LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 10: Tutorial Ⅴ
Tom sat his ass down after removing the eyeballs of all the draugrs. So gross. He shuddered just from the memory of the act. Fortunately, he didn't have anything left in his stomach to throw up.
He decided then and there to launch a complaint ticket to the developers about making some parts of the game too realistic.
But that was all beside the point. It was time to earn the [Augur] class. Tom triggered his [Meditation], and instantly, his heart rate slowed
<[Meditation] has Reached Level 2>
He ignored the notification as he entered his inner soul, mana space, or whatever the game called it this time. It really didn't matter.
Once he was inside… himself, he could see the inside of his soul. It was a collection of beautiful nebulas of different-colored clouds floating through what might have been space. The constellations in the nebulas represented his classes, and the stars within those constellations were his individual skills. The few stars floating outside of the nebulas were his personal skills. All were just sitting there, just untapped potential.
DING!!!
Welcome to the Soul Forge
The Soul Forge is a place in your inner soul where you can attempt to combine Skills and Classes. Creating new and sometimes better versions of what you already had. But be warned.
Failure in the soul forge can result in soul damage. Soul damage can weaken or disable skills and even temporary loss of stats.
<[Meditation] has Reached Level 3>
"Blah blah, I heard it a million times before. Skip," Tom muttered as he skimmed the notifications.
This wasn't new to him; he understood the rule of the soul forge. If he had been asked to describe the soul forge, he would have claimed that it was like trying to play Jenga while blindfolded and wearing a shock collar. Fortunately, it was predictable, and people had been adding to the Noralon forms for years. He was pretty sure he remembered most of them.
DING!!!
Warning
You are attempting to combine [Light Mage] and [Lumenmancer]. Be warned: While the Soul Forge is active, all classes and skills inside the forge will be inactive. If the elements are compatible, you will receive a class or skill fusion. If the elements are incompatible, then you just wasted a whole lot of time.
Would you like to activate the Soul Forge Y/N?
Tom pressed yes.
DING!!!
Soul Forge
Time to Completion: 7 Hours: 59 Minutes: 57 Seconds
RUSH
Tom selected RUSH, just going through the motions.
DING!!!
Warning
Using RUSH on the Soul Forge will finish the process immediately, but if you are attempting to combine incompatible elements, you will suffer a backlash: (-20% to all stats for 24 hours)
This is a form of Soul Damage
Would you like to RUSH Y/N
SKIP, Tom thought as he pushed the button as hard as he could. He already knew all this.
DING!!!
Congratulations: Class Fusion
Light Mage + Lumenmancer → Master Lumenmancer - Historic
Before, you were merely a student of the light. Now, you are its master in all forms.
<[Meditation] has Reached Level 4>
DING!!!
Congratulations
You have upgraded your skills
[Light Magic] - Level 10 + [Lumenmancy] - Level 10 → [Bright Arts] - Level 10
[Bright Arts] - Common: You have pushed your understanding of Light to the limit. Increase the power of all Light magic or Light mana by 2.5% per level of this skill. Due to being under level 10, you have gained three new Light spells.
Tom smiled as the notifications came in. His magic skill level was technically lower, but his total bonus had just hit 25% instead of 15%, and now he was going to do the same thing with his life magic.
<[Meditation] has Reached Level 5>
Tom felt an uncontrollable grin spread across his face. The power of the soul forge was his. The song and dance started all over again.
DING!!!
Congratulations: Class Fusion
Life Mage + Biomancer → Master Biomancer - Historic
Before, you were merely a student of life. Now, you are its master in all forms.
DING!!!
Congratulations
You have upgraded your skills
[Life Magic] - Level 1 + [Biomancy] - Level 3 → [Art of Life] - Level 2
[Art of Life] - Common: You have pushed your understanding of Light to your limit. Increase the power of all Life magic or Life Mana by 2.5% per level of this skill. Due to being under level 10, you have gained three new Life spells.
<[Meditation] has Reached Level 6>
<[Meditation] has Reached Level 7>
Tom found it a bit funny that his life magic was now at a higher potency than when he started.
Now came the tricky part. He really hoped that he would remember how the Augur class was supposed to look in this form; otherwise, he would be going for a respawn.
Carefully, very carefully, Tom began to assemble the stars. First came the White Mage class, bridging the gap between his two master classes. On top of those, he added the Seerer, Diviner, and Pathfinder classes for his divination magic. Slowly, ever so slowly, the blocks started to take shape.
But something was nagging at him. It was like someone was poking him in the back of the head, and the closer he brought the blocks together, the harder he was being poked. Finally, the distraction got so bad that he had to stop what he was doing.
"What the hell is that?!" he wanted to scream as he looked around his soul space. He noticed something. A red nebula to his back seemed almost like a massive scar in his soul space. It had six stars hidden within.
"The bloodline …" Tom muttered.
One little star was tapping against the cluster, not a part of the bloodline but attracted to it.
"What the hell is this?" he mumbled to himself as he examined them. One of them was his bloodline, a mix of red and black floating in the void. The other was golden. Tom didn't recognize it. It wasn't until he took stock of all of his other skills that he could determine what it was by the process of elimination. [System Wiki].
