Mythshaper
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Mythshaper - Chapter 34 [New]
🕑 Added 2025-02-28 22:43:59 +0000 UTCChapter 34: Attribute Points
“So, how was your first day at the institution?” Mum asked as soon as I stepped into the house. She immediately followed up with, “Why the long face? Was it not as you hoped?”
Perhaps it was my expression gave it away.
“I was defeated,” I announced, biting my lip as I glanced towards Father. He was unusually engrossed in a book, sprawled on the couch. He lifted his head to spare me a look, though not his full attention. “Twice in a row. Brutally.”
Mum’s expression turned solemn as she came closer to inspect me. “Are you hurt?”
Only my pride is wounded, Mum, I sighed. Only the pride...
“I’m fine,” I added. All the necessary gear I wore ensured there were no lasting injuries.
“I could barely react to the attacks,” I continued, stepping in front of Father to demand his full attention. “Even anticipating them didn’t help.”
“You’ll do better once you gain more experience,” Father said, setting his book on his lap before rising.
“It’s not about experience,” I urged. “Priam has more physical attribute points than I do, and he has the perfect gift for swordsmanship.”
“Celerity does come in handy in many physical forms,” Mum agreed. "But did you forget he awakened over a season before you?"
Father motioned for me to sit next to him. “Tell me everything from the start.”
“What more is there to say?” I grumbled. “He moved so fast that my body could barely react, and I lost. First 12–1, then 12–3. It was humiliating.”
Father frowned. “That’s a rather low score, considering how skilled you are at swordsmanship and shaping.”
I winced, and both Mum and Father exchanged a concerned look.
“What was that look?” Mum asked. “Arilyn, did you not use your shaping skills at all during sparring?”
“It was a sword fight,” I said, stealing a glance at Father. I was sure Mum wouldn’t get it, but since it was Father's calling, I was certain he would understand what I meant. “What could I have done? Set his clothes on fire?”
Mum shook her head and turned to Father. “Shall I explain it to him, or will you?”
It was he who took the responsibility, going straight into the question, “Why didn’t you use your shaping skills during the duel?”
“Because it was a sword fight,” I repeated.
“You thought you could beat someone who’s been Awakened for over two seasons without using all of your capabilities?” he said dismissively.
All I could do was shake my head, though not entirely convinced. “I mean, I could probably beat him if I had more attribute points. If I had twenty more points in Agility and Fortitude, I’m sure I could take Priam down with my swordsmanship alone.”
“It’s not just about attributes, son,” Father said, draping an arm around my shoulders. “If you had to fight a demonic monster, would you limit yourself to swordsmanship?” He answered it for me. “No. You fight demons with whatever you have. Combat Shapers can deal ten times the damage with their spells, yet they are taught to wield weapons. Do you know why? Not to compete with Augmenters, but to diminish their weaknesses as much as possible.”
I knew all this, but I also knew for a fact that my swordsmanship was no worse than Priam’s.
He continued, “I don’t disapprove of trying to win with just swordsmanship. But you need to understand, against an Augmenter, if you rely solely on the sword, you’ll lose more often than you win, even if you have higher attribute points.”
I frowned, considering an argument. As I thought it over, I realised he had a point.
Sure, I could invest my unallocated points into physical attributes and match Priam—maybe even surpass him. But in the long run, he would close the gap and even pull ahead, because Augmenters don’t need their Mental and Mystical Attributes the way Shapers do. On top of that, an Augmenter is born with an gift that enhances their physicality.
Even common gifts like Physical Augmentation, Harden, or Superhuman Endurance give them a substantial advantage, while their Enhancement-type Essence provides superior physical boosts in both recovery and stamina.
“It’s entirely up to you whether you use your shaping skills in duels,” Father said. “Though I hope you do. But if you still want to try pure swordsmanship foolhardy, get used to being defeated.”
“Unless I invest some points in Agility and Fortitude,” I said, glancing at Mum. “Celerity would still be an issue, I admit, but I can counter it if my body reacts well.”
Mum asked, “How many unallocated points do you have again?”
“One hundred and forty-seven,” I answered, having the number at the tip of my tongue.
Father whistled. “With that many, you can certainly afford to strengthen your physical attributes. A solid physical foundation never hurts.”
Mum didn’t object, as she was too busy thinking. “You already have a lot of physical attributes for a Shaper,” she finally said. “We could address Alacrity and Agility once they reach fifty, but that would cost a lot of points—points you’ll need once you awaken other mystical attributes.”
“What happens if I hit fifty in both Alacrity and Agility?” I asked, curiosity piqued. “Will they merge into some higher-tier attribute?”
With all my attribute slots filled, the only way to empty them was either through merging two or more similar attributes or discarding them outright. Honestly, I preferred the first option, since it would not only let me achieve a higher form of those attributes, it wouldn’t waste my hard-earned points. Unlike the other path.
“It’s complicated,” Mum said. “Merging usually occurs when you have an overwhelming influx of essence in your Essence Seed, typically when you advance from one Class to the next.”
“So I have to wait what... two years?” I sighed. “Then there’s the requirement for all the extra points.”
No joke, it would practically halve my current unallocated points tally. Then a thought occurred to me as I turned my gaze towards Father.
“Is there no other physical way to train?” I asked, knowing there had to be some alternative. After all, all the physical methods I’ve practised so far have been without involving essence.
