Except, she didn’t have arms. She was a coiled snake rearing her upper body backward, hiding in the hollow of a root ball of a toppled tree. The morning sunlight flitted through the trees, and birdcalls echoed through the forest. A skittering of insects and the babble of a nearby stream were the world around her now.
Her heart beat at a furious pace inside her body, and her breath came and left her in little gasps. She swayed her head back and forth, looking for threats. She saw none, and she looked back down at her body.
There was something new. She looked closer at her scales. Her scales had always been a banded pattern of blue and green, with belly scales primarily a duller green…but now? Now there were bands of gold along her body. And, based on what she was able to observe, she had grown at least two feet in length.
Wow, Interface, you weren't kidding about the whole evolution thing. Hold up, what did I experience? I saw something. Another flash of my past life. What is causing that?
Unknown. It is possible you are recalling certain memories and knowledge which are partitioned away. Possibly triggered by a thought, a sight, a sound, or even a name.
That other girl had called out her name. Neska. That was me. A while ago, I think. I remember the feeling of…limbs. Fingers. The crisp and tart flavor of an apple. What happened to me?
That, I could not say.
Could you see what I saw?
No.
Neska swayed her head side to side. She did not understand this Interface. There seemed to be far more to it than what she had been able to observe. But it was answering queries. Asking questions would bound what it was, and wasn’t capable of.
Alright. Is it possible that I may remember more? Risha was there at some point, but I don't know when.
It is possible more will come back to you.
Are all the Awakened human souls?
No.
Can you specify? Are some of them humans, and are some of them other species? Can you tell me what other species have this interface?
Yes. Other species do. However, I don’t know those specific details.
So your knowledge is limited. Well, I guess there's no such thing as easy answers. She pondered the possibilities, trying to imagine the questions Risha would ask. She had a method to her process, asking a series of broad questions about what ailed the villagers or what they needed, narrowing it down further and further until she had the solution.
First, she needed to understand what this Interface was. Please walk me through the basics. I need a status update, with all relevant details.
Certainly.
In addition, your soul shell has been fully reinforced, therefore your Attributes, Titles, and other vitals have been populated. If you have questions, please consider using an inquiry command.
Evolution and Witch Abilities/Passives are fully expanded when asking for a detailed status.
=Status=
Name: Neska Aksen (F)
Witch 2
Attributes:
Vitality 5
Agility 5
Endurance 5
Intelligence 9
Perception 7
Soul 7
1 Essence Point (EP) Retained.
6 Attribute Points (AP) Retained.
=Evolution Abilities/Passives=
Venomous Bite (1), Coiled Strike (2)
=Witch Hexes/Blessings=
Mana Bolt (1), Rooting Hex (2)
=Titles=
Awakened - ???
Blood of Ouroboros - ???
Witch Tier 1 - Human-granted class for hexes and blessings
Shattered - Your soul has been reconstituted
Neska looked over the information. Since she wasn't in immediate danger, now was the time to get familiar with the Interface and everything about herself. Let's see...where do I start? A lot to unpack here, and the entire world of monsters is out to get me.
She shook her head softly. I wish Risha were here to explain this to me. It makes so much sense why, now. She taught and researched at the academy for years and knew how to train people. She also likely fought against the monsters first-hand.
And the culmination of those efforts? She brought lost souls like me back to life, to have one last chance to defend humanity. At least, I hope it was intended as such.
Interface...display my abilities fully. I need to know everything about them.
=Evolution Abilities/Passives=
Venomous Bite (venom, piercing, physical): Grow reinforced fangs to deliver a venom that deals initial damage, plus venom damage over time. Damage increases with Agility. Imbued Venom effect increases with Perception. At-will ability.
Coiled strike (physical, evasion, momentum): Launch a bite or tail attack at blurring speed, dealing increased damage and hardening your scales, increasing damage resistance during the attack and for a brief moment after. Increased velocity will also increase the damage inflicted. Can be combined with select other abilities. Range and velocity increase with Agility. Damage base and damage resistance increase with Vitality.
