Summoning his Character Sheet, he first noticed his level was now fifty, with a whopping ninety-seven free Attribute Points. He took out his phone and used the calculator. That meant that if he managed to get ten extra points before the max level, he could raise all his secondary stats to threshold three… More than Cory had ever suggested.
“What about that, Cory?”
His question met silence. Cory was not in his mind anymore. It felt… weird… like a void. There was the question of where to get those extra points. Rome and the ship had been treasure troves while clearing monsters for weeks, a chore. What if the first two were a once-in-a-lifetime event? Could he spend weeks or months grinding APs?
Swallowing a lump, Rowan balled his fists with determination. He needed to do it. A dungeon half his level had almost killed him twice because of unprovoked mistakes. He had pressed a random key on a piano and thought himself a virtuoso. The easiness with which Cora had moved the cloud of debris with her mind had shown him what real skill looked like. That was what he needed, not brute force. Thinking. Training. And a buffer of perks to save him from his own mistakes.
Leaving twenty-eight attribute points for later, Rowan raised all his secondary stats to the second threshold and got an unexpected notification.
You have achieved a Breakthrough and obtained a Secondary Class: Primeval Magus (Mythical Tier).
Main Stat: WIL (Willpower).
You have demonstrated an exceptional affinity with multiple elements, unlocking the Magus class. A Magus gains a deep understanding of the world’s mechanics, requiring less study than INT-based classes.
Your Elemental affinities are Cold, Gravity, and Fire.
Note: The Secondary Class shares levels and stats with your Primary Class and does not grant additional APs or require separate XP.
Rowan felt complete. The sentiment was hard to describe but filled him with purpose and awareness. Refusing to be swept by that sweet drunkenness sensation, he concentrated on the next text.
Please review your Stats and Perks and choose your second threshold perks for both classes.
The realization that he would get double the perks hit him like a hammer. How many new perks he was going to have? Thirteen from the new class and… four in the old class. Five, if he counted the perk he asked the System to choose for him. He had no idea what it did. Eighteen in total! The number made Rowan’s head turn. After struggling to concentrate, he inspected his stats and available new perks.
Name: Rowan Allinder. Main Class: Indomitable. Tier: Legendary, Level 50 Secondary Class: Primeval Magus. Tier: Mythical
28 APs available
STR: 50 / DEX: 50 / CON: 50 / INT: 50 / WIL: 77 / CHA: 50
NEW PERKS OBTAINED
!Bespoked, created by the System based on your performance! Intelligence Perk, Threshold 2: Karmic Intuition. Transcending simple logic, your instincts will know what to do in the direst situations.
Perks for Your Primary Class: Indomitable
Charisma Perk, Threshold 1: Redeemed
You started with low Charisma but have worked hard to improve. People will now be 25% more likely to forgive your mistakes and blunders.
Perks for Your Secondary Class: Primeval Magus
Will Perk, Threshold 1: Focused Mind
Your concentration, both in and out of battle, is increased by 25%. You will stay focused longer, and your ability to detect and resist lower-tier Mind Spells is improved. The Critical Chance of your magical attacks is increased by 25%.
Will Perk, Threshold 3: Master of Focus
Your concentration, both in and out of battle, is increased by 50%. You can focus and train longer, and your ability to detect and resist higher-tier Mind Spells improves. The Critical Chance of your magical attacks is increased by 50%.
Strength Perk, Threshold 1: Sonar
A superior aspect of Mana Sense. When you land a physical hit (directly or indirectly, including projectiles), it sends signals through the target’s body. This increases the chances of highlighting weak spots by 25%, plus any Critical Chance.
Constitution Perk, Threshold 1: Vital Resistance
Your vitals are 25% tougher than the rest of your body and regenerate 25% faster. Hits to your vitals are no longer considered instantly lethal and can be healed like any other wound.
New Spell: Combat Heal—Instantly restores 100 HP for 300 MP, though it’s less potent than a channeled Heal. Training will improve its effectiveness and reduce its MP cost.
Dexterity Perk, Threshold 1: Plus Crit
Increases the Critical Chance of your physical attacks by 5%.
