Phantasm

“Who you and what do you be doing in my barn!” A large man had entered and was shouting at me. Despite this being pretty much exactly what I expected, I panicked.

“I- I don’t know! I just appeared here, and it was night and I don’t have any clothes…” somehow just relating the events of last night made all the terror that I’d been suppressing come back to the fore. “I… just want to go home,” I managed to get out before breaking down into sobs.

“Ack- Milly!” the man called. Dealing with crying girls was apparently not in his skillset. Milly arrived a few moments later.

“Whats going on? My-“ she broke off as she took in the scene. “Ah lass, theres no need for crying…” She came in and put her arms around me for a hug. I held on to her and bawled like a baby. It was embarrassing but I just couldn’t stop.

[Charm] skill unlocked

A short while later, I had clothes and was being fed breakfast, while wondering about that skill unlock. Had I suddenly started crying because that was the [Charming] thing to do? Or was crying the right thing to do in this situation and it triggered the unlock? My breakdown had felt real, but it did just come out of nowhere.

At least I felt better now. I’d told Milly and Angus what had happened to me, about the status and the points options. I thought about hiding things, but they seemed really nice, and I really needed information about this world. Holding back secrets just made it harder to ask about stuff.

“Worldwalker?” said Angus. He was a large older man, about 50ish. His beard and hair were still mostly brownish-red, going on grey, and his face was tanned and weathered by a long time outdoors. “Well, that’d explain things well enough.”

“Not to me”

He sighed, and looked away. “We’ve - our world - has had a few cases of people that come from another world. Not often - the last bunch was near 200 years ago. But they left an impression.”

“They say Worldwalkers are touched by Fate,” said Milly. She looked worried. “Whenever they come, it means the world is going to change.”

“But I’m just a… just a graduate investment analyst. I don’t want to change the world”

“You may not have that option dear. You should keep what you are secret, until you’re ready. There are those who would use - twist - the fate of a Worldwalker to their own ends.” Milly patted my hand re-assuringly. “You might have made the right decision with your class though. There isn’t much better for hiding than an Illusionist.”

“I’m only level 1, though”

“Thats a feat in itself!” Angus laughed. “Don’t worry though, we’ll have you up to level 2 in no time.”

“Um, what level are you guys?”

“I’m Level 4, Milly’s at 3” said Angus.

“Um… is that a lot?” I asked.

Angus shrugged. “Its about average if you’re not hunting monsters all the time. Most people get to Level 2 before they’re 15, but its hard to get to level 3 just with skill upgrades.”

“So how do you get there?”

“Fighting.” Angus said, looking a bit grim. “ ‘Gainst humans or monsters, fighting to kill or defeat.”

I gulped. “I’ve never really fought anything before.”

He nodded, “Don’t worry, we won’t send you out into the world before you can handle yourself. At least as well as a teenager.”

[Conversation] skill unlocked.

With that reminder of social skills, I purchased both [Conversation] and [Charm]

[Conversation] Level 1 purchased

For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP

[Charm] Level 1 purchased

For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP

“So I’m going to learn to fight with an axe?”, I asked uncertainly.

“Well, maybe,” Angus grinned. “Theres three things we’re trying to do here.”

He set out a quarter-log of firewood ready for chopping. I’d seen people chop wood before, of course, so I knew what we were doing. He showed me where to put my hands to hold the axe, and smoothly bisected the log. He then handed me the axe and re-balanced one of the pieces on the stump.

“First thing is, we get you a skill unlock for Axe Weapon.” He gestured for me to proceed, so I took a swing. The axe glanced off the stick and embedded itself in the stump, while the stick went flying. Angus went and fetched it, while I struggled to free the axe.

“Second thing is, you need to get your stamina development up.” He replaced the stick and I took another swing. Looking at my [Stamina] I could see that each swipe was taking me 5 points. I got three points back every minute, much faster than mana, but I was running though it fairly quickly. This swing meant much the same as the last one, but he didn’t look discouraged.

