attractiveness 61 228

Mental Base  Bonus

Perception 119 192

Intelligence 121 281

Willpower 104 437

I now had Attributes that were nearing the threshold for what it was to be considered a powerhouse. The fact that I got Willpower, one of the hardest Attributes to be my benchmark Attribute was amazing, as I don’t know of many people who managed to do the same. Though to be honest my classes and my newly evolved race do help, as I effectively get two Willpower per level, making it so it would only be odd if I didn’t have Willpower as my highest Attribute, despite having a hard time finding Skills to grind that will help improve the Attribute. Unfortunately, before I could get too deep into this train of thought, I was met with two more class evolution points.

Class Evolution Point Met: Congratulations, you have proven yourself to be the best Void Healer in the world. As a reward for being the first with your class to reach the level 100 threshold, you are now able to forever direct the way your class will evolve in the future. Based on your own personal accomplishments, the following Class Evolutions are possible: New Class Specific Spell, Perk, Skill, Life Magic school, Nature Magic school.

Note: By choosing one of these evolution points you will forever change the direction of your class, forever changing the trajectory of all those who will follow in your footsteps.

Seeing the options, I couldn’t help but feel that this was both exciting and frightening. It was exciting in that if I was reading and understanding the prompt correctly, I would now be able to heal plants? I guess this had to deal with my new Title, Nature’s Friend, with that Title I apparently opened up a new ability to unlock Nature Magic?

Then highlighting the noted evolution choice, I couldn’t help but feel in awe of what was being provided.

Class Evolution Option: Nature Magic School: By choosing this option, you will unlock, or improve your affinity with the Nature Magic School to be the same Tier Rating as your highest Tier of magic (Currently Spirit Magic Tier XI).

Seeing that option, I couldn’t help but feel my heart beating faster. Yes, I learned to cheat, by changing the oscillation of my Spirit Magic to mimic other frequencies, but this was something different. This was being able to do that naturally. Maybe, the system saw that I was cheating so much and decided to just give it to me? I don’t know, but this did seem like it would be huge. Also, again going back to the Title I received, by having that as a school of magic available to me, I would finally be able to apply my 35% bonus to it, as I knew for a fact that it wasn’t working with my Spirit magic that I made to mimic Nature Magic. Not that I tried too much, it was on my to do list, but this was so much easier, as boom I just chose the option and then we went from there.

With my mind made up, I focused on the option to make Nature Magic School my class choice for Void Healer’s level 100 class evolution point option.

Whoom!

Congratulations: Nature Magic School Unlocked (Highest Resonance): You have managed to unlock your Nature Magic and your resonance has been noted to be at a Tier XI (tied to your Spirit Magic rating).

I felt both alive and changed from that sudden rush. I like the fact that the change was instantaneous, versus having to wait for a full day for my option to be taken seriously. Just having the new school of magic available caused my mind to open wide with possibilities. Yes, I could have done similar magic by forcefully changing the resonance of Spirit magic and manipulating it to be at a different frequency and then using that new frequency to do what it was intended. But that option is like having a vibrating tuning fork in your hands and trying to use it to paint a masterpiece. Yes, with enough time and focus you could get good at painting like that, but it would be a lot better to paint without the constant vibrations and thrumming going through your hand and arms, same thing, all except with magic.

Now as for why I chose Nature Magic as a Void Healer school of magic, versus Life Magic, well the truth is very simple. Both my Simulacrum and I could use my Trait Omni-Heal, which made it so we could already heal with a secondary mana pool. Also, right now as my Simulacrum is the only one actively healing, my unlocking the Healing Magic school for my Void Healer class would be sort of pointless. Also, truth be told, I was hoping that I would have that be an option for my Simulacrum Master class evolution. Also, if I was being completely honest with myself, I sort of wanted someone following in my footsteps to have a slightly harder time than I did, thus giving them Nature Magic was a huge way to hopefully slow down their progress and make it so I could maintain my dominance in this class.

