Growth.

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Congratulations! Your Skill in Mana Manipulation has increased from Level 5 to Level 8!

+3% Spell control. (Total: 8%)

• For reaching Skill levels 6, 7, and 8, you have been awarded 210Exp.

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Congratulations! Your Skill in Life Magic has increased from Level 1 to Level 3!

Life spells now cost 1% less Mana to cast (Total: 1.5%)

• For reaching Skill levels 2 and 3, you have been awarded 50Exp.

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Achievement unlocked!

Teeny-tiny baby steps (Life Magic)

You took the first step in your path towards mastery of Life Magic, reaching Level 2. Good job, champ! Here’s a little spellbook as a reward, now go get ‘em, tiger!

Reward:

Spellbook: Minor Detect Life.

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Congratulations! Your Skill in Water Magic has increased from Level 1 to Level 3!

Water spells now cost 1% less Mana to cast (Total: 1.5%)

• For reaching Skill levels 2 and 3, you have been awarded 50Exp.

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Achievement unlocked!

Teeny-tiny baby steps (Water Magic)

You took the first step in your path towards mastery of Water Magic, reaching Level 2. Good job, champ! Here’s a little spellbook as a reward, now go get ‘em, tiger! Exact copy you say? Almost word for word? We should probably update these? Yeah, we’ll get right on that…

Reward:

• Spellbook: Clean.

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Achievement unlocked!

1 + 1 =… Still 1?

You combined two spheres of magic into a single spell and didn’t explode! Good job and all, but we literally just told you to warn us when you pulled shit like this. Rude.

Rewards:

• +2 Intelligence.
• +1 Wisdom.
• A new spell: Cleansing Waters.

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Congratulations! Through the manipulation of runes you have created a new spell!

New dual-sphere spell Learnt!

Spell name: Cleansing Waters (Lvl 1).

Spell School: Evocation.

Range: Touch.

Description: Channel the combined healing properties of both Life and Water magic to cleanse a target of poison or disease. Levelling this spell increases the severity of poisons and diseases this spell can cleanse, and may unlock addition effects.

Mana Cost: 25MP

Cast time: 5 seconds.

• For learning a new Novice level dual-sphere spell, you have been granted Exp. As this spell was self-taught, your Exp gain has been doubled, earning you 3000Exp.

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Advanced Quest complete!

Congratulations! You have completed the Mythic tier of the Advanced Quest: Unknown cures for unknown ailments!

Objectives completed:

• Discover the name and symptoms of the disease (1/1).
• Do not sleep until you have found and administered a cure (1/1).
• Craft a spell capable of curing Emily using multiple spheres of magic. (1/1).

Rewards:

• Skill Primer: Herbology.
• Skill Primer: Alchemy.
• Access to a Rare Profession: Spellweaver.
• X1 Perk
• X1 Fabled Skill
• 10000Exp (per party member).

Please note that the Perk and Fabled Skill you will receive depends on if you accept or reject the Spellweaver profession.

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Congratulations! You have fulfilled an oath made to the System! By following through on your words and healing your sister in as little time as can be reasonably expected, you have proven that you are a person who can be trusted, especially when there is family involved. This has been noted…

You have been granted +2 Wisdom.

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Ding!

Congratulations! You have reached Character level 6!

Your Health, Stamina, and Mana, have all increased by 10 points.

You have 5 (+5) free Attribute points to spend.

You now have over 1 level's worth of Attribute points to assign, you have a week from the time you read this message to spend these points, else they will be automatically assigned for you.

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Congratulations! You are being offered a new Profession: Spellweaver.

Would you like to examine the Profession now? (Y/N)

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Achievement unlocked!

You call that a kiss?

You were abmissed… kibushed? Someone you are attracted to (don’t deny it) stole a kiss from you. There’s only one proper response to this. Steal it the hell back!

Rewards:

• +1 Charisma.
• +1000Exp

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Minor Quest completed!

Night Watch (Repeatable).

You stayed alert during watch, despite an uneventful shift.

Reward:

• +500Exp

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Achievement unlocked!

I’m freeeeee, freeeee ballin!

You whipped your dick out in front of your poor mother and sister! Those were expressions of shock and/or despair, right? Or was that interest? Indigestion? Who knows!

Rewards:

• +1 Charisma.
• +1000Exp

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‘Yup, as I thought, a bunch.’ I can’t help feeling a sense of pride for my accomplishments so far. Looking back, I’ve only been here just over a day, and I’ve completed several Quests, killed some monsters, got several new skills, and gained a few levels. It truly felt like I was well on my way to becoming an adventurer, and that made my little nerd heart happy. And now this latest reward, this ‘Spellweaver’ Profession. Smiling widely in my eagerness, I open up the profession details.

