Chapter 6-Abilities

After looking through the contents of the bag it is time to look at the next screen that showed up. It turns out those two zombies that Eric killed gave him experience, and that gave him a level up. It is odd for him, in a way he just received his class and is already level 2. He didn’t even “use” his class to get those kills. Though it’s not like he will complain.

Furthermore, it turned out that he completed a hidden quest with those kills. Eric isn’t sure how he feels about those kills, it is the first time he had to kill something. He has squashed bugs which technically is killing but doesn’t have the same impact.

He also killed once a bird, his cat brought it home one day but only gravely injured it, not killing it. His mother had said that the bird will die in a matter of hours, and he had to agree, so his mother asked him to put the bird out of its misery.

Not having the guts to grab it and snap its neck or some other more direct way to kill it Eric grabbed a plastic bag, put the bird carefully inside, and then smashed the bag with all his strength against a wall outside the house. He wasn’t 100% comfortable with killing the bird but that the better thing to rather than letting it slowly die in agony.

‘The ability Analyze sounds interesting, but what does it do exactly?”

“Ability List”

Ability List

Screens

Level -

Analyze

Level 1

Mana Channeling

Level 1

Suddenly after looking at his abilities, Eric’s mind is flooded with the knowledge of their formula and how to use them. The formula is the pattern in which his mana has to move within himself to use them. Screens is the ability to see and use these screens which describe him and the world around him. He already uses the screens so there is not much to learn there, but for the other two he isn’t sure exactly sure what they do, he just received the knowledge on their formula and how to use it, not the effect. He can tell by looking at the formulas that he needs a target for both, which makes sense as one needs to analyze something and channel mana into something. When using them though Eric has the feeling he could modify the formula, slightly changing the effect, but only if he properly understood all parts of the formula and had the necessary knowledge. He would have to study them later to see what he can do.

‘Well that’s stupid, why do I have to look at the list first before I know how to use these abilities when I clearly received them earlier, skills and spells probably work the same.’ Regardless of its ridiculousness Eric is eager to try something.

‘Analyze sounds harmless to try.’ While Analyze doesn’t expend mana, mana is still needed to create the formula, so without further ado, he focuses on his staff and says, “Analyze”.

Simple Magic Staff

Description: A simple magic staff used by spellcasters to channel their spells through.

Effect: +2 Intelligence

“Wow” Eric can already tell that this ability is incredibly valuable. It seems as if being able to see item information is not something that this system, or whatever these screens are exactly are, does naturally, but with Analyze Eric will have no problems with that. It is also possible that there is another way to do it which he simply doesn’t know, but Eric feels like that isn’t the case.

Having used it now he proceeds to analyze all his new items.

Simple Magician’s Robe

Description: A simple robe used by spellcasters to wear.

Effect: +2 Wisdom

Orb of Water

Description: An orb that produces water proportional to the amount of mana channeled into it.

Orb of Fire

Description: An orb that produces fire or heat proportional to the amount of mana channeled into it.

Simple Health Crystal

Description: A crystal that when consumed heals 50HP.

Simple Mana Crystal

Description: A crystal that when consumed restores 50 Mana.

‘Ok, so the orbs are exactly as that scroll told me, and now I actually know how to use them because I actually know how to channel mana. I did everything correctly, except I did I didn’t know how to use my mana, which I do know now.’

Eric quickly grabs the water orb and uses Mana Channeling while willing mana to enter the orb, and it works perfectly. Water seems to be pushed out of the orb, the problem is Eric didn’t think this through in his excitement to using a magical item. Eric in his hast didn’t think about where the water would go when the orb produces it, and the water splashes down onto his pants, completely soaking it.

“Dammit” Eric jumps up and stops channeling mana. “If I did that with the fire orb I would have burned my hand to a crisp.”

‘That does raise the question though? How does one use the fire orb? I need to be touching the orb to channel mana into it. Maybe there is mana conduit which I can use to have my mana channel through it that then connects with the orb.’ For now, he doesn’t feel like experimenting with the orbs anymore.

Eric doesn’t enjoy wearing wet pants, and considering that no one will see him, he takes his pants off and hangs them on the clothes rack that is against the wall.

Looking back at the screens he looks at the robes. The robes in conjunction with the staff seem like a normal spellcaster's starting gear which boosts his spells but doesn’t provide armor. He puts on the robe and is pleasantly surprised that it fits perfectly and is comfortable. He also must admit that they look quite stylish. Eric understands people often focus on his eyes and with the black and blue robe, the whole image probably looks even better.

‘I wonder if the color of the items is random or if there is some sense behind it.’

Having gone through his abilities Eris decides to look at what else is available to him.

“Skill List”

Skill List

-

‘…. So, I guess I have no skills then.’ Eric couldn’t help to be let down a bit at that, but in the end, it does make sense, he is only level 2 after all.

By this point his view is full of all the screens that he pulled up about the items and lists, so he closes them all. When he goes to close his status screen he couldn’t help but notice the changes.