Now that I was finally done with choosing the direction of how my Void Healer class would evolve for me and every other future Void Healer, I was finally able to move onto the last and final update.

Class Evolution Point Met: Congratulations, you have proven yourself to be the best Simulacrum Master in the world. As a reward for being the first with your class to reach the level 100 threshold, you are now able to forever direct the way your class will evolve in the future. Based on your own personal accomplishments, the following Class Evolutions are possible: New Class Specific Spell, Perk, Skill, Life Magic school, Nature Magic school.

Note: By choosing one of these evolution points you will forever change the direction of your class, forever changing the trajectory of all those who will follow in your footsteps.

There it was, the choices that I was hoping for, I was surprised to see that Nature Magic was once again available, though I didn’t even bother with checking to see if it would increase the Tier rating of my Nature Magic Tier rating, which was artificially increased to Tier XI. The reason being was that I knew in my mind I was going to get to floor 100, thereby earning my Master’s degree and thereby earning the next tier in my Spirit Magic School. This meant that once my Spirit Tier rating was increased my Nature Magic tier should also be increased, at least based on the wording of the notification. Thus, getting that twice would at most prove to be a minor boon for trivial gains. Also, again I did feel kind of bad that my Simulacrum was having that much harder of a time healing than I was, so I figured that having Life Magic be a static part of her diet, she could do that much better at the tasks that had been assigned to her. With that, this choice, much like the other one was a bit unorthodox, given the class, but it made perfect sense to me.

Congratulations: Life Magic School Unlocked (Highest Resonance): You have managed to unlock your Life Magic and your resonance has been noted to be at a Tier XI (tied to your Spirit Magic rating).

Once again, I felt the pulse and expansion of magic coursing through me and around me. Suddenly my mind was opened and awakened with the knowledge of how to construct new Life spells. I instantly found inefficiencies in my previous spell forms. Inefficiencies that once corrected could easily lower the Tier rating of my previously created spells. With Life Magic, I realized I could create wings that would help me to fly, I could also easily change parts or all my body to be a monster, or a more adaptable escape artist. Chameleon skin would be nothing for me in what I could do.

So many thoughts were going through my mind that I almost missed the moment my senses were telling me that something had changed.

It took a moment, but then I realized what had changed, what my senses were trying to alert me to. The train that I had been stuck in, the train that had been a veritable prison finally stopped moving. Within a moment I was fully awake and aware of everything that was happening around me. One second stuck in my own personal dreamscape that was separated from the rest of the world, then the next fully able to see everything that was happening in the train cars around me. I almost felt like blinking due to the blindingly bright lights that were around me, only to realize that I had done the equivalent of sleeping in a brightly lit room with the lights on and then wincing when I awoke. The reason for my mental discomfort was simple, I tagged the heck out of this train car with doodles. Doodles that progressively got better and closer to being able to handle and receive mana but doodles all the same. Still, they were runes, they were functional, and most importantly, they did increase my three skills related to Enchanting. That said, they did provide one heck of a headache when I awoke, fortunately a simple heal later and that was gone. I just now had to deal with the dark silhouette that was rapidly approaching. Based on their energy signature, I knew instantly who was coming to greet me, even before they entered the train car.

“You up?” Mallory’s voice asked.

“Yeah.” I say, as I sat up and tried to cover my eyes from the blinding lights and energy around me, but to no avail. Stupid not having eyes and still feeling a burning sensation behind my retinas from staring at enchanted walls for too long in my sleep.

“Good. Oh, and congratulations.” Mallory said.

“Yeah, thank you. Honestly, I didn’t think I would get to level 100, let alone twice, but this was sort of nice.” I admitted.

“What?” Mallory asks, looking distracted, as she was glancing around the car. “Oh, yeah, I guess that too. But I was more appreciative of the fact that you didn’t burn down the train car again.”

“Hey, I didn’t burn it down.”

