I continued my cycle of running, practicing with Mana Bolt and meditating, during which I slowly improved in all respects of what I was practicing, the accuracy of my Mana Bolts undergoing the most drastic change as I practiced different methods of aiming after a while as the method I had been using; conjuring and launching the Mana Bolt from an open palm felt rather odd and seemed to be doing me no favours accuracy-wise due to the relatively large surface area making even small changes in how I aimed much larger. So I had started trying different methods, it had taken a bit of work but eventually I decided on one that I felt suited me, it was pretty simple I simply pointed my middle and index fingers at the target and fired the Mana Bolt from the tips of those fingers what did surprise me was after firing a few Mana Bolts this way I received a notification.

Spell Targeting (Specialised) Unlocked!

This skill improves your ability to aim certain spells. Higher Levels of this Skill allow you to control the trajectory of spells after casting them.

Increases Growth Rate by 1 Willpower and Intelligence.

2 Aspect Points Awarded for unlocking Spell Targeting.

As I read the Skills description my eyes slowly widened, this was a Skill with a lot of potential and it also gave me a decent increase to my Growth Rate increasing the amount of Intelligence that I received each time I Levelled Up to 4 and the amount of Willpower I received up to a whopping 10 every time I Levelled Up almost twice the Growth Rate of any of my other Stats. I wasn’t sure what a Specialised Skill was or how this particular Skill qualified, but it was clear that this was a more powerful Skill than most of the other ones that I had, except perhaps for things like Essence Drain and Unbreakable Will as far as the System was concerned. But I guess that it was something that was really only for people who focussed on their magical abilities and I didn’t really know how common people like that were.

After I had meditated until I had recovered my Mana I started running again. With my new Running Skill, I could run for quite a bit longer due to the reduction to my Stamina use the Skill gave me which due to my mixed feelings about running I both liked and disliked.

By now I was able to tell the difference between the different types of notification symbol, so I ignored all the notifications telling me that I had Levelled Up a Skill and kept training. I had been training for at least half the day by the time I received the notification that I had been waiting for.

Controlled Breathing Unlocked!

This skill allows you to increase the rate at which your SP regenerates by calming their breathing while still.

+20% to SP regen while using Controlled Breathing.

Increases Growth Rate by 1 Endurance.

1 Aspect Point Awarded for unlocking Controlled Breathing.

“Finally!” I gasped. It had taken me a long time to unlock this Skill which made sense considering the type of Skill it was, but I was well and truly tired of all the running that I had been doing, I didn’t know for sure why it was so much easier for me to obtain Meditation than this Skill but it might have something to do with the Inner Vision Skill I got not long after that. Spellcasting was still fun to do but my target was little more than a pile of rubble now that I was able to actually hit it. The Skill itself seemed to basically be similar to Meditation, but increased Stamina regeneration instead of Mana which suggested that they could be used at the same time.

“Right, well I really need to have a wash,” I groaned reaching up to wipe the sweat from my brow. The only real question was how exactly I was going to do that. I had the small bowl of water that I had used to wash my hands earlier but not only would it be pretty gross to use that so I went around looking for another piece of bark that could hold enough water that I could actually wash myself.

Finding something like that eventually proved to be too difficult and I instead decided to try and combine two of the larger pieces together with my Nature Shaping Skill. Come to think of it was actually odd enough that there were pieces of bark like this just lying around, I knew that there were a few types of trees back on earth that could lose bits and pieces of their bark on a fairly regular basis but it wasn’t on the scale that I was seeing here and the bark that those trees usually lost was quite thin but the pieces that I was finding were almost two centimetres thick.

Shrugging I sat down and started fusing the pieces of bark together, it wasn’t like I was really much of an expert on trees and even if I was, I wasn’t going to deny that these pieces of bark had their uses, they probably wouldn’t last long but that didn’t matter.

Soon I was looking down at a shallow bowl about a metre across and I quickly filled it up with water and removed my remaining clothes glancing down at my body as I did so. It was still odd having the greyish skin that I did now, and the rest of my body wasn’t that much better. I was still painfully thin with arms and legs like sticks thanks to my low physical Stats, I was looking a little better thanks to increasing my Stats but at my current rate of improvement it would still be a while before I looked anything approaching the physique of a healthy human, from what I had seen in the visions that the Aspect of the Yajash had shown me I knew that the Yajash were typically more on the slender side but that didn’t mean I wanted to look half-starved any longer than I needed to.

