The Credo of the Molokai Order

With the power to take, we shall give

With the power to attack, we shall defend

With the power to kill, we shall heal

When all others abandon you, we shall arrive

We are the Molokai and we shall serve

I stare at the place he was just standing with a straight face before throwing my hands up in the air and walking towards the items in disgust. Not only had the man insulted me and barely answered my questions but now he’d also abandoned me on this stupid planet to die. The frustration at this entire situation rises up within me and I start yelling at the sky. Intellectually I know that creating a lot of noise is the last thing I want to do right now but I can’t stop myself! This day has been one insane thing to the next and its beginning to make me angry.

Grumbling under my breath and calling the man words I’d never want my mother to hear me say, I pick up the items before heading back to the tree I just climbed down from. My eyes look up at the sky and I notice that it is beginning to get dark. Despite never having gone camping while I was back on Earth, I’d read enough novels to understand that being alone in the wilderness at night is not a good position to be in. With that in mind, I climb back up the tree and sit down on a large branch that holds my entire body.

Finally safe, or at least as safe as I’m going to be, I decide to try and better understand the screens that I was just shown. Calling up the Ways screen, I see a small box above the options that is labeled Way Points. The number listed in the box is 17. After a few seconds of contemplation, I realize that this is the total number of my Skill levels. Interesting. Not only do skills offer tangible benefits in the form of knowledge but they also offer Way points. Interested to see what the Ways themselves can do, I put 10 points in the Beginner option.

You have completed the Way of the Beginner! Regardless of where you came from or who you were, all of those in Genesis must begin anew. The opportunities are endless if you have the power to take them. Reward: 5 Attribute Points (AP).

Interesting. My previous theory was that leveling was the only way to obtain Attribute Points but obviously that was incorrect. The only question I have now is how many AP are unlocked with each level. If the amount is not significant then Ways and Skills have the potential to be significantly more powerful than simple levels. However my main concern at the moment is not optimization but survival.

Realizing that I still have 7 Way Points available to me, I put 5 into the Way of the 11th Wave. Given that I only received the benefit from the Beginner Way upon completion it seems foolhardy to put the points into one of the seemingly massive options that are available. The benefits may be exponentially better but I need to focus on short term growth just to survive.

You have completed the Way of the 11th Wave! As a member of the 11th Wave, you are one of 400 Races that have just joined Genesis. The struggle for power has already begun and you must become strong for your race to survive. As one of the weaker races, your reward has been increased. Good luck! Reward: +1 To All Attributes

A strange sensation of electricity flows through my body as all my attributes increase. It lasts less than a second but to me it feels as if minutes are passing as my body is subjected to a host of small changes. It finally ends and even the memory of the sensation fades as I realize how amazing I feel. Standing up on the branch, I am able to keep my balance and see into the distance just a little bit better. Like the scholar that I am, my mind immediately jumps to the possibilities that these attributes contain. Are there limits to how high an attribute can go? Is each point subjected to a diminishing return? Despite the insanity of the situation that I’m in, I find myself fascinated with Genesis and all that it contains. I may lose my life in the next few days but at least I won’t be bored.

Before I invest the 5 AP’s rewarded by the Beginner Way, I decide to read the book that the man threw at me. Perhaps it will clarify which attributes need to be invested in and give me tips on how to survive. The man had muttered something about Mana focused which makes me believe that Intelligence and Wisdom would be the attributes with the best return. Regardless, I pull the book out and see the title A Combat Understanding of Mana. Convenient. I open to the first page and dive right in, the light from the moon above providing just enough light to properly see the words.

Welcome to a Combat Understanding of Mana. This books serves as a guide to those interested in the Mana focused classes and skills. For those interested in the origin of Mana and hypothesis about its uses please look elsewhere.

The first thing an individual interested in Mana needs to do is gain the Skill Mana Manipulation. To do this, enter into a calm state (process enhanced by meditative Skills) and direct your focus to your core, wherever that is. Here you will find your Mana Well, the source of your Mana and the method by which you will perform Mana related Skills. Try to draw out some of the Mana from your Well and imagine it appearing as a ball above your hand. Once this is completed you should have gained the aforementioned Skill.

Well that seems easy enough. My anger and frustration at the strange man decreases slightly. I’m still pissed that he left me in this place alone but at least he gave me a tool that he deemed relevant to my particular set of attributes. But now it’s time to learn a new Skill.

Activating Meditation, I feel my worries, fears, and anger flow through me. They are still there, as no form of meditation can destroy emotion all together, but they lose their importance. The tension in my body washes away and a calm settles down upon my mind.

Taking another slow breath, I follow the words of the book and focus on my core. I’d meditated hundreds of times back on Earth to control my anxiety but I’d never achieved the perfect state that now seems to come so easily. The thought of whether it is my own skill or if Genesis is helping me each time is put to the side as I begin to feel something new in my core.

Air rushes through my nose as I take a large breath upon discovering my Mana Well. A mental image appears in my mind of a small pool with the water spiraling outwards but forever contained within the boundaries. I try to gaze into the center of the spiral but it appears to continue onwards forever, developing more and more depth until I can’t see any further. The entire picture is almost hypnotic in nature and resonates with me in a way that I’ve never experienced before. Without consciously realizing it, I begin to reach for the Mana with my mind. It is difficult to grasp and takes me a few times before I’m able to finally able to succeed. Finally holding about a quarter of my Mana Well, I draw it out and into my body, trying to direct it towards my hand as the book recommended.

Halfway through the process I lose focus for a split second and the Mana violently rushes out into my body. It ravages through me and pain begins to threaten to break my Meditation. I take a short breath and focus on the pain, letting it flow through me like all other feelings and emotions. This lessens the feeling of the pain but the mana continues to damage my body.

In a moment of insight, I decide to grab the power and direct it back towards the Well. It resists my attempts but I begin to push it backward. Each time I try to grab the Mana it slips out of my grasp and avoids me, rushing to a new part of the body and doing further damage. This battle continues for what feels like eternity but, eventually, I’m able to push all the renegade Mana back towards the Well where it sits and is slowly absorbed.

Completely exhausted, I exit out of Meditation and my body collapses on the large branch. It’s only then that I notice the sun’s rays rising over the mountains to my back. That mental battle took all night! No wonder I am so exhausted. I’m not entirely sure how long the night is in this place but I know that the mental battle took almost everything I had.

Looking at Practical Understanding with a skeptical eye, I feel incredibly annoyed. The book explained the process as if it was incredibly easy and safe, not as if one small misstep would possible kill me! This frustration continues to build as I begin to curse the man, the author, and especially Genesis for making it so easy to kill myself. Everything on this world, even my own stupid body, is trying to kill me! Who designs a system where it is so easy to die? That’s just idiotic design! These murder and death oriented thoughts are interrupted by the now familiar, and somewhat annoying, notification ping.

You have discovered the Skill Mana Infusion (R-2) Lvl 1. By infusing your body with raw Mana, you are able to temporarily improve your Strength and Dexterity by skill level. Cost: 10 Mana per sec. Caution, willful use of this skill will damage you by 10% of total health per sec. Increased skill level decreases damage and cost.

You have discovered the Skill Pain Resistance Lvl 1. By subjecting yourself to self-inflicted pain and overcoming some of its effects, you have developed resistance and will feel less pain. Increased skill level reduces pain felt. Caution: Damage not reduced.

Meditation has reached Lvl 12, 13 … 16

Before I pass out from sheer exhaustion all I can think is that maybe, just maybe, the whole brush with death thing was worth it.