Status Screen

Name Eric King Level 2 Age 19 Stength 9(0) Gender Male Constitution 9(0) Race Human Dexterity 12(0) Class Warlock Agility 12(0) Profession - Intelligence 19(2) HP 90/90 Wisdom 16(2) Mana 196/196 Charisma 9(0)

‘So, it seems that everything did increase, including HP and Mana, but Mana more than HP, which does make sense, I am a spellcaster. Item bonuses are also listed but between the parenthesis, which is good to know.’

Closing the status screen Eric proceeds to open his Spell List.

“Spell List”

Spell List

Shadow Ball

Level 1

“My first spell.” Even though it is only one spell Eric doesn’t care. He can use magic, even though since waking up everything pointed towards this but here he sees it, he can use magic. Looking at the name his mind is filled with the spell formula and how to use it. He immediately grabs his staff and points towards the door. Using the spell, which takes a few seconds, he is about to complete it.

“Shadow Ba…”

Just before he finishes the spell Eric stops himself. This causes the spell to fizzle out, Eric feels the mana leave his body, but it dissipates in the air without activating the spell.

‘Why is my first reaction to something new to use it without thinking. First, the water orb which by pure coincidence wasn’t the fire orb, and now I am about to blast the door apart.’ He wonders if he is just so excited about magic or if there is something about learning new spells and abilities that just makes one want to use it.

All he knows about the spell is again how to use it, point in a direction with your hand, fingers or staff, cast the spell, and say the incantation. Eric doesn’t know anything else about it.

‘That is a problem in the long-run.’ For low level spells Eric assumes that his spells aren’t too powerful and difficult to control, but in the future, he will have no idea what a spell does and if it is something that he doesn’t expect then he can seriously injure people around him.

“This is just like with the gear, I have no idea what they do, only because I have Analyze do I… maybe.” Struck with a sudden thought and figuring that nothing bad will happen he focuses on his Spell list, specifically on his spell.

“Analyze”

Shadow Ball

Level 1

Requirements: Level 1 Warlcok

Cost: 40 Mana

Description: Shoots a Shadow Projectile in the designated direction.

“It works.” It turns out that analyze doesn’t have to be aimed at a physical object but can also target a spell. The result doesn’t tell him exactly what will happen, but he now knows more than he did 10 seconds ago.

Silently pulling up his Status Screen, Eric checks his mana. At 196 if one considers mana regeneration he can use Shadow Ball about 5 times before running out of mana.

Opening his ability list Eric Analyzes each spell but tries to do it silently, after a few tries he gets the description of all his Abilities.

Screens

Level -

Requirements: Age for Humans: 18+

Cost: -

Description: Allows an individual to utilize the Screens to understand the world around him.

Analyze

Level 1

Requirements: -

Cost: -

Description: Creates a Screen with further information about the target of the ability.

Mana Channeling

Level 1

Requirements:

Cost: Variable Mana

Description: Transfers mana from oneself into an object that can accept mana.

Mana Channeling is straightforward and exactly as Eric understood it. One pushes mana from oneself into an object, just like he did with the Orb of Water.

Screens is also obvious, he has already used it repeatedly on it, it seems as if that ability can’t be leveled up, but the other can, including his spell which makes one wonder if when it levels up if the spell itself will improve or if the cost will decrease.

But Analyze seems to be incredible and very versatile, one gains understanding over new spells, and abilities (and presumably skills too), while others don’t, they have to figure it out, which can be very dangerous for them. Eric simply pictures some mage using a plague spell which attacks the land, or a fire mage using a fire spell, expecting it to shoot fire far away when it actually creates a firestorm where he is standing. There are too many ways that Eric can picture something like that going badly.

Out of curiosity Eric opens his Status Screen and analyzes all the information he sees. None of the screens for the statistics gives him any new information, neither does class, gender, age, and name. For his name it simply tells Eric that Eric King is a name, age says that 19 is considered being an adult on the homeworld of the target (him), and gender says that is one of the two biological genders of the human race, and that it is this gender that is responsible for inseminating the opposite gender, so no new information for him. But when looking at his species, he can’t help but feel insulted.

Race-Human

Description: The Human is considered the average humanoid in every aspect. There is nothing of particular note about them, no noticeable strengths or weakness. The only interesting thing about them is how average they are.

While Eric feels insulted, he can’t really complain, he couldn’t pick out anything about humans that they are good at, and it is not like he can compare them to any other race because he hasn’t met any sentient one. So far in the new world, he has only met those large wolves and the zombies. He knew he was far weaker than the wolves, and he doesn’t know enough about zombies to be able to judge them.

Eric's Status Screen

Status Screen

Name Eric King Level 2 Age 19 Stength 9(0) Gender Male Constitution 9(0) Race Human Dexterity 12(0) Class Warlock Agility 12(0) Profession - Intelligence 19(2) HP 90/90 Wisdom 16(2) Mana 196/196 Charisma 9(0)