=Witch Hexes/Blessings=
Mana Bolt (magical, energy): Cast a small magical charge at a target. Given your lack of hands, you may use your tail or mouth to project it. Projectile velocity and damage increase with Intelligence. Projectile piercing properties, tracking and imbued effects increase with Soul.
Rooting Hex (physical, control, nature): Conjure a group of vines, roots, or other vegetation to slow or immobilize a target. Root strength and durability increases with Vitality. Maximum area of effect, fidelity of control and number of elements increases with Intelligence.
This was useful. She noted each had one or more keywords. Almost as if this were an important factor. What are these additional keywords? Intelligence, Vitality, Soul? These numbers…my witch used numbers, too. In her tome, as if they factored into what she did.
These are Attributes; at your first level and each level afterward, you will gain three points to spend freely. Each has various impacts on your physical and mental capacity, and composition of your soul.
Neska looked through the numbers. Intelligence would likely help her understand the world more quickly. Perception would help her notice details she needed to make decisions. She needed information, fast. But there was one she did not fully understand.
What does soul entail, specifically?
It is tied to your magical abilities. It increases the effectiveness of magic you can use with competency and improves the efficiency of its use. It has other factors, but that's probably not relevant right now.
Hold up. Detail each in full, first. I would like to understand these more. This might impact how I evolve and gain powers, so I need to do this right.
A summary of attributes is listed below. Note that these are not an exhaustive list of influences of each attribute, and do not define the measure of a person in every aspect.
Vitality - A measure of body conditioning, strength, resistance to physical damage and affects healing speed + magnitude.
Agility - A measure of reaction, speed of actions, and precision of actions, including muscle memory and balance.
Endurance - A measure of internal durability, stamina, and ability to focus.
Intelligence - A measure of thought processing speed, memory retention, and ability to process and internalize complex topics. Increases spell effectiveness, AOE, damage or other parameters of Abilities and Evolutions.
Perception - A measure of sensory capability and range of sight, hearing, and other senses. Can be used to analyze the environment or creatures to determine weaknesses or resistances, or study them for information.
Soul - A measure of magic power reserve and soul strength, magical effect resistance, and rate of mana generation.
That…is a lot to take in.
This was so much more than she had expected. This Interface, if used correctly, would allow her to shape herself into the form she needed to be. So, each one is useful. Spreading attributes a little means I could make more abilities useful.
Abilities and evolutions are affected by more than one attribute, in different ways. Your base attributes also make incremental changes to your body, understanding, and influence on the world.
As an example, your [Rooting Hex] has two major factors. Vitality impacts the strength of the roots, how much they can grip to targets and how hard they are to break. The roots can also be influenced by other external magical effects, abilities or passives.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Intelligence impacts the maximum area they can affect for a single application, level of control over the roots, and the number of them. For full information, abilities will include the impacts of attribute scaling.
So, I could maximize Intelligence for creating more roots and affect more targets. Or use Vitality to lock down a single, powerful target. Or, optimize somewhere in the middle.
Correct.
This meant she wasn’t locked into making other abilities useless if she increased only some of her attributes. Her instinct was to focus not on strength and hardiness but on gathering information, anticipating danger, and utilizing her magic. That meant Intelligence, Agility, Perception, and Soul would be the priority attributes until experience proved otherwise.
Okay. Three points in intelligence, two in Perception, one in Soul, then.
She didn’t feel any smarter or more aware of her surroundings. Perhaps it was an increase that was gradual over time. But it did feel like a cool breeze flowed over her mind, for a moment.
They don’t increase immediately. The process is slower, as to be less intrusive to the body and soul.
That had been a dense but useful description of her core stats. But she had more questions. Detail Essence Points, please.
At each level, one Essence Point (EP) will be gained, representing the cumulative efforts to improve your body or soul fundamentally through training, knowledge, and facing challenges. In your case, you can choose between Witch class abilities, or Evolutions. Each ability or passive gained costs one point, unless otherwise stated. Some may be picked multiple times for stacking benefits.
