Eventually, he ran out of ideas and figured at least a few thousand more people were giving the same speech by now. Now that he thought of it, he felt it was a bit strange that guns were unknown to the Machina. Even if this was the first universe it had taken over that had invented them, and even if he was the first person to kill a monster with a gun, between his fight and at least the several hours he had been sleeping, there had to have been thousands or even millions of people who had used a gun to kill a monster. But that being said, it was an odd gun, basically a one-handed shotgun. Not many people used them because they weren't the best self-defense weapons against anything bigger than a turkey. So was that it? Was it the specific gun that was unique? Or was it still gathering information on firearms?
He sighed and lay back down. It was then he noticed a line had been added.
Thou hast mine deepest gratitude. I shall bear this boon of +5 Sagacity with the grace and wisdom befitting the knowledge you bestowed.
"Huh… thanks?" he didn't know what else to say. "If you want to know anything else, just ask, " he added with a chuckle.
In response, the book page turned, and he was presented with a detailed ink drawing of his revolver in its disassembled form, with the different rounds he had listed lined up in the corner. Most of the pieces were labeled, but a few were left blank. At the top of the page was a large blank line where the weapon's name would have gone. He sighed and filled it out as best as he could. When he was finished, he was surprised when the page turned, and another gun was presented in the same fashion. It was another revolver, but not the same kind as his. He noted this one had a Smith and Wesson logo on the handle.
"So other people are using guns. Figured." He did his best to fill out that page, and the one after that, and the one after that. After 20 pages, he got too hungry and bored to focus on this anymore. Unfortunately, he was not rewarded with more Sagacity (which he deduced was probably something like Intelligence). However, he still held hope that it would give a reward somehow.
Sensing he was finished, the book flipped back to the initial page.
Thou art most gracious, and I receive this boon of twenty Scrolls of Identify
Take heed, thou dost yet possess three and fifty Merit Points unspent.
Let not thy potential lie dormant—make haste to assign these blessings, that thy strength, cunning, and spirit may wax full in measure.
Satisfied with the reward, he thought about his options for a few more minutes. He was tempted to take the Arcane Huntsman role; it would certainly help him survive, but he kept looking at the line about being given a unique role if he kept using his gun. That was something he was sure would be far more helpful. Guns were called force equalizers for a reason. Things like knives, swords, spears and even bows all required far more training than most firearms did. Not to mention that he had gone shooting nearly every weekend with his dad and friends since he was 5. They would do everything from speed reloading competitions, to fire movement drills. He already knew how to use a gun betterthan most people and getting a class that would build off that foundation made it the best choice. As long as he wasn't killed first, that is. The problem was surviving until he satisfied whatever conditions the Machina would need to creat the class for him. But with a sigh, he pushed his worries aside and nodded, "Gunslinger it is," he stated resolutely. Besides. It wasn't like he couldn't go back and choose Arcane hunter if he needed to.
Thou hast forsworn all rights to the Battle Roles once offered unto thee.
Mandate Issued:
Let it be decreed—thou must lay low one hundred foes by thine own unique weapon.
Reward Promised:
- A Battle Role of singular design shall be granted unto thee
- Thy weapon shall be granted a name
- Gold Aethercrystal of Attunement of thy choosing x1
"Shit," he grumbled. Apparently it was like he couldn't go back and choose Arcane hunter if he needed to. Now, he would be stuck with whatever the Machina made up for him. On top of that, it removed his safety net. He was counting on the fact that he could wait and choose the Arcane Hunter role if things got too dicey. But now, he had to weather through whatever this new world threw at him.
The pages turned, but this time, to the strangest thing he had seen in the book yet. The right page was labeled at the top as "Warrior Manifest" and contained what appeared to be a TTRPG character sheet done in the style of medieval illuminated manuscripts. But it was the left page that grabbed his attention. As he studied it, he found out what Heraldry was.
The page was filled with a large painting of what looked like a medieval knight's coat of arms. A classic three-sided shield was the focus; the top was flat, and the two sides curved toward each other at the bottom like an upside-down, bent triangle. Three squirrels climbed up and down the edges on either side of the shield. The shield was a black wood that he supposed was ebony, and a stag head of what looked like chipped black glass sat in the center. Above the shield was a bust of a man who looked like him; above his head were several shards that he guessed were the shattered crown. But before he tried figuring that out, he looked at the stat sheet.