Intelligence Perk, Threshold 1: Gretchen’s Question (Mythical)
Asking simple or seemingly silly questions can yield unexpected results, helping you discern whether a target is lying or hiding something.
Charisma Perk, Threshold 1: Confidence
Your presence inspires calm and confidence in others, making them 25% more likely to follow your orders and suggestions.
Finally, as the second threshold offered choices, it was time to choose his new perks. Heart trying to jump out of his chest, he proceeded.
Selectable Perks for Your Primary Class: Indomitable
Strength Perk, Threshold 2. Choose between:
1: Double your Perk 1 chance to ignore Evade, Dodges, Parries, or Blocks to 50% (Max. for non-STR main builds)
2: Increase your base damage with Physical attacks by 25%
Pfff… both are good. Let’s take option two… Diversify...
Constitution Perk, Threshold 2. Choose between:
1: Double your Perk 1 to +25% for all physical resistances and +25% for Natural Regeneration (HP). Max value possible for non-Main CON builds.
2: Endurance. Perform physical activities for 25% longer. You need 25% less sleep.
He chose option one because of the first Constitution perk in his secondary class.
Dexterity Perk, Threshold 2, Choose between:
1: Increase the speed of your attacks by 25%
2: Increase the speed of your parries, blocks, and evades by 25%
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This is not fair. I want both!
A Bespoke choice was selected because of your high WIL: Increase the speed of your attacks, blocks, parries, and evades by 12.5 %. Bespoke choices are available only when perk choices are complementary or similar.
FUCK! It could have worked for the Constitution Perk too… I want a reroll, now!... Pretty please?
There was no answer, so he went on.
Charisma Perk, Threshold 2. Chose between:
1: Increase MP. Your CHA Stat is added to your Mana Pool.
2: Persuasion: You have a +25% chance to convince enemies to change sides, surrender, or retreat.
He went with the first option instantly. It meant a five hundred increase in Mana, upping his total to almost eighteen hundred. As for enemies, if they didn’t retreat on their own, Rowan had no qualms about killing them. And if they’re too strong, I’ll retreat, duh!
Selectable Perks for Your Secondary Class: Primeval Magus
Strength Perk, Threshold 2. Choose between:
1: + Damage. Physical hits send waves of secondary damage into the enemy’s bodies. +5% to base Physical Damage.
2: Critical Spot. If your STR Perk 1 has detected a weakness, any future hit against that spot will be a Crit.
The second option was selected without much ado.
Constitution Perk, Threshold 2. Choose between:
1: Double your 1st perk value.
- Delayed Truth: Once per day, when you take lethal damage, you gain a ten-second window where your HP cannot drop below 0, and you are immune to all damage. You must heal at least 15% of your maximum HP before the ten seconds run out, or you die.
There was no hesitation here. Two.
Dexterity Perk, Threshold 2. Choose between:
1: Add + 5% Critical Chance to your Perk 1
2: Add +5% Chance to Parry, Block, or Evade.
Can I take the Bespoke again?
Bespoke option selected: +2.5 to Critical Chance, Parry, Block, and Evade.
Intelligence Perk, Threshold 2. Choose between:
1: Enhanced Analysis. Inspecting Targets offers information about their offensive capabilities. Only works out of combat.
2: Svartálfar Stare, aka The Cold Stare (Mythical.
Perhaps it's just a coincidence, or maybe you have a Shadow Elf in your ancestry. When you stare at a target, it causes a sense of unease and may allow you to uncover compromising secrets, lowering your foe's overall performance by 10%. This ability does not work on constructs. With training, you can unlock additional effects. There is no Mana cost for using this ability.
He liked the first choice, but it meant seeing a foe before a fight, which was situational. Two was a stretch… but it had the same tier and vibe as the first perk. He wondered if it could lead to more potent perks, so he selected it after taking a deep breath.
Will Perk, Threshold 2. Choose between:
1: Enhanced Meditation. Enter a state of deep relaxation, restoring HP and MP four times faster.
!Bespoked, created by the System upon your performance! 2: Joint Trip. You have smoked a rare, mysterious tobacco whose production is a closely guarded secret. For unknown reasons, your body and subconscious have developed a unique harmony with it, allowing you to replicate its effects.
