Author Frank Morin
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Ch 16 - Fuzzy Math
🕑 Added 2024-10-10 18:06:10 +0000 UTCThe transition back to the cave was as simple as walking between two rooms. The dim cavern was still empty. As soon as I returned, Eva spoke up.
“Congratulations, Lucas. You have received an emerald Infiltrator loot box.” Her voice trailed off, as if she planned to say more but ran out of words too soon.
I wondered if she was trying to figure out why I had gotten the new loot box. I guess Cyrus really had kept our little meeting even from her.
Luckily she did not make a big deal about it, and after only a brief pause, a glittering emerald loot box appeared, hovering in the air in front of me. Slightly smaller than the diamond ones, it still looked like a giant, many-faceted gemstone.
Eva continued. “Congratulations, Lucas, you have also received an emerald Igor’s Incentive loot box!”
This time when she stopped, I could hear her whispering, “Where did these come from?”
Why had she let me hear that? Maybe Cyrus had broadcast it to remind me that I needed to keep the secret.
A second identical giant emerald appeared in the air in front of me, and I grinned, rubbing my hands together in anticipation as I accepted the mental prompt to open the boxes. The first one blazed with green light, then faded away, leaving 3 old-fashioned scrolls hanging in the air. When I examined them, I whistled softly.
“Upgrade Linguasight. Identify will provide more information about enchantments or magical constructs.”
“One-time bonus of plus 5 points to each of your base stats.”
“Scroll of Discovery. Unlocks the new stat CHA and assigns an initial value of 10 points. Note, CHA is not affected by normal leveling, nor can you directly add extra stat points into it.”
“That’s different,” I said as I studied the last message again. “What stat does CHA stand for?”
“Isn’t it self-explanatory?”
“I’d guess Charisma, but the other stats aren’t abbreviated.”
“Those are fully activated stats.”
Huh. So I needed to find a way to activate Charisma to get the benefits of my new CHA? That didn’t make sense, but I wasn’t about to miss out on so many free stats, so I read the scrolls. The first filled me with the familiar warmth of new knowledge, while the upgrade to all of my base stats was like a waterfall of pure power thundering through my soul.
That one upgrade gave me close to another 25% in all of my base stats. My body felt like it was swollen with power, my muscles quivered with the need to move, and I couldn’t help grinning. That was a rush I could easily get addicted to.
When I read the third scroll, my entire body tingled and I rose up on my toes as another flood of power filled me to bursting. It didn’t feel a vast as the previous one, but deeper somehow. For a second I felt strong enough to rip open a new rift through space with my bare hands.
The feeling faded almost instantly and I blew out a breath. “Wow. I feel amazing, but I hadn’t realized adding Charisma, or the potential for Charisma, would make such a difference.”
“Some classes unlock charisma and assign points to it, but most classes available to you players from Earth will not include it.”
“So what does charisma do?”
“I look forward to seeing how you figure out the meanings of statistics with your team, if you ever actually find them.”
“I’m not dawdling,” I protested, but I got the hint. I needed to get moving. “This is all new to me. Besides, I don’t want to hurry the experience of getting emerald loot boxes. They’re beautiful.”
And full of awesome loot.
The Igor’s Incentive loot box drifted closer, then disappeared in another flash of brilliant light. The name made me wonder if I’d get a stupid gag gift. Emerald loot boxes were supposed to be epic grade, but I couldn’t help imagining a big Igor’s hump. Maybe one I could switch from one shoulder to the other like Igor from Young Frankenstein.
Instead it was 2 more scrolls and an actual cloak.
Mirror Cloak. Uncommon. A lightweight but durable cloak. Effects: Bends light around the wearer to help conceal them from visual detection.
Note: Movement reduces effectiveness. Intelligence check against enemies adjusts chances of successful cloaking.”
I immediately donned my new cloak. It settled lightly over my jacket and hung to my calves. I’d never worn a cloak before and hoped it didn’t get in the way when I moved or fought. Totally worth the hassle to gain a stealth ability.
I activated the cloak’s power and the world changed. Color drained away, leaving me standing in a monochromatic cavern.