Once I had cleaned myself off as best as I could I wandered back over to where I had written my list and sat down in front of it staring down at what was written in front of me. I had made decent progress today but a glace upwards told me that it was almost night and despite my desire to go out and see what sort of creatures lived on the outside of the barrier common sense told me that I was more likely to encounter something that I wasn’t going to be able to deal with at night, even with my Dark Vision Skill.

I still had more notifications to check so I brought those up.

Skills increased!

Mana manipulation increased to Lvl 3

Unbreakable Will increased to Lvl 2

Meditation increased to Lvl 3

Running increased to Lvl 2

Available Aspect points increased by 4

It was interesting to note that Unbreakable Will had Levelled Up, but it did make a certain amount of sense; as I had continuously depleted my Mana, I had started to get headaches. These headaches had disappeared as my Mana regenerated and as I had continued to deplete my Mana, they had gotten less severe, but it had still been an unpleasant experience so seeing that Unbreakable Will was helping with that was a relief.

I hadn’t managed to increase any of my Affinities, but the extra Aspect Points from Levelling Up the Skills would be useful, and I brought up the Aspect Screen to check the total number of Aspect Points that I had and the new Aspects that had become available after finishing the Aspect of the Yajash. I had been a bit cautious about putting more points into my Aspects today so that I could get used to the changes that had been happening to me but I was now coming to the conclusion that this was actually holding me back, if I had used the points that I already had I would’ve been able to train even longer and more efficiently so I decided that from now on whenever I thought that I had enough points to obtain the next bonus from an Aspect then I would use them.

Unlocked Aspects

Aspect of the Pioneer 0/10, Aspect of the Beginner 0/5, Aspect of the Warrior 0/25, Aspect of the Mage 0/25, Aspect of the Crafter 0/25.

Aspect Points:18

Personal Aspect

Aspect of Evolution

10

Ok, so it looks like I got three pretty basic Aspects from completing the Aspect of the Yajash. It was pretty obvious that Aspect of the Warrior would focus on physical stats like Strength and Constitution and Aspect of the Mage would focus on Stats like Intelligence and Wisdom, but I wasn’t quite sure what Aspect of the Crafter would give me. I mean if I had to guess I’d say Coordination, Perception and Charisma were possibilities but with my Nature Shaping it was possible that I could end up gaining different Stats.

Shaking my head, I decided to focus on the other two Aspects I had access to right now as I could max out both of them with the Aspect points that I already had. Placing the required points into Aspect of the Beginner I confirmed my decision. As I did information filled my head alongside the vision of the world of my Soul Aspect that I had come to expect when I used Aspect Points.

The vision of a new type of life form that had evolved in the primordial seas of my internal world, unlike the other forms of life had evolved before them these new life forms absorbed energy from sunlight to survive and I immediately realised that I was going to learn a Skill related to this ability.

The information I received from the Aspect of the Beginner was just as interesting, most of it was simply confirming things that I already knew about Stats but there was information about how the Skills worked together to provide specific effects. Some of these effects were fairly obvious like the way Strength worked with Agility to increase my speed, particularly in straight lines others were somewhat less so. Like the way Charisma and Strength could work together to make someone seem more intimidating or Perception and Willpower worked together with Intelligence when creating new spells. There were of course more than that, but I was more interested in thinking about the notifications that appeared in front of me.

Aspect of the Beginner Completed!

Now that you have completed the Aspect of the Beginner you have gained knowledge of the various Statistics that measure your strength. How you choose this information will surely prove to be the key to your survival and prosperity.

Unassigned Stat Points increased by 3!

Identify Skill unlocked!

Growth Rate increased by 2 Unassigned Stat Points.

Aspect Points: 13

Soul Aspect increased to Level 15!

New lifeforms that use the power of the sun itself to survive have appeared in the world, they soon spread far and wide turning the areas where they thrive a faint green.

Vitality increased by 2!

Constitution increased by 1!

Photosynthesis Skill Unlocked!

Vitality increased by 2!

More photosynthesising lifeforms evolve and the world changes once more as they begin to fill the atmosphere with poisonous gas wiping out most of the life on the planet. But some hardier species survive and eventually this disaster will lead to new possibilities that would’ve been impossible before.

Constitution increased by 2!

Air Affinity increased by 2%

Poison Resistance Skill Unlocked!