The more he studied the page, the less it made sense. The Attributes were going to be his stats, and they kind of made sense, but several were lost on him. Might was strength, Nimbleness was Agility, and Finesse was Dexterity. Vigor and Fortitude confused him for a moment, but remembering that Fortitude was probably his health pool, he decided that Vigor was probably Endurance. The Mental Stats, however, were indecipherable to him. Going by RPG logic, he knew they had to be something similar to Intelligence, Charisma, Perception, and Wisdom, but the only one he thought he might know was Discernment as Perception. But he was not close to being sure.
On top of that, he didn't know why his final stats were doubled. The only thing he could figure out for certain was that he was Copper, and he needed 103 Attribute Points to rank up to Bronze. Since he got 60 points for 20 levels, he would need around 33 more levels to rank up.
Shrugging, he turned his attention to the Coat of Arms. As he focused on it, a slip of paper slid out from behind the page bearing a list.
Shield
Division
Ordinary
Tinctures
Supporters
Helm
Crest
Charge
Motto
Compartment
Mantle
Wreath
Fields
He focused on the shield options, and another paper slid out.
Copper Heater: No advantage conferred. A mark of readiness, not yet of power.
This shield may be uplifted in station shouldst thou bear it upon thy person whilst ascending in rank.
Steel Tower: The bulwark unyielding, forged for the steadfast and the resolute.
- +60% to Vigour; +60% to Fortitude; -20% to Finesse; -20% to Nimbleness
A mighty shield, granting great Fortitude at the cost of swiftness. Favoured by those who stand their ground unto death.
This shield may be advanced in virtue shouldst thou bear it upon thy person and achieve victory in battle whilst thy life remaineth below four parts in an hundred.
Iron Dueling Shield: For the lone warrior who seeketh glory unshared.
- +50% to any three stats of thy choosing whilst in lone combat; +75% increase to Experience Gained whilst in lone combat
A champion's choice bestowed upon those who face the foe alone. Power flourisheth in solitude.
This shield may be elevated in honour shouldst thou bear it upon thy person whilst slaying a foe of Steel Grade or greater in solitary combat, with none to aid thee.
Looking at the picture, he was pretty sure the heater shield was equipped. It was obviously the least useful of the three. He momentarily debated adding the Tower Shield. Based on everything he had read so far, he guessed that the Grades started with Copper at the lowest, then went up to Bronze, Iron, and Steel. He figured there were more after that, but those four were the only ones the messages and book had mentioned to this point. So, if he was right, then the Tower Shield was the highest grade, which meant it was the most powerful. Except for the fact that it would make him a tank, and he didn't have a party to support him. As far as he was aware, he was alone out here and probably would be for a long time. In that case, the Dueling Shield would be the better option. The stat boosts it provided were lower and only active during combat -something he would have to figure out how in and out of combat was determined- But it boosted three stats, didn't nerf any, and gave him an XP boost.
Not knowing how to change it, he said aloud, "Please equip Dueling Shield." To his pleasure, the picture changed. Instead of the almost equilateral triangular shield, there was a tall, narrow shield shaped like an oval, with a spike and two hooks at each end. It was still made of what he guessed was ebony and sported the black glass Stag head.
Next, he looked at the Tinctures, skipping over the categories that were crossed out.
Ebony Iron
Effect: Granteth a boon of +25% to all attributes.
Note: This Tincture may be uplifted in potency shouldst thou slay an Aether Beast bearing Steel grade or higher, ere thou attainest the Grade of Iron and with this tincture borne upon thee.
Runic Iron Obsidian
Effect: +10% to Might, and +5 Points bestowed unto any Attunement of thy choosing.
Note: This Tincture may be uplifted in potency through the slaying of further Aberrant Aether Beasts with none to stand at thy side whilst the tincture remaineth equipped.
Copper Crimson Mist
Effect: Granteth the Skill: Aetheric Surplus (Attunement to be chosen upon activation).
Note: This Tincture may be uplifted in potency shouldst thou use it to smite eight or more foes with a single blow.
Available pieces:
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Shield: Ebony
Charge: Runic Iron Obsidian
With a bit of fiddling, He found that each color could only be used for one piece. He was slightly annoyed that there wasn't anything explaining Aetheric Surplus. Still, he knew that the only thing it could be, given the name, upgrade conditions, and the achievements that probably earned the color to begin with, was some sort of area of effect attack.
He hesitantly changed the Charge to Crimson Mist. Glancing at the picture, he saw that the stag head was now made of what looked like a mist of blood, air currents swirling the tiny red droplets around into slow, mesmerizing patterns. Looking back at the list, he found another option.