“Take a look at yourself,” Cyrus said, and a large mirror appeared in the air nearby.
It showed the cavern bathed in flickering torchlight and dim blue glowing stalactites. Where I stood, all I could see was empty space. Mirror cloak. The description seemed apt. It reflected light around me, leaving me in a pocket where color didn’t penetrate.
“This is amazing!” I laughed, but that made me move a little and the air where I stood rippled like water. When I stopped, the cloak settled back to full invisibility.
I tried creeping forward. Again, the air rippled, and my boots popped into view. Crouching lower helped, and unless someone was looking very closely, they’d miss that tiny ripple.
The faster I moved, the more the invisibility wavered. At a jog, I looked like one of the wraiths, surrounded by ripples of light. At a full run, it failed completely.
“Once an enemy spots you, the effects will fail,” Cyrus warned.
“I’ll take it.” The next dungeon I crept into would turn out so different. With a bit of work, I figured out how to fold the front panels back over my shoulders so it hung more like a cape until I needed it.
I checked the scrolls next.
“Scroll of Quest Helper. Provides a hint to help you progress in a current quest.”
Nice. I stored it for now and read the last one.
“Title Scroll. New Title: David Copperfield. Upgrades your core race from tier-0 Baby Human to tier-1 Human.”
“What does this mean?” Cyrus had mentioned something about body tiers, but hadn’t elaborated.
“Reading it is the best way to learn.” He sounded a bit impatient. I was getting a distinct impression that he didn’t like explaining things he felt I could figure out by myself. I read the scroll.
It dissolved into a blizzard of tiny particles, like miniature stars. They swarmed around me, then dove into every inch of my skin. I convulsed, but when I opened my mouth to scream, more stars poured in, punching through all the exposed soft skin inside my mouth.
Jolts of energy, each one like the zap of an electrified fence, shook me from each tiny star. I couldn’t scream, couldn’t close my mouth, couldn’t breathe. I tasted hot curry, and the scent of red-hot steel singed my nostrils. My mind blanked out under the onslaught.
I woke up some time later, coughing and spitting a nasty-tasting vile black sludge from my mouth.
“What happened?” I gasped as I tried to wipe the nasty stuff off my tongue. I’d visited Australia once and tried the famed vegemite spread. It had been truly foul, but that had tasted like mint compared to this.
I stumbled to my feet, my legs wobbly. Only then did I realize my entire body was covered in the same black filth. I’d fallen into a puddle of the stuff, and the entire cavern reeked like an ancient cesspit recently opened to the sky.
My clothing was soaked in the nasty sludge. I cursed as I stumbled away, blindly moving toward the exit as my mind slowly awakened. I didn’t have spare clothes, but was sorely tempted to strip down to my blue boxers and burn everything else.
I couldn’t quite remember what happened, but I hurt all over. The pain was quickly fading, but every muscle ached at a bone-deep level.
“Congratulations, Lucas! You’re the first human to evolve to tier-1.” Cyrus sounded particularly jolly, and that really annoyed me.
“It feels like I got dumped into a sewer.”
My mind finally caught up. I didn’t remember anything after the stars. That upgrade had sounded great, but I regretted accepting the stupid scroll.
Then I remembered my Laundry Day potions and moved one to a hotlist spot, then selected it. I doubted one would be enough to clean me, but I had 5. I’d use every last one if I needed to.
The air around me grew cool and refreshing, and the putrid scent clinging to my nostrils faded to a smell like a lawn after a spring rain. I relaxed, breathing deep, eyes closed as a pleasant rippling sensation flowed down my entire body several times.
When I opened my eyes again and glanced down to see how much the spell had helped, I gaped. I was totally clean. My clothes glistened, my shorts were fluffier than ever, and they felt wonderfully warm, like I’d just taken them from a dryer.
“That’s now my favorite loot item of all time.”
“They’re one of the most popular items in the multiverse. The inventor went from being a poor janitor to founding one of the most successful new intergalactic corporations of the last half millennia.”
“I believe it.”