More evolutions and witch powers will become available over time. Some may be mutually exclusive and will be marked accordingly.
This is like the game Risha showed me. Simple pieces of wood and stone on a square board. Simple pieces, simple rules, immense complexity, each piece moving a certain way. She tried to teach me to play…but that didn’t go well. Risha had gotten fed up after she had to do most of the moves herself.
But, what about Titles? That was the last mystery.
They represent who you are and your actions. Some may be beneficial, detrimental, or merely there to reflect your endeavors.
That made sense. But she pondered why [Awakened] and [Blood of Ouroboros] had no descriptions. What is with those two? Why are they blank?
They may reflect your past life, imprinted on your soul. As for what exactly they mean, or how they affect you, will likely require discovery or experimentation. Not all are immediately recognized.
She decided to let that one drop, though [Blood of Ouroboros] sounded ominous. She hoped she didn't directly descend from a serpent who allegedly ate and ended the world once. For one thing, the whole world wouldn't fit in her mouth; she could barely fit mice and lizards!
Alright, that’s good to know. I need to keep moving. And find some mice. I’m hungry. The nonstop rush the previous night had left her exhausted. Eating prey will help me grow, no?
Only for prey rich in mana. All monsters utilize it in their biology. Normal animals you consume will give you sustenance. But not all growth comes from consumption.
Neska looked down at her coiled body and slowly stretched out. Training, studying, and applying herself were still options to grow, at least. While I'm hopeful to avoid conflict...I have this feeling that the monsters won't all want to play nice. I’m going hunting, I feel famished.
If you have any other inquiries, I am always available.
Thanks. I just hope...my mind doesn't keep drifting to last night.
With her position in the middle of the forest, it wasn’t hard to find prey. She was able to grab a regular forest mouse with relative ease, and hinged her jaw open to swallow it after giving it an overenthusiastic hug. The mouse didn’t object to being the next meal afterward. I hate this part. It takes me forever to get this thing down my throat. Risha had teeth and could chew things.
Her teeth? Not so much. After a minute of maneuvering, she managed to swallow the mouse. This was never comfortable, and it left her somewhat vulnerable. However, it did seem to go faster than prior efforts.
When the mouse passed into her belly, she felt a slight emptiness, like it wasn’t there. That feeling of fullness was gone. She looked down at her belly and didn’t see any outward signs.
Great. I’m still hungry. Guess I'd better rustle up another mouse. This feels like another math problem that is working against me.
Two mice later, and she had just jammed the last one down her throat, realizing that her belly didn’t feel full at all. She felt recharged from her hunt, but…not as much as she would have expected. She glanced down, puzzled. Is my body breaking them down faster, or are the mice escaping somehow?
That, of course, seemed silly. Mice could squeak, bite, run, and bother the farm animals, but they couldn’t disappear into thin air. It must be the former of the two. Interface…uh…why am I still hungry, and why does it feel like they…broke down faster?
Your body is capable of breaking down prey at a faster rate compared to your normal, nonmagical brethren. You still are limited by what you can actually fit, though. As for the first question, you have higher energy needs than your mundane counterparts.
Normally, one mouse would be sufficient, but three? She hoped this wouldn't be a constant thing. Then again, she’d grown almost two feet. All that extra body needed energy. Well, what about seeking creatures with mana? Would they be better choices for eating?
To sustain you? Yes.
Interesting. She’d either need bigger prey–and likely, more dangerous prey- or to eat more of them in smaller bursts.
It occurred to her that her immediate challenge wasn’t as big as she initially believed. Oh, right. I have deadlier abilities and hexes. And I want to see what I can spend my essence point on, Interface.
You can just pull up the information you desire with either 'status' or 'utilities' or 'diagnostics' for simplicity.
Hang on. Do you have a name, or prefer one? Calling you ‘Interface’ sounds…impersonal.
