The Way Ahead

Chapter 77a: Taking Things to the Next Level

It was only when he woke up without so much as a trace of lingering soreness that Edwin finally appreciated just how much work Sleeping must put in to refresh him so completely every night. Still, he couldn’t say he wanted to put himself through that ordeal very much. If he were a masochist, he could use Overcharge every night to level it and just sleep off the exhaustion and pain… but that sounded like almost-literal torture. Plus, he didn’t want to overuse it and maybe poison himself with black sludge? No thanks.

He pulled himself from his hammock, wincing slightly. Okay, so he was still a bit sore. Waking up with a tweaked shoulder was something of a novel experience for him these days after all, and he was so incredibly glad that he did have Sleeping, or else Overcharge might well put him in his bed for a week rather than a single night.

His personal discomfort notwithstanding, it was a very bright and early morning. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping- wow, were the birds ever chirping. He could identify where dozens of birds were just from listening, and if he changed his Perception’s focus to sight, he was able to take in an extraordinarily high-detail view of Obairlann, its walls and roof glistening with morning dew. He allowed his door- a proper door these days, not the contraption he’d initially woven- to swing close, following its trajectory solely through the faint breeze it created as air rushed out of its way.

Perception was amazing.

He waved to Inion, only wincing slightly as his arm tweaked a sore muscle, who floated over to him on a cloud of colorless light- one of her Skills, whatever it was. He’d ask about it at some point.

After exchanging standard morning greetings, and Edwin had a small bite to eat, Edwin dropped down to get started on the rest of his Paths. He had another long day ahead of him, that was for certain!

You have completed the Biologist path!

“The magic of life” is such a ubiquitous phrase that it is common knowledge to almost all that life must be intrinsically linked to magic. But not for you. Life is a natural phenomena, and that means it follows rules, guidelines, and patterns. It can be studied, it can be predicted, it can be understood. While this is perhaps not what is typically meant by the idea that one ought to “know themselves,” it seems to be adequate for your path.

Metabolic Alchemist

You may evolve your First Aid skill into the Anatomy skill!

Accept Evolution? Y/N

Anatomy

Neither cruel nor cowardly. Never give up. Never give in.

Understand the body of yourself and others

Insight improves with level.

Huh. It didn’t change his Class name? Well… it made sense after a fashion. Metabolic Alchemist made enough sense for a biologist/alchemist. It did imply that his Class name would stop changing more or less altogether at a certain point, though Inion’s Class indicated it would get more complex instead, or perhaps as well?

He asked as much, getting a nodded agreement from his friend, “Ya. Your Class is a cumulation of all the Paths you’ve taken, each Path you complete does less and less to actually change it. At some point, you’d need a bunch of Paths to budge the Name. Though as you get more completed, the more… grandiose it tends to get. Or more definitive. Be very wary of anyone who has ‘The’ as part of their class.”

Yeah, Edwin probably didn’t need the warning, but it was still nice to have confirmation. He nodded absently while he turned his attention instead to his newest Skill.

The first thing it did was improve his proprioception… no wait, that was just his Perception as he turned it towards himself. What it did do was help him figure out exactly which muscle in his shoulder was tweaked and that it should work its way back into place if he kept it relaxed today, caused by overstressing it last night. A flex of Numeracy informed him of his precise heart rate- 38 bpm- and while he couldn’t quite feel his exact blood pressure, it felt healthy.

He looked at Inion, and frowned. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was exactly, but something about her anatomy just seemed… wrong. Her proportions, or maybe the way her muscles moved… It was another reminder that she wasn’t human, no matter how superficially she may have resembled one, given the way her wet tunic form-fit itself to her…

Focus, Edwin, he admonished himself.

Hmm. So, it gave him extra feedback on the state of his own body, and let him get further intuition on the bodies of others? Not too shabby. Pity about it being another thing for him to split his Perception between, though. It was funny how he became supernaturally aware of his surroundings, only for him to immediately find his attention split between far more stimuli than before.

He needed to find some Paths that would give him more Perception, and the sooner the better. Then again, he’d probably slowly acclimate to all the information his Skills were feeding him anyway. The human brain was amazing at that sort of thing, after all.

Next up was Makeshift Alchemist, and Edwin… just wasn’t feeling it. He had Purify, Breathing, Flexibility, Nutrition, and Sleeping to go. Makeshift Alchemist would, he was almost certain, give him some kind of ability to turn normal materials into alchemical ingredients by evolving Purify. It was undeniably useful… so why was he hesitating?

