AN: Hello people. I'm sorry this took so long to get back to, but now that Galataea has had it's first release on Amazon, I can finally buckle down and focus on writing once more. This chapter is rather blue box heavy, so you've been warned. :)

For the rest of the week, whatever stories I update will also include an author's note such as the one below to let people know about the story. Thanks! If you want to read the RRL version of Galataea instead, feel free to use the link in my signature. I just ask that either way, please leave a review! :)

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If you like monster girls, pokemon-like harem scenarios, far future sci-fi, and sexy happenings, give it a try.

Galataea Crystallim Core: Collection 1 – This contains the first three episodes of the storyline. Making the Grade, Here, Fishy, Fishy. and Yes, Please No.

Those of you who want to purchase it on Amazon may do so at this link.

Link: https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B01LX7DSRP

Those of you who wish to read it on Smashwords for free can do so at this link using the coupon. It lasts until October 1, 2016. I typically give out 2-week long coupons when I first upload a story to Smashwords and Amazon.

Link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/665901 | Coupon: WF93N

Hopefully I can continue to do that compared to how many others take stories down here in large amounts and leave only a few chapters. So long as I can receive enough support from fans, I can continue to do as I have been. If you like the story and want to contribute in that way, please purchase it on Amazon.

Either way, please leave a review at one place or the other! Thanks!

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Chapter 14: Growth Spurt

Valkovia, a city of the edge of modern fantasy technology. Scott spent quite a bit of time there since coming to the Classic Server. In fact, he'd rarely spent more time in any one location since being brought to any version of ARS.

Level growth occurred slowly. Yet, his skills developed quickly. The latter was far more important than the former, for various reasons. Still, the ability to rapidly increase his power was slow going at best.

Scott considered his options on the long trip back to the city from Fairywood. The biggest issue was the nature of how the experience pools worked. If there was no lock on them, he could just train for days on end without stopping for more than lunch or a quick nap.

"The quickest advancement was during the time when Rhea was around," said Scott lightly. When it was only a party of two, Scott and Herbert, their battles were relegated to simpler enemies. It was not quite solo-adventuring, but it was close enough. Herbert was still too young to fight directly with a lot of power. So, it was mostly left to Scott to fight while using dance buffs from his rat-bro.

"With Rhea and Ero coming back full-time soon, things should pick up," he said. He considered options for a while, then nodded.

Scott rubbed his chin as the train pulled into Valkovia Stations. It was the end of the line. It was time to get started.

Before heading off to see what Herbert was doing, and to let the little thing know that his friends were alive, Scott chose to head to the Grand Central Cathedral. There was business to attend to with a certain sacred mirror.

He walked along the avenue while soaking in the sights once more. The many different races that wandered the streets never ceased to amaze him. Racism, rather speciesism, was alive and well in this world. Yet, somehow it did not seem like things were as bad as they could be. Sometimes it was hard for people to come to terms with each other on Earth due to differences in culture and skin tone. Here, there were people with the head of an animal strolling around next to sentient floating jellyfish.

The Grand Central Cathedral lived up to its name. A massive gothic-looking structure in the center of town, the cathedral was the main center of worship for the kingdom of Valkovia. All gods were honored within its walls. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of statues and altars were available.

Scott climbed the steep marble stairs and walked through the massive open doors. A multitude of people spoke freely as they engaged in the discussions of the devout. He went to one of the main hallways to the right of the central auditorium and followed the signs until he reached the grand statue that he sought.

The light danced in his eyes as he watched people kneeling in prayer before the altar of Origin, Goddess of Love and New Beginnings. As a divine guardian of the powers of love and reincarnation, she was quite popular.

He eyed the statue critically after a moment, though. The artisan who crafted the structure seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time on detailed the chest area. The statue was glorious, and intricately sculpted, but the delicate work in that one area made Scott's nose twitch a little.

After a while he moved forward and knelt down to offer his own prayer. He openly spoke words of adoration and thanks. Inwardly be punctuated every statement with, 'Dat ass, though.'

The goddess Origin smiles upon you traveler, and grants you two blessings.

- You have been granted Sanctuary for twenty-four hours. No monster will willingly approach you in the wilds during this time. It might be best to stay home and rest for the day.

- The goddess knows of your unwholesome interest in her feminine glory. As the goddess of love, she grants you the following boon. Cold showers will feel ten percent colder for the next twenty-four hours, but will also provide a ten percent bonus to health regeneration for up to one hour afterward.

Scott grinned. He did not currently plan to run off into the wilds to hunt at the moment anyway, but it was nice to know that the goddess was looking out for his safety. The cold shower bit was even more amusing. It was a clever way to grant him a little free extra healing, while teasing him at the same time.

The hall of sacred mirrors called to him, and he obeyed. There were dozens of them lining the walls of the hallway, but Scott moved to a far corner in a side room to check his status.

