The day was incredibly pleasant. It was just the right temperature for a ride, and the forest around them provided plenty of shade from the sun. The wind rustled through the multicolored leaves and the birds chirped loudly, adding to the ambiance of what very well could have been a scene on an advertisement trying to get someone to vacation in rustic Tosa.
When Trevor had learned that they were riding wracors all the way to Vilderchtif instead of taking a wagon, he had felt uneasy about the whole thing. Vehicles with wheels were his preferred mode of transportation. Back on Earth, the most he had ever seen of horses had been in trailers passing through the city. Their owners never stopped near him because they didn't have any reason to.
While he had never done it himself, he had thoughts on what horseback riding must feel like. That it was like riding a bike that could choose its own speed and direction, needing constant course correction as they meandered forward. Or perhaps that shaking the reins was how you got them moving and you had to lean forward. And even though riding could look very graceful, it wasn’t going to be as smooth as they made it look on television.
Trevor thought one out of three wasn’t bad. They had been riding for hours and it seemed like he could feel every one of the creature’s footfalls. He found himself constantly shifting, preparing for each of the wracor’s steps, which made keeping his balance easier. It wasn't even a conscious decision most of the time but his Dexterity stat doing the heavy lifting.
Wayne instructed him on many things, including how to sit properly and what to do with his hands. They were, essentially, connected to the wracor’s mouth via the reins, and he had to be very careful and deliberate with them. On top of that, it was bad form to hold on to the saddle horn to maintain balance.
Trevor was doing that all on his own with his legs, back, hips, and whatever other muscles were in the area that he didn’t realize he had until they were sore. All things considered, it wasn’t all that bad yet. He knew he had being a Summoned to thank for that. High stats making things easier was awesome.
From what he understood, the wracor—Austin, he mentally corrected. If he knew the name then he should use it—was fairly patient with new riders. So far he had walked alongside Wayne’s mount, Dallas, with minimal issues. The dwarf didn't make fun of his friend for any of them, but simply told him to get back on that horse.
He had specified horse, not wracor, but that was the cowboy in him.
Trevor had taken control a few times the way he had been shown, doing so firmly as instructed since even a friendly beast like this one might ignore him if he seemed hesitant, but for the most part he just idly sat and chatted with his friend.
“I don’t think I’m prepared for this,” Trevor said late in the day, shifting again in the saddle to try and alleviate some of his soreness. “It seems like I went from zero to a hundred real fast.”
“In a way, you have,” Wayne replied. “I wouldn’t put a normal person in that saddle for a ride like this without a couple months of practice, for instance. You, though? You probably got skills for long distance travel, what with being a courier and all that.”
“Oh, uh,” Trevor trailed off.
The dwarf gave him a look. “Kid, do you have any stats that are at least 5?”
“My specialty, Capacity, is,” he admitted with a sheepish smile. Wayne glanced over at him, unimpressed. “I’ve got Dex, Stamina, and Speed all at four.”
“Are you the kind of guy who wants them all to be the same?”
“That… has been my guiding principle, yes.”
Blowing air from his mouth, Wayne shook his head. “Alright, I’m going to give you some advice about your stat allocation that you should have gotten a long time ago.”
“Adabelle helped me out and gave me a lot of advice over the course of our relationship,” Trevor offered.
“Yeah, and she’s also the one who put everything into what would make her a better swordswoman while neglecting her actual Power,” he snorted. “Love the girl to death, don’t get me wrong, but she’s kind of skewed different. What makes things worse is that it worked for her, so she thinks it’ll work for everyone else.”
“Won’t it?” Trevor asked.
“You some kind of prodigy swordsman all of a sudden?” Wayne asked back.
“Not even a little bit.”
“Then no, it won’t,” he replied firmly. “Alright, I guess it’s up to me to give you the talk.”
“I’ve already had that,” Trevor said quickly.
“The numbers talk, cinnamon roll. You’re already spending the nights with your girlfriend, and I ain’t helping with that.”
“Well, yes, but—”
“And that’s the end of that conversation,” Wayne said decisively. “I don’t need to know what you and Adabelle get up to, and I really don’t want to open Pandora's Box on that particular knowledge.”
“Yeah, fair.”
