Run

I don’t have a high enough Charisma score for this shit.

John pushed past her and sprinted out of the courtyard. He kept running down the road. He looked at the street signs as he passed them. He was in the Upper West Side of the city. He lived in the Lower East Side.

Shit. I’m going to be late for dinner.

He made for the nearest subway station. As he ran, Ignis appeared by his side. John smiled down at it, then cast Dismiss Summon so he wouldn’t be seen running through the streets with a fox made of fire. He made it onto the train without any trouble, and finally relaxed. It took him about half an hour to get back home. While John’s family wasn’t wealthy enough to be considered rich, they could afford to live on prime real estate. Their house was right on the edge of what was referred to as the urban/suburban line. Across the street, there were apartment buildings and offices and other urban architecture. Every street behind it, there were houses with perfectly manicured lawns, two floors, two car garages, and other such amenities. Being so close to the city but still living in such comfort came at quite the cost to John’s father, and required him to hold a career that involved much traveling and little time at home. John entered his house and was surprised to see that he had arrived before his mother. Shrugging it off as instant dungeon time zone differences, he walked upstairs to his room to plan in relative safety.

He pulled up his stat sheet.

Ok, I have 10 stat points to spend. How should I spend them? Should I try to even out my stats or just pour the points into what I know I will use? Decisions, decisions.

John decided to even out his stats.

Since I’m just starting out, I should give all my stats equal opportunities to prove themselves useful before deciding which stats to boost. I think all stats having at least twenty points should be fine.

He added five to Charisma, two to Endurance, and two to Wisdom.

Not optimal, but a good start I guess. Now what I need to do is level up my skills. All active skills to at least level five and passive skills at three. The true grind begins.

John chuckled to himself. He had no idea how long these basic goals would take him. Weeks? Months? Years? Days? Skill grinding is a mechanic that works differently in every game. What skill to grind first though? Probably the skill that he used the most. The skill that saved his life on plenty of occasions. The skill that was already halfway to his goal of level 5. Flames or Observe?

Observe the flames. John sat cross legged in the middle of his room. He placed his hands palm upwards on his knees. He cast Flames. Twin infantile infernos blazed in his palms. John cast observe on his left flame.

Level 3 Mana Flame

Costs 1 mana point per second. Deals 5 health points per second damage. Deals double to plant based enemies. Deals half to earth based enemies.

John cast observe on his right flame. The same info box appeared. John repeated this process for an hour.

Observe level 4: gain more detailed knowledge when outside of combat

John continued to cast observe. Another hour passed. Nothing happened. Two more hours. Still nothing. John shrugged and stopped trying for tonight. He felt a warm rush tingle at his fingertips as he extinguished his flames. He stood up and walked downstairs. His mom was humming to herself as she rummaged around in the fridge.

“Hey mom, I didn’t hear you come inside.”

“Oh, hey John, I just got home a few minutes ago. What do you want for dinner?”

“I’m not hungry. Just came downstairs to make sure you were home. I was getting a little worried.”

John’s mom smiled.

“Look at you, my little man of the house.”

“I’m not little anymore, mom.” John groaned. She tended to treat John like a child every now and then, but that’s just what moms do.

“I know honey, but you’ll always be mommy’s little boy to me.”

John smiled.

“I’m going back up to my room. Good night.”

“Good night? It’s only seven o’clock!”

“I know, but I probably won’t be back down until tomorrow morning.”

John’s mom laughed.

“Okay honey, good night. Don’t stay up too late! You have school tomorrow.”

“’Kay.”

John walked back upstairs.

Now to level up my other skills. I probably don’t need sleep with Gamer’s Body, so I have all night.

John sat cross legged in the middle of his room again.

Next up, call and dismiss summon.

John cast Call Summon.

Ignis appeared in the palm of his hand. John did his best to explain what he was trying to do. Ignis seemed to understand. John cast Dismiss Summon. He continued to cast Call and Dismiss Summon until his mana bar was depleted. Then he meditated until his mana bar was full. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Two hours later. 9 p.m.

Call Summon Level 2: -5 mana

Dismiss Summon Level 2: Dismiss 2 summons at once

He was getting nowhere.

Whatever, I can grind those later. Still got a few hours. What’s next? Heal Summon or Fireball? Not exactly sure how to grind fireball. Not sure if I can grind Heal Summon without having Ignis get hurt first either. Might as well try.

John cast Heal Summon on Ignis. Orange tendrils of mana extended from his fingers and poked and prodded at Ignis. Ignis cocked its head at them, and tentatively licked one. Apparently liking the taste, Ignis lapped at John’s mana.

Four hours later, Ignis proved to be insatiable. John had depleted his mana and meditated it back several times now. The skill was level 3, and Ignis had gained a level.

Heal Summon Level 3: -1 mana per second +10 health per second

Now to try and grind Fireball. I have six hours before mom wakes up. I’m sure I can do this.

John cast Fireball in both his hands and saw his mana bar plummet.

Need to work on that too.

John focused his mind, steadied his breathing, and stared at the spheres of flames in his hands. Ignis seemed to sense John’s dilemma. It raised its head to sniff at the flames. Ignis had grown a few inches while leveling up. After giving them a good sniff, Ignis bit one. It exploded. Not a big explosion, but enough to knock a surprised John backwards and to send Ignis flying a couple feet. John sat up, Heal Summon ready, but Ignis was unhurt. Rather, there was a status effect under its health bar.

Flame Body(passive): +10% damage on all attacks

John grinned as he cast another double Fireball, aiming at Ignis. Ignis understood, and seemed eager to play catch.

It was 7 a.m. Ignis was level 4, which pleased John greatly. Fireball was at level 2.

Fireball level 2: -5 mana 25 dmg

It proved to be the most rewarding spell so far. John walked over to his alarm clock, holding his hand over it. It started beeping, and he slapped the dismiss button.

“Still satisfying” John said as he turned to go use the bathroom.

Ding!

John whipped around to stare menacingly at his clock. An info box appeared above it.

Daily quest: Enrollment!

Accept an invitation to enroll at Firesmith Academy.

+500 Exp.

+$1000

+Common Item

+Uncommon Item

Optional: Sign up for a full schedule

+450 Exp.

+Rare Item

Accept Decline

John stares in shock at the quest being offered to him.