Yeah, a level

While the day was still overcast, the sheer excitement and joy radiating from Ami made it feel sunny.

It felt like we were making good time as we continued down the King’s Road toward the Dwarven Holds.

Toward the end of the third day, I got a notification.

“And there’s my level,” I said with a grin.

Valentia squealed and threw her arms around me, jumping for joy.

Even Ami smiled.

I opened my character sheet.

Thirty-five Mana was a good, healthy number, but with Spellweaver, my spells were becoming substantially more expensive. I'd spent nine Mana knocking a vampire spawn thirty feet through the forest and six repairing a broken axle.

It was entirely possible my spells were only going to get more expensive.

I also wasn't near any useful thresholds. I could dump the points into Endurance, Resilience, or Coordination, but I'd still have to wait until next level to hit five.

If I put them into Will, I wouldn't hit a new threshold either, but at least I'd see an immediate improvement.

Thirteen Will it was.

For Talents, I had several new options thanks to reaching Elementalism five, Stealth five, and Sneaking five.

Elemental Affinity

Prerequisite: Elementalism 5

You have begun to understand the elements as something more than raw magical energy.

Effect:

• +15% effectiveness to Elementalism spells.
• Elemental spells require 10% less mana when using an element you have previously studied.
• You can instinctively recognize the elemental composition of unfamiliar magical effects.
• Repeated use of an elemental spell gradually improves your understanding of that element.

Elemental Shaping

Prerequisite: Elementalism 5, Spellweaver

An element is not merely something you summon. It is something you can shape.

Effect:

• You can make minor alterations to the shape, direction, and point of origin of Elementalism spells.
• Shaped spells gain +15% effectiveness when used to strike a specific target or exploit terrain.
• Minor shaping increases mana cost by 10%.
• More complicated modifications require Spellweaver and additional mana.

Elemental Reservoir

Prerequisite: Elementalism 5

Your repeated exposure to elemental magic has taught your body to hold its power without immediately releasing it.

Effect:

• You can temporarily store a small amount of elemental energy while preparing an Elementalism spell.
• A stored spell can be released more quickly than a normally prepared spell.
• Stored elemental energy dissipates if not used within several minutes.
• +10% effectiveness when releasing a stored spell.

Blind Spot

Prerequisite: Stealth 5

You have learned that people don't see everything in front of them. They see what they expect to see.

Effect:

• +15% effectiveness to Stealth when operating outside a person's direct focus.
• Observers are less likely to notice you when their attention is occupied by another person, object, or event.
• Successfully remaining unnoticed while changing position makes subsequent Stealth checks against that observer slightly easier.

Vanishing Step

Prerequisite: Stealth 5

Sometimes disappearing is as simple as making sure no one sees where you went.

Effect:

• +20% effectiveness to Stealth when breaking line of sight.
• After successfully moving out of an observer's direct view, you become significantly harder to locate.
• Searches based on your last known position suffer a 20% penalty.
• The effect ends when you deliberately reveal yourself or attack.

Patient Movement

Prerequisite: Sneaking 5

You've learned that moving slowly is sometimes faster than being discovered.

Effect:

• +20% effectiveness to Sneaking when moving deliberately at reduced speed.
• Accidental noises and sudden movements are significantly less likely.
• You can maintain a higher degree of control while moving through difficult terrain.
• You may move at normal speed without this benefit, but lose the additional bonus.

Silent Approach

Prerequisite: Sneaking 5

You know how to close the distance without announcing that you're coming.

Effect:

• +20% effectiveness to Sneaking when approaching an unaware target.
• Successfully reaching close range without being detected grants +15% effectiveness to your first attack or hostile action against that target.
• The bonus is lost if the target becomes aware of you before the attack.

Elemental Shaping seemed like a good complement to Spellweaver, and Elemental Reservoir was interesting, even if it was just for the ability to store a spell for a few minutes.

I could always go back and pick Arcane Efficiency for the decreased mana cost.

And I still wasn't sure about the sex Talents. They seemed interesting… but I wasn't getting any right now, so they weren't going to help. And if I only had a few days to live-

Well, shit. If I only had a few days to live, what the hell did it matter?

I picked Sensual Resonance.

And immediately regretted it.

What was I going to do? Seduce Valentia, fuck her, and break Ami's heart? Or worse, try to seduce Ami, who seemed completely and utterly devoted to Valentia? She'd probably never forgive herself if she cheated on Valentia.

“What’s wrong, Riven?” Valentia asked.

Apparently my inner turmoil was more obvious than I'd thought. “Nothing,” I sighed. “I think I just picked a bad Talent.”

She laughed. “There are no bad Talents! I mean, look at me. I have Patient Teacher and I know next to nothing about everything!” She patted me on the shoulder. “I’m sure whatever you picked will eventually come in handy.”

I smiled, even though that didn't make me feel any better.

We moved off the road and set up camp for the night.

The provisions Claude had given us weren't anything special, but after subsisting on dried meat for the past few days, dry fruit bread and some cheese tasted like heaven.

“I have a question,” I announced to the girls. “That shrine back there was the Wayfarer's Shrine. What's a Wayfarer? You know, besides a traveler?”

“They're mythical explorers, diplomats, and adventurers,” Ami said as she happily popped a piece of cheese into her mouth. “It's said they kin go places no one else kin go.”

I frowned. “Why are they considered mythical?”

She shrugged. “Because there are ancient stories about ‘em, but no one's ever seen one.”

“Does Unbound mean anything?” I asked.

Ami shrugged. “It doesn'a sound familiar. Why?”

“When I first started the game, it called me a Wayfarer.”

Ami immediately started choking on her cheese.

Valentia gave her a few hard knocks on the back, finally dislodging it. She watched Ami with concern while Ami stared at me with an expression somewhere between awe and horror.

She coughed several times, clearing her airway before she was finally able to speak. “It called you a fuckin’ Wayfarer?”

I nodded, my brow furrowing. “Yeah. But the Aegis - the device that brought me here - said that my profile was Unbound. Maybe that was just some kind of bug or error. It also said my neural profile was weird and there could be issues.”

I shook my head. “I really should have read all the warnings they gave me…”

“Where is this… Aegis now?” Valentia asked.

“It’s in the real world. It’s… sort of like a hat. It goes on my head and shows me what this world looks like. And I think it reads my brain waves or something like that. I've never heard of any games that do that. The whole thing looked kind of janky, like they just threw it together with spare parts.”

Valentia stared at me. “Let me get this straight. You got a hat that lets you see other worlds?”

I nodded.

“And it came with a bunch of warnings that you didn't bother to read?”

I nodded again. I was starting to feel like an idiot.

“And it looked like it wasn't made well?”

I nodded, sheepishly.

“And you were surprised when it broke and stranded you here?”

“To be fair, it was for a game. And these things are supposed to be tested. And it was an alpha, so there were bound to be bugs.”

“I don't know what most of that means,” she said, her face twisting in disgust. “Why in the Emperor's name would you put on a magical hat full of bugs when it looked like it was going to break, despite warnings that you know you ignored?”

“Because I'm an idiot.”

“You're bloody right you are! How in the Emperor's name do you have a fifteen Reasoning? Fifteen!”

“It was only six earlier this week.” My defense sounded weak, even to me.

“Six? I just got to five and even I know that was a stupid idea!”

“Yeah. I know it was stupid. I know I fucked up. And now I'm going to die because of it. So what do you want from me?”

Her anger evaporated. “Hey, Riven… I'm sorry. I-”

I got up. “I’m going to take a walk.” I left the camp and walked into the dark forest, hoping to calm down.