Taking a breath, the dwarf gave his traveling companion the side eye before relaxing. “So, the advice I’ll give you is a little different than I’d give someone else since you’re so squeamish about dungeons and whatnot,” he started. Trevor didn’t interrupt him, because it wasn’t wrong. “For most adventurers, their stat allocation would be based on their fighting style. Specialty stat aside, mages would focus on Magic and Mana, archers and ranged fighters like myself would focus on Dexterity and Speed, and frontline fighters would have a mix of the four physical stats unless they have some magic woven in.”
“All that makes sense,” Trevor said lightly.
“But you don’t really need to worry about fighting, so the advice is different,” Wayne continued. “You should be focusing on your specialty stat, of which you’re lucky enough only to have one, followed by Speed and Stamina. Eventually, and I mean way off, you’re going to be able to walk faster than any wracor can take you. If you’re looking for efficiency, that’s the way to go.”
“And if I’m looking to live my best life?” Trevor asked.
The dwarf frowned, but shrugged. “Get everything up to five and then follow my advice if that’s what you really want. That’ll give you a whole host of skills that’ll make your life easier in different ways. Those are a whole conversation on their own.”
“So, keep going on my current path and then focus on those three,” Trevor summed up.
“If you must. I don’t agree with it, but it’s your build. At least do yourself a favor and stagger it one stat at a time to get your skills early,” Wayne replied, letting go of the reins to wave his hand. “Speed will also get you away from fights, and Stamina will help you go for longer. A lot of enemies have no way of chasing you past a certain point, so that’s your best bet if you ever find yourself in that kind of situation alone. If you wanted to be some kind of fighter type, then I’d advocate for a more balanced spread, but you don’t want to be an adventurer.”
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“And I really don’t see myself becoming one,” the inventoryman said with a shake of his head. “I’ll go into dungeons when I have to, like how you apparently need me, but I’m perfectly happy as a courier.”
“Not saying you shouldn’t be.”
Trevor nodded before glancing back over at the dwarf. “I do have a banked point, should I put it in Stamina for the skill?”
“Yes,” he answered immediately. “Alright, so, skills. You’ve had to have been offered at least one or two of them already, right?”
Another nod as Trevor recalled the time he had gained a skill for his Power and for his Capacity stat back to back. “The Quest Master will offer at least two choices and sometimes a third. From there, you just pick one, right?”
“About right. You mentioned some general stats at 4, what about the others?” Wayne asked.
“Just Capacity is over 5,” Trevor answered. “But Adabelle did already explain general skills to me a while ago.”
Where skills that belonged to the specialty stat came from a pool of options that varied in size depending on the Power, the selection for general skills was more like a tree. You would be given options, and then the Quest Master would expand on those options later down the line. Sometimes branches were short, and sometimes they were long.
Not only that, but sometimes a third option would pop up that let you jump to another one. It seemed like it was set up at random, and the Quest Master always specified that they weren’t choosing skills to offer on purpose. Instead, it’s all based on percentages that would go up or down based on certain actions.
“You think that, if I increase Stamina, I’ll get something related to traveling?” Trevor asked.
“Considering that’s what you’ve been mostly doing for quests, I’d say it’s a good bet,” Wayne explained. “Probably won’t be anything related to wracor riding, but if you have a banked point you might as well use it.”
“And not save it to get better skills later?”
“That's not really how it works, so, no.”
Trevor thought about the other Summoned’s words. The dwarf had been here much longer than he had, nearly 11 years now, so the amount of knowledge and experience he had accumulated was probably more than anyone else he had met. Except for maybe Lailah, though he had no idea how long she had been around for. Adabelle’s sword sister was an elf and they were long lived; Jackson, as an example, had been here for over 700 years and that was what he had been summoned as.
“Yeah, I’m going to trust you on this one,” Trevor said decisively. “Quest Master, put my last banked point into Stamina, please and thank you.”
“I don’t think being polite will guarantee you a good outcome, either,” Wayne commented. “Just saying.”
“Yes, but it couldn’t hurt and if I’m mean then I feel bad,” the inventoryman said, ignoring the screen that popped up in front of him so he could banter. He read it as soon as he could, though.
[[Sometimes, listening to Wayne is a bad idea. This is not one of those times.
Stat increase complete. Stamina is now 5. You have no more banked points remaining.
One of your stats has reached 5! You may choose a skill for this stat.]]
“Looks like the Quest Master agrees with you, at least,” Trevor said with a chuckle. “Called you out saying listening to you is a bad idea sometimes, but not this time.”
“Please, everyone should listen to me all the time,” he snorted, though he was amused.