Only then did I open my menus and take a look at what the title had done to me. I read the description a couple of times to make sure I was understanding properly before whistling softly.
“I love helping you with experiments!”
Eva read, “Title: David Copperfield. Upgrades Baby Human tier-0 body to Human tier-1. As a tier-1 human, every level will earn you 40 stat points instead of 4. Plus 25% to calculation of all secondary stats from all base stats.”
That alone was mind-boggling, but there was more.
“Upgrade Mystic Looter inventory capacity from 10 x 10 to 50 x 50, giving you 2500 total inventory slots.”
“Unlock your fourth utility spell and receive a unique Harvester perk.”
“Harvester utility spell perk: Your unique spell Harvest allows you to pick your next utility spell from a greatly expanded list that draws from compatible utility spells usually reserved for other races. Would you like to view possible choices?”
“How is this possible?” I breathed as I instantly accepted the prompt.
“Possible utility spells.” A long list scrolled past, dozens upon dozens of choices.
“Unique experiments call for unique parameters. Would you like me to make a few suggestions?”
“Please!”
I could spend hours studying that list of potential utility spells, but I didn’t think I had that much time to waste. My team were still out there, fighting for their lives. We needed to link up.
Even with Cyrus’s help, I still had to spend several minutes reviewing the list. All of the base human utility spells were still available, and I still wanted all of them. In addition, I quickly narrowed down the list of non-human utility spells to a top three.
Trap Detection might prove vital if exploring dungeons would be a large part of our challenge. Mana Bindings also really tempted me. It was like a pair of magic handcuffs that could be used to bind an enemy from up to 5 feet away.
I almost picked that one immediately, but the duration was pretty short until I upgraded it. I suspected it would take a while before it really became as useful as it promised.
The last one fit the build I was already starting to think about. Called Soul Feed, it allowed me to harvest pure energy from defeated enemies based on a fraction of the total maximum energies they started with. That pure energy could not only top off my health and mana pools, but also supercharge all of my physical attributes for a short time, assuming the fallen enemy had enough energy.
Since I expected to face stronger and stronger monsters, the spell would help me break reliance on consumable health and mana potions. I didn’t have many of those. If I ran out, I doubted I’d last long. So I chose Soul Feed.
“Excellent choice,” Cyrus congratulated me.
Eva added, “Congratulations, Lucas! A unique synergy exists between Soul Feed and Energy Ward. Soul Feed has upgraded with a conduit to Energy Ward. Some energy can now be absorbed during combat, and energy can be used for healing or to directly trigger and fuel Energy Ward outside of your normal usage limits. You may set the percentage of energy redirected to fuel Energy Ward.”
“No way,” I breathed. I wasn’t a dancer, but at the moment, I was really tempted to try dancing a little jig.
“That unique energy vortex you experienced with the Essence Wights changed your defensive aura in fundamental ways. I doubt you’ve seen the last of the benefits from it,” Cyrus added.
Feeling so giddy, I could hardly believe my good luck, I opened my stat screen to survey the huge changes I’d just gotten. What I saw there was like a punch to the gut so strong I actually stumbled back and plopped down onto my backside.
“What the hell happened to my levels and my stats?”
Panic clawed at my guts as I scanned the list.
Level: 1
Life Points: 3
Mana: 6
Base Stats:
Constitution: 1.6
Intelligence: 1.7
Strength: 1.6
Dexterity: 2.3
Wisdom: 1.4
I’d lost 90% of my stats, and my level, which had been 11, had rounded down to 1. Since my other stats were calculated from my base stats, they’d all plummeted too. The only one that didn’t seem affected was my new CHA stat.
“Do you feel different?” Cyrus asked, way too calm for my current mood.
I frowned, trying to still my panicked breathing. I actually still felt fine. I was strong and healthy, but I’d played enough video games to know losing most of your stats was a great way to die fast.
“You are ignoring the one stat that allows all those numbers to make sense,” Cyrus said calmly. “Look at the new top line in your stat menu.”
Body Tier: 1
“What does that mean?”
