WilburWoods
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Chapter 5 - Making Choices
🕑 Added 2023-08-17 15:35:15 +0000 UTCTwo floating boxes of text hovered in Logan’s vision. This wasn’t the AI, was it? No. Didn’t feel like it. Logan swiped his hand at the text. The boxes moved to the corner of his vision and minimized. Well, that was interesting. Logan played around with the boxes, swishing them here and there within his vision. After some wholesome air-hockey, he tapped the other box with his fingers.
A long, long repository of text appeared in his vision. It was perfectly understandable english that stated the following.
[Please Choose a class. If you want to search for a specific class that might be available to you, subvocalize the following: “Search (example). Would you like to search for a class or review the classes the system suggests you take?]
“A class? What. I suppose magic crystals weren’t supernormal enough. Am I in a video game? Oh, father is just going to love this. I really hope he didn’t die yet, so he gets to suffer.”
At a first glance the list of classes appeared in alphabetical order, offering choices like [Alchemist] (unlocked), [Arcanist] (unlocked), [Archer], [Artist] (suggested). Logan swiped with a finger and as the list scrolled down he saw classes such as [Carpenter], [Duelist], [Elementalist] (unlocked). There were hundreds of classes all the way down to [Warlock] (unlocked). Most of the choices were grayed out. Only the ones that were unlocked or suggested to him seemed to be available. Logan figured if he had gained a level up using a bow, the [Archer] class would be unlocked for him too. Interestingly, most class titles alluding to magic seemed to be unlocked. That made Logan smirk.
Let me get this straight. I got transported to basically a completely new reality. With magic and monsters. I would assume so did the rest of humanity, because everyone had that timer. So that means we’re starting over? Oh, father is going to hate this.
Logan, on the other hand, was grinning. He was all for shaking up the status quo. He looked at the javelin in his hand. Magic seemed fun as hell. It wasn’t quite certain what it was and wasn’t capable of, but within moderate limits, only creativity could be the limit. Logan liked that.
“Okay, show me the suggested classes, then.”
A much shorter list appeared.
[Artificer]
[Artist]
[Bard]
[Rogue]
“Huh,” Logan muttered. “That’s a lot less than I thought. Why are these classes suggested to me?”
[The System has determined that the candidate has natural aptitude towards these classes, and will likely level them faster.]
“I’m kinda offended by the amount of classes the system thinks I’d have aptitude with… Alright, so it’s better to choose one of these, huh?
There was no answer, but Logan didn’t mind. Tapping the classes brought up another screen which explained what the class was about. The descriptions were pretty much what one would expect.
“Okay, [Artist] just plain sucks. Apparently your creations can inspire mood and affect thoughts. Sounds fishy as hell to me and not something you’d need in a rebuild for a thousand years. I’m personally offended for being offered the [Rogue] class, so we’re not doing that.”
That left him with the two magical classes. The bard seemed to be a mixed bag. The description disclosed abilities used to disorient enemies, unfatigue allies, and uncanny proficiency with music and arts. Basically [Artist], but with actually interesting things tacked on, specifically magic.
The [Artificer] had a particularily interesting description:
[The Artificer is a maestro of magical artifacts. He is a craftsman, specializing in the shaping and making of arcane items such as magical wands or pocket-dimension containers. Artificer can also specialize in the enhancement of mundane item’s natural properties, such as magically hardening a shield or sharpening a knife. Warning. This class is extremely reliant on Numa-crystals for full function.]
Logan looked at the javelin in his hand. Then he re-read the class description. He looked again at the well-fashioned stick.
With this AI, I could craft crazy good stuff, right? I wouldn’t need to painstakingly learn all the bullshit with basic mechanics or some such. The AI can apparently eyeball really tight measurements, and can probably estimate stuff like heat of a fire, so I’ll know when the fire’s hot enough to smelt iron or something. Yeah, this is one hell of a combo, isn’t it?
“And I have Numa-crystals too, to boot,” Logan said, smiling to himself. “So this is pretty ideal.”
Instinctively, Logan put a hand on his still bulging pocket, as one would graze at his keys before closing the door. He had used a few of the crystals, and he would probably need to use plenty more just to test stuff and level up his class. That felt weird to think about. He now had a class that sort of defined his existence in this new reality. What if he regretted it? What if he needed to pick up something like [Hunter] later to survive?
