Fate Points - Ch 46 (Patreon)

The screen in Tom’s system room shivered and changed.

There was no teasing, no dumb display of experience points he had no interest in. Instead, the smarts of the room displayed exactly what he was after.

New Titles

Lightning Mystic: All lightning damage inflicted by yourself or a summons does 50% more damage.

• Awarded      for: Awarded for dealing lightning damage      exceeding two thousand times personal vitality in a two-minute      window.
• Rare      Title. Competition Rank: 1st, 100 Ranking points,      2000 experience.

“My god,” he muttered to himself stunned by what he was seeing. That element had delivered damage equivalent to two thousand times his personal vitality.

How?

Tom considered everything he knew about the system and decided it was because of two reasons. The first was it had been far more powerful than he had any right to summon and secondly it had been fighting monsters that were highly vulnerable to electricity.

That combination had meant it had been out putting an astronomically large amount of damage.

As for that benefit. That was incredible. Any percentage boost to damage or attributes was always valuable, but fifty percent was huge. Especially as it was in his most powerful spell.

His attention turned to the next title.

Friend of the Elementals: Cost of elemental contracts reduced by 50%. By doubling initial mana cost, any elemental summoner spell can connect to a tier above the spell’s usual tier.

• Awarded      for: Summoning an elemental two tiers above the      spell tier used.
• Rare      Title. Competition Rank: 1st, 100 Ranking points,      2000 experience.

His eyes skipped down and saw that it was another competition first. More ranking points, more experience, more snowballing. The more he was seeing of the ridiculous title benefits the more he was began to believe that Jeffrey’s approach to the competition might not have been as foolish as he had originally thought. If pumping strength up initially had given someone the chance to start this avalanche of accolades, then maybe’s Tom’s long-term strategies had not been as clever as he had convinced himself they were because but for some incredible luck he might have missed out on them.

Tom shook his head and stopped his philosophical pondering to focus on what was important. There were two benefits, and he was not sure which was better. The cost reduction would let him either summon more powerful elements or normal strength ones for longer. Given a significant proportion of his build was exclusively tied to summoning elementals every bit helps. Especially since it was a cost deduction, he could turn that to summoning stronger versions or weaker ones for a greater period.

Then there was the second boost. The ability to connect to a tier above the spell used. It meant that with his current spells he could consistently summon lesser elementals with a single caveat and that was his mana pool. Currently, he lacked the juice to summon a lesser elemental that had not already agreed to come at a discount. This new flexibility didn’t change that equation, but the other bit of the title did. That fifty percent reduction offset the doubling of cost in going up a tier. He could now summon lesser elementals if he wanted to.

He would not complain about extra flexibility. Once he had some more levels to increase his mana pool, that ability to jump a tier would be ruthlessly abused. He had no doubt of that.

New Spells.

Summon Lightning Elemental (tier 3)

Summon a lightning elemental at any tier up to three. Cost depends on spell skill level and tier of elemental summoned. Total cost of spell is only forty percent of equivalent general elemental summoner skill.

Because of the Summon Playful Wisp and Spark, the starting skill level will be 10, plus 3.5 from Class Boost Passive for a total level 13.5

Base Mana Cost Variable

Skill level 8 benefit: Duration of summons doubled.

Tom studied that spell for a moment.

The system had been beyond generous to reward him for this specific Spell. It had basically given him nine class skill points because that is what this should have cost to purchase.

His eyes skipped down to everything else that had changed.

Spells

Spark: 133 (+1) (tier 0)

Summon Playful Wisp: 39 (+1) (tier 0)

Summon Lightning Elemental: 13.5 (10 inherited, +1.75 from class passives, +1.75 from Trait: Elemental Summoner Passive) (Tier 3)

Skills

Elemental Whisper: 38 (+2) (tier 1)

Pact Master: 23 (+1) (tier 2)

Burst Cast: 62 (+1) (tier 0)

Plane Sense: 25 (+2) (tier 2)

Other

Experience: 8,197 (+5,410)

Ranking Points: 720 (+200)

Position on human ranking ladder: 8

The experience gain he had expected, but the advancement of all his elemental summoner spells and skills surprised him initially. Then he realised he had summoned an actual lightning elemental that was a full two tiers from what the base spell allowed. In that context, it wasn’t that surprising that he was getting awarded. The generousness of the increases was impressive. Especially Plane Sense increasing by two levels. That sort of growth in a tier 2 skill was almost unprecedented but then again given the number of planes he had been active in it had probably been ready for an upgrade anyway had potentially ranked up before he even attempted to summon the lightning elemental, which meant that last effort had been a remarkable but more sensible single skill level upgrade.

There was also the fate. He would need to take time to have a long chat with any other summoners out there. Anyone trying a difficult spell for the first time should definitely invest fate in the spell early.

The experience gain was also welcome. “Update elemental summoner level by one.”

The screen changed, and additional improvements were added.

Classes

Elemental Summoner: 4 (+1) - Expert

Attributes

Vitality: 63 (+ 1 Title: Vitality font)

Agility: 50 (+2 Trait: Fates Agility)

Fate: 99 (+2 Trait: Fates Agility)

Spells

Summon Playful Wisp: 43 (+2 from class passive, +2 from Trait: Elemental Summoner Passive) (tier 0)

Summon Lightning Elemental: 14 (+.25 from class passives, +0.25 from Trait: Elemental Summoner Passive) (tier 3)

Other

Soul Space: increased to 6 slots (+1) and 0.18 (+.02) metres cubed

Experience: 4,197 (-4000)

Then he returned to the real world.

“I know that look.”

He looked over at Everlyn, and he could not help the smile that stretched over his face. Teeth started showing and everything.