He knew that some bloodlines could be upgraded with skills, but he had never heard of [System Wiki] being one of those skills. In hindsight, that wasn't very surprising. [System Wiki] had no practical purpose in the game, with the Noralon Wiki available online. Or it could be part of the new update. He didn't know, but he was excited to find out.
The one downside was that he would lose [System Wiki]. He thought about it. Worthless skill or bloodline upgrade? Bloodline, he decided as he grabbed the star and shoved it into the bloodline hard.
DING!!!
Alert!!!
You are attempting to upgrade your bloodline [Bloodline of the Inkheart] by sacrificing [System Wiki]
You have lost
Calculating …
Insufficient materials to upgrade Bloodline.
Calculating …
[Identify] has also been sacrificed to the bloodline.
"NOO!" Tom screamed as [Identity] disappeared.
Calculating …
[Meditation] has been downgraded to [Shallow Meditation]
[Shallow Meditation]: your regen is increased by 2% per skill level
What did I do to deserve this?" Tom asked as he realized his new [Shallow Mediation] would not allow him access to the soul forge. Any second now, he would be booted from his soul space.
Calculating …
Due to being in the tutorial, additional resources have been allotted to complete the bloodline upgrade.
"What the hell does that mean?" Tom asked. He almost wanted to weep as his hope of the [Augur] Class drained away.
DING!!!
Congratulations: Bloodline Upgrade
Skills [System Wiki] & [Identify] have been sacrificed to enhance your Bloodline.
[Bloodline of the Inkheart] - Ancient → [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records] - Forgotten:
[Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]—Forgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.
[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword]: Harness the power of the written word to create magical literature. Write with any medium. With increased quality and accuracy, you can produce books, skill books, spellbooks, scrolls, and talismans. Gain +1.25% Scribing Mastery, +5% to writing speed, and reduce errors in your writing by 1% per skill level.
[Words Will Always Retain their Power]: Master the arcane language of runes, glyphs, rituals, magic circles, sigils, arrays, and formations. Your comprehension of these words of power is profound, allowing you to read and write them with ease. Increase your comprehension of magical inscriptions and symbols by 5% per skill level. Increase the longevity, durability, and efficiency of the words of power by 5% per level.
[Library of Akashic Records]: You have a perfect Memory storing away everything you have ever learned in an ever-growing library within your mind. Information regarding the System and Akashic Records is more easily recalled to the forefront of your mind. Increase your ability to organize and recall information by 5% per skill level.
[Universal]: Within your aura, all spoken words are heard in your native language, all written text appears in your native language, and anything you write automatically transforms into the native language of whoever reads it. This effect applies to everyone within the aura, ensuring seamless communication across all languages. However, this linguistic ability is limited to the aura's range and does not persist once individuals leave its influence. Additionally, while within the aura, everyone has a chance to learn the [Omniglot] skill equal to 1% per skill level.
[Wordsmith]: Channel your thoughts into words. You can transmit your intentions into words. And your words onto any medium, whether paper, stone, sound, or even onto mana itself, at a rate of 100mp per minute. Reduce the mana cost of this skill and increase the quality of your words by 1% per level.
[My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar]: +1% Immunity to all Mental and Soul attacks per level. Even if your brain suffers damage, your soul can take over, allowing you to function normally. Those with hostile intent cannot read or detect your thoughts.
[Thirst for Knowledge]: [Identify] skims the information from a target's status. [Thirst for Knowledge] absorbs all the knowledge it can access. You can read a book at a glance or know a person in their entirety +1% Skill gain increase per level. Reduce Mental backlash from this skill by 1% per skill level.
[Visions of Akashic Records]: You can now see the Akashic Records, the Metadata inherent in everything, including the system. Reduce the Mental backlash from this skill by 1% per skill level.
[Soul Forge]: You can now manipulate the Akashic Records within a person's soul or within the system. (warning: doing this without another person's permission is taboo) You can now clearly see skills and classes in the Soulforge. Increase your Proficiency in the [Soul Forge] by 1% per level. Increase your Soul Magic Mastery by 2% per skill level.
+5 PER per level
+5 INT per level
<[Shallow Meditation] has Reached Level 8>
Tom blinked, just staring at the notification for a few seconds as joy bloomed into his chest, replacing his despair. A forgotten rarity bloodline? Seriously? How? Why? He immediately pulled up the help guide just to check again that the Forgotten Rarity hadn't changed.
Rarity:
Inferior
Lesser
Common
Uncommon
Rare
Epic
Historic
Ancient
Mythic
Legendary
Forgotten
Yep, he had managed to get an eleventh-rarity bloodline. Somehow. The notifications made it pretty clear this had only worked because he was in the tutorial. But wow. That was amazing. There was very little information about anything at the Forgotten Rarity.
In fact, Tom only knew of two classes that he could get with that rarity. The first was [Dungeon Master], which required a person to have the [Dungeon Breeder], [Dungeon Architect], and [Dungeon Keeper] Classes all maxed out. The other one was the [Saint]. That one could only be acquired if you were the exclusive puppet of a god. Those builds were basically just puppets for their chosen deity.