Each day, you gain one stack, up to 10 stacks. Activating a stack allows you to enter Hyperspace (also known as The In-Between, The Space, or The 4th Dimension) for 30 seconds. In Hyperspace, Damage over Time (DoT) effects stop, and you become immune to damage and crowd control (CC) if previously applied in the outside world. Your movement speed doubles.
There is a 2-second cooldown before you can activate the next stack.
Note: Most Perks and Skills that consume Mana won’t work in the In-Between. Potions and spatial storage will function normally
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Rowan screamed in joy. “Two!”
Charisma Perk, Threshold 2. Choose between:
1: Insight: Read thoughts, emotions, and intentions by examining a Target. Needs activation and proximity (touch, eye contact). Cost: 100 Mana/use. Warning: Can attract enmity. Works well together with Sonar.
2: Reflect all damage taken to the Tank if you are in a Party (Team) for ten seconds. Heal for the amount of half that damage. 10-minute cooldown.
The second option was a solid defensive choice. He could imagine both Isla and Cory talking him into taking it or Thomas throwing some nerdish about how he could mitigate it with some invulns or whatever. But Rowan was not the kind of man to risk killing his partners. In his opinion, the first option wasn’t ideal, but things were what they were, and he chose it.
In the end, he reviewed an abridged version of all his stats.
Name: Rowan Allinder. Lvl. 50
Main Class: Indomitable, Legendary, Secondary Class: Primeval Magus, Mythical
28 APs available
STR: 50 / DEX: 50 / CON: 50 / INT: 50 / WIL: 77 / CHA: 50
PERKS
WIL
Main Class Perk 1: Your Will replaces Strength as your Physical Critical Damage multiplier and inflicts DOT
Main Class Perk 2: High-Tier Artifact User
Main Class Perk 3: Full-Fledged Magic User. Stats perform better, and you can enhance your spells, skills, or Perks with Magic.
Secondary Class Perk 1: Concentration + 25%. Resist minor Mind Spells. +25% Magical Attacks Critical Chance
Secondary Class Perk 2: Joint Trip. Build 1 stack/day (max 10) of a 30-second interdimensional travel.
Secondary Class Perk 3: Concentration + 50%. Resist major Mind Spells. +25% Spell Critical Chance
STR
Main Class Perk 1: 25% chance to ignore Evade, Dodges, Parries, or Blocks.
Main Class Perk 2: +25% base damage to Physical attacks
Secondary Class Perk 1: +25% chance of highlighting an enemy’s weak spots.
Secondary Class Perk 2: Hitting identified weak spots are guaranteed Crits.
CON
Main Class Perk 1+2: +50% all physical resistances, +50% to Natural Regeneration (HP)
Secondary Class Perk 1: Vital Resistance. +25% Toughness and Regen to Vitals. Learned Spell: Combat Heal
Secondary Class Perk 2: Delayed Truth. Once per day, ignore Lethal Damage and become invulnerable for ten seconds.
DEX
Main Class Perk 1: Multi-Tasking, Autopilot. Your Subconsciousness can take control of your body when necessary.
Main Class Perk 2: Increase the speed of your attacks, Blocks, Parries, and Evades by 12.5%
Secondary Class Perk 1: + 5% Critical Chance
Secondary Class Perk 2: Add + 2.5% Critical Chance, Parry, Block, or Evade.
INT
Main Class Perk 1: Strategy. You can read a situation better than most.
Main Class Perk 2: Karmic Intuition. Transcending simple logic, your instincts will know what to do in the direst situations.
Secondary Class Perk 1: Gretchen’s Question. Questions have a chance to reveal secrets.
Secondary Class Perk 2: Svartálfar’s Stare. Staring provokes Targets to reveal secrets and lowers your enemies’ damage.
CHA
Main Class Perk 1: People will be +25% more inclined to forgive your mistakes and blunders.
Main Class Perk 2: Your CHA Stat is added to your Mana Pool.
Secondary Class Perk 1: Confident. Strangers are +25% more inclined to reveal their secrets to you.
Secondary Class Perk 2: Insight: Read thoughts, emotions, and intentions by examining a Target. Needs activation and proximity (touch, eye contact). Cost: 100 Mana/use. Warning: Can attract enmity. It can be used with Sonar.