“How long do I do this for?” I asked.

“Ah, I reckon 2 more swings before taking a rest.” Angus said, “As for after that, you’ll know when you’ve done enough”

It ended up taking another 20 minutes, during which i had to switch to the other half of Angus’s cut stick, as the first half had been battered beyond standing up. After missing countless times, I finally landed a clean blow, though, and was rewarded with

[Weapon Mastery: Axe] skill unlocked

While I was recovering after that achievement, I got another:

[Stamina Development] Level 2 acquired through use

For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP

“Whoa! That doubled my Stamina points” I exclaimed.

“Aye, it makes a big difference. You use Stamina for just about everything so it goes up faster than most skills. It’ll take a while to get level 3 though, so lets move on.”

The next step in ‘Combat training for Toddlers’ was the dodge skill. Angus took me outside the compound. His farm was set on a gentle hill, and he took me through his fields, towards a lone tree standing at their edge.

“Are we going to fight?” I asked.

“Ach. Normally, kids would get their skills fighting each other, but I’m a mite worried that I take a swing at you, you’ll die in one hit.”

“So…”

“So, we’ll improvise.” Arriving at the tree, he examined the branches above. Then without warning, he jumped up into the lower branches, pulling himself up by one hand. What the? Did he just jump higher than his own head? As I stared flabbergasted, he rummaged through the upper branches and causally snapped off a branch before jumping down again. He raised his eyebrows at my stare.

“Don’t worry, we’ll work on jumping next,” he said, stripping leaves and branches off his prize, leaving him with a flexible pole about 6 feet long. He gave it a few practice swings. “Hmm, not thin enough.” He pulled out a belt knife and sliced into the broken end. It sank in like a knife through butter and he was able to just slice the whole branch in half, leaving him with something that he seemed pleased with. “Should do.” He gave me look. “Sorry bout this, but its for your benefit.” Then he lashed out and hit me with it!

“Ow!” The switch had flicked around and thwacked me on the thigh. Even through the dress it was painful.

“Did ya lose body?” the monster said, pretending to be concerned. I checked.

“No, but I did lose a point of Stamina, you bastard. What was that for?”

“Good,” said Angus. “I was pretty sure it wouldn’t count as a weapon.” He grinned an evil grin “You’re going to want to dodge though.”

*Thwack!* *Ow!*

Thus did my torture begin. It went on for longer than my axe training, because once I’d unlocked the skill, Angus had me buy it and then ‘trained’ me to Level 2.

[Dodge] Level 2 acquired through use

For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP

“Ow! Ow! It levelled!” I called, and Angus finally stopped his relentless assault. Even though he ‘wasn’t really trying’ and even with the level 1 skill, I’d been only dodging maybe 40% of his swipes. They hurt! He stopped to let me recover my Stamina, and I watched in amazement as the welts that had formed on my skin from each blow quickly faded as the Stamina returned.

“Are we going to train [Body Development] next?” I asked apprehensively.

“Nay, though you need it.” He looked a little uneasy at the prospect. “Hopefully getting you to Level 2 will give you enough HP to take a hit and live to heal it. Now, have you got a jump skill?”

“No,” I said doubtfully, “But I can jump…just not like you did, before.”

“Give it a go then, give us a baby jump, as high as you can.”

I focused for a second, then leaped as high as I could.

Competency demonstrated with [Jump], Level 1 awarded

For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP

“It worked, I got the skill!” I tried jumping again, it seemed… much the same. Maybe easier somehow?

“Ah well, the bars pretty low for jump, most kids get it after all. Climb’s next.” He gestured at the tree he’d just climbed.

“The first branch is pretty high, can I get a boost?” I was actually pretty confident about this one. I’d climbed trees as a kid, and with 3 Strength, I think I was stronger than I was on Earth. Angus shrugged and lifted me by the waist. Before I had time to squeal, he’d lifted me about 5 feet and the first branch was in reach. I grabbed it to distract myself from screaming. Once again, Angus was strong.