As expected, I got the Photosynthesis Skill from my Soul Aspect and if I was right about the Identify Skill then it was definitely something that was going to be useful. As I thought this, I quickly brought the Skill notifications up to read their descriptions.

Photosynthesis (Specialised) Lvl 1

This skill allows you to absorb sunlight in place of eating. Any extra nutrients absorbed from food can then be used for other purposes.

Growth Rate increased by 2 Vitality.

Identify Lvl 1

This skill allows you to see information on the target. The information shown is different for objects and living beings.

Cost 10 MP.

Growth Rate increased by 1 Perception.

It was all I could do to not leap up and start dancing, I finally had the ability to read the stats of items and enemies!

Don’t get me wrong my new Photosynthesis Skill was pretty cool and judging from the description also synergised well with my Biomass Absorption Skill, or it did if I was reading it correctly and the boost to my Vitality is even better but the ability to use Identify was a game changer.

Quickly I grabbed my hatchet and activated my new Skill.

Crude Stone Hatchet

Weapon damage: 5-10

Durability: 6/6

This small axe was made by a complete beginner and this shows in both the design and in the technique used to make the item.

My eye twitched as I read the description, personally I thought that I had done a pretty good job of making my hatchet but according to this rather rude description I was wrong. Of course, I had no way of knowing what sort of information the description was based off of and judging from the vision I had seen when I had unlocked the Nature Shaping Skill I had yet to so much as scratch the surface of what it was capable of so maybe it was a fair assessment after all.

Wait a minute, I had something else to check that might be able to shed a bit of light upon the situation. Reaching behind me I pulled my stone knife from the small sheathe wedged behind the waistband of my pants and used Identify on it.

Shaped Obsidian Knife

Weapon damage: 9-12

Durability: 20/20

This simple looking knife was made by a Yajashian Craftsman using the best materials. While it can be used as a weapon it was actually intended for use as a tool.

Holy crap!

I stared at the screen in front of me for a few seconds. My knife had almost four times the Durability of my axe and a much higher damage rating!

While the damage rating wasn’t quite so overwhelmingly high as the Durability which I was guessing was because the knife was primarily intended for use as a tool it was pretty obvious that it was a much better made item than my axe.

“Well I guess the description of my axe was right after all,” I sighed as I looked down at the knife in my hands pensively. While it was an impressive item, I still had to remember that it was possible to break it and unlike my axe it would be hard to make one as good as this one again until I became much better with my Nature Shaping Skill.

Deciding to try my Identify Skill on the trees and grass only brought up screens with question marks on them which I was guessing meant that they were either invalid targets for this Skill or I needed to level it up which was a bit disappointing but I guess having one Skill that was able to give me information on anything I decided to use it on was a bit much to ask especially considering it was still only at Level 1.

With a sigh I brought up my Aspects Screen and placed 10 points into Aspect of the Pioneer and confirmed my decision, bracing myself as I did so.

Sure, enough my mind was instantly filled with a series of images with subject ranging from simple work for what seemed to be days at a time, making simple campsites, making maps and simple meals. As I saw the images of someone learning to create a campfire I was filled with excitement, due to my new species’ lack of affinity for fire I had been worried that I would be forced to eat things raw until I figured out another method of cooking food or go without meat, but apparently those worries were unfounded with a grin on my face I read through my new notifications.

Aspect of the Pioneer Completed!

A Pioneer must be prepared to work without rest for days at a time in the name of creating a place where they and others can live.

Endurance increased by 2!

Constitution increased by 1!

Labourer Skill unlocked!

A Pioneer must know their surroundings and be able to identify landmarks to survive in unfamiliar territory.

Perception increased by 2!

Mapping Skill unlocked!

Pioneers must be able to sleep safely underneath the stars in times where shelter is unavailable.

Constitution increased by 2!

Intelligence increased by 1!

Survivalist Skill unlocked!

Pioneers must also be able to find and cook food to survive, sometimes this means eating things others never have so knowing at least the basics of cooking is essential to survival.

Toughness increased by 2!

Coordination increased by 1!

Perception increased by 1!

Cooking Skill unlocked!

Growth Rate increased by +2 Constitution, Endurance, Perception. +1 Vitality.

Aspect Points: 3

Soul Aspect increased to Level 25!

Despite the sudden changes in the atmosphere the only things that have survived have a very strong will to live and this will flows on through to you.