Well. I do already have Mana Infusion, he mused, That kind of fills that same role. And Practical Alchemist is also a good Path, which could also evolve Purify into something that might be useful in my research and alchemical experiments.

On the other hand, he did really need some kind of backup in case he found himself without his potions on hand… but didn’t Overcharge kind of fill that role? He’d gotten a Skill which could be quite a fight finisher if he pulled it off properly, and he’d gotten another Skill which meant he’d always have something on hand. If he took too many Skills that were backups, then that weakened his primary strategy, so wasn’t it better that he ensure that most of his Skills were ones he’d use all the time? It wasn’t like he’d ever be completely unarmed these days, right?

To confirm his suspicion, he summoned a knife with his Sapper’s Apparatus. The blue light slowly coalesced into the appropriate shape, a blade of crystal, sharp and pointy. He pricked himself with the end- a marginally harder task than anticipated with his newly-increased Health- and watched the blood bead at the tip of his finger.

Anatomy helpfully informed him he was bleeding and that it was already clotting. Huh, that was fast. Still, it confirmed that he could make weapons with Apparatus, though…

Edwin tossed his knife at a nearby rock. It cut through the air with perfect accuracy and shattered as it struck the stone tip-first, vanishing into faint motes of blue light. It wasn’t super strong, admittedly, and took a while to form, but it was the principle of the matter that mattered.

Hmmm. He would… take Practical Alchemist first and see if it evolved Purify. If it did, great. He’d put Makeshift Alchemist off to the side as his one Path he didn’t take this time around thanks to Unkillable’s unpredictability. If it didn’t, he’d take Makeshift Alchemist to evolve it instead. Better that an alchemist Path evolved it than Adventurer or one of his fey Paths, after all.

You have completed the Practical Alchemist path!

Some alchemists get lost in their own experiments, in their own philosophizing and experiments, that their minds and tests become wholly divorced from reality even as they seek to comprehend it. Others run experiment after experiment, seeking knowledge for the simple fact that it is knowledge, and they must know it. You may be vulnerable to both of these failings, but you recognize that the true value of alchemy is in the application of the theoretical to reality. You have found how to use your alchemical knowledge in defense, in aid, and to attack. You would be well-served to remember this lesson as you venture forth on your path.

Alchemist

You may evolve your Purify skill into the Refining skill!

Accept Evolution? Y/N

Refining

Better. Faster. Stronger.

Isolate and improve desirable qualities

Strength of refinement improves with level.

Edwin… wasn’t sure how that differed from Purify. Not totally, at least. With chemistry, metallurgy, and pretty much all material science, refining something was purifying it, removing impurities and concentrating what you wanted. How was this different?

He asked Inion as much, only to get a skeptically raised eyebrow, “Your Class may say you’re just an Alchemist, but you don’t think much like one, do you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean? And no, I don’t. I was a scientist first, and in many ways I still am. I’m an alchemist because I’m in a land of magic, of course I’m going to be one! Like, do you realize how cool of a job description ‘alchemist’ is, when it isn’t just pre-chemist? Trying to develop immortality, turning lead to gold, making a universal solvent! Like, those are the things which every chemist dreams of. Making the impossible, doing things which flatly break the laws of physics. Of course I’ll jump at the chance!”

“Okay, well that’s your problem.”

“I… don’t follow.”

“You said it yourself. ‘Making the impossible,’ you don’t accept that alchemy and the things you do are possible because Joriah follows different rules from your Earth. To you, you have the laws of your universe, and then there’s magic. Magic is impossible, and it doesn’t fit with what you know. It is not an intrinsic part of reality.”

“That’s just an expression, though! I do and see impossible things all the time.” He gestured around, “Look at me! I’m sitting here talking to a floating nature spirit. And of course magic is in addition! Everything behaves almost exactly the same as on Earth, just with the addition of magic! I can use magic perfectly well, and I can be a scientist-mage no problem! But refining is literally just the exact same as purification.”

“Think, Edwin,” she floated over him. “What does refining something mean to an alchemist. Not to a scientist, but to someone who views your ‘laws of the universe’ as interesting guidelines.”

Edwin shrugged helplessly, then caught himself. Hmmm.

“Uhh. Huh. Actually….” He reread the Skill description, “Isolate and improve…” he blinked, “Can I alter physical parameters with this? Like, I don’t know… make something stronger than it should be? Alchemy Essentia, I guess?”