“Let me know how that works out for you, Wayne,” Trevor teased before looking ahead again. “Quest Master, please show me the Stamina skills.”
[[Stat skill selection!
Your Stamina stat has increased to 5, which means you get to choose a Stamina-themed skill!
This is a General Stat, so it will not be tied to your Power. Instead, the options given will be based on you, specifically, and the things you’ve done.
Today, you have three options! Congratulations! Without further ado, here they are.
Option One: Fear No Pain.
Fighting for your life is no easy feat. No matter how you look at it, it’s going to hurt, but that doesn't mean it's got to be painful. This skill reduces the amount of pain you feel to tolerable levels, allowing you to function at your highest level for longer. Whether you just took damage from a monster's mighty maw or you simply stubbed your toe, this skill works in all situations.
Option Two: Endurance Boost.
Your particular brand of adventure requires you to get out there and walk, walk, walk. That's not entirely fair; sometimes you run, sometimes you're a passenger, and sometimes you ride. The point is, you spread out your energy over time instead of going all in on maximum effort. This skill reduces the amount of physical fatigue and soreness you build up over time so you can work even longer.
Option Three: Thick Skin.
Some people rely on Speed and Dexterity to avoid blows, or don armor to mitigate damage. Not everyone, though; some prefer to face tank enemy attacks.
Don't worry, Thick Skin works on more than just the face.
This skill makes your skin tougher in order to protect against incoming damage. Thankfully, because it's magic, your skin remains the same as it was before making this choice.
Take your time, and choose wisely.]]
“Okay, all of these seem great,” Trevor said, wanting to scratch his head but not letting go of the reins. “Fear No Pain, Endurance Boost, and Thick Skin. Do you need me to explain those?”
“Three choices right off the bat? Maybe being polite is getting you somewhere,” Wayne said with a chuckle. “And nah, those are all fairly common. Great, too. Thing you gotta remember is that this is still early on, so while they’re all useful, they’re not all going to be drastic game changers. Fear No Pain won’t change much for you because you’re not used to getting hurt on a daily basis. You’d get into a fight with it for the first time and that just becomes your baseline. It won’t stop you from panicking.”
“Yeah, smart.”
“Thick Skin is good, too, but it’s not going to make you indestructible out of nowhere,” he continued. “This is what most fighters who don’t want to invest in Dexterity and Speed want to get. Those who want to live that tank life, as it were. Even though the best way to defend is to simply not take damage, this helps. It’s the start of a long investment.”
“Which I don’t want, either. So I should take Endurance Boost?” Trevor asked.
“I’m just giving advice. Whether you take it or not is up to you, but it’s the best for everyday use and traveling. It’s got longevity all on its own. So long as you’re never caught without an escort or an escape plan, you’ll be good.”
Nodding, he thought it over. Wayne made a lot of good points that he hadn’t ever considered. Trevor always thought he was already good at managing pain, and the thought of having to wait for multiple skills to drop to make Thick Skin better didn’t appeal to him in the slightest. If he wanted to be in the middle of fights, he would have picked the skills that allowed him to turn the Power of Inventory into one better suited for combat.
In the end, the choice wasn’t really as hard for him as it apparently was for others. “I’ll take the Endurance Boost skill, Quest Master. Thanks.”
[[You have gained the Stamina skill Endurance Boost! Please, enjoy your newfound ability to go all night long.]]
“Well, that’s a little uncouth,” Trevor muttered, his face turning red.
Regardless of the Quest Master’s words, the soreness he was feeling did start to disappear. Not completely, but it was a noticeable difference that Trevor couldn’t help but appreciate.
“What’s up?” Wayne asked.
“Nothing! Nothing,” he quickly replied. Coughing into his shoulder, he changed the subject. “You’re pretty knowledgeable about this kind of stuff, man. You ever teach this stuff to new Summoned? Like, in an adventuring capacity?”
The dwarf opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it. A sour look came over his face. “We’ll talk about that later,” he said, and Trevor couldn’t help but feel like he had struck a nerve. Just as he was about to ask what was going on, Wayne continued. “Let’s speed things up a bit. Once we settle down for the night, I’ll go over what you need to do to make sure Austin’s in good shape for tomorrow, and we’ve got a lot to go over in the morning about getting them prepped.”
“Okay, got it,” Trevor said before his traveling companion urged his wracor forward. He did the same, intending to keep up and ride for as long as he could handle it.
