The Way Ahead

Chapter 76a: A Classy Ascension

Even with his Paths selected, he still needed to figure out what order he wanted to take them. Fortunately, this wasn’t nearly as tricky. All that mattered was he took them in approximate order of how cool he thought they were, with perhaps a slight eye towards estimating which Skill each Path might evolve.

His Attribute paths absolutely would have to be first, as Attributes wouldn’t increase until he’d unlocked them. He couldn’t imagine their order mattered all that much, so he’d just go with what he already had- Path Less Traveled, Scout, Athlete, and finally Unkillable. Then after that….

Completed Paths

CharLimitCanttalkmuchNocluewhathappenedDidmybesttohelpyouli, Mage, Skilled Arcanist, Physical Alchemist, Bomber, Linguist, Beginner, Warrior

Prospective Paths

Blackstone Conqueror, Superior Alchemist, Adventurer, Explorer, Outsider, Skill Researcher, Wanderer,(One or two of Alchemical Warrior, Assassin, Giant Slayer, Trapper, Warrior), (two or three of Mage, Novice Pyromancer, Novice Ritualist, Skilled Arcanist), (two or three of Alchemist, Physicist, Engineer, Scientific Revolutionary, Scientist), (one of Physical Alchemist, Physical Arcanist), (one ofAlchemical Medic, Field Medic, Biologist), (one or two of Makeshift Alchemist, Practical Alchemist), (one or two of Fey Scion, Feytouched)

Edwin tapped his leg in thought. Did he really need even two Trophy Paths? Superior Alchemist was a must, as it fed too well into his overall hopes for this tier. Blackstone Conqueror, though… What might that give him? There wasn’t even the slimmest of chances that it would give him some way to summon Blackstone, not that he needed another reason for the dwarves to come after him. In a few Tiers it might, though. Should he save it for that possibility, then? A single Trophy Path was probably enough. He could reassess later on if he felt like he might benefit from a second, but for now his inclination was no.

He struck Blackstone Conqueror from the list. He felt like he could get a better Skill from it in a few years, and he was unlikely to re-earn it.

Hmmmmm…..

Okay, put off the decision for combat choices at the moment. He did want both Makeshift Alchemist and Practical Alchemist, and combine that with his science choices…. Alchemist, Physicist, and Engineer. Not that he didn’t want the others, but those threeformer seemed decidedly more practical for the time being. He’d take Physical Arcanist to avoid overspecializing, and then… Novice Pyromancer and Ritualist. Maybe he was breaking his rule to take generalities instead of specific paths, but it was in an effort to branch out his available skills, to break into new fields- Rituals- and leverage his existing strength- fire.

After all, the story of human advancement is just the story of mastering fire.

By that token, he’d go with the more unconventional option of Biologist over his actual medic Paths, as it was once again leveraging what made him different to great use. He’d also go with Alchemical Warrior as well. It didn’t make sense for him to not leverage that particular strength as much as possible, and it wouldn’t require as much setup at the time as traps nor the subtlety of assassinations. Warrior and Giant Slayer were in turn perhaps too broad for his purposes at the moment.

That meant he could go with both Fey Scion and Feytouched. Excellent. He didn’t want to have to choose between them, they both seemed good in their own way.

He took a deep breath and began.

You have completed the Path Less Traveled path!

Your exploits have garnered even the attention of the System. Going forward, keep in mind all that you have accomplished and all you shall accomplish, for your every action will have far-reaching effects. You have already impacted the world, and you are liable to shake its very foundations going forward.

Class Change!

Sapper → Unconventional Sapper

Calculating Rewards…

…

Done!

You have unlocked a new Attribute!

Impact

Impact level set to…. 5

“Impact? What does that do?” he asked, to which Inion just shrugged and smiled mysteriously. Edwin sighed. He didn’t feel any different. Going by the Path completion description… did it act like karma or something? Did it make his actions more likely to have a broader impact? Or did it enhance the power of his skills, making them more impactful? It was sure to be impressive if nothing else, whatever it may do.

Well, he was sure to find out eventually, he supposed, and he didn’t really know how to test it out, so that put it as a puzzle for future-Edwin.

You have completed the Scout path!

Your keen eyes have seen much, and your ability to perceive the world in your unique manner has not gone unnoticed. Keep a keen eye at all you create, all you encounter, for it shall return the favor.

Class Change!

Unconventional Sapper → Sapper-Forerunner

Calculating Rewards…

…

Done!

