103. Development - 1

103. Development - 1

At first, the darkness was silent. I swam alone, red and blue mana dancing around me, filling what could only be my soul while I floated. The sensation was familiar though with one exception.

Unlike the previous time, when I found myself floating in a black emptiness, I was in control. I didn't know the reason for the difference. Maybe it was my budding magical talent, or maybe it was the fact that I wasn't forcibly dragged here by a god.

Either way, I used silence to focus on the flow of energy.

Without my body to distract me, I could feel many discrete sources of said energy. At the center of my soul, where I could identify easily, I had my stats, their structure distinctive enough to recognize after my interventions with the stat stones.

However, unlike their solid, singular structures, each stat was a single, growing entity, their potential displayed by their size as they throbbed like tiny hearts. I could see Charisma and Strength thumping steadily, one sharp one ephemeral, while the Attunement was like a small fawn among the herd, shifty yet small.

Fascinating

I didn't stay focused on them much before I brought my attention to the higher level, where a singular sea surrounded them, mashing with them successfully. I recognized my sole ability immediately. Unfortunately, I had no idea whether every single ability worked like that, or it was unique to its comprehensive nature.

Regardless, I could see the my ability working on my stats to enhance them further. Pushing more mana toward it in the hopes of enhancing the ability even further.

it was an option, not a smart one. I rather not fiddle too much with a process I did not understand as long as there was any other choice.

Outside that, there was a small red energy that was orbiting the core. My skill. Its distinctive hue was hard to be mistaken for anything else.

And, even if I were to miss that, it was hard not to recognize the long line of ethereal energy stretching to the horizon. I instinctively knew that the other end reached the god of destruction. Interestingly, he didn't follow it to my location though whether he couldn't or didn't want to for some reason was a mystery I could only guess.

I was tempted to destroy it, but it was a risky proposition, especially under the current circumstances. I might fail and alert him to my increasing abilities or even succeed, and trigger other messy situations.

Instead, I focused on tracking the changes, trying to understand what was going on. I didn't rush it as I knew that time didn't mean much in this unique space I found myself in.

Though, as the time passed and no god suddenly appeared to harass me, I had a better guess about why the god of destruction didn't appear despite his potential to track me through his connection.

He didn't want to alert the other gods. Unlike me, his presence in this astral plane was unmistakable, and I had no doubt that many gods had been tracking his presence while he was in the process of invading the planet we were on.

No wonder Zolast's old friends were doing their best to find the hero. That was the only way for them to find me.

I stayed motionless as I watched the two types of mana continuing to infuse my soul or my proxy soul, the System, or whatever else it was still examining the discrete parts when I noticed something else.

Another container, buried between the stats.

Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't mana. I reached it mentally, feeling curious about its source. However, the moment I touched it, I received an instinctive understanding.

It was the Experience I had in storage, which, under the circumstances, I could manipulate like mana. Wanting to test it, I channeled a bit of it to my sole ability, finding it the safest target.

A second later or what passed for a second in this confusing location all of it was gone, absorbed by the Ability. A loss, but as I felt the Ability starting to grow, its intensity getting stronger, I decided to write it off as a successful tradeoff.

The force multiplier of that ability was important enough to potentially waste some Experience. I could always collect more experience, while the potential to enhance it was undoubtedly rarer.The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

Pity I didn't know whether it was successful or not. I had more than eighty million experience before I triggered the promotion, and it was all now gone.

[Health (540/800)

Mana (60/80)]

[ Experience: 0]

[STATS

Resilience: 50

Vitality: 40

Strength: 35

Agility: 35

Speed: 20

Perception: 50

Memory: 10

Charisma: 50

Attunement: 3

Concealment: 7

LOCKED]

[Stat Points: 0]

[SKILLS: Archery of Destruction (0X)]

[ABILITIES: Elevated Life - Intermediate - Human

Heroic Party (0) ]

[Alignment: Unaligned]

"Double the effect, not bad." I went through the results, happy with the unexpected outcome. "Pity," I added. It was not a big loss under the current circumstances. I might have collected even more mana and experience if I had known that enhancing the ability directly was a possibility.

A note for the next time.

With my quick analysis done, I started my journey back, using the full range of my improved speed, the river once again functioning as a liquid highway just to be on the safe side.