No crying over spilled milk. I’ve never been much to regret and second-guess, and I sure as hell won’t start now. If there is some wisdom I actually learned from father, it’s that decisiveness is key.
Logan picked the [Artificer] class.
[Class chosen]
[Level up!]
[Artificer level 1]
[Class Skill Acquired: Empower]
Attributes:
Potency: 1
Efficiency: 1
Durability: 1
Control: 1
Focus: 1
Subclasses:
[Transmutation]: 1
[Enchantment]: 1
Class Skills:
[Empower]: 1
General Skills:
N/A
*
A fresh, tingling sensation washed over Logan’s body. It was a sweet feeling almost containing a taste. It was fresh and rich, like a mojito under the Mexican sun. This sweet liquid feeling washed over him, imparting Logan with some knowledge, some intuition that he couldn’t quite grasp. But he knew for certainty that there was something new under the surface.
Now that definitely warranted a closer look. Logan was sure these stats and skills would define him as a person in this new reality. He needed to lean into that, as Logan was nothing if not adaptable. And this was the time to prove it.
After wandering around a bit, he found a nice stick to make another javelin out of. Logan plucked a Numa-crystal from his pocket and brought it to the stick. It glowed softly and Logan found to his surprise that while before the stick had eaten three of his precious crystals to morph it into something resembling a weapon, now only a single crystal sufficed to make it nigh complete.
Logan quickly consulted the AI for some measurement optimization and used another crystal to fine-tune the weapon.
[Sub-class Level Up!]
[Transmutation level 2]
[Attribute Level Up!]
[Control: 2]
Oh that felt good.
The notifications were followed up by an interesting physical sensation. It was this pleasant twinge in his brain that ran down his spine, like cool minty water, with a hint of sugar. Logan smiled at that. This world was rubbing off on him.
He was satisfied to notice the two javelins fit well in his hand. It felt good to be equipped with weapons in this wild new world. They made him feel more secure. Logan hoisted the weapons over his shoulder and got serious again.
Unless [Transmutation] meant he could turn grass into food, Logan had some immediate issues to deal with.
He still had a handful or two of berries left. He could hunt for small game with his javelins. That might be awkward, but maybe the AI might help him aim. That needed testing. While Logan wasn’t physically a slouch, he wasn’t a damn specimen like those agents his father employed.
Water was certain to be found somewhere reasonably close enough. The forest around him was just so damn rich. Either that, or it rained constantly. Logan looked up at the sky. It was almost a clear cerulean blue, with but a few wisps of thin white clouds idly fleeting in the wind.
The berries will hydrate me in the worst case scenario.
Looking at the sun, Logan figured he had a few more hours before dusk. By then he’d rather be sitting somewhere safe and waiting out until the morning.
There’s surely predators about, right? Cats, snakes? Trees are bad. Crazy monsters that dissolve into two? Caves are bad. So where’s safety?
The unfortunate reality was that Logan knew very little.
Well, at least I have two sharp sticks…
He knew he still had to make a decision. His options were to wander around aimlessly and hope Freya was teleported in the same general vicinity and not 500 miles away. Or he could set up shelter, food and a measure of safety.
Yeah it’s not much of a choice when you give it half a thought, now is it? I’ll start looking for Freya tomorrow, unless setting up basic survival takes longer than I think it will. Probably will…I don’t even have a knife on me.
The first order of business was finding water. Logan was sure some stupid internet guide somewhere said that the most important thing to secure was shelter, but if you built a shelter fifteen miles away from the closest water source, you were going to die of stupidity.
So Logan chose a direction that he hadn’t come from and started walking towards it. Finding even the smallest stream would do. Yeah, he could chew leaves and eat berries, but could he just have it easy and find a water source? Didn’t have to be the Fountain of Youth. Anything that didn’t make him shit bricks an hour later would do.
As it happened, it didn’t take Logan long to find a little wellspring of water forming a bubbling puddle, from which two little streams went off to different directions. Logan rushed to it and started scooping up the water. He drank through his thirst and then some, knowing that it’d be better to stock up, as he had no container at hand.
He was just about finished, when he heard a rustling in the bushes. A sense of danger washed over him. With reflexes he didn’t know he had, he rolled to his side and dodged the pouncing green cat’s extended claws by an inch.
