NOVEL NEXT Chapter 43: Skills
Two new classes. Both were very similar in description. Leif was at a loss, which should he pick? [Attuned: Life] or [Adept]?
Both?
Neither?
He knew from pestering both Marcus and Sieg that one of the strongest arguments against filling up all your class slots was that low level classes granted a whole lot of skills. And if you went over a certain limit you wouldn’t be able to gain levels.
Leif looked between both classes, he had no idea what to do. Luckily there was a campsite full of academics nearby. He had time to go over the options with people more knowledgeable than himself, so he would.
He turned his attention to the first of his skill options. [Veil of Nature] and [Embolden Vegetation].
The first was difficult to get a solid grasp of. Initially Leif thought it might be an aura skill but he shouldn’t get one of those until level thirty in his [Amber Blight Spriggan] class. Or whatever it will evolve into.
Instead it was a perception skill, or rather, the opposite of a perception skill. A stealth skill, a way to hide himself and those nearby.
No, that's not quite right. It has some protective capabilities as well. He realised, studying more closely the feeling he got from the skill.
As for the other skill. It seemed decent actually. [Embolden Vegetation] would, quite simply, allow him to empower any plant he touched. Leif was a plant, so the skill should work if he used it on himself. Right?
Just from Leif’s initial evaluation of both skills he was leaning towards [Embolden Vegetation], but it would be smart to look over the other options before making a decision.
The next two skills were [Nature’s Beacon] and [Amber Steps]. The first skill had a social aspect, he felt it resonate slightly with his [Noble] class perk. He could call animals to his location, or potentially direct them to a place of his choice.
Leif looked around at the piles of sleeping forest critters. Birds and rats, hogs and squirrels. I don’t think I need any more of them. I have no idea how they’re keeping themselves fed either. From what he knew these animals should be eating far more than they were currently consuming.
Hogs were notoriously destructive foragers, and while they did wander off at times to eat, these outings weren’t anywhere near as frequent as the spriggan would have thought. But if they were healthy and happy he wouldn’t complain.
As for [Amber Steps]...
Oh wow, that’s amazing. I’m definitely picking this.
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Amber Steps:
Aspects: Technique (Teleportation) (Movement) (Time)
Your every step echoes into the past. You may teleport to a location you recently occupied.
===
The innate knowledge of how the skill could be used trickled into Leif’s mind. He hopped up from his seated position and eagerly jumped down from his boulder. He focused on returning to the top.
Nothing.
Ah, there’s a required motion for use. He realised.
He took a step. Then in a blur of amber light he appeared back atop the rock. He was facing the wrong direction and he felt briefly disorientated. But honestly? It didn’t matter. “Ha! That’s amazing!”
Several of the sleeping animals stirred awake at his exclamation. Leif stepped forward, and in a streak of gold he returned to the bottom. The skill twinged slightly from the repeated use so quickly after the first but it wasn’t anything to worry about.
Leif wobbled in place for a moment, then he used [Amber Sympathy] to replay the feeling of using the skill, he saw himself step forward and vanish. “I can get used to this.” He said, shaking his head in wonder at his newest skill.
Leif had become quite familiar with skill overuse in his time beneath Pherin. He needed to find the skill’s current ceiling, and get used to the feeling of being displaced in space.
Now for the most important question: What were the limits of [Amber Steps]? What are the restrictions?
Leif walked in a straight line for ten seconds, then twenty. As he walked he could feel the skill unspooling out behind him, his every step leaving a tiny anchor for the skill to latch onto in the ground.
After forty seconds Leif sensed his connection to the most distant anchor begin to fade, he took a step. A golden streak shot through the night, Leif rematerializing where he had once been. Fatigue washed through Leif as he staggered in place.
At least I’m facing the right way this time.
The spriggan felt a distinct throbbing pain permeating throughout his body. “Woah, that took more out of me than I thought it would.” A nearby hog grunted and flopped over onto its back. Leif gave it belly rubs while he contemplated [Amber Steps].
Why was that use of the skill far more taxing than the other times I used it? Is strain determined by how long ago the anchor was placed, or is it distance travelled when activating the skill? He mused.
One thing was certain, the more he used [Amber Steps] the easier it would become. His mind spun with the possibilities for fusions and upgrades. But he was getting distracted. Leif turned his attention to the next pair of skills. Ones for his [Brawler] class.
[Combative Gumption] and [Bounding Leap]. The first immediately reminded Leif of his least favourite skill. [Legacy] was a skill he never intended to use, the mere thought of having to turn someone into a plant monster just to make use of the skill filled him with anger.
He almost discarded [Combative Gumption] out of hand, but he quickly realised the similarities were only surface level. It was an analysis skill like [Legacy], but unlike that skill this new one had something to do with gauging relative combat prowess instead of letting him see the attributes of his descendants.
He knew about these skills from what Marcus and Sieg had told him. They let the user compare themselves, an object or item to something else and the system would provide feedback.
[Bounding Leap] gave off the impression of building up energy, then releasing it to launch yourself upwards. It didn’t really appeal to him. [Combative Gumption] seemed far more useful. Shaking off the irrational distaste he selected the skill.
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Combative Gumption:
Aspects: Analysis
You may analyse a target to determine if their combat experience is greater, lesser or equivalent to your own.
Analysis may fail if the target is significantly more powerful.
===
He immediately used it on the hog.
Combat experience: Lesser!
I don’t know what I expected.
Finally Leif returned to the first pair of skills. He still couldn’t get a clear read on what [Veil of Nature] could truly do. Picking it would be a gamble, one that may or may not pay off. Ultimately Leif made the simple choice and picked [Embolden Vegetation].
===
Embolden Vegetation:
Aspects: Empowerment (Nature) (Body)* (Life)
Touch a plant to spur it to rapid growth and recovery. Vegetation you empower with this skill become more resilient and require less nourishment to survive.
The targets of this skill quickly lose the majority of its empowering effects. A small portion of this skill’s effects are maintained but will slowly decay over a longer period of time.
Repeated uses of this skill on the same targets reduce its efficacy.
===
Leif’s immediate fear after reading over the skill’s description would be that he couldn’t target himself. After a moment of panic he calmed down, he could indeed feel that his own body was a valid target.
The second question was how long was the ‘slower decay period’? He plodded over to a nearby tree and placed a hand on the trunk. [Embolden Vegetation] triggered and a shudder rippled through the plant’s centre of mass before shooting up its branches and down into its roots.
Almost immediately leaves began to bud, then fully grow in the tree’s canopy. Leif spotted several small branches spread, reaching for the surrounding air like greedy little fingers.
The spriggan could feel the energy thrumming through the tree. A vibrant and potent force that made its vitality hum with delight.
It made Leif curious as to what exactly [Embolden Vegetation] would do for him.
If it makes my mobile form sprout branches I will not be pleased.