Scott Jacobs

Race: Lunarii | Class: Twilight Master

Age: 18 | Max Lifespan: Ageless

Level: 19 | Title: The Reborn

Attack: 146[148]=>[249-255] | Defense: 144[151]=>[282-300]

Strength: 104[106] | Agility: 103[108] | Vitality: 106

Intellect: 102 | Charisma: 101 | Attunement: 108

[--]

"Holy..." said Scott while staring at his basic statistical information, "How the hell did I gain seven levels in only one day?"

Even stranger to him was the fact that all of his stats increased by a few points. "Is it because I was forced into bed-rest for about a week?"

He could see some of the growth coming from that. His experience pools would have no doubt completely emptied by now. He did not die, despite his wounds, so he kept his experience gains.

"Maybe the experience bonuses?" he asked rhetorically. He did receive a bonus to his experience gain prior to joining the event.

Briefly, he considered the possibility that nearly killing himself caused the uptick. If stress during combat was one of the primary signs of a difficult battle, then the system might have considered his revelation of a new power to count as a serious experience boost. Unconscious, he would not have even known if he developed a severe headache in the process.

"Attack and defense are looking good. Both of them are better on the low-end than my highest damage or defense spike from level twelve," Noticing that fact caused Scott's eyes to widen after a moment. "Wait, how could they grow so fast? I don't have that much more strength or agility now.

"Wait, if that's what happened..." Scott checked his skill section.

Class Skills

Unarmed Combat: 48

Twilight Sorcery: 42

Primordial Magic: 6

Sense Life: 40

Arcane Lore: 33

Arcane Mastery: 46

Light Armor: 41

Analyze: 42

[--][/align]

[Miscellaneous Skills]

Survival Lore: 38

Boomerang Mastery: 1

[--]

"Damn... Seriously?" Scott stared wild-eyed at his unarmed combat skill. "Eight freaking levels?"

Four of his skills rose over level forty during the event. Surprisingly, he'd even gained five levels in primordial magic. That last bit confused him. "When did I use primordial magic? Was it the wind?"

Was that what it meant to use primordial magic? When he became the magic, Scott nearly killed himself. It made no sense that the wind would count as primordial magic, however. He did not have a connection to it in the same way that he had a connection to water.

Scott rubbed his chin. A thought occurred to him. Perhaps the reason the spell took such a major toll on him was the fact that he did not have that proper connection? "Would working with water be easier for me? Wind is everywhere, so you'd think it would be the easiest element to work with of all."

"I am the wind... Primordial magic is the essence of divinity..." Scott nodded slowly. As a twilight master, he possessed a closer connection to his innate magic that a basic sorcerer, and far more than a typical mage. Only innately magical races might be more attuned to those forces. For that matter, he counted as an innately magical race when it came to celestial power.

He pushed those thoughts aside for the moment and returned to his status update. There were four specializations to choose. The first up was twilight sorcery.

"Damn, can't upgrade to Celestial Mastery three, yet. Need special training..." Scott grumbled. He'd expected it, but that did not mean that he could not hope for a different outcome.

"Which one to choose then? All I can choose from are the elemental masteries..." said Scott. He felt drawn to lightning, but there was also the wind spell to consider. However, something occurred to him after a moment of deliberation. "Water... I have a stronger primordial connection to it because of that big ass shark on the casual server... If that wind spell really was... Then..."

Scott chose the twilight sorcery specialization, Elemental Water Master I. He immediately received a message screen detailing what his choice granted him.

[Specialization: Elemental Water Mastery]

Through tireless work in the development of your magical might you have unlocked your hidden potential for the mastery of elemental water energy.

Your ability to develop elemental water spells has slightly increased.

Your defense against elemental water energy has slightly increased.

Your elemental water spells will require slightly less mana to develop and utilize.

You have obtained the basic elemental water spell pattern [Surprising Splash]

Scott grinned at the name of the spell pattern. He did not really need patterns as much now as before, but they could still be helpful in reinforcing concepts. The surprising splash pattern used threads of mana and water energy to create a ball of water in the air. It could not be thrown, but it would fall down and douse something. The concept, and the way the spell-pattern worked to create the magic already made the little hamster wheel of his mind begin to turn.

In the sense life category he chose to increase his ability to sense unnatural things. That would allow him to discover undead, golems, and machine monsters at a greater distance by default. Even those which would normally remain hidden might sometimes be sensed. Given that his current common foes were machine monsters and eldritch armor knights, it seemed appropriate.

His Arcane Mastery skill was something worth taking note of when it came to upgrades. He would not be able to increase his attunement efficiency to three, for similar reasons as his inability to increase his celestial mastery. However, there were several good options to choose from in the list.

[Specialization Options]

Improve Mana Regeneration I

Improve Attunement Efficiency III[Locked]

Reduce Casting Time I

Increase Spell Pattern Creation Efficiency

Increase Mana Pool

Increase Magical Resistance

Increase Magical Power

[--]

He did not feel particularly drawn to the spell pattern creation upgrade, but all of the other upgrades were solid. "What do I want? More mana... faster spell casting...?" he asked himself.