"Charge: Copper Crimson Mist
Available Attunements:
- Air
- Lightning"
He was a little surprised to see Air there, wondering where it came from. But if he was right about how this skill worked, he would be far better off choosing Lightning.
He hoped that he would earn something soon that would let him add the obsidian. He didn't want to get rid of a boost to all his stats. Still, having 5 extra points to his lightning Attunement would almost certainly make Aetheric Surplus better. He didn't like having to choose between the two.
Next up was the Supporters
Fox Squirrel Swarm Soldier: Bronze
- +3 to Nimbleness
Consult the Bestiary for further options.
That was a little annoying, but he figured it made sense. It probably couldn't list every animal he killed here.
Not knowing how else to open the Bestiary, he focused on the word, and to his relief, the pages fluttered and turned rapidly, stopping on a title page.
"A true accounting of the fell creatures faced and vanquished by the hand of Westly Braum, brave of heart and steadfast in the trials of the Aether.
Copper
Bronze
Iron
Steel
Silver
Gold
*Scribble*
*Scribble*
*Scribble*
*Scribble*
*Scribble*
*Scribble*”
Ah, so there were more above Steel. Silver and Gold, it seemed. As well as six more that he wasn't even allowed to know the names of yet.
"Well, that's disconcerting," he grumbled, trying to pretend that it didn't make him as nervous as it had. Instead, he focused on Iron.
The pages turned to a beautiful painting of the creature. It was a squirrel with a red coat and a blue underside. It crouched on the ground defensively, arcs of electricity crackling around it. The opposite page listed its name and some information. The Upper right of the page showed a list of icons. The top one was of a small, unadorned, black metal crown. Beneath that was an "A" followed by a lightning bolt.
The bulk of the page was filled by a table:
"Damn." Wes was blown away by the stats it had. He didn't know what Aberrant was, but he desperately hoped that it meant that the creature was more powerful than it should be for its grade and level. He had a combined total Final stat block of 240, but this monster of a rodent was at 500. That was five times his base total. His saving grace was that it had a particularly low Fortitude. It was built for dodging and casting lightning bolts. Unfortunately, not even its particularly high Nimbleness score made it capable of dodging shotgun blasts at point-blank range.
His attention moved on to Hearthcraft. A hearth was like a fireplace you cooked on, right? It sounded like he could eat the meat to improve his stats. He glanced around the clearing at the various packages and, seeing that there were more packs of meat than squirrels he killed, wondered how the points were distributed. Would he have to eat all of the meat from an animal to gain its stats? Or were those stats in every package? How long would it last? How would it work if multiple people ate from the same portions? Were there any side effects? Before cooking the superior squirrel, he would have to experiment with the lesser squirrels.
Lastly were the heraldic effects. Two different +8s compared to the lesser squirrel swarm's +3 in only one stat made this a no-brainer. "Please set my Heralric Supporters to be the Aberrant Lightning Fox Squirrel Noble."
The pages flipped back to the Manifest page. He saw that instead of several squirrels climbing up and down the sides, the shield was now held up in the Air by two large red and blue squirrels, lightning arcs spiraling around their tails.
He quickly read through Crest, Charge, and Motto, unable to change any of them.
Crest: Shattered Crown
A sigil of broken dominion, worn only by those who defy sovereign beasts.
Effect: +50% to all Attributes when facing a Noble Aetherbeast
Upgrade Rite: This Crest may be exalted upon the slaying of a Steel Grade Noble Aether Beast.
Charge: Iron Stag
Emblem of unyielding strength and primal mastery, a symbol of those who lead the hunt unchallenged.
Effect: +25% to all Attributes
Upgrade Rite: This Charge may be elevated in honour by becoming the first upon thy world to slay a Steel Grade Aether Beast.
Motto: Copper Scroll — "Stand Against the Storm Alone"
A vow etched in silence and solitude, sworn by those who face death unaccompanied.
Effect: +50% to all Attributes when in lone combat
Upgrade Rite: This Motto may be transcribed anew by slaying a Steel Grade Aetherbeast in solitary combat.
Well, at least now he had a fuller picture of why his attributes had all doubled to their final value. But many of the pieces had conditions that needed to be met, though they were mostly about fighting alone which wouldn't be a problem for now. The same went for the upgrades for everything. Almost all of them could be upgraded at the same time if he was able to find the right opponent. However, he would have to move fast if he wanted to upgrade the Stag -which he absolutely did. That was a lot of power lying on the table for him. If he understood it correctly, it increased by 25% every grade it went up. If he got it fully upgraded, it would be 150%. When added with other upgraded pieces, he was certain he could probably get it up to around 300% or even more.