You have unlocked a new Attribute!josei

Perception

Perception level set to…. 8

Edwin half-expected that he would be overwhelmed with new sensations, but much the opposite, he found that the flood of sensory input he’d been slowly adjusting to over the last year, leaving his Mana Sense active at all times, became more comprehensible, the multiple senses helping instead to build a cohesive picture of his surroundings.

A bit of experimentation showed that he could move his Perception around, in a way. He couldn’t reduce his sight below its baseline Seeing-enhanced level, but he could direct his Perception away from feeding a consistent picture of his surroundings into instead focusing on a single sense, giving him far more clarity than he might normally have access to. Pushing it to touch meant he could feel the almost nonexistent breeze tickle his skin, to his smell allowed him to pick out individual scents with ease, his sight allowed him to see massive swathes of his field of view as though he was focusing on it all… it was really impressive.

He could put it towards his Skills, too! Mana Sense enabled him to more easily pick out individual sources of magic (though it all still felt the same), and Identify allowed him to target even a single grain of sand from a distance.

Overall, it was very cool, and he needed to figure out how to best use it.

You have completed the Athlete path!

You have traveled long, and you have traveled far. While you may not yet be road-weary, you still have far, far more travel ahead of you. Obstacles of all manner stand in your path, yet you will surmount, or blow up, any who dare to oppose you.

Class Change!

Sapper-Forerunner → Tireless Sapper

Calculating Rewards…

…

Done!

You have unlocked a new Attribute!

Stamina

Stamina level set to…. 8

Whoa… now that was a rush. More than any talsanenris snack he’d had, that was for sure. He felt like he could climb a mountain and run a marathon at the same time without ever getting tired. That glow faded after just a couple of minutes, but he still felt great. More... real. His heart beat in its chest, blood rushing through his veins, and he could feel the air entering his lungs. If not for Perception, he might have felt overwhelmed. But as it was? It just felt right.

It faded after a few minutes, but left Edwin still full of energy. It seemed like he could run a marathon without so much as getting winded. Well, okay, he could have probably already done as much, but with Stamina he actually felt like it. Even better, he didn’t feel restless or jittery, or like he needed to move to burn off extra energy. He could still sit contentedly, but ready to spring up at a moment’s notice.

It was quite nice that everything- nope. Not even thinking that. It was the most surefire way to ensure things would get messed up.

Health 7 → 15

You have completed the Unkillable path!

Though many have tried, and though many will try to end your journey before it can fully begin, you have emerged victorious against all odds. You are tenacious and persistent, and your way ahead is long and treacherous. Perhaps you’ll even survive it.

Class Change!

Tireless Sapper → Indefatigable Sapper

Calculating Rewards…

…

Done!

You may evolve your Survival skill into the Adaptive Defense skill!

Accept Evolution? Y/N

Adaptive Defense

Yes, well if you had prep time, then...

Resist harm after initial exposure

Maximum reduction increases per level

Right on queue. Why did he have to tempt fate? Ah well, he’d just… ah, screw it. What would he drop? Fey Scion? Explorer? Uhhhhh….

“I thought you said this would give me Constitution!” he side-eyed Inion.

“I thought it would! This isn’t an exact science, I’ll have you know.”

“Fine… fine. Whatever. Lemme give this a quick test?”

“Do you feel anything?”

“Uh… not really?”

“So then…”

“Give me a minute, okay?”

Okay, so adaptive defense. Finally, a self-explanatory Skill. Because it was only level 1, it wouldn’t have that great of an effect, but between his healing potions and Health, he felt a lot more confident sticking his hand in a fire than he did a year ago.

As he approached the roaring fire he always kept active in his kiln, Edwin felt his skin begin to heat up to the point of slight pain, but then began to fade. He frowned, and pushed it closer to the fire, letting it heat up again….

Level Up!

Adaptive Defense Level 1→ 2

Ah, the joys of low-level Skills.

After some more experimentation, he found that the longer and more intense his exposure to the fire was, the more he would resist heat, and the more the Skill leveled. He didn’t work on it for too long, just enough to get a good idea of its limitations. It wasn’t a permanent resistance, but faded over time. He couldn’t quite tell how the Skill determined what was or wasn’t ‘harm,’ but it seemed to try and keep him generally comfortable.

That probably meant he would just never be bothered by extreme temperatures ever again, didn’t it? Score!

Overall, the Skill promised to be incredibly useful and, depending on what its limitations were exactly, possibly his strongest Skill yet. Not a bad start, he had to admit. It certainly seemed to live up to its ‘Unkillable’ promise.

Further testing was, naturally, required.