But so was I. With a bit of struggle, I managed to pull myself up onto the branch and reach for the next. This was the first time I’d really had a chance to see how my strength had changed. A bit more effort and I was halfway up the tree, which prompted the notice

Competency displayed with [Climb], Level 1 awarded

For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP

“I got it!” I called down. Level 1 [Climb], again, didn’t seem that much different from my natural ability. Since I wasn’t here to climb trees, I went back down for my next task.

“Now, run back to the farmhouse, as fast and long as you can” Angus said once I was down again. “Its just about time for lunch.”

I did as he asked, trying to remember how I was taught to run back in high school athletics. Pump the arms, elbows in.

Competency displayed with [Run], Level 1 awarded

For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP

Evidently the System approved. Angus was less impressed, matching my run with an easy jog. As we headed back to the house, I noticed for the first time that it was more of a farm compound. All the buildings were behind that high stone wall I’d noticed before, and the house was also stone, with a… slate roof? It was big too, way to big for just the two people. I resolved to ask about it over lunch.

First though, my mana had recovered, so it was time to cast more spells. It seemed a little unfair. I could dodge 30 times in a minute before my stamina ran out and do the same again 10 minutes later. With spells, I could exhaust my mana with as little as four spells, and then it would take 10 hours before I could do the same again. It made it a lot harder to practice. Still, I cast [Unseen Sound] a few times, testing an idea. With no chanting, I could make my voice whisper in someones ear, which seemed useful for secret communication. It wasn’t quite as versatile as [Secret Whisper] - I had to cast it each time instead of the way Whisper set up a moving communication link, but the second spell cost 10 points…

Anyway. I asked why their house was so big and fortress-like and they explained that this area had been pretty dangerous, 80 years or so ago. Back then, it had been settled by adventurers - heroes by the sound of it, who’d distinguished themselves in the formation of the Kingdom and had been rewarded with land. Milly’s grandfather had tamed the land and built the place up. That had ‘settled the mana flows’ whatever that meant. Milly tried to explain, but they didn’t understand it well themselves. Just that the land affected the mana flows and the mana affected what Spawns occurred.

Spawns were… well, apparently, animals just popped out of nowhere, when there were no people around. Normal feral creatures in places like this, monstrous versions in places where mana was ‘twisted’. I expressed incredulity.

“So animals don’t breed? They just pop up?”

“Aye they breed, if enough of them pop in the same area.” Angus explained. “Theres a copse down the hill away that’s always popping foxes. If I leave them be to long they’ll breed a litter and then they’ll be after me chickens. Thats where we’re headed next.”

“You’re not going to have her fight foxes already?” Milly exclaimed. “She’s still level 1!”

“She’ll be fine, she got her magic 'aint she?”

I looked at both of them. “Wait, I’m going to be killing something?”

“Aye its the quickest way for you to get Level 2.” He detached his knife from his belt and put it in front of me. What had looked like a small knife in his hands looked very much bigger when I thought about using it. “You said you had skill bonus from that profession right? That’ll be enough to get the unlock on your first strike, if its not expecting you.”

I gulped. I’m going to have to sneak up on an animal and stab it? I reached out my hand and took the knife. It was time to start playing this game.

***

Some little time later (not nearly long enough), I was alone in the copse, invisible, looking for a fox. Actually, I was looking for everything.

Identification failed

[Identification] : Eyilm Tree

Identification failed

Identification failed

[Identification] : Mavenbush

Identification failed

[Identification] : Arbengrass

[Identification] : Salleberry

Without my bonus I was back to failing about half the time, but I persevered. According to Angus, the key to levelling up Identification was to [Identify] new things… and there were a lot of new things in these woods.

[Steath] Skill unlocked.

I froze. That would only happen if the fox was near enough for me to have avoided detection.