“Yes, fortunately there were fire suppression runes nearby that helped contain the fire.” Mallory said while nodding in agreement.

At that I just grimaced and shook my head. Apparently, she was going to go on about setting one minor Enchanting related fire.

“That was so yesterday,” I say while getting up from the plush leather seat that I had been sitting on.

“We are about to head out, but I figured I’d offer you some food and provisions before we go.”

At that I just wave my hands. “Don’t need it, I get all the nourishment I need from my spells.”

At that Mallory pauses and stares at me.

“What?” I ask, then feeling a bit defensive I continue. “Being poor means that you might not always get a meal when you need or want one. That is why I made sure the first thing I did was choose spells that made it so I wouldn’t be reliant on food again.”

At that Mallory just nods to herself. “So your first spells, the class spells related to your highly unique and personalized class Void Healer are related to eating?”

“Well yeah, a girl’s gotta eat, right?” I say, then I amend, “I did take the Planar Shift Spell, so I could also get out of danger if needed.

Then realizing I might have a bit more to think about with my new schools of magic available to me, I pull up my first few spells.

Planar Shift (A): Allows user   to create a path connecting the realm of the living to the spirit world.

Spirit Mana   Control (P): This spell allows you to control and manipulate the strings of   spirit mana. Even allowing the wielder to convert their own personal mana   into spirit mana. Reserve: 10 % of Maximum Mana.

Spirit Sustenance (P): This is a   spell that allows the caster to continually feed passively on ambient spirit   mana around them. Must have direct access to spirit mana to benefit from the   effects of this spell. Reserve: 10% of Maximum mana.

Looking at it, it seemed like I could turn off Spirit Mana Control, for the moment especially considering I was in the spirit realm I would have access to ambient spirit energy, which could then be used to maintain Spirit Sustenance. With that revelation, I turn off Spirit Mana Control.

Then I pause and wait.

And wait.

After a second, I let out a slight breath of relief as I realize my Spirit Sustenance, just as I had predicted was working properly. This would not be a problem, so long as I remain within the spirit realm. My only problem with this spell would come when or if I wanted to leave this tower, which was becoming more and more a want. I did want to go out and explore the rest of the world as well. But that was something that could happen later.

Still for now, I was in probably the perfect place, for me. My Spirit Sustenance was still going in full force, meaning I wouldn’t be hungry or thirsty. Also, I wouldn’t need to constantly change my own internal mana pool to be Spirit mana only, meaning my two new Schools of Magic were not going to be wasted, at least for the time being. Also, this meant that if time went on, and I left the Tower, but still found myself lacking for food, I could always turn back on my Spirit Mana Control to provide food long enough for me to avoid a dangerous situation. With my course of actions clearly mapped out in my mind on what I would do, and how I could fix potential future problems, I felt ready to both try out my two new magical schools that were awoken by my class evolutions, while also realizing that I still had another school of magic that I could also utilize now.

Shadow Magic, Tier VIII.

While my Shadow Magic was nowhere near as high as I had managed to raise my Spirit Magic, it was still at a fairly high synchronization level, meaning that I should be able to do a few interesting things. Particularly now that I felt I didn’t have to worry about tarnishing my projection path.

“You are ready then?” Mallory asks.

Hearing her voice, I shake my head away from my own thoughts and realize that we were having a conversation. “What? Oh, yeah. I’m ready. Though I might need to change before we go.”

“Change?”

“Yeah, don’t worry, it will be slightly different. Also, I might appear and seem like a completely different person, but it will still be me.” I say, realizing that if we are in fact on Floor 53, then I will need to do my quest turn in as Sabrina the teenage duelist.

“Okay?” Mallory says while glancing at me with a sidelong stare before letting me go change.

With that, I walk past her, into the privy, then begin changing into one of my many Doppelganger forms. This won’t be awkward at all, I think to myself, as I strip down and then begin shifting and changing my forms from a really young elven teenager to a slightly older human teenager. Yep, definitely not awkward at all.