“Spit it out.”

“Um.”

Her hands went to hips in mock outrage. “You didn’t get anymore ridiculous extra attributes per level thing. Did you?”

“No.” He looked away.

“Tom!”

“Two more rare titles!”

She rolled her eyes at that.

“Competition firsts and everything.”

“Two more?” Earth mage asked.

“How many titles are you up to again?”

Tom closed his eyes to check.

Titles

• Lighting      Mystic
• Friend      of the Elementals
• Strength      Spring
• Vitality      Fount
• Healing      Sponge(III)
• Venom      Resistance (V)

“Only six.”

“And the two new ones? Are they as good as the others?” Everlyn asked.

Tom slowly nodded.

She threw her hands in the air. “You’re ridiculous.” Then she grinned. “I’m so going to catch you.”

“What do they do?” Keikain asked.

“Stuff,” Tom said vaguely.

“And how do you get them?”

“By doing something stupid,” Everlyn interrupted.

“By doing something extraordinary.” Tom continued. “Either the first to do something or do a large volume of mundane stuff quickly.”

She smiled. “Like almost dying a hundred times.”

“You do that once, maybe twice, and you get a reputation.”

She laughed.

“I don’t know why you’re not sharing the details. Everlyn obviously knows them all.”

“Yeah but I put up with being around Tom all the time.” She stuck her tongue out at Tom.

“Put up with?” He protested.

“Well,” a teasing smile went to her lips. “Part of it is self preservation, as I don’t want the wasps to bite me.”

“Brat.” He tried to cuff her head, but she ducked under him and then pinned his arms. Her helmet vanished, and she kissed him on the lips.

“You love me but.”

“Guys, how do I get titles?”

“Do what Tom said.”

“Just do something exceptional, hey. That easy.” Keikain complained grumpily.

“Be like Useless.” She grinned at him and ignored the mage. “The first thing to be like him is to stop whinging so much. All you have to do is lie on the ground and get stung fifty thousand times by wasps.”

“I would do it with a different animal.” Tom suggested. “The wasp first is sort of taken.” Keikain threw his hands in the air and stalked away.

“And don’t complain while you doing it.” Tom called out after him.

Everlyn laughed. “You’re mean.”

“I’m the mean one?”

She nodded and then sat down, tapping the ground next to her. “Tell me what you learnt.”

Tom told her the details while Keikain walked around the room, studying it.

“What are you doing?” Tom asked finally.

“Maybe there’s secret treasure.” Keikain shot back. “And if it finds it, then it’ll give me a title for finding it without supporting skills.”

Sonya abruptly stirred with life flooding back into her expression. She looked around disoriented, for a moment before focusing on Everlyn.

“You were right. Experience can purchase items to lock down a God’s trials. You can do it from within the trial for your own party or every party currently attempting it. You can also do it externally.” They all looked at each other.

“How much?” Everlyn asked finally.

“For an hour and a half and I’m assuming it’s not one of us doing it, then it’s ten thousand experience. From outside, it’s three times that.”

“Are there any traits that can do it?”

Everyone looked at Everlyn in surprise.

Sonya stammered for a moment. “Yes. But that’s more like a million experience.”

“All the options are too expensive.” Keikain declared after a moment of thought. “The benefit of locking down the trial does not justify that sort of expense.”

“I tend to agree,” Tom agreed uneasily. “I’m not sure this is humans. In which case…”

They all looked at each other.

Keikain shook his head. “Nope, there’s no way something could have snuck up on us. I don’t know the play” the earth mage shrugged, but they were all thinking about the person who killed Jeffrey.

“If it’s the serial killer,” Sonya said carefully. “Even if they lock us down, they still have two-thirds of the camp to subdue.”

“I agree.” The earth mage said immediately. “It makes no sense to use thirty thousand experience. If you can take out two-thirds, then you might as well leave it for the evening and do it when they’re asleep.” Keikain said.

“Then we’ll be facing hostiles when we escape from here.” Sonya pointed out.

Tom and Everlyn exchanged glances.

“We’ll find out.” Tom said grimly. “If something is out there I’m willing to bet they won’t be ready for a greater lightning elemental.”

“How long will you be able to contract that for?” Everlyn said doubtfully. Out of the other three, she knew the most of his abilities.

“With my new titles and spell.” He winked at Everlyn because he hadn’t told them about that yet. “Around twenty seconds, but greater is almost a magnitude of power, stronger than a mere elemental and has a wider amount of skills. If they’re imprisoning us instead of shielding themselves, they’ll be in a world of hurt.”

Tom felt out his elemental lightning spell and made sure he understood how it worked. It was like the wisp spell only instead of choosing the elemental plane. His only choice was how much power to go for. Basically, where in the plane he exited

“Two minutes’ casting time wasn’t it.” Everlyn asked.

“A hundred and eighteen seconds.”

Her face went doll like as she consulted her internal clock. Then her face blossomed with life as she returned. “I’ve set an alarm.”

“There’s no need. I’ve already set one. So I have the elemental and the rest of you go out hot.”

“My new axe will be ready.” Everlyn quipped.

“I’ll be ready, but I’ll wait until I see our enemy before acting.” Keikain said. “Preparing earth spells rarely works well.”

“Agreed,” Tom said, remembering his own experience. “I can’t believe I’m hoping someone has got murdered by a serial killer.”

“Yes.” Everlyn said with a tight expression. “Unbelievably, that’s our best option.”

They descended into silence.

Everlyn startled and then stood before pulling out her axe. “Well, we’re about to find out. Time to start casting.”

At that exact moment, there was a ding in his mind as his alarm clock ticked over.

Tom stood and began the spell.