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Congratulations! You are being offered a new Profession!

Profession Name: Spellweaver.

Global Rarity: Rare.

Local Rarity: Mythical (Artificial scarcity).

Description: Unlike other crafting Professions which produce mundane (albeit useful) products, you bend the fickle power of the arcane to your will, crafting powerful magics with myriad effects. Spellweavers have an intrinsic understanding of the fundamental laws behind the arcane and can harness this understanding to craft custom spells through a variety of methods.

Profession Branch: Runesmith.

Branch Rarity: Fabled.

Some Spellweavers sneer at the path of the Runesmith, claiming that reliance on set variables limit creativity, stifling the result, those Spellweavers are fools. Runesmiths base their crafting style around Runes, Stable foci for the arcane used to embody select concepts. Runesmiths learn and organise Runes into complex patterns, crafting spells with many effects.

For accepting the profession, you will immediately receive the following benefits:

• +5 Intelligence.
• +5 Wisdom.
• X1 Perk (Runic Instinct).
• X1 Skill (Runesmith).

To gain levels in this Profession, you will need to perform actions related to the Profession. Increasing your level in this Profession will grant the following:

• Increases in Intelligence and Wisdom.
• Profession Points (PP), a resource used to unlock bonuses towards your Profession.

Would you like to accept this Profession (Y/N).

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‘I get to craft more spells, and I get extra attribute points for doing so? Do I accept? In a heartbeat!’ mentally selecting yes, I sigh in pleasure as I feel the Attribute points take effect. ‘That’s a feeling that'll never get old,’ I think to myself happily. ‘Right, let’s see about this new Perk and Skill.’

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New Perk Acquired!

Runic Instinct.

_Description: A direct upgrade from the basic version of this_ Perk, you can now begin to translate higher ranked Runes. The complexity of Runes you can now understand is based upon the level of your Spellweaver Profession. Improve your Profession to learn more complex Runes.

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New Skill Unlocked!

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‘Well, that’s a whole crock of shit, isn’t it?’ I read over the ‘description’ of my new Skill again, sighing at the utter lack of any information. I couldn’t help the small smile that spread across my face, however. The description had straight up said that this Skill, if I used it correctly, would be a powerful one. I could feel anticipation about the trill of discovery already taking root. That, however, could wait. 'I have Attribute points to spend, baby!'

I finally had enough points to bump all my Attributes up to 10, and I was psyched to find out what sort of bonuses I’d receive for crossing more thresholds. My excitement grew as I opened my character sheet, quickly assigning my points. 3 to Strength, 3 to Agility, and the remaining 4 to Constitution. I smile wide as an increasingly familiar rush of energy filled me, flooding my body with new power.

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Congratulations! By increasing your Strength to 10 or above, the Attribute has crossed its first threshold. For crossing the first threshold in Strength, you have been awarded a Perk: Inner Might 1.

Inner Might 1: By increasing your Strength beyond the first threshold, your body has changed on a fundamental level. You are now a little more resistant to damage to your musculoskeletal system, making sprains, breaks, and tears a little less likely to occur. Furthermore, you have improved your body beyond normal conventional limits, allowing you access to a previously hidden wellspring of Strength and endurance. Your Stamina to Strength ratio has retroactively increased from 5 points of Stamina per point of Strength, to 10 per point. The rate at which you regenerate Stamina has retroactively increased from 0.1 Sta/Min per point of Strength to 0.2 Sta/Min per point.

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Congratulations! By increasing your Constitution to 10 or above, the Attribute has crossed its first threshold. For crossing the first threshold in Constitution, you have been awarded a Perk: Hardened Body 1:

Hardened Body 1: By increasing your Constitution beyond the first threshold, your body has changed on a fundamental level. You are now resistant to most low-level diseases, furthermore, your body is now more resistant to damage, allowing you to take more punishment. Your Health to Constitution ratio has retroactively increased from 5 points of Health per point of Constitution, to 10 per point. The rate at which you regenerate Health has retroactively increased from 0.1 HP/Min per point of Constitution to 0.2 HP/Min per point.

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Congratulations! By increasing your Agility to 10 or above, the Attribute has crossed its first threshold. For crossing the first threshold in Agility, you have been awarded a Perk: Fast Twitch Efficiency.

Fast Twitch Efficiency: By increasing your Agility beyond the first threshold, your body has changed on a fundamental level. Your sense of balance, as well as your hand-eye coordination, have both slightly improved. Furthermore, your muscle fibres responsible for quick movements are now considerably more efficient, allowing for greater levels of endurance. You now retroactively gain 5 points of Stamina per point of Agility and regenerate 0.1 Sta/Min per point of Agility.