Speaking of, he had points to distribute. He wished he had the time and safety to experiment, discovering what each one did, but he simply didn't have that luxury. Instead, he brought every Attribute except Fortitude, Sagacity, and Attunement up to 15. Fortitude was 19 due to the Machina's spending the points to save his life, Sagacity was already 15 due to the 5 points he was awarded for talking about the gun, and Attunement apparently couldn't be increased directly. He had eight points left. Anyway, so he would have a few leftover. But he did want to try to increase his Lightning Attunement if he could. Focusing on the Attunement Attribute, another slip of paper bearing a table slid out from under the page at the bottom.
That was something. Like everything else in the book, he had to take his time to parse through everything. There was always more information than was apparent. He was still confused about Air. That was not anywhere in the rewards. Was it something he had before all this started? But how? According to the Machina, there was no Aether in the universe before a few hours ago. Wait. Not hours… 10 years. That was going to take a lot of getting used to. But in any case, how was he supposed to have an Attunement if there was nothing to be attuned to?
The Lightning was disappointing at only 1 point in his base category. He immediately tried dumping four of the remaining points into Lightning, but was slightly confused when the Attunement only went up two points.
"What the fuck?" he muttered under his breath. He checked the free points, and there were four left, so he had definitely spent four. So where did the other two go? It was then he realized what "Tithe of Power" meant. "That’s Bullshit!" his voice bordered on a shout. It seemed as though Air would cost one point just like everything else, but Lightning would cost 2. Although he supposed it made sense. The Aether pool magnifier for Lightning was three to Air's one. And while he would not be so dismissive and call Air useless, Lightning was certainly more immediately powerful. Air probably would eventually outclass it, but he guessed it would take far more points to get to that stage.
Grumbling, he looked back at the whole stat block, and reluctantly spent the last four points on Lightning, bringing its base up to 5.
Taking a sigh, he looked over his final stat sheet.
He was happy to see that a third column had been added to show his stats in combat. But he had no clue if this was a good build or not. No, Strike that. He knew it wasn't a good build. And there was no way he would keep doing this. But there was a reason for it. He was figuring that based on most of his stats before any modifications or awards from the Machina, the average was about 10. Nimbleness was his highest at 13, with Fortitude and 12 and might at 11. That all made sense to him as he had always been good at climbing and obstacle courses. He had even done several amateur obstacle courses non-competitively. He would have liked to be one of those people on something like American Ninja Warrior if it were not for his lowest Attribute. His Vigor, which he was all but certain was stamina, had been an abysmal 7. He still remembered his first 12-mile obstacle course. He started at a light jog but had to slow down to a power walk before getting to the first obstacle. So with all that in mind, he wanted to start out by boosting everything to be reasonably strong before he started specializing.
He wasn't sure where he would go from here. Stat distribution had never been something he was particularly good at. He was also a bit confused about his Aether pool vs Aether regen. The regen seemed high for the pool size, but he didn't know if it was a large or small pool for his level. He also wasn't sure what he would be spending Aether on. Now that he thought of it, he didn't even know the time period for the regen for Aether or stamina. For all he knew, it could be anywhere from a second to a day. He was glad to see that the points to rank up had decreased. Now he only needed 19 levels. But wait… That wasn't right… He looked at the packages of meat again. Assuming these were permanent boosts, he could rank up by eating the Aether Beasts. Is that how the squirrel got so many points at level 9? No, that didn't make any sense. Unless it was a scavenger, it should have gained enough Experience to get a far higher level. He knew he was missing something here, the stats and levels weren't adding up.
With a thought, he dismissed the book and got to his feet. His skin felt tight and itched as the scabbed wounds stretched at his movements. Grunting in pain, he looked around the clearing and gathered the pelts and meat. "I don’t suppose I have some sort of inventory," he asked aloud, hoping the Machina or book would answer him. Instead, he looked around for where his bag landed, only just now realizing that he hadn't seen it since before he went into stasis.
Panic set in as he had a terrifying realization. He hadn't been holding his bag when he was taken. It was sitting on the ground next to him. And it had all of the ammunition he was carrying. He had just accepted a quest to kill 100 mana beasts and had no shells for his gun.