In the end, his eyes drifted down to the final selection option. The one issue he'd had to deal with the most was power. He was a sorcerer. Even as a second-tier sorcerer, his magic was not as powerful as it could be. Most of his spells hurt opponents, but he still needed to punch them to death most of the time unless he wanted to wait for a lengthy period of time for the damage effects to build.

Spells such as the wind spell he'd nearly died to pull off were extremely draining. Powerful, true, but the cost was severe. "Yeah, I need a little more oomph in my spell power."

Scott chose the Increase Magical Power upgrade then grinned like an idiot when it provided further information. Before choosing it, the only thing he knew was that it would improve his damage or spell power. The screen that popped up on the mirror told an interesting story.

Through tireless research into the arts of elemental devastation, you have uncovered the secrets of improving your magical might! All elemental, and celestial, magic abilities will now be increased in potency by one hundred percent. Further mastery in a given element will increase this potency.

Current potency bonuses:

Elemental Water Mastery I => 210% power to all elemental water spells

Celestial Mastery II => 225% power to all celestial spells

"Oh, hell yes... Magic power just doubled across the board..." Scott could not help but laugh like an idiot. Maybe his spells would actually hurt those bastard machines now! The only downside was that the improved magical power upgrade was not one with automatic upgrade potential. He could not acquire a second level version of it without finding the proper training, or unlocking it somehow.

Still, if he used a celestial spell that did a hundred points of damage before, it would be worth two hundred twenty-five damage now. He did not feel the need to cry bitter tears about the denial of further upgrades.

The final specialization option was for his light armor skill. Unlike the other skills, armor burden reduction did not require special training. He chose to reduce the burden of light leather by an additional point. "So, a minus three burden when wearing light leather armor. Considering the fact that the system claims anything that isn't cloth, but comes from a living creature, is light leather when it comes to light armor, that's not bad."

Sure, some heavy monster parts might be medium armor, but anything from wildcat skin to fish scales would be considered light leather unless it was specially treated or crafted in a way to drastically reinforce the material. Light leather was thinner, more pliant, like cloth made from animal skin. Fur and light bone items were often considered light leather. The heavier leather items would either come from heavier monster parts, be reinforced with plates of metal or wood, or would include multiple layers of leather.

He looked over his specializations once more. Things certainly seemed to be improving!

[Notations]

Unarmed Combat Specializations [3]

[Improved Health Regeneration I]

[Improved Defense I]

[Improved Attack I]

Twilight Sorcery Specializations [3]

[Celestial Mastery II]

[Elemental Water Mastery I]

Arcane Lore[2]

[Know Spell I]

[Inspect Enchantment I]

Sense Life Specializations [3]

[Sense Nature I]

[Sense Unnatural II]

Arcane Mastery Specializations [3]

[Increased Attunement Efficiency II]

[Improve Magical Power]

Light Armor Specializations [3]

[Reduce Armor Burden: Light Leather[3]]

Analyze Specializations [3]

[Compare Similar Items II]

[Item Lore I]

Survival Lore Specializations [2]

[Improved Environmental Observation II]

[--]

"Not bad. Not bad at all..." Scott closed down his status screens and decided to see what his spell lists offered to him now. There were two new spells. One was Gust of Wind. It was a spell that would automatically send a powerful gust of wind toward opponents in a bid to force them back. The other spell, however...

"Seriously?" asked Scott.

[Spell]

Kaze no Baka

A primordial wind spell that creates a piercing horizontal tornado capable of tearing through steel and magicrete materials. The whirling winds roar like a heavy freight train, but their unholy cacophony does not drown out the sound of the caster's own foolishness.

Spell Type: Primordial Magic

Nature: Piercing Elemental Winds

Current Maximum Effective Range: 100 yards

Area-of-Effect: 4 yards [cone-spiral]

Force: IV

Responsiveness: 3% [Abysmal]

Efficiency: 1.4% [Abysmal]

Stability: 0.9% [Abysmal]

Mana Drain: Supremely High

[--][/b]

"Did the system seriously name my spell, Idiot of the Wind in Japanese?" asked Scott in a flat tone of voice. He'd seen enough anime to piece together the name in some form of English. After a moment, he smiled however. The name was truly fitting considering what it almost cost him.

All things considered, the injuries that he received caused man problems. He would take another few weeks to fully recover. Still, he'd survived and come out with a little more understanding of his abilities. Hopefully, after he recovered, he would be able to find primordial magic specializations to help with those spells. His Kaze no Baka spell was ridiculously under-developed. Even with system assistance, it might possibly kill him.

A lot happened recently, some for the best, but others were less useful. In the end, though. He'd survived and now knew that he was one step closer to understanding the fundamental nature of this world. He'd have to weather the storm, so to speak, if he intended to master the powers necessary to defeat the board and protect his new life in this reality.