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Congratulations! You have increased all your Attributes above the first threshold! Your body, mind, and soul are about to undergo an evolution as you increase from an Unranked Being to that of a Common Ranked Being. This process may be… uncomfortable.

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I have just enough time to read the last notification, my eyes widening in a mix of surprise, confusion, and abject dread, before the process begins. It starts out with my body. Burning, screaming pain lances through every inch of my flesh, the sensation feels like hellfire flowing through my veins. I open my mouth to scream, but any noise is cut off as I feel as if icy lances puncture my brain. This proves to be my limit, and soon enough, darkness envelopes me as I lose consciousness.

An unknown amount of time later, I jerk awake, expecting to feel the fiery agony of whatever the fuck that just was. A mumble of protest from behind me halts my urge to throw off the covers and dash off into the night, causing me to freeze. I take stock for a moment, and am surprised when I realise I feel pretty damn good. That isn’t quite accurate. I feel fucking excellent.

Everything somehow seemed more… vibrant. It was as if all of my senses had been wrapped up in cotton wool, but the wool had suddenly been removed. I could still hear the steady breathing of my mother behind me, but smaller, more subtle sounds were making themselves known. Small sounds I would have missed before were now clear. I could hear the whisper of the wind through the trees and the steady crackling of our campfire. Opening my eyes, I took a moment to marvel at how much better I could see in the dark tent. What before had been inky darkness… was now slightly less inky darkness. It wasn’t like I’d developed night vision, but there was still a marked improvement.

Experimentally, I took a big whiff of air, blushing slightly as the smell of woman fills my nostrils. It was a heady scent, filled with tantalising notes I was desperately tempted to explore. I swallowed involuntarily, deciding I’d delve deeper into that facet of my sharper senses at a later date. For now, my notification alert was blinking, again. Tentatively, I brought up the window, equally curious and terrified to discover what the hell had just happened to me.

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Congratulations! You have taken the first step along the path towards true power and are now considered a Common Ranked Being. Continue to strive along this path, for more than you know is at stake. Growing into a Common Ranked Being has caused many changes in body, mind and soul. Some of these changes are subtle, and will go unnoticed at this rank, others, less so. Below is a list of the changes with the greatest impact for this rank.

Changes to Body:

• Redundant anatomical adaptations have been removed, and most biological processes have become more efficient.
• You can last 50% longer without food or water before suffering negative effects.
• Your body now only requires a maximum of four hours of sleep a night to function without suffering any negative effects.
• You now age 10% slower.
• You are 50% more resistant to pain.
• Your skin is slightly more resistant to slashing attacks (counts as natural armour, armour value depends on level).
• Your skeleton is 25% stronger, and your skull is now 25% better at shielding your brain from impact damage.
• Your joints are 25% more resistant to ****, and your ligaments are 25% less likely to tear.
• Your senses of sight, smell and hearing have been improved by 25%, and touch and taste have been improved by 10%.
• Your connection to Mana has unlocked a new sense (Aspect: Temporal), this has manifested as a new Skill.

You have undergone a process for which all living (and some dead) things strive and have increased the Rank of your Being. Like all who undergo this process, you have unknowingly incorporated an aspect of the universe into your very make-up, generating a new sense. For incorporating the Temporal aspect into your Being, you have developed Danger Sense.

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_Changes to mind_:

• You can focus on a task for 25% longer without the need for brakes.
• Memory recall is 25% quicker and 10% more accurate.
• You are now 25% more resistant to fear, and 10% less likely to suffer the effects of trauma.
• You can now recognise when another mind touches your own.
• You can now resist an intrusion into your mind.

Changes to soul:

• You may now resist an attempted possession.
• It is significantly harder for your soul to be removed from your body without your permission.
• You can now recognize soul binding contracts and other such items with sight alone.

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My eyes widen as I read through the list, each addition seeming more preposterous than the last. ‘This can’t be real… can it?’ To say I had mixed feelings was an understatement. I was happy, ecstatic even, about a lot of the physical changes. I would live longer, sleep less, feel more, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. On the other hand, the implications of the mental changes, as well as the changes to my soul, couldn’t help me feel intensely uncomfortable.

The changes themselves were positive, but the knowledge that up to this point, I could have been possessed and apparently would have had no say in the matter was terrifying. ‘New group goal, get everyone across this first threshold.’ At the thought, my notification light blinks. For now, I ignore it. I can look over the new Quest I no doubt just received later. For now, I needed to be up and moving, working off some of this nervous energy.

Feeling wide awake, I decide I really want someone to talk to right now. Not wanting to wake Mum up, I instead extricate myself from her grip. I feel a little bad for leaving her to sleep alone, so I make a mental note to make it up to her somehow in the morning. Mind made up, I quietly push through the flap of the tent and into the pre-dawn light.