“You read the scroll, Lucas. The upgrade from a tier-0 to a tier-1 body. Your body was fundamentally changed by the process. All that black sludge you woke up in was your body ejecting imperfections while it was remade stronger.”
“I don’t understand. I still look the same.” I glanced down at myself, and didn’t notice any difference.
“Actually, those who knew you before will likely comment that you look more fit and even more handsome. You might have gained an inch in height. As your body evolves to higher tiers, it is refined closer and closer to perfection. Your base physical stats are sturdier and your health and mana pools will refresh far more quickly.”
“How does that equate to losing all my stats?”
“The stats reflect what level you are currently in for your current body tier. In a tier-1 body, each point in your stats roughly equates to 10 times as many stats in a tier-0 body.”
I relaxed, breathing easier. “So my constitution is still really 16?”
“In a sense, yes. But you still end up far more durable than any tier-0 baby human with a 16 in constitution.”
“Phew. You should have warned me. I was panicking here, Cyrus. Hold on, does my level count as level 11 to the game?”
Cyrus hesitated before responding, and my fear spiked again. “Ah, not exactly. You still need to reach level 10 in your current tier in order to climb to Stage 2. Sorry about that.”
“Sorry? That’s all you can say? I’m screwed!”
“I think you’re ignoring the benefits of this perk. If everyone else is still roughly the level of Earth humans, you’re more like Aquaman or another superhero with an enhanced body. You exist on a totally different plane now. You just won the power-up lottery. Usually baby humans have to reach at least level 80 before they get a chance to evolve their bodies. For most, it’s more like level 100.”
“Great. Except I’m going to get stuck down here in the first stage.”
He’d made it very clear that anyone who couldn’t reach the second stage by the end of the first week would regret it. I interpreted that to mean they’d die some kind of nasty death.
“Every perk comes with a down-side. I’m sure you’ll figure out how to catch up.”
“So is it easier to level up?” I asked, forcing calm on my voice, even though I wanted to scream and pound my fists into the stone wall. It felt like he’d snuffed out all of my advancement. Instead of feeling ahead of the curve, I was now half a day behind.
“Of course not,” Cyrus said cheerily. “With each level, the 4 points in base stats that you’ll receive are equivalent to 40 base points for anyone else. As such, you need to gain a lot more experience to earn each level.”
“This just keeps getting worse,” I groaned.
The first few levels had seemed easy. In most video games, the early levels only required tiny amounts of experience, but as the game progressed, each subsequent level required more. I had not only lost my early easy levels, but leveling was going to be even harder now.
“You said this was going to be a win-win experiment.”
“You will come to understand in time just how much you have won,” Cyrus said, and his voice seemed far more serious than usual.
For some reason, that made me more nervous than suddenly finding myself 9 levels behind where I should be. Cyrus was playing a game with my life, and as much as he projected cheery good humor, I had no illusion he was my friend.
What was really the purpose of this experiment? Not to help me. He wouldn’t go out of his way to help a particular contestant excel, no matter what he claimed. That meant he either expected to get something back for his trouble, or get entertained by the show.
Was he setting me up for a more spectacular death scene?
I couldn’t change what was done, nor could I escape his experiment. He’d neatly set me up and forced me into his game. I might have to play it, but that didn’t mean I’d just dance to his tune without looking for my own way out.
I took a deep breath, focusing on the benefits I could see from this fiasco. I could still get those levels fast. I had better weapons, better spells, and I was a lot stronger. My stats looked terrible and I might have lost the easiest leveling half day, but I still had over 6 days to regain those levels.
I could do it. I had to.
Arguing more would waste precious time I didn’t have. Growling to myself in frustration, I marched toward the exit.
On the way out, my upgraded Identify payed its first dividend. The little glowing stalactites were each called glowstones, with many crafting uses. I harvested 482 glowstones. That made me feel a little better.
When I returned to daylight, the sun had moved noticeably across the sky. How long had I been in there? Had I wasted so much time in that dungeon that I wouldn’t be able to find my team? We needed each other to survive. I couldn’t let myself get distracted again.