Willpower increased by 3!

Holy crap that was a lot of new Stats and Skills! I stared at the screens in front of me again. This basically solved my health problem, at least for now. This would allow me to spend my Stat Points on other things like Agility to increase my speed and Intelligence and Wisdom to allow me to cast more spells. This was great!

Another good thing was that I had received Poison Resistance from my Soul Aspect, there was no telling in this world what could be safe to eat so having this Skill should at least make it more likely that I would survive if I ate something poisonous. It was starting to get a little irritating that I wasn’t receiving any mental Stats from my Soul Aspect but at the stage in the world’s development that wasn’t too surprising, the extra Air Affinity was a nice surprise though.

After taking a quick mental note to thank the Admin if I ever got the chance to talk to them again, I brought up the information on my new Skills.

Labourer Unlocked!

This skill decreases the Stamina use of any non-skill action such as running or climbing.

Increases Growth Rate by 1 Endurance.

Mapping Lvl 1

This skill allows the user to create a mental map of anywhere they have been and view it whenever they wish. With the right Skills this map can also be shown to others.

Growth Rate increased by 1 Perception.

Survivalist Lvl 1 (Specialised)

This skill increases the user’s likelihood of choosing a safe place to live. With this Skill they can also create other things essential to survival like basic shelters which would otherwise require other Skills.

Growth Rate increased by 1 Intelligence and Constitution.

Cooking Lvl 1

This skill allows the user to come up with new and better cooking techniques and makes them more likely to understand the dangers of eating a particular ingredient.

Growth Rate increased by 1 Perception.

Well this was a good haul, especially when it came to increases to my Growth Rate, although it was interesting that Survivalist gives me a boost to both my Intelligence and my Constitution Growth Rate but then it was partially an information-based Skill so that could explain why it gave me boosts to what I considered to be Stats that were almost complete opposites. It was also great to see that my Perception Growth Rate was so high as not only would it make it harder for predators to creep up on me but with the knowledge I had received from completing the Aspect of the Beginner I also knew that Perception was useful in creating new spells which was something that would be very useful going forwards.

Slapping my forehead, I realised that I had forgotten to spend the Stat Points that I had received from completing Aspect of the Beginner noticing as I did so that something seemed off about my skin. Or rather more off than it had been for someone who had been a completely different species only a couple of days ago. My skin now had a slightly green tinge!

I think that I noticed it now because my Perception had been improved, but it was quite a shock. I was certain it was because of my Photosynthesis Skill but it was still a surprise. I still wasn’t used to my new body so seeing this sort of change was both shocking and worrying, especially because I didn’t know how the Yajash would react to something like this.

Shaking my head, I put these thoughts to the side and brought up my Stat Screen once more and after a bit of thought placed two of the Stat Points that Aspect of the Beginner had given me into Intelligence and one into Agility.

Status

Level 1

Exp: 0%

HP :88/88

MP: 54/54

HP Regen: 8.1 per minute

MP Regen: 5.1 per minute

SP: 64/64

Essence: 0

SP Regen: 5.9 per minute

Str: 5 (+1/Lvl)

Agi: 6 (+2/Lvl)

Con: 12 (+ 4/Lvl)

End: 8 (+5/Lvl)

Tou: 9 (+2/Lvl)

Int: 8 (+7/Lvl)

Coor: 9 (+3/Lvl)

Vit: 14 (+4/Lvl)

Wis: 7 (+3/Lvl)

Will: 16 (+9/Lvl)

Per: 10 (9/Lvl)

Cha: 8 (5/Lvl)

Additional Growth Rate: +4 Unassigned Stat Points/Lvl.

Unassigned Stat Points: 0

Looking at my Stats was very interesting to me, the Stats provided by my Soul Aspect had given me a massive amount of HP compared to what it had been when I got here, and both my HP and SP regeneration rates were very impressive (to me at least). As such I was far less worried about my ability to survive, it would be nice if my Soul Aspect had given me more mental Stats but for now my survival was more important. Besides there were no rules that a mage couldn’t have a lot of health.

With this done I decided to go to sleep, first thing in the morning I would head to the barrier and see if I could find something that was weak enough for me to test my new Skills against, luckily I now had the ability to use Identify which would hopefully give me an idea of how powerful something is before I got into a situation that I couldn’t survive.

Lying down I closed my eyes. Tomorrow was going to be a big day indeed.