If it suits you, you can assign one to me.
Okay. How about…Vivi? Neska didn’t know why she picked that name on instinct. She knew other villagers in town. Yet Vivi felt like it fit.
Maybe because that little girl from that vision struck a chord of familiarity with her? They had been friends at one point in the past.
Vivi is suitable.
Neska hadn’t exactly picked up on it, but these messages…in her mind, she heard them in a more distinct feminine voice. But did she always view it that way? I have another query, Vivi. Does everyone get an Interface like you?
A small aspect of one, but connected to the same system. We are independent of one another.
Well, Vivi, we’re off to do more hunting. But I need a plan. I need to plan my new ability pick and see what my options are.
Very well. A few new options have been added, based on your current form. Most of them will remain options indefinitely, should you choose to revisit them.
Most?
Some abilities will no longer be available when–well, when you change. If one that you selected previously becomes incompatible with your form, the ability will evolve to suit your new form.
She liked that idea. Each piece of her that she could modify, make herself stronger…no, she shouldn’t get ahead of herself. She needed to remain calm and weigh the choices while she wasn’t in danger. The men at the cottage almost certainly had others who would come looking for them, should they fail to return. She was on a hidden time limit.
Displaying abilities available for selection. For those on the first Tier, selections are curated to ease the user into the process.
Bad Luck Hex (magical, chaos): Your fortune? Bad luck. Target suffers various bad luck, such as reduced mobility, accuracy, footing, or is negatively affected by environmental maladies. Like drinking curdled milk. Duration increased by Intelligence, severity of the affliction increased by Perception.
Ember hex (magical, fire, channeled): heat up a target nonorganic surface. Range, maximum area, and maximum temperature increase with Intelligence. Rate of temperature change increased by Perception. This may cause some surfaces to ignite, melt, or even boil if the ability scales sufficiently.
Spring Scales (physical, evasion): Gain the ability to perform a pounce by coiling your body. A leap of this type will not cause harm from falling. Maximum range and velocity increase with Agility.
Prehensile Tail (physical): Your tail gains extra flexibility. Manipulate objects more easily, and increase your effective carrying weight. Speed and flexibility increased by Agility. Carry weight and overall strength increased by Vitality.
Blinding Venom (venom, ranged, magical): Gain the ability to spit a blinding venom at your foes. Inflicts small amounts of venom damage. Accuracy, velocity, and range increase with Perception. Damage and duration increase with Intelligence.
Neska peered at the options. She had no idea what to do with them, yet. She’d hold off until she could make an informed decision. Is this all of them?
Selections will be curated until your first Major Evolution (or Tier two) to ease you into the experience. After that, you’ll be able to pick from a broader selection.
That’s helpful. She pondered the options, wondering if she should wait. If points could be retained, that meant she didn't need to choose right now. She should focus on the current ones to build proficiency with them, then decide to either enhance her current focus or cover shortfalls in her offense and defense.
But first, breakfast. With Risha's chickens (also known as mobile meal dispensaries) far away, that meant she had to do this the not-so-lazy way. She peered upward at the birds flitting through the canopy. Still hungry. No wonder Risha commented that I was the bane of mice and other pests.
Suddenly, an idea came to mind. Maybe I could try for birds? But the big birds tried to eat me a couple of times. They’d probably have a tougher time now, given my increase in size. Still…
She spotted a pair of dark colored birds with iridescent blue and teal coloring on their wings perched above, making screechy sounds–and imitating other birds. They seemed larger than the other birds surrounding them, and she could feel a faint trace of energy on her snout coming from them, like a tiny tingle on her scales.
Those birds were laden with mana. A more filling meal for her. But, how to get up to them, before they flew off?
She sized up the tree. It was a narrow trunk with rough bark that provided plenty of climbing spots. The way she saw it, she could climb…and be grossly disappointed the second the birds spotted her and flew off.