[Stealth] Level 1 purchased

For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP

It only made sense to buy it, given what I was doing. I looked around carefully. There it was! Digging under some roots. It hadn’t noticed me.

[Identification] : Fox (Male) - Threat Level: 2

[Identify] Level 2 acquired through use

For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP

Angus had said that skill use under stress was worth more for levelling the skill, so it wasn’t surprising that this had kicked me over the limit. My heart was hammering, both at the thought that the fox would notice me, and because of what I would have to do if it didn’t. I crept forward.

[Weapon Mastery: Small Bladed] Skill unlocked.

You have inflicted 19 damage!

My strike had plunged into the foxes side, drawing blood. So much blood! The fox made a weird kind of scream and twisted off my blade, which I somehow managed to not drop. I thought it would run, but it stood its ground, looking around for what had hurt it. I was still invisible, so it was confused, but it seemed to detect me somehow, hissing in my general direction.

Oh shit!

[Weapon Mastery: Small Bladed] Level 1 purchased

For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP

It came at me, but [Dodge] moved me to the side. I struck again!

You have inflicted 22 damage!

For killing a Fox, you have earned 40 XP

I just stood there with the knife pointing at the corpse, breathing heavily. It was really dead - I’d gotten the XP notification. I called out:

“Angus, I killed it” a few moments later I heard him moving through the bushes. Stealth wasn’t one of his skills, which is why he’d stayed back.

“Aye, well done lass. Now let me show you how to dress it.” He took the knife off me and moved over to the corpse. As soon as he started, I turned around and threw up.

I did not get my [Hunting] unlock. Angus was disappointed, but understanding. I still didn’t have level 2 but, I should be close. We continued searching for a bit, but all we got for it was a level in my [Perception] skill. Angus took that to mean that I’d successfully perceived that there was nothing to find.

On the way back to the house, Angus was struck by a thought. “Lass, you were asking about how mana worked before?”

“Aye- I mean yes.”

“You’ve got a mage class right? That’d include the [Sense Mana] skill - have you tried it yet?”

“Um, no…”

[Sense Mana]

Everything became… blurry? Cloudy? Angus became enveloped in a pale green mist, and there was a much brighter yellow mist all around me. Looking down, I could see it pouring off my body and evaporating when it got more than a foot away from me.

“Oh… this is weird.” I said. I looked back at Angus, but he just pointed up. I looked.

Whoa.

There was a structure in the sky. Or more like the entire sky was made of it. It was like clockwork made of clouds. Streams of mist plunged down into the earth and stretched up as far as I could see. I couldn’t make out anything clearly, but the clouds were moving, clearly to some purpose.

“What am I looking at Angus?” I asked wonderingly.

“Mana, I guess.” said Angus. “What we were trying to explain before, but you can probably see better than we can explain.”

“Mana… we don’t have anything like it on Earth,” I said. “Wait, if I use mana to cast spells…”

I cast an illusion of a sword in my hand. As I did so, my aura brightened and some of it flowed into where I wanted the sword to be. It took the shape of the image, an outline in golden light, and then it vanished and was replaced by the image.

“Well great. So any mage is going to be able to see when I’m casting illusions? Plus…” I looked back at Angus. His aura was definitely dimmer than mine. “They’re going to be able to tell I’m a mage as well, right?”

Angus shrugged. “I dunno what to tell you. I’ve heard that mages can tell another mage, but I’ve also heard stories where a fellow concealed that fact. Theres probably something you can do.”

It occurred to me that I’d seen something relevant in my spell list that I hadn’t understood at the time.

[Conceal Mana]: Hides a casters mana from others (10 Points)

Okay, put that one on the priority list.

With that, we were pretty much done with Skills for today. I was running out of Skill Points anyway, though Angus told me that I’d get 2 more each time I gained a level. That was good, because I had more unlocked skills than points.

Back at the house, I asked Milly about how skills worked.