“There is,” he said, exchanging a quick, measured look with Mum. “You can, for instance, pick up a spear or a hammer, but as you can imagine, they will consume time.”
And a shaper would think their time was more worthwhile practicing shaping skills. But unlike many shapers, time was in my favour.
A hammer did sound like it would be useful. Hmm, maybe I should learn blacksmithing along with it. The town had its fair share of blacksmiths. I was certain I’d find someone willing to take me on as an apprentice for a while.
“There is also Physique Refinement,” Father muttered. “I’ve been considering teaching it to Eran for some time. He’s a bit young, but he has good Fortitude to endure it.”
“What is that?” I asked. “Some kind of physical exercise?”
“Similar,” Father said. “It’s mostly a way to condition the body with essence. It can get pretty brutal, like how it was in your early days of Essence Unification, but on both inside and outside.”
I frowned. That was some pain I would never forget, even though it lasted only for the first few sessions.
“How many points does it give? And how many layers are in it?” I asked.
“As many as meditation, but it gives substantially more points.”
“Then why aren’t you teaching it to Eran?” I questioned. My friend had been using his mysterious gift to injure himself day and night, stupidly hoping a miracle would occur. All it did, however, was increase his pain tolerance.
"I feel it is still a bit early."
“Talk with the Stonecutters before deciding anything,” Mum advised. “Dalin is a good man, and with all he owes you, he’d probably agree to anything you say.”
“That’s what worries me the most,” Father sighed. “But I cannot delay it more than a season. Considering how arduously that boy trains every day--especially with his new gift—I fear he’ll gain the Way anyway and practise it without learning its dangers.”
“Now you understand how troublesome it is to have such earnest pupils?” Mum sighed. “I worry every night that I’m giving Arilyn more than he can bear.”
“You aren’t,” I said urgently.
“I hope so too,” she mumbled, stroking my hair.
“Can I learn it too?” I asked Father. “Physique Refinement, I mean.”
“I knew you were going to ask that,” Father narrowed his eyes. “Unfortunately, I don’t know how to teach you because the method varies by essence type.”
I turned to Mum, who shared more of my essence types.
She let out a tired sigh. “It’s a gradual process. Starting early or late doesn’t affect it much. Actually, it is essential that Transformation and Transference types are refined later, Noble Class is the bare minimum.”
“What about Enchantment?”
“You’re still not ready for it,” Mum paused, considering. “Hmm... I’ll give you this: if you manage to divide your hybrid essence into single strands of Enchantment type, along with fifty points in Fortitude, I’ll show you the method.”
There seemed to be something I was missing, as Mum never handed out a challenge like that without any caveat.
“But the issue wasn’t that,” she continued. “You wanted to spend your attribute points. I think you can spare some points to Fortitude and Arcane Affinity now. Agility and Alacrity will be useful too, but there are ways to earn points in them.”
After discussing with my parents thoroughly on that topic, I decided that the safest and smartest choice would be to take Fortitude to 25 and both Arcane Affinity and Cognition to 50. I wondered what Cognition would evolve into…
It was always prudent to go through all this with an empty stomach, since there were chances of vomiting. Wasting no more breath, I summoned my Profile.
[Profile]
Arilyn Arcis O’Ryon
Path: Shaper (Common Class)
Honours: Wunderkind (Noble)
Aspects:
Influence: +1
Weight: +1
Will: +1
Attributes [8/8]: (Unallocated Points: 147)
Arcane Acuity (Advanced): +48
Split Focus (Advanced): +57
Fortitude (Advanced): +4
Arcane Affinity (Advanced): +20
Cognition (Elementary): +30
Alacrity (Elementary): +14
Body Coordination (Elementary): +10
Agility (Elementary): +10
Gift:
Fractal Soul
Ways:
In progress:
Meditation IX (3246/5000) | Essence Sense VIII (1948/2500) | Essence Unification VI (418/500) | Engraving VI (277/500) | Duelling II (10/25) | Swordsmanship II (317/1000) | Armed Combat II (168/250) | Balance III (1228/10000) | Ambidexterity II (127/1000) | Swimming II (112/1000) | Education III (8788/10000) | Sneak II (297/1000) | Evasion III (2132/10000) | Music II (167/1000) | Painting II (196/1000) | Farming I (21/100) | Archery III (2025/10000) | Pain Tolerance I (4/10) | Arcane Resistance I (3/10) | Self-Mastery (2/10) | Perseverance IV (79/100) | Fractal Sight IV (83/100)
Telekinesis V (234/250) | Fire Shaping V (201/250) | Kinetic Force Shaping V (197/250) | Earth shaping V (187/250) | Water Shaping III (44/50) | Wind Shaping IV (52/100) | Influence Manipulation VI (435/500) | Weight Distribution IV (92/100) | Weight Weaving V (225/250)
It didn't look bad for an early Common Class, though I had so many ways to go.
I was about to begin investing my points when Mum’s voice warned, “Make sure to invest the points one by one while catching your breath. We wouldn’t want you suddenly passing out on us."
"I already know what," I muttered, but probably was going to dump all the points at once.
"Your investment will stimulate your essence seed, so sit down and meditate first. There is a good chance of you forming your second Aether Root with this"
Comments
The Lost Pages
I half expected her warning to come after he had invested everything lol. Great chapter.