But that wasn't what really excited him; it was the [Soul Forge] skill of his new bloodline. The clusters of stars and nebulas in his soul space now had tooltips and actual organization within.
He could see each of his classes, and each one had hints and hidden secrets that spoke to him now as he understood each class's potential. He could see what each class could become and how to combine them to create something more. Honestly, what he was doing before would be best described as solving a puzzle while wearing a blindfold.
He could also see that what he had previously attempted might have blown him up. He started to alter the position of the stars. He needed to consider not only the color of the nebulas behind the stars but also the constellations that the stars were part of. He lined them so that the constellation lines overlapped with each other while making sure to blend the nebulas.
It was like a beautiful three-dimensional puzzle. Each change he made to one part of the puzzle required him to make changes to every other part.
<[Soul Forge] has reached level Level 2>
<[Soul Forge] has reached level Level 3>
<...>
<[Soul Forge] has reached level Level 6>
<[My Mind is My Temple My Soul the Altar] has reached level 5>
DING!!!
Congratulations!!!
You have unlocked a Class, Evolution!!!
Master Biomancer - Historic + Master Lumenmancer - Historic + White Mage - Uncommon + Seerer - Inferior + Pathfinder - Common + Diviner - Lesser → Augur - Mythic
You are an Augur. You divine the future, bring life and healing to the downtrodden, and provide guidance to your flock, allowing them to reach greater heights than they might have otherwise.
"Thank the bloody devs for [System Wiki]. I can't believe that useless skill actually came through for something." Tom shouted as the notifications kept rolling.
He had only just barely met the qualifications for this class. Without [Identity], it had been painfully close, but his new bloodline came in clutch.
DING!!!
Congratulations!!!
Skill Upgrade: [Shallow Meditation] - Level 8 → [Prophetic Mediation] - Level 4
You can enter a state of meditation. While in meditation or when sleeping, all stamina mana and health regeneration are increased by +2% per level. You may also gain prophetic visions and insights while in meditation, allowing for special quests.
This one was simple. It was a meditation skill that gave him free quests and, in other words, free money.
DING!!!
Congratulations!!!
Skill Upgrade: Far Sight ---> [Far Seeing] - Level 1: Using Divination magic, you can extend your perception far into the distance, allowing you to view the distant world without moving a single step.
DING!!!
Congratulations!!!
Skill Upgrade: [Pierce the Veil] - Level 11 → [Augurs Eye] - Level 5: You see everything; lies and falsehoods hold no power against you as you gain a full appraisal of anything in your line of sight. As an Augur, you can see the potential within people.
It occurred to him that [Augurs Eye] was somewhat redundant with his new [Thirst for Knowledge] skill. That was a little disappointing. But Tom was willing to write that off as the price for doing business.
<[Prophetic Meditation] Level increased to 5>
<[Prophetic Meditation] Level increased to 6>
<[Prophetic Meditation] Level increased to 7>
<[Prophetic Meditation] Level increased to 8>
<[My Mind is My Temple My Soul the Altar] has reached level 6>
Tom exited [Prophetic Meditation] and flopped backwards, covered in sweat.
"Yes, yes, my brain is better than everybody," Tom cheered as he raised his arms in victory.
The world would bow down to his awesomeness after a nap.
Tom curled up right there on the floor and fell asleep utterly emotionally exhausted.
You may skip to the next Chapter!
Name: Tom Bruner
Race: Half-Elf ()
Type: Humanoid
LVL: 8
SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian
Age 18
Health: 160
Stamina: 160
Mana: 1280
Health Regen: 2.4 per hour
Stamina Regen: 2.4 per min
Mana Regen: 5.6 per min
Immune
None
Resistances
Mental 3% Soul 3%
Weakness
None
Bane
Manslayer
Classes: Augur 8
Total
STR: 0
AGIL: 0
DEX: 0
CON: 16
END: 0
PER: 72
INT: 64
WILL: 56
SPIRIT: 8
EGO: 0
CHA: 40
LCK: 0
Base
STR: 0
AGIL: 0
DEX: 0
CON: 16
END: 0
PER: 72
INT: 64
WILL: 56
SPIRIT: 8
EGO: 0
CHA: 40
LCK: 0
Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA
Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT
Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT
Bloodline:
[Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]—Forgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.
- [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 7
- [Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 4
- [Library of Akashic Records] - Level 4
- [Universal] - Level 3
- [Wordsmith] - Level 8
- [My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 4 >> Level 6
- [Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 1
- [Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 1
- [Soul Forge] - Level 1 >> Level 6
- +5 PER per level
- +5 INT per level
Skill Slots: 10/60: Skill Points: 0
Personal Skills
- [Party Leader] - Level 4
- [Analyze Person] - Level 1
- [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 5
- [Storage] - Level 12
- [Mapping] - Level 2
Augur 05/16
- [Augurs Eye] - Level 5
- [Bright Arts] - Level 10
- [Art of Life] - Level 2
- [Prophetic Meditation] - Level 4 >> Level 8
- [Far Seeing] - Level 1