“I don’t know about the numbers, ‘higher is better’ is as far as I know,” she told me. “But you’ve got [Calculate], right? Maybe you can work out something from your logs?”

“Logs?” I asked, but even as she answered I knew what she had to mean.

[Log]

[Combat Log] [Skill Log] [Development Log]

“Oh, you figured it out?” Milly asked. I suppose my suddenly glazed look gave it away.

“Uh, yeah. Let me take a look here…”

[Development Log] was most of the notifications that I’d already seen, to do with gaining skills and XP. [Skill Log] was the rest of them, entries for every time I used a skill. I’d gotten notifications for some of these, but this seemed to have entries for every time. I guess I would have gone mad if I’d gotten text every time I swung an axe, so there must be some sort of priority rating. Wait, not every time. There were no entries for perception attempts. I guess getting a message could be used to get information even if you failed so it must be redacted.

The other thing that these entries had was something called an Effect Level. At least the successful attempts did, failures just said failed. But the fact that there weren’t any successes below 10 made me suspect that I needed to get an Effect of 10 to succeed. One in ten chance to succeed on when I don’t have the skill… could it be that simple? It was hard to tell with most of my attempts, with failures cutting off the low end, but my Illusion magic had really high levels, ranging from 37 to 46 - all successes, of course.

So a random factor from one to ten, added to… 36 is 4 times 9, which is my [Illusion Magic] times my [Charisma]. I looked at some more entries, and the same basic pattern applied. Ok then, now I know. I didn’t imagine it was any great secret amongst the numerate, but it was still good to know how things worked. I tried explaining it to Milly, but the idea of multiplication went over her head.

I quickly looked at the [Combat Log] and it was much the same. It stated the effect level and the damage, but for my two hits, damage was the same as the effect level +10. The dagger probably did 10 damage. I thought that it might not always be like that though, because for both those hits, it stated that the strike was ‘Unopposed’. That made sense for the first hit, but I wasn’t sure why it was true for the second. The fox had been trying to dodge that time.

The conversation moved on to my getting level 2. Angus thought that I’d only need to kill one more fox to get there, but he was doubtful that one would appear within a week.

“I’m sorry to be asking after you’ve done so much for me already, but can I not wait for a week to pass?” I asked.

Milly smiled sadly and patted my hand. “Oh child, we’d love to have you stay longer, but you need to go.”

“Uh, why?”

“Worldwalkers… we told you there are stories, going back a long time. Worldwalkers are - you are - always tasked with a grand destiny. Preventing great cataclysms, the fall of empires, that sort of thing.

“If you say so, but I don’t really want to do any of that.”

She nodded. “You haven’t found your purpose yet, but it will come. Which is why you need to start growing as soon as possible.” She paused, marshalling her thoughts. “First of all, whatever the destiny you bring, the grand scope of it is too much for Angus and me. You will bring trouble to nations, and if it starts here, our little farmhouse would be sure to be swept away.”

I felt a bit guilty. I hadn’t considered that these two might not want to be swept up by Fate. Its not like I was ready to be. But Milly continued.

“Second, the learned and the powerful have ways of telling when a Worldwalker has arrived. They will seek you out, to aid or hinder you according to their own purposes. At the least, you want to be established when they find you, better still for you to be long gone. Finally, in the stories, some of the disasters that were prevented could have been solved much more easily if the hero had shown up a few days earlier. Wasting a week may not seem like much now, but it could be that a year from now you’ll be cursing that delay.”

“Wow, thats… comprehensive. I don’t know what to say.”

Milly smiled again and hugged me. “I know you’ll do well for the world” she said. “Get yourself into town and join the Adventurers guild and get yourself another level. Try not to stay for more than a month. And if a large caravan of important people show up, be very careful.”

“This feels a little weird. I just killed my first fox today and I’m supposed to be considering the fate of nations? Its crazy.”

“It is crazy.” agreed Milly. “Come find us again when its over, if the Kingdom still stands and tell us all about it.”