Or, option two, she could try her [Coiled Strike] and see if it had enough range. She doubted it. At best, it was five or six feet laterally at the moment, and definitely not high enough to reach the branch where the birds were chattering at each other.
She could burn an EP and grab the [Prehensile Tail], and maybe increase her ability to climb. [Blinding Venom] might also be a good strategy if it worked as written. But, should she hold off until more options presented themselves?
There was one more option: she could try to shoot a mana bolt at them. She might not have lips, but she smiled internally. Okay, world, let’s do what Risha would do: testing.
Given that she had a little practice, it wasn't just theory. She chose to slither further away from her known quarry and found a small clearing. She relaxed her body and mentally selected the [Mana Bolt], only this time, she would try to launch it with her tail. She wagged her makeshift limb and could more or less point it where she wanted to, like a prehensile hand.
She activated the ability, and a small blue spark formed on the tip of her tail. It proved to be a little tougher to aim, but she slowly wagged her tail until it aligned with her vision. She flicked out her tongue in concentration, focusing on a small knob of a limb that had broken off from a nearby tree a short distance away.
That's my target. Aim…and fire!
The bolt sailed through the air, a miniature spear-like shape that cut through the air in a high-pitched hum. Unfortunately, her first shot fell short and impacted the grassy clearing, sending up a plume of disturbed grass and dirt. The ground itself was slightly scorched when she slithered to inspect the damage. She felt a clinging coldness tingling down her tail, into her belly. It was not a comforting feeling, especially because she’d missed.
Neska activated it again and felt a jolt down her body that seemed even colder, but hit the tree with the bolt, close to the target.
She didn’t like that feeling, and had a notion it related to her maximum…what was the word, mana capacity?
Mana is the correct term.
Thanks. This time, she adjusted her tail and arced it over her head, giving her a point of reference so she could aim more accurately.
The third shot hit where she intended, impacting the knobby protrusion of the tree in a small spray of wood shards and smoke. The lance of energy itself fragmented into small energy projectiles that bounced around. These appeared less energetic; they merely rustled the leaves of the nearby bushes.
Well, that works. I am fairly certain a bird will not fly after getting hit by that. She pondered if she was a better shot with a mouth-aimed bolt. Guess I’d better give this a test, too.
Once again, she felt a prickle of energy on her teeth. The bolt formed a rough spheroid just in front of her snout, crackling and whirling at an unknown speed. Eerily, she felt that cold sensation building in her scales, the longer she held the bolt primed for firing.
Holding this charge is wasting power. I’d better shoot this.
She focused her eyes on the tree gnarl and aligned her head with it, as best she could. She hinged her jaw closed, and the bolt rocketed forward, hitting the gnarl dead-on.
That seemed a bit more accurate. But, she couldn’t use her bites or grapple prey while doing so, most likely. Maybe she’d need to practice more with her tail? Either way, the endeavor of practice had a cost. She felt slightly drained, with prickles and numbness at the edges of her body.
The series of blasts had been noisy enough to scatter the nearby birds, and even the small forest animals scurried away, trying to hide from the loud noise. Neska kept her body upright, feeling proud, despite the fatigue.
Now that she knew she could hit a target at a distance, she slithered back to where she had seen the colorful birds earlier–except they had all flown off.
Figures. Well, it’s loud enough to scare things I don’t want to scare. I wonder if it’s loud enough to scare something I don’t want to tangle with, conversely.
She felt a shadow pass overhead, and her head sprang upright, scanning for the source. When she saw it, she internally grimaced, as the creature above her filled her with a slight amount of dread.
A large, dark-feathered bird of prey with messy plumage and wicked hooked talons drifted overhead. It looked down, saw her, and banked around. She started slithering for the cover of trees as fast as she could.
She was not comfortable at all with how quickly she swapped the roles of the hunter to being the hunted. She heard the screech of the bird as it swooped down towards her, deadly talons poised.
| | | |
What do you think of the system so far with the Attributes, Abilities, and Titles? (PIck one like or dislike from top 4, the rest, click away!)