“It’s your Skill,” Inion countered, “Why should I know?”josei

Edwin sighed, “Yeah, yeah.”

Refining ended up being even harder to use than Alchemical Dismantling, and Edwin figured he had to be doing something wrong, but he put it off to the side for the time being. Four Paths to go, four Skills left. What did it still have in store for him?

Mana 21 → 28

Stamina 20 → 23

Perception 10 → 13

You have completed the Feytouched path!

Your path has taken you into the most curious of locales. Among these are the primal corners of Joriah, where powerful spirits slumber, hailing from a world quite unlike the one that currently exists. You bear many resemblances to them, and have round yourself in concert with one of these great fey. Inexplicably, you survived this encounter and can now claim a small fraction of their might in your own adventures.

Leighis Alchemist

You may evolve your Flexibility skill into the Fey’s Caress skill!

Accept Evolution? Y/N

Fey’s Caress

Brush against the power of the fey

Bind yourself to a touched material, gaining some of its properties

Depth of binding increases per level.

“Leighis? What’s that?”

“Medicine? Where did you hear that- oh.” Inion stopped as she presumably Identified Edwin, and nodded, “Well, it means medicine. Medical, rather.”

Edwin wryly nodded, “Got it. Any idea why I have a word in my Class that isn’t in a language I understand?”

“You’d know as well as I.”

Edwin mumbled vague half-complaint before he turned his attention more to his newest Skill. For once, the Skill description was actually useful in figuring out what to do, and he laid his fingers on a nearby rock and activated the Skill.

From the point of contact, gray-black stone spread up his arm, bringing a chill and a faint sense of numbness alongside the discoloration. Before it could reach his elbow, he pulled away and the transformation began to reverse, shrinking down the length of his forearm and to his fingers before vanishing altogether.

So it wasn’t permanent. That was good. He didn’t think it would be- heck, the thought hadn’t even occurred to him until after he tried the Skill- but it was still nice to confirm as much.

A bit more poking around, both literal and figurative, alongside some coaching from Inion helped Edwin tease out some of the limits of his new Skill. He could bind to mundane materials around him, like wood, stone, or leather, and take on many of their characteristics. His skin generally became tougher regardless of what he bound to, it would become heavier or lighter, usually lose a bit of flexibility, and get a few other miscellaneous attributes depending on what he absorbed. Metal allowed him to shapeshift his features ever so slightly, deforming his fingers to be pointed and Cloth was actually lighter and more flexible than just using skin, to give the two primary examples he’d found.

Attempting to Caress air… hadn’t gone well, and had resulted in several layers of skin stripped from his hands before he knew what was happening. Inion told him it was because of the Skill’s low level, and he might be able to use it to turn wholly into wind at higher levels, once he could transform all of himself at once.

It was apparently similar to the Skill she had gotten as part of binding to her pool- namely Aquatic Presence- except his bindings were strictly temporary and his nature as a fully corporeal and mortal entity was fighting it. As a result, she was able to coach him through how to use his water transformation, especially how to hold the water close to him (preventing a repeat of the air fiasco), and marginally manipulate it. Eventually, he’d be able to turn his entire arm into water, but for now, it didn’t even transmute the entirety of his skin.

Flexibility was the only reason that he was even able to move while Caressing stone or metal, and even that was something of a struggle. He also found that how much of himself he could transform was strictly limited to how much stuff he was in contact with. Using one of his few remaining grai only allowed him to turn his fingers into gold, which ended up being surprisingly easy to flex for a metal, though it made sense why it was the case.

In any case, to use his Skill reliably, he’d need a significant amount of materials on hand. Golden fingers would probably be useful in lieu of gloves if not much else, but stone or steel forearms would be useful if he needed to punch someone.

Lastly, any transformation started with wherever he was touching the material. If he was standing barefoot on stone, it would start with his feet. If he balanced a coin on the back of his hand, it spread from there. Turning his entire body to stone felt strange, but not altogether unpleasant. His clothes didn’t transform alongside him, but that felt less like a Skill limit and more just not knowing the proper technique (Inion was no help there, to no real surprise).

Overall, a decent Skill. Lots of potential, but it would take time to figure out how to use it optimally and he wasn’t sure if it would ever be one of his primary tools in a fight, though he seriously wanted to figure out how that transformation worked. Now, what was next...